Do Or Die [Nuworld 4] (43 page)

wrapped a blanket around her and Meah and listened as Meah shared her vision with

them. She explained finding herself in front of a large house and walking along a gravel

road around to the back of the home. She told them she didn’t realize she was following

Lord Darius until she was upstairs following him into a small room that housed

landlinks.

Ana could visualize everything Meah described to them. She looked up to see the

concerned looks on Andru’s and Gilroy’s faces. They both looked at her then back at

Meah as she continued to talk.

“I walked through the back door and heard Lord Darius’ voice say something

about, “Who is Roman?” But when my foot hit the ground I was back in my tent. I

didn’t see the dog-woman again.” Meah finished then looked at each of them in turn as

they stared back at her.

“Did you say Roman?” Ana spoke first.

Meah nodded.

“Do you know who that is?” Gilroy asked.

“He is—um, was—Lara’s lover.”

“Why would Darius want to know who he is?” Gilroy asked Andru.

Andru began to pace and even though Gilroy had completely satisfied Ana, she

couldn’t help noticing his virile body.

“Possibly he is the missing link to the information we found on that landlink. It had

charts and maps that indicated several very large armies but there were repeated

references made in each file to another program that hosted the southern project. This

must be the southern project. They plan to lure us up there and sneak around us to

attack the clan site and Bryton while they’re stripped of their armies.” Andru looked

down and paced as he talked.

“I don’t think what I saw has happened yet,” Meah said, and Andru stopped

talking to look at her.

“What makes you think it hasn’t happened yet?” He walked forward and squatted

down in front of her. “How much time do we have?”

Ana could feel Meah tense at the closeness of Andru. She rubbed her back in a

quick, circular motion trying to relax her.

“When I was in the room with the landlinks,” she began, once again looking from

one twin to the other. She glanced up at Gilroy and simply stared at him for a moment.

“Lord Darius and his brother were in that room. What is his brother’s name?”

“Torgo,” Andru offered.

“That’s right, Torgo told Lord Darius that we were too far north to communicate

with. But that’s not true. You could contact them right now on your comm if you

wanted. We’re not out of range with them and we won’t be for several days.” She

stifled a yawn. “We need to organize our troops. I bet we can cross both of those armies

before they can get close to the Blood Circle Clan.”

“I bet you’re right.” Ana scooted forward on the bed and threw her legs down to

the floor. Her bare feet touched Andru’s and she felt a powerful need emanate from

him. He glanced at her and she reached for him then used his body to pull herself up.

“Gilroy, could you organize the Runner troops also?” She looked up at her claim,

but still held Andru’s arm.

“Why?” Meah cried out and struggled free of the blanket so she could stand up. “I

can organize my own troops.”

“You’re exhausted, Meah,” Andru said gently.

“You are,” Ana seconded. She turned to look at the men. “Go and get everything

organized to head south. I’m going to stay here with Meah for a minute.”

Andru squeezed Ana’s shoulder and then turned to Gilroy. He didn’t look at Meah.

“Split Meah’s squad into two and put them with two other squads. Contact your troop

leaders and have them wake everyone up. I’m going to find Mama and contact Papa.”

Gilroy nodded and left the tent. Andru followed but turned to look at the women

before he left. They both watched him with expectant looks on their faces. One’s

expectant look was wary and the other was passionate. He found it symbolic that they

sat together on his bed, their hair long and falling around their nightshirts. One was

dark, the other fair…and both were his.

“Don’t leave her until she’s asleep.” He spoke to Ana but looked at Meah. When he

smiled, it was gentle but already his mind was elsewhere.

Fifteen minutes later, Ana walked out of Andru’s tent. She explained to the guard

that Meah was not to be disturbed. It was a useless thing to say. The only person who

would walk past the guards and enter the tent would be Andru, and they wouldn’t

deny him entrance. It was still quite dark and she moved quietly back to her own tent.

The north breeze fluttered through her long Gothman nightgown and she shivered by

the time she reached it.

“Is she asleep?” Andru stepped out of the darkness and pulled the tent flap back for

his sister.

“Yes…and Gilroy?” she asked as she entered the tent and walked over to her bed.

“He’s at the Runner camp separating the troops. You’ll join him before he’s done.”

He moved up behind her and took her shoulders before lowering his lips to the side of

her neck. She arched instantly and lifted her arms behind her to wrap them around his

neck. He ran his eager hands down the front of her body, relishing her sensuality and

the way the soft silk of her brown nightgown felt over her hardened nipples.

Ana had felt his pent-up sexual frustrations the second he’d come to get her and

Gilroy at their tent. The entire time they’d been together in his tent she felt him fight the

distraction she and Meah brought him and focus on the very serious issue at hand. Her

heart ached for her brother’s pain and she’d reached out and offered herself to ease his

pain. She knew he’d felt her offer. And she wasn’t remotely surprised to see him

waiting at her tent. She didn’t need to say a word to him. All he needed at that moment

was for her to submit. She wouldn’t think about it. She’d just enjoy it.

Andru reached down and grabbed the thin material from Ana’s thighs and pulled

her nightgown up and over her head. She turned around and stood naked in front of

him while he quickly undressed. His hands reached out and cupped her breasts and she

let out a mewling noise that about sent him over the edge.

He pushed her hard onto the bed and was inside her immediately. He suckled one

erect nipple into his mouth as he moved slowly inside her. Her hands grazed over his

muscular back as he moved to her other breast then traced his tongue up her neck to

her mouth. He groaned inside her mouth as their tongues danced, and then he lifted

himself above her as the intensity of their lovemaking increased. Their eyes never left

each other as he slowly built the intensity of the passion brewing between them.

Although he’d taken her once before, and it was something neither of them had

been willing to forget, this was the first time they intentionally united their bodies. They

searched each other’s eyes for any regret, and both knew there was none.

It wasn’t until after he released himself completely inside her and brought her to

match his level of satisfaction that he lowered himself onto her and kissed her with

more love and tenderness than he’d ever shared with another. They were soaked in

sweat when he rolled to the side and pulled her tightly to him.

Every thought in her head was like an open book to him and he relished being one

with the woman he loved.

“We’ve never done that before.” Ana still breathed heavily. “Andru, that was more

than making love.”

“I know.”

Voices outside brought her to her senses and Ana slipped out of his hands and got

up quickly to dress. She noticed he’d brought his Gothman uniform and donned it as

she dressed silently beside him. She grabbed her brush and began struggling with the

many tangles in her hair from wild sex with the two men she loved. She grabbed her

hair tie and followed Andru as he headed toward the tent flap.

“I’m going to check on the Gothman armies and then find Mama.” He walked out

into the night air and then turned as she struggled to separate her hair so she could

braid it.

“I’ll go find Gilroy and see how the Runner camp is doing.” She looked up at him

and saw the glow remaining from their lovemaking. She smiled at him then turned

around, silently asking him to braid her hair.

“Prepare your troops to leave at dawn. That’s still several hours away and

unfortunately, that’s about all the time I dare allow Meah to sleep.” He spoke quietly as

he twined the strands of hair behind her head.

“Do you care about her, Andru?”

“Not the way I feel about you, but she won’t let me get close to her.”

“You’re the one who introduced her to sex, dear brother. She has no clue how

passionate it can be. All she knows from it is pain.”

“I know, I know,” he said and lowered his forehead to the back of her head as he

secured the tie at the bottom of her braid.

“What are you two doing?”

Andru pulled Ana to him instinctively and turned toward the voice in the darkness.

There was no disguising the Runner who approached them. Both of them knew the blue

eyes of their mama. And Tara’s blue eyes raged with anger.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Ana fed on the strength she felt from Andru’s body pressed hard against her back.

He didn’t release her although he straightened some. Sensations of control,

manipulation, and determination flowed from his body to hers. She was more than

willing to allow Andru to do the talking. Their mama just found them in a most

compromising position. Her mouth went dry when Andru released her to face his

mama and slowly began tucking in his shirt. She couldn’t even meet her mama’s eyes,

but she knew they burned with fury.

Andru faced his mama and challenged her fury with more hardness than he’d ever

felt toward her before. He would fight with every grain of his existence to prevent

anyone from destroying what he’d discovered with his sister. No one would come

between them. They had claims as their parents wished and there would be no more

demands.

“It would be wise not to ask questions unless you’re prepared to accept the

answers.” He didn’t bat an eye as he waited for her reaction.

It was obvious what they’d been doing. They were leaving her tent, Gilroy was

nowhere in sight, and both of them were completing the final touches of getting

dressed. He heard Ana suck in her breath and knew she half hid behind him. Tara’s