Hearts of Ishira (Hearts of Ishira Saga) (31 page)

For well over a year, he and his men had done everything they could to try to find their people, but had been constantly hounded, driven this way and that by the patrolling and ever-vigilant Solvari. Finally, as a battalion, they had decided that they had truly lost their families. Without the proper repairs and equipment, they could wander the stars until they ran out of supplies, energy, and determination. Grimly resolving to set up an outpost colony on a hospitable planet, the officers had begun searching for a new home. Perhaps if they stayed in one place, their people would eventually find them.

When supplies ran critically low, Hunter made the decision to put down on this planet in hopes of restocking. His ship had been further damaged during a violent spring lightning storm, and there had been no immediate way to repair it. Deciding that this was as good a place as any to settle, and not really having much choice in the matter, the men had built shelters and started work on mining operations and workshops, hoping to reestablish some form of rudimentary technology that they could use to replace parts. But even with engineers, geologists, and other experts mixed among the battalion, it would take years to create the necessary equipment to replace the incredibly precise space-capable engine and ship parts, so they had decided to build more permanent structures.

Over the past decade or so, the Thorsani had learned to adapt and thrive in this new world, but they had lost some good men along the way. They were not getting younger, and their biggest issue had been the very natural frustration caused by the lack of women. Some of the men had no problems in that area, but they were not the majority and had broken off from the main barracks to form a barracks more suited to the lifestyle they had been born to. They mingled and worked with the rest, of course. It was accepted as the way of some men, though Hunter had never understood the appeal of one man to another. He had always preferred soft flesh, smooth skin and enough padding to keep him warm at night, to cushion his babes’ heads. And he simply loved the curving bodies of women and the way they moved, their smiles, their scent, their bright laughter, and the sweetness and fire of their very souls.

Arianna provided all of that, or she would, if he could claim her. She was right… he had known her for only a few days, but he had been inside her head, had touched her heart. She had done the same with him. They knew more about each other’s nature, the depths of one another’s souls, than many people learned about their mates in a lifetime. He needed nothing more than he’d already had to know that he wanted her, deeply, irrevocably. If only he could get around the ‘procreation’ directive. If he could figure out a way around that, he knew that it wouldn’t take much to convince her that they were destined for each other.

Now he leaned his head against the doorway’s casing and sighed to himself. She was so lovely, but she seemed to have no clue of her appeal and didn’t believe him when he told her. She wanted to, but could not bring herself to do so. Compared to the other women of her world, she believed herself inferior, because she was chubby and because she could not bear young. Yet she alone of their group knew many of the basic skills of survival. One of the girls had claimed to know how to knit, another to crochet, and yet another said she had learned to weave during something called ‘summer camp’. That was it. Among more than thirty women, all of child-bearing age on their own world, only four knew any of the rudimentary skills a warrior would expect to find in a mate.

His men had been rather deflated at learning that the women that had landed in their midst knew next to nothing about taking care of themselves in relatively primitive conditions. This would only require more work for the men, until the women could learn. The humans were making an effort, though, which encouraged the warriors. Hunter sincerely hoped that the girls continued their efforts once the ‘adventure’ wore off of their situation and they settled down into their new reality.

Bev, Kim and Chelsea… ironically, the three who befriended Arianna and, he suspected, probably the most intelligent and open-minded of the group, were adapting magnificently. Bev had already been ensconced in the command center and become part of the team there. She had quickly welcomed Trey and his team as new friends and co-workers. It was a great source of amusement to the other warriors as they watched Trey and his cousins woo the pretty young woman. The blushes that constantly touched her cheeks and bosom as all three men gently teased and flirted with her were encouraging. Hunter wished the other girls would loosen up and actually try to get to know the men and the world they were going to be living on. They were too damn shy.

But not his Arianna. She had been ill and sorely injured, but had accepted his alieness with a smile and intense curiosity, not fear. She thought him attractive, which still boggled his mind. And though she could not bear young, she showed a wisdom and compassion that far outshone the maturity of her companions, as though she had seen and been through much already, and knew she would have to face more. She greeted the situation head-on. She demanded something to do. Something helpful. It was more than some of the others had volunteered.

“Are you going to stand there all evening, or go to her?” Jace asked quietly behind him. Hunter shifted restlessly. He loved his brother deeply, but he could wish Jace did not find Arianna so fascinating. “Because if you do not, I will. No woman that beautiful should be left alone for long.”

Hunter growled and moved toward their garden. Jace was right beside him. He shot his brother a dark glare. The younger man grinned back at him, knowing it would annoy Hunter.

“How is my patient?” Jace asked, plopping down on the end of the couch and speaking before Hunter could. Arianna jumped in surprise, then grinned in welcome and shifted her basket to make room for him. “I see you have found something to occupy you.”

“I’m a
lot
better now that I have something to do,” Arianna admitted. She turned to smile up at Hunter when he moved to her side. “And the company isn’t bad, either.”

“I am sorry I had to leave so quickly, earlier. Did you miss me, little one?” Hunter asked, crouching down so that they were on the same level. She smiled shyly and nodded.

“Of course,” she told him. Then, flushing, she turned to Jace. “And of course, I have missed you, too.”

“I am honored,” Jace said with a wink and a grin. “Put down the fur and let me make sure you have not damaged yourself with all this strenuous activity.”

Arianna chuckled and carefully wound a little bit of the yarn around the hook on the spindle so that it would not come undone when she put it down. Jace started to pull the blanket from her body. There was something different about the way he did so this time, though. It was slower, more intimate, than it had been before. She suddenly felt more self-conscious, but decided she must have imagined the sensual slide of the cloth. Both men were paying attention to Jace’s examination and speaking of her injuries. She answered their questions almost absently.

She winced when Jace gently tested her broken leg. Hunter bristled at her side, having felt the shaft of pain that shot through her. She kept forgetting that he could do that. She needed to figure out how to shield herself from his thoughts, and her thoughts from him. But she was strangely reluctant to do so. She knew that he could not be hers permanently, but she didn’t want to relinquish the one intimacy they had quite yet. She knew she couldn’t let him get too close, but she wanted to enjoy the small contact for as long as she could.

“The leg is mending, but is still very weak and not yet healed. You will need to stay off of it completely, for several more days, at least.” Jace seemed puzzled by that. She wondered why. Maybe the Thorsani healed faster than humans?

“Weeks,” she said. He looked at her curiously. “Our people take weeks to heal from a broken bone.”

He shook his head. “With the injections I gave you, that should not be the case. It helps boost your immune system, as well as repair damage. It should take a week, but not much more, to fully heal, and you should be fine. Six weeks!” He shook his head again and shuddered. “That borders on the barbaric.”

She agreed, but accepted his pronouncement. He was the physician. He should know. And she’d grown up with Star Wars, Star Trek, and every other fantasy/sci-fi TV series, movie, and book. It came as little surprise that the Thorsani had medical technology she didn’t know about, that they could heal faster than her people could. But she couldn’t help but be thrilled that her broken leg would be fine in a week. Six weeks of sitting around, watching the new world instead of experiencing it, had been hell to think about.

“In the meantime, you will relax, rest, and heal. No walking or running.” Jace’s expression was stern, but his eyes were bright and amused. “There will be time for exploring our world once you have your health and strength back.”

“Yes, sir,” she murmured as he rose and moved to a chair across from the couch. There were two chairs. Hunter started to take the other one. “Do you at least have crutches or a cane I can use until then?”

“You can call one of us any time you need help getting somewhere,” Hunter said, frowning at Jace when he would have spoken. She rolled her eyes at him.

“I would like very much to be able to go to the bathroom on my own,” she stated baldly. She was rewarded by a slight hint of color on his cheeks as he remembered her aborted effort earlier that day.

“Do you need to go now?” Hunter asked. She shook her head quickly. She could wait a bit longer.

“Hunter, have you offered our guest anything to eat or drink?” Jace asked.

Hunter looked at Arianna, the question in his eyes.

“I am a little hungry,” Arianna admitted sheepishly. The fruit had not stayed with her for all that long. Her stomach chose that moment to growl, making the men laugh. She put her hand over her tummy and laughed along with them, though her face was rosy with embarrassment.

“As am I,” Jace grinned.

“Then you will be sure to make enough dinner for all of us, won’t you?” Hunter said pointedly. Arianna nearly giggled at the glare Jace shot Hunter. In that moment, they looked less like huge, fearsome alien warriors, and more like seven-year-olds fighting over a treasured toy.

When Jace left, grumbling, Hunter relaxed into the cushions of his own chair and grinned smugly at her. She chuckled.

“You guys sound like school kids,” she joked. He looked a little chagrined, but not much.

“He is my younger brother. He does what I tell him. It is our way.” He shrugged.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “So you weren’t just saying that like ‘brother warrior’? He really is your brother?”

“Yes. We have the same mother, but different fathers. Our mother took his father as her mate when my father was killed in battle. We had an older brother and two younger ones, but the younger ones died shortly after we came to this planet, and the older one was on a transport that was being pursued by the Solvari. We never heard from the ship again, so all aboard were presumed dead.”

“You don’t look much older than Jace,” she observed, sensing the sadness growing in him and wanting to distract him from it. She gathered her blanket back around her as the evening grew a bit cooler with the coming night. The sun seemed to go down very quickly here.

“I am ten years his elder,” Hunter admitted. He watched for her reaction. “You do not mind older men? In some societies, the older men are more respected and sought after…”

“I never really thought about it,” she admitted, looking at his face wonderingly. “You don’t look more than thirty. You look younger than me, to be honest.”

“I am sixty-seven of our years,” he told her with a wry smile. “My brother is closer to your age, I suppose, but still older than you, I believe... your time in space notwithstanding.”

He revealed his age as though it was significant. Perhaps it was, on their world, as it was on hers.

“But,” he went on. “We live much longer than your people, perhaps? Maybe that is why I do not appear ‘old’ to you? I
am
the youngest battalion commander ever to receive his commission.”

“It’s possible,” she allowed, “At your age, our people are usually ending their careers and retiring, not starting them. I’m thirty-five in Earth years.”

They talked for awhile longer, trying to figure out their equivalent ages, then joked about the trials of being the eldest of their siblings. Arianna found herself talking easily about her younger brothers and sisters, only feeling a bit of the pang that usually hit her when she spoke of them.

Hunter picked up on it, but didn’t ask her about the grief. There was a shadow within her, something dark and immeasurably sad. He wanted to ask her about it, to find out what it was and do what he could to make it better, to take some of the pain from her. But he’d have to wait. He had known her less than a week. It was too soon to be dragging deep, dark secrets from her soul. His mental voice snorted at that thought. Less than a week was enough to decide he wanted to keep her, but not long enough to find out more about her? Perhaps a bit of her concussion was affecting his thought processes.

Before they could start another subject, Jace returned with a meal that smelled divine, and Arianna was much more comfortable with Hunter. She’d learned that their food, though it appeared very different from what she was used to, was rather tasty and satisfying. And she was starving. She’d been too distracted with her new surroundings to think of food earlier. Not the smartest decision on her part, but she couldn’t really regret it, when she’d ended up sharing dinner with two of the most handsome beings she’d ever seen.