“Nothing wrong with that,” Angus declared.
Sheena let out a breath. “There’s one other thing I need to tell you before we can talk about normal things again.” She paused and looked at them. “I applied to be your DNA owner. Well, actually Bri and I both did. You see, if you’re a clone, you’re the responsibility of the people whose DNA was used to create you. I wanted to make sure you were mine and Bri’s, just in case you ever needed serious legal help.”
“I see. So like an adoption then?” Angus asked.
“Yes. Exactly like an adoption,” Bri burst out, clapping her hands.
Sheena sighed heavily. “Bri and I will have final say on any decisions concerning you. By taking this action, we’re basically making sure Nate doesn’t have control.”
Erin looked at Angus. “I trust ya, Sheena. Do ya trust her, Angus?”
Angus nodded his head slowly. “Yes and I’d like to think the originals would have been pleased that their daughters showed up to help us. This all has a fated feel to it, don’t ya think, Erin?”
“I agree. It definitely has a fated feel,” Erin replied.
“I’m not sure about fate,” Sheena said dryly, “but I know how much clout my parents had on New Earth. I’m not about to let Nate’s dysfunctional family mess with mine. That includes Carleton and Elsa. As soon as I get some new security put into place at the castle, we can all go home. If you guys want to come back here and keep working on the airship, that’s up to you. Until the castle is secure again, I’m staying nearby.”
Angus sighed. “Yer a fine woman, Sheena MacNamara. Yer parents would have been proud as could be if they’d lived to see ya like this.” He looked at Bri too. “Yar both fine women.”
“Did ya say ya intend to increase security at the castle, Sheena? Angus, tell Sheena about our idea. Maybe we can all work on it together. Then we wouldn’t need the Guardians to give us anything but their blessing that the weddings can happen.”
Angus waved at the humming ball on the table. “Ya can turn that bugger off and save the battery, lass. What I’ll be sharing is no secret around here. I’ve personally told everyone but the Guardians. Erin sweet talked Director John into taking it forward to them.”
Nodding, Sheena reached out and turned off her white noise creator. It would take far too long to explain perpetual energy to Universe 6 humans. Their universe had obviously been less technologically developed. Best they think for now that they were being helpful in conserving.
“Let me run get us an ale and we’ll have ourselves a nice talk about the castle. It’s a grand place. We only visited once, but Erin and I loved it.”
Sheena nodded and hoped she was doing the right thing.
Chapter Thirteen
“Thank you, Berg. I’ll only be a moment.”
Sheena walked quietly into medical, looking around for a healer. She’d brought lots of things with her, but no sleep aides. Tonight she really needed one. She’d lived on stimulants for two days and her body was in total rebellion.
Her heart lurched when she saw him. Hunched over the bench, and wearing a healer’s jacket, Nate read notes scrolling by on the com. Now and again, he’d bookmark a notation for later.
She cleared her throat to keep from startling him. Nate swung around on his stool and nearly fell off of it when he saw her.
“Very smooth, Admiral.”
Nate’s mouth twisted into a smirk. “Wasn’t expecting anyone. What’s got you wandering around alone?”
“Berg is here,” a determined voice declared.
Sheena dropped her head to laugh.
“Sorry, Berg. I should have known you’d look out for her,” Nate said solemnly. His gaze returned to Sheena. “Need something?”
“Yes. I need something to help me sleep.”
“Natural or synthetic?”
“Whatever works. I stayed up all night last night reading…” she caught herself, but it was already too late.
“Reading? While Montgomery slept beside you?”
Sheena sighed and nodded. “Pretty much.”
Nate walked to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a pack of three capsules. He brought it back and held it out. When Sheena went to take it from him, he lifted it out of reach.
“What if I said I wanted to help you get to sleep myself—no drugs needed?”
“Nate… that’s not a good idea.”
“Kiss me and tell me that,” Nate ordered. “I think it’s the best idea I’ve had in ages. I’m tired of dreaming about you. I want the real thing.”
“You dreamed about me?” Sheena asked.
“Yes, but you weren’t naked in the dream. All we did was talk. Total waste of Delta waves.”
Guilt was a heavy burden. Sighing, Sheena held out a hand. “I think I’ll take the pills.”
Mirroring her sigh, Nate lowered his hand and put the packet in her palm. Two seconds later he had Sheena in his arms. His mouth on hers was the only good thing that had happened to him that day.
“Sleep with me,” he whispered, when he let her go. “Let me take care of you. I’ll kill anyone who interrupts us this time.”
“Don’t do this to me. I’m so tired,” Sheena whispered. “I have no fight left.”
“I know. That’s why I’m making my move while I can. Tomorrow you’ll hate me again.”
“I don’t hate you. Why do you keep saying that?” Sheena asked wearily.
Nate pushed back her hair with fingers still holding the packet of pills. “Maybe because I hate myself for letting you go. No other woman ever took your place in my bed or my heart. We’re not done, Sheena MacNamara. And nothing you did or did not do with General Montgomery last night changes that. I still want you as much as I ever have.”
Sheena shuddered in his arms, hearing what she’d longed to hear from the man who had always owned her heart. Without thinking of the cost, she gave the words back. “Nothing happened last night with Scott, and I turned him down this morning. He’d have just been a substitute. I still want you too.”
“Good. Stay with me tonight. You won’t need the sleep tablets. I promise.”
His mouth was suddenly on hers again, his lips sliding across Sheena’s lips. Her urgent kiss helped him believe what he desperately needed to believe.
Sheena shook her head, resistance at an all time low. “How can I do this? You won’t talk to me. I can’t trust you. Your mother—I don’t know what she’s up to with Bri. We’ll only end up hurting each other again. This isn’t going to work, Nate.”
“It will work for tonight. We’ll make it work at least for tonight. Please give me one more chance.”
“Berg is here,” Berg said from the doorway.
“Sheena?” Nate asked.
Sighing, Sheena looked at her handsome escort. Most of the aliens were like Toorg and Berg—handsome, well-built, and concerned for any female they came across.
“It’s okay Berg. I’ll be going with the Admiral to his quarters. I’ll send a com message to Brianna to let her know.”
Nodding once, the tall, bare chested guard disappeared.
Then she was being dragged down the hall at a striding clip she could barely keep up with.
“Undress me,” Nate ordered gruffly.
Face flushed with an arousal already flaming out of control, Sheena deftly tore the fasteners of his slacks open. Nate wore nothing underneath them. Her roaming hands found him hard and already throbbing for her.
Her whimper as she stroked him spurred Nate to get her naked too. Her shirt was tugged over her head. The other clothing she wore soon followed. Nate’s hands were in her hair, down her arms, and roaming over her breasts as he got reacquainted with them.
When one large hand with seriously talented fingers slid between her legs, her knees buckled. Seconds later she was airborne as Nate lifted and carried her to bed.
He laid her among the covers and slid his body over hers. Her legs opened to him, quivering when he groaned in her ear at the invitation.
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br /> “Just like this?” Nate asked in a rough whisper.
“Yes… gods, yes,” Sheena replied.
She ran her hands through his hair and over his shoulders again. She arched as he worked himself inside her with as much patience as he could wrestle from them both. When it was done, they fit together like two parts of a whole. But then they always had.
The mother of all orgasms tore through her needy body on the first long stroke he made. It spun out with the twenty that followed the first.
After that all passed for her, hot tears ran down both cheeks as the right man yelled out his release and laid claim to her once more.
His possessive grip remained as they both fell into an exhausted sleep.
Turns out Nate was right about the tablets. She hadn’t needed them at all.
All she’d needed was him.
He was dreaming—had to be dreaming. Nate hadn’t allowed himself to consciously imagine that particular mouth doing that particular thing in a long damn time.
His eyelids were heavy at the moment, but they opened when that mouth slid down his length and sucked him to throbbing hardness again. He wanted to let go, to scream out her name, but when he spoke it was just a whisper.
“Sheena.”
Because it had to be her—just had to be.
A head moved under the covers as a female body crawled over him. Delicious hotness slid onto his erection, engulfing him in a familiar heaven he’d never forgotten. The body bowed and arched, bowed and arched, until the madness of having to see her owned him.
He whipped the covers off her head, and a long-haired goddess rose above him, smiling and laughing as his heart raced at the sight. He couldn’t stop staring. She was so damn beautiful—so beautiful.
Her mouth claimed his fiercely, even as her body slid down hard claiming everything else. He sat up trying to get closer, holding her to him, driving her higher as she plunged and plunged.
Her scream of satisfaction made him quake in her arms.
Nate lost control completely when Sheena called out his name in return. He emptied himself too soon, just like he had the first time he’d ever been with her. She hadn’t minded then. She didn’t seem to mind now.
She laughed joyfully while he cursed his stupidity for ever letting this woman leave his bed.
Never again, he promised himself. Never again.
Sheena rocked the rest of her orgasm away in his lap, kissing his neck and shoulders as she calmed.
“Sheena,” he said again, not even sure what he wanted to tell her.
“Sssh…” she answered, putting a finger over his lips.
Then removing that finger, she kissed him sweetly.
With Sheena still astride him, Nate slid them both back down under the covers and counted his blessings.
She was grumpy this morning. Grumpy, but at least physically sated. Regrets hovered on the edges of the new day, but Sheena pushed them ruthlessly away from her mind.
So she and Nate had sex a couple times last night? That didn’t have to mean anything.
The real shame was that the bathroom shower in Nate’s quarters was no larger than the one in Brianna’s suite. What good was it to be Admiral? That position at least deserved a larger bathroom, didn’t it?
The space got even smaller when a fully aroused Nate stepped into the shower with her. A traitorous throbbing started between her legs just at the sight of him jutting in her direction. Last night came back in a rush and the promise of more pleasure woke her mind completely.
What was it about this man? Why did only he have this affect on her?
A hundred damned years and he was still the one. Damn it, he was still the one.
“Good morning,” Nate whispered, pressing against the woman he craved.
“Good morning,” Sheena whispered back, feeling suddenly shy at his aggression.
Then Nate’s mouth was hot on hers and her legs were wrapping around his waist. He held her suspended above him as he fucked her. At some point, her back got pressed against the shower wall when he needed more leverage—the right angle—and to tilt her pelvis until he could hit the perfect spot over and over as she moaned.
It was glorious—absolutely glorious. A ride that had them both yelling as they finished together.
And all she could think about after Nate helped her wash her hair was doing it again.
And again.
And again.
Chapter Fourteen
Bri was thankfully missing when Sheena finally returned to the suite. It allowed her time to reflect on why she’d let herself reopen the Pandora’s box of her former marriage last night.
Nate was everything wonderful between the sheets, but still someone she couldn’t trust or respect outside them. So she was no worse off than she’d been before the sex, but now she craved him again. That madness had led to heartache and hurt many, many times in the past. She really had no wish to revisit that pain.
Feeling more energized than usual, Sheena resumed her studies and spent the morning reviewing the rest of her father’s notes. Though hundreds of years in the making, the findings and conclusions were succinct enough for a couple hours perusal. She was convinced now that her father had known a new Angus and Erin would be retrieved from one of the universes. She imagined her mother knew as well because her father kept nothing from her—good or bad.
She also understood the alternates could be returned, but the results were riskier and it had to be to the exact moment they were taken. Keeping them here was the safest bet for all universes to her way of thinking. It was only the fair-minded scientist in her that made her want to offer Angus and Erin the chance to make the decision on their own.
Bri returning to their quarters had her head lifting. She watched her sister walk to the table and look down at her from her towering height. “You look fantastic today. Nate’s the only one who ever erased all those worry lines from your forehead.”
Sheena snorted. “Thanks. I guess. Sorry, I didn’t let you know where I was.”
Bri snorted back. “Are you kidding? You left with Berg. He wouldn’t have let anything happen to you. Ergo, you had to have been passed off to someone relatively safe. It wasn’t too hard to conclude who took responsibility for you. I get how this place works. I think the safeguards are stupid, but the system is simple enough.”
“I just found out the alternates can be sent back,” Sheena said.
Bri frowned. “Well, don’t tell them. I don’t want them to leave.”
“Neither do I, but it’s only fair, Brianna. They were abducted. They didn’t ask to be brought here.” Bri reluctantly nodded and Sheena blew out a breath. “I’m sorry. I almost didn’t tell you.”
“It’s alright. If it happens, I guess I need to be prepared. I just…” Bri stopped, shrugged. “It would be like losing mom and dad all over again.
Sheena nodded. “I know.”
They both let the silence spin out as they came to grips with their understanding.
“Change of subject,” Bri said finally. “Darcone told me there was a transmission this morning from Nate’s father. He said the Admiral was indisposed and had missed the call. Got any idea what’s going on.”
Sheena rubbed her no longer smooth forehead as she thought about it. “No. We were in the shower together until I left.”
Bri snickered. “Glad to hear Nate put out the do not disturb notice, but his father…”
“Works directly for the Guardians… yes, I know,” Sheena said, sighing.
“Darcone said he was coming here.”
Sheena looked at her sister. “Why would he do that?”
Bri crossed her arms. “On a guess? Because of me. What he plans to do is another matter. I’d sure like to know who those people were that were killed.”
“So would I,” Sheena said, thinking about it.
Interruptions usually consisted of news about alien arguments in the common area or malfunctioning engine parts that required short landings for repairs
. Rarely did they involve the arrival of a direct representative of the Guardians. Never did they involve either of his parents, least of all his father, yet Nate hurried now to meet the man coming off a special shuttle that had just docked.
Nate straightened as he strode quickly across the floor. The man coming down the ramp looked like his grandfather. It was only up close, once the man had stopped in front of him, that Nate realized it was his father who had aged as most on New Earth did eventually.
“Nathaniel.”
“Greetings, Father.”
“You’re looking very… young,” his father said after a long pause.
“Medical testing that paid off,” Nate said, hoping not to have to explain further. His cover story had weakened over the years. Fortunately, his mother had gotten used to his sustained youth. His father hadn’t seen him enough to do so.
“Glad to see the alien bastards are finally giving us something useful.”
Frowning and yet relieved, Nate turned when his father started moving forward. “Yes. What brings you to the AAS ship? Does Mother know you’re here? I’m sure she would have come if she’d have known.”
“No. And you’re not to tell her. This is not a personal visit. It’s… Guardian business.”
Nate’s brow lifted. “I see. Very well. What can I help you with today?”
“I’m here to see the new matchmakers. I understand both daughters of the originals are here as well. How’s that going?”
“Sheena has filed for ownership, as you might have expected. She thinks they’re clones.”
“Good. Good. In fact, that’s perfect. And the other one?”
“Brianna? She’s fine. Why?”
Nate was startled when his father gripped his jacket by the arm and dragged him along faster.
“I have information indicating the youngest MacNamara is a double-agent. She must be constrained,” his father said.
“Bri? A double agent? No, I don’t see that being the case. She’s in the program and next up for an alien mate.”
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