Laura Jo Phillips (31 page)

As much as Aisling wanted to try out her newly healed body, she decided to just relax and enjoy the feel of Olaf’s arms around her and the sight of Rand and Rudy close beside them. 

As Olaf led the way through the ship he thought furiously, trying to understand why they had not reacted to Aisling as their Arima before, and why they did now.  There had to be a reason for it.  He just had to figure out what that reason was.

“Is your dizziness gone?” Olaf asked as he carried her down one corridor, then turned into another.

“Yes,” Aisling said. “Spinning around in a circle was a dumb thing to do.”  They stopped at an elevator and Rand pressed a button. A moment later the doors slid open and they stepped inside.

 “I would never agree to such a statement,” Olaf said, one corner of his mouth turning up in a tiny half smile.

“That’s only because you’re smarter than you appear,” Aisling said lightly.  Olaf scowled while Rudy and Rand laughed outright.  The elevator doors opened and Olaf carried her down yet another corridor before stopping in front of a door and waiting for Rudy to open it.  A moment later they were all in what looked like a living room to Aisling.  There were two sofas, several chairs and two terminal stations at the back of the room. 

Olaf carried her to a sofa and set her down on it.  “How are you feeling?” he asked, kneeling down on the floor in front of her.

“I feel great,” Aisling replied.  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk about this sudden Arima thing.”

 “Yes, we’re curious about the
sudden Arima thing
as well,” he said with laughter in his eyes.

“Would you like something to drink?” Rand offered as he opened a small chiller in one corner of the room.

“Yes, please,” Aisling replied.  “I’m very thirsty, now that you mention it.”

“It was in this compartment that we first saw you,” Olaf said, hardly able to believe it had been only a few short weeks since that day.

“Really?” Aisling asked in surprise.  She didn’t recognize the room at all.  Then she remembered.  “I had the Controller then, right?”

“Yes,” Olaf replied.  “We were drawn to you even then, but we didn’t understand why.”

Rand handed her a bottle of juice and a glass filled with ice.  Olaf took the juice from her and poured it into the glass.

“Thanks,” she said before drinking half the contents.  Olaf sat beside her on the sofa while Rand and Rudy sat on the floor in front of her.  She took a few more sips from her glass, then looked for a place to set it.  Rand took the glass and put it on a table behind him.

“That’s it!” Olaf exclaimed.  “The Controller.  I think the Controller you had is responsible for this.”

“The Controller?” Aisling asked in surprise.  She fell silent for a few moments as she considered Olaf’s suggestion.  “I don’t know much about the Controllers,” she said finally.  “But, if it interferes with the hypothalamus, then it’s possible that it reduces, or impedes, pheromone production.”

“Yes, that is my thought as well,” Olaf said.  “When you became aroused earlier, your body released a burst of pheromones that we scented.”

“What’s interesting to me is that the arousal I felt a few minutes ago was nothing like what I felt before,” Aisling said, ignoring the heat in her cheeks that told her she was blushing. 

“How was it different?” Rand asked.

“What I felt before seemed quite intense to me at the time,” Aisling said.  “Now, it’s like comparing a candle flame to a bonfire.  There’s no way of knowing if the Controller has anything to do with that or not, though.”

“It is worth noting,” Rand said.  “As is the fact that you smell distinctly like honey and cinnamon.”

“How is that possible?” Aisling asked.  “I doubt you can still smell the shampoo I used before being put in that tank gel for two weeks.”

“It is not the shampoo we smell,” Olaf said. “It is the natural scent of your pheromones.”

“Our mating fangs descend at the first scent of our Arima,” Rand said.  “If you were not producing pheromones before, that would explain why our mating fangs did not descend.”

“If you did not scent my pheromones before, why did you choose honey and cinnamon for the gifts you gave me?” Aisling asked.

“That’s a good question,” Rand said.  “Unfortunately, we don’t know.  I just thought it was the right scent for you.  We all did.  It is also what you taste like to me.”

Aisling felt her face heat again but pretended not to notice it.  “I’m glad that it’s working correctly now,” she said.  “Though I wonder,
why
is it working now?”

“Either the problem corrects itself over time, or the healing tank healed something that was damaged,” Olaf said.  “I wonder if this is the reason for the Xanti warning that you read on that metal box.  The
confirm berezi status
warning.”

“Maybe,” Aisling replied.  “Sounds reasonable to me.”

“We will need to discuss this further with Doc, of course.  He is far more knowledgeable about human physiology than we are.  What matters most to us at the moment is that we now know that you are, in fact, our Arima.”

“I have to admit that I’m glad you didn’t know that when you decided to ask me to mate with you,” Aisling said. 

“We are equally glad that you agreed to accept us before we knew that you are our Arima,” Olaf said.  “However, it does change a few things.”

“Such as?” Aisling asked.

“As our true Arima, the mating ritual will be considerably different,” Olaf said,. 

“Different how?” Aisling asked.

“There are three main differences,” Olaf said.  “The first is that we will do a different type of ceremony, which will not be performed in front of witnesses.  The second is that, when we are finished, you will be as we are, Clan Gryphon.”

“Do you mean that I will be able to transform into a gryphon, the way Hope is able to shift into a big bear?” Aisling asked.

“Yes,” Olaf replied.  “Does that bother you?”

“No, not at all,” Aisling said with a grin.  “It’s exciting!  What else?”

“The third is that we no longer have to wait before making love to you,” Olaf said, his voice growing softer and deeper as he spoke.

“No?” Aisling asked.

“No,” Olaf whispered as he leaned in and kissed her very softly.  He pulled back and looked deep into her eyes.  “I take it that you do not mind that last bit?”

“No, I don’t mind any of it,” Aisling replied.  “Especially not that last part.”

“That’s good,” Rudy said as he raised himself up on his knees and leaned in to kiss her.  Aisling met his lips with her own and closed her eyes when his tongue entered her mouth, loving the feel and taste of him.  When he broke the kiss and pulled back, she felt a little breathless.

“I need to take a shower,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper.  “This gunk is drying on my skin.”

Rudy stepped back and Rand rose to his feet, bent down and lifted her effortlessly, cradling her against his chest.  As he walked he lowered his mouth to hers and she raised her head to meet him, eager to have the taste of all three of them on her lips again. 

By the time he broke the kiss her entire body felt soft and boneless in his arms.  She opened her eyes, not surprised to find herself in a bathroom, but very surprised by how big and luxurious it was.

Rand set her gently on the long marble countertop, then reached behind her to untie the medical gown she still wore.  Aisling’s heart began to race at the realization that she was about to be naked in front them for the first time since that night on the transport.  Somehow, that had been different, though she wasn’t sure why.  Perhaps because by the time her clothes had been removed, she’d been too aroused to care.  Now, she was sitting in a bright room with the three of them standing before her, watching.

As the ties were released, the gown loosened, and before she knew she was going to do it she reached up and clutched the gown against her body.

“Is something wrong?” Rand asked, leaning back to look into her eyes.

“I’m just a little nervous,” Aisling replied, feeling foolish but unable to make herself release the gown.

“We understand,” Olaf said.  “Perhaps we’re moving too quickly.”

“If you like, we can leave you to take your shower on your own,” Rudy offered.  “Whatever you want, we will do.”

Aisling thought about that.  It was tempting, but only because she was nervous.  She’d never been one to give into her nerves before though, and she wasn’t going to start now.  She shook her head.

“No, I don’t want you to leave,” she said. 

Rand smiled, then leaned in to kiss her again.  From the moment his lips touched hers, her nervousness began to slip away.  As his tongue lightly stroked hers, her arousal rekindled, and her hands went up to his broad shoulders to urge him closer against her, allowing the gown to slip down her arms unnoticed.

This time, when Rand broke the kiss, his panting matched her own and she felt his body tremble against her.

Rand stepped back and she gasped to see that Olaf was now naked and standing right in front of her.  Her automatic response was to turn her head slightly and look away from him.  Then she blushed, mortified by her adolescent reaction.  She was not a child, and these were not boys.  They were men,
her
men, and they wanted her,
needed
her as the woman she was.  Not a little girl. 

Aisling squared her shoulders and faced Olaf straight on, refusing to allow herself to look away again.  Olaf stood calmly before her, unashamed and unhurried, allowing her to take however much time she needed.  His calm manner soothed her, and gave her the confidence to study him. 

Her eyes roved slowly from his green eyes beneath the stern looking brow, to his gentle, encouraging smile, down his neck, to his broad shoulders.  From there her eyes traveled down his arms, the light tan color appearing warm and soft, inviting her touch as it stretched over bulging muscles.  His chest was two wide, flat slabs of muscle leading down to a stomach that rippled with even more muscle.  Her gaze went lower to the long, thick cock that hung heavily from the thatch of short, thick curls the same shade of green as his hair. 

Aisling swallowed hard and raised her eyes back up to Olaf’s.  On the one hand, she felt slightly embarrassed to have been staring at him so blatantly in spite of her resolve to be bold.  On the other hand, her entire body was shivering with so much heat and desire that she didn’t know what to do with herself. 

Olaf stepped forward and scooped her from the counter, cradling her in his arms as he carried her into the biggest shower she had ever seen.  There were several shower heads pouring water down on them from above, and several spraying from the sides as well.  The feel of the warm water on her skin felt so good that she tilted her head back into the spray, letting it run over her face and soak through her hair.  When she lifted her head, Olaf was smiling at her.

“Feel good?” he asked.

“Yes, very,” she replied.  The shower door opened and Rand and Rudy stepped in, causing her to tense up again.

“Relax,
bilara,”
Olaf said soothingly. 

Aisling smiled.  “Bright one?”

“Yes,” he replied.  “You are a bright and shining star who fell into our lives at the most auspicious moment.”

“May I remove this now?” Rand asked, tugging gently on the edge of the oversized gown she still wore.

“Yes,” she whispered, nervous again, but determined not to run from this.  She wanted this at least as much as they did and she was not going to let her nerves ruin it for all of them.

Rand tugged at the gown again, and Olaf helped by shifting her away from his body just enough for the fabric to slip out from between them.  Olaf sucked in a breath with a soft hiss.  “You are so beautiful,” he said as he gazed down at her. 

“Stunning,” Rand agreed, brushing her arm lightly with his fingers. 

“Breathtaking,” Rudy added from where he stood near her head.  He reached down and stroked her breasts with this fingertips, barely grazing her skin.  It was enough to make her skin pebble and her nipples tighten almost to the point of pain.

“Raise her up, Olaf, so that we can wash her hair,” Rudy suggested.

Olaf complied, turning her so that she faced him.  Rand stepped behind her and coaxed her to part her legs and wrap them around Olaf’s waist, the same position that had caused her such pain the last time she’d done it.  This time though, there was no pain at all.  In fact, without clothing between them, she found it incredibly pleasurable.

“You are so hot and wet against me,” Olaf said, his voice gravely with his own arousal. 

Aisling felt her face heat, but at the same time, she felt a rush of satisfaction at knowing she was the focus of such intense want and need.  For the first time she felt the true power of her own sexuality, and she was eager to explore it.

Olaf’s arms tightened, pressing against the small of her back which increased the contact between her pussy and the hard rippling muscles of his stomach.  Aisling’s hips arched of their own accord, causing the sensitive nub of her clit to rub against him.  The pleasure was so intense that she moaned softly and repeated the motion.  Olaf threw his head back and growled as he lifted her body slightly, then released her, so that she rubbed against him again, and again.