In the Beginning... (45 page)

“So that’s it, then? You’re just turning
your back on the rest of the family?”

“No!” Emily’s eyes widened and she shook her
head emphatically. “I’d never do that! You know that! I wouldn’t do
that...anymore than you would.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“I’ve been thinking...”

Aodhan sat beside his
Rajni
while she spoke with
her cousins about the plans they had devised. It took little effort
for him to see that his female was not happy with the changes her
cousin Emily had proposed. And why had the smallest Taniss
suggested such a thing? Aodhan was not sure having a TI laboratory
in the middle of Dardano would solve any of their problems. So many
of the Dardaptoan people were filled with hatred for the mere name
Taniss. A building full of people working under the Taniss umbrella
would be a security nightmare.

A nightmare that he would have to deal
with.

But if it meant keeping
his
Rajni
close and
safe with him, how could he not champion this cause?

A thump on the table in
front of his female had Aodhan focusing his attention on her. He’d
noticed they did that
whenever one of the
females would speak and wanted the deaf one’s attention, they would
knock the table to send vibrations. His female might not have
agreed with what the others were suggesting, but these women were a
team. Anyone could see that. His female signed as she spoke to her
blonde cousin. “We know. But what other choices do we have? There
are several issues we still need to work out. But we want you to
head the medical research. Keep a very close eye on all of it. Just
in case.”

Cormac’s
Rajni
nodded, apparently accepting the
assignment. So what would his female be doing?

That was something he asked her as he
escorted her back to their suite after the family meeting. “What
will your role be, kitten?”

“Similar to what it is now, was, I
suppose.”

“And what was that?” Aodhan felt a rush of
shame that they had put so little thought into the women and their
lives before they kidnapped them that he still didn’t know what
position his female had actually held within her family.

“Well...since Emily took
over from Grandfather, she’s been overloaded with everything that
Grandfather should have been doing, but wasn’t. Grandfather wanted
Rand to take over for him several years ago, but my brother has
never really wanted the responsibility. So we worked it out between
all of us that Emily would take it. And she’s good at it. Really,
really good. Except with the financial end of things. So I handle
that
my degree is in accounting
and whatever I can for Em when she needs
help.”

“And this lab? What will you do?”

“Em will still be CEO of all the TI
holdings, but I will be acting Head of this place.”

Her tone was more resigned than excited.
“You do not want that?”

“I don’t know. Regardless of what I want or
think, this is what is going to happen. For Em and Mickey, at
least. I don’t know what Josey will end up doing.”

“And you?”

“I’m staying until I’m one
hundred percent certain that they will be ok. And then...I don’t
know. If this works, I’ll run it
along with
Josey’s dad if he’s willing
until one of my
other cousins is able to. Maybe. I might end up staying here
long-term. It really depends...”

“On?”

“Who knows? We need to
contact our family, get the ball rolling. That’s one thing we’re
good at. When we decide to do something, we don’t waste any time
doing it. If this is what Em wants, and the Board
which is basically me, Em, my dad and brother,
Josey, and her dad, and our cousin Marshall
can all come to agreement, it’s done.”

“Do you think that agreement will be easy in
coming?”

She was silent for a moment. “Yes. If we
word it right. We were opening a new research facility, anyway. It
might as well be here with Mickey and Em. And we can make a
convincing argument that they need to be close to their new
‘husbands’. The rest of the Board tends to listen to Em...and me, I
suppose.”

“You know what I want...but only if you are
happy, kitten. That’s what I want above all else. Keep that in mind
when you’re making your decision.”

Nothing else was said as he
keyed in the code to open the door to their suite and motion her in
ahead of him. She sank immediately to the turquoise couch, and
stared pensively out the window. “I will...I was going to head this
lab up anyway. Once we cleaned up the mess Grandfather had made. So
the only thing that would be different would be the staff
we can’t exactly have a whole bunch of humans
running around unsuspecting
and the
location. I was leaning more toward something close to our home. I
hate commuting and I hate helicopters.”

“If it’s somewhere inside
Dardanos city limits, you won’t have to do either.” And he wouldn’t
have to worry about his
Rajni
driving around the Colorado countryside
unprotected. He’d ensure a team of his best guards escorted her to
and from her destination each day.

“That is one plus, I suppose.” She stood,
paced around the sitting area. She stopped at the veranda that led
to the gardens. When she slid the glass door open, he joined her on
the balcony. They stood looking over the area where her cousin had
fallen for several long moments.

Aodhan wrapped a hand around her shoulder,
wanting nothing more than to pull her to his chest. “Kitten...”

She shifted, stared up at him with suddenly
determined eyes. “I can’t go home. Not permanently. I can’t leave
Em and Mickey and possibly Josey to build a life here. Especially
since I am different now, too. How could I? But...”

“But you feel trapped into this. I
understand.”

“I don’t think you truly can. I didn’t ask
for any of this. I know I just have to deal with it. I hate not
being in control. Hate it.”

Aodhan winced, knowing what
she referred to. He hadn’t touched her against her will, not
sexually, but he had forced these life changes upon her. What did
that say for the kind of man he was? Was he any better than the man
before? “Mallory, I
…
”

“You need to understand something. Just
because my family is planning to stay here, that they accept this
new way of things...that doesn’t mean that I accept all of it.
Especially you.”

Aodhan winced at the harsh
words. He understood. He truly did, but why couldn’t he hold on to
hope that one day her heart would change toward him? He wrapped his
hands around her forearms and brought her closer, until he could
feel the exhalations she released against the V of his
vestis
. “Perhaps, in time
you will not feel so reticent with me.”

Before she could answer he dropped a quick
kiss on her lips. She didn’t fight him, didn’t pull away. She
didn’t respond either. He was about to pull back when her hands
fisted on the material of his shirt and she leaned into him. Her
body was pressed against his and she kissed him with more passion
than she had before.

It was she who pulled away first, and she
stared up at him with a puzzled expression. “I...”

Aodhan pulled in a harsh breath. “Go. Go
back inside, now. I can’t not want you, think about you. And when
you touch me, I want to...just go inside, Mallory. Now.”

Mallory did as he told her, practically
running up the metal stairs that led to his family suite. Her
heartbeat echoed in her ears, and the taste of him was hot on her
tongue. Why had she kissed him back? Was it that
blood...lust...thing taking hold of her again?

Mallory wiped a hand over her mouth as the
thought of tasting his blood again filled her mind. Why did she
want it so badly? Would it always be this way, her wanting him, and
him only? She tried to imagine drinking blood from someone else or
even from a glass. The images sickened her. She dropped to the
couch and stared at the glass door, waiting for him to enter. What
would she say? Why in the hell had she kissed him that way?

It took him forever to return to the suite,
and when he did, he wouldn’t meet her eyes. Mallory cataloged the
tension that still held his body. He wanted her, and she wondered
how long his control would hold. How long would it be until he
snapped, and just took what he wanted? He had taken her from her
home simply because he wanted to, hadn’t he? So why did he show
such restraint when it came to sex?

Finally, after several long moments of
silence he looked at her. Mal bit her bottom lip as she waited.

“I will not lie, I want you here. Close.
Where I can see you, smell you. And yes, taste you. But dammit,
female; I am not sure how much longer I can stand not touching
you.” He towered over her and glared down at her. She squealed when
his large hands wrapped around her upper arms and he jerked her to
her feet. “Do you realize how much I want to touch you, fucking
need to? Do you know what it does to me to see you dressed as my
female?”

His hands tugged on the scarf around her
waist, pulling the knot free. The tunic she wore underneath the
scarf was the kind that wrapped instead of fastened. The material
parted, revealing the bra she’d had a servant get for her days ago.
Mal grabbed the material and tried to keep herself covered. He
stopped her. “Mallory…damn you!”

She covered his hands with her own,
intending to push him away. The fine trembling of his fingers where
they clenched the silk had her hands stilling for a long moment.
His flesh was so warm, his hands so damned strong. Yet they
trembled…for her. What was she supposed to think about that? “I
can’t do this! I can’t be what you want me to!”

“Mallory, kitten…sweetheart…” His hands
dropped to her waist and he lifted her. This time when he kissed
her, it was gentle, almost sweet. It was more than apparent to her
that he was holding himself in check.

Mallory slipped her hands behind his neck
and clung to him.

He made her feel so small, vulnerable. But
not really in a bad way; not like she had felt before. Aodhan made
her feel vulnerable, feminine, almost delicate. Treasured and
cherished. And for a woman close to six feet tall who deliberately
kept men away, that hadn’t happened to her before.

She let the kiss continue for several long
moments. When she pulled away it was because she needed to breathe,
to reevaluate how she felt. “I…”

She jumped away from him when someone
pounded on the door to the suite and called his name. She didn’t
need to hear his curse to know he resented the intrusion just as
much as she welcomed it. While he answered the door she slipped
into the bedroom. Sank down on the mattress and forced herself to
take several deep breaths.

What in the hell had she been doing?

Mal jerked the tunic around
herself, then tied the silk scarf as tightly around her waist as
she could. From there on out, she was only wearing the
vestis
that buttoned. It
would be best just to make sure neither of them was tempted again.
She stretched out on the mattress and listened to the voices coming
from the sitting area. The words had gotten louder, more
determined.

Something had happened. Mallory’s attention
sharpened. She rolled off the bed and opened the door a crack,
watching Aodhan and the head of Aodhan’s personal staff Phelan as
they discussed a note clutched in Aodhan’s hands.

Aodhan was cursing, then he
crumbled the note in his fist. “Has the Jareth
Equa
n been notified?”

“Not yet. I figured it was best to speak
with you. Aodhan, there’s more. Matthuin Lycurgus has also gone
missing. No signs of him. We need to assume he’s been
compromised.”

“And they’ve found no signs of who took the
women?”

She heard the anger in Aodhan’s voice, saw
the tension that held his body. It was different from the tension
that had held him just moments earlier. Now he looked angry and
worried. For whom? Had something happened to his sister? To someone
else she knew? Her cousins or Mickey?

Mallory stepped into the sitting area. “What
has happened? My sister? My cousins? They’re all right, aren’t
they? Josey?”

Aodhan’s head jerked up and he stared at
her, his expression telling her he’d forgotten she was even in the
suite. “Of course. No, it does not involve your family.”

“Then what?”

“Our Chief Healer and her daughter have been
kidnapped.” Worry flashed in his gold eyes. “We are tracking them
now.”

“Kindara?” Mallory had met the other woman
and respected her. And her daughter Jierra. Jierra had spent a lot
of time with both Josey and Mickey. Mallory had spoken with her,
too, but she sensed that Jierra found her intimidating, so Mallory
hadn’t pushed. She found the younger woman to be timid and naïve,
herself. Mallory winced internally as she imagined the fear that
Jierra must be facing. “Why would someone kidnap them?”

“For several reasons. Two
that we can readily think of. Healers of our Kind are exceedingly
rare and extremely valuable. That Kindara is a female healer and is
Chief Healer for Dardano just increases her value to the right
people. And Jierra’s birth parents were related to eight of the ten
Dardaptoan lines. She’s the eldest such descendant. That makes
her
Dahr
Rydere’s
heir, until he and your cousin Emily can provide another. She has
always been a target. It’s one of the reasons Cormac took her to
his sister to raise. Kindara was the highest ranking female of our
Kind. Dammit, we’ve done our best to protect Ji! Phelon, pull every
available security officer except those assigned to the
new