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“OfcourseIdo!”Holdsounded exasperated. “Butwe can’t just—”
“Hey—are you guys coming in or amIsupposed to learn to fly this thing myself?”Celia’slight, musical voice drifted out the open door of the shuttle.
“Coming, my lady,”Holdcalled and gaveFierceone last warning look. “Don’tscare her.”
“Iwon’t be doing anything but piloting the ship—how wouldthatscare her?”Fiercegrumbled.Hefollowed his brother into the shuttle and went to take his place in the pilot’s seat where he began warming up the engines.
Hestill didn’t like this.Howcould they winCelia’sheart if they couldn’t even touch her body?
5
HOLD
Holdwascertainhe’d done the right thing, promising they wouldn’t touchCeliaunless she wanted them to.Hecould feel some resentment coming from the bond he shared with his brother, however—FightsFiercelycertainly didnotagree with him.
Hisbrother was theDarkTwinof the two, which meant he had an intense personality with a heavy dark side.Youdidn’t want to get him angry at you if you could help it.Holdwas theLightTwin—he was more easy going and laid back.
NotthatFiercewas angry so much as annoyed, he thought.Hisbrother had clearly been envisioning theirClaimingPeriodtogether and looking forward to caressingCelia’sbeautiful, curvy body.Holdhad to admit, he’d had similar fantasies.Butyou had to walk before you could run.Theyhad to giveCeliaa better reason to stay with them than just theDraftnotice—they had toprovethey were the better males—better than the wormy little fiancé she was leaving back onEarth.
Stillcan’t believe he tried to bribe us!Holdthought contemptuously.He’dseen the size and magnificence of the dwellingCeliahad come out of—clearly the human male who claimed her was rich.HeandFiercecouldn’t offer her extreme wealth, but theycouldoffer patience, devotion, and undying love.Noneof which he bet she was getting from the human male.Atleast, if the visions they’d seen whileDream-Sharingwith her were any indication.
Thehuman male she called “Peter” seemed to take her for granted, as far asHoldcould tell.Hewas always brushing her off and ignoring her clear desires.Hemade decisions without asking her first and put his mother’s feelings over hers.
Therest of his family treated her badly too, at least as far asHoldcould see in the dreams he’d had of her.Theybarely even knew her name and they had made no effort at all to get to know her or welcome her into their midst.
Wehave to show her a clear contrast—-a reason she’d rather be with us than him,Holdthought as he climbed into the ship and settled into the passenger side seat.
Therewas another seat which pulled out to be between the passenger and the pilot—aBride’sseat—it was called, and it was a special feature of a long range shuttle made just forTwinKindred.Hepulled it out and indicated thatCeliashould sit between him and his brother.
“Thereyou are, my lady,” he said courteously. “Wouldyou like some help with the harness?”
“Oh, er, thank you.Yes,Iguess so.Itmight be hard to buckle with this.”Sheindicated her wounded finger, which she had rewrapped in the bloody tissue.
Holdfrowned.
“Letme strap you in first, thenI’llget theMedAidkit and bind your wound.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that!” she protested—rather breathlessly, he thought—as he strapped her into the five-point harness.
“Yes,Ido.”Holdmet her eyes and gave her a smile. “You’reour bride—Ihave to take care of you.”
Hercheeks went pink but she lifted her chin defiantly and said,
“I’mnotyour bride.I’mgoing to be marryingPeteronChristmasEve!”
“We’llsee about that,lelka,”Fiercegrowled softly, looking down at her. “Readyfor lift off?” he asked, switching his attention toHold.
“Ready,”Holdacknowledged, as he rummaged in the side compartment for theMedAidkit.Hefound it at last and held it in his lap.Hewould wait until they had a clean lift off and had cleared theEarth’satmosphere before he tendedCelia’sfinger.
“Thenhere we go!”
Fiercepunched the fuel pedal and pulled back on the steering yoke.Besidehim,Holdheard their new bride give a gasp and a muffled,
“MadredeDios!”
Instinctively, he put his arm around her shoulders.Therewas nothing sexual in the touch—he just wanted to reassure her.
“It’sall right,” he murmured as the long range shuttle lifted straight into the clear blueEarthsky. “Theride gets smoother once we clear the atmosphere.”
