Hara's Legacy Page 3

  Caleb stood, facing his brother, remorse clear in his expression.

  “I owe you an apology, Mick. Probably Justin too, but you especially. When Jane’s dad died, you were in school and Justin was gone. I thought there’d be plenty of girls who could make you forget Jane. With her empathic gift and her understanding of our own special abilities, I knew she belonged with us. I always figured it’d be you, or maybe Justin, if he ever came home. I didn’t expect to have her, but by God, I love her.” Caleb seemed to run out of steam as he sat back down, practically collapsing in his chair.

  Jane released Mick, feeling the compassion in his heart as he realized his strong older brother was human after all. Things would be okay now. The air between them all was beginning to clear.

  “You think I should have married Jane?” Mick sounded as if the idea wasn’t all that foreign to him. That surprised her. Jane was learning a great deal today. Things she’d never suspected.

  Caleb nodded in answer to Mick’s question, his expression miserable.

  “Well, I didn’t,” Jane said forcefully, reminding them both that she was there. “I married you, Caleb, so you’re stuck with me.”

  He smiled as she’d intended, but Mick’s eyes were still troubled.

  “He’s probably right, though, Jane.” Mick’s serious tone surprised her. “If I’d been finished with school, I would have been after you like a shot. But I had nothing to offer you at the time. I thought it was for the best that you married Caleb. He’d inherited the ranch and he could support you.”

  Jane’s eyes widened as she stared at Mick. Only now did she feel the emotions he’d been so adept at hiding from her for so long. He’d wanted her all this time and she hadn’t known.

  “Dammit, Mick, how’d you learn to hide your emotions from me?” That, more than anything, had her head spinning. The rest she couldn’t quite assimilate yet. She needed to think.

  Mick smiled, a sparkle in his blue, blue eyes. “Fooled you, huh? Well good. It’s not healthy for a woman to know every thought in a man’s head.”

  His teasing made her smile even though she was still in shock about the revelations of the past hour. “I’m not a mind reader, Mick.”

  “And thank God you’re not!” Mick joked, but there was an edge to his words that didn’t escape any of them.

  “With the way things turned out, well, Mick, I’m sorry.” Caleb’s quiet voice was full of remorse. Mick shrugged, but Jane could tell he was deeply moved by his brother’s words.

  “It was fate. That’s all.”

  “We can’t change the past, that’s for certain, but the future…” Caleb squinted again and both Jane and Mick caught their breath at what he might reveal. “The future is foggy. Like it hasn’t been since before the cataclysm.”

  “Is there anything we can do?” Mick was serious, but he was never serious for long. A devil entered his eyes as he teased his brother once more. “Other than having Justin seduce an alien woman, that is? And dammit, why didn’t you pick me for the job?”

  Jane chuckled and Caleb smiled despite the grim vision of the future in his head. “There’s one thing more we can do, and I’ll need your help, Mick. You’re the closest thing we have to a doctor and I need to know…”

  Jane felt the difficulty Caleb had with whatever he was going to say and moved closer to him, supporting him. The regret in his eyes spoke to her.

  “Whatever it is, we’ll work through it together.” She held his big hand to her lips and kissed it gently, offering comfort.

  He grasped her hand so tight it hurt, but she said nothing. He needed her to be strong now. It was rare that he leaned on her. More often it was the other way around. But this time, she sensed the despair in his soul and knew she would do anything to remove such desolate feelings from the man she loved more than life.

  “Jane, I know you’ve wanted a child and I have to wonder if there’s something wrong. I want Mick to find out why we haven’t conceived, if he can.”

  She gasped at the sudden overload of emotions—her own and Caleb’s mixed with Mick’s shock and sympathy. Tears ran down her face. Caleb had managed to stun her.

  “Okay.” She took deep, calming breaths. “If Mick can help us, I’ll do whatever he asks for the tests.”

  “I think the problem might be with me, sweetheart, and I’m so damned sorry.”

  She hugged him close. Mick shuffled a bit, his own emotions tightly under control once more, his face grim.

  “How will this help when the aliens come?”

  Jane knew Mick’s businesslike tone was for Caleb’s benefit. He needed something to focus on that would remove him from his own sense of failure and loss.

  Silently, she thanked Mick, throwing her thoughts at him the way he’d taught her as a child. She hadn’t attempted to use the very modest telepathic skills he’d taught her in over a decade, but was gratified to see him hold her gaze and nod. He’d heard her, though he was probably the only one strong enough telepathically to pick up on her weak signal. Caleb straightened, releasing her.

  “If Jane is pregnant when the aliens come, they’ll spare her. That I can see for sure. If Justin is successful with the alien woman, there’s a good chance they’ll leave us all in peace, but the odds tip in our favor if Janie is pregnant.” The anguish entered his eyes again. “But whose child? If I’m sterile, it’s got to be either you or Justin, Mick.”

  Jane collapsed into her chair as she realized what he was saying.

  “You mean you want me to artificially inseminate her? Like she was a cow or something? Jeez, Caleb!” Mick looked both alarmed and disgusted.

  “No.”

  That single word from Caleb hung in the air, with all its implications. The three of them stared at each other.

  “First things first.” Caleb finally broke the silence. His shocking words had given them food for thought, “Can you run tests to see what the problem is?”

  Mick nodded shortly. “I can try.”

  “Test me first, then if I’m okay, we’ll see about Jane, but I don’t think we’ll have to go that far.” Caleb’s eyes hardened and she could feel grim resolution wash through him. “We have a very short window of opportunity. If Justin is following my directions, he’s making a baby as we speak.”

  Jane was shocked yet again. It was a day of revelations that had her reeling. Caleb laid one of his hands over hers.

  “Giving the alien woman a child will make her more sympathetic to you. It’s coming clearer now. I saw you both together in my vision, both round with pregnancy. She doesn’t understand us. She doesn’t have the same emotions we do. She’s so cold, it’s scary, but I think you’ll have pregnancy in common if my visions hold true, and it could be the key to saving us all.”

  “So that means we have between three and nine months before the aliens come in earnest,” Mick said, reminding them all of the bigger picture. The brothers wore grim expressions.

  “That’s about the size of it.” Caleb nodded. “Both Jane and the alien woman were showing. There was no doubt they were both heavily pregnant in my vision.”

  “Dear Lord.” One thought became instantly clear in Jane’s turbulent mind. “I’m really going to have a baby?”

  Caleb grasped her hand. “You’re going to be a wonderful mother, Jane. I’ve wanted that for you for a long time.”

  Bittersweet tears of joy gathered in her eyes as she clasped Caleb’s hand to her heart. “I love you so much, Caleb. You’re going to be the best father.”

  “Uncle, at least.” He shrugged, trying to hide his feelings unsuccessfully.

  Mick went to the door and opened it, reminding them of his presence. “We don’t know about that yet, Caleb. If it’s within my power, I’ll make it happen for you both. You deserve a child together.”

  Jane kissed Caleb on the cheek and rushed over to Mick before he could leave, needing to share the love and joy in her heart.

  “Thank you, Mick.” She threw her arms around him and kissed his
cheek much like she’d just kissed Caleb.

  Mick met Caleb’s eyes over Jane’s head and Caleb nodded his understanding as Mick’s arms tightened uncontrollably, just for a moment, around the girl he’d loved since childhood.

  Chapter Three

  Damned if Caleb’s visions were ever wrong, Justin thought as he rode up to the village’s only rooming house on his Harley. He’d stayed there several times when negotiating trade deals with the villagers or when he just needed to get away from the ranch for a while. Jane’s disturbing presence chipped away at his control until he thought he’d go mad if he couldn’t have her.

  But she was his brother’s wife. It didn’t matter that Justin had known and loved her most of his life. He knew she cared for him deeply and he even knew she found him attractive. Her admiring looks and the unconscious way she followed him with her eyes were proof enough of that, but it made him uncomfortable, to say the least. He’d had to stop in the woods to stroke his cock and give himself some blessed relief from the hard-on she’d witnessed. That little encounter would be good for a few hundred fantasies and though he could have wished she’d never found him jerking off in his garage, in a perverse way he was glad she had.

  He’d suffered in silence so long. He wanted her so badly. Only his love for her and the love and respect he had for his brother kept him under control. But perhaps most disturbing of all were the veiled hints he’d gotten from Caleb that somehow he just might be able to have Jane after all. He hoped to God that didn’t mean Caleb had foreseen his own death, because he feared that most of all. The thought of losing Caleb, like nothing else, had helped him get his head screwed on straight. Caleb was their leader and Justin vowed to do whatever his brother asked to help the family survive his dire visions of the future. Caleb had never been wrong before.

  So there he was, parking his beloved Harley in the middle of the ground floor room, right next to his rented bed. He didn’t trust leaving the bike outside where anyone might steal it, and it didn’t take up much space. He hadn’t seen the woman Caleb mentioned yet, but knew enough to trust his older brother’s vision. If Caleb said he’d find a woman and screw her brains out, then he definitely would.

  And just in time too. Justin didn’t think he could survive much longer without sticking his dick in a warm and willing pussy. Jerking off was fine to relieve the pressure, but it had been so long since he’d fucked a woman, he could barely see straight. Masturbating to visions of his sister-in-law was some kind of sin, he knew, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He loved her and he always would. No matter what.

  Justin settled his pack and bike in the small room, then left, locking the door securely behind him. He needed to do the reconnaissance his brother had requested, and he needed to find the woman.

  Justin licked his lips and headed for the saloon. A couple of guys had set up a distilling operation and made some decent brews using different plant sources, including some of the grains he and his brothers grew and harvested. He could check in with the guys at the bar and get the latest news while discussing what they needed in the way of supplies from the ranch. Plus, he could get something stronger than the beer his sister-in-law brewed for him. He needed a little extra kick tonight after the disturbing revelations of the morning.

  Justin pushed open the door and headed for the long bar, answering a few friendly greetings from the other men. The owners of the place kept order by virtue of the fact they were the only ones in town with booze. They could refuse service if a man got too unruly. Being refused service in the saloon was a fate worse than death for most men these days when liquor was the only easy form relaxation available.

  He spent time in the saloon, learning the news and negotiating an order for more grain from the owners, but aside from the stiff shot of some kind of new bark brew early on in the conversation, he kept his wits about him. He didn’t know exactly what Caleb wanted him to learn here, but he would watch carefully in order to make a full report to his big brother. He’d learned in the old U.S. Army how to do a proper job of recon, and he knew from long experience, Caleb could use even what seemed to be insignificant information to verify his visions.

  After a few hours, Justin headed back to his room to get some sleep. It had been a long day, and it only seemed to get longer when he noticed the door to his room was ajar. A light shown from within, so whoever was in there didn’t seem to fear discovery. Still, Justin was instantly on alert. He moved quietly toward the door, hoping for the element of surprise as he pushed it open with a crash.

  What he found inside gave him pause. It was a woman. But was she the woman Caleb had foretold? With the scarcity of women, it was hard to believe she could be any other.

  She had tightly coiled, icy blonde hair and slightly pointed ears. She was tall and statuesque, with a fey quality that enchanted him on sight. She had small breasts and a willowy body, which was not his favorite body type in a woman, but he was so hard and desperate, he would fuck almost anything with a cunt.

  She looked up in surprise as he entered, but no fear. She was an odd one, he thought, and she dressed in clothing like he’d never seen before. The fabric seemed to change color as she moved, fitting like a second skin against her tall form. She was thin and tall like the old fashion models, but she had a coldness in her sky blue eyes that chilled him.

  “Who are you and what are you doing in my room?” Justin asked calmly, his eyes cataloging everything. He sensed no immediate threat from the woman or anything else in the room. Stepping inside, he closed the door behind him with a stray thought, a show of his telekinetic power to let the woman know who and what she was dealing with. He was gratified to see her eyes widen and a somewhat pleased expression settle on her lips.

  “I am Mara.”

  Her voice was like music, though it held no warmth. Justin realized this woman must be an alien. There could be no other explanation for otherworldly appearance, total lack of fear of him, and the fact that she was running around apparently alone in the settlement made up mostly of single, hungry, horny men. And there was the voice. Tales abounded about the soothing, musical nature of the aliens’ voices, though Justin had never heard it for himself. Until now.

  “Well, Mara,” he moved boldly forward, “what brings you to my bedroom in the middle of the night?”

  She straightened to her full height, which was close to his own six foot three and stared him down. “I go where I wish, Breed.”

  “Is that so?” Justin unbuttoned his shirt. He watched her eyes flare with heat that she couldn’t hide. Oh yeah, he thought with satisfaction, she would be under him in no time, her tight little pussy dripping with his cum.

  “I saw you ride in on this,” her hand gestured gracefully toward the motorcycle, “and became intrigued. I have never seen such a machine.”

  “It’s called a motorcycle and there were many of them before your people came.”

  Her eyes shot to his. “You know what I am?”

  Justin shrugged. “It’s easy enough to guess. You look like an elf.”

  “A what?” He was glad to see he’d gotten her attention.

  He shrugged as he threw the shirt aside and unbuttoned the top button of his jeans. She seemed fascinated by the huge double dragon tattoo that covered most of his chest. Chicks really did dig that tattoo. Lord knows he’d gotten some fantasy mileage out of Jane’s fascinated eyes on his dragon. He didn’t know if he was really looking forward to fucking this alien woman, but if he kept thoughts of Jane firmly in mind, maybe he could keep his dick up all night for her. Hell, a desperate man couldn’t afford to be picky.

  Caleb had said to fuck her long and hard. Fucking her once or twice wouldn’t be a problem for a man who hadn’t had warm pussy in years, but keeping it up after the first few times would be another story. Justin hadn’t ever liked to have sex with just anyone. He’d always enjoyed it more when there was some affection in the joining to make it special. Casual sex just hadn’t had much appeal for him, though like any gu
y, he’d indulged in it more often than not.

  Justin crowded her, relieved when she stood her ground, even sending out one of her pale fingers to trace the swirling lines of his tattoo the way he’d known Jane had wanted to when she caught him coming out from a shower. He stifled a groan as his cock hardened and expanded.

  “We have legends of fey folk who look like you. Tall, pointy ears, and fair-skin. We called them elves in the old country where my ancestors are from. It was called Ireland or Eire. I can only guess now that Ireland was populated by descendants of your people, though they spread out and immigrated across the globe.”

  “I had not heard of such before, but it does make sense. We sent an advance party, of course, but they were lost to us centuries ago, after surveying the planet and finding it suitable for our colony.”

  “My guess is they liked it so much here, they stayed.” He smiled and stepped close enough so his chest touched the tips of her small breasts, gratified to hear her breath catch. “And they fucked like bunnies, spreading their DNA all over the planet, which I would assume the mothership hadn’t intended.”

  She shrugged, dragging her tight nipples up and down his chest. “If such is the case, it is an unforeseen complication. We had no idea until just recently that we could breed with humans. But the idea is intriguing.”

  Justin moved away. “Intriguing, hmm?” He lowered the zipper over his straining erection. “Are you intrigued enough to want to try a human on for size?”

  “You are not human,” she said quietly, her eyes almost covetous on his rigid shaft. “You are a Breed. I have encountered several like you in my research.”

  He nodded, sliding one hand around her waist, surprised to find the shiny material of her jumpsuit warm beneath his fingers.

  “A telekinetic Breed.” He nuzzled her neck. “What gifts do you have?” Her breath came quickly now, and she was getting hotter for him, if he were any judge.

  “None,” she said on a soft moan. “We do not have the same abilities as Breeds do.”