Part 3 (1/2)
Sevan went to question this but stopped when Lorelei put her hands in the air and closed her eyes. Nina and Christian stiffened. Her breathing grew shallow as her lip began to tremble. She faced him fast. ”No, he knows that offworlders are here. He fears this group for some reason,” she said, staring at Sevan with wide eyes seeming to search for something. Her eyes flickered closed briefly and she gasped. ”He believes that many mates for our people reside upon the vessel. He's not waiting for suns set to attack. He's doing it now.”
A loud howling noise sounded all around them. Sevan watched as the women grabbed their sides, each one touching weapons that were slightly different from his own. He grabbed his sidearm, uneasy about how close the animal sounded. ”What was that?”
Lorelei and Nina exchanged weary glances and Christian moved in closer. ”Nina, do a full security sweep of the perimeter and I'll double check that the compound computer system is still in operation. I don't want a repeat of last time.”
Nina looked towards the corridor junction and put her hand out. A small panel slid back, revealing controls. ”All guards on full alert. This is not a drill. I repeat. This is not a drill.”
Christian nodded before turning to leave.
”Christian, wait,” Lorelei said, taking a step closer to him. Sevan wanted to sweep her up in his arms and take her as far away from the blond Adonis as he could but he held back. He didn't expect to compete with a man who looked to be cast from stone. Sure, he was fit. In fact, he was rather bulky in the way of muscles too, but nowhere near Christian's size. ”I'll check the computers. You know who you need to protect. Jacquelyn needs you near. I'll be fine and you know I can do it. Or at least get them all to spit blue sparks at me.” She laughed softly and rubbed her cheek where the mark had been.
Nina stopped dead in her tracks, and spun around to face Lorelei. ”Do you think that's wise, Lorelei?” There was an edge to her voice that told Sevan she knew d.a.m.n well that it wasn't wise, but wasn't about to call her sister out on it in front of the group.
Red lights flashed in the hallway and an alarm went off. Nina shook her head. ”We have a security breech.”
”Capitain Janelle, this is Until Leader Essen. I have three injured and one missing. We're in the fourteenth sector along back climate control boosters. We don't have a visual but they're near us,” a voice said over the compound sound system.
”UL Essen, I'm on my way.” Nina glanced at Christian and then Lorelei. ”If they've made it that far they could make it to the education facility.”
Lorelei gasped. ”The children are still in session.”
Nina nodded. ”Christian and I will head to section fourteen. Lorelei, you'll need to check on the computer system.
We'll cover the children.” She lifted her hand toward the open panel. It was then that Sevan noticed the slight buzz in the air. ”Jacquelyn, I know you're listening. Lock down your room and allow no one to enter until you are told otherwise.”
Christian pushed past Nina and grabbed Lorelei's arm. ”Promise that you'll be careful. You know what he's after and what he will do to get to you.”
Sevan saw the array of emotions move over Lorelei's face and knew that whatever came out of her mouth would be a lie. He felt so connected with her and he didn't even know her. It was unnerving to say the least. ”I promise. Be careful.”
The large man ran off in the other direction and Sevan noticed that Nina had left as well. He looked at his brother and found him staring off in the direction Nina had gone. ”Stay here and supervise the repairs and our men.”
”What are you going to do?” Jordan asked.
Sevan met Lorelei's gaze and smiled. ”I'm planning on going with her to check the compound's computer systems and see to the children's safety.”
”Right. Then I'm going with Nina and Christian,” Jordan replied.
Chapter Five
Lorelei ran down the corridor, followed closely by Sevan. Why she'd let the outsider follow her was still unclear. She should have ordered them off the planet, or never allowed them to dock in the first place. Her instincts had been right.
This was no place for them. It wasn't a place for anyone.
”How much farther?” Sevan yelled over the sound of the alarm.
She slowed her pace and let him catch up to her. Reaching out, she touched his arm lightly. The compulsion to just feel his skin had been on her since she'd first laid eyes on him. Part of her still couldn't believe that the man she'd dreamt of for the last six months was real, the other part wanted to test just how real he truly was.
Sevan moved in closer to her, dwarfing her frame. At five foot six, she wasn't short but he seemed to tower over her. His mouth twitched and it took everything in her not to touch his full lips. She wasn't used to men like him, men who ran around in full officer fatigues and who didn't have hair as long as hers. Christian hardly ever wore a s.h.i.+rt, more often than not opting only for a vest for warmth. Her people tried to wear the least amount of clothes, leaving their protective markings free to do what they were created to do-heal, guard, and draw power from the land.
Sevan looked down at her hand on his arm and ran his finger, lightly over the first of her faint markings. ”Did it hurt?” He asked, taking yet another step closer to her. ”Getting these tattoos ... did it hurt?”
She knew what tattoos were. She'd studied enough about the human culture and Earth to understand, and her markings weren't tattoos. ”They aren't what you think they are.”
”You're beautiful ... errr ... I mean they're beautiful.”
Smiling, Lorelei studied Sevan closely, not wanting to feel anything for him but failing miserably. Too many nights he'd come in the form of dreams and had taken her to levels of ecstasy that she couldn't just turn a blind eye.
”Thank you. We're all born with them. Each person's means something else. Some declare their owner to be a warrior.
Others mean scholar, healer, leader and so on. The list is endless. Many of the markings are forms of protection or good wishes. They come from the Shamenian side of my ancestry.”
”What do yours mean?” Sevan asked, moving closer to her.
”A number of things. These,” she pointed at her upper arm, ”are for my status. These announce that I am supposedly wise although the burn on my cheek would likely state otherwise. The ones on my torso are blessings for fertility and pleasure.”
Sevan's breath caught. ”So, the marks are some form of population control, too?”
Lorelei couldn't help but smile. ”Trust an outsider to simplify it for us.”
”So, I'm right?”
Shrugging, Lorelei lifted her tiny vest a bit, revealing even more of her faint markings. ”In a way. My markings in particular tell that the G.o.ds and spirits of the land will offer the blessing of children when the pairing is with my mate.
In short, if they up and decide I found Mr. Right there is no means of population control that will prevent me from conceiving a child.”
He took a step back as though she were contagious. ”Oh.”
”Relax. I'm not any different than a full blooded human female. I can't get pregnant by breathing the same air as you. Coupling is no different for my people than yours. Though we know fairly quickly when we are with child. The marks either disappear or change significantly.”
Something moved over Sevan's face. His eyes narrowed. ”Would anything else make them disappear?”
”I honestly don't know. It changes with each individual. I've seen some people's fade when they meet their significant other and then completely disappear when they conceive a child. They do return in some fas.h.i.+on, be it a tiny mark on a thigh to a full blown return.” Lorelei took a moment to laugh softly at Sevan's facial expression. He appeared so caught up in their discussion that she worried his forehead would remain permanently crinkled. ”Don't quote me on any of this. Like I said, everyone is different. Take me for instance. Six months ago my markings were several shades darker. One morning I woke up to find them faded to what you see before you now.”
”Six months ago?” Sevan asked, his voice cracking slightly.
”I understand that to you they may appear a bit off-putting but to our people they're not only important but a thing of beauty. In my eyes, it's odd to not see the markings on you. Here, when a man bears no markings declaring him a Shamenian he is considered the enemy until he proves otherwise.”
”Lorelei, they are anything but off-putting. They're captivating.” His warm thumb ran over the circular sign for power near her wrist and she felt her magic rise up. Knowing that not all outsiders possessed the same gifts as her people, she tried to pull her arm away, but it was too late. The power within her surged forth.
Images from the reoccurring dreams she had poured forth along with pictures of things that were altogether new.
Lorelei's body jerked with each vivid picture of Sevan thrusting himself into her, his hand cupping the back of her neck as she rode him. Her p.u.s.s.y quaked with need and dampened as her mind shot to images of him nibbling on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, taking each nipple in his mouth and spending equal time teasing them. Her knees went out from under her as yet another image hit her, this one of him buried deep within her, releasing his seed.
Strong arms wrapped around her, keeping her from hitting the floor. She blinked, the visions finally fading away and found herself staring into intense green eyes.
Sevan looked down at her. ”What...?”