Do Or Die [Nuworld 4] (18 page)

woman whom he loved more than life itself was going to give birth to his first child. But

the child and the woman could never be his. Although there were times in Gothman

history when brothers had claimed their sisters, his grandpapa created a law against

such acts. If things were different, this child would rule Gothman and the Runner clans

unconditionally. But Gothman laws would prevent this child from being heir to the two

largest nations in Nuworld. His emotions wanted him to defy all laws, to take this

woman and make her his. But his rational mind knew that he had done the right thing

by making her Gilroy’s. He was a good man and he would be a good papa. Blast that

damn fools’ festival all to hell. If he hadn’t had a taste of her none of this would be

happening. She was his sister, and he didn’t like the thoughts he had about her at times.

“If the child wasn’t mine you would have told me to my face. I knew when you told

Gilroy that you took the test and the child was his.” He paused and looked at his sister.

She bit her lip as their eyes met and reached out to take his hand. He grabbed it like a

vise grip and stared hard at her. “I knew you were lying. Why, Ana?”

“When I stood outside the conference room last night and listened to the two of you

talk about whether you would tell me about the Bachula or not, I began to understand

the role I play in all of this. If Gilroy turns against you, it would make your job as leader

of the Gothman very difficult. He is an excellent leader and his men love him and

respect him. They will die for him just as they will die for you, and I’m the insurance

policy that he will remain by your side and remain loyal. I see that now. You gave me to

him a long time ago and now I’m his. Andru, this child has got to be his. For the sake of

Gothman—this child is his.”

Tears welled in her eyes and he reached out and pulled her to him. He wrapped his

arms around her and held her closely, feeling the life that grew inside her, the hard ball

that pushed against him.

“Forgive me, Crator,” he whispered and began stroking her hair. “Please forgive me

for breaking my own laws.”

She looked up at him and smiled at the sticky ointment that caused several of his

curls to be plastered to the side of his head. She made no attempt to move from his arms

but reached inside her coat pocket and pulled out a clean white cloth. He watched her

motions and then closed his eyes when she gently wiped the ointment off the side of his

face. The discoloration had drastically decreased and the cut appeared to be well

scabbed over.

“Wow, it worked,” she whispered and he opened his eyes. His dark gray eyes

studied her and she realized she was holding her breath. “Andru, I want to…”

He lowered his mouth to hers and relished the sweet softness of her lips. She

submitted to him so willingly that it was all he could do not to lower her to the ground

and consume every inch of her. Instead, he pulled away from her and licked his lips

wanting to enjoy every taste of her. She opened her eyes and looked up at his closed

eyes. She could not only see the turmoil on his face, but at close range she could feel

every bit of his pain as well. She leaned into him and kissed him again, wanting simply

to wash the pain away from him.

He tried so hard to put her out of his thoughts. He could feel her breath on his face

and kept his eyes closed working to regain control of his feelings. Her lips scorched him

when they regained possession of him and his insides screamed with desire for her. He

tightened his arms around her, not able to get her close enough to satisfy him. She was a

mere extension of him, their souls so interlocked that he could feel what she felt and

knew her heart as well as she knew his. When her hand ran down his chest he pulled

away and grabbed her hands.

“We can’t, Ana.” His voice was so hoarse it was hardly audible.

She bit her lip and backed away from him. He could feel her trembling but feared at

that moment if he held her to calm her it would be the end of his resistance.

“You’re my best friend’s claim and I won’t do that to him.”

“If I wasn’t your sister, I wouldn’t be his claim.” She pulled her knees up to her

chin, a position she would enjoy while she still could. She rested her chin on her knees

and wrapped her arms around her legs. Large tears began to fall down her cheeks.

“My lady,” he whispered and moved so that he sat behind her. He put one long leg

on either side of her and gently began massaging her shoulders.

“I love you, Andru.”

“And Gilroy?”

“I love him too. My love for both of you is different but you’re different men. I feel

what both of you feel for me and for each other. And I feel for both of you.” She leaned

back against him and pulled his arms around her placing his hands on her belly. “This

isn’t wrong. This much love isn’t wrong. Crator wouldn’t have made us this way if it

were wrong. Your child will call you uncle and you will see him every day, watch him

grow, play with him, buy him gifts. You won’t have to curb your desires with our child

and that is how we will share each other. That is how it will be.”

He rested his chin on her shoulder and stared at the beautiful countryside that

would be his to rule. Once or twice he thought he felt their child move under his hands

and he pressed harder against her belly wanting the child to know how much he was

loved. She relaxed so completely, resting her cheek against his and watched a lone

glider travel a fair distance away west of them.

“Papa has ordered me to find a claim by the next new winter,” he said after several

minutes of silence.

Her heart slammed in her chest—how jealous he just made her. Was this how he

felt toward Gilroy?

“Who will you claim?” Her voice cracked, betraying her emotions to him.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. No one has caught my eye.”

Ana scooted away from him and struggled to her feet. She smiled and offered her

hand to help him up. “You found my claim for me…I’ll help find a claim for you.”

“I don’t want a claim.” I want you, he thought to himself and cupped her cheek in

his hand.

“Why did you give me to Gilroy?” she asked when she sensed what he was

thinking.

“I was ordered to find you a claim.”

“Well, now we have orders to find you one as well. It doesn’t mean we can’t be

together once in a while, does it?” Her question and the irresistible beauty on her face

made his passion for her boil intolerably.

“Woman, I need to take you home,” he growled at her and then grabbed their

picnic stuff and the blanket and rolled them up crudely before tossing them over the

cliff where their gliders were. He then hopped down to the next ledge and turned and

reached for her. Once he had her on the ground safely, he mounted his own glider and

appeared to scowl as he looked at her.

“Gilroy will ask you about our time together,” he said, still frowning. “Tell him we

ate lunch together and talked about you leading the Runners. Tell him I explained to

you how you must act when you’re with him publicly around his men. Tell him…” His

voice cracked and he looked up at the trees, struggling for composure. “If he lays a

hand on you in anger, I’ll kill him.”

Andru started his glider and took off so quickly that she didn’t have time to

respond. She boarded her own glider and took off much slower. Andru would go into

town and offer a lady in town what he couldn’t give her. Maybe that would be for the

best. If Andru could find interest in one of the women in town…maybe that would help

him not to hurt so much. Maybe it would help both of them.

Ana started back toward the house thinking she would link the landlink with Jolee

instead of waiting for it to be done tonight. She knew the scouts hadn’t even reached the

Norther country yet. At top speed it would take half a day. On an impulse, she turned

her glider and decided instead to fly out to the Gothman troops and find Gilroy. There

was just the smallest amount of guilt, for after all, she had just been unfaithful to him

even if it was just Andru. Besides, maybe apologizing for her behavior earlier in front of

his soldiers would appease him. She couldn’t have Andru so she wanted Gilroy…and

she wanted him as soon as possible.

Gilroy wasn’t visible right away. She landed and then one of the soldiers pointed

him out to her in the air. He was flying over the different squads and as he drew closer

she could tell he was talking on his comm as well. She sat on her glider for quite a while

watching him oversee the war games his soldiers participated in. Someone would have

to oversee the Runner armies and she needed to select that person soon.

When he noticed her sitting on her glider, he circled around and then landed next

to her.

“What is this, my lady?” he asked as he approached. She couldn’t help noticing his

long muscular legs as he strode toward her. His brown leather pants fit him perfectly

and strong muscles bulged in all the right places. His inky black hair reflected the

sunlight and deep blue eyes devoured her. It was an involuntarily action when she

licked her lips and suddenly felt timid in his presence. “Have you come to give me

another tongue-lashing?”

“No, I’ll wait until we’re alone for that,” she said and smiled flirtatiously at him.

“I see. You’ve come to try and soften the blow you’ve so justly earned. Is that how it

is, my lady?” He stood over her now and crossed his arms. His biceps bulged

impressively and her eyes widened as she realized that he was indeed upset with her.

“Maybe what you say is true,” she said softly and climbed off her glider. She stood

in front of him and dared to look slowly up his body until she met those intense sky-

blue eyes. She chewed her lip and realized her words needed to be sincere or she’d

make him angrier. “I thought if I came and apologized in front of your men that, um…”

This wasn’t as easy as she thought it would be. He was teaching her a lesson right

here on the spot. What would her mama do? She racked her brain to try and remember

how her mama acted when her papa said something she didn’t agree with. Tara took

Darius on with full force, that’s what she did. Ana looked down at her hands and

realized there was no way she could be that way with Gilroy. Maybe she couldn’t rule a

nation. She couldn’t even manage her claim. For the umpteenth time today she felt tears

threaten to fall. The doctor said she’d be more emotional but this was ridiculous.

She straightened herself and still felt very small in front of the man that towered

over her. She raised her head and looked at those beautiful blue eyes.