Adira's Mate (19 page)

She pulled back again and looked
up at him. “You would do that for me?” she asked with her eyes wide. “Thank
you. I would love that. Please. He might not even open it but it would be out
there. He would one day open it and know that I was well.
As
long as it wouldn’t get you into trouble?”

“
Apparently I live for it, at
least according to Bracken. I’m also very good at avoiding it. Normally,” he
muttered. He gave her a gentle kiss, gathering her closer to him as he swayed
them back and forth. “I’ll see what I can do.
If you’d like
you can put in a message as well.
I’ll have to keep it short, encode it
and then send it out. But I’ll use one of their current codes, so maybe he’ll
open it out of curiosity.”

“
That sounds good to me. You could
use my emergency
code,
it’s one that would always go
directly to Petr no matter where it came from.” She had her head on his chest
once more and eyes closed. “He set it up as soon as he was promoted the last
time and someone attempted to kill me, again.”

Fintan’s
arms tightened around her.
“We’ll use it,” he said softly. “You need to tell me about these attempts on
your life, though. I need to know if I need to hunt some people down to ensure
they no longer can breathe.”

“
Petr took care of them.” She
shrugged. “The first time was when I received my position. There was a bit of
anger that I was placed into the position that I was, they felt that they
should have that position.” She rolled her eyes. “He was an idiot. He was
caught as he tried to plant an explosive device on my personal crawler. There
were a few others when Petr moved up in the ranks. A very few people knew that
he and I were related. But some felt that he and I were lovers because of how
often we were in the company of one another. The last one came when he was
promoted once more. He very nearly got away with it but he didn’t, thankfully.
He was caught by the guards that were assigned to watch over me that day.
That’s all over now, though. I’m safe with you.
Always.”

“
Yes, you are,” he said. His voice
held more
growl
to it, as if he was holding on to his
anger by a thread. “I hope he hurt them for what they tried to do.” She felt
him press a kiss to the top of her head, his arms moving to wrap around her
shoulders in more of a hug than a dance hold.

“
He did. A great deal,” she told
him. “You and he are far more alike than you possibly know.” She swayed along
with him, smiling as she spoke. “You are both fiercely protective and will do
all that you can in order to ensure that justice is served.”

“
While I’m not sure how I feel
being compared to your brother, I suppose you are right on a few points. I will
always protect those I care about. May your spirits protect anyone that comes
after you, though, because I will hunt them down and end their
life.
”

“
I know that you will,” she said
with a nod. “I just hope that one day, hopefully in our
lifetime,
that
our peoples will find peace and we will be able to see him. I would
truly love to have you meet him. I think that the two of you would get along.”

“
You forget
,
he and I have had words before. In a manner we have met. Not in the best of
situations but it still counts, to my way of thinking.
As for
our peoples being at peace
…
Having that happen in our lifetime may not be realistic, but we can hope.”

She nodded and sighed. “True. And
yes, I had forgotten that the two of you had words before. You both mutually
withdrew from battle, which I’m now very grateful for. Perhaps the two of you
will be old and gray, both retired from service when the war is over.” She
could pray at least.

“
If we make it that long, I’ll be happy,”
he said. “It’s rare for a soldier on either side to make it to old and gray
unless they are pulled out of the service due to some injury, or other
bureaucratic reason.” The music changed slightly and he stopped their dance.
Gently he led her back to the chair she’d been sitting in earlier but moved it
a little closer to the table she’d never noticed sitting there. Pouring her a
cup from the pot on the table, he handed it over. The scent told her what it
was instantly.

“
Honey tea,” she said with a smile.
“Thank you. This is very helpful when I’m not feeling well,” she said with a
grin. “And you are a very smart man that you were able to get so much of it on
board for us.
For me.”

“
Definitely for you,” he said.
Shaking his head he settled down in another chair. He reached out and lifted a
cover off a plate filled with her favorite cheeses, fruits, and other things
she always got from the dining room. All items he normally had to steal a bite
of from her so he could have a little.

“
Thank you.” She looked at the
spread before her and simply smiled. “You amaze me.” She couldn’t believe that
he had brought all of her favorite foods and drinks to this time together. “I’m
happy.
Beyond happy.
I’m over-the-systems happy
because I’m married to the best man alive and I’m going to have his child. Life
is very, very good.”

Fin grinned. “Good. Now, eat some
of this before the others come to see if we’re still alive and to steal the
leftovers. I had to fight off a lot of the crew to get these for you. When
you’re done, we’ll go back to our rooms where we’ll get the message together
for your brother, and then I’ll keep the other part of my promise.
If you’re not too tired of course.”

“
I would never be too tired for
you, Fin,” she told him with complete honesty. “You are the one that energizes
me, and every single touch that you give me makes me need more.
As for the food.”
She took some,
then
winked at him. “They would never dare to take a pregnant woman’s favorite
foods.”

“
They aren’t supposed to know
you’re pregnant yet, remember? As far as they know you are the same woman I met
on a planet, kidnapped, and fell in love with. Though there are bets that you
were the one to woo me.
About half the crew is on your side.
The other half is split between thinking I wooed you into this, and that this
is a con. I really have no faith in my people after learning that from Markus.
But he apparently thinks it’s hilarious.”

“
He would.” She was snickering as
she said that. “He missed you, though. I think he’s happier that you are back than
you are. I only say that because the poor man let out a breath when I met him
and said something along the lines of ‘it’s about time
’
or something like that.” She shrugged and added, “They’re all
glad that you are back and you know it.”

“
I’m glad to be back,” he said.
“I’m just a little nervous about having you on board with us on border patrol.
Especially now that you’re pregnant.
I worry for you,
Adira
. Keeping you safe and happy are my only priorities in
life. Hopefully I’m not making a grave error by returning to my position here.”

“
There’s
no
where
else that I would be. Don’t even think to ask me to leave you,
Fin, because I won’t. Where you are is where I will be. If it’s on border
patrol, then so be it. I have faith in you and your men. I know that you’ll all
do whatever is necessary to ensure that we are all safe.”

He grumbled under his breath
before letting out a tired-sounding breath. Wiping a hand down his face, he
looked at her. “I don’t want you anywhere but by my side. Not that it makes it any
easier when I know exactly what dangers are out here. We cross the wrong group
who are thinking to plunder one of our moons, and everything could go to hell
fast. That is my worst nightmare right now.”

“
I’m a smart woman and I know that
when there is a battle, where to be. I know that being right there with you is
the safest place for me,” she said simply. “You would be able to see me and not
worry for me.”

Now he was glaring at her. She
knew she was right, he knew she was right, but he didn’t seem willing to admit
it out loud. That was fine, he would one day. Rolling his eyes to the ceiling,
he leaned his head back. “Eat your food, little wife. Then we need to retire to
our rooms. At some point today you need to have a nap.”

“
After you have loved me,” she put
in as she popped another bite of food into her mouth. She was grinning as she
watched him and winked when he shifted in his seat. “Because we both know that
we need just that.” She certainly did.

“
You seem to be a little more
interested in our sexual activities. Not that you weren’t before, but for the
last few days you’ve definitely had more of an edge. Care to speculate on the
reasons for that, little wife?”

“
Could be because I’m pregnant,”
she said with a shrug. “It’s the only thing that I can think of.
Either that or because I’ve become so used to being here with you.
I’ve become very accustomed to having you with me.
Having you
loving me.”

“
Could be,” he agreed. He fell
silent then, his eyes following every movement she made. His gaze grew warmer
when she licked her fingers after popping a bite into her mouth, so she started
to play it up. He got a hungry look on his face whenever she licked her lips.
Adira
knew she was playing with fire, but she was having
fun in the process.

Licking her lips, she allowed him
to watch as she wrapped her tongue around her fingers, her lips around them and
sucking them in and out of her mouth. With a grin she asked, “Yes, husband, is
there something you need?”

His low growl played havoc on her
system, sending chills over her skin and a flood of need through her body.
“Quit toying with me, woman, or I’ll toss you over my shoulder and haul you
back to our rooms now. It won’t be very elegant, and I can assure you every one
of the crew will know exactly what’s going on.”
Fintan
was usually so proper, and careful of keeping their private life just that.
Private.
To hear those words coming from him though, wow.

She watched him and shrugged,
once more licking her fingers.
“And?
I really wouldn’t
mind it if you did that, to be perfectly honest with you. If you wanted to take
me right here, I would be good with that.” She nipped her own fingertip with
her teeth and sucked the digit into her mouth. “I haven’t been naughty for a
while. What are you planning on doing about it?”

His face cleared of all emotion,
and slowly up went an eyebrow. Then his lips began to curve into what ended up
being a very feral-looking smirk. In a quick move he had her up and over his
shoulder and was heading for the door with a hand firmly planted on her ass. He
said nothing, just strode out of hydroponics and past a few of the crew who
happened to be out in the corridor on the way to the lifts.

Adira
was grinning, bracing her hands
on
Fintan’s
ass she allowed him to manhandle her as
he was. When she heard the snickering she lifted her head and waved at the
guards that followed at a discreet distance. “Will you please make sure that
the hydroponics bay gets cleaned up and the wooden box that’s there is
delivered to my rooms tomorrow?” she called to one of the guards, then squeaked
when
Fintan
smacked her ass once more. Damn her body
but she found herself getting wetter by the movement.

In the lift he let her slide off
his shoulder, spinning her so
her
back was to his
front with his arms wrapped around her torso. “You are being very naughty,
Adira
. You do know what happens to naughty women, right?”
He slid a hand down to cover her breast and gave it a squeeze before pinching
her nipple lightly.

She leaned against him and closed
her eyes. “Naughty girls get spanked,” she whispered in a slight pant, pushing
her breast against his hand once more. “But that is for you to decide, husband.
I am yours to guide,” she teased.

He spun her around and pushed her
to the wall. Moving to the controls he slowed the lift to nearly a crawl. “Bend
over, hands on the wall, spread your legs for me right now,” he told her.

“
Yes, Sir,” she whispered and did
as he instructed. She was bent over, her hands clenching the bar at the back of
the lift. She looked over her shoulder at him and licked her lips. “Like this?”
she asked and felt her pussy weeping for him, needing him inside of her, now.

“
Face the wall,” he ordered. He
did something else at the controls before moving to stand behind her. She felt
his hands on her legs, adjusting them apart a little more before he drew her
skirt up her legs. Flipping it over her ass, he bared her to his view but
didn’t touch her, just let her wait.

Adira
was biting her lower lip. The
wait was killing her. She allowed her shoulders to drop lower, her head falling
as well so that she was completely submissive to him. She didn’t say anything
because she knew that would only cause this to be drawn out even more.