“Yes, it’s through there.” She nodded at a rear door. “Go past the pantry and washroom. It’s the last door before the barn.”
“Thank you. I would like to speak to your brother when he arrives.”
“Of course. He usually comes in from the barn anyway, so you may see him before I do.”
He looked at Charlie, still hesitant to leave before the child had been fed, but Mariah shooed him away. “Go ahead. See what you can find out.”
When he entered his brother’s office, his own fists clenched. A comfortable room with a big desk and a couple of worn, overstuffed chairs in front of a small fireplace, it was exactly what he would have expected from his brother. Unlike the sparse neatness of the rest of the house, the desk was stacked with papers and the shelves surrounding the fireplace overflowing with miscellaneous objects. Ever since they were small, Bratan had enjoyed collecting items from their travels, always complaining that he needed more space. Perhaps that had been another indication that he wasn’t satisfied with the traveling life.
He wandered over to the shelves, noticing a fossilized leaf and a small globe, before his breath caught as he recognized the familiar wooden case. The sextant. The ancient navigation device had been in their family for generations. He’d never even realized that Bratan had taken it with him.
“I’m so sorry for not listening, my brother. And now I’ll never have the chance to tell you.”
He stood with his head bowed for a long minute, before carefully replacing the instrument case and turning to the desk.
When a noise in the corridor made him look up some time later, he was scowling at yet another promissory note from someone who owed Bratan for the sale of a robeda. His brother never changed—always more concerned about others than himself. Still, despite his rampant generosity, the ranch was turning a profit. Not a large one perhaps, but he did not appear to be in financial difficulty.
He looked up to find an older Granican male staring at him. He had fluffy navy hair instead of lavender, but he was clearly Devoji’s brother.
“Bratan,” the male whispered.
“No. I’m Cestov, his brother.”
“Ah, good. For a minute there, I thought I was seeing ghosts.” The male gave him a relieved smile. “I’m Devorat. Are you here because you received my message?”
“No. I found a record on Trevelor that led me here.” He decided not to mention the information in the record. “My mate is with me. She is Judith’s sister.”
“Really? Funny how that works, isn’t it?” Devorat came further into the room and flung himself down in one of the large chairs in front of the fireplace. “Have you heard about what happened?”
“Your sister said that there was a wagon accident?”
“Yes.” Devorat looked at him, eyes assessing. “But she doesn’t believe that and neither do I.”
“Nor I. I understand he had his mate with him— he would never have taken any chances with her safety.”
“No,” Devorat agreed. “Never saw a more devoted male. But the marshal tried to convince us that it was because of her that he had been in a hurry. Because she had been ailing.”
Despite his immediate instinct to deny it, he forced himself to think. If Mariah was ill, in need of medical assistance, would he have taken the risk?
“Perhaps,” he said slowly. “But he was skilled with every type of vehicle. I do not believe that he would misjudge his skills that much.”
“Yeah, that’s what we thought too, but the marshal wouldn’t listen.” The male sat up, his face serious. “Something’s not right and hasn’t been since those Dhalecs showed up.”
“What do they want here? They’re usually mercenaries and this does not seem like the type of place that has a war brewing.”
“I wish I knew.” Devorat hesitated. “But I know they’ve been buying up land. That’s why they keep demanding the ownership papers. Said if Bratan died without a will, they have first right of purchase.”
“I will never sell my brother’s property to them,” he growled, but then he felt the weight of his words settle over him. If he could not sell this land, this ranch, what was he going to do with it? His feet felt heavy, as if he were suddenly tied in place. This wasn’t what he wanted—it had never been what he wanted. But how could he abandon the place for which his brother had given his life?
Chapter Twenty
Mariah watched as Devoji bustled efficiently around the kitchen, even as she cast a rather appalled glance at the equipment. A wood-burning—make that dung-burning—stove? Hand-pumped water at the sink? She had traveled an unknown distance on a spaceship only to wind up on the frontier.
“When I was on Cestov’s ship,” she said tentatively, “He had some fancy machines to produce food.”
Devoji laughed. “I’m sure he does.”
“But not here?”
“No.” The girl shrugged as she reached into the oven and pulled out a pie. A mouth-watering fragrance filled the room. “The machines are expensive, the supplies for them more so, and the technology required to run them doesn’t mix well with our conditions.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
Devoji put a soft hand on her shoulder. “It was hard for Mistress Judith at first, but she learned. You will too.”
“Oh, but we’re not staying.”
Devoji frowned at her before turning away to cut a small slice of the pie for Charlie, carefully cutting it into small pieces and testing the temperature before she gave it to him. Oh lord, Mariah thought as she watched her. Would she have remembered to do any of those things?
Once Charlie was engrossed in his pie, Devoji sat down beside her.
“You’re not staying?”
“I don’t think so.” She shrugged helplessly. “This is not the life we envisioned, either of us.”
“But what about the children?” The girl looked from Charlie, happily smearing pie over half his face to Claire, asleep in her small cradle. “This is the only home they’ve ever known.”
“Cestov said that he would get a bigger ship,” she said.
“A ship?” Devoji looked horrified. “You can’t bring children up on a spaceship. They need a place to run, to explore.”
“Cestov said he and his brother were raised that way.”
“And Master Bratan hated it. I heard him tell Mistress Judith many times how lucky their children were to be raised in a place where they would wake up every day to see the same sky, to fall asleep beneath the same stars every night.”
Exactly what she had never wanted to do. Mariah tried her best to hide her dismay, but she must not have done a very good job because Devoji patted her hand.
“It gets easier over time,” she said softly. “You just became the mother of two today.”
“Mama two,” Charlie crowed and they both laughed, but she could feel the underlying panic. How could she do this?
“I’m assuming you would like me to cook dinner?” Devoji said briskly.
“Oh, yes, please. That is—what did you usually do?”
“Whatever Mistress Judith wanted.” The girl grinned as she went to the counter and began pulling out supplies. “Although, I practically had to beg her to let me do anything, especially at first.”
Yes, she could just imagine Judith having a hard time letting go of what she thought of as her responsibilities. “Had you been with her long?”
“About eight months. Master Bratan asked my brother to find someone to help her around the house when they realized she was pregnant. That one can be quite a handful,” she said nodding at Charlie, who now had pie smeared everywhere including his hair.
“Was she happy? About the baby, I mean?”
“So happy she looked like there was a light glowing inside her. They didn’t think it would happen.” Devoji shot her a glance as she started peeling some type of vegetable. “Master Bratan seemed convinced that he could only have a child with a Cire female.”
“Cestov thought the same thing, but we met anothe
r Cire on Trevelor with a human mate and a child.”
The look that the girl aimed at her midsection was a little too obvious and Mariah forced herself to smile.
“No, I’m not pregnant.”
Sorrow welled up again, even though she knew it was foolish. She had just acquired two children after all. As if in response to her thoughts, Claire began to fuss. Mariah picked her up, her heart aching again when Claire gave her a wide toothless smile and wrapped her tail around her arm.
“Would you like to feed her?” Devoji asked.
“Oh, yes.”
The girl handed her a bottle. At least Mariah had given Charlie a bottle enough times to be familiar with this process and she cuddled Claire close as she fed her.
“She must know,” Devoji said thoughtfully.
“Know what?”
“Who you are. I had a terrible time getting her to take a bottle at first. I finally started wrapping her in Judith’s clothing and that seemed to help. She still won’t take one from my mother.”
She looked down at the baby sucking so contentedly on her bottle, her tiny tail wrapped around Mariah’s wrist and a little bit of her worry eased. Maybe she could do this after all. She settled back in the chair and smiled at Devoji.
“You said you have a big family?”
The girl laughed and began telling her stories about her family as she moved quickly around the kitchen. When Charlie finally announced that he was done, she placed him in the sink and washed him thoroughly despite his protests, then wrapped him in a towel and brought him over to sit with Mariah by the fire.
“Sing for me, Mama two,” he demanded.
Claire had finished her bottle, so Mariah cradled her in one arm and Charlie in the other and sang to them. Charlie clapped when she started “Puff the Magic Dragon” and tried to accompany her. How many times had she sung that to him before he was taken? And Judith must have continued to do the same thing. She found the thought unexpectedly comforting and by the time Cestov appeared, accompanied by a Granican male, she had found a measure of peace.
His eyes traveled over her holding the two children and she saw the same realization in his eyes. Judith and Bratan were gone, but part of their family still remained.
Devorat agreed to join them for the meal, but just as they sat down, Maldost appeared.
“Sorry, I couldn’t get here sooner. That damned xuth wouldn’t—”
He stopped in mid-sentence, staring at Devoji. She stared back at him just as intently and Mariah heard Devorat growl. Oh, no. The last thing they needed right now was a case of young love.
“Who is you?” Charlie asked, his eyes wide. “You look like Pooh.”
“Pooh?” Maldost asked, finally tearing his eyes away from Devoji.
Mariah choked back a laugh. “It’s his stuffed animal. Do you still have that, Charlie?”
“I show you,” he said immediately and started to climb down.
Cestov hauled him back up into his lap. “After dinner.”
“Is Pooh staying?”
“His name is Maldost, Charlie,” she said. “And yes, he’s staying. Please sit down, Maldost. Unless you aren’t hungry?”
As far as she could tell, he was always hungry, but he shook his head, his gaze going back to Devoji. “No, I’m not hungry, but I’ll join you anyway.”
Oh, this was even worse than she thought. She cast a desperate glance at Cestov, but he only smiled and shook his head.
Not until much later that night did she get a chance to be alone with Cestov. The house was quiet, but it no longer had the uneasy stillness that had greeted them on their arrival. Maldost had bedded down in Charlie’s room, to Charlie’s great delight. Maldost had been appropriately horrified when confronted with the bedraggled stuffed bear but he managed to smile at her little boy.
She hadn’t been able to bear the thought of sleeping in Judith’s room and instead, she and Cestov were on a pile of blankets in front of the fireplace in the main room. He was curled protectively around her, his tail wrapped firmly around her waist, but she knew that neither one of them were sleeping.
“I heard Devorat say that he would bring more men in the morning?”
He sighed. “Yes. I asked him to bring back the men who worked for Bratan.”
She twisted around to face him. “It sounds like you plan to take over running the ranch. Do you want to stay?”
“No,” he said slowly. “But I wonder if it is the right thing to do. For the children.”
He looked so worried that her heart ached. She reached up to stroke his face.
“I know you didn’t ask for this. If it is too much of a burden…”
“A burden? My miri, it is an honor to care for them. To have two children when I never expected to have any?” He shook his head. “I cannot deny that it is a shock, but a joyous one.”
“I guess it’s just as well that I wasn’t pregnant.”
“Never say that. Perhaps the timing would not have been ideal, but I would have done everything in my power to make it as easy as possible.”
Her eyes filled with tears once more. “Cestov, I love you. I can’t believe I was lucky enough to find you.”
“And I you. I love you too, Mariah.”
His mouth descended over hers in a kiss that went from tender to passionate as his spicy scent enveloped her. She could feel the solid ridge of his erection against her stomach and her empty pussy ached. Their time together earlier seemed much too long ago. His tail curved up under her nightshirt to tease her nipples and she moaned, trying to muffle the noise against his chest.
“I want you, my miri,” he whispered, his warm breath teasing her ear and making her shiver in anticipation.
“Here?” Enough common sense penetrated her arousal for her to glance nervously around the big room.
“Yes. You just told me that you loved me and that deserves a celebration.” His tongue flicked across her ear and she shivered again. “But you must be very quiet.”
“Then maybe I need something to occupy my mouth.” She lifted his tail higher until she could lick the wide tip. Mmm, he tasted as good here as he did everywhere else and the nubs covering his tail rubbed erotically against her tongue. She gave an experimental suck and felt him shudder.
He growled as his head fell back. “Mariah, what are you doing?”
“Being quiet.” She smiled up at him and saw the hunger in his eyes.
“Then I suppose I must find something to occupy my mouth as well.”
Her shirt disappeared as his head descended to her neck, kissing and nipping his way down, leaving a trail of fire behind. When he reached her breasts, he teased her nipples, just brushing them with that marvelous nubbed tongue, but always lightly, so lightly that she growled in frustration and scraped her teeth over his tail. His whole body shook and then he teased no longer. He pulled her nipple into his mouth, sucking until it was swollen and aching before moving to the other one. His hand was equally busy, parting her folds to thrust inside her with one thick digit, setting a demanding pace as his thumb worked her clit, driving her higher until she cried out his name, her voice muffled by the thick tail still filling her mouth.
Her body had not stopped trembling when she felt him at her entrance. Normally, he took her slowly, giving her time to adjust to the shock of his size, but not tonight. Tonight he entered her hard and fast, thrusting into her in a wild, erotic rhythm as she hung on to him, trying to meet his strokes as he yanked her hips higher and tighter, pounding into her as if he could never get enough, as she felt him shudder and fill her with his seed, his cock swelling in that final overwhelming stretch as he knotted deep inside and sent her flying into another explosive climax.
She clung to him, their bodies locked together, his scent surrounding her, and felt herself relax for the first time since they had arrived at the ranch. No matter what else happened, they were together. They could deal with everything else.
Chapter Twenty-One
“I think I nee
d to go to town,” Cestov said the next morning while they were eating breakfast. He had awoken before dawn and had spent the time until Mariah opened her eyes making plans.
Mariah’s glance flew to him from where she was feeding Claire. “No, please. Can’t it wait?”
“I would like to see this marshal and to hear for myself what he has to say.”
“But… but what if something happens to you?” she whispered, shooting a glance at Charlie.
His son was seated on Maldost’s lap, patting his fur and telling him about a hundred-acre wood. Maldost looked bemused but attentive, although Cestov saw his eyes stray to Devoji with great frequency.
“There is no reason for anything to happen,” he said reassuringly. “I’m a stranger here. No one is interested in me.”
“Not until you go asking questions,” she muttered. “And what about the ship? And the slonga? You know Lilat’s going to be very upset that we’re not there.”
“If we’re going to be here for a while,” Maldost said hopefully, “why don’t we bring them here as well? Lots of land and fresh air. It would be perfect.”
He had to admit it was a good idea, and he had missed seeing Lilat’s little pink face looking for him this morning.
“Very well,” he agreed. “This morning I will arrange for them to be brought here. I’ll talk to the rest of the crew too and see what they want to do while we are here.”
He couldn’t quite bring himself to start making arrangements to dispose of the Wanderer. This ranch had been his brother’s dream, not his, and it still felt like a too-tight pair of shoes. He had seen the edge of panic in Mariah’s eyes as well and knew she was feeling the same way. But she loves you, he reminded himself. Everything else can be resolved.
“Daddy two, where you going?” Charlie asked suspiciously when he stood up.
“To visit my ship. I’ll be back soon.”
“I wants to come,” he said immediately.
He looked at Mariah and she shrugged. “If you’re just going to the ship and back, why not take him? I’ll stay here with Devoji and Claire.”
A Son for the Alien Warrior (Treasured by the Alien Book 2) Page 13