“You feeling all right?” he questioned.
“Yes,” she replied. “Why do you ask?”
“Because you never call me by my name. You call me everything else in the book, but not Jordan.” His green eyes locked on her and for a moment, she thought they held concern. That was wishful thinking on her part. She was sure of it.
“I call you Vasil all the time,” she said, doing her best to put reason into a nonsensical argument.
He inclined his head in agreement. “Yes, you call me by my last name often but rarely, if ever, do you say my first name, Nina.”
Hearing her name fall from his full lips made her body tingle. Jordan had always been able to make her breath quicken and her heart race. The man had fallen from the sky when the vessel he was on experienced unexplainable malfunctions while in their orbit. His brother, Sevan, was the captain of the vessel and had ended up mated to Nina’s sister, Lorelei. Their children, twin boys, were almost six months of age. Sevan had carved out a life for himself on their planet. Jordan, on the other hand, hadn’t.
“Nina? You’re zoning off on me again. Let’s get you inside. Something is wrong.” Jordan reached for her but Nina took a step back.
“I’m fine, Vasil. Really.” She eyed the outer perimeter fencing. Even with it there, the beauty of nature still managed to prevail. She took a deep breath in, savoring the floral scents of her home planet.
He stepped closer, his body touching hers. “The Dsendiyun group do you in?”
She cringed at the thought of the alien race that seemed to make landing on her planet a monthly affair. They were a race whose female population had dwindled to nearly nonexistent. While relatively harmless, they did tend to be very grabby while planet-side. Their ships were either the worst ships ever made or they tinkered with them prior to approaching Sargaidia’s atmosphere in hopes of gaining permission to dock. She suspected that was more the case. A vessel holding nearly thirty of them had required a tow less than four days prior. In those four days, Nina had responded to more complaints from the women of her village—in regards to the Dsendiyuns nasty habit of grabbing a handful of ass whenever the opportunity presented itself—than she had to any other calls.
Jordan had accompanied her on several of the calls, finding the alien race amusing until one of them put his hand on her backside. Nina was then forced to pull Jordan off the Dsendiyun and then had to spend nearly two hours calming Jordan down. She’d spotted the same alien later that night, at a tavern in the heart of the village, and she could have sworn he was more bruised and battered than he’d been when she’d left him.
She raised one eyebrow in question. “By chance did you happen to meet up again with the Dsendiyun you were so fond of?”
He blinked incredulously. “Whatever do you mean?”
“Vasil.”
“Hey, can I help the guy just happened to be where I was?” he asked, faking shock.
“And he just happened to end up looking as though a pikineius beast had at him?”
“Weird, huh?” he asked, his sexy grin setting the mood.
She snickered and found herself stepping even closer to him. He shocked her by putting an arm around her. Throwing it off should have been her first thought. It wasn’t. She leaned against his muscular body and looked out at the natural beauty all around her.
Jordan stiffened a second before rubbing her arm and placing his chin lightly upon her head. “Pretty out here, isn’t it?”
Nina’s hand went to his chest and the act surprised her. Still, she didn’t pull away. “It’s one of my favorite spots to come and think. I like it because no one else seems to. Makes it peaceful, quiet.”
“Do you want me to go?” he asked, tensing more.
Yes.
No.
Conflicted, Nina let out a shaky breath and found herself clutching his shirt. She lifted her head, her gaze colliding with his. Awareness prickled over her body, slow at first, then with an intensity that nearly made her moan. She wanted this to be the man who stopped the powerful burning, the nearly crippling pain of her cycle, but her mouth refused to open and ask it of him. She chose instead to simply stare up into his emerald green eyes, wondering when the next smart remark would come from him or if he’d find humor in her vulnerability.
He put his hand over hers, cupping it firmly in place. “Tell me to leave, Nina.”
The way he said it sounded as if he was hoping she’d send him away. That he didn’t have the willpower to do so on his own. That was ridiculous. Jordan was one of the strongest men she knew, and that wasn’t even counting his stubborn streak.
“Jordan?”
His breathing was quick and shallow and his eyes narrow as he continued to meet her gaze. Was he aware of her cycle? Did the shifter in him realize she was fertile and that her body craved his?
She tried to back away but the attempt was half-hearted. He held firm to her, his breathing calming slightly. He closed his eyes and the muscles in his neck worked before he looked upon her again. He released her hand but she kept it in place on his chest. “Sorry.”
Taking a deep breath, she stayed near him, drawing in his scent. Musk with a hint of spice. Under it all she could smell his cats and hated admitting how wet they made her pussy. Why did it have to be Jordan? Why did it have to be the one man on the planet who didn’t bend to her whim? Who stood his ground with her. It was her luck to want the man who irritated her the most. She tipped her head as a coy smile overtook her.
Jordan winked and she giggled.
Giggled, of all things.
She wasn’t one of those women yet she was fawning over a man. Even with the knowledge, Nina couldn’t seem to stop herself. At best, she managed to stop grinning up at him and relax. Her gaze returned to the scenery but she stayed pressed to him. She couldn’t recall a time she’d sought a man’s embrace for the sheer comfort it provided. “Can I tell you something and you not have a laugh?”
“Yes,” he said softly. Jordan was famous for his swift wit and temper. Hearing him agree to her terms so quickly surprised her.
“I have never been off Sargaidia. I’m not sure of what to expect out there.”
He was to pilot her off the planet for their retrieval mission. They were taking a shuttle from the Alpha Brig Three and from what she’d been told, Jordan was the best man for the job. With their departure set for morning, she’d find out soon enough what it was like to leave her home planet.
“I know you’ve traveled extensively so this has to sound foolish to you but I’m nervous about leaving and about staying. It’s all so confusing.”
“I’d like to lie to you and tell you how other planets in the quadrant aren’t any different than here, Nina, but I won’t do that.” He wrapped his arms around her fully, his hands going to the small of her back. “Sargaidia’s sister planet, Margaidia, is similar in the sense of its beauty, but it’s covered with a good deal of large cities as well. Buildings as tall as the eye can see, people everywhere, a lot of hustle and bustle. It’s a nice mix if you’re into that sort of thing. I find myself preferring Sargaidia though. Other planets differ depending on which you’re talking about. Some seem to be nothing but machines now. Others seem to be no more than wasteland. Some are little but water for as far as the eye can see.”
Nina did her best to soak in all that he was telling her. “You’ve seen so much, Vasil. How is it you’re content to be here? I mean, I understand why your brother is would stay but I can’t imagine our planet being able to hold someone like you to it.”
There, she’d said it. She’d voiced her biggest fear. She was scared Jordan would leave. He’d been on her planet for a year and a half and she didn’t expect him to stay much longer. Not a man like him. One who had seen the universe and had no commitments holding him to her planet.
He skimmed his hands up her back and cupped her neck. Heat flared through her body. “I like it here, boss, and I have no plans on leaving.” A wry grin spread over his handsome face. “Un
less you want me to go.”
“No,” she said a little too fast as she clutched his arm. Her mind screamed at her hand, ordering it to release him but she could no more pry her fingers from him than she could stop the uncontrollable urges he brought about in her. Needing to save face, she stammered out a response, “Umm, I mean, Sevan would miss you. As would your nephews.”
Something Nina couldn’t read moved over Jordan’s face. “Yeah,” he said, dipping his head, his lips closing in on hers. “He probably would.”
“J-Jordan?”
His lips were so close—hovering right there. “Yeah, baby?”
She didn’t scold him for the demeaning pet name. Rather, she leaned up, putting her mouth closer to his. “I should yell, right?”
He laughed softly. His fingers kneaded the back of her neck. “It does seem to be what we do best.”
She focused on his lips. “What’s that?”
“Yell at each other,” he confessed, his thumbs caressing just below her ears. His lips skimmed hers and fire shot through her entire body. She froze, knowing if she dared to move she’d ravish the man.
He used his thumbs to tug at her jawline, pulling her mouth open slightly. “I’m gonna kiss you, baby. You all right with that?”
A second before she would have responded with a yes, Nina sensed someone nearing and pulled back from his touch, putting a good foot of space between them. Jordan reached for her and she lifted her hand to him, stopping just shy of making contact.
“For now,” he whispered. “This will do.”
Chapter Two
“Nina?” Marisa, her sister-in-law, called, breaking the pregnant pause between Nina and Jordan. “Are you out here?”
Nina growled in frustration. The damn woman refused to listen to orders set in place to assure her safety. If she didn’t love the woman, Nina would have most likely strangled her. “Yes, but what in the bloody hell are you doing roaming about with night nearing? Bradi will skin me alive if he catches you out here, Marisa. My brother nearly loses it when you nick yourself. He would never handle the idea of you skulking about the grounds after hours.”
As the chestnut-haired beauty rounded the corner with a smile on her face and her arm laced through Nina’s trusted guard’s arm, Nina let out a shaky, relieved breath. Marisa had not come alone after all.
Pheebes winked and she had to suppress a smile. “My lady, look what I found wandering about.”
“Thank you for watching over her,” Nina said.
Marisa didn’t bother hiding her emotions. She put her arms up and hugged Nina tight. Marisa was a tad bit taller than Nina’s five foot five inches so Nina had to go to her tiptoes.
“I wanted to thank you again for this, Nina. I haven’t seen my father in so long,” Marisa said. “I miss him horribly and I know he’ll love Bradi and Eli the minute he lays eyes on them. He’ll love you all.”
“Marisa, I can’t guarantee we’ll be able to find him. From what I am told, Margaidia is a large planet. Even if he is there, which we’re not even sure of, the odds of finding him are remote.” She wanted to be able to tell Marisa that she’d bring her father home to her but refused to make promises she wasn’t positive she could keep. Already Bradi referred to the mission as a fool’s errand and her brother was right. It most likely was. That being said, everyone wanted to see Marisa happy and if making an attempt to retrieve her only living relative did that, then so be it. Plus, Nina wanted to find word on her brother as well, and the only way to do so was to go off-world.
“Yet you think to find Kyriakos with not even a single lead,” Pheebes interjected, his voice never wavering even though he was revealing information she considered private. She’d confided in him, trusting it would go no further. She’d been wrong.
“Pheebes.” Nina gave him a warning look.
“No. I will not bite my tongue, my lady.” The way he said my lady showed her how very on edge Pheebes was. He’d been angry with her from the moment she’d confessed to wanting to search for her fraternal twin. “You know not the ways of outsiders and refuse to listen to reason. You will run head-first to your end and expect me to bite my tongue as you do. What do you think they will do to you should they find out you’re a supernatural? The universe is unkind and uncaring. The Commission’s scorn of everything non-humanoid is very telling and you are headed straight to a planet they now have a foothold in.”
“Kyriakos?” Marisa’s brows rose. “As in your brother?”
“Brother?” Jordan inquired. “I knew three Janelle boys were still unaccounted for but I wasn’t aware of any of their names.”
Marisa stared past her at Jordan. “Were you aware that Kyriakos is Nina’s twin? As Bradi is to Lorelei? You know how Bradi carries the shifter traits as dominate rather than magik and Lorelei carries magik rather than shifter? Nina and Kyriakos share the same dynamics. Where she can shift into a panther with ease, he can wield magik.”
“I had no idea,” Jordan said, sounding both stunned and impressed.
“Were either of you aware that Nina does not plan to return if she finds no trace of Kyriakos on Margaidia? She firmly believes herself able to slip away from any accompanying her. She plans to scour the universe for him,” Pheebes said, his blue gaze landing on her. He released Marisa’s arm and took a step towards Nina. “Were either of you aware Nina has dreamt this quest will bring about great change? That darkness cloaks it? That perhaps even death awaits?”
Jordan and Marisa gasped.
Nina didn’t. She struck out, punching Pheebes in the jaw. His head jerked back but She didn’t stop. No. She went at him again only to find herself being lifted into the air by a set of strong, warm arms.
“Relax, baby,” Jordan whispered in her ear. “He’s telling us because he cares and doesn’t want anything to happen to you.”
Pheebes rubbed his jaw. “Tell them, my lady. Tell them how you are in the height of your cycle, yet have refused my touch for months. You no longer allow me to lay with you when I know how your body burns to be caressed. To be loved to—”
Jordan released her and was on Pheebes in the blink of an eye, pummeling him as he snarled madly. Nina rushed forward and pushed between them. She shoved Pheebes in one direction and Jordan in the other. The minute Jordan made another move to go at Pheebes, she pointed at him. “Enough!”
Jordan’s nostrils flared as he wiped his bloodied lip. “How could you let him touch you?”
“What?” She shook her head, sure she’d misheard him. “How is this your business?”
Pheebes laughed. “Do not tell me you don’t realize who this man is to you, my lady.”
She glared at him. “Stop with the my lady references. As you have so dutifully pointed out, you were my lover for a period of time, Pheebes. I think that puts us past formalities. Don’t you? You have not shared my bed in over a year. I did not shun you on purpose. I don’t know why my body no longer responds to you. Regardless what is or was between us, you have no right to air it in front of others.”
Marisa took a step towards Pheebes and put her hand up to check him. He gave her a hard look but the good doctor ignored him as she touched his lip. “Geesh, did the two of you study how to bust lips or did it just work out this way?”
“Marisa,” Jordan said sternly.
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, shut up, Jordan. If you’re not willing to say it, I will. Nina, I think you and Jordan should have sex and get it over with. The two of you skate around one other, snapping at each other almost non-stop. You act as if you can’t stand each other, yet the minute a third party—” she glanced at Pheebes, “—is introduced, it’s all we can do to keep Jordan under control. Does anyone even want me to go into the Dsendiyun he beat the holy space balls out of the other night?”
Nina’s gaze whipped around to find Jordan standing there, his lip still bleeding and his shoulders heaving. He gave a what? look. She grunted.
Marisa didn’t stop. “Not only that, if you think we don’t notice
the way you stare at Jordan, you’re wrong. Just last week I noticed your eyes shifting to a lighter blue when you were watching Jordan sparring with Christian. And before you try to tell me it was Christian who sparked your interest, I’ll point out to you that it didn’t happen until Jordan took his shirt off. And Bradi was standing near me. He’s the one who instantly noticed the changes in you, Nina. He’s the one who explained what they meant to me.”
Heat flared to Nina’s cheeks. She had taken keen notice of Jordan during one of his sparring sessions. She struggled with her inner panther, fighting to keep hold of it to prevent a full on shift. She’d no idea her brother had been close enough to see and sense the entire ordeal. She hated that Marisa was right but was even more upset she’d said it in front of Jordan. “Just because the brute is hard to control means nothing.”
“Oh really?” Marisa asked, raising her brows. “Then tell me, did you stop sleeping with Pheebes before or after Jordan arrived on this planet?”
“The same day he came,” Pheebes said, answering for her. Thoughts of going at him again came to mind. She resisted. With her temperament, it was difficult. “That morning, before he touched down on our planet, was the last time Nina sought my bed.”
“Maybe you’re just shit in bed,” Jordan bellowed. “Ever think of that?”
She cringed and closed her eyes. “Stop. He’s not, Jordan. Do not do this. Please. I beg of you.”
He snorted. “So, what, you’re telling me he’s so great that you just up and quit him cold polition bird?”
She glanced at him. There was so much more to it but saying it out loud wasn’t something she was prepared to do. To confess what even she denied whole heartily was too much.
“Lorelei and I have questioned Sevan about you, Jordan,” Marisa said, pointing at Jordan. “You’ve not slept with any of the women here. It isn’t from lack of interest because we both know of at least eight women who have been trying their best to get in your pants. Sasher is the latest. And from the stories we heard from Bradi, you’ve quite the reputation as being a ladies’ man. What made you stop cold polition bird?” She eyed Nina. “Never mind. I already know the answer. So do you.”
Point of No Return: Project Exorcism, Book 3 Page 2