Prime Imperative (The Prime Chronicles Book 3) (27 page)

“Cheri and Zaek are sure taking advantage of that workplace proximity,” Bria said.

Mel and Nadia laughed.

“I really need to learn how you manage getting things done,” Bria continued. “Before our gym session today, I was fairly certain I’d discovered the reason why some Prime women aren’t conceiving—and why the ones that do conceive, lose their babies. I need a larger sampling of Prime women from different parts of the Cejuru solar system so I can test my hypothesis. But I can’t do my job
and
have sex every time the urge hits.”

“It should slow down,” Nadia said, then looked at Mel. “Why aren’t you slowing down? In fact, I thought you had. Bria’s newly mated, so her frequency and the urgency of it makes sense. Huw and I were like that initially, but have tapered off some. Is it the Terran versus Prime thing?”

Mel blushed and shook her head. “Um, I think my hormones are elevated, and Wulf is reacting to the scent.”

Bria leaned in and said in a tone that didn’t carry beyond the three of them. “Are you pregnant?”

“I think so.” Mel briefly touched Bria’s arm. “Lia ran a test for me after we left the gym, and it showed positive. Lia was going to tell you tomorrow, so you could look at the test results and see if you saw anything that might cause me to lose the child. I don’t want to say anything yet and get anyone’s hopes up. I could miscarry.”

“You also don’t want to paint a bigger target on your back for the fanatics,” muttered Nadia.

“That, too,” Mel agreed, a look of fear in her green eyes.

“We won’t say a word.” Bria glanced at Nadia who nodded. “I’m almost one hundred percent sure I know what causes the miscarriages, so I can easily spot that abnormality on any uterine tissue sample. Did Lia take some tissue?

“She did, and enough blood to make me woozy. I want to be there when you look at my tissue sample.”

“Fine with me,” Bria said.

“I want to be there also.” Nadia blushed. “I think I’m pregnant, too.”

“I’ll run the tests personally,” Bria said. “I’m sure you both are fine. You didn’t grow up here, nor did I. I haven’t found the abnormality in my tissue, and I’m fairly sure it’s not in either of yours since I ran tests on you before for Lia. We’ll look at new samples just to make sure, though. Okay?”

“Thanks, Bria. I feel better already,” Nadia said.

Mel nodded. “Me, too.” Then she turned to look at their men approaching. The stalwart starship captain sighed. “Aren’t they the most gorgeous creatures you’ve ever seen in your life?”

“Oh hell, yeah,” Nadia breathed softly.

“None better,” Bria said. “And I’m a doctor and treated my share of men during my earlier training.”

The three Caradoc brothers were definitely sigh-worthy and drool-worthy.

“I haven’t told Wulf about the pregnancy, either,” Mel said. “He’d try to lock me up until the baby was born. My mind is normally an open book to him, but I’ve got this knowledge tucked into a corner of my mind with strong shields. We’ve been together long enough he respects that one corner and doesn’t try to break through.”

“I get that.” Bria smiled at Iolyn who smiled back. Her sexual neediness seemed to lower to a simmer as he neared. Just the increase in the strength of his scent calmed her down. But she still wanted to fuck his brains out—and soon. “I keep all sorts of things from Iolyn. He has to learn to trust me before I give him free reign in my head. Your secret is locked down in my mental wall safe.”

“Thanks.” Mel hugged her. “Lia said you’d want to monitor me closely.”

“She’s right.” Bria lowered her voice even more. “I don’t know what on-planet is causing Prime women’s immune systems to become imbalanced and to allow the harmful bacteria to overwhelm the good. So I’ll keep an eye on those of us who haven’t lived here to see if whatever caused the damage is still doing so.”

“What’s that about good bacteria versus bad bacteria?” Iolyn asked. “And damage?”

“My, what big ears you have, my
gemat
.” Bria took the glass of scotch he offered and took a hefty sip.

“The better to listen and keep you out of trouble with, little menace.” He stroked a hand over her ass and then squeezed. “Now, answer my question.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “Okay, earlier today…”

“Before the attack in the gym?” Iolyn asked.

“Yes, before I went to the gym…where I and two other battle-mates held our own,” Bria replied. The other men laughed. Iolyn grinned and shook his head. Mel and Nadia saluted her with their glasses. “Cheri and I made a discovery on what could be the primary cause for the high incidences of infertility and miscarriage in Prime women who’ve lived on Cejuru Prime—and possibly other planets in this system—all their lives. It’s a microbe that lives in most hominid species, but the body’s immune system normally keeps it in check with…”

“The good bacteria,” Huw interjected with a grin.

“Exactly.” Bria grinned back. “Something…be it environmental or in the food chain…has caused Prime women’s immune systems to become suppressed. Simply put, the balance has been upset and the bad microbes are winning.”

“What do the bad microbes do? Exactly,” Wulf asked.

“They keep the fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine wall. In miscarriages, the microbe makes the placenta a deadly environment for the fetus and causes a spontaneous abortion.”

“What about the women who do manage to carry to term?” Iolyn asked. “Why are they different?”

“They may not have been exposed to the damaging environmental cause or they have a natural immunity.” Bria shrugged. “I won’t know until I can run tests on a wider sampling of women from around the system and find patterns. Cheri’s
gemat
Zaek is already designing the databases and queries for when I get the actual data.”

“Will you be able to help the women even if you don’t find the cause right away?” Huw asked.

“Yes.” She smiled. “But it would be nice to find the pathogen or poison that is damaging the immune systems. More than women might be affected, you know.”

“
Diew
, I’m a lucky man.” Iolyn kissed her. “You’ve been on-planet less than a standard week, most of it in bed with me.” He grinned when she poked him in the stomach. “And you’re already solving problems our physicians overlooked for years.”

Bria frowned. “Have you ever wondered why that is? Cheri and I have.” She knew what she and her friend thought, it would be interesting to see what this group thought.

“Stupidity, maybe?” Nadia asked. “Couldn’t see the forest for the trees?”

“Maybe.” Bria hummed under her breath.

“But you don’t think so,” Wulf said, his narrowed gaze fixed on her.

“No, I don’t. I found it too easily, and let’s just say, the women who’ve volunteered for our research project have brought medical records with them that are less than complete.” Bria sighed. “I’ll want to question the head researcher at the Prime Reproductive Institute and visit some of the physicians represented in the sampling I have. Lia will help me.”

Her brother-kin already suspected a conspiracy. She could tell by how he’d voiced his non-question, from the slight nod of his head, and how his lips twisted into a slight smile of approval. He was his father’s heir—she’d bet her life that Ilar had suspicions about the fertility and miscarriage issues and that was why he’d pushed joining the Alliance. He must’ve told Wulf about them.

She and Cheri were on the right track about a conspiracy. But who was the head conspirator?

“And the
Leonidas
’s chief medical officer, Kerr Lenke, can help,” Wulf suggested, though it sounded more like an order. “We’ll be in space dock for a while. The rest of Gold can handle policing the rim. Father wants us to stay here and help get to the bottom of who is fomenting rebellion.”

“What you mean is Father wants to use us as catalysts to bring things to a boil so it explodes sooner,” Iolyn said. “I’m not sure I like Bria being bait.”

Huw snarled. “I don’t like Nadia being bait, either. You agreed to this, Wulf?”

“Wulf and I put the plan together,” Mel said. “We need closure. We need to know we can go about our business, be with our loved ones, enjoy our lives without having guards and worrying about who’ll stab or shoot us in the back.”

“I agree,” Bria said.

Mel and Nadia needed to know they could carry their babies safely and not have to worry about the little ones being hurt or killed.

“I also agree,” Nadia said. “We can’t hide. We have to face them, call the cowards out into the open—whoever they might be.”

“I see one of them right now.” Huw growled and the other two men joined in until the air surrounding them sounded and felt like millions of angry bees had entered the room.

“Stop it,” hissed Nadia.

Bria nodded. “I hate that specific growl.”

Though she liked the one Iolyn emitted when he made love to her—or wanted to make love to her. That low rumbling, like a rough purr, made her pussy melt.

Curious as to who could make them so angry so quickly, she turned to follow the three men’s angry gazes. The man at whom they aimed their enmity was tall as all Prime males seemed to be, but he carried more bulk around his middle. His dark hair had strands of silver in it. He wore the regalia of a member of the Prime Elder Council.

“Who is he?” Bria asked.

Iolyn pulled her to his side without taking his eyes off the man in question. “That’s Darga Caradoc.”

“The one whose sons tried to kill Mel?”

“That’s the slime-sucking
apayebo
.” Wulf pulled Mel into his arms and kissed the top of her head. His arm cuddled her waist; his hand covered her still-flat abdomen and rubbed it in small circles. “You okay, little one?”

It was in that moment Bria knew Mel hadn’t been successful in keeping her secret from her man. Wulf knew about the pregnancy. He looked at Bria and shook his head slightly.

Bria nodded. She’d keep his secret just as she’d continue to keep Mel’s.

“If Father tries to introduce Darga to Nadia,” Huw snarled. “Then we’ll leave.”

“I agree,” Iolyn stated in a terse tone she had never heard from him before. “I don’t want Bria exposed to him, either.”

“Well, since Huw and Nadia had already planned to visit his old suite for some,” Bria paused and then said, “nookie, I think we should leave also. We can sneak into the dining room in between courses. Lorinda said there would be nine of them. I know I can’t eat that much food.” She swept a hand over Iolyn’s tense back, soothing him, soothing her. “So, what do you say we skip out before your parents come to find us?”

Huw shot Bria a grateful look. “Sister-kin, that is a wonderful idea.” He gently nudged Nadia toward a side entrance, which led to the back hallway where there were stairs to the family’s quarters.

“I love you, little menace.” Iolyn anchored her close to his side and followed Huw and Nadia out the door.

“Keep moving,” Wulf urged quietly from behind them. “Mel and I want to visit my old rooms.”

Mel’s low laugh made Bria smile. It seemed that all the Caradoc brothers’
gemates
were going to get lucky before dinner.

Chapter 17

Later that night

Caradoc family home

Iolyn and Bria’s suite

Bria sat at the master bathroom vanity and moisturized her face. She massaged the creamy oil into her neck, soothing taut muscles that still hadn’t relaxed.

The family dinner had been long and stressful—and considering she’d gone into the dinner with every muscle limp from the sexual interlude she and Iolyn had sneaked in between cocktails and the first course—that was an understatement.

The cause of all the tension was Darga Caradoc.

Iolyn had refused to allow the introduction Darga sought—and Ilar hadn’t pressed the issue. But she’d sensed the emotions pouring off Darga clear down the very long table. His emotional aura was a dark and nasty mix of hate, envy, and greed—tinged with mental instability.

She didn’t find it hard to picture him as the man behind the rebellion, but proving his role was another matter. Personally, she’d never turn her back on him for fear of getting stabbed. Iolyn’s parents deserved an award for acting since they sat near the man and conversed with him during the early food courses.

By course four, and however many alcoholic beverages he’d consumed, Darga had made clear his opinions about the veracity of Nadia being a
gemate
—she couldn’t be, because she was Terran—and about battle-mates’ existence—they were merely myths. The insults, both direct and indirect, had continued, and by course five, Ilar had finally had enough.

Darga had been escorted off the estate by security. With his departure, a dark and weighty pall had been removed from the remainder of the dinner.

But Bria’s personal tension wasn’t as easily lifted—Darga was irrational, delusional, and very, very dangerous. He was a threat to all she had come to hold dear.

Iolyn moved behind her and placed a kiss on the top of her head. He wore only a low-slung pair of loose pants. His skin glowed golden in the lights from the dressing table vanity. His hair glistened with moisture from his shower.

He flicked the straps of her silk night slip off her shoulders and then stripped the garment down her body until it pooled around her waist. “Did you forget the rule about no clothing in our bedchamber?” He leaned over and placed a kiss on her naked shoulder.

She shivered from anticipation, excitement, and some trepidation of what was to come. Her
gemat
was ready to play as he had on-ship during the trip from Oz to Cejuru Prime. With the exception of the spanking after the attack in the gym and the interlude between drinks and dinner, her man had made sweet, sensual love to her many, many times over the last week on-planet, giving her more pleasure than she ever thought she’d know. He’d told her it was a tradition, and that the sexual energy from the sensual mating fed the planet’s soul. A very romantic notion.

But tonight Iolyn intended to feed his needs and, thus, hers, since with the
gemat-gemate
bond their needs were one in the same. Or so he said.