Midnight Warriors - Parallel Attraction Part 6

"Only because they wish to protect me." He cupped her cheek within his large, calloused hand. "Do you understand this, human?"

"I'm not sure."

"Some of my people would have me sit apart from our struggle, alone and out of danger, while they take all the risks," he explained, dropping his hand back to his lap. "I'm not comfortable with that."

"No, I can't imagine that you would be." She smiled, and this time she-was the one to reach out a hand to touch his cheek. His face was beautiful, sculpted and formed like a cla.s.sical piece of art. She thought of Minoan sculptures, or Greek, perhaps. He possessed a hewn warrior's visage, tough but surprisingly graceful as well: strong, high cheekbones accented by the long, n.o.ble nose, the copper-colored skin. Slight scarring along his left cheek and his forehead- which only made his features seem more angular. But then those soft, full lips. Those lush black eyes with the long feathered lashes. The combination of rough leather and velvet softness in this one man's features made for an unabashedly s.e.xual blending.

She noticed a small pendant stone, black and shiny like onyx, on a thin leather cord at the base of his throat. Despite his turtleneck, he'd made a point of displaying it. "What's this?" she asked, reaching to touch it before he could caution her, but quickly withdrew her hand. "It burned me," she exclaimed, laughing in surprise. "Your pendant almost burned my hand!"

"It does that if you're not careful," he agreed with a smile. "That is, unless you're the wearer of it."

"No, now, see, I'm a geologist," she said, incredulous. "Stones don't burn people. Not like this, not when they're worn as jewelry."

"You're obviously not a geologist on my planet." He laughed, stroking the black, gleaming stone between his fingertips. "This was a gift from my people. It was once set in my father's"-he hesitated, seeming to catch himself, then continued-"in my father's vaults, long ago. Before the war. When we arrived here, on your planet, those I command gave it to me as a gift. They had brought it all that way because they wanted to remind me of what I fought for."

"And if I were to touch it again, would it still burn me?" she asked, working to mask her curiosity.

"It's called a strake stone," he told her. "Very rare, even on our planet." Reaching behind his neck, he unfastened the leather cord that held it in place. "Here," he said, "you may wear it. For now." With a gentle motion, he brushed her hair off of her nape, gathering it across her shoulder. She was aware of his warm breath fanning against her cheek, then her neck, as he bent to fasten it. He had an earthy scent too, ironically enough, one that she hadn't noticed back at her apartment. "There," he said when he was finished. He gave a satisfied sound of approval as he studied her. "Yes, you wear my stone well."

Staring down at the gleaming rock, she dared to touch it. This time, though it was warm, it did not burn. "Your people obviously love you."

He nodded. "I am nearly all that remains of the old ways," he said. "This is difficult for some."

"You're right." She laughed. "Your people aren't going to like me very much." He reached for her hand, their fingers threading together. She loved the rough feel of his hands against her own; loved how warm they were. The man absolutely radiated heat-that much she'd realized from the beginning; perhaps his stone pendant took its cue from him.

"But they must respect you," he said, setting his strong jaw. "I will require it. Demand it, if need be."

The dark determination in his face led her to an odd thought: He seemed to be speaking about far more than her visit to his home tonight. Or even about his people's general reaction to her-he seemed already to be forming a place for her within his world. And it felt familiar, this determination, as if she'd always heard him promising that his people would treat her with respect.

Jareshk. The name whispered in the hidden places of her mind like the faint tinkling of a distant wind chime. Jareshk...

"Here," he said, reaching for the pendant. "Best that you keep this hidden." He tucked the necklace down inside of her sweater, and for a moment as his fingertips grazed her breastbone, each stared at the other. This time, he reacted like one burned, quickly withdrawing his hand.

She shivered, staring away from him and again toward the large cabin. It had to be at least five thousand square feet, seemingly hewn from the mountainside itself, facing the valley below as if it stood at attention. The structure looked to be four stories deep, down the side of the jagged peak. It had several tall observation towers, built into the structure, and long, covered porches along the front and sides. Wood and mortar, accented by large windows- probably so they could carefully keep guard in every direction, she guessed. It was a dream cabin, the kind she'd always secretly wished her father would purchase and keep somewhere in the northern part of the state so she could hide away with her research or a book.

"You like it," Jared said, catching something in her expression, something she knew she couldn't hide from him even if she tried.

"It looks like a home," she whispered, feeling a sudden pang of loss. Her father had moved them to D.C. when she was sixteen, immediately after her mother's death. It had been a lonely time, a time when she'd ached for the land of her Wyoming childhood. And she'd never quite found home again.

He nodded, but said nothing more. They fell quiet, studying the structure, wrapped in their own thoughts. How could she feel sorry for herself when Jared had traveled so far from his own world?

"What is your race?" she asked, suddenly needing to know. "Where are you from? At least tell me that before we go inside."

"I am Refarian Arganate," he said, whispering the words like a holy prayer of sorts, his pride in his heritage obvious.

"Where is that?" Planting both hands on the dashboard, Kelsey leaned forward in her seat so that she could see the sky overhead; she wanted to imagine that she could glimpse his planet with her naked eyes. Or maybe she was just trying to rea.s.sure herself that she really was on Earth, the only planet she had ever known.

"Quite far from here." He draped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close until their heads inclined together, both of them staring through the windshield up at the sky. "How I wish I could show you. The scientist in you would find my planet very beautiful and wondrous. There are many things there that you do not have here on Earth."

For a moment, the whole thing seemed ludicrous- laughable-until he turned his black eyes upon her, and she glimpsed a strange shimmer of energy within their depths. And she also noticed that, overall, in some imperceptible way, Jared did not appear human.

"G.o.d, you're beautiful." She sighed appreciatively. And this... this, the man seemed to like very much. His serious expression softened, the full mouth parting with a husky, masculine laugh. Or was it almost a soft growl of pleasure?

"Indeed," he purred, stroking his chin with a thoughtful expression, his fingertips lingering on the black stubble of beard that had appeared there in the past few hours. "We like that you find our natural appearance pleasing. Yes, we like this very much."

We? What was with the "we" thing? But before she could tease him-or even ask-he seemed to grow quite self-conscious, fiddling with the b.u.t.ton on his buckskin jacket and avoiding her eyes.

"Did I say something wrong?" she asked, confused, but he refused to meet her gaze. Maybe it was a cultural difference, some misstep she hadn't intended. "Jared?" she pressed.

"I show myself to very few," he finally explained in a low voice, still refusing to look at her. "Perhaps no humans ever."

"Perhaps?" She had to know the answer, had to know the truth. She leaned closer toward him. "Yes or no, Jared?"

"No humans." He released a low rumble of what she interpreted as pleasure. "Never shown myself to a human until you."

She recalled her first glimpse of him on the lakesh.o.r.e the other night-already it seemed like years ago- but said nothing. She understood that he meant all that she'd seen, both of his selves. It was somehow an intensely personal experience, one that she felt certain he couldn't translate for her. It was the only explanation for the fact that this rugged warrior, a man whose forceful strength of spirit she'd felt firsthand, had been reduced to such an awkward, shy gesture, this fiddling with his jacket.

She captured his hand, stopping the anxious motion. Then, slowly, he dared to lift his eyes until they met hers in the darkness. "Kelsey Wells was the first to see me."

"Knowing that," she whispered, feeling surprising tears sting her eyes, "only makes you all the more beautiful to me."

"Commander," Thea announced tightly, avoiding Kelsey altogether as she clasped his forearm the moment he entered the cabin. "May I have a word?"

"In the morning," he said, shaking off her grasp. His cousin and her expected tirade would have to wait. At the moment, Jared reflected, the idiot king had but one objective in mind: bringing Kelsey into camp and introducing her; then, perhaps, taking her down to his quarters for a nightcap- that is, if he couldn't shake some sense into his bond-impaired mind. He had hoped the human's hold on him might lessen with proximity, but it seemed that every pa.s.sing moment with her only intensified their connection. Then he'd even bestowed her with his family's strake stone, without so much as placing a time limit on the gesture. Any ordinary woman might interpret that kind of gift as a mating pledge. And he wasn't entirely sure he hadn't meant it as such.

As they pa.s.sed into the main entry of the cabin, Thea persisted, flanking him. "Jared, please," she urged. Kelsey remained close on his other side, following his lead. Others lined the entry hall and made bows of respect, inclining their heads. He returned the gesture, but perhaps with even less gusto than he normally would, because their shows of respect embarra.s.sed him with Kelsey present.

Thea wasn't going to back down. "Commander," she pressed, "it is urgent that we speak tonight."

He rounded on her, unable to prevent the quiet growl of protest that sprang from his chest. "We have a guest," he reminded her, speaking very precisely.

She answered rapidly in their native tongue, an idiomatic Refarian laced with cutting terms, complaining about Kelsey's presence, arguing that he had placed himself-and all of them-in unwarranted jeopardy.

And he shot back in Refarian, employing simple, plain words. "I am leader," he said, bending low so he could stare meaningfully into his adviser's eyes. Thea blinked back at him, visibly trying to calculate the risks he'd brought upon himself. Softening his voice, he added, still in their shared tongue, "Trust the human, cousin. Trust me."

"I trust you completely," she said, "except in matters of your heart." Words that were shot through with import- words that accused even as they cast doubt.

"Cousin," he said firmly, "your leader's heart is his own affair." Marrying Thea had never felt right-he'd tried repeatedly to explain it to her, this sense deep inside that he could not lifebond with her, nor even marry her.

"The king's heart is the affair of his people," she retorted testily, then turned upon Kelsey-who definitely dwarfed her-and stuck out her hand. "I am Thea Haven," she p.r.o.nounced in precise English, her words tinged with an elitism born of their bloodline. "I am cousin to the king."

At no other time in their lives had Jared ever wished to thoroughly pound his cousin into the d.a.m.nable ground. If there'd been one word he had hoped-prayed, in fact- that Kelsey would not hear while in camp it had been that single blasted one: king. And of course Thea would have guessed as much; she knew all too well his aversion to pomp and t.i.tles and all the discomfiting traditions with which his bloodline had been cursed. She also knew that, deep down, his heart wanted nothing more than to be loved for itself, for its commonness-and not for the n.o.bility of the blood that flowed through it.

Jared flinched, waited, held his breath-did anything to gauge the human's reaction. But then sweet Kelsey-his blessed human-smiled regally and took Thea's strong, pale hand. "I'm Kelsey Wells," she answered without blinking. "I am honored to be here tonight as guest of your king. And I am honored to meet you as well."

Kelsey never once glanced his way, but instead waited to see what would happen next; it almost seemed that protocol and its many requirements were not unfamiliar to her. The warrior felt himself breathe a bit easier, even though the man wondered desperately whether Thea would manage to frighten Kelsey away from him.

For her part, Thea's reaction to Kelsey was interesting. A look of grudging respect came over her countenance; clearly, she'd meant to intimidate or shock the young human, but Kelsey had gracefully pa.s.sed Thea's first test. And his loyal lieutenant was nothing if not rigorous in her testing of those who kept her king's company.

Placing his hand gently in the center of Kelsey's back, Jared guided her down the hallway. "Let me show you about the place," he said.

In his wake, Thea pressed behind them. "Jared, we still must speak," she persisted. "It is urgent."

He wondered if it was something more-if she had a report for him, or if something beyond Kelsey's appearance here at the compound troubled Thea tonight. "I will meet you in the boardroom momentarily," he answered, striking a formal tone. "Once our guest is settled."

"I would prefer to take the discussion to the exterior," she answered with a steely-eyed look. Inwardly he groaned; this had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with pressure both from the council and from Thea that they form a match.

"Outside, then," he agreed, his hand never leaving Kelsey's back.

Jared stood, both of his booted feet planted on Hooded Rock. This particular promontory provided a most spectacular view of the valley; un.o.bstructed by pines or other trees, it opened onto a cold, windswept panorama, one that Jared treasured. He'd left Kelsey inside, sitting in the upstairs den by the fire; she'd looked weary, and he had knelt there, apologizing. Even now, his ringers and body burned to touch her; he yearned to kiss her on this very rock. The image felt real somehow-as if it had already happened, and he shivered, feeling as if Kelsey must be standing right behind him. But when he opened his eyes, he found Thea, not Kelsey, standing back on the trail.

She took a step closer. "Jared." On her lips his name suddenly became a husky promise. Stepping up onto the rock, she faced him. "My lord, I needed time alone with you," she began, unfastening his jacket. Once it fell open, she slid her palms inside, easing them underneath his sweater.

"Do not do that!" he snarled, turning from her. He was more than accustomed to Thea's temptations, but tonight he had little patience for her ploys. "Your king wishes to be alone," he announced, intentionally positioning his t.i.tle between them.

"Oh, cousin." She laughed, her voice lilting and breathy as again she stepped closer. "There are many things you wish for, but you don't wish to be alone. Not anymore. You haven't wished so for a long while. And it's become evident that I need to be bolder, now that the"-she hesitated, making a small sound of revulsion-"human is among us."

"We wish to be alone!" he thundered, taking another step apart from Thea. "Leave us."

"Well, we wish to be with you, sir," she countered, slip-ping her arms around his waist and holding tight from behind. Uncharacteristically, her physical touch caused him to burn a bit. A strange, unfamiliar sensation in reaction to his cousin-almost a kind of magnetism. She slid one hand low onto his abdomen, stroking his stomach, which caused his groin to tighten in instant reaction. The sensations were all wrong-and not only because of Kelsey. Jerking apart from her, Jared growled his dismay.

"What are you up to, Thea?" he barked with a low, protective rumble. "What game is this?" And why, with as much as he already cared for Kelsey, would Thea be arousing him at all? He had a bondmate- why would his cousin be stirring his blood, now, after so much time? Unless...

Pressing a hand to his eyes, he groaned, shaking his head. He understood precisely what his cousin had done to him, the spell she'd attempted to work. It was manipulative, by the G.o.ds. She had to be desperate. Opening his mouth to reprimand her, he felt an answering thunder in his loins- which he realized was Thea pressing much closer behind him once again. With a roar, he spun upon her, and just as he had guessed, she stood before him, transformed to her most natural form-she, the only person other than himself on this planet capable of such a transition. The only other royal among many hidden Refarians here on Earth.

She purred at him, moving closer, all bright and glorious, radiating power and sensuality. Transmitting promises of love and seduction.

But it was more than her natural form, which shouldn't have possessed such a strong allure all on its own, beautiful as it was. It was something she was doing, somehow. Then, as she brushed her golden body up against, his, sidling close, he understood with perfect clarity: "You've brought the fever upon yourself," he replied in a hushed voice. "You're in your mating season."

Yes, came her answer, shimmering across his skin. And you like it.

"You're trying to trick me into mating!"

Falling into their shared language, she spoke inside of him in a silky voice. It was the only way. I have to help you see that I am the one.

"We will never form a mating bond," he told her plainly. "Never, Thea."

Her Refarian words flickered through his mind like a threat. Then the line will end with you.

For a fleeting moment, the husky sound of his native language almost aroused him. Almost, but then again, not even remotely-he knew it was just the impact of her mating season, working to put some sort of spell on him. "I command you, Thea Haven, to make the change!" he cried. "Do not remain at this game." d.a.m.n it all, her erratic mating impulses were starting to cause his brain to fog up.

Obeying-since, after all, she remained his follower and his cousin-she transformed back into the pet.i.te blond he was accustomed to seeing here on Earth.

"I'm having you carted over to Base Ten until your cycle is over." He shook his head, seething. "And I'll think long and hard as to how we will recover from this embarra.s.sment."

She stared up at him, blue eyes welling with tears, and for a tiny moment Jared pitied her.

"You bound yourself to a stranger." She wiped at her eyes. "After so long, you gave yourself to an alien and a stranger." His heart protested, and he longed to explain that Kelsey meant so much more to him, already, than those words conveyed. "I thought it wasn't true," she went on, "that you would go for the data and then return, and then..." She released a quiet sob.

"Even now, in your season, you don't affect me, cousin," he replied, his voice becoming gentler. "How much less, were we to have mated?"

Bowing her head, she replied, "But you have always affected me."

Cupping her chin in his palm, he lifted her face until their eyes met. "Because I am your king," he answered without a trace of pride or sarcasm. "No?"

"No," she answered, shaking her head. "Because you are like me. Which means I'm not alone when you are near."

He closed his eyes, feeling compa.s.sion for his distant cousin-understanding the isolation that came with their exotic and dying bloodline. "There will be someone else who makes you feel that way."

"That's not true, Jared," she said, their families' golden aura enveloping her-even without the change. "You have always been the one for me. But now it seems you have made your choice, and she is another."

"You know the purpose of the bond I formed with her," he argued, even though he knew he was being dishonest, and that his intentions regarding the human seemed to be changing by the moment.

"The purpose doesn't matter anymore," she answered flatly. "I don't see you backing down now. Do you?"

He could not answer, not without wounding Thea's heart and pride even more.

"As I suspected," she said, tilting her chin upward with a resolute gesture. "But can she even produce an heir for you, Jared? I find that quite doubtful. And so, as I said, the line will die with you."

"I do not know what will happen with the human," he said. "Time will reveal the answers, cousin." He put his back to her. After a moment he both sensed and heard Thea making her retreat. When he was certain he was alone, he slid to his knees and stared upward-homeward. Silent and gaping at the sky above, he wondered how a future with Kelsey had become such an inexorable factor how it seemed that, even as the warrior had promised to sever the bond with her, the man had clearly mapped his own destiny. He had chosen to mate.

Chapter Six.

Jared climbed to the upper story of the cabin, searching out Kelsey, whom he'd left in front of the fire in the den. He'd chosen to share one of the most intimate places in his whole compound with her; in fact, only his personal chambers were more important to him. The den was where he often strategized or meditated; he took no meetings there, but instead reserved it as a place of stillness. With its stacked stone fireplace and panoramic, windowed view of the surrounding mountains, it had seemed the right place-a pure one-to introduce Kelsey to his life here on the mountain.

Thea's words to him had been true, as had his own inner admission: He no longer intended to break the bond he shared with Kelsey. No, the thing he wished was far more troubling indeed: He hoped to solidify their connection. And thus he'd allowed the fantasies to begin, fantasies of leading her by the hand down to his chambers, where they would drink whiskey before a roaring fire. Slowly, they would fall together there in his room; he would gaze upon her, unhindered and slow. His fingers would find their way through every auburn curl, along every soft, rounded curve of her human body. He would woo and win her, binding his body to her own... until somewhere in the process, he would retrieve the data as well. Then at last, with duty honored, he would make love to the human yet some more.

As long as they could keep the war at bay, he would hold her there in his bed, loving her and mating with her. Fine plans indeed, he thought with an audible rumble of expectation as he arrived on the upper-floor landing. His heart leaped a bit in his chest as he caught her scent from down the hallway.

But upon entering the den, he discovered that his beguiling bondmate had collapsed into sleep, curled up on the sofa, fully clothed. She'd obviously tried to wait for him, but had lost the battle. Humans required a great deal more sleep than Refarians. On average, he netted three to four hours of rest a night, but he understood that her kind became irritable and diminished unless they slept for much longer periods than that.

Dropping to his knees, he studied Kelsey as he had done earlier in her bedroom, this time with the luxury of a much closer and less hurried inspection. He found that the woman sparked an immense amount of curiosity within him. He had not been so near a human before, at least not for such a prolonged period of time. And so he studied her closely, noting the fine physical details that he'd previously missed: the delicate curving of her lips; the scattering of freckles all across her forehead and nose like Stardust; the alabaster tone of her skin, so different from his own darker hue. He even held his hand to her cheek, thrilling at the contrast between their disparate colorings. d.a.m.n it all, but he found it evocative that she was alien, and that he had no idea of what precisely to expect in bed with her. That she smelled different from other women he'd been with. For a fleeting moment, he recalled Thea-how her season had briefly magnetized him-and a new yearning birthed within him. He desired to cycle with Kelsey.

That thought caused heat to rush from his cheeks and upward to the very crown of his head. Ever since he had come of age and learned that his line experienced mating cycles, he'd been ashamed-mortified that the agonizing taint, purged from all but the most royal of Refarian bloodlines, still haunted his line. He'd determined then and there never to succ.u.mb to a mating season, and had successfully managed to avert the fate without problems. Yet as he watched Kelsey sleep, his blood raged hot at the thought of coupling with her during his season. It felt so utterly right that his hands began to tremble with the urge.

Almost as if she knew his thoughts, Kelsey stirred, rolling away from where he knelt beside her. Again, his face flushed hot, and he dropped his head in pure shame. Ani-mal instinct. She would never accept that in him-how could she? He cursed whatever base thing inside of him had brought it out even now. Still, as he watched her sleep, an eerie shadow of memory fell between them once again, as it had repeatedly done ever since that first night he'd been wounded. This desire to cycle with her... it felt familiar, as if she were part of this ancient urge fanning to life inside of him. With a growl of dismay, he shook that thought aside. Humans knew nothing of Refarian mating calls.

But then a fleeting image imprinted in his mind-her pale, freckled hand touching his royal emblem. Impossible! He had never shown a human his brand, and only a trusted few Refarians had ever seen it at all. Certainly no one had ever touched it.

Perhaps it was just the aftereffects of Thea's seduction attempt, he told himself uneasily, rising to his feet. Searching about the den, he found his favorite fleece blanket draped over one of the chairs, and covered her with it, bending down to tuck each of the edges about her as he did.

Turning to leave, he glanced at her one more time before flicking off the lamp. The morning would bring truths, desperately needed truths, and he prayed that Kelsey Wells would forgive him when she learned of his deception.