Page 113 of Rescued

“I am his mate because we are Bonded but we have not had a Joining ceremony,” Lan’ara told her.

“Not yet, anyway. But we’re going to have a wedding and get married. And you can be my best man,” he added, looking at Maddy.

“What? I don’t think so!” she scoffed, but there was laughter in her eyes. “Maybe I’ll be one of the bridesmaids—if Lan’ara wants me to, that is,” she added shyly.

“I would be pleased to have you stand with me during my Joining to your brother.” Lan’ara gave her a fond smile and Nate was glad to see there was already affection between the two of them.

“How did they do that, though?” Maddy asked, looking over at Davrik and Sonya, who were still wrapped in a tight embrace. “I mean…it was like they were singing lasers or something.”

“Has to do with this thing on my back.” Nate turned around and hitched up his shirt to show them. “It’s called an ESR—Emotion Sonic Resonator,” he explained. “It needed me and Sonya both to operate it because it was too heavy for her to carry and you have to sing in order to make it work.”

“But you can’t carry a tune in a bucket,” Maddy protested.

“Yeah, I know that, squirt.” Nate tweaked her nose playfully, just as he used to when they were kids. “That’s why Sonya came along to help. And also because she wanted to get Davrik back,” he added.

“All of you appear to be happy now.”

The new voice came from the gray girl—the one who had actually stabbed the AllFather and finished him off.

His daughter, Nate thought. He remembered her saying that the AllFather would never feed on her pain again and felt sick. Had that fucking bastard really mind-raped his own daughter? If so, he’d deserved every damn thing he got and more!

“I suppose you’ll all go back to the Kindred Mother Ship now,” Xairna said dully. There was a mute longing in her red-on-black eyes that hurt Nate’s heart.

“You can come with us, if you like.” Lan’ara detached herself from Nate’s side and put a tentative arm around the Scourge girl. “You’d be very welcome.”

“Even though I’m Scourge? Even though I’m your enemy?” the girl demanded.

Lan’ara smiled warmly.

“I’m an Empath Kindred and I can tell you don’t mean us any harm. I don’t see an enemy—I see someone I would like to call my friend. Will you come with us?”

Hope filled Xairna’s face and she looked at Lan’ara uncertainly.

“You really mean that?”

“With all my heart. I know Commander Sylvania will let you come aboard if I vouch for you—which I’ll be happy to do.”

Lan’ara drew her in for a hug. For a moment, Xairna was stiff in her arms. Then, slowly, her arms came up and she tentatively hugged Lan’ara back.

It occurred to Nate that this might be the very first hug the Scourge girl had ever gotten and he was surprised to feel that his eyes were stinging. He cleared his throat, trying to push back some of the emotion.

“It’s all right, my love,” Lan’ara sent to him though their link. “It’s sad that she’s never been shown any kindness before, but now that she is coming home with us, she will have a chance to heal.”

“I hope you’re right,” Nate sent back. “But for right now, I just want to get out of this fucking haunted house of a ship and go home!”

“Home to the Mother Ship or home to Earth?” Lan’ara’s mental voice sounded uncertain.

“Doesn’t matter, sweetheart,” Nate told her. “Wherever you are is home to me.”

“Good—then take me back to the Mother Ship and show me how much you’ve missed me!”

He could feel the hunger in her words and it ignited a fire inside him.

“Want to Bond with you all over again,” he sent to her. “Can’t wait to get you back to the suite, baby!”

“I want that too—I want you so much, my mate!”

As she spoke, Lan’ara let down the barrier between them completely and he felt a rush of love and lust and desire pouring out of her and into him. For a moment he felt like both his heart and his cock might burst—he couldn’t wait to get back!

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