Lisia's Journey (20 page)

protection of a thick tree trunk as a bolt burst through the leafy growth near him. He

peered around the shield, trying to get a shot at the man hiding near the back of the

closest shuttle. The man kept moving, frustrating Jarritt and it took time to catch the

pattern.

Finally, Jarritt got a clean shot at the man. He pulled the trigger and watched the

beam of light hit. It flared across the man‟s chest. The pirate stumbled and fell to the

hard pavement. Jarritt looked around the area as he slowly moved forward. He didn‟t

see any men, but they could be hiding among the shuttles. He crept forward, noticing

the other men doing the same. Moving onto the dark, hard surface, his senses ruled. He

listened for the slide of a shoe across the pavement, watched for the slightest movement

of a shadow. He‟d need every moment of warning he could get.

He stopped at the back of a shuttle, took a deep breath and then swung around the

corner, his stunner held in readiness. The space between the two shuttles was clear. He

continued to search for other pirates. He finally called a halt when every possible hiding

place had been searched. Jarritt stood watching as the bound men were led away. The

UDA would take the prisoners. He waited to hear word from the men chasing the two

pirates who‟d slipped into the forest. Drake paced over to him.

“Thank you for your help.” Jarritt nodded to the blond-haired man.

“I did it for Lisia and because I wanted to see what type of man my sister had

found.” Drake‟s head tilted and he looked over at the men taking the prisoners away.

Jarritt frowned. “I know that you‟re protective of her, but I wouldn‟t have done

much differently if I‟d chanced to find her on your home world. When I first met her, I

knew.”

Drake shot him a heated look. “Not very smart, are you. I‟m going to accept you

because she‟s chosen you, but it wouldn‟t take much to convince me to rip you apart.”

He reached out and his fist gripped Jarritt‟s shirt, hauling him forward.

Jarritt didn‟t think. He just reacted. His hands shot up and forward, knocking

Drake‟s hand away from his shirt and shoving the man back. He stopped himself before

he lunged at the man. He just caught himself. Pushing down his temper, he held back a

growl. This was her brother and Lisia wouldn‟t appreciate him getting into another

fight with her brother. No matter who started it.

“I want her to be happy. I‟m holding myself back and won‟t attack you.” Jarritt

gritted his teeth. “But keep pushing and even her anger won‟t hold me back.”

Drake grinned, his body relaxing. “I‟m glad she‟s important to you. You‟ll

understand then when I say that if she‟d wanted to leave, I would have gotten her off

this planet.”

“And I‟d have come after her. She‟s my woman.” Jarritt growled. No one would

take her away from him.

“She‟s yours, because she wants you.” Drake let the words trail away.

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Jarritt heard the implied threat at the end of that statement. He could understand

Drake‟s feelings. He was just taking care of his sister. Jarritt didn‟t like it and right now

he didn‟t like the man much. One day, he might come to like her brother, but right now,

he wanted to flatten the man.

But the words Drake said kept ringing in his ears. “She‟s chosen you. She wants

you.” They sent a thrill of satisfaction through him that pushed away the anger and

tension. There was no way he was going to fight now. He wanted to get to her and hear

for himself just what she felt.

“We‟re not going to agree on how I should have claimed your sister. You‟re

protective of her as you should be,” Jarritt allowed, feeling more magnanimous now

that he knew she wanted to be with him. “I‟ll take care of her.”

“You‟d better. She‟s got five brothers who love her and my partner, the other
Shi’an
,

loves her like a sister.” Drake gave him a very serious stare.

Jarritt nodded. He turned his attention to the cleanup. Most of the prisoners had

already been secured and put into a UDA shuttle. Devral and Cam had started checking

for damage to the shuttles the men had tried to open with a pry bar. Two
Aridi
men

came out of the forest, but they didn‟t have even one of the men who‟d run. Arik

walked over to him as soon as he came out of the dense forest surrounding the landing

pad.

“Two men escaped,
Shi’an
. They got to their ships and launched. The UDA pilots

are chasing them.” Arik reported.

Jarritt nodded. “Good. Maybe they‟ll catch them or find out where they‟re hiding.”

He‟d personally like to be out hunting those men, but the UDA had the equipment to

track those shielded shuttles.

In only moments, he was getting the full report of the damage to the shuttles. He

listened to it and put Arik in charge. Eager to see Lisia, he headed back to the
marrohl
.

He wanted to talk to her and touch her. There was so much he needed to hear from her.

He‟d make sure they had privacy so he could get every last word.

He opened the door and stepped inside the building. Almost every person in the

room turned toward the door. At first, he didn‟t see Lisia and then she rushed out of a

group of women. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. His arms

wrapped around her and held her to him when she wanted to step back.

“No one was hurt?” she asked.

The room was so quiet that he knew the others waited to hear the news.

“None of our people were hurt. Your brothers are safe. We captured all except for

two of the pirates,” he said loudly so that the other women would hear and know that

their men were safe.

“That‟s wonderful.” She rested her head against his chest as she slowly let her arms

fall to her sides.

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He didn‟t release her. Being close to her was having a very definite effect on his

body. Her eyes widened and a wicked smile curved her lips as she felt his hardening

cock press against her belly. She was enjoying this too much.

“Is there something you need?” she asked in a low throaty purr.

“I need to talk to you in private.” He cupped her elbow and slowly stepped back

from her. He needed the distance. He wanted to talk to her first. He needed to hear

those words.

She licked her lips, but began leading the way toward their section. He caught her

hand as she reached the door. Opening the door, he urged her into the hallway. She

headed for the stairs, climbing them with a deliberate swing to her hips. He watched

her sweet ass flex and sway. His cock hardened even more. He wanted to get her out of

those clothes and into bed. He focused on what he needed to hear. First, he had to hear

her say those words.

The hallway seemed to go on forever and walking wasn‟t comfortable. She opened

the door and sidled through it with a sultry look over her shoulder. He followed

working on the fastenings of his shirt as he walked in a few steps after her.

“A little slow, aren‟t you?” she asked as she tossed her shirt across the room.

“Are you going to start without me?” He raised a brow. “Not that I mind as long as

you don‟t finish without me.”

“Do you think I‟m going to make it easy for you? You‟re going to have to work to

get me as hot as you are.” She smiled at him and began working on the fastening of her

skirt.

“Work?” He shook his head. “That‟s not work. I enjoy making you writhe and beg.”

“I don‟t beg.” She pointed a single finger at him and frowned severely.

“You don‟t? We‟ll have to change that then. I definitely want to hear you beg for me

tonight.” He took off his shirt, but turned abruptly serious. “But before that I need to

hear some words from you.”

She blinked and seemed surprised by the turn of subject. “What do you need to

hear?”

“I need you to tell me what you feel.” He walked over and cupped the side of her

face. “You told your brother. Can‟t you tell me?”

“I always thought you knew. You were so certain that we belonged together. I‟m

the one who needed to see the truth.” She tilted her head and stepped closer to him. Her

hand rose and brushed softly over his lips. Soft fingertips stroked his cheek.

“I knew that we belonged together. I knew that eventually you‟d accept that too.”

He hooked an arm around her waist and brushed a kiss across her lips. “I don‟t know

how you feel except for the surface emotions I can sense.”

She framed his face with her hands. “I love you. You have to know that I‟ll always

belong with you.”

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He hugged her tight. “I love you, Lisia. When your brother told me that you‟d

chosen me, I felt as if I‟d been given the universe. I knew that you‟d recognized that you

belonged with me. I didn‟t know that you‟d decided even before I arrived on the UDA

ship that we belonged together.”

“Then we‟ll just have to make sure you don‟t have any doubts.” She pressed against

him. “Make love to me. Show me how you feel.” Her thigh rose, hooking her foot

around his leg.

He picked her up and carried her to the bed. He wanted to love her long and slow.

Before he‟d wanted to drive her wild and take them both to a fast high peak. Now, he

wanted to make it so sweet she cried with intensity. Putting her down on the bed, he

quickly stripped out of his clothes and joined her on the mattress. She reached for him.

Her hands smoothed over his shoulders. He grabbed her hands pressing them to the

blanket. His hands cupped her breasts pressing the full mounds together. He brushed

soft kisses over her lips. With effort, he kept the touch light. She opened her mouth

beneath his, trying to deepen the kiss.

“Slowly, my
liana
. Let your passion build until you can‟t hold it back anymore,” he

urged against her lips.

“At least give me a decent kiss.” Her hand cupped the back of his neck. “If you‟re

going to torment me, you can do that small thing for me.”

He chuckled. Not for a moment did he buy that aggrieved tone. His tongue traced

her lips and his lips settled over hers. Her tongue met his as he gave her the kiss she

asked for. His thumbs flicked across her hard nipples. He gave her a slow deep joining

of the mouth, letting her feel the weight of his body for a moment. She moaned, the

sound close to a purr, and arched. He broke the kiss and pulled back before the

temptation to join their bodies became too great. He wanted to hear her purr and plead

for him to make love to her.

He moved down her body. Drawing his tongue down her neck, he savored her

taste, the scent of her arousal. She tilted her head giving him more access. He nibbled at

her neck. She shivered. As her hands stroked over his shoulders, he smiled and trailed

his lips lower. The dark crests of her nipples brushed against her skin. From her sharp

indrawn breath, he knew the tips were already sensitive and aching. Moving his mouth

over one reddened peak, he breathed out slowly. She arched raising her breast closer to

his lips. He lapped at the darkened peak. She shivered. He curled his tongue around the

stiff nub, just before he closed his lips over it.

Her fingers threaded into his hair and tugged him closer to her breast. He drew the

nipple deeper into his mouth. She wriggled. Her leg hooked around his, trying to draw

him even closer. He enjoyed feeling her arousal rise and wash through his mind. The

feelings sparked a reciprocal desire that made moving harder. He plucked at the

neglected peak, squeezing and lifting the mound.

“Jarritt, please, you‟re making me insane.” She gripped his hair trying to pull his

mouth away from her breast. “Come to me.”

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He smiled, raising his head from the lush feast. Dropping a kiss in the valley

between the full mounds, his lips moved to the neglected hard peak. He captured the

stiff nub between his teeth, biting gently. Her back bowed and she gasped.

“I want you wild and purring for me,” he said looking into her eyes as he brushed a

hand down her body.

She groaned. “If you don‟t watch it, you‟re going to feel my claws instead of hear

me purr.”

He laughed as he drew her nipple into his mouth. He felt her fingers on the back of

his head, but in spite of her threat, he didn‟t feel even a hint of nails. His fingers

smoothed over her stomach and down to the smooth skin of her pussy.

“I love the feel of your skin and how you tremble when I touch your pretty pussy.

I‟m going to enjoy feeling those tremors as I taste you.” He deliberately kept his mouth

close to her breast. He wanted her to feel the vibration of his voice.

She rolled her hips against his hand. He trailed his fingers over the slick lips. He

loved how she responded so eagerly. Her breath caught and he felt her muscles tighten