Alien General's Baby (Brion Brides 7)(11)

Her heart almost missed a beat.

"They found more of it on Verien?" she asked, unable to fight down the smile on her face. "That is amazing."

"It is," Braen agreed and Naima felt momentarily guilty about the hidden stone in her pocket.

She didn't reveal it, though. Braen might have been most handsome man she'd ever seen, but he was still a Brion warrior. The interests of their people came first to all generals, nothing more and nothing less. She wasn't going to give more than she had to, not until she knew what the man planned for her.

"But it seems the union   isn't the only one in the galaxy who wants the stone," Braen went on. "That is not surprising. Everyone would want that."

Like you? Naima thought, her eyes narrowing.

"The Fearless has heard about the stone. Only the intervention of a Palian paladin and the woman you saw saved the mining world. The lifestone is safe there, for now."

Naima shuddered, thinking of the possibilities of such a rich source of power falling into the hands of a monster like the Fearless.

"What did the Fearless try to do with it?" she asked, her eyes wide. "A weapon of some kind?"

"The creature swallowed it."

A dark silence fell over the room. Naima's mind was spinning.

Of course it did. Only logical solution. Eat the stone.

She was trying to joke, to bring humor to the situation to allow herself to wrap her mind around it, but the truth was that the implications were horrendous. A Fearless, an already immensely powerful creature, made even stronger by the qualities of the lifestone… The results could be nothing less than horrible.

"What happened?" Naima asked quietly. "Is the Fearless who wanted the stone dead now? Is the stone safe?"

A dark look flashed behind Braen's eyes.

"Yes and no," he said and almost everyone in the room jumped at the change in the tone of his voice. "The ones who defeated the Fearless also discovered there is only one of it. There has only ever been one reincarnating monster and now it's my duty to protect the galaxy and the lifestone from it. To find a way to rid us of that horror forever."

Although Naima agreed whole-heartedly, she had a bad feeling about the way Braen said that. The general's eyes narrowed down on her again.#p#分页标题#e#

"It seems the lifestone creates a connection between those who touch it," he said. "All of them. You saw it. You felt it. I was told you actually witnessed the Fearless dying, or that incarnation of it, at least. And now you can help me find it."

Before Naima could comment that ludicrous request, the general's voice dropped so deep and dark it robbed her of words.

"I have now told you what I know," Braen growled, his eyes burning with inner fire that only death could put out. "I am not used to saying anything twice, Miss Jones, so let me ask you only one more time.

“You have been put in a unique position to rid the galaxy of a nightmare. The paladin cut the lifestone out of the Fearless' living flesh. Will you come with me before the creature finds you and before it will be the bones of you and every member of your crew that I cut from its corpse?"

His words sent a chill down her spine, colder than anything the lifestone had inflicted on her. The faces of her crew members were white as well, clearly feeling a similar kind of dread. Neither Doug nor Gordon protested anymore.

She sat on the med bay bed, thinking of what to say. She remembered the terrible look the Fearless had given her, the absolute evil she'd sensed.

"I don't think I'm a match for the Fearless," she said at last.

"I assure you, I will be the one doing the fighting," Braen said.

The general's voice made Naima's body tingle, aching to be closer to him, no matter the cost. Her hands balled into fists, willing herself to scientific reason, not basic hormonal reactions.

"But I will help if I can," she finished.

The Brion smiled and the hungry, predatory look promised her that she had no idea what she was getting herself into. The thought was nowhere near as unpleasant as she felt it should have been, even if it incited confusion in her. Was she seeing what she thought she was seeing?

Does he… want me?

"We will leave at once," Braen said, and marched out of the room without looking back, leaving everyone else to stare at Naima.

"That was..." Janey began, trailing off.

"Terrible, I know," Naima finished for her, sliding off the bed, her fisted hands still shaking a little from the horrific images Braen's words had conjured before her eyes. "You guys are going to have to find yourself a new diver now."

None of them laughed.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Doug asked. "This sounds so... unbelievable."

"Exactly. No one could think up a lie like that," Naima said, trying to put on a brave smile.

Not that a Brion general would lie. Even if Naima didn’t like his kind much, she knew that they were nothing if not honest.

"Don't worry about me. You know I can't refuse, even if it wasn't a Brion general asking. Imagine that. Imagine if he actually destroys the Fearless…"

She couldn’t wait to get herself up to speed on everything that had happened on Verien. Though she imagined that the general public had not been aware of all the details, she had to hope that perhaps she could pry out all the interesting scientific details of what went down.

"What about the stone?" Gordon asked, frowning.

"Leave it to me," Naima said, sounding braver than she felt. "He can save the galaxy and I can save the galaxy from him, if need be."

She wasn’t entirely sure if she believed that, though. How could she stop a Brion general who didn’t want to be stopped?





6





Braen





The fighter hovered over the Nautica. Braen watched as a small walkway extended from the bay hatch, just narrow enough for him to walk on. His gesha – it felt invigorating to think of her like that – watched it approach with narrowed eyes.

"There has got to be a better way than practicing rope walking on that," Naima said.

The little Terran was the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen. Her delicious body called to him with ravenous strength, baiting him. She was perfect in Braen's eyes, with her pale skin and lively green eyes, sparkling like stars.

Merely the sight of her made his cock harden, pressing almost painfully against his armor as he imagined thrusting into her wet, warm pussy. Braen knew it was going to happen, but his hunger for her was hard to control. A gerion desired his fated with all the passion in the galaxy, there was no denying it.

Only the fear that he would ruin the bond between them made Braen simply reach out his arm to her. The moment to tell Naima would come, he was sure of that. Geshas didn't experience the recognizing moment like males did, so the general had to make sure it was the right one. If Naima were a Brion, he wouldn't have delayed a second more than he absolutely had to.#p#分页标题#e#

Terrans were different. Naima was very likely to react with disbelief at first, but Braen didn't worry. The fated couple was destined to be together, but Brions never had anything handed to them. If he had to fight for Naima, to prove his worth to her – it was all Braen asked from life.

For a gesha, a warrior was willing to lay down his life if need be. The general wanted her to know all that, but he didn't mind earning the trust first. It would only make Naima's love sweeter in the end.

"You will not fall," he told her.

"That is easy for you to say," Naima replied, eying the walkway with suspicion as the ocean rolled underneath the bow of the boat.

"I'm not simply saying this," Braen replied, taking her hand. "That was a promise. Come."

Naima looked at him, her big green eyes smiling as well as her beautiful pink lips. With her soft, delicate hand in his, Braen found it incredibly hard not to lean in and kiss those lips until they were his.

The general didn't think he'd ever fought an enemy as hard as he had to fight his own desire for his gesha, but that was to be expected. A fated was the center of a Brion's world, their life, after all.

She let him lead her to the walkway and the general made sure he kept his promise. Despite the fear she'd shown before, Naima's eyes never left him, nailed to him like his were to hers.

It reminded him of taming a wild beast, as she approached him with small, wary steps, not sure whether she could trust him yet. For that sight, the general didn't mind walking backwards, knowing his own ship like the back of his hand.

They went together and Braen knew he couldn't fight the small smirk on his lips, seeing his gesha at last without any distractions. He had always wondered what she would be like and now that he had found her, Naima was better than anything he could have dreamed of.

Yet there was also a problem. She also changed everything about his mission.

Audrey Price had guessed Naima wouldn't be in danger, going after the Fearless, but now that was no longer even a theoretical option for Braen. He swore he wasn't going to let anything happen to her, not ever. There was no monster in the whole galaxy who could stand between the sacred bond.

They reached the ship and Braen watched as Naima glanced back at the Nautica, leaving all her friends behind. They’d said their goodbyes already so there were no tearful eyes among them, though Braen could easily read the discomfort and mistrust on many of the faces down there. Brions weren’t popular everywhere they went and he’d become accustomed to it over time.