Irresistible (Delroi Prophecy) (2 page)

“By all means, make yourself at home.”
Her tone was dry, just shy of sarcastic.

He flashed her grin. “I assumed it was
too soon to insist you to move in with me.”

She laughed, but he could tell her
amusement was feigned.

 
“So
why do you think I can help your brother?” she asked changing the subject.

He sighed. She sure knew how to ruin a
man's mood.

“But not your appetite,” she pointed
out, obviously reading his thoughts. He chose another piece of meat. He smiled
at her attempt to sooth him, though he doubted she'd describe it that way. She
tilted her head to one side. “It doesn’t bother you that I'm picking up some of
your thoughts?”

“I don’t have any secrets to keep from
you, Parker. Unless you can't be trusted with the security information rattling
around in my head?”

He knew that wasn’t true. Britt Trace
had assured everyone Parker was trustworthy. Since Lady Trace was mated to Barak
Trace, the chief who ruled all of the southern clans, was a telepath, and a
former assassin, he'd take her word for it.

“I wouldn’t betray you,” she said
softly.

“Even if you thought I was up to no
good?” he made it sound teasing, but he was curious. He wanted to know
everything about her. As the Earthlings would say, he wanted to know what made
her tick.

She leaned back in her chair and studied
him a long moment. He resisted the urge to squirm and hoped she liked what she
saw.

“I'd have to dig around in your head to
answer that satisfactorily, but since the only thoughts I've picked up from you
have been about me,” she said not bothering to hide her censure, “I think
you're safe.”

She sipped at her drink. “Your brother?”

“He's a commander of one our fast
response companies and he serves as my backup if I can’t make a negotiation.
Several months ago he went to one of those for me. We got a report about a
group of rebels meeting in the desert when he was returning to the Keep. It was
an ambush. He was the only survivor.”

“And he blames himself for surviving,”
she said softly.

He could only nod. He'd reviewed all the
data they had on the engagement. It wasn’t Vidar's fault. He'd done everything
right, but still he blamed himself. “One of his platoons met him en route. He
lost all his men.”

She blew out a breath and though he had
no mental powers, he felt her empathy. She felt his pain, his frustration, and
his sense of being absolutely useless. “You and your brother are close?”

“Brothers. I have three. You'll meet
them all soon.” He took another bite. “I'm the oldest. I had just finished
warrior training when our parents were killed.”

“I'm sorry,” she said and he knew she
meant it. It wasn’t just a platitude. “Roarr said you're a steward?”

“I'm
the
Steward. I inherited the position from my father.”

“What does the Steward do?” she asked,
nibbling on a piece of fruit.

“Whatever my chief tells me to,” he
joked, not really surprised when she looked at him evenly and didn’t laugh. He
sighed. “I'm Roarr's second in command. I make sure everything runs smoothly in
the Keep. Supplies, training, assignments. That kind of thing. I also mediate
disagreements that have gotten out of control. Mostly, those are between other
clans, thankfully.”

“You negotiate between other clans? That
seems…unusual. I would expect that to be Barak Trace's responsibility.”

He shrugged. “The Clan of the Keep swears
allegiance to the Trace's and the Torfa's. Period. Many clans on Delroi have
more private, personal pacts. The Keep has always kept itself separate from
those.”

“Neutrality.”

“In a sense. Yes.” He smiled. “The
Stian's, in addition to being warriors and bureaucrats, have traditionally been
diplomats. My father started training me to take his place from the time I
could speak.”

“So much history and tradition,” she
murmured. “What if you had wanted to be something else?”

“I never thought about it,” he said. He
really hadn’t. He'd been born into and groomed for his role. It was challenging
and satisfying. What more could a warrior ask? “What about you? Your parents?”

Damn, he should have thought of that
right away. He could pull some strings to get her family to Delroi if she
wanted. The question was like flipping a switch and the reserved, distant
Parker Reed was back. He shouldn’t find it fascinating that she could shut down
so easily. He wanted inside those walls.

“I don’t know who my father was. No one
did.” She shrugged. “I stopped trying to figure that out years ago. My mother
died when I was a baby. I grew up in a Gaia retreat.”

“What is that?”

“You know we have many faiths on Earth?”

“I've heard.” It seemed a strange thing
to him, and had been a source of much war and strife on her planet.

“The women where I grew up believe Gaia
is the spirit of Earth. The mother of everything.”

“The goddess?”

“You could say that.”

Her faith could become a major issue. He
tried to keep the thought to himself, knew he didn’t succeed when she spoke.

“Why is that a problem?” she asked
softly, something that wasn’t quite annoyance flashing over her face before she
was back in control.

He didn’t want to explain, didn’t want
to see fear in her eyes, but he couldn’t keep this from her. His
der’lan
.

“Did anyone tell you what happened
yesterday?”

“Jarek said your temple had been
attacked. I understand a lot of people died. I’m sorry.”

He didn’t know how to respond to
sympathy. He was a warrior. The short battle was just what he was. How he
lived. She met his gaze and he knew she understood.

“Did Jarek tell you why?”

She shook her head. Sipped at her
gazzi
. “No.”

“There’s a prophecy on Delroi. No, I
can’t start there.” He finished his drink and refilled it before continuing. “You
know how we’re organized? That we have three castes?”

“Yes. Warrior, healer, and artist and they
have corresponding gods. And apparently a prophecy.”

“Right. Centuries ago a goddess was also
worshipped on Delroi, representing aspects of all three gods. It fell out of
practice but there is a prophecy that says the goddess will return with three
other worlders who represent the three castes.”

Now she looked uncomfortable. Maybe a
bit nervous. “Okay.”

“Somehow the rebels discovered the three
of you had taken refuge with our clan. They were looking for you.”

There was only a moment of fear but then
resolve and anger shone in her eyes. “You’re sure it was your rebels and not
Tel?”

“Absolutely. The Earthlings can’t get to
you here.”

He’d read of the group in Falkor’s
report. Knew they were the ones who’d held her captive. But he could see she
didn’t believe for even a micro second that she was safe in the Keep.

“There are already women from Earth on
Delroi who represent those aspects,” she said instead of refuting him.

“None of them are living in the Keep,
though.”

She arched an eyebrow, clearly asking
why that was important.

“The Keep is home of the goddess cult on
Delroi, the last place she's worshipped. I'm sure Lady Idis would be happy to
show you their temple.”

It killed him to make the suggestion. He
didn’t want her in danger or more visible to the rebels, but by tradition he
could not interfere with the goddess cult.

She fidgeted and looked uncomfortable at
the suggestion, though. Maybe she wasn’t interested.

“You don’t share the beliefs of those
who raised you?”

“It's not that,” she said softly,
meeting his gaze briefly before glancing away.

“What then?”

“You're very nosy,” she replied. Calm
with just a hint of asperity. He gave her his sexiest grin, noted the way her
eyes widened and shone just a moment before she repressed the reaction. She
wasn’t nearly as unaffected by him as she pretended.

He reached over and tugged at one the
loose curls framing her face. She sucked in a breath but held still. “You're a
beautiful woman, Parker. Hasn’t anyone tried to get to know you before?”

He kept his tone light and curious, but
it bothered him. Both that some man might have and that none had. He thought
again that Earthling men were idiots. She turned her head and he let the hair
slip from his fingers.

“What was it like? This place you grew
up?” he asked, trying to draw her out again.

This time she smiled at his questions. “It
was an island. Small, not easy to get to. Off the southern coast of Florida.”

She looked out the balcony doors,
towards the sea, that secret serene look coming over her face again.

“How long have you been gone?” he asked,
wondering how long it would take her to adopt his sea as her own.

“A long time. It was abandoned shortly
after I went to college.” She must have seen the question on his face or pulled
it from his mind, because she explained before he could voice it. “There was a
hurricane that destroyed most of the structures. Rather than rebuild, everyone
joined other retreats.”

“You lost your home and family all at
once. I'm sorry, love.”

She gave him an odd look and seemed to
retreat into herself. “I lost my family long before then.”

He wanted to reach for her, wanted to
hold her, but he settled for covering her hand with his. She stared at it a
long moment, but she didn’t pull away. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“You don’t have other family?”

She met his gaze steadily. She looked
serene, but he could sense the loneliness she'd buried deep. “I have Kareena
and Zola.”

He squeezed her hand, then laced his
fingers through hers and held their joined hands up. “You have more than that,
der'lan
.”

“What does that mean?
Der'lan
?”

“Can't you read my mind?”

She frowned. “Not this. You've hidden it
and it would unethical to go looking.”

He brought her knuckles to his lips for
soft kiss. It was damned hard not to pull her across the counter and take her
mouth. “When you're ready to know, all you have to do is look,” he said
instead.

Then he stood and cleaned up the remains
of their meal. He wasn’t satisfied with the amount she'd eaten, but he had a
plan for that. She walked him to the door.

“I'll be back in four hours to get you.”

“Excuse me?”

“I want you to meet my brothers.
Besides, you're making Delroi your home and you'll need friends and allies.”

“I don’t know if I can take another
three like you,” she said slowly, and he knew she was interested. Maybe just in
dinner. Maybe in not being alone. Right now, it didn’t really matter. He leaned
down to kiss her cheek.

“We will be on our best behavior. I promise.”
He left with a grin but not before he heard her mutter.

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Chapter Two

Why on Earth had she agreed to this? And
what the hell was she supposed to wear? She stared at the new unfamiliar
clothing spread across her bed, her mind spinning. She’d bought some of it in
Saber City and Lady Idis had brought the rest earlier. She'd avoided the real
question all afternoon and faced it now. Why had she told Kaje Stian so much
about herself? She never did that. She dated nice, serious--boring she was
forced to admit--men. Kaje was a charming rogue. Much more Kareena's type than
hers.

When she heard a knock on the door, she
hurried from the bedroom through the living room and swung it open. It was way
too early. Thankfully, it was just Roarr.

“What do you wear to dinner here?” she
burst out and wanted to clamp her hand over her mouth. She'd been thrown off
kilter and it showed. She hated that.

If Roarr realized she was disturbed he
concealed it. He looked her over. “You're fine. We're just having a family
dinner tonight in my mother’s quarters’.”

Oh shit. She should have realized they'd
expect her to join them. Her disappointment in not seeing Kaje again surprised
her. She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling.

“Problem?” he asked.

“I kind of made other plans, but I'm
sure I can change them.”

“Did you now?”

His expression was more than amused and
she realized he was an empath. He probably wasn’t just seeing she was
flustered. He could feel her emotions. She immediately checked her shields and
shored up the weak spots. His half smile became a full fledged grin and he
leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You are under my protection, Parker.
It's a big brother kind of relationship. I need more details.”

She could play at that game. “Will you
tell me what appropriate dinner dress is?”

“Sure.” He motioned her to move and
followed her inside. “Though you went shopping with Britt. Knowing her tastes,
I may not be able to offer advice.”

She huffed. “You don’t know Britt then.
Who knew an assassin could shop like an addict with the keys to the store?”

“I'm sure that makes sense where you're
from,” he said dryly and she grinned.

“Like a demon from hell?”

“I think I'm getting the picture.”

She led the way to her room where she'd
spread her purchases out on her bed. There was plenty of day to day stuff. Then
there was the silk. Soft and decadent. The kind of stuff that would have been
completely impractical in her old life, but she hadn’t been able to resist when
Britt pushed it on her. Roarr looked it over.

“Who is this dinner with?”

“Kaje Stian and his brothers,” she
answered ignoring the blush she could feel heating her face.

Roarr smiled a little and shook his
head. He picked up one outfit, blue shot with silver. “These are Kaje's family
colors. Britt must not have known.” Then he chose another outfit, a soft
buttery yellow that she loved. “These are his office colors. You'll rarely see
anyone outside his family wear the blue silver combination or this shade of
yellow. Of course a woman he's claimed can wear either.”

She didn’t like the question underlying
his statement and was not touching it with a ten foot pole. “Maybe I'll just
cancel.”

“No, don’t,” Roarr said. “You'll be
living here. It's important all three of you get to know my people. You'll like
the Stian's. They're excellent warriors. Honorable and loyal men.”

He reached for another outfit. This one
was blue pants the same color, but without the silver, and a light blue top.

“Wear these.” He turned to leave, but
paused at the door. “And Parker? Have fun.”

Have fun? She'd never been so freaked
out in her life. Before she could protest--or more importantly figure out how
to call Kaje and beg out--Roarr was gone. She checked the clock in the kitchen
and ran back to her room. Her neat freak mind wouldn’t allow her to leave the
mess so she started hanging things first. She was only half-way through when
there was another knock. She looked at the disaster around her, sighed, and
went to answer it.

Kaje took her in with one look and then
asked, “What's wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said, and let him around
her. “I just need to change and…Give me a few minutes.”

It was a sign of her distracted state
that she didn’t notice him follow her into the bedroom until his hands were on
the next outfit to go on a hanger before hers. He fingered the blue and silver
pants. She noticed his were the same blue with a single silver stripe down the
outside of each leg.

“Something wrong with these?”

Her mouth went dry. “I got those in
Saber City. Roarr just told me they're your family colors. I didn’t know.”

He gave her a slight smile. “You hadn’t
met me yet.”

He wanted her wear them. She could feel
it from his mind, a low soft urging that she couldn’t comply with. She couldn’t
let herself care about this man who had love 'em and leave 'em written all over
him. But she was oh so tempted. And confused. Uncertain of what she wanted, so
damned intrigued by the invitation in his eyes. She looked up, saw
understanding in his gaze and handed him the hanger. He couldn’t hide his
disappointment. It was sharp her mind.

“Ask me again in a year,” she murmured
when his back was turned, wishing she could take back the words and ignore the strange
yearning she felt. He stiffened a moment before facing her.

“Maybe you'll choose it on your own
before then,” he said, firm and clear.

Why had she agreed to dinner? She so did
not want to spend an evening fending him off. Instantly, he pulled away from
her.

“Don’t do that, baby. I'll be good.”

“Your word?”

He nodded and heaved a sigh. “Yes. I
promise. Please come meet Vidar. He needs help I can't give him.”

She felt his sincerity and concern. He
really was worried about his brother and she'd never been able to resist
someone in need. “Get out of here. Let me get dressed.”

She settled on loose dark purple pants
with a short sleeved lilac top cropped to expose a thin stretch of her abdomen.
It was soft and sexy. She was afraid it might send the wrong impression, but
every woman she'd seen since joining the Delroi wore a similar style. She
finished it off with strappy gold sandals. When she stepped back in the room,
Kaje raked her with an appreciative gaze she swore she could feel. She shivered
and he stepped forward to wrap his arm around her shoulder.

“Cold? Didn’t Britt get you cloaks?”

She wasn’t cold. Hell no, she was hot
and getting hotter the longer he stood so close. “I'm fine. Let's go.”

He released her, but he kept his palm on
her lower back as they walked. There was nothing erogenous about the skin he
touched, so why was it so arousing? Why did it make lascivious images fill her
mind? It took all the self control she could muster to hide her physical
reaction, to bury it deep in her mind. He spoke as they walked, explaining the
various areas they passed through.

“We're entering the warrior compound,”
he said as the corridor opened into a huge courtyard.

Dozens of men and a few women were in
the area. Some eating at what looked like a café and others talking in small
groups. As they passed through, heading for double doors on the opposite end,
warriors greeted Kaje and nodded respectfully. After two more turns they
entered what she guessed to be more quarters.

“Who lives here?” she asked, curious. It
was a mirror image of the family's side of the fortress but decorated in blues
and yellows instead of red and purple.

“It’s the Steward’s wing,” he answered
with an expectant smile.

“So this is yours?”

“Yes. Most visitors stay over here and
the senior warriors in the Keep live here.”

They stopped at a secured door. It swung
open when Kaje set his palm against it. Instead of entering though, he typed
something into the keypad at its side and had her set her palm on the plate. He
spoke when they were once again walking.

“These are my family's private quarters.”

And he'd given her access to them. She
was so confused as to why he'd done that she was stunned when they stopped in a
room with a wide balcony overlooking the sea. It was much bigger than the one
in her room, the sight enticing, and she walked out to look around. The view
was even better from here.

“Parker?”

Kaje got her attention and she turned to
find four men watching her from beside a food laden table she hadn’t noticed.
She was nervous in an unfamiliar, yet very feminine way. Kaje had made it clear
he wanted her. Would his family approve? Why did she care? She'd already
decided he wasn’t her type, but then why accept this invitation? She was
fascinated, she admitted, and she needed to get a handle on it. Flirtation was
one thing, but getting more seriously involved would only get her heart broken.
The look he leveled on her was not light and teasing though. It was intense,
expectant. Hot and promising and her body responded against her will. Her
resolve slipped away.

She took a cautious step forward and
studied them, wondering if Delroi warriors knew how damned intimidating they
looked. They were all tall, well over six feet, with the tattoos starting on
the right sides of their faces and moving down to disappear under their clothes.
Broad shouldered and heavily muscled, they looked like ancient warriors. She
knew at a glance they were brothers, though they weren’t identical. It took her
a minute to figure out that was because their facial tattoos were similar, yet
different from the other men she’d seen.

“Hello,” she said as Kaje caught her
hand and urged her to a seat next to the head of the table. He pointed out his
brothers as he pulled out her chair. Cassius and Vidar moved to the other side
of the table, while Reza stood beside her chair.

Kaje handed her a glass of
gazzi
and when she sipped it was as if a
flood gate opened. The silent severe warriors relaxed and she wondered if she'd
just passed some kind of test.

“So you're from Earth?” Cassius,
directly across from her, asked.

“Yes.”

She didn’t elaborate. She had no idea
how much they already knew. He grinned and exchanged a glance with Kaje.

“Have you brought us another Earth
soldier, brother?” His gaze returned to her. “A government assassin perhaps?”

Her reaction to the question was so
negative she didn’t temper her response. “No. I was a rebel.”

Silence fell over the group with such
animosity she had to force herself not to cringe. Too late she remembered what
Kaje had told her about his brother.

“You're going to have to explain that,
der'lan
,” Kaje said. His tone was low
and hard. She realized he didn’t know much about her.

She held her wrists up. Her arms were
still green and yellow with fading bruises. Her bones still too sharp under her
skin. It wasn’t a pretty look.

“A week ago Roarr and some other
warriors led an attack on a secret compound in my country where I was being
held prisoner. Those are the people I was rebelling against.”

She had their full attention, took a
long drink to steady herself. She was unaccustomed to giving away her secrets.
Couldn’t begin to guess why she was doing it now. It was because of Kaje.
Again. He rattled her, broke down her barriers without even trying.

“They hunted me most of my adult life.
If they'd found me as a child they would have made me into a killer. I wasn’t
rebelling for power. I was rebelling for freedom. For the right not to be
turned into a monster.”

Animosity had turned to anger, then rage
as she spoke. It battered at her shields until Kaje took her hand. As if he
understood, he turned to his brothers.

“Knock it off,” he ordered. Slowly the
negative energy dissipated.

“I've heard stories about the males on
your world,” Reza said at her side. “I'd hoped they weren’t true.”

She shrugged. “Evil isn’t limited to
men.”

He shook his head. “That isn’t what I
meant. A warrior would never treat his woman, any woman, badly.”

It was hard not to scoff at that
declaration. “Not all men on Earth are monsters,” she said instead.

“How would these people on Earth have
used you?” Cassius asked.

She didn’t want to answer, but Kaje had
invited her into his home and the truth was telepaths made most people
uncomfortable. They had a right to be warned. She steeled herself against their
reaction, making her voice firm. Regretting her differences in a rare burst of
loneliness.
 

“I'm a telepath,” she said. Much
stronger than anyone knew, even Kareena.

But instead of trepidation, she only
felt curiosity from them especially Vidar. Kaje squeezed her hand then let her
go and started fixing her plate.