Stolen - Nhys Glover Page 0,63

out of you? Someone who feared hurting you more than you feared being hurt?

The Mind Speak was the best method of healing I could have found. It didn’t matter how many times someone told you a Danan warrior would never hurt a female or young, you couldn’t quite believe it. But to be in one of their heads and know with certainty that it was the truth—that Lain would die before he hurt me—had to be believed.

Although the way his desire kicked up when he tasted my blood was a little disconcerting. Or my reaction to it. I thought any kind of pain would have turned me off. It didn’t.

After a quick shower in the light particle tube, I headed back to find the others. How would they react to what I’d done? It seemed so slutty to be offering my services to one, while sharing the bed of another, and thinking of doing even more with Meida and Nial.

Maybe I was becoming a nympho. Toby would certainly laugh at that. He’d had to coax me into having sex every time. And, though I faked it, I’d never got off once with him. I guess I could understand why he’d gone looking elsewhere when I was such an ice-queen.

And I couldn’t even blame my change in attitude to great bedroom skills. Neither Charsus/Rian or Lain had much of a clue what to do. Yet the way they just let go and followed their instincts worked way better for me anyway. It always seemed so staged to follow some How To Manual or what you’d seen on a porn site. Which was how Toby learned his moves, I was sure.

Feelings, true feelings, were the purest form of aphrodisiac, I was starting to realize. They overcame even the worst abuse. The worst heart-ache.

So, if I was now a nympho or a whore, then so be it. Sex was too good to give up on, just to follow a set of generalized rules on acceptable behavior.

And the mating frenzy? That bridge I’d cross when I got to it. Right now, I had to do the walk of shame and find a way to have sex with Meida and Nial that didn’t seem to involve them holding up their number when I called, ‘Next!’

When I walked back onto the flight deck, I noticed Lain was not there. He hadn’t been in the cabin when I came out of the bathroom, either. Did I need to go find him like some stupid crush after a one-night-stand?

‘Never that,’ came the gentle reassurance in my mind.

Lain? Could Mind Speak happen even when the other person wasn’t in the room? Did that mean Charsus and Rian had experienced what I’d done with Lain?

I looked at the Theran, who was occupying himself with some weird holographic stuff. Though his expression seemed serene, I saw guilt there too. Or maybe that was the feelings I was picking up on.

‘You felt me with Lain?!’ I exclaimed, mortified beyond what I thought possible.

The embarrassment coming at me was Rian’s. Charsus seemed oddly bemused.

‘You need to learn to turn off your thoughts and feelings,’ Charsus told me. ‘It is distracting.’

‘Distracting?!’ I yelled. ‘Distracting?! That was a private moment!’

‘That we had no way to stay out of. Your emotions were intense. They exploded out at us the moment you started to initiate sex.’

My face burned. Could this get any more mortifying?

‘What are they saying? You have no reason to feel like that. I’m your podmate! What we did wasn’t wrong,’ Lain interrupted, clearly picking up my half of the conversation.

This was escalating fast. What had seemed like a good idea, now felt like the worst.

I heard heavy footsteps storming up the corridor. In the next moment, Lain was standing at my side as if he was preparing to do battle for me.

“What’s going on?” Nial demanded, looking up from his navigation tasks.

He looked from me to his brother, and finally to Charsus.

“Lain? You’ve got to get a handle on your jealousy!” Meida said, coming to stand in front of his brother.

“They’re making her feel guilty for something that is natural and right!” Lain exploded, giving his brother a shove.

I put my hand on his arm, trying to calm him. My distress only seemed to ramp up his aggression.

“You know what Mind Speak is like. Mother told us how difficult it was for them at the beginning. Jenna has to learn how to block her mind or we’re all going to be subjected to her