Tee-ani's Pirates (3 page)

“Thanks, Ben,” she said, trying to hide the warmth that always coursed through her whenever he or his brother were near. She was still trying to shake off the fear of the last few minutes and now she needed to cope with her own unruly hormones.

Just great. How many times did she have to remind herself that G’trobian brothers wouldn’t be interested in a human female? And, even if they did find her mildly interesting, there was no way she would ever be the submissive, pliant, meek,
dependent-on-them
partner expected of a G’trobian female.

Just the thought of a romantic involvement with two arrogant, overbearing G’trobian brothers gave her the shudders. They’d both dominate her life, make her decisions, overrule her choices. The whole thing had disaster written all over it and, quite frankly, she couldn’t think of anything she would enjoy less.

Of course, none of that explained why more often than not, the brothers were her last thought at night and her first in the morning, or why her skin seemed to tingle whenever she saw them. She hadn’t even tried to explain why, when the nightmares woke her, it was their strong arms she imagined soothing her, caressing her, loving her.

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She shook her head sharply, trying to clear her muddled thoughts.

She was attracted to them for the very same qualities that repelled her.

How was that possible?

She turned to grab her medical bag, only to find Trey standing behind her, a big smile on his face and the bag slung over his shoulder.

“I’ve got this,” he said confidently. “You save your strength for your patients, doc. We’ll look after the equipment.”

“Thanks, Trey,” she said, trying to avert her eyes from the smooth plains of his chest and stomach outlined under the stretched material of his jumpsuit. All of her sensible thoughts flew out of her head as she imagined those strong arms holding her safe, holding her close.

Damn. She really was screwed up.

She blushed when she saw his breathing quicken at the same time that he noticed her noticing him. Bloody hell, she felt like she was back in high school.
Get a grip
,
woman
, she thought savagely as she tried to will her blood pressure back under control.

She ducked her head and went to follow Sarah out of the air lock.

A large hand grabbed her arm before she could take a single step.

“Tee-ani, we go first. You follow,” Trey said with all the arrogance of his species. She rounded on him, ready to explain, very loudly, about the inappropriateness of speaking to her in such a manner. She was a full grown, confident, human female and a doctor.

No way would she ever walk one step behind him, G’trobian or not.

She was just about to open her mouth when he laughed quietly and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

“We are armed and expected to protect you, Tee. You only stay behind so that we can keep you safe.”

Well, didn’t that make a whole heap of sense? Darn it. She was looking for a good reason to yell at both of them and here they were being calm and reasonable. Tee-ani took a deep breath and, not trusting her voice, nodded once in understanding and then stood back to let them past. Ben smiled way too widely as he passed her and dropped a quick kiss on her lips, as well. He stepped out the airlock.

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Rachel Clark

Trey held out his hand and she grabbed it gratefully. Why she would even want to yell at them was still a mystery to her.

She’d always been a non-confrontational type of person. Even on the slave traders’ ship, she had usually managed to avoid major conflict and still provide medical assistance to the women who’d needed her, but something about these two males raised all sorts of unfamiliar emotions.

Okay, so she wasn’t comfortable with the way their species treated women, but she’d lived on many different planets and she had always made an effort to respect—if not understand—the local customs. Why did she find Ben and Trey’s cultural traditions so threatening? She’d met other G’trobian males. Why hadn’t she felt this same conflict with them?

Had being a slave changed her so much that she felt the need to seek protection from a big, strong man? She almost laughed aloud at the thought. No, being a slave had done the opposite—she would control her own destiny, no matter what the cost.

On this mission, it was Ben and Trey’s job to protect her while she worked with her patients, so why did she feel that this time it was her heart that needed protecting? Could she really be falling for them both despite everything else?

Trey rubbed a thumb over the back of her hand as he pulled her through the airlock. She tried not to react to his simple caress but found it impossible to hide her shiver, even in the overpowering humidity of this swampy planet. She thought she heard another quiet chuckle and she would’ve said something, but the hand enfolding hers tightened and led her into the dense foliage.

They seemed to wander in circles for hours. How anyone found their way in this swampy, foul-smelling, waterlogged planet was simply beyond her. With so much decay and humidity, it was a perfect breeding ground for some very virulent illnesses. No wonder they were crying out for medical assistance.

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23

“Damn,” Trey whispered. “Get down, stay low.” Her eyes widened at his words, but she did as he said. It also helped that he practically threw himself over her, so she had little choice in the matter. She tried to take a deep breath but almost choked on the cloying thickness of the putrid air this close to the ground.

Desperately trying to control her gag reflex, Tee-ani squirmed against the hard body surrounding her.

“Shh. It’s going to be okay,” he said close to her ear. She wanted to tell him that she wasn’t panicking. She wanted to explain that she was gagging on the foul air. She wanted to push his warm arms away and make him listen to her, but as his grip tightened and she found herself surrounded by hard male muscles, she melted into his warmth instead. Every muscle in her body betrayed her righteous tirade and relaxed against Trey’s tight body.

She had no idea how long he held her like that, and she would’ve happily spent the next couple of years pressed hard against him, but too soon he straightened.

“Sarah has things under control,” he said as his body relaxed. Tee-ani could’ve sworn she heard respect in that sentence, but shook it off as absurd. Trey was G’trobian. No way would he appreciate a woman as complex and fearless as Sarah. Sarah was kick-ass attitude and sassy irreverence rolled into a five-foot-five bundle of energy and the exact opposite of what G’trobians expected of females.

Trey kept his arm around her waist, tightly pinning her to his side as they traversed the last of the swamp. Finally, daylight peeked through the thick curtain of foliage, and they stepped into a small, dry clearing.

The village that appeared in front of them looked appalling. The few natives who stood talking to Sarah looked gaunt, ill, and horrendously underweight. Tears welled in her eyes when she spotted a group of children lying listlessly in the shade of a crude mud building. Forcing people to live in such horrific conditions was despicable, but to deny them the medical aid they so desperately
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Rachel Clark

needed seemed beyond unthinkable. The government of this planet had a lot to answer for. Tee-ani thanked her ancestors that humanity had long since learned its lessons on that score as she moved toward the children, desperate now to offer as much assistance as she could.

A strong arm held her back.

“Tee, you don’t go anywhere on this planet without me or Ben. Is that understood?”

Again, she was going to round on him and very loudly put her foot down at his chauvinistic behavior, but she caught his eye a moment before he could hide the concern etched into his features.

She nodded carefully. “Okay,” she said as her hand reached to smooth the lines from his brow. “I will stay close to you and Ben.”

He exhaled heavily, almost like he’d been holding his breath in anticipation of her denying him the chance to protect her. She grabbed him in a brief hug and then turned toward the children once again, confident that he would follow her with the medical equipment.

As she approached the children, one of the adults who’d been talking to Sarah broke away from the group and stalked toward them.

He yelled something in his native tongue and made threatening gestures. Trey pushed her behind him and raised his weapon.

The irate male planted himself between them and the children and continued to scream what sounded like abuse. Sarah hurried across the soft ground toward them and began yelling back at the irate man.

It took several minutes and a number of seemingly vulgar hand gestures before Sarah stepped back and spoke to her and Trey.

“He says they are not to be helped. That they are…” She hesitated, obviously trying to find an accurate translation for the word. “He says that they are lost. That their gods have chosen them and that we are not to interfere.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Tee-ani sputtered. “How can I help anyone in the village if being sick means you were chosen by the gods?”

“Apparently that criterion doesn’t apply to adults,” Sarah said in disgust as she turned back to the man and began arguing again. Sarah
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25

was obviously fluent in their language, but it was one that Tee-ani had never heard before. The conversation sounded gruff and angry, so she was surprised when Sarah turned back to her with a smile.

“We can treat the children, as well.”

“How did you manage that?” Tee-ani asked bewildered. The entire scene had looked very aggressive and to have such an outcome had seemed just about impossible.

“I explained to them that their gods led us here with medicines to help the ill and that if the children were truly chosen, then nothing you did would change that.”

Tee-ani stepped forward and hugged Sarah quickly.

“Thank you,” she whispered, a wealth of emotion leaking into two words.

* * * *

Ben watched as Tee-ani worked tirelessly to treat the children, and then the adults of the village. With Sarah’s help, she’d even managed to pass on enough information for a few of the villagers to be able to continue the treatments after they left.

He glanced at Trey, realizing just how far gone his brother really was. The beautiful doctor had bewitched him with her loving heart, her passion for medicine, and her willingness to help as many people as she could. He was even G’trobian enough to admit to himself that she’d worked her way under his skin as well.

He’d told Trey that they should have sex with her just to get her out of their systems, but the whole time he’d been lying to his brother—and himself. Yes, he wanted her, but he wanted far more than a quick mating and a fond memory. He shook his head in disgust.

She was human. How many times did he have to remind himself that humans mated in pairs, not trios? The relationship that both he and Trey would want was most likely abhorrent to her. He rolled his
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Rachel Clark

shoulders in irritation. Goddess, maybe he and Trey should head home. Space life sure was messing with his head.

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Tee-ani crawled onto the medical bed, too tired to make it back to her quarters. She’d spent more than twenty hours administering medications and training people to help the ill in the village. She’d lost two of the children. She’d been too late and they hadn’t responded to the treatment she’d provided, their young bodies too badly damaged to recover from such a virulent infection. Her heart had wept for the loss, but her training had kept her moving, kept her helping those she could.

Fortunately, some of the children had responded well to her aggressive antibiotic treatment. By the time they had packed up and were ready to head back to the ship, several of them had regained consciousness and asked for food. Jordan had quickly arranged another shuttle delivery of emergency food supplies and had organized some of the ship’s crew to work with and train the natives in the best ways to cultivate and harvest enough food to support the village indefinitely. He’d also provided several bio-shelters to protect the most ill from the worst of the planet’s weather.

She’d passed on as much information as she could to the volunteers who had stayed on the planet, and the rest of the ship's crew was going on another
acquisition
hunt. They’d head back to pick up the others in a few days.

Tiredly, she closed her eyes and let the sorrow come. No matter how many patients she saved, she always found the loss of a child hit her the hardest. So much life to live, so much unrealized potential, snuffed out way too easily. Tears threatened to escape and she let a few fall before she tried to control her emotions. As much as she
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Rachel Clark

loved being a doctor, she really hoped that nobody would need her for a day or two. Her body and her soul were both crying out for rest.

She was almost asleep when she heard Ben’s voice. She tried to open her heavy, sticky eyelids, but gave up when she felt herself lifted into the air and then cradled against his hard chest.

“Go back to sleep, doc,” he said gruffly. “I’m just taking you back to your cabin so that you can rest on a real bed.”

Tee-ani nodded gratefully, snuggled closer, and rubbed her face against the solid warmth of his chest. She sighed softly as she listened to his heartbeat, so similar to that of a human, but somehow uniquely his. When she felt a large hand smooth her hair away from her face, she realized that Trey was with him and relaxed even more. Feeling almost boneless as their warmth and comfort spread through her heart and mind, she finally slipped into sleep.

* * * *

Ben walked through the corridors, trying not to stare at the woman in his arms. She fit perfectly against him as she sighed quietly and fisted her small hand over his heart. Her eyes were red-rimmed and she looked tired and vulnerable, but all he could see was the woman who’d worked herself into exhaustion helping people she hadn’t even known existed just a few days ago. He’d never met such a woman, never seen such devotion to strangers. If she represented a typical female of her species, then maybe the G’trobian people could learn a thing or two from human example.