Page 103 of Warrior's Captive
Strong arms wrapped around her waist, jerking her backwards. Vivian knew it was Tai’ri and didn’t react, though there was a fierce moment where she argued with the instinctive reaction of her muscles.
“Someone has learned some new tricks,” her mate said in her ear, his voice warm with approval and fierce with relief.
She turned in his arms. “Mayleen?”
Tai’ri pressed a kiss on her forehead. “Safe with mother. We’ll be with her soon, and this will just another day at the office—and now you know what my office is like.”
“I knew you would come.”
He stared down into her eyes. “I will always come.”
Nothing could have intruded on that perfect moment of deep accord, their love and relief humming through their bond. Nothing.
. . . except for Banujani. She walked past them, saying over her shoulder, “Eh. I don’t think you needed us,aja’eko. Next time we’ll let you have at it and wait for the report.”
Tai’ri snarled at his second-in-command.
“This feels too easy,” Vivian said. Shira snorted.
A petite warrior wandered towards them and winked at Vivian. “We always only needed them to poke their heads out at the same time in the same place long enough so we could nab them,” Eb said. “We’ve been herding them for months now. Our job is really very boring.”
“That is true,” Vykhan said, and Vivian glanced at him to see he stood next to Darosheiil, and the Aeddannar still did not move. “Youdid well. If you ever feel the need for more formal training, I invite you to join my morning circle.”
“Run,” someone yelled goodnaturedly, in a corner assisting one of the females.
Tai’ri sighed, running his hands up and down Vivian’s arms. “I should get you home now. Mayleen will be missing you, and I won’t be settled until you are safe.” He glanced at Shira and smiled warmly. “I would feel better if you joined us in our home. Demonstrably your building’s security is not what it should be.”
“I’ve been asking her for weeks,” Vivian said.
“I think I’ll take you up on that now,” Shira said.
Vivian laughed, and they went home.
Epilogue
“Here’sto over a year in business,” Shira said, lifting her glass in a toast. “And we haven’t bit the dust yet.”
Vivian threw back her shot, enjoying the burn of alcohol down her throat, and set it down with faint regret. “That’s it for me. As soon as I get home Mayleen will yowl for boobs. She doesn’t even bother to ask anymore, she just climbs into my lap and lifts my shirt up.”
Shira sighed, set down her empty glass, and signaled for the bartender, her finger slightly wilted. “Something fruity and—” she grimaced “—nonalcoholic. For both of us.”
The bartender nodded and moved away. “It won’t be forever.” Vivian heard the amusement in her voice. She’d never been much of a drinker, but Shira often mournfully recounted her ‘boozy days.’
Shira swiveled in her seat, eyeing the dancefloor all the way up. Tiers of circular, translucent flooring with a central pillar soared to a ceiling twelve stories high. A telltale shimmer of light promised the protection of invisible barriers, but even thinking about daring the upper floors made Vivian dizzy.
She’d keep her feet firmly on the ground, thank you.
“I want to dance up there,” Shira said, pointing.
“Of course you do.”
Shira grinned at her. “Come on, let’s expand our horizons. They don’t have anything like this on Earth.”
“Not yet, anyway. And we’ve been away a few years.”
“Pleeease.”
Vivian sighed, but slipped off her stool with a smile, pausing to reserve their spaces. The bartender would return with their drinks and finding the women gone, place them in protective shields.
