by Nia Mars
He is on the bed faster than he can say, “Yes.” And only after that does he say, “It’s still not Uthan’s turn?” And he grins.
I shake my head. “It’s not like that. I’m still trying to get to know you all. I feel more comfortable with you than I feel with Uthan.”
“Thank you, Oath Forger. Being next to you makes me happy.”
“Does anything make you feel unhappy?”
“Being away from you.”
That’s the moment when Tiam appears.
He takes one look at Dason in the bed. “No.”
He clearly expects to continue, here tonight, what we began in his pod. And if he hadn’t locked me in my room for most of the afternoon, it might have gone down that way. I might have lost my resolution and weakened. But he did lock me in. And I have already hurt Dason. I’m not going to hurt him again by letting Tiam kick him out.
I stand my ground. “Dason stays.”
Tiam keeps coming. “Fine with me. It’s a big bed. Maybe it’s time the kid learned something.”
Dason doesn’t back down either. “I’m krek, just like you. I have led my troops. I have held my borders.”
“Want a trophy?”
The look in Dason’s eyes says he wants to pin Tiam to the floor. And I’m not sure he wouldn’t succeed. The two men are built differently, but they both pack plenty of power. Also, Dason does have youth on his side.
“She chose me,” he warns.
Tiam’s gaze snaps to me, the question sharp in his eyes.
“For the night. Just to sleep in here.” I don’t want him to think I have accepted Dason. A revelation like that would end in a fight.
They want me to choose them, accept them—all of them. I think, however, that there’s a definite pecking order they have in mind. Koah and Tiam both expect to be accepted first. Maybe Uthan too, I’m not sure. I think Dason would not fight, as long as he was accepted, and maybe not even if he wasn’t. Dason can be submissive, at least to me, while the others all have definite alpha tendencies.
“I’m not leaving.” Tiam draws his line in the sand.
The thing is, I don’t want him to leave. Not when I think about what happened between us this afternoon. Not even if he’d been a bossy bastard afterward.
I hold his gaze. “Fine.”
I can ignore two men in bed just as easily as one.
Tiam doesn’t give Dason another glance as he kicks off his boots, pulls off his shirt and strolls over to the bed wearing only his pants.
His chest... Is it wrong to stare? Is it wrong to drool? Is it wrong to think about whether or not I could kidnap him and take him back to Earth with me when I finally return?
His body is so freaking perfect, it defies description. And I’m so freaking shallow. Really, I should be ashamed of myself.
He lifts the covers and gestures. “You first, Oath Forger.”
I am in the middle?
Okay, yes. I have to be in the middle, so Tiam doesn’t silently strangle Dason in the night. Or vice versa.
I lift my head high as I sashay over. I flash a smarmy smile.
“Exactly what I wanted,” I say as I settle in.
Tiam slips in behind me and keeps coming.
“Back away. Both of you. All the way to the edges.”
I look from one to the other, and I wait until they are at a comfortable distance. Only then do I settle back onto my pillow again. And that’s when Uthan bursts in.
Outrage widens his golden eyes. “What the stars? I was wondering why I’m the only one sleeping in the library.”
He catches my glare, and he stops. He holds my gaze as he takes a slow breath.
He stands still, as if he’s listening, maybe to some invisible spirit or the song of the universe, or who knows what, for guidance. Or maybe he’s listening to me, I think after a moment as his gaze drinks me in. Maybe he’s listening to what he can see in my eyes, what he can read from my body language.
He nods, as if he’s not against this development, after all, now that he’s had a chance to think about it. “I guess progress has been made while I wasn’t looking?”
He bends to take off his boots.
I bolt straight up in bed again. “No way.”
He straightens slowly. “Why?” Then, “How is that fair?”
“It doesn’t have to be fair. I can’t deal with more.”
All further protest dies on his lips. His golden gaze draws me in. I swear I feel as if he is in my mind somehow, or inside my soul. I feel probed and tested. Then I feel... As if he has opened himself to me, inviting me to enter and taste him as he mentally tasted me. Even if I wanted to, I don’t have any idea how. I shake my head, wanting to shake off the odd sensation.
After several seconds, he gives an understanding nod. And then he gives us one last wistful glance. He rubs a hand over his shaved head. “As you wish, Oath Forger.”
To say that the two remaining men in the room are smug after Uthan’s quiet departure is a vast understatement. The smugness that covers us is heavier than the blankets.
“Don’t think this is a permanent arrangement,” I tell them. “It’s only... It’s only because I’ve had a rough day.”
There is no agreement on either side, only silence.
I sigh. “Any news from Koah?”
“Nothing.”
Is that worry in Tiam’s voice? Would he worry for his enemy and rival?
“Are you sending anyone after him?” I ask.
“Inquiries have already been sent to ships in the sector where we think he might be. Nobody has seen his fighters.”
“He might have told us he’s taking one route,” Dason tells me, “then gone another.”
Right. Because the kreks are enemies.
“Sleep, Ava,” Tiam says. “You must be tired.”
I shouldn’t be, but I am. The two-hour walk in the city was nothing compared to a scavenging trip, but I am emotionally exhausted.
I SLOWLY COME AWAKE in the morning to one hard body pressed against my chest, and another one pressed against my back. Tiam nuzzles my lips. Dason nuzzles my neck.
Their hands float over me, barely touching me at first, then openly caressing. Their caresses feel too good to protest. I am surrounded, but I don’t feel trapped. I feel safe and cherished.
When Tiam fully claims my lips, sweeping into my mouth, he tastes like agra. I could drink him in and never tire of it. One of his hands is kneading my butt. One of Dason’s hands is caressing my breast.
Both men are hard. The heat of their erections is branding my naked skin.
When did we get naked?
The thought brings me awake.
The two men are still where I had told them to sleep last night, on the edges of the bed, out of reach.
My body is burning with a mix of need and embarrassment. Oh God. Why? My subconscious is clearly crazy. I don’t even think of Dason that way!
And Tiam... I’m still mad at Tiam. I shoot out of bed, glad it doesn’t have a footboard.
Of course, the mattress’ jiggling wakes them up.
“Ava?”
“Are you all right, Oath Forger?”
“Time to get up.” My face has to be flaming. My nipples are probably cutting holes in my nightgown. I don’t dare look down. I want to cross my arms over my chest, but a move like that would just draw attention to the spot. Don’t notice. Please, don’t notice.
Tiam’s gaze dips first. His eyes sharply focus. There’s a rumble in his chest. Dason follows Tiam’s gaze, and his face breaks into a gorgeous smile.
Chapter Eleven
I MAKE A BEELINE for the bathroom. “I’m getting in the shower. Locking the door. Go and get ready for your day.”
I’m inside, and the door is locked behind me faster than I would have thought possible. I collapse onto the toilet and just try to breathe.
When Tiam asks through the door, “Can I shower with you?” I jump. Way to give me a heart attack.
“Go away!
”
“How about me?” Dason’s tone is ridiculously hopeful.
“No!”
There’s a scuffle on the other side of the door, as if the two are trying to push each other out of the way.
“If you’re both not gone by the time I get out of here, I’m going to sleep alone forever!”
Outside, there’s absolute silence.
I shake my head, strip, and get into the mist spray. I squeeze my eyes shut. How did my life turn into this complete fiasco? How did I end up here?
By lying.
I have no one but myself to blame.
When I get out of the bathroom, the men are gone, but Taly is waiting for me to help me dress. She lifts a uniform off the bed.
Oooh. Wow. That’s... That’s the material I had asked for. The air rushes out of my lungs. The Five’s colors combined in a pattern of swirling galaxies is stunning.
Taly lifts an elaborate dress for my inspection next, made with the same colors but with a different star pattern.
“Taly, it’s breathtaking.”
She allows a small, pleased smile. “I try, Madam.”
I wish she wasn’t so formal. I don’t expect her to be, which I’ve told her at least half a dozen times already. I hope I’ll wear her down one of these days, and we can be friends.
She shows me a simpler dress that has the same colors, but here blue, white, and green dominate, and the overall effect reminds me of the iconic images of Earth from space.
The clothes don’t look like they were made by a dressmaker, they look like they were made by an artist.
“Wow. I don’t even know what to say. Who designed this fabric?”
She beams. “I did, Madam.”
“You are an artist.”
She shakes her head modestly. “I just tried to imagine what you might like.” She blushes. “I looked up your Earth in the system.”
“Thank you. I can’t even tell you how much this means to me.”
“We all want you to be happy here with us.”
My heart squeezes. I don’t deserve all this attention and kindness. I’ve done nothing to earn it.
I choose the Earth gown. I thank Taly once again when I realize that the gown is made so I don’t need help putting it on or taking it off. Three hurrahs for front snaps.
I’m barely dressed when Tiam arrives to escort me to breakfast.
He runs his gaze over me, and then one more time. By the time our gazes meet, his is smoldering. “You look beautiful this morning, my Ava.”
Stars, that voice. It’s thick with hunger. It’s deep with need. It’s rough with promises.
I try not to melt.
“I’ll be the only one joining you this morning,” he tells me. “I had breakfast set up in the garden. I know you like it out there. I have a small surprise for you.”
I don’t want to like him this much. I don’t want to fall for this man. I reach for something, anything, to use as a barrier between us.
“I’m still mad at you for locking me up yesterday. It was a vast overreaction to me going out for a little while.”
“Nothing is an overreaction when you’re missing for two hours,” he says as we begin to walk. Then he pauses before he tells me, “But I did have other reasons for keeping you where I knew you would be safe.”
“Such as?”
“We had an unauthorized landing outside the city limits yesterday. For a period of time, we were unsure who they were. Then we received confirmation that they were pirates, but we didn’t know if any have gotten off the ship before they were surrounded.”
“Why would pirates come to Merim?”
“To bank.”
I blink at him.
His chiseled lips curve into a smile. “Pirate territories are notoriously dangerous and unstable. They trade hands regularly. Many pirate lords keep a portion, or even the majority, of their funds in proper Federation banks, under false names, in bogus accounts. Merim is famous for its banking. We have caught a number of pirate lords keeping vaults here for their valuables. Of course, we confiscate one account, and they just open another one, under another fake name.”
“Did you catch everyone yesterday?”
“Hard to tell, when we don’t know exactly how many landed. But Federation agents did apprehend a crew of twenty and a fairly high leader. And they did confiscate the ship with everything on board.”
Yet he doesn’t look satisfied. He crosses his hands behind him as he walks, his expression preoccupied and troubled.
I place a hand on his arm. “What else?”
He gives a one-shouldered shrug. I don’t think he’s going to respond, but then after a few silent seconds, he says, “Three members of the Zebet died over the past three months.” And then he adds in a more distracted tone, as if arguing with himself about how much to say. “Three out of three hundred. One percent. Not terribly unusual.”
“But?”
“I don’t like it. All three were unionists. All three were replaced by separationists. In fair and free elections, but still.”
We reach the garden door and one of the guards opens it for us.
This time, Tiam walks me down a garden path I have not discovered before. When we reach what he tells me is the Heart of the Garden, I stare.
A cluster of seven rocks marks the ‘heart,” each rock as large as I am. A stream circles them. Whatever it is that makes the garden feel ‘sacred,’ it’s more concentrated here.
“This is the stream that feeds the ponds,” Tiam tells me.
“There’s more than just the fish pond?”
“You’ll like the other one, too.”
He takes me there next. This pool has a thirty-foot waterfall. Oh wow.
My chin is probably hitting my chest, but I can’t even care. The water is all frothy white as it rushes down granite cliffs, like starlight spilling from heaven.
The pond is the clearest blue, and I can see all the way to the smooth, large pebbles on the bottom.
“Your feet won’t sink into mud here like in the fish pond,” Tiam says behind me. “It’s a little deeper, too. You can get in a good swim.”
My head swings back to him. Swimming exists at Dallas Colony only as a concept, a historical activity.
“Breakfast?” He gestures to a blanket on the grass with an expectant smile.
The waterfall dazzled me so much, I hadn’t even seen the picnic until now. The blanket holds way too much food, including a bowl of agra. I squeal like a kid.
Tiam laughs.
“All yours, Oath Forger,” he promises.
I sit right next to the bowl, just to be sure, and begin with an agra. The rest of breakfast can wait. Sweet juice fills my mouth. I moan in pleasure.
Tiam shakes his head. “That settles it. We’re having agra for every meal.”
I lick my lips. “Sounds good to me.”
The agra’s vibrant taste, the beauty of the garden, the soothing rush of the waterfall, and the sheer pleasure of all that surrounds us is overwhelming. I would live in this garden if I could.
“Why isn’t there an entry from my room?” I mean, they keep saying that this is my garden.
“Security requires two guards at each outside door. You probably wouldn’t want guards in your bedroom around the clock.”
Right. And since the wall to the garden is all glass, they could see right in, even if they stood outside.
I finish the agra, then eat two small, blue boiled eggs, some kind of soft, fragrant bread, and Merim cheese that I’ve been told is a local delicacy. Only then do I realize that there’s nothing to drink.
“We can drink from the waterfall.” Tiam pushes to his feet, steps on the rocks on the side of the falls until he’s close to the stream, cups his hands, and demonstrates.
I have never drunk from a natural water source before. I’m giddy as I skip to him on the top of the rocks. When he gathers water for me and lifts it to my lips, I drink from his cupped hands.
Oh. My lips t
ouch his fingertips. When I look up, I find him watching me, and I think about how strangely intimate this is. Almost more intimate than kissing.
Next, I try on my own and spill half of the water before I successfully maneuver the rest to my mouth.
He grins. “You have to push the edges of your hands tightly together. Keep your fingers closed.”
He helps, holding his large hands under my smaller ones.
I succeed on my own on the third try. I laugh as I drink, and then I choke, of course. I like playing with the water so much, I can’t even be embarrassed.
Drops of water dance in the air all around us. When the sun hits them just right, a rainbow appears. It’s magic.
I stick my tongue out and try to catch some drops, maybe even a bit of rainbow. I’m not having much success.
I laugh again, with the sheer delight of being here. Then I look at Tiam. My laughter fades away at the stark hunger on his face. Instead of weightless mist, heavy tension fills the air. I can’t pretend it’s not sexual. Or that it’s not mutual.
Someone behind us clears his throat and we both turn. It’s one of the guards.
“I apologize for the interruption.” He looks to Tiam. “Captain Garet is here and would like to report on urgent matters.”
When Tiam nods, the guard hurries away.
Tiam draws me into his arms and brushes a kiss over my lips. “Why don’t you stay here and relax. I’ll come back.”
Then he’s off, striding after the guard.
I watch his tall figure, that wide back I want to press my cheek against while my arms go around his slim waist. I watch for as long as I can see him. It’s a good thing that he’s leaving. I need to get my act together while he’s gone. I need to stop wanting him. I need to cool off.
I reach for the snaps of my dress. Perfect time to try the water. If I hurry, I can be out of the pool and dressed again by the time Tiam returns.
I wonder what Captain Garet is reporting. And then my fingers stop, because it occurs to me: What if the report is about Koah?
I snap the dress up as fast as I’d unsnapped it and run after Tiam, but by the time I reach the door, he’s already inside. I push through, but he’s gone.
I turn the corner to run after him, my mouth opening to call his name. Tiam! Wait!
