Seduced by Two Warriors by Ravenna Tate

English
equivalents in her head, and sauce that smelled like a combination of peanuts
and sesame. She also detected ginger, oregano, and of course pepper. They loved
to add pepper to dishes on Sera.
    The
smell filled the condo until her stomach rumbled. As they drank their wine, she
and Rune popped a pre-made loaf of bread into the oven, and then she helped him
set the table. Once the food was ready, they sat down to eat, and Gia told
Thane she’d never tasted anything so good.
    “My
family would adore you,” she said. “They’d be all over this, begging you for
the recipe.”
    “I
wish I could have met them.”
    She
couldn’t talk about them in the past tense, even though she’d long ago accepted
that they were dead. “What about you two? Do you have family here or on Addo?”
    “Most
of our family is still here on Sera,” said Rune. “Our parents are retired from
jobs in finance, and we have a younger sister who works as an administrative
assistant for a lumber company on Addo .”
    “Do
you see them often?”
    “We
plan to make time to catch up with all of them now that we’re working here. And
when we visit Vaughn and River next week, we might make time to say hello to
our sister.”
    “I’m
really looking forward to meeting them, and Marianne, too.”
    “Are
you going to be okay going?” asked Thane.
    “Yes,
as long as you don’t ask me to walk around in a crowd, I’ll be fine. Thank
you.”
    After
dinner, she helped them with the dishes, and then they asked if she wanted to
sit outside. “The side patio faces the woods, not the courtyard,” said Rune.
“More private than the back, and we can watch the sun set.”
    “I’d
love that.” Once outside, she relaxed when she realized no one could see them,
and there weren’t throngs of neighbors milling about. “This is breathtaking.”
The colors to the east always amazed her. The sun set in the east on Sera, and
rose in the west. It had taken her nearly a year to get used to that.
    “I’m
enjoying it, too.” Thane was looking directly at her, and the combination of
lust and admiration in his eyes took her breath away. She used to dream about a
man looking at her like that, after she was brought here. It had been a very
long time since one had done so, and she realized at that moment how much she’d
missed it, and craved it once again.
    “As
am I,” she whispered, holding his gaze.
    They
locked glances for a long time, and then Thane rose and went into the condo
without a word. She watched him, and then frowned at Rune. “Shit. What did I
say to upset him?”
    “Nothing. He’s not upset. He just doesn’t
want to do something stupid and upset you .
Neither do I . I’d move right now, but if I did, I’d
pull you into my arms and kiss you into next week. It’s all I’ve thought about
doing since the moment I walked into the department four days ago.”
    Gia
slumped against her chair, unable to form a coherent thought, let alone a
response. She hadn’t thought about anything but these two men all week, too.
She had to blink back tears as Thane finally joined them again. He held a
pitcher of water and three glasses. After her poured them each one, he drained
his, then poured another. Finally, he said down again,
and faced her.
    “Better
now.”
    “I’m
sorry.”
    He
shook his head. “We told you to stop apologizing. You’ve done nothing wrong.”
    She
watched Rune drink his water, and then she gazed out at the deepening colors
once more. She was safe here. She felt it in her bones. And she knew these two
wouldn’t hurt her. Wasn’t it time to start living again?
    Tears
slid down her cheeks before she realized she was crying, and as she went to
wipe them away, Thane was at her side, doing it for her. “Shhh. Don’t cry .” His voice was so soft and gentle it tugged at her
heart. “You’re okay, Gia. We would never hurt you. Never.”
    “I
know,” she whispered.
    He
stroked her face, and then her hair, and when he bent his