Survival -Guardians of Vesturon [1] (26 page)

By the time they returned home, the sun was sinking toward the horizon. They could smell the mouthwatering aromas coming out of the kitchen as they passed through. Zanna was hard at work getting dinner ready for them, and they realized they hadn’t eaten for some time. They went in search of the others to catch up with them before the big meal.

Rayn and Maddie found the men in the billiard room, shooting a game of pool. They looked up and immediately came to attention.

“How about some reintroductions?” Rayn asked, smiling. “The first time was a bit rough around the edges.”

Each of them came forward and presented themselves to her. Therron came first and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

Then Rykerian stepped forward and Rayn said, “Maddie, this is my brother Rykerian. Rykerian…Maddie.”

Rykerian took Maddie’s hand, bowed down and placed his lips upon it. “It is a great pleasure and honor to meet you, Maddie,” Rykerian stated.

When he stood up to his full six and a half feet, Maddie couldn’t hide her surprise, as his looks startled her as much as his formal greeting. He was disturbingly beautiful. Impeccably attired in designer clothing, he could pass for a model in one of those men’s magazines. His pants were Dolce and Gabanna, and his cashmere sweater was Prada, as were his shoes. Where Rayn was dark haired, Rykerian was…well, his hair color simply defied words.

It had hints of bronze, blond, copper and brown. Each strand looked as though it had been hand painted. It was impeccably styled, with the exception of his braid hanging over his shoulder. Now she understood the comment Rayn had made about how Rykerian despised the braid. It did not fit with the rest of his style.

His eyes were almond shaped, cobalt blue and were nothing short of astounding. Intense sapphires with irises rimmed in indigo and fringed in bronze lashes, they were beyond words. Surely hearts were broken everywhere this man went.

When Maddie noticed the corners of his mouth turn up, she knew he’d read her mind. A quick glance at Rayn confirmed her worst fears. They all had read her mind and knew what she thought of Rykerian!

“You all are so not right! That is entirely not fair! I can’t keep anything to myself.”

With a disarming grin, Rykerian said, “Rayn, I can see her temperament matches her hair.”

“Maddie, do not distress yourself. Rykerian has that effect on everyone. And yes, you are correct, he has most certainly broken hearts all over this universe,” Rayn piped in, laughing. “Around here we usually call him Fifth Avenue or Rodeo Drive. Back on Vesturon, he is known as the Glamour Prince!”

“I’ll certainly have to remember that. Forgive me my poor manners, Mr. Fifth Avenue, but it’s a pleasure, an embarrassing pleasure, to meet you as well.”

She turned back to Rayn and punched him as hard as she could in the chest. Of course, that was like a gnat trying to take down a giant.

“Ow! Whatever was that for?” he asked, grabbing her fist and pulling her into him.

“For not warning me about his looks. What is it with you all?” she retorted.

“It is through no fault of ours the looks that have been bestowed upon us. You will have to ask that of our parents,” Rykerian responded. “And it is simply Fifth Avenue, not ‘Mr.’ Fifth Avenue.”

“Yeesh! Whatever. Am I to assume you’re Tesslar?” she said as she turned to the third person in the room.

“That would be correct, my lady. It is with great pleasure and honor that I make your acquaintance, and I greatly look forward to having you as my sister.” He also bowed and kissed Maddie’s hand.

Whoa...this one is truly Mr. Manners!

“The pleasure and honor are mine Tesslar. And on a more serious note, I would like to thank each of you for, well, for coming to my rescue. I owe all of you in a major way.”

Tesslar interrupted, “Never fear, sister. We will let you pay us back! We never forget a favor, especially one of that magnitude!”

“Looks like we have another comedian in our midst. Rayn, why did you never tell me?” Maddie liked this family more and more every minute.

“Because I try to forget it every day!” Rayn dryly commented.

“Well, I can see why. And before you even try to read my mind, I’ll just tell you right now that yes, you are extremely handsome too, Tesslar, with your lovely hair and eyes, but that’s all I’m going to say. I can sense you’re a troublemaker, so I’ll have to watch myself around you.” Maddie was enjoying herself immensely, being the center of attention with these men.

Tesslar was dark haired like Rayn but had Rykerian’s startlingly blue eyes. He was built similarly to Rayn, but slightly slimmer and not as well defined muscularly. He, like the others, was astonishingly handsome, and his smile lit up the room. He had a devilish appearance to him, as if any moment he would spring a trick on you. Maddie knew she would have to be on her guard with this one. His appearance was more like Therron’s than the others—a bit disheveled with a carelessness about him. The four of them would, without doubt, turn heads in any setting.

“My lady, my handsome appearance is surely overshadowed by your incomparable beauty. With one word from your lovely lips, this gallant male would die happy at your feet.”

“Oh, for the love of God, stop. You are killing me,” Maddie grabbed her sides, laughter bubbling out of her. “You all are so full of it. Rayn, you should have told me to wear my boots.”

That comment brought out a room full of puzzled expressions.

“What does that mean? ‘Full of it?’ And why would you need boots?”

“You know, the you-know-what is getting deep in here. Get it?”

“No.”

Their looks demanded an explanation. After several attempts, Maddie gave up and said, “It’s a human expression.”

“Ahh,” they all said.

Rayn, Therron, and Rykerian were all leaning against the pool table, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles with their arms crossed over their muscled chests. They looked perfectly at ease, but their presence was unusually impressive. Maddie could see her roommates now--they’d all be drooling at this site.

Tesslar continued with his banter, “We are thrilled our brother has chosen his female so wisely, one who is quick of wit, yet fiery of spirit. And we too, are eager for your mating, so our dear Rayn will quit wearing out all the rugs in our humble abode!”

The thunderous laughter that erupted nearly shook the stone walls.

All the brothers gathered around Rayn, slapping him on the back. Although Maddie was shocked by this comment, she found it difficult to keep a straight face. She’d never had any siblings, so this was a fascinating new experience for her.

She looked up to see Rykerian watching her with an odd expression on his face. He realized she had caught it and quickly glanced away. She could have sworn he actually blushed. It puzzled her for a minute, but she didn’t have time to think much about it because, at that moment, Sharra decided to make her entry.

Maddie looked at Sharra and the other siblings. She could see the resemblance in each of them. Though they each looked different, they all shared common characteristics: eye color, hair color, height, facial features; and every one of them was unimaginably beautiful.

Sharra was no exception. Tall, like her brothers, she was every bit as commanding as they were. Her eyes were sparkling sapphire blue like Rykerian’s, and her hair was a satiny curtain of midnight black that hung past her waist. Her beauty was extraordinary. She had high cheekbones and a perfectly straight nose, delicately arched brows and huge almond shaped eyes that were surrounded by lush black lashes. When she smiled, she revealed a perfect set of startlingly white teeth. She was slender but exuded a strength that couldn’t be mistaken. This girl was not someone to be taken lightly.

Maddie caught Rayn looking her way, and the corners of his lips turned up. Her first thought was how handsome he was, with his beautiful eyes, hair and that body—no, not just handsome. He was drop-dead gorgeous. He was in the midst of this stunning family, but he somehow rose above every one of them. The room was saturated with his presence and he left no doubt about who the leader was here.

When his face beamed back at her, she knew he had read her mind. She winked at him, and he let out a bark of laughter. He ambled to over to Maddie and placed his arm around her.

“Hello, my sister,” Rayn said to Sharra.

“Hello, and hello again, Maddie. I am glad the clothing worked so well for you. What is happening down here?”

Maddie replied, “Oh, I am being entertained by your brothers. Some of them think they are comedians.”

“Oh, yes, but do not let them fool you. They are only funny unto themselves,” Sharra informed her.

“No worries there. Already got that figured out.”

Sharra looked at Rayn and noticed the smug expression he was wearing. “Why, Rayn, it appears you are resembling the animal that ate the bird,” Sharra said.

Everyone looked at her with puzzled expressions. “What I meant was, you look to be as if you swallowed a bird.”

Maddie looked at Rayn, and Rayn shrugged.

Tesslar interjected, “Sharra, what on Vesturon are you talking about?”

“Well, you know, it is a human saying.”

“No, we don’t know. Maybe Maddie can help.”

“No clue,” Maddie said.

“Well, what I meant was that Rayn is looking very proud of himself presently.”

A giggle escaped from Maddie, because she had figured out where this was going. Everyone looked at her expectantly.

“I think Sharra meant to say that Rayn looked like the
cat that swallowed the canary!
”

“Yes, that is what I said,” Sharra agreed.

Therron said, “No, that is not what you said. Sharra, you must stop trying to use human slang. It does not work, and we never know what you are trying to say.”

“Do not overly concern yourself, Therron, because now we have Maddie to help,” Sharra explained.

She was given a collective sigh from everyone present.

Then everyone said, “Good luck with that, Maddie.”

“Rayn, I was wondering if you have seen Xarrid? I cannot locate him,” Sharra wondered.

“Yes, listen everyone.” Maddie felt Rayn tense up as he spoke. “Xarrid has chosen to leave the Compound for patrol. He felt it would be better for him and the family if he were absent during this time. He is not in favor of my actions with Maddie as he believes I am betraying the family. I have tried to explain how things are between Maddie and me, but he is simply not giving in on this. So he said he was going to remain on patrol. If you need him, you will have to reach him telepathically. I am truly sorry about all of this,” Rayn stated.

Sharra put her hand on Rayn’s arm and kindly said, “Do not worry about him, Rayn. He will come around. Xarrid can be difficult when he sets his mind to something, but he is our brother and loyal to the end. He will eventually see the way of things.”

“Thanks, Shar and I do hope you are right.”

To lighten the mood again, Tesslar asked, “Would anyone care to play pool?”

Rayn, Maddie, Sharra, and Tesslar decided to play a game of eight ball. Tesslar went first, followed by Maddie. She took great pains to carefully aim, but when her stick hit the cue ball, the contact was so off kilter, the ball jumped off the table and ricocheted off a chair and ended up hitting Rykerian in the knee. All eyes were on her as she turned various shades of red.

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. I’ve never done that before. Did I hurt you?” she asked Rykerian.

“Hardly! I am fine. I am more concerned for the table,” he retorted sarcastically.

“Is the table okay?” Maddie inquired.

Rayn said Rykerian was just kidding and everyone had a laugh. All in all, the game was a disaster. Maddie knocked several more balls off the table, poked three of the men with her stick and concluded the game with slinging her pool stick and breaking two glasses. They finally declared the pool table was off limits to her, for safety reasons. She was only allowed to play video games, but it was still undecided if she would be allowed to play Wii.

Shortly afterward, Zanna called everyone in to dinner. It was a delicious meal and generally uneventful except for Maddie’s accidents. She initially spilled her water on herself, but then, when she was cutting her steak, somehow her knife slipped and her piece of meat flew off her plate and landed in Rykerian’s lap on his new Dolce & Gabanna khaki pants. She was horrified.

She jumped up and ran toward Rykerian with her napkin, intending to help him clean his pants. When Rykerian saw her intentions, he feared she would just make things worse, so he quickly stood up and knocked his glass of red wine on his cashmere sweater, adding to the disaster.

“Um yes, I will just go up and change. I will be back momentarily,” Rykerian exclaimed as he hurried out of the room. Maddie again thought his face appeared as if he were blushing.

“Maddie, are you always this accident prone?” Sharra wondered aloud.

“Oh, well, it depends on what I’m doing. If it’s anything related to sports, I’m okay. Well, except for pool! Other than that, I’m a mess. My body has a mind of its own. It seems as if one part of me wants to go one way and the other part wants to go the other way. My mother tried to teach me how to be more refined I guess. One time she made me walk around the house with a giant book on my head so that I would learn to walk gracefully. Do you all do that?” At their puzzled looks, she continued, “No, I didn’t think so. Anyway, the book was huge, and it ended up falling off my head and landing on her big toe and breaking it. She had to wear one of those big black orthopedic boots for a long time. The next time we did that, she wore big steel-toed shoes to protect herself.”

“You are a mystery, Maddie. You appear to have such grace on the one hand, but on the other hand, you are like a cow in a glass store,” Sharra said.

Now everyone looked puzzled. Suddenly, it dawned on Maddie what Sharra was trying to say and she let out a huge bubble of laughter. “I think you mean a bull in a china shop.”

“Yes, well, that too,” Sharra replied.

Everyone agreed at the end of the dinner that henceforth, they would all wear bibs for protection from Maddie. Maddie was still horrified over the accidents. All the members of the Yarrister family had impeccable table manners, and in just a short amount of time, she had managed to disrupt the entire meal, leaving stains everywhere. She promised herself she would be much more careful in the future.