Rayne's Return (Hearts of ICARUS Book 3) (41 page)

“No, Rayne,” Salene said, shaking her head.  “What if they change direction?  Or stop?  The only way to know where they are is for me to feel them, and I’m not taking any risks with their lives.”

“I understand,” Rayne said.  “I don’t blame you, either.  I’d do the same thing.  I’m just worried about you.”

“I’m being well taken care of by Pip and his med techs, particularly that one named Blake.  Which reminds me.  What’s going on with Pip?  He won’t even enter the same room with me.  I’ve spoken to him on the comm a couple of times, but when I asked him what was going on he put me off.”

“Pip has a Controller,” Rayne said, shocking Salene.  “Landor, Con, and Ari have given it orders to shut down, but Pip is worried that it might kick in and do something that he can’t prevent.  He’s keeping tabs on everything from a vid-terminal, but won’t actually enter a room with a patient.  On top of that, he’s asked Landor to assign Clan guards to watch him around the clock.  He’s really afraid of the Controller taking over.  For good reason, too.”

“Why do you say that?” Salene asked. 

“It’s a very long story,” Rayne replied.  “You up to hearing it right now?”

“Sure,” Salene said.  “But first, are you going to make your hair long again?”

“Yes, I am,” she replied.  “Well, Landor, Ari, and Con will, to be specific.  They returned the color and curl before lunch and said they’ll do the length tonight.”

“That’s a relief,” Salene said.  “You didn’t look bad or anything, but it was weird to look at you and not recognize you.”

“It was weird to look in the mirror and not recognize myself,” Rayne said with a smile.  While she continued to run the hair wand over Salene’s head, she told her most of what had happened to her in the past year, and the past week, too.  When she was finished Salene had several inches of curly red gold hair, and they both decided that was enough for one day.

“I’m sorry about your dragon friend,” Salene said when Rayne sat back down.  “The Doftle have so much to answer for.”

“They do,” Rayne agreed.

“I have a couple of questions,” she said.  “Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” Rayne replied.

“Mom said that you needed to reach the
Facility
in eight days, but that you didn’t know why.  Did you do whatever it was you had to do?”

“Yes, and no,” Rayne said.  This was one of the things she hadn’t mentioned yet, and she was glad Salene brought it up.  “I remembered, finally, that the reason I had to reach the
Facility
in eight days or less was so that I could destroy it before the order went out to abduct you.”

“Oh,” Salene said, frowning.  “But they attacked us two days after we left Garza, not eight.”

“How long did they have you at the
Facility
?”

“I’m not entirely certain, but I think it was a day.”

Rayne nodded.  That was what Wolef had told her.  “Some things got changed by my return to the past.”

“Changed how?”

“Just before I was sent back a year, I stumbled across you lying in a cell, connected to a bunch of machines that were keeping you alive.  You’d been shot in the head, and you were brain dead.  The only way I could think of to save you was to destroy the
Facility
before the order for your abduction went out, which would have happened eight days after my abduction, which is tomorrow, actually.”

“How did things get changed?” Salene asked. 

“When I was sent back, I took my soul and my conscious mind with me.  That left the Doftle with a version of me that was, essentially, an empty shell.  My guess is that, since they couldn’t try to force an empty shell to shift, or to reveal a psychic ability, they decided to abduct you sooner than they otherwise would have.  I’m sorry, Salene.  It’s my fault you suffered as you did.”

“Nonsense,” Salene said.  “I much prefer what I went through to being brain dead, and besides, I know you suffered in their hands for an entire year.  Thanks to you, I only had to put up with it for a day, which I’m grateful for.  I am curious about the Gryphons though.  Were they taken the first time, too?”

“I don’t know what, if anything, happened to the Gryphons in the first future, but since your original plan was to return to Jasan with Mom and the Dads, I kind of doubt it.  I asked that your plans be changed on a hunch, though at the time I didn’t know why.  I don’t know if my interference caused them to be abducted when they otherwise wouldn’t have been, but I think it did.”

“Rayne, you didn’t cause any of this,” Salene said gently.  “Since we’ll never know, there’s no point in speculation.”

“Actually, that’s not true,” Rayne said.  “When I came to the
Facility
to get you yesterday, I brought back four hand terminals.  Three of them are from this timeline that we’re in now.  The other is from the other future.  They’ll tell us what happened in both timelines.  If I’m responsible for the Gryphons being taken, I’m sorry.”

“Stop that,” Salene said, her voice soft, but her golden eyes letting Rayne know how serious she was.  “The Doftle are responsible for
all
of this, not you.  Please, don’t ever think that again.”

“I’ll try,” Rayne said.  “Thanks, Salene.”

“It’s
me
that thanks
you
, Rayne,” she said, leaning her head back against the chair.  “You saved my life and right now your Rami are trying to save my men’s lives.”  She grimaced and sat up straighter.  “Please tell me that the one with the metal legs was in that space station when it was destroyed.”

“I wish I could,” Rayne said.  “Unfortunately, he got away and, even more unfortunately, he’s the one we’re chasing now.”

“
He’s
got my men,” Salene said slowly, her face paling.  “Well, since the alternative to that would be for them to have been destroyed along with the
Facility
, I suppose it’s…well, I can’t bring myself to say it’s good.”

“No, I wouldn’t be able to say that either,” Rayne said.  “How about
the lesser of two evils
?”

“That works,” Salene agreed.  “That one with the metal legs.  He’s very scary.  There’s something really messed up about him.”

“There’s something messed up about all of them,” Rayne said.  “But him more than the others, I agree.  I want him dead, and I never imagined that I could want another living being dead before.”

“If it helps, you’re not alone,” Salene said.  “I want him dead, too.  And it’s not
all
about revenge either.  He’s a very dangerous creature.”

“That’s an understatement if ever I’ve heard one,” Rayne agreed.  They sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.

“Do you want to tell me about that music you were playing?” Salene asked, breaking the silence.

“I wrote it when I was first abducted,” Rayne said, hoping Salene would leave it at that.

“I think it’s the best thing you’ve ever written,” Salene said.  “So far.”

“Ari said that too.  Maybe when this is all over and we get back home I’ll think about publishing it.”

Salene understood that Rayne didn’t want to talk about the events behind the music, so she let it go.  She was looking at Rayne while trying to think of another topic when something caught her attention.  She narrowed her eyes, studying her sister more intently as she tried to figure out what it was.  After a few moments it struck her that there was a glow of happiness in Rayne’s eyes that she’d never seen before.

“Being linked has made you very happy,” she said, smiling.  “In fact, I’ve never seen you this happy.”

“It’s wonderful,” Rayne said, struggling to restrain her joy for her sister’s sake.

Salene’s heat tilted.  Rayne sighed.  She’d never been able to hide anything important from Salene.  She was the eldest sister and, while the relationship between Clan Jasani female triplets was not the same as it was for males, there were similarities.  Salene’s bone deep need to watch over and protect Rayne and Tani was a good example.

After a few moments Salene arched a brow and Rayne gave up.  “All right, I’ll tell you, but…well, here goes.”  She paused to take a breath, then froze when Salene’s eyes widened.

“Oh-my-goodness-you’re-pregnant!” she shouted while pushing herself out of her chair to hug Rayne who stood up and hugged her back.  “I’m so excited for you!”  She stepped back so she could look into Rayne’s eyes, then she laughed.  “You goof.  How could you think for even a moment that your happiness would cause me pain?”

“You’re scary sometimes, you know that?” Rayne asked with a mock scowl.

“Yes, I know,” Salene said, returning to her chair.  Rayne frowned at how pale she looked, but Salene waved a hand, dismissing it.  “I’ll go take a nap in a few minutes, but I want to explain something to you first.”

“Okay,” Rayne replied, sitting back down.

“I love you, you know that.  For that reason alone I’m over the moon happy for you.  But, on top of that, I’m happy for me, too, because you’ve given me hope.”

“Hope?”

Salene smiled.  “After all that you’ve suffered, with all that you went through, you’re still here, and you’re still you.  You fell in love, you’re linked, and now you’re going to have the first of what will undoubtedly be lots and lots of happy, drooling little babies with pudgy cheeks and bubbly dispositions.  You
won
, Rayne.  They did their worst to you, and their worst was horrific, but you
won
.  I love that.  I
needed
to know that.  I know now that if I don’t give up, I can win, too.”

Rayne went to her knees in front of Salene’s chair, then wrapped her arms around her.  They stayed that way for a long time, giving and receiving the comfort that only sisters can share with one another.  Then she leaned back and looked steadily into Salene’s eyes. 

“We will get your men back, Salene,” she said.  “Believe it.  We won’t stop until we do.”

“I believe you,” Salene said softly. 

“Now, go get yourself back into bed or I’ll stuff you into a healing tank myself.”

***

Rayne turned her face up into the full spray of the showerhead and sighed with pleasure as the hot water cascaded over her.

“Now there’s a sight to behold,” Landor said from the entrance to the enormous blue tiled shower.  Rayne wasn’t startled because she’d felt her men enter the room a few moments earlier, and knew they were looking for her.  She was already starting to get the hang of this tri-phase thing.  The trick, she’d discovered, was in turning it on, getting a quick sample, then remembering to turn it off again right away.  Otherwise she became overwhelmed by the incoming feelings and sensations from her men.

She looked at Landor over her shoulder and gave him a slow smile as she let her eyes rove up and down his beautiful…and naked…body.  “Care to join me?”

“Oh, I think I can be talked into it,” he said, stepping into the shower.  “Why do you have just the one shower head on?”

“Because I wanted to shower, not drown,” she replied archly.  Landor smiled, but she could tell he didn’t quite get what she meant.  “These other showerheads spray water directly into my face.”

“We’ll have to do something about that,” Con said as he and Ari joined them.  Rayne took a few moments to appreciate their bodies, then frowned as a thought occurred to her.  After a moment her smile returned, bigger than before.

“What was that about?” Ari asked as he selected Rayne’s shampoo from a built in shelf and poured some into his hand.

Rayne’s cheeks grew warm and her men watched with appreciation as the pink flush ran from her face down to her breasts, which caused her to turn an even deeper pink.  Ari stepped around behind her and applied the shampoo to her hair, then began to gently massage it in.  Embarrassment forgotten, Rayne’s eyes closed with pleasure and her head tilted back.

“Come on, tell us,” Ari whispered into her ear, his cock pressing hotly against her back.

“I was just wondering if the sight of the three of you would always make me feel the way it does now,” she said.  “Or if it would fade in time.”

“And your conclusion?”

“I remembered my parents,” she said, smiling again.  “The way my mom looks at my dads sometimes, and the way they look at her, is almost embarrassing to watch.”

“Embarrassing?” Landor asked, lowering himself to his knees in front of Rayne with a sponge holding a dollop of her favorite body wash.  Starting at her hips, he began working his way down one leg, leaving honeysuckle suds behind.  “Why is it embarrassing?”

“Because it feels I’m intruding on something personal and private.  I swear they can talk to each other with their eyes.  They don’t need words.”

“One day we’ll be like that,” Con said.  He’d poured some body wash into his hands, rubbed them together to work up a lather and turned to run his hands over her breasts.  The suds made his hands slippery as they rubbed over her hard nipples, then wandered down to caress her belly over the place where their tiny daughters rested, then back up to her breasts.  She shivered and her nipples tightened further.  Then Landor ran one sudsy hand slowly along her pussy, pausing to stroke her clit with his thumb.  Her knees buckled, but her men kept her from falling.

“You’re so wet,
Kisu
,” Landor said, rising to his feet.  “And I don’t mean from the shower.”

“Time to rinse,” Ari said from behind her.  Rayne opened eyes that she hadn’t quite realized she’d closed and started to turn, but Con lifted her up instead.

“Wrap your legs around my waist,” he said.  She immediately complied, placing her hands on his shoulders for balance.  “I love the way you feel in my arms,” he said, leaning down to nuzzle her neck, his tongue leaving chills behind as it traced a path from her ear, down to her throat, and then back up to her other ear.

“I want you,” she said, her voice deep and sultry with need.  “Inside me.  Please.”  Con’s hips surged forward in automatic response to her desire.  He released her waist with one hand and reached down to position his cock when, without warning, Rayne’s body jerked hard enough that he nearly dropped her.  He looked up and saw that her pupils were dilated, her face and breasts were flushed, and she was panting softly.