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  He smiled and took it. “Thank you, and thank you as well, Solos.”

  Solos blinked, “You know me?”

  “Of course. All the males know you. You left Jaluum and made your mark in the stars. You are the first Jaluum Guardian, and we respect you for it.”

  Brigs fought her grin as Solos’s cheeks darkened to lavender. “I imagine his family is proud.”

  Solos muttered, “It changes on any given day. Thank you for your words, Kardu.”

  Kardu inclined his head.

  Brigeet hopped off the stool and smiled brightly at Kardu. “Do the research and contact me. Your contract awaits.”

  Solos followed her out the door and they walked through the streets, returning to the skimmer.

  “What next, Brigs?”

  “That is Recruiter Brigs while we are on duty.” She laughed. “Well, I think we can get the third under our belts and then it will be time to find somewhere to sleep.”

  “Would you like to return to the ship or get a guestship somewhere?” He fired up the skimmer and propelled them into the air.

  “This is up to you. It is your world and I am trusting you to help me get around.” Brigs pulled out her tablet and brought up the next candidate. “This one is an unlikely agreement, but we have to offer him the chance.”

  “Why is he unlikely?”

  “Because, one year ago, he entered a bonding contract. His mate might not want him to leave.”

  Solos looked at her. “And you are pursuing him anyway?”

  Brigs rubbed the back of her neck. “I have to. If I don’t offer him the chance, it will be an insult to his wife. She will have chosen someone undesirable. That should never be the case.”

  “Very good. You have thought this through.”

  “I have done a bit of research on your people since we last met. I wanted to figure out why you acted as you did. Now, I know it was simply that you had no reason to stay. You are free until your matriarch offers you to someone.”

  He sighed, “That was not it, Brigs. I was ordered to leave. My matriarch had me checking in, and she denied my request to remain with you. I was ordered to resume my travelling for Guardian purposes and keep my fanciful notions to myself. I was not allowed to seek a life in the stars.”

  Brigeet was stunned. It was a twist to his motivation that she had not imagined. “Oh, that is going to give me a headache.”

  He laughed, “Don’t worry. I have a cure for that.”

  Chapter Five

  Fieryan Dacourt looked adorable holding his young son. His wife listened to her offer and promised to consider it, but there was denial in her expression. She kissed Fieryan deeply as Brigs and Solos left.

  Solos smiled, “You were correct. The offer itself increased his value to his mate.”

  She smiled. “Everybody wants to be wanted. His light talent would have been good for the team, but it was hardly necessary. So, where are we sleeping tonight?”

  “I arranged a guestship with my family while you were speaking to Layina Dacourt.”

  Brigs swallowed. “Your family?”

  “Yes. The matriarch is eager to meet you. You will be able to address her as Ideera Landik.”

  “You have a last name?”

  “Of course. We only use our family names on Jaluum. They don’t matter anywhere else.”

  She raised her eyebrows and nodded. She knew it but hadn’t experienced it firsthand. There was actually no reason to use a last name off their home world. It didn’t matter once they left their own society. She used her last name as a matter of habit, not necessity.

  The guestship was the means by which visitors to a family compound were invited to stay with the status of household members. This allowed them food and shelter. Jaluum was not a place where you could buy overnight hospitality. It drove visiting dignitaries insane. They had to stay in their ships or at the alien embassy in Dalthu City. There was nowhere else to stay unless they camped out, and the Jaluum government did not take kindly to trespassing.

  “Are you excited to see your family again?”

  He grinned. “I am. My mother has even invited my eldest sister back for dinner.”

  “And your sister’s mate?”

  “She has three. They are staying home with the children.”

  “Have you met her children?”

  He glanced over. “I have met all three of my nieces. Tonight is a school night, so they are attending their studies. I can see them again before the Guardian project asks me to travel again.”

  She watched the land skimming below her and asked, “Do you like all the travelling? I mean, your talent is useful anywhere, not just zipping through space.”

  “I dream of coming home, if that is what you are wondering. This visit is encouraging me to settle down.”

  Brigs sighed. Solos settled down with a nice Jaluum woman who ruled him with an iron fist was not something she was comfortable imagining.

  The rest of the trip was done in silence as they both thought of his life on Jaluum resuming. Brigs had a thought that was so ridiculous it just might work.

  As they landed, she asked, “Is there a chance that I can get a secure com link while we are at the Landik home?”

  “Of course. The matriarch has one for when I contact her.” He cocked his head. “I am looking forward to seeing you two in the same place at the same time. You have many similar qualities.”

  They exited the skimmer, and Ideera Landik extended her be-ringed hands to her son. “Solos. It is so good to have you with us again.”

  Solos hugged his mother, and the woman looked small next to him, but she had the same steel in her that was obvious in her son when he chose to use it.

  Brigs approached slowly, her cloak drawn around her and her back straight. When the familial hug was over, Brigs was near enough for Ideera to turn on her and assess her.

  “Well, child, you are paler than he described. Your body is a little too used to immobile work, and your hair may draw males, but it has no effect on me, so your dye job was a waste.”

  Solos opened and closed his mouth in shock.

  Brigs raised her hand to keep him quiet. “I am pleased to meet you, Ideera. Solos has told me nothing about you, and now, I see why. Your time in the bubble of your own family has left your mind unable to engage in the sharp intercourse of national trading. It is to be understood given your advancing age. Genetics turned my hair this colour when I was finishing puberty. I thank you for your hospitality. It was most generous.”

  Solos had his hand clapped over his eyes.

  Ideera paused and then burst out with laughter. “Good. Welcome, Brigeet. I have looked forward to meeting you since Solos’s first message bundle about the fascinating alien he had met. He was determined to remain with you as long as he could. I disapproved and had the project send him away from you.”

  “I know. It broke my heart, but it made me stronger, also meaner and more sarcastic, but I was able to focus on my work. It made everything so much clearer.”

  Ideera came forward and hugged her. “Be welcome as a daughter.”

  Brigs hugged back. “Thank you for you kindness. Do you have a long-range com?”

  Next to her ear, she heard, “Of course. Do you wish to use it now?”

  “I only need a few minutes. I can send the message and get the reply via my suit.”

  “Then, you shall have it. Come this way while Solos helps the others with dinner. By the time it is ready, you should have finished your work.”

  Ideera was no-nonsense now that they knew where they stood. Much to Solos’s surprise, they walked off together while he was left to the domestic chores of his family.

  When they were out of earshot, Ideera whispered, “He really is fascinated by you, you know.”

  “So he says.”

  “He has petitioned me to allow him to remain off world since we forced him to resume his travels. I denied him, of course, but it s
eems that the Guardian project has delivered him back to his family.”

  “Will you allow him to leave?”

  Ideera cocked her head and escorted Brigs into the large home clad with silvery stone. The interior of the home was pristine and large enough for all twelve family members who stood by until Solos came in, and then, they rushed him. Women and men hugged him, and Brigs smiled at his obvious joy before she was tucked into the matriarch’s office.

  A few deft keystrokes on the com and she was in touch with the Guardian project. She left a message and disconnected the link, scrambling the details just in case.

  When it was safe for her to leave the terminal, she turned it off and left the office.

  “Come here, Recruiter. We are in the family room.”

  Brigeet walked through the halls until she found the source of the voice. The matriarch and three of her daughters were sitting and having tea.

  Ideera poured a cup for her and extended it. Brigs took it with a bow and took a seat on the couch.

  The women were Ideera’s daughters. They wore her genes in their skin, and it was unmistakable that they were related to Solos.

  Ideera made the introductions. “This is my daughter Sivis, Solos’s twin. Raguia on the left and Nidalli on the right.”

  Brigs inclined her head to each in turn. “I am pleased to meet you all. I had no idea that Solos had a twin.”

  “He is not supposed to speak of family while he is off world. It is good that he didn’t break his oath for his…companion.” Raguia pulled a face when she said companion.

  Ideera made a sharp hissing noise. “She is here as guest and daughter to this house. Respect her.”

  Raguia winced and bowed her head. “Yes, Matriarch.”

  Sivis smiled. “I am glad you have come. We have missed Solos around the house. He has a magical touch with pastry.”

  Brigs nodded. “He has always been good with his hands.”

  Ideera snorted her tea and then burst out laughing. “A very bald statement.”

  Brigs shrugged. “He crafted a vase for me with nothing but his hands when we were posted on Narkuta. I think I still have it.”

  The sisters stared at her for a count of three, and then, they joined in their mother’s laughter.

  Brigeet mentally sighed with relief. Staying with family was never an easy thing, but Solos’s female relatives seemed relaxed enough.

  Brigs asked, “Is it rude to inquire as to which of you have bonded mates?”

  Raguia raised her hand. “I have two.”

  Sivis smiled. “Three here.”

  Nidalli shook her head. “I haven’t found any man I wish to invite into my bed permanently.”

  The polyamory that was prevalent on Jaluum made fiscal sense. A farm community needed a lot of men to work the land and the women could take care of things around the house as well as do the trading. It was a fair division of labour, and when there were extra men around, they took over the kitchen duties. It was the evolution of a financial necessity that had turned into a social standard over generations.

  Brigs always admired a pattern of behaviour that one could trace to its origin.

  Nidalli smiled, “So, what brings you to Jaluum, Recruiter Brigeet?”

  “Call me Brigs, please. I am here to aid in the expansion of the Guardian project. The Jaluum government has agreed to host a base. I am here to recruit people of power to man the base.”

  Ideera stirred her tea. “Who will train them?”

  Brigs shrugged. “There are set protocols.”

  “But who will train the Jaluum to follow those protocols? We are not exactly the most organized of societies.”

  Brigs shrugged again. “I don’t know. I usually am on a base sending the recruitment teams out and about. I still don’t know why they sent me here.”

  Solos came out of the kitchen with a tray and cruised toward the dining room. “Because you always have a plan, Brigs.”

  Sivis grinned. “He doesn’t give his confidence easily.”

  Solos didn’t say anything else; he set the table with efficient movements and returned to the kitchen.

  Raguia looked at Brigs with grudging respect in her eyes. “How many talents or powers have you found in your career?”

  “One hundred and ninety-three. Oh, and nine here on Jaluum. Several of them were extracted from worlds where they were at risk.” She sipped at her tea and sighed when it didn’t have any truly unusual aftertastes.

  Nidalli cocked her head. “They have powers, how could they be at risk?”

  Raguia answered that one. “Many worlds consider talents to be evil or hostile mutations. They kill them. If Solos had materialized on Nargat, for example, he would have been drugged and burned after his first public display.”

  Ideera nodded. “We were unsure of how the locals would take his talent, and so, he was sent off world for imperium education. When the Guardian project came up, we authorized him immediately.”

  “Is his father still with you?”

  Ideera grinned, “He is. Siron is my first bond mate, and he made dinner tonight. You happened to arrive during our winter season, so most of the men are around home during the day.”

  A line of men began to troop into the dining room, each one carrying a platter or pitcher. Solos announced, “Dinner is ready, ladies.”

  Brigeet rose with the others and took the seat that Ideera offered her. Brigs had never attended a family dinner for twenty before. The amount of food that was prepared was astonishing, but the variety was helpful.

  She sat quietly during dinner, listening to Solos fielding questions from his siblings and brothers-in-law. Brigs learned of his adventures after he left her. He had participated in defending against Raider attacks, transporting goods to the hidden and experimental bases around the imperium, and the occasional ferrying of royals and nobles.

  Ideera finally targeted Brigs. “So, Brigs, why have you never started a family?”

  Brigs focussed on her plate. “I left my world behind. There never seemed much point in pursuing a family after that.”

  The table went quiet and Sivis reached out to squeeze Solos’s hand.

  Family was important on Jaluum. This gathering of blended genes was proof. Ideera had five bonded mates and each had at least one child of their own blood. Three of her sons had made good matches and were bonded to women who would allow Solos to visit when he came into town. Having spent time off world made Solos somewhat of an undesirable mating partner. Jaluum hated interstellar travel.

  Ideera cocked her head. “But you haven’t taken a permanent mate before now.”

  “No. I am never sure where the Guardian project will put me next. There seems little point in pursuing a relationship when the project can yank my love interest out from under me.”

  Siron coughed and Ideera turned lavender.

  Solos smirked and passed the tubers to her. Dinner conversation had taken a turn.

  Chapter Six

  “What do you mean we are sharing a room?” Brigs crossed her arms and scowled at him.

  “The house is full. With my sisters and most of their bond mates here, we can’t all have our own rooms.” He gave her a grin. “Would you like to use the lav first?”

  She shrugged off her cloak and hung it up on the bedpost. With a growl, she stalked past him with her overnight kit and brushed her teeth. Brigs used the facilities and scrubbed her face before heading back to the bedroom.

  Solos headed for the lav while Brigs yanked off her boots and removed her bodysuit. The room had a refresher, so she hung the suit up in the cabinet. If she had to wear it the next day, she wanted it as clean as she could get it.

  Brigs crawled into bed naked and sat up, unravelling her braid for sleeping. She hated to wake up with it strangling her. With practiced moves, she pinned it loosely up on top of her head and settled back against the pillows.

  Solos came out, and he had peeled his suit
down to his waist.

  Brigs bit her lip and checked her nails. “So, your family is nice.”

  “You made an amazing impression on them. May I say, that is hard to do. They are very protective of me.”

  “I can tell; it broke her heart to send you away as a teen. It must have been hard on you as well.”

  He shrugged. “Talents were not widely accepted. It was for not only my safety, but also the safety of my family. The same reasons that Kardu remains away from his home.”

  He brushed his hair and removed the last half of his suit, dropping it to the floor.

  She sighed. “Hang it up in the refresher.”

  “Yes, Recruiter.” He grinned and got to his feet.

  Watching him strut around in the altogether was enough to test her self-control.

  When he finished hanging up his suit next to hers, he returned to bed, slipping under the covers. With the ease of practice, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight.

  Brigs grunted in reaction.

  “I have missed you.”

  She laughed. “I can tell.”

  She squirmed down until she was face to face with him. “Are you happy to be home?”

  He pressed his hips against hers, his erection trapped between them. “Very happy.”

  Solos kissed the side of her neck.

  “Uh, what would you say if I mentioned that you might be able to stay here? I mean, as a Guardian.”

  “I would be delighted if you stayed here, too.”

  His hands stroked her body with slow and deliberate attention. She shivered and enjoyed his touch.

  Solos drew his fingers over her hip and slid them between her thighs. She lifted her leg and rested her knee on his hip.

  He tested her slick heat, and she guessed he found her ready, because he angled his cock into her channel and thrust a few times until he was firmly seated.

  Solos rolled her to her back and rocked into her with a slow rhythm, kissing her carefully, taking her arousal and building on it. He took her soft cries into his mouth, and she moved with him, wrapping her legs around him.