Between Two Tiron (17 page)

for him. He moved between her legs. His hands smoothed down her thighs. His cock nudged at

her entrance. She tightened her legs around his hips. She wanted him now. Tugging his head

down, she kissed him desperately. His tongue thrust into her mouth. She hoped he was as ready

as she was. She didn‟t think she‟d make it through any more teasing. Her hand trailed down his

back.

“Now,” she growled against his lips. Wild uncontrolled need boiled through her body

seeming to grow with every breath.

His hips rocked forward and she cried out in joy as his shaft slowly pushed into her.

Finally. He held himself motionless for a moment. Frustration screamed through her. She needed

him to move. She could almost see him trying to regain control of himself. Nipping at his jaw,

she arched up against him. That wasn‟t happening. She didn‟t want him thinking, guiding every

move, every rise of passion. He growled and his hips pressed hers into the bedding. She dug her

nails into his buttocks and tightened her inner muscles around his cock. His hips rose. She thrust

her hips up, taking him again. His mouth slanted over hers hungrily. She felt the sharp edge of

his teeth on her lips and thrilled at that sign of wildness.

His hips drove against hers. She met each stroke with equal force. The feel of his chest

sliding against the hard tips of her breast sent waves of sharp sensation straight to her core.

Tension coiled inside her. She trembled as she tried desperately to grab the release, but it

remained just out of reach. Her nails dug into his buttocks, pulling him closer. His hips ground

against hers in a slow circle. Shivers rippled up her spine and pleasure exploded, sending spikes

of bliss to her fingers and toes. He continued to rock into her. His body tensed and he groaned.

She felt his entire body shake as he came. He relaxed, his breathing gradually slowing. His arms

swept around her, holding her tightly to him. She held him, savoring the closeness.

* * * * *

Lina eyed the forest surrounding the camp and a tingle ran through her body. The need to

shift to
tiron
form and race through the trees burned inside her, pulsing and growing stronger with each breath. She bit her lip and turned resolutely away from the temptation, heading toward

the confines of the tent. Sliding her palms down the tight black fabric of her pants, she took a

deep breath.

The feelings only lessened a little, but at least she couldn‟t see the forest. Seeing the trees

only made it that much harder to resist the desire to run, to feel the wind as she raced through the

trees and get lost in the freedom of being a
tiron
. She looked around the tent, searching for something to take her mind off leaving camp. She wanted to respect Shard and Kaleb‟s order, but

it was getting harder to do.

She spotted her bag at the bottom of the bed, half open. Groaning, she remembered that

she‟d had to search this morning for a bra to wear. She picked up the bag and dumped the

contents on the bed, keeping the lingerie and putting everything else back inside it.

She frowned as she held up the remains of what had once been her favorite bra. Both

delicate-looking straps had been torn completely free of the cups. She narrowed her eyes as she

noticed that something more than ripped straps was wrong. The stitching had been ripped along

the base of bra and was slowly unraveling. She sighed and dropped the brilliant green silk onto

the bed in the discard pile. Yet another piece of lingerie destroyed.

She‟d heard their opinion of her lingerie again and again. Shard and Kaleb for the most

part considered her underwear unnecessary, a pretty wrapping. At times they lingered and

tormented her as they removed each bit of clothing with deliberate care. At those times, their

large strong hands unfastened each clasp with torturous slowness before slipping the fabric from

her body.

But when they were wild…

“What are you doing in here?” Kaleb stood a few paces away from her, his head tilted to

the side as he looked from the pile of clothes on the bed to her.

She thought better of using the opening to restate her desire to go for a run. They‟d

already had this argument and she knew it was fruitless. Neither of them would change their

mind. Watching him through her lashes as he stalked across the room, she admired the way the

green camouflage shirt clung to his arms and chest. Letting her gaze stray lower, she licked her

lips. Those camo pants were skintight.

“Looking at my underwear.” Lina tossed a frown at him as she noticed yet another torn

piece of clothing.

“You have a compulsion about your lingerie,” he chuckled, sitting down on the bed

beside the pile of clothes.

“And you have no obsessions?” She raised an eyebrow. “Remember…I was watching

you when you first stepped onto my ship.”

Kaleb‟s grin widened into a full smile. “I‟ll admit that I do enjoy flying. I do have other,

more powerful compulsions.”

Lina shook her head. As if she could miss those compulsions. He was fiercely protective

of all those people under his protection. And then there was his possessiveness toward her. She

looked over at him and took in the warmth glowing in his brown eyes.

“Why don‟t you just tell me about one of them?” She raised her brows in challenge as she

sat down on the other side of the pile of clothes.

“Pick anything you want to know and I‟ll tell you about it. Nothing in my life is taboo to

you.” He brushed his fingers across her cheek.

She peeked up at him through her lashes as she bit her lip. It was all too tempting to ask

him about his sexual relationship with Shard. She could see the depth of their bond in the

smallest of actions and had seen the way they looked at each other. Sometimes there was enough

heat in their eyes to light a fire. The two men were lovers and obviously loved each other. She

didn‟t know if they admitted that even to themselves.

“Anything?” She didn‟t want to make him feel uncomfortable.

“Ask anything. I‟ll hold no secrets from you.” He picked up her hand and tangled his

fingers with hers.

“Tell me about…your relationship with Shard. I only know of the rumors concerning

Ardin and the
Tierna
.” Her fingers tightened around his as she lifted her head to meet his eyes.

One corner of his mouth kicked up into a grin. “There‟s a lot to tell. Where do you want

me to start?”

“When did you meet him? How did you meet him?” She marveled at how easily he was

speaking of it. She was a stranger to them. Didn‟t he have any doubts about where she would fit

in their relationship? She didn‟t want to come between them any more than she wanted to be left

out of the relationship.

“We met when I was ten and Shard was eleven. It‟s custom for the
chatar
of the
thent
to find pairs meant to be bound by
Tierna
. The
chatar
in my
thent
found me first. When Shard was found by the
chatar
in his
thent
, he was taken to one of the meetings used to bring the pairs together. We met there.” Kaleb‟s eyes were unfocused and she could tell he was remembering

those meetings.

“Did you know he was the one meant to be Ardin with you when you saw him?” She

turned a little, her body angled toward his.

“No, I didn‟t know he was the one meant to be bound by
Tierna
to me. I wanted my best

friend from my home
thent
to be my bond partner. I was determined to get my way.” He shook

his head.

She could almost see a younger version of him stubbornly insisting that he knew better

than everybody else who should be Ardin. “Did you at least give Shard a chance?”

“After a while I did. I didn‟t like him at first. I didn‟t understand just how the other half

of the
Tierna
bond would be chosen.” He turned toward her, pushing the clothes out of the way.

“Why didn‟t you like Shard when you first met him? He was a child. You both were. He

couldn‟t have had too many bad habits then. Was it just because you weren‟t getting your way?”

She smiled and pictured smaller versions of the two of them squared off scowling at each other.

“Well, that didn‟t put me in a receptive frame of mind. We were just different. He

thought I was a pampered cub and not strong enough to fight at his side. I thought he was all

emotions and no thought. We eventually came to an understanding.” Kaleb shrugged his

shoulders.

“Were either of you the son of an Ardin?” She tilted her head. That was something that

she‟d always wanted to know. In most cultures, title and rank passed from father to son.
Was it

the same with Ardin?

“My fathers were Ardin.” His eyes never left hers. “The tendency to form the
Tierna

bond is sometimes strong in a family line. But nature and character play a large part in it.”

Lina frowned as his words seemed to echo in her head. His wording just seemed strange

especially when she‟d asked specifically about Ardin. “The tendency to form the
Tierna
bond…”

It would have seemed easier to say that the position of Ardin sometimes passed from father to

son. Through the whole conversation when she‟d asked about Ardin he‟d talked of the
Tierna

bond.

“Is it possible to form the bond and not be Ardin?” She narrowed her eyes and waited for

his answer. She‟d never heard of anyone but Ardin bound by
Tierna
.

Kaleb ruffled her hair. “There are fifteen other pairs bound by
Tierna
in this
thent
. All bound pairs seem to have alpha tendencies, but only the strongest become Ardin. The
chatars

ensure that only those meant to be Ardin take the position.”

“How do you learn everything that you need to know? Is there a place where pairs are

trained?” She plucked at a lacy bra caught under her thigh.

“Once a pair is matched, they‟re sent to train with established Ardin. All new pairs train

at two
thents
, usually more than two.” He took the bra and tossed it over his shoulder.

“How did you become the Ardin of this
thent
?” She knew that this was a relatively new

thent
. Established
thents
usually held claim to a world or a section of a world.

“We had a choice. We could go to my home world and stay there until my fathers were

ready to step aside or we could take the rule of this new
thent
and make our own home.” His

breath feathered over her neck as he nuzzled aside her braid.

“I‟m pretty sure I know part of the reason, but I‟m going to ask anyway. Why didn‟t you

stay and rule the
thent
you grew up in?” Lina tilted her neck to the side. A small shiver skittered up her spine as his tongue traced up the column of her neck.

“My fathers are still in their prime. It would be many years before that group needs new

Ardin. Why did you think we didn‟t take it?” His mouth roamed up to her ear.

“Not enough challenge for you. Too easy.” She gasped as his teeth nipped at her earlobe.

“You may have a point there.” Hot, moist breath rushed over the shell of her ear.

Lina drew in a shuddering breath and decided she‟d better try to focus while she could.

Desire was fast becoming more of a priority than her questions. “So being linked by
Tierna
isn‟t that common. There‟s only thirty people bound by it out of…two thousand people in this
thent
.”

“It‟s very rare, but a high honor.” He nibbled on her neck. He grabbed a handful of the

nearby silky scraps. “What are you going to do with this?”

“Get rid of what you and Shard have
ruined
. And try to keep the rest from being ripped.”

She pulled away enough to glare at him. That stuff wasn‟t exactly cheap.

He tugged her back against him. His lips brushed over hers briefly. “Just don‟t wear

them. I‟d love to be able to slip my hand beneath your shirt and feel only the full warm weight of

your breasts.” His hand fitted to the ripe curve he was discussing.

“I need a bra. Anyone with large breasts needs a bra.” Lina rolled her eyes, but leaned

closer, opening her mouth beneath his.

After a short teasing kiss, his mouth slid away and roamed over her cheeks. “Your breasts

are perfect without a bra. I love seeing them sway and bounce as you walk.”

A smile curved her lips. She couldn‟t doubt that he felt that way. She‟d catch his and

Shard‟s eyes on her breasts at odd moments during the day. That attention made her feel like the

sexiest woman alive.

He sifted through her pile of discards. “All of these can‟t be ruined.”

She looked from him, to the destroyed lingerie and the support pole at the end of the bed.

Oh, she had a use for them.

She grasped a handful of the silky fabric and edged away from him. She scooted back on

the bed, closer to where she needed to be. She tried to keep the smile off her lips as he turned and

gave her a predatory grin before crawling up the bed after her.

She edged a little farther to the side, running her eyes down his body. He was wearing

way too many clothes. She‟d have to do something about that. For that matter, she was

overdressed, but she wasn‟t the one who was going to be tied to the tent support. The trick would

be actually getting the silk on his wrists.

He knelt beside her, his hands framing her face. His lips brushed over hers in a soft