Part 15 (1/2)
”Yes. No.” She frowned at him. ”I'm not sure. All that time you were calling me 'female' as if I were nothing more than a-a generic gender. As if I were nothing.”
”You called me Commander.”
”That's your t.i.tle.”
”No. It isss a t.i.tle Cameron usssed. He explained that Commander sssoundsss lesss antagonissstic than Warrior, the t.i.tle bessstowed upon me by my people. Commander meansss nothing to me.”
”I'm sorry, I didn't know...”
”Beg forgivenesss, Leith, but we were ssstrangersss at the time. I would have been uncomfortable usssing your na'ajh.”
Veiled name, he had defined the word one night when she asked him to tell her his complete name again. She repeated the syllables until she had them memorized. J'Qhir had explained a Zi rarely shared his na'ajh with anyone besides his lifemate. It was a sign of trust and something he had never given to another being, not even T'hirz. Leith felt truly honored by his confidence.
”What rank is Warrior?” Leith asked as she tried to tug her foot free.
He tilted his head and blinked slowly. ”I do not underssstand what you a.s.ssk?”
She rested her foot again. ”If you're not a commander then what position do you hold in the Zi force?”
He blinked once more then said suddenly, ”No, no. Warrior isss not equivalent to sssoldier, although I do underssstand why the t.i.tle isss misssleading. The Warrior doesss not partic.i.p.ate in battle.”
”There's only one Warrior?” Leith tried again to pull free of her trousers.
”One at a time. Our word Ga'ar'ja wa.s.ss taken from the old ssstoriesss of warsss fought between desssertsss. The Terran Ssstandard word 'warrior' isss an ancient word, isss it not? It isss why I chossse it.”
”Yes, you're right.” One final yank pulled her foot from the twisted trouser leg. ”But if the Warrior doesn't war, what does he do?”
”The Warrior never wagesss war. He isss the people'sss greatessst hope...” J'Qhir's voice softened and trailed off. He lowered his eyelids and bowed his head. ”Not that I am the bessst. My father accomplissshed far greater deedsss during hisss ssshort tenure. Hisss untimely death came during the fiercessst of our battlesss with the Cruciansss. There wa.s.ss no time to carry out the rite of sssuccesssion to choossse another. At the time, I wa.s.ss indeed a sssoldier. I wa.s.ss called upon to ssserve in my father' sss ssstead.”
”I'm sure it's an honor you deserve,” Leith said quietly. ”But you still haven't explained exactly what you do.”
He nodded. ”The Warrior ensssuresss the sssurvival of the people. The ssstrongessst malesss are called to battle and many die. Sssomeone mussst provide for thossse left behind-the old, the ill, the younglingsss, and the femalesss-a.s.ss well a.s.ss the sssoldiersss themssselvesss.”
A chill crawled over Leith's body that had nothing to do with the cold. She wrapped her arms around herself. ”Then the cargo-”
”The cargo wa.s.ss sssuppliesss-food and medicine and Terran wool-badly needed by my people.”
”And-And Steve knew this?”
”Yesss, Hanc.o.c.k knew,” he growled harshly.
”He sold it to the Cruciansss anyway.”
”Sss't, yesss. He knowsss the Cruciansss have laid wa.s.sste to much of the mountainousss region. The qhal' is nearly extinct.”
”The qhal'?”
”A quadruped with long hair. We ussse the animal for food and weave itsss hair for clothing. Three ssstandard yearsss ago, Cameron helped usss move a sssmall herd to another planet ssso the qhal' can thrive and one day repopulate the mountainsss of Zi.”
”I'm sorry!”
J'Qhir shook his head. ”Do not apologize for the Cruciansss or Hanc.o.c.k.”
”I don't. I-I made a.s.sumptions that were wrong. I didn't know-”
”I know what you thought, Leith. Jussst a.s.ss you a.s.ssumed I wa.s.ss a sssoldier, you a.s.ssumed I bought weaponsss from your father.”
Ashamed, Leith nodded, unable to speak.
”But it did not matter to you,” he said softly. ”Had our posssitionsss been reversssed, I do not think I would have been a.s.ss forgiving.”
Leith swallowed hard. ”I hope you don't think too badly of me. I found it difficult to believe my parents would be involved in illegal trading. After I came to know you, it was equally difficult to believe you would ask it of them.”
He gathered the blankets closer together. ”Trade with the Zi isss illegal no matter the cargo.”
”I know, but sometimes the humane purpose of an illegal act overrides the law. I should have guessed sooner, or at least asked you.”
He blinked slowly. ”The wind ha.s.ss sss.h.i.+fted. Plea.s.sse finisssh undresssing.”
The cold draft reached her then and she s.h.i.+vered violently, but his suggestive request kindled a warmth in her that she didn't think possible after their numerous bouts of lovemaking over the last few days.
With chattering teeth, she undressed slowly and never took her eyes from his. She unfastened her bra, easing the magnostrip apart, and let the garment fall over her shoulders and down her arms. She ran her hands down the sides of her body, her fingers slipping into the waistband of her underpants. She had no idea if what she did aroused him until he made a brief, guttural sound. He said nothing more and never moved. His eyes devoured her, never blinking.
The wind changed again, blowing steamy air over her goose-b.u.mped flesh. Slowly, she slid the underpants down her legs until they fell to her ankles. She pulled her feet free of them, took a few teasing steps toward J'Qhir, then turned and dove into the water.
Leith came up and slung her hair back, wiping water from her eyes. She found the underwater ledge and braced her knees against it. She crossed her arms on the rim of the pool and rested her chin on them.
”My turn to watch.”
”Leith!”
”It's only fair.”
He hissed, but dropped the blankets from his shoulders. He braced himself against the boulder to remove his boots, then quickly peeled off his jacket, s.h.i.+rt, trousers, and underclothes. At last he stood wearing nothing, but before she had a chance to comment, he sliced into the water and came up spluttering.
”I feel cheated. You undressed too fast,” she teased.
”The wind sss.h.i.+fted again,” he murmured and turned, swimming away from her.
Her clean, strong strokes caught up to him quickly. After sitting in the chill night air, the warm water felt good flowing across her skin. They made several laps, then J'Qhir perched on the underwater ledge at the narrow end of the oval near where they'd dove into the pool. Leith also sat on the ledge further up the side from him.
”You come from a hot, arid world. Where did you learn how to swim?”
”Here, in thisss pool.”
Shocked, Leith stared at him. ”You didn't know how to swim until you came up here?”
He shook his head, unconcerned.
”You could have easily drowned. Why didn't you tell me? I would have taught you or at least made sure you didn't kill yourself.”