Jerred's Price (17 page)

“It’s not far,” Grania said. “We’ll be going to our house for a while, and then perhaps to the main temple precinct.”

“How far is it?’ Giselle asked.

“It will only take us a few minutes to get there,” Grania said. “There are many, many entrances to the temple. One can almost always enter near one’s destination, which is important. There is no motorized travel allowed within the sanctuary, which means you will have a long walk if you come in at the wrong place. Of course, one of the reasons we have such a large space is precisely so people can walk. We find that walking with the Goddess often helps to clear the mind.”

Giselle nodded slowly. Grania’s words made perfect sense to her; she could easily imagine how walking along these smooth, beautiful paths could help a person think.

Before long they reached a surprisingly primitive cottage. The walls appeared to be made of stone, and the ceiling from bunches of dried grass.

“Here we are,” Grania said. She opened the door, nodded for Giselle to come in with her. The cottage was small, and filled with furniture that seemed to be fashioned out of wood and primitive textiles. Giselle goggled openly; she’d never seen anything like it.

“You live here?” she asked, and then closed her mouth with an embarrassed gasp.

What a rude question…

Grania laughed, and Velor shook his head.

“It’s slightly more up-to-date than you might think from its appearance,” he said.

“Our kitchen is modern, and we’re hooked into the ’net. But we find simplicity does help us stay focused on serving the Goddess.”

“It’s lovely,” Giselle said. “I guess I’ve never seen anything like this on a space station before.”

“Well, this is an unusual space station,” Grania said with a smile. “And you, Giselle, appear to be an unusual woman. Will you sit with me?”

She walked gracefully over to a large, wooden table, taking a seat along one side.

Giselle sat across from her, feeling uncomfortable.

107

Joanna Wylde

“I think you already know why I’m here,” Giselle said quietly. “I’m not quite sure what to do now, to be honest,” she added with a nervous laugh. “How can you tell if I’m Jerred’s life mate? Do you have to do tests, or scan me?”

“Oh, no, I don’t think that will be necessary,” Grania said with a serene smile. “I already know the answer.”

“Well?” Giselle asked, feeling a bit impatient. “What is it?”

“Do you really need me to tell you?” Grania asked quietly. “I don’t think that you do. I think that if you look into your heart you’ll know.”

It took all Giselle had within her not roll her eyes and snort in disgust. This was why she usually avoided temples. Too touchy-feely. “I don’t know,” she said slowly. “If I knew, I wouldn’t have asked you.”

Grania cocked her head at her and laughed. “Yes, I can see that,” she said. “You’re very literal-minded, and you don’t trust your senses, do you? You need to work on that child. It’s really the only way you’ll ever grow close to the Goddess.”

This time Giselle did sigh, wishing she’d never come. These people were like sticky candy—their words clung to her, clogging up her brain. Even the air in this place seemed to clog up her mind. Suddenly she felt hot and uncomfortable.

“I think you should tell her,” Velor said to his life mate, coming up behind her to place one hand on her shoulder. “She seems confused enough already.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” Grania said. “It’s just that I wanted her to see for herself.”

“Well, I don’t see,” Giselle said, growing frustrated. “Please, tell me.”

“You and Jerred are clearly life mates,” Grania said, smiling. Giselle felt dizzy. Was this woman playing games with her? They hadn’t done any tests, how could they know for sure?

“The Goddess tells us these things,” Grania said, replying to her unasked question.

Giselle started, suddenly feeling a little uncertain. She’d never really liked priests and priestesses who claimed to speak to the Goddess. In her experience, they usually wanted money. But this couple really didn’t seem to be asking anything of her.

“The Goddess rejoices at your presence, child,” Velor said, his voice soothing. “We were both able to feel it as soon as we met you. It will be stronger when your Jerred arrives, of course, but there’s no question that you’re newly life-mated.”

“So what does that mean?” Giselle asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

“Well, it means that you and Jerred will probably have very long, happy lives together,” Grania said. “Of course, there will be hard times. But, all in all, the Goddess chooses wisely when she creates mates. You are very lucky to have found each other.”

“What about Jerred?” Giselle asked, feeling even more confused. “How is he going to react to this?”

“Well, I would imagine that once he understands what’s going on he’ll be thrilled,”

Velor said. “Although I wouldn’t be surprised if right now he’s tearing the station apart 108

Jerred’s Price

looking for you. My chief of security tells me that he’s demanding entrance to the temple,” he added, tapping his ear lightly. The man must have a communications implant, Giselle realized. How funny, that a man who lived in a wooden house had a com implant. This temple was an extremely strange place.

“You’d better go and fetch him, dear,” Grania said, turning her head to smile up at her mate. “The poor boy will have a heart attack if we don’t let him know his mate is safe. They tend to get very concerned about these things,” she added, looking at Giselle.

Velor nodded, then quietly left the room.

“He won’t be but a moment,” Grania said. “We have an entrance in back of the house, too. We only took you the long way because we wanted you to see some of the grounds.”

True to her word, Velor was back within moments. Jerred followed him, his face filled with strain. He came up to her and pulled her roughly into his arms.

“Are you all right?” he asked, running his hands over her shoulders.

“Yes,” she said, looking up at him with all the love she felt. She couldn’t quite figure out why he was so concerned. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t left a note.

“Xander told me he’d had a talk with you,” Jerred said, his face betraying his nerves. “He told me you’d gone to the temple. I was afraid you might be seeking sanctuary from me.”

“Sanctuary?” she burst out laughing. “Why on earth would I need sanctuary?”

He blushed, and then looked to Grania and Velor.

“Considering how I originally got you to come with me, I had reason to be worried,” he said softly. “My mind just kept racing through all the reasons you might be trying to leave me. I couldn’t understand why you’d go to the temple, either.”

“It is customary for life mates to have their union sanctified within the temple,”

Grania said. Jerred’s head jerked up, and he looked at her.

“What are you saying?”

“We’re life mates, Jerred,” Giselle said softly, looking up into his face. For an instant, joy chased across his features, and then he seemed to clamp down on the emotion firmly.

“This isn’t a joking matter, Giselle,” he said. “You have no comprehension how unlikely it is that we could possible be life mates.”

“And yet that is exactly the case,” Grania said. “And I think you know that already, young man. You’re just afraid to give in to your happiness. You’re afraid to believe it’s real. But it is.”

Jerred suddenly sagged against her, clutching her so hard Giselle though she’d fall over. He caught himself quickly though.

“This is more than I could have imagined,” he muttered, giving her a soft kiss on the mouth. “Giselle, I love you. Will you do me the honor of sharing my life?”

109

Joanna Wylde

“Oh, hell yes,” Giselle said. “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t suppose you want to open up a bar, do you?”

He shook his head, and started laughing. “Can we discuss this further?” he asked.

“I think we have quite a few things to talk about.”

“Not least of which is you getting out of the spying and smuggling thing,” Giselle said. “Or at least I hope you’ll consider it. I don’t think I can handle another run-in with Josiah.”

He kissed her, his mouth slanting over hers in a gesture that was frankly carnal.

Giselle sighed, allowing herself to fall into the kiss. A second later they were brought up short by a discrete cough.

“As much as the Goddess celebrates physical love,” Velor said softly, “I believe I wouldn’t be overstating my bounds by requesting you celebrate yours in private.”

110

Jerred’s Price

Epilogue

Jerred landed the small shuttle with a gentle thump and flicked off several switches.

He left the view screen on, though, and Giselle could see a largish group of people standing to one side of the landing pad.

She had never been more intimidated in her life.

“Relax, they won’t bite,” Jerred said softly. “In fact, I’m imaging they’ll be very happy to meet you. You and I represent their hope for the future.”

“You really should have told me about this before we got together,” Giselle muttered softly. “If I had known marrying you included marrying an entire estate of people, I might have thought twice.”

“Why do you think I didn’t tell you?” he asked archly.

He stood up and led her to the shuttle’s doorway, which opened with a touch of his hand. A set of stairs had already extended itself from their ship.

“Come on,” he said. “It’s all right, I promise. They’ll be happy to meet you.”

“Even your mother?” she asked softly. “The thought of her scares me. She looked so stern in the pictures you showed me. Are you sure she’ll be able to handle a daughter-in-law who isn’t Saurellian?”

“She’ll just have to learn, won’t she?” he replied. “Don’t worry about it. She’ll love you. They all will.”

Giselle rolled her eyes, knowing that would be too good to be true. They walked down the stairs, and a young woman broke free of the group, running up to hug Jerred.

“I’ve missed you so much, Jerred,” she said. He squirmed awkwardly, and then pulled himself free of her embrace.

“Giselle, I’d like you to meet my sister, Krissandra,” he said. “Krissandra, this is Giselle, my wife.”

Giselle smiled hesitantly. She extended one hand to Krissandra, but the young woman pulled her into her arms.

“Thank you so much for bringing my brother home,” Krissandra whispered in her ear. “You can’t imagine how happy we are that he found you.”

“Krissandra, let the poor girl go,” another woman said. Her voice was stern and cool. Krissandra pulled away, and Giselle found herself face to face with a woman who could only be Jerred’s mother.

She was tall and slender, her hair pulled back to the nape of her neck. She wore a full-length gown, one that should have seemed old-fashioned but was entirely elegant instead.

111

Joanna Wylde

“You must be Giselle,” she said slowly. “I must admit you are not what I expected in a daughter-in-law. Of course, I had long since given up hope of ever having my son back. I cannot thank you enough for finding him and saving him.”

Giselle nodded her head, dumbstruck. The woman’s tone was so cold that her words hardly sunk in.

“I have waited many years for this day,” she continued. “I understand that you once owned a bar?”

Giselle nodded again, her stomach sinking. Jerred came up beside her, reaching around her waist with one arm. She felt his support and love, and she felt more confident.

“Yes, I owned one for five years,” she replied. “It was very successful.”

“Good, your business skills will serve you well here,” Jerred’s mother replied.

“You’ll find that our family estate is just another kind of business. I’m very happy that he found someone who has the skills and intelligence to take my place.”

“I wasn’t planning on taking your place,” Giselle said, horrified. The other woman smiled at her kindly.

“Of course you will,” she said. “You’re his life mate, and he is our heir. My darling, welcome to our family.”

For the first time she smiled, and Giselle felt a weight lift from her shoulders.

“I’m honored to be a member of your family,” she said softly.

“And we’re honored to have you.”

112

About the author:

Joanna Wylde is a freelance writer who has been working professionally for more than eight years as a journalist and fund-raiser. In April 2002, she branched out into fiction with
The Price of Pleasure
, a futuristic romance published by Ellora’s Cave. She is 29 years old, married, and lives in north Idaho.

Joanna welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora’s Cave Publishing at P.O. Box 787, Hudson, Ohio 44236-0787.

Also by Joanna Wylde:

Aphrodite’s Touch

Forgotten Wishes

Saurellian Federation: Dragon’s Mistress

Saurellian Federation: Survival’s Price

Saurellian Federation: The Price of Freedom

Saurellian Federation: The Price of Pleasure

Wicked Wishes

Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC

on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.

www.ellorascave.com