Chapter Eleven
Reluctant Fall
Eshta made her way back through the halls from her training session. She passed one kissing couple and rolled her eyes. It hadn’t taken long for things to heat up on board the bar-Trinity. They had been traveling in space for just over three weeks and as far as she knew she was the last female standing so to speak.
The other girls and the Hunters had all paired up. It was disgusting!
They were everywhere kissing and touching!
Eshta turned a corner and abruptly spun back around it. For the love of something couldn’t they wait and do stuff within the sanctity of their own rooms at least!
She headed back toward the bridge, at least there she was safe from having to come upon scenes like she had just witnessed.
There was only one unclaimed Hunter left and he hounded her everywhere she went. Yesterday he’d had the nerve to corner her in the eating area and tell her that by virtue of mutual exclusivity that she was his, the arrogant dog!
She’d kicked him in the shin and when he’d bent down to grasp at his leg she’d smashed his face down the rest of the way onto the top of the table. She thought that would be enough to dissuade his amorous desires for her, but he’d only gotten worse. To make matters worse she’d only seen her sister a handful of times in the past three weeks. When she had seen her sister she had looked very happy and had little time for her. Eshta was both tired of the situation she found herself in and lonely.
She glanced up and saw Satago approaching her from the bridge. Darn it!
Eshta wheeled back around only to hear him hurry up toward her. He was so arrogant, obnoxious and on top of that he was a fool!
He was always playing pranks or kidding her, which she just found annoying, most of the time anyway. He’d been after her since day one and she had to give him points for persistence, but if he kept pressing her so help her she was going to take his handsome face in both hands and smash it off her knee, until he had better sense than to mess with her!
She turned and rammed a fist into his stomach so hard his breath gushed out, but she wasn’t done. She straightened him back up with a roundhouse punch that sent him crashing back against a doorway. Before he recovered she grabbed both of his wrists and slammed them back against the door. She was eye level with his full lips and distracted for a moment she lost her focus. Her eyes lifted to his and she blinked what had she been going to say?
Her disarrayed thoughts were cleared away, when his foolish grin came back out and he said, “Chain me to the wall anytime Princess!”
It all came back to her now. She slammed her heel down onto his foot and as he grimaced she said in a fierce whisper with her face only inches from his, “Leave me alone or I swear I’ll take a knife and make a gelding out of you and thus put you out of your miserable need to find a mate!”
Eshta was shocked beyond words, when he came forward with his head and kissed her full on the mouth. What was he doing? Didn’t he believe her?
A moment passed and then she reeled backward wiping off her lips afraid to let her reaction to the kiss show. She slapped him hard and then turned to run away, but she found herself jerked backward to be slammed up against the door where Satago had just been pressed back against by her hands.
“I don’t think so Princess! You’re not running away after a kiss like that!” His lips found hers, as he kissed her aggressively, even as she kissed him back just as aggressively.
After a while he let go of one of her hands, but instead of pushing him away she pulled him closer to her. His free hand fumbled and found the latch of the door and pulling it open they both tumbled into the room beyond. The door clanged shut, as Satago kicked it closed from within the room.
Ellanara and Abby shared a look, as they glanced away from the scene of passion back down the hall from them. “The last stronghold has fallen.” Abby said reflectively. “I suppose it was inevitable, but it was fun to watch while she lasted.”
Ellanara smiled a little, as she and Abby worked on a problem outlined on the screen in front of them. “You know Abby there’s one thing I don’t know much about.”
Abby choked on a fit of laughter and Ellanara flushed beet red and hotly responded, “Get your mind out of the gutter Abby! You know I didn’t mean to refer to what you’re thinking of.”
“You didn’t?” Abby responded innocently.
Ellanara redirected her gaze from the screen and gave Abby a look of intense meaning.
Abby relented and chuckled before asking, “What were you referring to dear?”
“Midwifery.”
“Midwifery!” Abby exclaimed in complete befuddlement.
“Yes we should pray that the babies come in different stages, which is doubtful and we should brush up on what we know about bringing a new life into the world.”
Abby laughed outright, “What good do you think I’m going to be with something like that?” She said, as she waved her hand back and forth through the counter they were leaning over, illustrating her inability as an image to touch anything physical.
Ellanara’s face tightened under the renewed level of stress that had just been placed on her. Under her breath she groused, “I hadn’t thought that we would get down to the business of expanding our population again so soon.”
Abby eyed her speculatively and then said, “A pity that there wasn’t another Hunter for you. You’ve been alone for so long, it would have been nice to see you have someone to enjoy life with as well.” Abby knew her spoken words were dangerous, because she knew that such words could trigger the fiery temper that Ellanara had, but usually kept controlled most of the time.
Abby was surprised by her friend’s reaction, most notably because it didn’t contain an outburst of temper. All Ellanara said to Abby in reply was, “It’s been arranged.”
Abby watched Ellanara unconsciously touch the simple gold necklace at her throat, which Abby knew contained the two inscribed rings that had been her brothers and his wife’s once. They’d also been her father’s and her mother’s at one point in time, but that had been a long time ago.
Abby watched Ellanara closely under the guise of not seeming to do so. She knew more about those rings than she was allowed to say. She knew several other things as well, but she had been sworn to never tell Ellanara and so she kept hold of her secrets, even though it was very hard to do.
Sometimes Abby felt like she was betraying her good friend of so many years by not telling her what she knew, but this was how her father Tadias had wanted it to be. Abby above all else was loyal to her father’s wishes first, even if it meant breaking the bonds of a close friendship.
The journey through space stretched into a month and then two and then a third. Two things became clear, everyone was heartily sick of being cooped up in the bar-Trinity and every newly claimed wife was pregnant. The last was both a happy occurrence and a distressing one for Loric. Happy over the new life and the promise that it would bring, but worried about all the fears and insecurities of their fragile existence out here in space and their ability to protect the new lives that would be born here.
He lay awake in the small bed consumed by the worries of protecting so many new innocent little lives and vulnerable mothers. Even with all the worry about the future he didn’t regret for a moment in deepening his relationship with Kana and more than that he didn’t regret on her making him a father soon.
He was actually looking forward to being a father. It was a scary proposition in some ways and he wasn’t really sure what it all entailed, but it didn’t keep him from being eager to find out. Kana stirred against him and he let his eyes travel down her. She was so beautiful!
His eyes drifted down to the gentle out swelling of her stomach and he couldn’t resist laying his hand against her belly, as he marveled at the new life that lay growing beneath his hand inside the woman he loved. Life couldn’t get any better than it was in this moment surely. Loric noticed that Kana’s eyes were open, as she watched him gently rubbing her slightly rounded belly.
She smiled broadly at his notice of her alertness and said, “You want to be a daddy so much don’t you?”
Loric nodded his head quickly unashamed.
Kana turned around to face him and said looking directly into his eyes, “No matter how much our children come to love their wonderful daddy the fact stays the same that you were mine first, Mister Ta’lont!” She finished with a possessive smile.
He matched her smile and pulled her over on top of him, “Getting jealous Mrs. Ta’lont? I’m forever yours you know that.”
“I want to hear you say it.” She said with a teasing smile.
“I’ll do better than that, I’ll show you.”