Lisia's Journey (12 page)

possible. I love you, little sister.” Drake looked at her intently for a moment.

She‟d swear he‟d been trying to tell her something with that look, but she couldn‟t

think of what it could be. As she went over what he‟d said, “little sister” stood out from

the rest of his words. That wasn‟t the way he normally spoke to her. In fact, she could

only remember one other time, he‟d ever called her “little sister”. It had happened on a

space station they‟d been visiting when she‟d been much younger. A group of boys had

cornered her and he‟d chased them away. When she‟d thanked him, he‟d said that that

was what older brothers did—take care of their little sisters. No matter what.

What was he planning?

“You have some explaining to do.” Jarritt‟s hard voice jerked her away from her

thoughts.

She looked over to find him fully facing her, a very fierce frown on his face.

“What?”

“Why didn‟t you say something about your brother being
Shi’an
? I know he was

mentioned more than once.” Jarritt used his hold to tug her out of her chair.

She caught herself before she dropped to the floor. Glaring at him, she straightened.

It wasn‟t as if he‟d been totally up front with her. He‟d actively schemed to get his way.

“Did I mention I didn‟t want to be here? I hadn‟t planned on doing anything to

encourage you and hoped you‟d lose interest in me.” She leaned back resisting the

tugging pull of his hand. He obviously wanted her in his arms, but she knew better

than to fall into that trap.

“Lose interest? You would have been waiting the rest of your life for that to

happen. I‟m going to be your husband. I knew from almost the moment that I caught

your scent.” He tugged again.

She stumbled forward a step and pulled back. “How about looking for someone

who actually gives you some encouragement?”

“You encouraged me, just not verbally.” His hand tightened on hers and gave a

quick jerk.

She tumbled into his lap. His arms closed around her. Laughing he pulled her

against him when she tried to lunge free of his hold. She glared at him and gripped at

the arms banded around her waist.

“Would my telling you that my brother was one of the
Shi’ans
have changed the

way you acted or what you did?” she asked. She put a hand on his chest and pushed

putting a little distance between them.

His smile widened and his head tilted as he thought about it. “No, it wouldn‟t have

changed what I did. It might have changed how I approached your brother, but not

you.”

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Rebecca Airies

She rolled her eyes. “What, you wouldn‟t have acted so macho and arrogant? You

practically treated him like an underling who you could order around.”

“And you set up the adversarial relationship between us by not telling me that he

was the
Shi’an
. It will take time for that to change.” His hand cupped her chin and

forced her to meet his eyes.

“You think it would be any different? He saw the way that I acted, my reluctance.

He knew that I didn‟t really want this claiming.” She pushed his hand away from her

chin. She knew her brother. He wouldn‟t have missed the signs of her hesitance, her

unwillingness.

“You have a brother who is
Shi’an
and four other probably powerful brothers. Their

presence and strength kept the men from pressing the claim and changing your mind.

That would have probably happened if you didn‟t have that protection. But I‟m happy

you did have it. Now I have you.” He leaned down and closed his teeth over her lip.

A tingle danced over her skin as he slowly pulled back. Her tongue slicked over her

lip. How could that simple touch feel so good? She took a deep breath and the scent of

his arousal filled her senses.

“It didn‟t happen to at least two of my friends and they didn‟t have five older

brothers, one of whom was one of the
Shi’ans
of my clan.” She gave him a doubt-filled

look.

He was just trying to make believe that the ways of his clan were so normal that

they even happened in her clan. She wasn‟t about to believe that. She‟d have seen it.

How could she have missed the sight of even one man behaving as he had?

“Their brothers or parents did hold a high position, didn‟t they? High enough to

live in the same
marrohl
as the
Shi’an
?” Jarritt asked as he trailed his fingers up her ribs.

“Yes, they lived in the same
marrohl
, but they‟re still unmarried. And I can‟t

remember even hearing of anything like it.” She firmed her lips and focused on a point

beyond his shoulder.

“They were under basically the same protection as you. And you wouldn‟t have

heard anything about it. All the details of the claiming are kept away from young

females. If you‟d seen anything, it would have been easily explained as a need to talk

alone or something like that.” Jarritt‟s lips brushed along her jawline.

“The women would say something or argue.” She shook her head. There was no

way she could have missed all of the signs of women being claimed as she had been.

“Did you take your situation public with loud arguments?” Jarritt‟s mouth moved

down her neck.

She drew in a shuddering breath and tipped her head to the side. “I‟m a stranger

here. There was no one I could go to, talk to, or who would even help me. If I‟d been at

home, I‟d have friends I could go to. While my mother‟s dead, there is an older woman

I could have gone to as well. I wouldn‟t have felt trapped and alone as I did here.”

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Lisia’s Journey

“The young women do go to talk to older females, but they soon find out the truth

if they don‟t know it. A claiming is unavoidable.” His head lifted and he looked into her

eyes.

She saw unswerving determination in his eyes. She didn‟t know about the way

things were done elsewhere or with other people. With Jarritt, she believed that a

claiming just might be unavoidable, simply because he wouldn‟t give up until he got

what he wanted. The idea sent a hungry thrill through her as well as scared her right

down to her toes.

He watched her for a few more moments, satisfaction burning in his eyes. Still

holding her, he stood. Her feet slid along his legs and their bodies aligned. His hands

moved down her body and cupped her buttocks. As he rocked her against him, she felt

his hard thick shaft nudging against her. Anticipation sent a spurt of excitement

shooting through her. Hot moisture coated the lips of her pussy and moistened the

crotch of her pants.

“Give me a kiss. I have to go to the landing port and I‟ve been waiting for the feel of

your lips.” Jarritt didn‟t move to close the small distance between their mouths.

She leaned in to him. Her lips brushed against his and she slowly closed her eyes.

55

Rebecca Airies

Lisia walked through the buildings. She felt a little restless and really needed some

time alone. A run through the forest, even in human form sounded like heaven. She

knew it wasn‟t going to happen. After being stopped two times in the last six days, she

knew that Jarritt had given orders. She wasn‟t confined to the city. She just had to have

an escort to leave. That made her angry. She didn‟t need to be followed around by some

guard. She couldn‟t leave the planet without getting access to a spaceship and that

would be impossible without at least one person seeing her. He knew none of the men

would let her leave the planet, but that wasn‟t changing his stance. Just thinking about

it infuriated her.

For the past few days, she‟d been busy. The last of the refugees had left and things

were finally getting back to normal. Lisia kicked at a stone near the toe of her boots. She

hadn‟t found any way out of the claim. At least, not one that left her honor and pride

intact. He wasn‟t going to suddenly decide that he didn‟t want her for a mate.

She looked over to the forest beyond one of the
marrohls
. The leafy green forest

seemed to call to her. The fact that she couldn‟t go into it only made the desire to run

even stronger. She knew that she wouldn‟t even get to the rear of the building before a

man stopped her.

A shadow moved among the bushes. She frowned and narrowed her eyes at the

area, watching carefully. Nothing moved. That raised her inner alarms more than the

first sighting of movement. A small animal might freeze for a moment if they thought

they heard something, but they would move again.

She took a step forward, determined to find out just what was in those bushes. One

of Jarritt‟s men seemed to appear at her side. When she saw the dark-haired man step

up beside her, she tensed and very nearly screamed. Her heart slammed in her chest

and she lifted her hand pressing it lightly above the pounding organ.

“Can I accompany you somewhere, Lisia?” Arik asked.

“No, I thought I saw something just beyond the bushes. I was just going to look,”

she said.

He looked at the bushes and then back at her. She could tell he didn‟t believe her.

“Probably just an animal.” He watched her as if he expected her to try something.

She took a deep breath, keeping a hold on the rush of anger. The man was only

following orders, not being deliberately insulting. She still wanted to hit him. The

arrogant man didn‟t need to say the words. His attitude clearly stated that he thought

she was lying. She looked at the bushes and shook her head. If he wasn‟t concerned, she

wasn‟t going to worry about it.

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Lisia’s Journey

“If you say so.” She shrugged and turned away to go back to the main street

wending through the
marrohls
.

She headed back to Jarritt‟s
marrohl
. Since she couldn‟t work off a little of the

restless energy on a run through the forest, she‟d go find some privacy. She needed to

think. It was obvious she wasn‟t going to get a chance to do it here.

As she walked back, she watched men roll supply crates down the street. A zinging

whoosh slashed through the air. Lisia spun on her heel and saw an
Aridi
man roll to his

feet with a stun pistol drawn. Crouching, she looked around frantically, trying to see

the danger. She didn‟t see anything out of the ordinary, at least until she saw Arik

running down the street.

“Get into a building!” Arik yelled.

She turned and was going to do what he said, but as she turned to the nearest door,

she saw a young boy crouched near the wall of the next
marrohl
. He trembled, his eyes

darting around frantically. She didn‟t stop to think. Taking off at a run, she raced for the

boy. Sliding to a stop, she wrapped her arms around him and lifted him.

Just as she moved toward the nearest door, a white bolt hit the wall next to her hip.

It sizzled and dissipated. She gasped, her heart slammed in her chest and raced.

Rounding the corner and slamming her hand onto the panel at the side of the door, she

crouched, protecting the boy with her body. Impatiently, she waited for the door to

open. It seemed to take an eternity for the door to slide wide enough for her to slip into

the building. She lunged through the doorway and spun toward the protection of a

wall.

* * * * *

Jarritt gripped the stunner and moved slowly through the trees. The cool dark

shadows surrounded him, shielding him as he crept from tree to tree. Tracking one of

the pirates, he kept his steps silent. He wanted to see where this man was going. The

pirate moved with such purpose and certainty that he obviously had a destination in

mind.

The lithe blond-haired man slipped through the trees going slowly toward the

landing area. Jarritt moved behind the cover of thick, prickly bush growing near a thick-

trunked tree as the man stopped. Jarritt didn‟t intend to let the pirate take whatever he

was hunting, but he needed to know why the pirates had attacked.

The man began moving again in an almost random pattern, but he always kept

going toward the landing area. The pirate‟s cautious progress soon began to frustrate

Jarritt. He‟d stop and look around the area, always keeping low. Jarritt had to keep his

distance and make sure there was always cover near. The man stopped at the edge of

the trees near the west side of the landing area. Hesitating, he crouched there, his head

turning and his muscles tensed. The pirate seemed to be looking for something. Jarritt

had no idea if the man was searching for guards or trying to find his target.

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Rebecca Airies

Finally the man sprang forward and dashed onto the flat, paved surface of the large

landing pad. He ran full out for a group of UDA shuttles. Jarritt followed silently,