Page 7 of Jordan

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, shut up, Jordan. If you’re not willing to say it, I will. Nina, I think you and Jordan should have sex and get it over with. The two of you skate around one other, snapping at each other almost nonstop. You act as if you can’t stand each other, yet the minute a third party,” she glanced at Pheebes, “is introduced, it’s all we can do to keep Jordan under control. Does anyone even want me to go into the Dsendiyun he beat the holy space balls out of the other night all while yelling that you were his?”

He’d yelled that she was his during the altercation? She’d not known that part of it. Nina’s gaze whipped around to find Jordan standing there, his lip still bleeding and his shoulders heaving. He gave a what? look. She grunted.

Marisa didn’t stop. “Not only that, if you think we don’t notice the way you stare at Jordan, you’re wrong. Just last week I saw your eyes shifting to a lighter blue when you were watching him sparring with Christian. And before you try to tell me it was Christian who sparked your interest, I’ll point out to you that it didn’t happen until Jordan took his shirt off. And Bradi was standing near me. He’s the one who instantly noticed the changes in you, Nina. He’s the one who explained what they meant to me.”

Heat flared in Nina’s cheeks. She had taken keen notice of Jordan during one of his sparring sessions. She struggled with her inner panther, fighting to keep hold of it to prevent a full-on shift. She’d had no idea her brother had been close enough to see and sense the entire ordeal. She hated that Marisa was right but was even more upset she’d said it in front of Jordan. “That means nothing.”

“Oh really?” Marisa asked, raising her brows. “Then tell me, did you stop sleeping with Pheebes before or after Jordan arrived on this planet?”

“The same day he came,” Pheebes said, answering for her. Thoughts of going at him again came to mind. She resisted. With her temperament, it was difficult. “That morning, before he touched down on our planet, was the last time Nina sought my bed.”

“Maybe you’re just shit in bed,” Jordan said. “Ever think of that?”

She cringed and closed her eyes. “Stop. He’s not, Jordan. Do not do this. Please. I beg of you.”

He snorted. “So, what, you’re telling me he’s so great that you just up and quit him cold polition bird?”

She glanced at him. There was so much more to it but saying it out loud wasn’t something she was prepared to do. To confess to them what she even denied to herself wholeheartedly was too much.

“Lorelei and I have questioned Sevan about you, Jordan,” Marisa said, pointing at Jordan. “You’ve not slept with any of the women here. It isn’t from lack of interest, because we both know of at least eight women who have been trying their best to get in your pants. Sasher is the latest. And from the stories we heard, you’ve quite the reputation as being a ladies’ man. What made you stop cold polition bird?” She eyed Nina. “Never mind. I already know the answer. So do you.”

“Having a party I wasn’t invited to?” Bradi asked, appearing with his son in his arms. His arrival sliced through the tension in the air. Eli squealed when he spotted Marisa. Bradi chuckled. “I think someone is ready to eat and in great need of his mommy. Since I’m worthless in that area, here we are.”

Eli was slightly younger than Lorelei’s twins and just as adorable. He had Marisa’s green eyes and his father’s coal-black hair. He also had his father’s temper. Marisa laughed and took her son. Nina watched her brother cradle both his wife and child to him protectively. Deep inside, she ached for what Bradi had. Their race was dying out, and every new life created was such a gift from the gods of the land that even the coldest hearts among the Shamenian people melted at the sight of them.

“Let’s go home,” Bradi said.

Marisa eyed Pheebes. “Bradi, I think we should assure Pheebes and Jordan are separated for the night.”

“Why?” Bradi sighed and shook his head. “Tell me you didn’t spill what you and Lorelei have been cooking up?”

Marisa batted her eyes innocently. “Honey, we all see how much Jordan and Nina want each other. Unfortunately, Pheebes and Nina seem to have a history.”

Bradi rounded on Pheebes. “You touched my sister?”

Pheebes stood tall. At six-three, he was shorter than Bradi’s six-foot-six-inch frame but that didn’t stop him from looking as if he was going to attempt to take him on. Nina knew Pheebes well enough to know he wouldn’t back down from anyone but her.

“There was a time when I believed Nina would be my wife.” Pheebes inclined his head towards Jordan. “That has since changed.”

Nina couldn’t help but laugh. “As if I’d ever marry anyone. Please, Pheebes, this is ridiculous. You yourself admitted you knew you were one of many men I took to my bed. I wasn’t particular. If the mood struck, I fucked them. They were a means to an end. Nothing more.”

“I told you I loved you,” Pheebes protested.

She smiled but it lacked warmth. “Many have told me as much. None have truly meant it.” Glancing at Bradi, she sighed. “Bradi, I, like Mother, accidentally give off sexual signals.”

“And Christian let you be alone with hundreds upon hundreds of unmated men? He let you head the guards?” Bradi paled.

She shrugged at the mention of the Chieftain. “He thought it best.”

“Best for whom?” Bradi demanded, looking as if he was going to attack.

Nina tipped her head, embarrassed. “Best for me, Bradi. Like Mother, if I don’t see to the needs of my power, it becomes hard for me to control. While Kyriakos is the one with the magik in force, I still have some, and what I do have isn’t easy for me to deal with. I can control the cat portion, but the other side terrifies me. So, as I stated, I have to see to my power’s needs or things become difficult for me.”

Pheebes snorted. “They become difficult? That is putting it mildly, Nina. Show them what you have done to make the pain of your cycle lessen. You know as well as I that until you bed someone your cycle will not end. You will be stuck in it forever if you do not take another to bed.”

She attempted to walk away, to let the matter settle itself, but Pheebes had other plans.

“Show them!” He seized hold of her arm and ripped off her leather sheath.

---