Page 15 of Her Alien Mercenaries
“Zan is right about that. And remember, you won’t receive the medi-bot treatment created by humans. Once we claim you, you’ll carry both ofournanotech. That technology is outside your government’s purview. You’ll be free to travel anywhere you wish.”
He smiled as her eyes widened in sudden understanding.
“I forgot about that.” She touched her temple with two fingers. “My brain is all jumbled right now. Especially when I think about how that transfer is done. Biting during… um…” she gestured at herself and then at the two of them. “During mating.”
Mating. The word rang in his ears and sent half the blood in his body flooding straight to his cock. He wanted that. Wanted to bury himself in her body and hear her soft little gasps and groans as he showed her what it really meant to be mated.
“Yes, blossom. That’s when we’ll claim you.” Zanyr’s voice was dark and tight with what Zanyr realized was arousal. If they kept talking about it, they’d wind up doing more than just talking.
Zanyr had moved closer to Jenna, and his scales had tightened to a shimmering gold he’d didn’t often see when they weren’t in combat. Yeah, hisanrikwas deep in the thrall of thesharhal.
The wind shifted direction as they spoke. It flowed in from offshore, brisk, cool, and heavy with the scent of rain. He glanced up and noted the dark clouds blotting out the horizon.Veth. When had that happened?
“Storm coming,”he sent to Zanyr. It was only an observation, but the words held a note of foreboding he didn’t understand.
It was a change in the weather. Nothing more. Unlike many soldiers he’d known, Torren wasn’t superstitious. He didn’t believe in omens or rituals. He’d known males who never changed their socks before a battle, or always carried a talisman with them for luck.
If the universe worked that way, he’d never seen any sign of it. The ancestors were another matter. They didn’t provide guidance or protection. They simply watched, judged, and sometimes sent signs when they approved or were displeased. They didn’t interfere in the lives of their descendants or the choices they made.
At least, that’s what Torren believed. Others held different views, but that was also their choice. In the end, that’s all any of them had—the right to choose for themselves. That was why he’d left home in the first place, and Zanyr had done the same.
Zanyr turned to look over his shoulder and then grunted in annoyance. “Looks like your first visit to the beach is over. We should get back to Haven before the rain starts.”
As if to underscore his words, the wind gusted hard enough to make all three of them shiver at the sudden drop in temperature.
“Is that why it’s colder now?” She wrapped her arms around her upper body. Torren registered the gesture and then realized the cause. Theirmahayawasn’t dressed for flying. Her simple navy-blue dress was too light to offer her any protection from the elements, and she didn’t have any nanotech to help her regulate her body temperature.
Zanyr was bare-chested, and all Torren had to offer her was the sleeveless vest he wore. Still, it was something. He skinned it over his head and handed it to her.
“Put this on. It should help keep you warm on the flight back.”
She blinked at him, ignoring the offered garment to stare at him. “You’re half naked.”
“Only half,” he joked. “Now I match Zan, who was in such a hurry to meet you he forgot how to dress himself.”
Zanyr scoffed and slapped his palm to his chest. “I had my priorities straight.”
“I’ve never been anyone’s priority before. Thank you.” Jenna’s words hit with all the force of a comet strike.
Without thinking about what he was doing, Torren stepped in front of her and dropped to one knee, the simple treasure he’d found for her resting on his upturned palm. “You willalwaysbe our priority, Jenna.”
Zanyr knelt to his left and made his offering a split-second later. “Witnessed.”
“I… uh… wow,” Jenna stammered. She reached for them uncertainly, her hands shaking as they hovered in the air without making contact with either male.
“We are yours,mahaya, and you are ours. As strange as this may be to you, it is the truth,” Zanyr said, his voice soft and melodic. Torren didn’t see this side of hisanrikoften. The male had the mind and body of a warrior, but he had the heart of a poet.
She carefully took the offered gifts from their hands. “These are for me?”
“Reminders of our first day together.” Zanyr pointed to the bit of driftwood he’d given her. “The sea has caressed this wood so often it’s been polished smooth. That’s what I want for us,ana-thi—a lifetime of love and caresses that leave us both polished and shining.”
Jenna’s eyes lit up as her fingers closed around the driftwood. “That’s beautiful, Zanyr. I-I don’t know what to say.” She laughed. “I know dozens of languages, but I don’t have the words for what I’m feeling right now. So, thank you, mymahoyen.” She spoke the words in Vardarian and then again in Galactic Common. “Thank you for your beautiful words. I won’t ever forget them.”
Torren inwardly cursed his friend in every language he knew. By all the winds that blew, how was he supposed to followthat?
He waited for inspiration to strike, but nothing came to him. Aware that he had to say something, Torren went with the simple truth. He touched the seashell she held in one hand. “I chose this because the color reminded me of the sky, and the way the shell twists and whirls made me think of the wind as it swirled around us on our first flight.”
Zanyr stayed outwardly silent, but he sent a message to Torren.“Not bad, Vex. Your time at court is showing.”
