Warriors of Phaeton: Paine and Rowe

by Leora Gonzales

  “Indigo.” Rowe let out a sigh. His gaze filled with an emotion she couldn’t quite place. “The paperwork you signed may not have meant anything to you, but we take our word very seriously. We went into this pact with the intention of following it through to the end. We vowed as your husbands to protect and care for you.”

  His voice was far from a yell, but Indigo felt the impact all the same.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered, dropping her head again. If there was a hole she could have crawled into at that moment, she would have gladly done it. She heard their disappointment plainly, which only made her feel worse. She knew it wasn’t his intention, but Rowe had made her feel about two inches tall.

  And she deserved it.

  “That’s why you are going to stay with us for the next thirty days and fulfill your part of our contract.”

  Indigo’s head snapped up. There was no way she could have heard him right.

  “Wha—”

  “Not one word. Not yet,” Rowe bit out with a sharp shake of his head. The disappointment that had been in his voice earlier was gone and now replaced with a firmness that made her skin tingle.

  Holding back a shiver, she sucked in a breath when Paine knelt in front of her.

  Paine leaned forward until he was almost nose to nose with her, his gaze serious. “Did you even read the papers you so carelessly signed your name to?”

  “Of course, I did,” she fibbed, wincing even as she said it.

  It was kind of the truth. She’d read the bolded parts in the packet they’d given her. The fine print, not so much.

  “Uh-huh.” Rowe clucked at her with a smart-ass grin on his face. “Are you truly ready to confess to a felony? If I remember right, along with the huge fines that would come from such a charge, there is also the threat of incarceration. From what we understand of your penal system, the admission could and would most likely lead to a sentence of more than a few years.”

  “Fifteen to twenty, more likely,” Paine interjected, giving her a frown.

  “Ummm,” Indigo hummed, completely lost for words.

  Dafuq?

  “What was that?” she asked, her ears still ringing from hearing the word felony. She must have missed quite a bit in that fine print.

  “Which part was unclear?” Paine asked, the sarcasm clear. “The part where lying on the application has a penalty of not only felony charges but also a substantial monetary fine?”

  “Yeah,” Indigo choked out, her throat closing up as she filled with panic. Felony continued to echo like the vibrating gong in her head each time it was said. “That part.”

  “Breathe, love.”

  Indigo sucked in a gasp of air at the command. In her panic, her body seemed to have forgotten to do so at his revelation.

  “What am I going to do?” she muttered, unsure of how she’d escape this mess.

  What she’d done had been wrong, but there was no way she’d willingly raise her hand for a one-way ticket to prison. Indigo had been set on making things right and confessing. But, considering the consequences, she needed another option. She wasn’t prepared for a prison sentence. She’d lied on an application, not murdered someone!

  What the fuck am I going to do now?

  “You are going to stay here,” Rowe said calmly.

  “With us,” Paine finished.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Rowe sat still, waiting for Indigo to make the first move.

  When she’d continued to insist on going back to Earth, he’d known that there was something more she hadn’t been telling them. Her confession did surprise him though. He hadn’t considered that their bride had been deceptive from the beginning and never planned to stay.

  The truth had more than stunned him. It had upset him. He’d spent the last month looking at her picture, pinning hopes to the promise he’d read in her application. The few paragraphs she’d written about why she was applying for the Pact had been nothing but fodder.

  The doubt he felt now regarding their future had left a sour taste in his mouth for the few seconds he allowed it to linger. He wasn’t going to focus on the why’s of how she came to them. Instead, he would focus on keeping her. Indigo may not know it yet, but she wanted them just as much as they wanted her.

  He could feel it.

  “I don’t know what to do. I never planned on staying, but the alternative…” Indigo rocked slightly back and forth, her anxiousness palpable. “What happens if I still want to go after the trial period?”

  Rowe mentally pumped his fist at her use of if instead of when.

  “If you decide that you want to leave, we will try to do everything in our power to ensure you qualify for the stipend,” Paine answered with a shrug. “I don’t think it will be necessary, since I see us having a very long and happy marriage, but you have my vow.”

  “Mine too,” Rowe agreed easily. “Given the alternative, I believe it’s in your best interest to say yes. We promise you won’t be disappointed.”

  Indigo bit her lip as she looked back and forth between the them. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

  Rowe and Paine shook their heads in unison.

  Rowe didn’t know about his brother, but he wasn’t bothered by leaving her with the choice of them or a possible prison sentence. She wasn’t aware that he would never actually turn her in, but she didn’t have to know. She needed to see for herself that they would make sure she was happy every day for the rest of her life if she stayed.

  He wasn’t imagining the chemistry between them. Mentally, she may have been hesitant, but physically, their bride couldn’t hide her attraction, though she tried.

  Indigo had leaned into them more than once since she’d woken up, her eyes soft with need before she seemed to shake it off. Being so close to her had affected him as well. He seemed to feel a heat from her gaze when she occasionally looked him over. When he caught her staring at his arms and hands, he’d flexed for her automatically. When her gaze had dropped to his lap, blood had rushed to that appendage to make itself known as well.

  The blush that had followed had been wicked and sweet all at once. With pink cheeks, she’d licked her lips, tempting him even as he tried to calm himself. Her arousal was plain to see, even before she’d treated them with a flash of her breast. Her nipples had been tight against the thin cotton within moments of their introduction. The sweet little nubs seemed to be calling out for his attention.

  “Well then, I guess I’m staying,” she said, pulling his attention away from her delectable body.

  “Let’s get started then, shall we,” he said, clearing his throat.

  “What do you mean, started?” Indigo asked, licking her lips nervously.

  Rowe leaned over the side of the bed and reached for the bag they’d brought with them from the tunnels.

  “My bag!” Reaching for it, Indigo hugged it to her chest once he handed it over. “I can’t believe I didn’t even think to ask about it.”

  “We figured they were your personal items and wanted you to have anything you needed to be comfortable,” Rowe said, now more than happy he’d remembered to grab it.

  “Anything,” Paine repeated with a wink that made her snort.

  Rowe elbowed him in the side, satisfied when Paine let out a whoosh of air at the contact. The last thing they needed was Paine making her uncomfortable by moving too fast. Everything they’d read, along with the tips they’d received from the sisters, had said that the wooing period was essential in creating the framework for a lasting relationship.

  Or something like that.

  Honestly, he’d read so many articles meant to give him insight into the human female, and he was still just as clueless as ever. Which was why he was going to suggest they do something straight from one of their magazines.

  “Are you ready?” he asked, ignoring the questioning look from Paine.

  “For what? Are we going to leave or something?” Indigo held the bag close to her chest, looking at the door and then
back to him again. “I thought you said the door was locked?”

  “It is locked, and no, we’re not going to try and break out.” He added the last part for Paine when he saw the hopeful way he’d perked up at the mention of them leaving. They’d been trapped in Rowe’s room since last night, and Paine had been complaining the entire time of needing his stuff.

  “Then what am I supposed to be ready for?” Eying them suspiciously, she leaned back a little on the mattress until she was once again flush against the headboard.

  “I thought we’d try to get to know one another,” he suggested. “We have nothing but time, so why not use it to our advantage.”

  “How do you propose we do that?” she asked, still maintaining her distance.

  “I thought we’d start by talking.” Looking around the room, he pointed to the wall that held a few shelves covered in various items. “For instance, this is my room. When we got back to the ship, my room was closer than Paine’s, and I haven’t heard the end of it since.”

  “Because I’m taller than you, jackass.” Paine rolled his eyes. “I wanted a chance to clean up a bit before our bride woke, and your pants are too short for me to wear.”

  “This is your room?” Indigo asked, smiling at the exchange between the two men.

  “It is,” Rowe said with a nod.

  “It’s so—” she paused, wrinkling her brow. “Clean. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy with such a clean room.”

  Rowe inwardly winced at the mention of other men in her life. Her life before the Pact was something that he was interested in, except those details.

  “My brothers and dad were the biggest slobs of them all.” She laughed before the smile slid from her face.

  Paine gave him a look before reaching out to touch her knee. “Your file said that your family had passed away. We are both sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “Would you like to tell us about them?” Rowe asked, placing his hand on her other knee.

  Indigo was shaking her head before he’d finished the question. “No…not yet.”

  “How about I show you a few of the things that are important to me?” he suggested, reverting back to his original plan. They needed to get her to open up, and he figured the best way to do that would be to take the first step. He’d show her some items that held importance for him, and maybe she’d give them a clue as to what she held dear. The way she’d reacted to her bag gave him a bit of hope they’d get her to open up a bit before their time in seclusion was over.

  “Okay.” Giving him a shy smile, Indigo’s posture relaxed.

  Moving off the bed, Rowe gave in to the need to stretch before fetching the items he’d been talking about. He’d been tense since they’d gotten up and his body was reminding him of it. Reaching to the ceiling, he let out a loud groan as his back cracked in a few spots.

  “Rowe.” He turned around at the sound of Paine’s voice.

  “What?”

  “Quit showing off and get your fucking trinkets already,” Paine drawled, tilting his head at a blushing Indigo.

  Unable to hide his smile at the proof that she’d been admiring him as he stretched for her, Rowe gave Paine the finger. Smiling even wider when he heard their bride giggle, he spun on his heel to grab the items from the shelf he needed. Most of his personal items were kept in a small velvet bag, which was easy to scoop up.

  “These are a few of my favorite things,” he said, looking up when he heard her laugh again. “What?”

  “These are a few of my favorite things,” she sang back with a smile on her face. “It’s from The Sound of Music.”

  Rowe and Paine both gave her identical blank looks.

  “Never mind,” she said, looking down at the pile he’d placed before her. “Show me your treasures.”

  Rowe pinkened at her mention of treasure. Nothing in the mound he’d dropped in front of her remotely resembled anything of value. They were simply odds and ends he’d become attached to, talismans of good luck that he normally carried either with him or, at the very least, kept in his room.

  “What’s this?” Indigo pulled out the previous Phaeton band he’d had cut from his wrist. His and Paine’s had both needed to be completely replaced, since they hadn’t had time to stick around for the repair.

  “I can’t believe you kept that.”

  “It’s really pretty. What is it?” their bride repeated, turning it over in her hand as she inspected it. “It looks like a watch, but there are no buttons or anything.”

  “It was my old band,” he answered, holding up his left wrist to show her the new one that had taken its place. “That one was damaged during the fire fight on Euphoria.”

  “Which doesn’t make sense as to why you kept it,” Paine said, giving him a look that showed his confusion. “It was malfunctioning just as badly as mine was.”

  “Which I also kept if you must know. Technically, those bands saved our lives. Multiple times.” Rowe pointed out. “Plus, I figured there wouldn’t be any harm trying to repair them. Possibly make some modifications, a few tweaks here and there.”

  “Are you going to get us into trouble?” Paine raised an eyebrow in his direction.

  “Probably not,” Rowe answered as honestly as he could. “None of my modifications break any laws; they simply push the boundaries a little.” Rowe shrugged at the pair watching him with amusement.

  “I have a feeling Kaine would argue with you on that, considering the last time we were all in the same room you inadvertently scanned private council communication.” Paine clucked his tongue. “You were lucky they were so forgiving.”

  “Meh,” he grumped. “They should have been grateful that I’d shown them such a dangerous weakness in their systems. It wasn’t as if I had meant to scan their messages. My program glitched and copied all unsecured information in the band’s vicinity. I disabled that program not long after that incident anyways.”

  “That’s actually how I recognized you two were Phaeton earlier. There were a couple paragraphs in our packet that discussed them, but I hadn’t seen one in person until you guys,” Indigo said, holding it out for him to take. “It seems pretty tough. A lot nicer than the smart watch I used to wear. It’s definitely lighter.”

  “Actually, I think you just gave me an idea,” Rowe said. He took it from her hand but gently captured her wrist before she could pull away. “How about you wear this one until we can get back to Phaeton One? The version that the brides receive is smaller, but I do think this one has some luck in it.”

  “Didn’t you say you had both of them?” Paine interrupted. “If she’s going to wear your band, I want her to wear mine as well.”

  Rowe nodded, more than happy to share in the stamp of ownership she would be wearing for everyone to see. Watching Indigo, he waited for her answer.

  Indigo bit her lip, looking from her arm to the silver cuff he held. “My wrist has felt a bit naked ever since I lost my fitness tracker.”

  Using that as the permission he needed, Rowe quickly looped it over her slender wrist. “Hold it right there and I’ll be right back.” Moving back to his work bench on the opposite side of the wall, he opened a compartment and grabbed the items he needed. One of the ways he’d been able to stay busy lately had been by working on their old bands. So far, he’d repaired the vitals monitor on Paine’s band and the tracker on his. Together the bands would not only serve their intended function, they would also give the two Phaetons a small bit of peace when they weren’t with her.

  Not that he planned on letting her out of his sight.

  “What’s that?” she asked, pulling away slightly at the sight of a tool in his hand.

  “Maggie, Hix’s bride, compared it to something called a soldering iron. She said she uses it in her jewelry making,” Paine said, trying to help. “As you can see, our Phaeton bands have no clasp to be able to remove them.”

  “You wear them all the time?” she asked, her brows shooting up
. Slipping the band off, she flipped it and studied it. “I mean, I guess that’s not any different really than sleeping in mine, but I still took it off to shower.”

  “Phaeton bands are made to be indestructible. There’s no need to ever take it off.”

  “Unless you are one of us and happen to break what they thought was indestructible,” Paine interjected.

  “We didn’t completely break them—just a little, actually. The functions I have restored—which I happen to believe are the most important ones—are your vitals and location.” Taking his from her hand, Rowe wrapped it around her wrist. Stacking Paine’s right beside it, he was pleased to see they settled together nicely. “It actually makes sense that you need to wear them both, considering they each provide half of the readings. No matter where you are, we’ll know that you’re alive and we’ll be able to find you, as long as you’re wearing these.”

  Indigo nodded, staying still as he lit his torch to seal them closed. “Considering how often I tend to get myself kidnapped, that’s probably a good thing,” she said sarcastically, before winking at Paine.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Indigo had no idea what she was doing.

  Or thinking or feeling for that matter.

  Only an hour earlier, she’d been dead set on going back to Earth. She was going to be worse off than when she left but going back, nonetheless. Now, she was willingly allowing her husbands to attach semi-permanent cuffs around her wrist and teasing them as if they were old friends.

  Honestly, she wasn’t quite sure how she’d gotten from point A to point B. She was so tired that her brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders, but that wasn’t slowing her down. If anything, her exhaustion had removed some of the inhibitions that normally kept her grounded. As if she were a bit tipsy.

  Which probably accounted for her barely batting an eye when they said they were going to share her. She didn’t have the will or even the want to put up much of a fight, considering the type of relationship they proposed had been a fantasy of hers since she’d broadened her smut collection.