Lisia's Journey (19 page)

open and his eyes skimmed over the large men in the pale yellow room until he found

his golden-haired
arra
sitting at the table. He stared at her for a moment willing her to

understand that she belonged to him.

“She‟s not going anywhere but back down to the planet.” Jarritt turned his attention

to the large, muscled men in the room with her.

He recognized one of the tall blond men as
Shi’an
Drake from their earlier

conversation. Jarritt saw the gold eyes lock on him. The powerfully built man dressed in

mottled clothing was definitely Lisia‟s brother. A dark scowl curved the man‟s lips and

his muscles were tensed and ready for a fight. Two other nearly identical men sat one

on either side of Lisia.

Well, now he understood how Lisia had gone for so long without someone pressing

her for a bonding. Not many men would want to face even three of such men and she

had two other brothers.

Drake stood, his shoulders rolling as he loosened his muscles. “That‟s her choice

now. You can‟t coerce and push her here. Did you really think we‟d allow you to coerce

her into marriage?”

Jarritt stepped forward more than ready to meet the challenge he saw in her

brother‟s eyes. “If you‟re so damn protective of her why was she forced to run away

from those slavers on her own?”

Drake flinched. “Because a man I trusted left her on her own. He‟s lucky he‟s still

alive.”

Drake paced around the table, his step slow and sure. As soon as Drake cleared the

last chair, he lunged forward. Drake‟s fist slashed up toward Jarritt‟s chin. Jarritt jerked

back managing to avoid the blow, but just. He hadn‟t expected her brother to come out

swinging like that. He didn‟t fall back more than that single step. His arm rose blocking

another blow. Jarritt drove a short quick punch into Drake‟s gut. They crashed into the

table as they grappled with each other. The table slid across the floor with a screech.

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Jarritt and Drake broke apart, but Drake plowed forward again. Jarritt kept a grip

on his anger and the roaring
Aridi
inside him. This man might have taken his mate, but

unfortunately he was also her brother. He couldn‟t kill the man. Drake‟s breath

exploded from his lips, but Drake‟s fist landed a solid punch against Jarritt‟s side. Pain

shot through his ribs. He grappled with Drake trying to wrench him off his feet. A stun

ray hit the wall over their heads. Shocked, Jarritt leapt back and spun to face the

shooter.

Lisia stood on the black-topped table, her feet braced slightly apart. She held the

gun easily in her hand. He was relieved when he saw that the barrel pointed toward the

tabletop.

“Enough already. One or two punches should have been enough. Both of you

already know that the other didn‟t appreciate your actions. If you want to rip each other

apart, you can do it when I‟m not around to watch.” She stepped down onto the chair

taking her brother‟s hand but keeping the stunner out of his reach when he tried to grab

it.

Jarritt smiled at her. She was such a bold woman at times. Then he looked at her

brother. She was right. As much as he wanted to rip into her brother, it wouldn‟t solve

anything and might just make her angry enough to try to leave him. He walked over to

the table and sat down across from her.

“So you didn‟t just come up here to beat up my brother for taking me off the

planet.” She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him.

“I came for you, Lisia. Your brother took you and yes, that pissed me off.” Jarritt

leaned forward. He wasn‟t going to let her pretend this was all about his anger at her

brother.

“Why did you come after her? She‟s just one of many possible mates.” Drake

dropped into the chair next to Lisia.

Jarritt growled. “She‟s my mate. You‟re not taking her anywhere.”

“If she wants to go, I‟m taking her home, because she‟s my sister and I love her.”

Drake relaxed in the cushioned brown chair, seemingly at ease.

“I‟m still here. I‟m not an object to be picked up or owned, damn it.” Lisia stood,

her chair rolling back.

“I know that, Lisia. I understand what your brother is trying to get me to see. He‟s

far from subtle. If we have daughters, I‟d want to slit a man‟s throat if he used even half

the methods I did to get your agreement.” Jarritt clenched his fist. Fear and anxiety

tightened his stomach.

“Exactly. If she had wanted it, I would have taken her home without discussing

this, but I‟d have been back.” Drake‟s eyes narrowed.

“You have a choice here, Lisia, but know if you choose to return home, I‟m not

going to give you up. I‟ll come after you.” Jarritt stared into her beautiful golden eyes

trying to find some clue of her answer. He had no idea what she was going to decide

and the uncertainty gnawed at him.

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“We‟ll always take care of her.” The third brother said.

“And your name is?” Jarritt raised a brow. Taking care of her was his job now.

“Taron. Even if she marries you, you‟ll see us often. We‟ll want to make sure she‟s

safe.” The blond man who was only slightly less muscled than Drake, looked too

relaxed, too confident.

Jarritt sighed and resigned himself to that. Eventually, they might come to a better

relationship, but it was going to take time. He didn‟t point out that she would be going

back to the planet one way or the other. That was an argument they weren‟t going to

settle just yet.

“Is it just because I‟m a more than compatible mate? I know the strength of the

connection is strong. I feel your feelings almost as strongly as I do my own, but is that

the only reason you want me? And why didn‟t you trust me after you, um, the incident

with Arik and the boy?” She tilted her head, drawing his attention away from her

brothers.

He stared at her blankly. How could she think that after they‟d been together for

the past days? He was a little grateful to her for not coming out and saying the word

“punished”. That would start another ferocious argument considering how protective

her brothers had been so far. “It‟s more than that. You know it‟s more than that. You

can feel what I feel. As to not trusting you, that‟s wrong. It‟s not that I didn‟t trust you. I

didn‟t want you to do something rash while you were angry with me, plus there was

also the danger with the pirates. If you ran into the forest in a huff, it could have ended

up far worse than just another argument between us.”

“I can feel what you feel, but I can‟t be sure that what I‟m reading isn‟t colored by

my own feelings.” She licked her lips.

“I want only you, no other will do. It‟s not just sex or the fact that the connection is

amazingly strong between us. It‟s you, the way I feel for you. Without you, life would

go on, but it would be so much worse than when I lost my sister.” Jarritt swallowed

heavily. Just the thought of losing her left a heavy weight in his stomach.

“Is that enough for you?” Drake asked.

Jarritt looked up to see the blond man looking at Lisia. He turned his attention to

Lisia. She was nodding, walking toward him. He stood and met her halfway around the

table. As his arms closed around her, satisfaction and calm swept through him. Jarritt

felt a surge of relief flood him. She was his. She knew it, accepted it and their

relationship.

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Lisia’s Journey

Lisia looked over at the table where Drake and Jarritt sat talking. She was a little

relieved that the confrontation had stopped at a simple fistfight. For a little while she‟d

thought they‟d rip each other apart. They were both so proud and possessive, neither

one of them wanted to give an inch.

“Have you settled your problem with the pirates?” Drake asked.

“Not yet. But their greed will bring them back and we‟ll get them.”

“I‟m not leaving her in danger.” Drake‟s voice snapped through the
marrohl
.

“I can protect her without your help.” Jarritt leaned forward his voice carrying the

distinct edge of a growl.

Lisia rolled her eyes. Not again. The last thing they needed right now was another

fight about who had more right to protect her or who could do it better. She put down

the cups she held and walked over to stand at Jarritt‟s side.

“It could be months before the pirates attack again.” She slid her hand over Jarritt‟s

tense shoulders.

Drake laughed. “I‟m not going to get into another fight with your man. We‟ll work

around our animosity.”

“You could try working around it faster, besides since you‟re both so much alike

you should have no problem finding common ground.” She tapped her foot.

Drake laughed, but it faded as an alarm began to sound. “What does that mean?”

“That‟s the alarm for the pirates. They‟re on the planet.” Lisia explained quickly.

Jarritt had already left the table and was talking to Arik. Drake followed at a fast

pace.

“Lisia, you stay in this
marrohl
, unless one of my men tells you to leave.” Jarritt

came over to her and gripped her shoulders. He stared down into her eyes.

“I won‟t leave, Jarritt. You worry about keeping yourself safe.” She smiled and

lightly touched his face.

He frowned. “You‟d better not.”

She couldn‟t blame him entirely for doubting that she‟d stay. But the man should

know that when she gave her word, she‟d do her best to keep it. She narrowed her eyes

and poked him in the chest with her forefinger. “You worry about coming back to me

safely.”

“Don‟t worry, Lisia. I‟ll make sure he comes back to you.” Drake appeared beside

him.

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Lisia didn‟t know where he‟d found it, but somehow he‟d gotten a weapon. He

stood there ready, waiting. Her eyes widened. Now she had to worry about both of

them.

“This isn‟t your fight.” Jarritt folded his arms across his chest and stared at Drake.

“You can stay here and guard your sister and the others in the
marrohl
.”

“I‟m sure you‟ve already assigned men to do that. Anything that threatens my sister

is my concern. Besides, I‟d like to talk to you.” Drake smiled showing his teeth in a far

from friendly smile.

Jarritt nodded. “Let‟s stop these pirates. Then we‟ll talk.”

Her stomach tightened as Jarritt began to lead Drake over to the side of the room.

She walked over to a group of women. Her hands tightened at her side. She didn‟t want

to go sit down, even though she didn‟t have any work to do. She needed to find

something to occupy her mind. She couldn‟t just stand around waiting for the men in

her life to return from fighting pirates.

* * * * *

Jarritt moved through the forest silently. He could see Drake creeping through the

trees to his right. The man still wasn‟t happy, but Jarritt could sense that he only

wanted to help with the pirates. Anything concerning Lisia on the other hand was

another matter. That was only what Jarritt expected from a brother.

Now they had to stop these pirates. Jarritt knew the landing pad would be the

pirates‟ target and headed there. This time, Jarritt and the Lieutenant Commander had

baited a trap for them and scheduled a delivery of weapons. With the unexpected

arrival of Drake and Lisia‟s other brothers, the pirates must have thought that the

shipment had arrived.

Creeping toward the landing area, he held the stunner lightly in his hand. He

wouldn‟t kill the pirates, as much as he wanted to rip them apart. He couldn‟t think of a

worse punishment for them than losing their freedom. Peering through the leaves, he

saw the men moving around the pad, trying to get into the shuttles. They wouldn‟t

know which shuttle held the weapons. Two men worked with small comps trying to

hack through the security protocols. The other men tried more physical methods. They

pried at the hatches with any bar they could find. Apparently, they hadn‟t come

prepared for breaking into shuttles. They‟d obviously expected to find the cargo being

unloaded, the crates out like they had been on a few other occasions.

He saw Drake move farther away from him, taking position for a clear shot. Jarritt

moved for a shot on one of the men prying at the door. He raised his hand in signal to

the men around him. Opening his fist, he fired. Beams flashed toward the men.

A warning cry rang just as the first beam hit one of the men. Others scrambled for

cover. Four made an immediate break for the forest. Two men were taken down before

they reached the cover of trees, but the other two managed to get into the forest. Jarritt

knew men would follow, try to catch them. He didn‟t lose focus on the remaining men.

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Shots slashed into the trees from the pirates‟ weapons. Jarritt moved to the