Grady's Awakening (32 page)

Two could play that game.

He turned to the boy, already hatching plans to keep tabs on the Alvian warrior. But the boy was joined by his mother and father, who kept Jim talking about the outside world. By the time Jim was able to look back at Grady, he was gone. The seat at Gina’s side was filled by a woman who seemed to be hanging on Gina’s every word.

“I wanted to thank you.”

The deep, musical, Alvian voice surprised Jim. Son of a bitch. Grady had snuck up on him.

“What for?” Jim didn’t know how to play this little scene yet.

“For keeping watch over Gina. I worried about her while she was away on her mission, but had no way to contact her and a mission of my own to fulfill.” Grady seemed serious enough but Jim still wasn’t sure if there wasn’t some ulterior motive. “Thank you for making sure she came to no harm.”

“No thanks are necessary. Gina’s a talented woman. She took care of herself.”

“She is that.” Grady’s attention seemed to be snagged as he looked at the woman in question. His gaze softened and a tender expression touched his otherwise hard features. “She is a very special woman.”

“You’ll get no argument from me.” Jim felt jealousy, but also a kind of understanding for the other man. Grady probably believed himself in love with Gina. Jim was familiar with the idea. He recognized the emotion on the alien’s face for what it was and couldn’t fault the man for it.

“I love her.”

The bald statement was tinged with wonder, as if the alien was just discovering the truth of his words. Jim had to fight against his compassionate nature and remember Grady was talking about Gina—the woman Jim had just spent a passionate journey with and had deep feelings for himself.

“We completed the tests for resonance and she is my true mate, as I anticipated. I knew the moment I saw her that she was special.”

“Hell.” Jim drained his glass of beer and placed the empty on the table. “For your information, I knew her when she was just a kid. A gorgeous, talented, spunky teenager, studying in her father’s
dojo
. She was off limits to me then, but she sure as hell isn’t now.” Jim felt his anger translating into clenched fists and tight muscles. If it weren’t for the crowd, he’d gladly take out his confusion on the Alvian warrior, but he held himself in check. “If she loves you back, you’re a lucky man, Grady. But know this. I won’t make it easy on you. I saw her first.”

Grady regarded him steadily for a long moment before speaking in a low, serious tone. “I envy the fact that you’ve known her longer and I value the challenge you’ve issued, but it could be for naught.”

“How so?”

Grady looked pointedly at Jaci and the two men flanking her. “If she will have you, I won’t object to sharing her love. I know there are few human females. I never expected to find even one who could resonate with me, but having seen three true Resonance Matings, I knew it was likely I would be one of several men, should I be lucky to find a mate.”

Jim had to admit, he’d thought about the idea, but he still had a hard time separating the young girl he’d known from the woman. He thought of her as she had been with her family and he knew her father and brothers would have had strong objections to her getting involved with Jim in any way. Forget any kind of ménage relationship. The Hansons would have killed any man who even suggested it for their little princess.

“Look, buddy.” Jim tried to master his confusion and unrest. “I don’t know you, but I do know Gina. She’ll make her own decisions. Let’s let her be our guide.”

Grady looked at him strangely for a moment. “You are indeed wise,” he finally said, making Jim a little uncomfortable. He hadn’t expected the man’s respectful tone. So far, this Grady guy wasn’t acting in any way Jim could have predicted. “Gina will decide. It is for us to live with her decisions. I’m glad we had this talk.”

Funny thing was, Grady didn’t look glad. He looked as if he’d lost his best friend or something. The Alvian warrior left him then, walking away into the darkened part of the massive main cavern.

Jim stewed when Gina got up and went after him, but he was stopped from making an ass of himself when Jaci came over to him.

“Grady Prime is a good man,” she said without preamble.

“I’d expect you to say that, if you don’t mind my candor.”

Jaci laughed and the sound was musical and enchanting. “Back when I was a lab tech, I was a little in awe of him. Most lower ranked Alvians are, even though they don’t fully understand the emotion.” She moved closer to him, and her voice dropped. “Grady Prime is a considerate, skilled lover. I was only with him once in the course of my duties, but he’s the only man besides my mates who has ever shown me true pleasure.”

Jim wasn’t sure he wanted to know that. It was a little too much information for his peace of mind.

“I’m just saying,” she went on, “that Grady Prime will be good to your lady. He may even give you some competition in that area. Of course, the benefactor of such a competition will be Gina. I could almost envy her if I wasn’t so happy with my own mates.”

Jim didn’t know what to say when she paused dreamily, but assumed some response was required. “I’m very happy for you,” he finally managed, but she hardly noticed.

Jaci put a hand on his arm. “I think you could be just as happy, Jim, but it will require you to bend a little. Having been mated to two human males for some time, I’m beginning to understand their nature a bit. I know Grady Prime and I know he will never tell you what I am about to reveal, but I feel you must know it to understand the seriousness of the situation.”

Jim didn’t know what to make of her words and almost feared some new revelation of a sexual nature. For all he knew, Alvian guys had two cocks or something equally as weird. He just hoped whatever Jaci was about to tell him was something he could handle.

“Ancient Alvians—before emotion was bred out of our people—were highly aggressive. More so than even your human ancestors. Alvian males, warriors in particular, lived short, harsh lives spent fighting and searching for their Resonance Mates. If they didn’t find their mate, they were fated to a horrible end. They would often end their own lives in battle before facing that final challenge of madness.”

“What are you saying?”

Jaci’s face went pale and her eyes solemn as she turned to him. “Without their mates to complete them, Alvian males go insane. Grady Prime is a man of honor and pride. If Gina rejects him in favor of you, Grady Prime will not put up a fight. He’ll take her at her word and leave.” A tear fell unheeded down her pale cheek. “You’ll never see him again. In all likelihood, no one will ever see him again. Grady Prime will end his own life before the madness claims him because he knows it’s the only way to protect his mate. If he went mad, knowing she was in the world, he could do her harm while he was out of his mind. He’d take his own life before he’d let that happen. If Gina rejects him, she will be sentencing him to that terrible end.”

Jim was shocked. He’d had no idea. The very concept was appalling. Certainly a broken heart wasn’t something anyone wanted to experience, but actually going insane as a result was too much. These Alvians never did anything halfway, he thought. Claim your mate or go nuts. No middle ground.

Of course, it also meant that if Gina chose Jim over Grady, Jim would have to knowingly let the man go off to die. Jim didn’t think he could live with that on his conscience. Not even knowing the bastard was an alien.

Grady Prime was real to him now. Jim had seen a little of his vulnerability and couldn’t fault the way he treated Gina. The others seemed to respect him, but Jim wanted a chance to discover the real man. He wanted to get him in the sparring ring. The way a man fought told Jim a lot about a guy. Knowing what he knew now, Jim would take the time to learn more about this Grady character.

It was an untenable situation all the way around, but nothing had to be decided in the next few minutes. They had time. Not much, but some. It would have to be enough.

“So, just to be sure I’ve got this right, if Gina rejects him, Grady will go nuts?”

Jaci looked away, toward her mates, nodding. “If he is like our ancestors, then yes.”

“What about—” Jim didn’t want to say it out loud, but the possibility was there, staring him in the face. “What about if we formed a threesome? Would he be able to deal with it then? Or does this resonance stuff require full, one-on-one commitment?”

“Judging by Chief Engineer Davin’s mating, a threesome would work fine, if all three of you were willing to share. It works beautifully for my mates and me. I’ve heard that Davin and his mates are happy and well balanced, even though from all accounts, Davin was much closer to insanity than Grady Prime appears to be.”

Jim had a lot to think about. He was confused and didn’t know how to resolve any of these issues, but time would tell. Hopefully. He didn’t have a lot of time to waste, but surely he deserved a few days away from his responsibilities to think through his future. He didn’t think his people would begrudge him that. And besides, he was making contacts and working out details for opening communication between his installation and this one. If all went well, he could do that and figure out the rest of his life at the same time.

“Thank you, Jaci. I’m glad you took the time to tell me these things.” He lifted her hand and placed a kiss on the back, politely. She smiled at him with understanding in her eyes.

“I wasn’t sure if I should speak, but I think it was the right thing to do. There have been too many misunderstandings between our peoples already. This is the time for clear communication—especially with something as important as this.”

“You were right to tell me, Jaci. I’ll think about what you’ve said and appreciate your concern.”

He left her then, heading for his quarters. He definitely did have a lot to think about.

Chapter Fifteen

“Grady, wait up.” Gina’s voice carried in the dark recesses of the giant, manmade cave.

The main area was a massive cavern hollowed out by machines long ago. Pillars of rock had been left every twenty yards or so as support columns, rounded at the top and bottom, arching into the roof and floor, giving the chamber a cathedral-like feel.

Gina followed Grady Prime into the far recesses of the cleared area, past the buildings that fit within the massive cavern, to an area that sloped gently downward toward an underground lake. Water gathered in the massive area, purified by its trip through the rock above into an ice-cold, totally contained and safe water supply.

Grady paused when Gina called after him, but didn’t turn. She caught up with him, walking around his tall body to face him. His features were in shadow, but her eyes had adjusted to the dark. She could tell he was upset. His eyes glittered down at her in the darkness.

“Please tell me what’s wrong. Did Jim say something?” She put a hand on his forearm, seeking answers.

“This is not Jim’s fault.” Grady sighed and looked at her, relaxing a bit. She took it as a good sign. “We agreed that you would decide which of us you wanted in your life.”

Taken aback, she straightened, looking at him in surprise.

“Well, you’ve got that part right at least.”

Grady stepped close, facing her toe to toe as one hand rose to cup her waist and the other her cheek.

“Forgive me for not handling this well. I, of course, understand why one of your own race would be preferable to me but please, say I at least have some chance of winning your heart.”

Right then, her heart melted. She moved into his arms as they closed around her.

“Of course you do, Grady.” She rested her head against his chest, searching for words that would ease his turmoil. “Jim shouldn’t have said anything to you. I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do about the future, but I want to find a way to allow all three of us to be happy.”

“A threesome? Is that what you want? With Jim?”

She hadn’t really thought in those terms but after seeing Jaci with her two mates, the idea did seem to have some merit. Still, the obstacles in their way were big. Perhaps insurmountable.

“Honestly, I don’t know.” She pulled back, trying to see through the darkness to meet his eyes. “Jim has responsibilities to the people he leads. I have responsibilities to the Patriarch and the clan. You—” She hated to think what he had to look forward to when he got back to the Alvian scientists who were experimenting on him. “You have a high profile role in regular Alvian society aside from the experiment you’re taking part in. Even if you weren’t a test subject, it would be hard for us to be together, but I have to hope there’s a way.”

“There is always a way. That is one of the many things I’ve learned from observing humans for so long.” Grady smiled in the gloom. “I don’t know how yet, but I want to be with you, Gina. I…love you. You are in my heart, and you always will be. I must be with you.” His voice went from sure to tentative. “If you will allow it.”

“I want that too, Grady.” Her words were whispered against his stubbly cheek as she reached up on tiptoe to place gentle kisses on his jaw. “I love you too.”

“I know we have problems, but I have to believe fate would not be so unkind as to let me find you, only to take you away. You are my perfect mate, my resonance partner. I can be happy with no other but you, Gina.”