The Swords of Gregara - Jenala, a sci-fi romance by Cynthia Woolf Read Free Book Online

The water is wonderful.”   She flipped onto her back and floated in the steamy water.   “Do you have any idea how awful it is not to be able to bathe for two weeks?   I was starting to smell like Lottie.”   She laughed heartily at her jest.
    Santro managed not to gawk.   She stayed on her back.   All of her glorious body displayed, not for his pleasure, but for her comfort.
    He tried to remember she was his partner, he’d seen her topless on numerous occasions when he changed her bandages.   This wasn’t much different.   Ha!   Who was he trying to fool?   It was totally different.   There was nothing medicinal about his thoughts now.   He wasn’t doctoring her, trying to cause her as little pain as possible.
    Mesmerized, he watched her play.   Swimming backwards, diving under and coming up on the far side of the pool, her glorious red hair a shimmering cloak about her.
    “Santro.   Santro are you listening to me?   Come in the water.   It will ease your muscles and make you feel better.”
    He carefully weighed his options and turned around to leave the room.   She was too much temptation for the best of men and at that point in time, he was definitely not the best of men.
        “Where are you going?”
    “I, uh, remembered something I must do before our foray tonight.”   He wasn’t lying.   He had to get his wayward body under control.
    “Oh, all right.   I’ll be out shortly.   Lottie will be ready for her tequati and will be heading for the river.”
    That night they carried out their reconnaissance mission.    They followed Lottie down to the river as she made her nightly journey to forage for food.
    They found Zlaten’s camp easily.   If he’d been trying to hide it, he failed miserably.   There were two men at camp.   Zlaten was not one of them.   Santro assumed he was doing his own recon of their house.   They would know soon enough if he tried to breech the house defenses.
    “He’s not here,” whispered Jenala.
    “I know.   He must be at the house doing the same thing that we are.   We’ll know soon if he tries to break in to the house, we’ll be able to hear the alarm down here.   And,“   Santro chuckled, “without the proper ear protection,   Zlaten and any of his men that are with him, will be deaf for the next two days.”
    No sooner had he said it than a piercing whistle echoed throughout the valley.   “Time for us to leave.   Here, put these in your ears until we get home and can turn the alarm off.”   He handed her a set of ear plugs from out of his pocket.  
    Home.   He really did think of it as home.   After only two weeks, the dome house had become home or was it Jenala who made it feel like home.   He wasn’t supposed to fall for his partner, he kept telling himself that.   But he was, fast.   It started when he first had her in his arms back in Rucem.   Carrying her to the nupenian and again at breakfast the next morning.   Every time he touched her the recognition was there.   The electricity.   Every time he fell deeper under her spell.
    He felt things he’d never allowed himself before.   He wanted a home and all that came with it.   Children and most of all, a wife.   Jenala as a wife, his wife.   Had she been a member of his tribe he would have claimed her during the claiming ceremony.   But she wasn’t.   She was free to participate in the ceremony if she wanted, or to remain free.   Suddenly, he needed to know.   Would she participate in the rite of claiming?   Would she consider his claiming of her or was marriage the only option?   Or perhaps neither, perhaps she wanted no liaisons with anyone.
    Unfortunately for him, they needed to remain quiet on the trek back to the house.   After they got back and assured themselves that all was well, he would broach the subject.
    All was not well.   When they returned to the house, they saw the dome had blaster marks on it.   It had not been breached but was