I studied her. Her long hair was pulled back into an intricate braid that pressed tightly to her head and made her look somewhat severe. The weapon strapped to her side didn’t lessen the effect. She watched me with a mix of curiosity and disapproval in her eyes.
“So, you’re happy your brother has a mate, but you disapprove of him following the new custom? One woman with three mates.”
She shrugged. “I mean no offense, Bella. While you are only the third bride from Earth, our new queen is from your world. She is very beautiful, with dark red hair and a very feminine form. Many of the warriors have had their heads turned by her beauty, and now desire a bride from Earth.”
Ahhh. Realization was dawning. “And the warrior you desire?”
Her fair skin flushed instantly and she turned away to stare out at the icy tundra still visible along the far wall. “I have no desire other than to serve.”
Liar. But I wasn’t a bitch, so I let her have her secrets. Knowing each other for five minutes wasn’t long enough for her to bare her soul. Looked like me and the sister-in-law weren’t going to be besties anytime soon. I could live with that. Civil was good enough for now. “Okay. Well, I have a desire.”
She turned back to face me, a question in her eyes.
“I want some clothes. Underwear. Something I can wear in public where my mates won’t rip other warriors’ heads off. My nipples are poking out, for god’s sake. And then I want to go to Liam’s hearing. I’m not sitting in this room like a pet while they decide his fate.”
Her next words surprised me. So did the determination in her eyes. “Agreed.”
Wow. That had been a lot easier than I’d thought it would be. She walked to the far wall and opened a drawer I hadn’t seen and pulled out a cream-colored set of clothing. Why hadn’t Evon just grabbed those for me instead of the dang nightgown dress? That was right, he liked to know I was bare. The fact I was turned on by the idea only empowered me to grab the other clothing. If I was going out in public, I didn’t want to risk the chance of wanting to climb him—or my other mates—like a wild monkey. “This is standard issue for civilians. Put it on.”
She handed me the pile. It was soft, like cashmere, and lined with the finest fur. I imagined it would be warm and extremely comfortable. But I was covered in sex and sweat and interstellar transport dust.
“Is there a bathtub around here? Or a shower?”
She pointed to a door in the far wall as she walked to the tray of food, grabbed a piece of the fruit and nibbled. She waved her hand. “Be quick, Bella of Earth. I don’t want to miss anything. And Evon might need me.”
I grabbed the new clothes and dashed to the bathroom, relieved to find a fairly self-explanatory setup. I’d feel like an idiot if I had to ask Thalia for help in working a bathtub. As the hot water washed away the last few hours, I had to wonder what kind of hell the beautiful Thalia had endured, why she was so jaded about me and my warriors, and which warrior here had broken her heart.
Chapter Seven
Rager
When Evon and I arrived at the civil services center for the judicial hearing, I had expected the usual panel of five leaders to preside. What I hadn’t expected was Evon’s father to be among the five, or his brother to be seated in the audience. Evon obviously hadn’t anticipated them either, for he stopped just inside the doorway and I bumped into his back. Then I saw the direction of his gaze and I stifled a curse.
While Evon was my closest of friends—along with Liam—he was ruled by rules, codes of conduct, honor. He was unbending. Evon’s family had served the planet for centuries, believed that nothing was more important than serving with honor. Always had. He was uptight, laser-focused and that made him a good leader. Exceptional, in fact, and that trait had brought all of us back from the front lines alive. It also made him a very dominant lover, which Bella quickly discovered.
But years of companionship, of trust between the three of us, had softened some of Evon’s very hard edges. It was possible I may have even seen a smile crack his lips when he was looking at Bella earlier. She was good for all of us, but especially him. If anyone could calm him, offer him a semblance of peace, it would be her.
But Evon’s father, Commander Tyrell? He was so damned uptight he shit Viken ore. His son—his other son, Dravon—was just as bad. He’d followed in his father’s footsteps in civil command and had stayed solely on Viken. Unlike Evon, who went into the Coalition Fleet and became one of the fighters serving on a Prillon battleship. We’d fought the fucking Hive while his father and brother had remained much closer to home. Evon and his sister, Thalia, had been off saving the universe while his bad-tempered father and brother remained to protect the home front.