The Vulpirans' Honor: The Soul-Linked Saga (30 page)

“Is all of this because I whined at
Saige
?” Honey asked.

“All of this was already intended and planned before today,” Vikter said.  “Unfortunately,
with the explosion and the problems it caused, these matters got set aside when they
should not have.  Nothing has been decided on because you
whined
as you put it.  It just made us all realize we’d forgotten to let you in on the fact
that you are not penniless, homeless, or unwanted.”

“I don’t understand why the Dracons would offer so much to me,” Honey said.  “I’m
grateful, of course.  I just don’t see why they’d give me a house, money, ground-car,
all of that.”

“Part of it is your psychic gift,” Vikter said.  “Children are more important to Clan
Jasani than you realize, and you alone are capable of touching them, healing them,
helping them before they are born.”

“In addition to that, you are a doctor,” Lance added.  “An obstetrician able to help
all of our unborn children, those of human mothers and Jasani both.  These things
make you precious to all of our people.”

“Those are the reasons you are important to the Dracons,” Hunt said.  Why they value
you so much.  They are not the reasons we value you.”

“You value me?” Honey asked in surprise.  That her gift was valued she understood. 
That her skills as a physician were valued made sense, too.  But she did not recall
anyone ever valuing her for herself alone.  Except her mother.  And Nica.  Why would
these men, highly ranked Jasani, brilliant scientists in their own right, value her? 
She thought a moment.  “You value me because I’m your Arima.”

“Yes, and no,” Vikter replied.  “That you are our Arima is of the utmost importance
to us, that we cannot deny.  We are meant to be together.  But, just because our bodies
and even our souls are drawn to each other, that does not mean that we automatically
have to like you, or you us.”

“Oh,” Honey said softly.  She dropped her eyes to the table, unwilling to let them
see her hurt and disappointment.  The lump in her throat that she’d struggled with
earlier was back and twice as big.  She was surprised she could even breathe around
it. 

“You two are knuckleheads,” Hunt said, exasperated with his brothers.  Words, both
spoken and unspoken, had gotten them into so much trouble.  He was a man of action,
not words, and right now the pain rolling off of their Arima demanded something stronger.

He pushed back his chair, walked around the patio table to where Honey sat and knelt
down beside her.  Even kneeling he was taller than she was sitting.  He reached over
and placed a gentle finger on her chin, then urged her to turn her face toward him. 
She did so, reluctantly, her eyes still downcast. 

“We do not have to like you, Honey,” he said in a low voice.  “But we do.  Very much,
in fact.”  He leaned forward and, finally, did what he had wanted to do since the
first moment he’d seen her step off the transport.  He lowered his mouth to hers,
not giving her time to move away, and kissed her.

She was so warm, and so sweet, that he could not resist running his tongue along the
seam of her lips, coaxing her to let him in.  When she parted her lips, his entire
body shuddered.  He slid his tongue into her mouth, losing himself in the taste and
feel of her as he stroked her tongue with his.  His hand slid to the back of her head
and he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.  When she began to respond, returning
his strokes with her tongue, he moaned, a long, deep rumble that felt torn from the
depths of his soul.

When he felt Honey’s arms wrap around his neck he deepened the kiss even more, losing
himself in what was certainly the most erotic moment of his life.  Then she moaned,
a soft, husky sound that made his painfully hard cock jerk and his skin pebble tightly. 
He tore his mouth from hers and they leaned their foreheads together, both of them
gasping and panting for air.

Vikter and Lance watched Hunt kiss Honey, the erotic intensity and raw beauty of it
taking their breath away.  The sound of Hunt’s deep, passionate moan forced them to
their feet.  In a moment they were both standing next to the couple, the scent and
sight of their passion nearly overwhelming them both.

Honey had read about love, passion, and sex.  As a physician, she even understood
it on a hormonal, neuro-chemical, and physiological level.  But she had never experienced
it.  Had never even tasted it.

Her teenage and young adult years had been spent focusing on school.  The pressure
to always get the best grades, to always be the best in every class, had been extreme,
the competition for scholarships fierce.  Without scholarships, she knew she’d never
achieve her dream of being a doctor.  There had been no time for the usual teenage
activities like parties, sleep-overs, or boyfriends.  While she often wished she could
do the things other girls her age did, the truth was that she’d never met a boy that
interested her.

When Hunt pressed his mouth to hers she was too startled to resist at first.  After
a moment, any thought of resistance vanished.  She spent a few moments wondering how
something so simple as a kiss, albeit a very hot, passionate, heartfelt kiss, had
the power to engage her entire body.  How did her lips and tongue, organs she used
daily to talk, eat, breathe with, suddenly become such a powerful erogenous zone? 
She knew for an absolute fact that the nerves in her mouth were not in any way connected
with her heart, or her breasts, or her spine, or her clitoris, or her vagina. 

But that knowledge didn’t stop her heart from racing, her breasts from tightening
in a strange, unfamiliar way, or her nipples from hardening to two aching points. 
It didn’t stop her spine from arching so that she was pressing her breasts toward
Hunt as she returned his kiss with helpless fervor, or the shivers and tingles that
raced up and down her body.  And it definitely didn’t stop the hot, wet, pulsing of
her pussy.

She slid her fingers into his long, dark, bushy hair, finally learning that its texture
was soft, fine, and silky.  She moaned softly as she imagined how it would feel against
her skin.

When Hunt broke the kiss she was desperate for air, and at the same time, desperate
to be kissed again and again.  She wondered at herself, at the deep need she felt
to be kissed not just by Hunt, but Vikter, and Lance too.  When she felt Vikter’s
hands at her waist, lifting her from her chair, she suddenly understood that she would
not be satisfied until all three men had kissed her.  She smiled to herself as she
wrapped her arms around his neck and eagerly tilted her head and parted her lips for
him.  She hummed softly as Vikter plunged his tongue into her mouth, relieved that
he felt and tasted different than Hunt had.  She felt hands at her neck, gently pushing
her hair aside, and knew it was Lance, his hands caressing her shoulders, his lips
pressing warm, gentle kisses on her neck.  She barely knew these men, but she knew
their touch, the feel and scent of them, could easily separate each one’s emotions
from the others even when they crashed over her all at once like a wave. 

When Vikter broke their kiss and Lance turned her around and lifted her into his arms,
her body felt soft, languorous, boneless.  She wrapped her legs around his waist,
something she’d never even imagined doing before, but she did it now without thought,
pressing her body against him.  His kiss was slow, and sensuous rather than hot and
deep, stoking the fires within her ever higher so that, by the time he pulled back,
her body was both warm and shivery at the same time.  She rested her head on his shoulder
as she fought to catch her breath, her fingers tangled in his white hair that felt
every bit as silky as Hunt’s and Vikter’s.  Vikter and Hunt crowded close, murmuring
softly as they petted her in long, soothing strokes that were meant to calm and relax
rather than excite and inflame.

For the rest of her life she would remember, and treasure, these moments between them. 
She would never forget their first kisses, the way each of them tasted and felt, the
way they’d made her feel, the little peek they’d given her for what was to come. 
But this time afterward as they clung together, calming and soothing each other, struck
her as their first truly intimate experience.

“I know I should let you down now,” Lance said, his voice vibrating against her chest,
his lips brushing her cheek as he spoke.  “I just can’t seem to make myself do it.”

“Why is that?” she asked, her voice sounding sleepy and sultry even to her own ears.

“Because it took so long to get you here,” he replied.  “I’m afraid if I let go, I’ll
never get you back again.”

Honey would have smiled but she felt the almost desperate worry behind his words and
knew that he was not joking.  She raised her head and looked into his eyes for a long
moment.  Then she smiled.  “I really don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” she
said.  She felt their sudden relief, and knew she’d said the right thing.  “Not unless
you turn out to be far different than I imagine you to be at this moment, anyway.”

“We’re safe then,” Vikter said with a low chuckle.

“Are you?” Honey asked archly. 

“As much as we’d like to be deep and mysterious, the reality is that what you see
is pretty much what you get,” Hunt said.

Honey laughed, her heart suddenly feeling lighter than it had for as long as she could
remember.  “I’m glad of that,” she said as Lance carefully lowered her to her feet. 
“I’m really not interested in deep, dark, mysteries.  I like bright, open straightforward
honesty much better.”

“Because you are bright, open and honest yourself,” Vikter said, turning her gently
to face him.  “Yes, I am,” Honey said.  “So tell me, please, what do the three of
you have in mind for us next?”

“I think we should all sit back down at the table,” Lance said.  “Otherwise, we’re
going to go further than we should out here on the Bearens’ back patio.”

“Agreed,” Honey said firmly, though certain areas of her body were leaping up and
yelling
Yes! Yes! Yes!
at the thought.  She cleared her throat and took her seat, smiling to herself when
Lance, Hunt and Vikter all moved their chairs closer to her before sitting down themselves.

“What we’d like, ultimately, is to be a family: you, Nica and us,” Vikter said. 

Honey’s heart skipped a beat, but she was determined to be sensible.  “I want that
too, I think,” she said.  “But there could be problems.”

“Such as?” Vikter asked.

“You three don’t live here, on the ranch, do you?” she asked.  “I recall Michael saying
that you lived on the other side of Jasan and were just visiting here.”

“That’s correct,” Vikter said.  “In addition to being the Consuls of Clan Vulpiran,
which means we are heads of our clan, we are also the leading scientists on the xeno
panel, in charge of all things Xanti.  The Council Complex, where our main labs are
located, is in Berria, as is our home.”

“But I’ve agreed to work here, at the infirmary, for the Dracons,” Honey said, her
heart sinking.  “I can’t go back on my word, nor do I want to.  Doc said that the
new infirmary is going to have an obstetrics wing, designed and equipped with everything
I want.”

“Wait,” Vikter said, holding up a hand before she said any more.  “We have no intention
or desire to ask you to do such a thing.  We know how important your work is, Honey. 
We would never interfere or hinder that in any way.”

“Well, what do you have in mind then?” Honey asked uncertainly.

“We haven’t actually made plans,” Vikter said.  “But it seems best that we make our
permanent home here.  The council has given Michael the position of running the Research
Center here, on the ranch.  We will offer him a position in Berria instead, which
we know he wants.  He’ll be the first non Clan Jasani to work in the Council Complex,
but he has proven himself worthy of it.  We will run the center here, instead.  There
will be times we’ll have to go to Berria, but I think a clinic or infirmary should
be built there, too.  That way, you can see patients in Berria on a regular basis
so they don’t always have to come here.”

“So we’d be traveling a lot,” Honey said.  “I like the idea of seeing patients there
instead of making them travel so far.  But that might be hard on Nica.  She needs
to settle in one place, go to school, make friends her own age.”

“True,” Lance said.  “Stability is important for any child.  But don’t forget, Honey,
there are many families here who already care a great deal for you and Nica.  She
can stay with the Falcorans, the Bearens, the Lobos, or the Dracons sometimes.  Other
times, she can come with us.  She’ll need to see Michael occasionally as well, and
he’ll be over there.”

“I didn’t think about that,” she said.  “I’m not used to having a community to fall
back on.”

“That reminds me,” Hunt said.  “Will you please tell us what the words
Mana
and
Dodi
mean?”

Honey smiled.  “
Mana
means sister, and
Dodi
means brother.  They’re old Sarien words taught to me by a nanny I had as a child
who was born on that world.  It’s a lost language now.  Everyone speaks Standard.” 

“Does that mean Nica knows you are her sister?” Lance asked.