“Shouldn’t you be in the infirmary?” Shauss inquired of Hastion as he ran his hands down the lean musculature stretched over Tiber’s ribs.
“Probably, but the entertainment’s better here.”
In full agreement, Shauss straightened and grasped Tiber’s hips. Before he could move, Tiber held up a probe and Shauss grinned.
“You, my mate, have just earned your orgasm.”
* * * * *
Tiber was dismayed by the heat that scorched his neck and ears when Shauss guided Jasmine into the infirmary the next morning. He’d been dreading and anticipating this moment with equal measure for hours. Despite having dived into busywork immediately upon waking, he’d relived last night’s surrender at least a hundred times over already. His newly stretched waste canal, which zinged in protest with every step he took, made it well nigh impossible to forget just how thoroughly he’d been claimed, and the empty feeling in his balls and gut reminded him all too vividly of just how hard he’d come.
He wouldn’t let himself think about the continuing reminders of just how copiously Shauss had come in the deepest recesses of his rectum.
Tiber cursed silently. Knowing he was blushing made him blush all the harder, and Shauss’ slow, arrogant smile only compounded the problem. Peserin, he was the father of grown children and yet his heartbeat fluttered like an adolescent female’s!
Ignoring him, Tiber poured all that heat into an open-mouthed kiss with Jasmine and thrilled to the sensual stroke of her tongue against his. When Shauss grasped the back of his neck, linking the three of them, he stiffened—in more ways than one—but managed not to react otherwise to the firm touch.
“I hear you managed to snare yet another Sparnite, Lieutenant.”
Ketrok’s voice booming from the bed next to Hastion’s made Jasmine tear away from him with a gasp.
“Fortune has favored me,” Shauss acknowledged with a serene nod, keeping his hand in place. To the casual observer, his touch might appear to be just that, casual and friendly. But Tiber recognized its two-fold purpose—to remind him of Shauss’ dominance and to reassert Shauss’ claim on him.
It was tempting to turn the tables, to try to stake his own claim on Shauss, but the sad, exciting truth was that Shauss would probably tie him in a painful knot and fuck him in front of a hundred witnesses as punishment.
“And I.” Ketrok glanced at his hands, which were still covered by the thick blue regeneration gloves. “Another minute or two in that steripod and I wouldn’t have had any hands to regenerate.”
“Dr. Ketrok, I’m so relieved to see you on the mend,” Jasmine said, leaning over the bed to kiss his cheek.
The grizzled and graying Ketrok actually blushed, which made Tiber feel considerably better about his own hot cheeks. “Thank you, Miss King. I’m glad to be on the mend.”
She sat on the edge of Hastion’s bed and put her palm on his forehead. “And how are you feeling this morning?”
“I’m fine, for now,” he said, setting aside his frustration long enough grab her hand and plant a kiss on the back. “Tiber can find nothing wrong with me. Nothing.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“As am I. The protected claiming time is now over, and until I’m fit to mate, you are at risk of being claimed by the first male who happens on you unprotected.”
“She won’t be unprotected,” Shauss promised. “Kellen, Zannen and the minister are committed to keeping her safe until this mysterious malady has passed—as is Monica, who can make a grown warrior cry for his mommy,” he added with a grin. “Between the seven of us, we should be able to preserve her until you can finalize your claim.”
“What are you talking about?” Ketrok asked.
As Tiber explained, Ketrok’s expression became more and more thoughtful. Then his gaze slid between Jasmine and Hastion, alight with speculation.
“Miss King looks quite different since her transition,” he said.
Confused by the change of subject and the switch to cerecom, Tiber said, “Not all that much. Certainly not like Dr. Teague did.”
Ketrok watched him intently. “Look at the two of them, Tiber—Hastion and Miss King.”
Tiber did, trying hard to see what Ketrok was seeing. When he did, he felt as though he’d been struck in the chest by a meteor. Opening the link to Shauss and Ketrok, he ordered, “Empran, DNA comparison between Jasmine King and Lieutenant Hastion.”
Almost instantly, Empran replied, “Jasmine King and Lieutenant Hastion share twenty common alleles. Likelihood of sibling relationship ninety-nine point nine two percent.”
Shauss jerked in surprise and stared at Jasmine and Hastion. “Ho. Ly. Shit!”
Then he burst into belly laughs.
“That would certainly explain his symptoms,” Ketrok said.
“What?” Jasmine smiled uncertainly as Hastion frowned at them. “What’s the joke?”
When Shauss just leaned against Ketrok’s bed and held his sides as he guffawed, Tiber asked, “Hastion, what, exactly, happened to your mother and twin sister?”
Hastion’s frown deepened. “They were kidnapped and killed.”
Shauss sobered instantly. “How?”
“Well, I wasn’t there, but my father told me that he tracked the kidnappers to a vacant distillery and saw my mother lying sealed in one of the tanks with my sister in her arms. When he tried to open the hatch, it triggered a feyo shell that incinerated both of them.”
“Oh my God,” Jasmine breathed. “That’s despicable!”
“Why do you want to know?” Hastion asked.
Tiber looked at Shauss before asking, “He was absolutely certain your sister was there?”
“Yes. Father said she was wrapped in her…blanket…” His eyes went wide with shock and he stared at Jasmine. “By all the Powers, are you saying she’s…?”
“Unless you had another sister, yes—she’s your twin.”
Hastion opened his mouth but no sound emerged as he continued to stare at her.
“Are you okay?” Jasmine asked, laying her hand on his arm.
That broke his trance and he grabbed her to him, laughing as tears streamed down his face. Jasmine tried to push away from him, but he held her tight, burying his face in her neck and breathing in her scent as if to affirm what he already knew.
“How in Peserin’s name did she wind up on Terra?” Ketrok asked.
Shauss raised a brow. “That’s a question I’d like answered myself.”
“What are you doing?” Jasmine demanded, working her hands between them and shoving at his chest. “Hastion, have you gone crazy?”
“Oh Peserin,” Hastion breathed. “I don’t know how to say this.”
“Just say the words,” Ketrok advised as both the commander and Minister Cecine appeared in the doorway. Shauss must have summoned them.
“What’s happened now?” Kellen sighed.
Hastion looked at him and wiped his eyes with fingers that shook before turning to Jasmine again. Taking a deep breath, he said, “You’re my sister.”
She stared at him blankly. “What are you talking about?”
“Jasmine, you’re my sister.” He took both her hands in his. “You’re Aylee, my twin sister.”
“That’s why he’s been unable to claim you,” Tiber explained. “Like many Terran species, we’re often able to recognize family members by their pheromones, and the scent of yours was incompatible with Hastion’s reproductive instincts—the thought of mating with you made him physically ill.”
“Oh, this just gets better and better,” Kellen said.
She pulled her hands away as if she’d been shocked and wiped them on her suit as she stood up. “That’s crazy. How could I be your sister? She’s dead, Hastion. And I’m Narthani.”
“Actually, Tiber and I suspected you weren’t even before you transitioned,” Shauss said softly, curving his hands around her upper arms. “You were very tall for a Narthani Sparnite, especially given your parents’ unremar
kable dimensions. And though common mutations make it difficult to differentiate Narthani DNA from Garathani, the fact that you have now reached nearly seven feet in stature makes your being Narthani extremely unlikely. While you were deep in transition, I took a small team down and collected numerous DNA samples from two of Ragan King’s homes. I found only yours and two others, and Empran confirms that neither was in any way related to you.”
Remembering how close Shauss had come to being killed on that expedition made Tiber tighten with anger. Someone had prepared for the team’s arrival with a powerful explosive device that nearly incinerated them all. If Empran’s blast protection system had activated a nanosecond later, they’d all have been lost. The fact that neither of Ragan King’s other two residences were wired with explosives told them whoever had planted the explosives knew which residence they were going to first, and the only ones privy to that information were the commander, the high council, and the expedition members themselves.
Jasmine looked utterly lost. “But…but my mother was…my mother. She was. She loved me.” Her voice broke. “Shauss, she loved me.”
Shauss pulled her to him and rubbed her back. “I’m sure she did, aramai. But she wasn’t your mother. And Ragan King isn’t your father.”
Tiber’s chest ached for her. She’d already lost her mother once, and now she was losing her all over again.
“None of this leaves this room,” the minister ordered.
“Agreed.” Kellen looked at Shauss. “Can Miss King be persuaded to keep it to herself for the moment?”
“I doubt she could be persuaded to even speak of it yet, but I’ll convince her of the necessity,” Shauss said.
“We need to come up with a plan to draw out the traitor or traitors on the high council,” Cecine said in a dangerous tone. “I should have realized when that flare defense field appeared over Washington DC that one of them was in on it.”
“I hate to upset her further, Shauss,” Kellen said, “but find out if there is any additional information Jasmine can provide to help us find Ragan King.”
Shauss nodded, rubbing his cheek against her hair.
“Empran, record an official report that Hastion has finalized his claim on Miss King,” the minister said aloud.
“Recorded.”
Jasmine looked up, confused.
“That will keep potential rivals from trying to claim you while we’re sorting this out,” Shauss explained softly. “His bond with us will be annulled when it’s safe.”
“So does this mean I’m cleared for duty?” Hastion asked.
“Indeed it does,” Tiber confirmed with considerable relief. Wondering what he was missing had been driving him mad.
Hastion hopped off the bed. “Then let’s go find these bastards.”
* * * * *
Jasmine was sick at heart as she lay on the bed, hugging a pillow to her chest. How could her mother have lied to her all those years?
Shauss climbed into the bed behind her and just hugged her close.
“They lied to me about everything,” she whispered.
“It would appear so.”
“My father used me.” Shauss didn’t answer, but she felt his agreement. “He really didn’t care about me at all. I thought I was just expecting too much, that he was a scientist and a perfectionist and he could just never understand a girl like me, but Shauss…he really hated me,” she squeaked before sobs racked her.
“He didn’t hate you because he never knew you,” he said, kissing her hair and holding her tight. “He hates the Garathani, and it’s blinded him to everything good in his life.”
She sniffed. “God, it’s almost like you know him because you’re right—he never saw anything good in anything, except maybe Mom. And there was a lot of tension between them. She was always defending me and doing things to make me happy on the sly. Sometimes he’d get really angry when he found out about the things she’d done for me, and it made me feel so…worthless. Not only that I’d gotten her in trouble, but because he didn’t want me to be happy.”
“He’s not deserving of your tears, aramai—or your loyalty.”
She sat up. “You still think I’m hiding something about him? Shauss, I’ve told you everything. I never knew anything important, and you know he would have made sure of that.”
“I agree, but you lived together for seventeen years. That’s a long time to keep your entire life a secret.” He was thoughtful for a moment. “I’ve been to all three of his homes and they look as though they’ve been vacant for many months. Was there any place besides the homes and his offices that he spent a lot of time in? Any time at all in?”
“If he did, I have no idea. I only saw him at home. He never came to school functions, never saw the plays I was in, never came to the games I cheered at…” She sighed. “And you know, I was actually glad. He would have put a damper on any event and I knew it. Mom always just handed me a wad of cash and told me to have fun.”
“Did you ever travel together?”
“Not very often, and only for business weekends with his…” Her eyes widened. “Associates. Shauss, he met with some associates several times a year at an isolated camp way up in the mountains.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but she grabbed his arm. “Oh my God, there were four cabins. Four! Didn’t you say the Narthani sent four couples?”
“I did,” he said tensely. “Go on.”
Jasmine shook her head, floored at how completely ignorant she’d been. “I never could figure out why he didn’t have his meetings in the office like everyone else because those cabins were really hard to get to. They’re built around an old mine shaft, and even though he told me to stay out because it was unsafe, he and his associates always seemed to spend plenty of time in there.”
“Where exactly was this camp?”
“Oh Lord, I don’t know how to tell you exactly where it is. We usually got there on snowmobiles, and once I started on the pheromone blocker, he never took me again.” She gave him a determined look. “But I think I could find it.”
Chapter Eighteen
The next morning, Jasmine and Shauss ignored Tiber’s rigorous objections and flared down to the planet’s surface without an escort. In the interests of preserving the element of surprise and avoiding avalanches, they’d foregone snowmobiles in favor of skis, and Jasmine had insisted that guiding one inexperienced cross-country skier over the terrain would be challenging enough. Shauss had agreed. Once they reached the mine and determined whether or not anyone of interest was there, they could either flare out or call for the reinforcements who were standing by in the transport bay.
When the flare field disintegrated, they were right at the boundary between a forest of lodgepole pines and a large, open snowfield that led down into a wide valley. The late-morning sun shone brightly against the blanket of white that still covered the gentle slope. As they stood there, their skis settled into the softening snow.
“Does this look like the right place?” Shauss asked.
“Yes. I haven’t been here since I was a teenager, but I distinctly remember that rock face.” She used her ski pole to point at a rock face on an opposing mountain that looked like an enormous frowning countenance. “And that stream.” She pointed off to her right.
Adjusting her goggles on her face, she looked at Shauss doubtfully. “Are you sure you’re up for this? Cross-country skiing can be difficult for those who’ve never done it.”
“You just worry about trying to keep up,” he told her with a grin. “Which way?”
“North,” she decided. Pushing off, she maintained a steady distance from the tree line. It was slightly uphill, and after a while, the select muscles that hadn’t gotten a workout from her daily runs started to burn pleasantly. She’d be sore tomorrow, but right now she didn’t care. She was in heaven.
“Oh, how I’ve missed this!” she cried. “Just smell that air! There’s nothing like the smell of a pine forest in the winter. I don’t care what ki
nd of purified air that pad supposedly produces on board the Heptoral—it’s nothing even close to this.”
“It’s spring.”
She threw him a look over her shoulder, surprised to see that he was right behind her. Her transition must still be slowing her down. “It’s not spring until I see flowers.”
“You and Monica share one trait in common—contrariness.”
“It’s a woman’s prerogative.” She glanced back again. He didn’t even seem to be breathing hard, gliding along, arms pumping as easily as if he’d done this all his life. “Are you sure you’ve never skied before?”
“No, but I studied it before we came down.”
Great. It had taken her years of practice to become this proficient and he’d picked it up from a book. It was a good thing the Garathani had no plans to emigrate—Earth’s athletes would never stand a chance in the Olympics.
“So where did you guys come up with all this gear?” she asked, breathing evenly. The birdsong was thrillingly loud in the hushed mountain altitude. “Did you synthesize it or something?”
“No, our technology hasn’t moved in that direction yet.”
“So where? Don’t tell me you just happened to have some in your closet.”
“We appropriated it from a ski shop.”
She skidded to a stop and stared at him when he pulled up beside her. “You stole it?”
“We purchased it. They just have no idea who their mysterious buyer might be.”
He moved off ahead of her before she could answer and she had to push it to catch up as he went over a rise and down the hill on the other side. “Turn!” she yelled when he picked up incredible speed.
Too late. He caught an edge and tumbled end over end in a spectacular agony-of-defeat moment. When he came to a stop, he was half buried in the snow.
“Shauss!” Jasmine raced after him and skidded to a stop beside his prone body. He wasn’t moving. “Oh my God, are you okay?”
“Fuck me,” came the muffled expletive from the snow. When he raised his head, his lashes and brows were caked with crystals. He licked his lips, blinking into the whiteness. “Tastes metallic.”
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