Thorn's Bondmate (Zarronian Warriors Book 2)

by Mardi Maxwell

  Rising, she went into the kitchen and fixed herself a glass of juice. Considering what had happened the last time she'd had too much wine it would be better if she stuck to juice from now on. Sipping it, she leaned against the wall in the living area and watched the stars go by in the darkness beyond the starship and wondered if he was sleeping.

  # # #

  Thorn went to the bridge after he left her. He spent a few minutes checking the charts then returned to his quarters and looked in on Dane and Dev. Dane's covers were on the floor. He covered him, then went into his bed chamber, undressed, and dropped onto the bed. Sighing, he folded his arms beneath his head and thought about his plans for the next day.

  He'd take his sons to the bridge with him in the morning. They'd never seen it as he'd studiously avoided taking them there or introducing them to his warriors. But, now he would do both. So far he'd left their warrior training to the trainers on his starship but starting tomorrow he'd take that on as well. They both excelled in the gymnasium, but Dev tended to rush through the exercises. Mostly, because he was like his Uncle Soren and was more interested in the starship and exploration than in fighting. Although Soren was deadly in battle and feared even among the other warriors.

  Slowly, his body relaxed and he let himself sink deeper into the mattress. Tor, he was tired and he couldn't remember the last time he'd had a full night's sleep. He rolled onto his stomach and let himself drift away.

  Chapter Five

  A moon cycle later, Daria had lost those pesky fifteen pounds that had refused to budge in the past, no matter what she did. Her face was slimmer, making her eyes appear huge in her pale face and the gown that had clung to her curves now hung loose on her slender body.

  Every night, Thorn came to her and every night she tried to resist him and failed. Within micro-units, she gave into him, eagerly taking the pleasure he gave her and occasionally begging for it. Afterwards, he rose and dressed while she lay on the bed, waiting for him to leave. Before walking out, he'd always say something hateful to her—mocking her eagerness or telling her how well-suited she was to her new life. He was a cruel monster and she hated him.

  As soon as she was alone she'd think of a witty comeback and be angry with herself for not thinking of it in time to deliver it. Then, she'd scrub his scent from her body and wander from room to room, restless and unable to sleep. Eventually, she'd fall asleep for a few short hours.

  Rolling over on the couch, she cursed when the sheet tangled around her. Impatiently, she unwound it and tossed it away. Mockingly, she laughed at herself. Why did she even bother? She was alone and he wouldn't care how she dressed or even if she dressed at all.

  Tears of self-pity filled her eyes. Angrily, she brushed them away, mumbled a 'get-tough-Daria' lecture to herself then forced herself to begin counting the dots on the ceiling. She'd almost accomplished the feat the cycle before when she'd become so bored she'd fallen asleep. Which was the entire point of the process and if she was lucky it might happen again today.

  She'd reached a thousand and nine when she someone pounded on the door. Surprised, she grabbed the sheet, wrapped it around herself. What should she do? Should she pound on it? Before she could decide chiming sound came from behind her. She scanned the room and saw a light on the viewing screen blinking. She hurried to it and began pushing the row of buttons. When she pushed the third one an image of Dane and Dev appeared.

  They smiled at her. Tears filled her eyes and she laughed. The two of them were the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen. She dropped to her knees and touched the screen, wishing she could touch them.

  "Daria, are you alright?" Dane asked. "Have you been sick?"

  "No, sweetie, I'm fine now that I can see you and Dev. Are the two of you alright? You didn't get into trouble for helping me did you?" Had that monster punished them? She'd kill him if he'd harmed them.

  "No, Father said it was alright. That he understood."

  Dev nodded. "You look different."

  She blinked away the tears that filled her eyes and smiled at them. "Do I, sweetie?"

  "Why are you crying?" Dane's adorable little face scrunched up with concern.

  "I'm just happy, Dane. Sometimes girls cry when they're happy. "

  "We've been looking for you but we couldn't find you," Dev said. "Why aren't you in the brig?"

  "The brig isn't a very nice place for a female so your father brought me here."

  They grinned then began telling her about the things they'd been doing with their father. She could see how happy they were and she was happy for them.

  "That's wonderful. It sounds like you're having lots of fun."

  "What have you been doing?"

  Dane asked the question Daria had hoped they wouldn't ask. She didn't want to lie to them but she couldn't tell them the truth. Teasingly, she told them, "Missing you, Dane. And, you too, Dev. Now, tell me about your lessons. How's the math going, Dev?"

  Dev groaned and began to tell her about the lesson he was working on. Grateful for the distraction, she told him to get his books then she explained the equation to him until he understood it.

  "Dane, what have you been studying?"

  When he began telling her about the science assignment he was doing, she grimaced, and stopped him. Science was her weakest subject. "You're going to have to get your father to help you with that. I'm lost."

  He giggled. "It's easy."

  "That's what you think."

  They spoke until Dane said they had to meet their father in the gymnasium.

  "Alright. Have a good time."

  "We will, Daria. We'll contact you tomorrow. Okay?"

  "Wait! Did you get your father's permission to call me today?"

  They shook their heads.

  Sorrowfully, she told them, "Then, you better not contact me again."

  "But, we're worried about you," Dane said.

  She saw the tears in their eyes before they looked away. "Dane? Dev? Listen to me. I really appreciate that you called me and I really, really miss seeing both of you. But, I think you know that your father wouldn't want you talking to me. Don't you?"

  They nodded.

  "Then, I want you to obey him. Do you remember what we talked about? About rules and why your father set them for you?"

  "Yes, Daria." They answered together.

  "Good. I'm proud of both of you. Now, blow me a kiss."

  They giggled and clumsily blew her several kisses. She'd taught them how to do that one day when they'd visited her. She returned their kisses then said, "Go on now. Git." They laughed as she knew they would. For some reason they loved her southern expressions. She smiled and their images disappeared and the screen went dark.

  # # #

  Thorn demonstrated a kick to Dev then watched as he tried to copy it. Patiently, he corrected him and told him to do it again. "Good, Dev. That was perfect. Now, add this move after the kick." He went through the motions several times, explaining it to them as he did it then watching as they practiced it.

  Kneeling, he hugged them. "That's enough for today. Let's go back to our quarters and get cleaned up." As he wiped the sweat from his face, he added, "Dag and Ronin are joining us for dinner tonight."

  "Can we have sweet cake, Father? Dag likes it." Dev grinned.

  "Yes, tonight we'll give Dag sweet cake." Ruffling his son's hair, he added, "After he eats his vegetables."

  His sons groaned, made several gagging sounds and giggled.

  Thorn chuckled. He enjoyed the time he spent with his sons. During the mornings, he supervised their lessons then later they spent the afternoons in the gymnasium. In between, they explored the starship. In the evenings, before he put them to bed they watched info-discs together.

  They ran ahead of his to their quarters and entered first. He sent them to shower before he went into his bathing chamber, undressed and stepped into the small cubicle. Standing beneath the warm spray he thought about Daria.

  Every night after his sons were aslee
p he went to her. She always waited for him in the darkened bed chamber with the sheet pulled up to her shoulders, hiding her body from him. He'd tried to pull it away from her and she'd held onto it. The first few times she'd tried that he'd made it clear that every time she did that she'd pay for it and then he'd played with her until she'd begged him for relief. Now she didn't even try to keep the covering. Instead as soon as he entered he pulled the covering away and she'd roll onto her back, raise up on one elbow. As he undressed he told her what he was going to do to her. By the time he joined her on the cool sheets she was always burning with fever and eager for his possession.

  Thinking about her was arousing him so he switched the water to cold and stood beneath the hard spray. Angrily, he cursed himself, her and the fever they shared. Never again would he allow a female to make a fool of him. As soon as they reached Zarronia the Council would expect him to hand her over to them. He didn't know what to do about that. If the scientists were right they wouldn't be able to be away from each other for more than two cycles without suffering. He'd hand her over to the Council then stay the hell away from her. He'd take the chance that the scientists were wrong about how strong the bonding was at his level. He stepped out of the shower, roughly dried himself, and went into his bed chamber. While he dressed he heard Dane and Dev's voices from the kitchen while they prepared dinner. Their childish voices rang with excitement and their laughter filled the quarters. As he left his room the chime rang, signaling Dag and Ronin's arrival.

  "You're right on time," he said. "The boys are preparing dinner."

  "Great!" Dag replied, rubbing his stomach, gleefully. "That means we're having sweet cake for dinner."

  Ronin laughed, and pounded him on the back. "Not, if I know Thorn. I'll wager you that we're have vegetables and lots of them. "

  Thorn grinned. "We're having both."

  Dane and Dev appeared in the dining area. Each of them carried two food trays. They walked slowly, carefully balancing the trays in their hands. When they reached the table, they slid them onto its surface and laughed. Thorn, Dag and Ronin went to help them.

  Thorn picked up a tankard of ale and the fifth food tray while Dag took the glasses of juice for the boys and Ronin grabbed two more tankards of ale.

  Once seated, the boys regaled their visitors with the things they'd done that cycle and their plans for the next cycle. Thorn absently listened to them while he ate letting them have this opportunity to visit with their mentors.

  He knew Dag and Ronin had kept in close contact with his sons during his absence. He had yet to thank them for doing that. They'd taken his place, seeing to it that Dane and Dev always knew where he was and what he was doing. Shame overwhelmed him when he remembered how he'd kept them at a distance when they'd joined his crew. They'd always been loyal friends while he'd turned his back on not only them but his family and especially his sons.

  After their birth the Council had sent him on a three annual mission while the uproar over Naline's betrayal died down. Her betrayal against his people had been bad but the fact that she'd been the first female in Zarronian history to betray her bondmate had nearly destroyed him. He couldn't describe the relief he's felt when the scientists told him they'd discovered that there were now different levels of mating. He and Naline had not bonded but she'd taken his fever and freed him from the need to find a mate. She'd been the first bondmate to ever betray her mate and that's what had sent him fleeing he finally admitted to himself. The other he could have dealt with but the notoriety of having such a treacherous bondmate had nearly destroyed him. It had been his duty to control her and he'd failed. He's never once questioned her actions or her frequent absences. He'd trusted her completely but now he questioned whether he'd ever loved her or if what he'd felt for her was just the lust created by his fever.

  "Thorn?" Dag asked. "You okay?"

  He looked around and realized that they'd finished eating while he'd been lost in his thoughts. Nodding he glanced at Dev. "Where's the sweet cake?"

  "You haven't finished your vegetables, Father," Dev said.

  Thorn ruffled Dev's hair, finished the brocco-beans then handed the empty tray to Dane. His sons went into the kitchen and he heard the processor humming as it prepared the desert. Rising, he followed them and programmed the processor for three glasses of wine.

  While they ate the desert, Dag teasingly tried to sneak bites from Ronin's tray causing the boys to fall into fits of the giggles. The two boys finished their desert first so Thorn told them to take their trays to the kitchen and gave them permission to watch an info-disc. He relaxed and sipped his wine, ruefully grateful for the silence in the room.

  "We've made good time, Thorn. If nothing goes wrong we'll be home right on schedule," Ronin said.

  "What about the number two engine?" Thorn asked.

  "I spoke to Garrikson earlier," Dag said. "He's not sure it will hold until we reach Zarronia."

  "Ronin, how much longer would the journey take without the number two engine?"

  "At least another moon phase."

  "Then, I want the engine shut down. I don't want to take a chance on ruining it just to get home faster when the need isn't urgent."

  "Alright, I'll tell Garrikson." Dag sipped his wine then asked him, "How's it going with the boys?"

  "Good." Thorn looked at Ronin and Dag. "I've never thanked you for what you've done for them and me."

  Dag rose and pounded Thorn on the back when he passed him. "That's alright, Thorn. What are friends for if not to be there when you need them?"

  Ronin nodded in agreement. "Hey, I could use another glass of wine."

  Grinning, Dag said, "Suddenly, I feel like celebrating."

  "Which one of you told them about my heroic deeds?" Thorn asked Ronin.

  "We both did. They kept asking questions about you so we told them as much as we could."

  Thorn chuckled. "Dev thinks I kill everyone who angers me."

  Dag laughed. "We tried to tell him you didn't but for some reason he insists on believing that you do."

  Ronin leaned forward. "Dev is the more stubborn of the two of them. Once he gets an idea in his head he won't change it."

  Thorn grimaced. "I know. Every day he asks me if I've killed Daria yet."

  "How's our spy doing? Still locked up next door?" Dag asked.

  Thorn nodded. "I've informed the Council of her presence and why she says she snuck aboard. I haven't heard back from them."

  "Are they investigating her?" Ronin took a sip of wine.

  "I'd be surprised if they weren't," Thorn said.

  "Do you think the Council will execute her?"

  "I don't know." Thorn hoped they wouldn't keep asking questions. Dag knew him too well and he'd know, or at least suspect, that something more than sex had happened between him and Daria.

  Dag turned to Ronin. "You should have seen her. She's gorgeous. Long black her hair and eyes the exact color of a wolfens." He glanced at Thorn. "Isn't that right, Thorn?"

  "Yes." Thorn stood up, went into the kitchen and returned with three more glasses of wine. He slid two over to Dag and Ronin then sipped his.

  Ronin leaned back, sipped from his glass and said, "Aulunson said she's tall."

  Dag grinned. "Really tall. A warrior wouldn't get a crick in his neck kissing her. She has a body that can make a warrior's fever rise. Long slender legs and beautiful large breas—."

  "That's enough, Dag," Thorn growled. When Dag looked at him he knew his secret was out. He just hoped Dag would let it go.

  Dag drained his glass of wine, set it on the table and rose. "I'd better go speak to Garrikson before he turns in for the night."

  Ronin rose as well. "I think I'll go up to the fourth floor."

  Dane and Dev heard his statement as they entered the room. "Do you have some concentrating to do, Ronin?"

  "Yes, Dane. I do," Ronin said with a laugh.

  Eagerly, Dev said, "Daria could help you. She's a female and she helps me."

&n
bsp; "Dev!" Dane shouted, as he reached out and shoved him. "You're not supposed to tell."

  Thorn knelt in front of Dev. "How does Daria help you concentrate, Dev?"

  When Dev tried to turn to Dane for help, Thorn stopped him. "Answer me, Dev." When he hesitated, Thorn gave him an encouraging smile silently urging him to answer.

  "When I couldn't do my math she explained it to me until I understood," Dev said.

  "Is that all she did?"

  Dev shook his head. "She tried to help Dane with his science but she couldn't because she's no good at it."

  Thorn ruffled their hair. "Alright. Now, I think it's time for the two of you to go to bed. I'll check on you after Ronin and Dag leave."

  They said goodnight to their mentors and left the room. Thorn turned back to his guests. "Apparently my father has told them what females do for a warrior." He laughed. "He gave Soren and me the same lecture about sex sharing."

  Dag and Ronin were still laughing when he escorted them to the door and bid them goodnight. Thorn went into his sons' room and sat down on the end of Dev's bed. "Did you tell Daria about the females on the fourth floor?"

  They nodded.

  "Did you tell her that they help the warriors concentrate?"

  "Yes. At first, she didn't believe us but then she said she understood," Dane said.

  Thorn pulled the cover up to Dev's shoulder and pushed his hair out of his eyes. Before he moved away Dev threw his arms around his neck and hugged him. Thorn returned the hug then let Dev go, turned to Dane and hugged him and ruffled his hair. Immediately, Dane's hand flew up and smoothed it.

  Smiling, Thorn looked around their room. Dane's side was neat. Everything was stowed away out of sight. Dev's side was cluttered. His clothes formed an untidy pile on the floor and one of his boots stuck out from beneath the bed. It looked just like his and Soren's room when they were younger. He bid them goodnight and cleaned up the wine glasses and read the day's reports. He made sure they were asleep before he left his quarters intending to go to Daria. As he approached her door, his communicator buzzed.