Atonement (Earth Evolution Series Book 3) Read online

  Taylor had been attractive, but he never liked Thomas as much as he liked Lily, and they were a packaged deal. You couldn’t have one without having the other.

  She shook her head to clear her mind; she didn’t want to think about Taylor. She was here on the Drastan ship and she would make the best of things.

  “Um, here’s your sandwich Maggie. Did you need me to make you one too, Liam?” She walked into the room and handed the plate to Maggie.

  “No, I’ll eat later. Thank you for the offer though.”

  “Well, I need to go save Mrs. Gordon from Thomas. He’s been showing her everything in our quarters. When I left them he was talking so fast I don’t think the poor woman understood anything he said.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow at the docking bay,” Maggie waved at her.

  “Bye.” Lily waved back before opening the door and exiting.

  Chapter 5

  Lily had only taken a few steps and then she heard the door opening behind her. She turned to see Jared coming out after her.

  “Let me walk you to your quarters.”

  “You don’t have to do that.” The more time she spent with him the bigger her fantasies about him grew. She needed to keep her distance. She started walking down the corridor, but of course he caught up to her easily with his long strides.

  “Have I angered you?”

  “No. I just need to get back to my son.”

  “If I didn’t know better, I would think that you were trying to ignore me.”

  She snorted. “You think highly of yourself.” Two handsome lieutenants walked by smiling and winking at her.

  “Good evening, Ms. Tyner.”

  “Good evening Lt. Ruso and Lt. James.” She waved as the two men walked past her and disappeared around the corner. She tried to keep walking but Jared took her arm gently and halted her.

  “Why are you flirting with those men? Are you involved with either of them?”

  She frowned. “I was just being nice. I’ve worked with them in the tunnels while giving aid to the tribes. They’ve always been very helpful.”

  “I bet they were.” He snorted.

  “What is your problem?” She was getting tired of this dance that they were doing. One minute he acted like he thought of her like a sister, the next he acted like she was his girlfriend. She wasn’t putting up with that shit.

  “I don’t have a problem. I just think that a female in your position should be more cautious with whom she spends time with.”

  “A woman in what position?” She raised her eyebrow at him.

  “You can’t carry on and tease males that way, they will think you care for them.”

  “Maybe I do care for them.”

  “What about Thomas? You can’t go around having sex with different males. It will confuse Thomas.”

  “First of all, who I have sex with is none of your damn business. Second, my son deserves to have a father so if I decide to date someone, it will be a man that understands my son comes first for me.”

  “I’m just trying to look out for you.”

  “Really? Because it sounds like you’re jealous.”

  He blinked at her and his face became slightly ruddy. “I am not jealous over those two males.”

  “It sounds like it to me. Maybe they could give me what I’ve been missing. I could just—” Her words were cut off when he leaned down and took her lips. She was completely caught off guard that she didn’t have time to put up any defense. Was there a defense for hot as hell kissing?

  Jared had full lips that weren’t too soft, but they were firm and demanding. His tongue caressed and teased the seam of her mouth. She shivered when he pulled her body into his; the heat from him wrapping around her like a blanket. He slid his hands up her arms and then down her sides.

  She kept her lips sealed, but with his persistence and his hands starting to roam her body, she didn’t know how long she would be able to last.

  He growled, “Open for me, beautiful.”

  Lily caved and did what they both wanted, opening her mouth for his invasion. Her arms lifted of their own accord to wrap around his neck. It was like a light had suddenly turned on inside of her and she was feeling dizzy from the brightness. She clung to him, to the warmth, and she sought a balance. She wanted desperately to wrap her legs around him and cling to him like a monkey to a tree.

  The spinning increased when he lifted her up, moving them until her back hit the wall. He was so strong, and he held her like she weighed nothing. The neat bun her hair had been in, loosened, and long dark strands cascaded down her shoulders. His fingers were caressing her and using the strands to hold her so he could deepen the kiss.

  Jared didn’t just kiss her, he made love to her mouth until she was completely and utterly breathless. No one had ever kissed her like it was the only thing in the world they wanted to do, not even Shawn. Thoughts of her deceased husband dampened the mood for her, and she pushed him away.

  “We can’t do this.”

  He let her go, but kept his hand on her arm to help steady her. She would have fallen to the floor if not for the wall and his hand holding her up. What the hell just happened?

  “I didn’t mean for that to happen. It was a mistake.” He told her getting his voice under control.

  She felt her heart clench in pain. Of course he would regret touching her. She wasn’t sure what Jared’s issue was, but maybe he had someone back on his home world. If he did, he was going to have a lot of explaining to do about kissing another woman senseless.

  “Don’t worry about it. It was just a kiss. It won’t happen again.” She was lying to both of them, but she didn’t want this to turn into a conversation. That would make it even more awkward.” She moved away from him, “I can make it the rest of the way on my own. Thanks for—everything.”

  She was grateful when he didn’t continue to follow her. She needed some space to clear her head and figure out why she reacted to him the way she did. She just didn’t have time for the complication that was Jared Estro.

  *****

  What in the blazes was that? Jared barely resisted punching a wall in frustration. He couldn’t risk injuring himself and having to answer a million questions from the other medikos. He couldn’t do that unless he wanted to answer a bunch of questions from the other medikos while treating his own injury.

  He had intended to keep his distance from Lily. He knew he would have to see her whenever the family came together, but for some reason he found himself looking for her when he came with Liam back to Liam’s quarters.

  Watching her closely he saw how there was sadness and a longing expression on her face for what Maggie and Liam had. He felt that same envy at times, but it broke his heart to see the sorrow on her face. When she left he’d followed her intent only on making sure she was okay and maybe finding out why she was so sad. Of course the female didn’t want to accept his help which only made him more determined to keep near her. When he’d seen two of his people flirting with her, another emotion he rarely experienced before overwhelmed him. For the first time ever, he was jealous.

  He knew his first mistake had been touching her at all, but his second—and biggest mistake—was kissing her. Now that he’d had a taste of her, he wasn’t sure he could ever walk away again. It was Lily that put the brakes on their kiss. He was disappointed and didn’t know why. He had so much going on, he didn’t have time for a woman, especially one like Lily who came with a lot of responsibility. Like a built-in family, which would take up a lot of his time.

  No, he had to concentrate on his work. He wasn’t going to let his family or his people down. Whatever this thing between him and Lily was, he would have to let it go and move past it. He would do whatever it took to get Lily out of his system.

  Chapter 6

  “Do you take this woman, Lily Revine, to be your wedded wife?”

  “I do.”

  “Do you, Lily Revine, take this man, Shawn Thomas Tyner, as your wedded husband?�
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  Lily smiled and squeezed Shawn’s hand. “I do.”

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

  Shawn pulled her to him dipping her down dramatically and planting a wet kiss on her. Everyone clapped. She smiled through her surprise. This wasn’t what they practiced in rehearsal. They were supposed to have a simple kiss on the lips, but Shawn had other ideas. He was always ready to put on a performance for people.

  She straightened her dress out when he set her back on her feet. She plastered a happy expression on her face and held his hand facing the large church full of family and friends. This was the happiest day of her life. Why did she want to cry?

  “Come on wife, let’s go.” Shawn stood at the bottom step of the altar and held out his hand to her. She reached out, but before their hands touched, Shawn disappeared.

  The Church full of people swirled, then suddenly she found herself in the subway tunnel. She held little Thomas in her arms trying to calm his crying. “It’s okay baby. I won’t let anything happen to you.” She looked up when a stranger called out to her.

  “Come with us if you want to live!” She had no choice. She looked up at the sky one last time praying that Shawn would be safe but knowing deep in her heart, he was flying to his death. “Goodbye my love.”

  *****

  Lily woke up in a sweat, her whole body trembling with emotion. She could feel the tears streaking down her cheeks, and she roughly wiped them away. Damn it! Would she ever be able to get over Shawn’s death? Some days weren’t so bad, she could think of him fondly and tell Thomas stories, but lately she’d been thinking less and less of her dead husband, and it bothered her immensely..

  Every time she found herself staring at Jared with desire in her heart, she felt guilty. It made no sense to feel that way. Shawn had died years ago and she was still a young woman with her whole life to live. Why shouldn’t she enjoy sex and have a steady relationship with someone else?

  She had tried a short sexual relationship with Taylor off and on. She knew from the beginning that it wasn’t going to work out because of the way Taylor was with Thomas, but she never loved Taylor and if her heart wasn’t involved, he couldn’t really hurt her. Except that he did hurt her when he rejected her son. Jared was different though.

  Jared cared for Thomas. He always took time to answer her son’s questions and seemed to enjoy showing him things around the ship. Even though Jared irritated her at times, she admired him and she found him attractive on so many levels. If it was just having sex with him, she might not be so torn up inside. Her feelings of guilt, stemmed from the fact that she was growing genuine feelings for Jared. Unlike what she had briefly with Taylor, when it came to Jared her heart was involved. She could easily fall in love with him and that scared the shit of her. She didn’t know how to handle it.

  She stood up and opened the door to her bedroom. She always left it cracked open just in case Thomas needed her in the middle of the night. Walking down the hallway she paused just outside of the room she put Mrs. Gordon in. The sound of the elderly lady snoring made her smile.

  Mrs. Gordon was taking quickly to being onboard an alien spaceship. Just a few days on board and she treated everyone like family. It seemed like everyone that met her took a liking to her. She was just that kind of person. Lily hoped that Jared could help find Mrs. Gordon’s real family. She deserved to have them back in her life, for however long she had left.

  Lily continued down to Thomas’s room. His door was open and he had a night light on. She could see him curled up on his side, covers half kicked off of him and a smile on his little face. He must be having good dreams. She envied him. She walked inside and pulled the blanket up covering him completely.

  She bent down and kissed his forehead. “Goodnight and sweet dreams my sunny boy.” She headed back to her bedroom. She wished for sweet dreams for herself, or at least no dreams.

  *****

  “Did I do something wrong?” A frustrated female voice asked.

  Jared sat up on the edge of his bed turning his back on the Drastan female. He had made the mistake of bringing home the pretty Mediko Tinley Lazar. His intent was to share sex with her and try to forget about Lily. That was a mistake. Every time he touched Tinley, or she touched him, it felt wrong, like he was betraying his hala asawani—fated lifemate. His arousal had died quickly.

  “No, you did nothing wrong but I can’t seem to get my mind to—shut off.”

  Tinley sat up and patted his back. “You are always work, work, work, and no play. You got me all worked up, are you going to just leave me like this?”

  “This was a mistake.”

  “Excuse me! I’m a mistake?” She hit his back while grabbing a blanket to wrap around her.

  “I didn’t mean you were a mistake, but you and me together—it’s not going to work.”

  Tinley grabbed her clothes and started to pull them on. “I don’t understand, we’ve done this before and it’s worked just fine. Is it because of the Earth woman?”

  “What?”

  “The Earth woman you have been training in Mediko, I’ve seen the way you look at her.”

  He pulled on his pants. “I don’t understand, how do I look at her?”

  “Like she is a star, your star. The destined soul mate that we hear our mothers tell us about growing up.”

  “I don’t recall that story.”

  She snorted. “You know about it. Once our souls were one large star, but it became too big and had to split. Our star split into two smaller stars, our souls split in half. Each of us searches for the other half; our star half.”

  He chuckled. “You think that Lily is the second half of my soul?”

  She put her hands on her hips. “It isn’t about what I think it’s about what you believe. Obviously you don’t even have a soul.”

  “I am sorry, Tinley.”

  She paused at the door to look at him. “Me too. I personally don’t believe in the fated mate stuff. Let me know if you can get your mind off of—other things.” She opened the door and left.

  Jared was confused and frustrated. Was it possible that Lily was meant for him? He had never believed those fated mate stories. All he knew was science. He could prove or disprove anything based on calculations and facts. He never put weight on anything he thought was insubstantial as beliefs and childhood stories.

  He walked over to his desk and sat down, tapping his computer to make the monitor light up, but he couldn’t concentrate on anything. An image of Lily came to his mind. She was the most amazing female he had ever met. Beautiful, courageous, loving, and she had an inner strength that reminded him of his own mother.

  Lara Rosha Estro was a great mediko on his home world. She wanted to stay on their planet and raise her children, but Jared’s father Devlon, was busy pursuing his own military career.

  His mother had a rough pregnancy with Liam, and the medikos warned her not to try to have another child. Rosha Estro wanted what she wanted, a large family to love. His parents did not have a fated union, but they cared about each other. At least that was what his mother would tell him whenever his father went away on one of his many missions. Jared found that hard to believe when his father was constantly going away on one mission after another. There were times he thought his father loved his career more than his family.

  Jared blamed his father for not taking precautions to prevent his mother from getting pregnant a third time. He knew it was a risk but Commander Devlon thought he knew best or at least allowed himself to be swayed by his mother.

  As a mediko, Jared knew that his father wasn’t the only one to make a decision like that, it took two. As a young man losing his mother, he couldn’t reason it out.

  When Devlon made it home in time to lay his mother’s body to rest, Jared let him have it. It was the first and only real argument he’d ever had with his father.

  “How dare you show up now. It’s too late for you to make your excuses!” Jared stood be
fore his father when all the visitors had finally left their residence. His mother’s body would be sent out into space and the container she was being sent in would cremate her before opening to release her ashes among the stars. It was the way of his people

  “Son, you’re upset right now so I’ll let this attitude of yours slide—”

  “Upset? You should have been here for us—for her!”

  “Where were you son?” His father demanded, “Maybe if you had not been more concerned with getting your cock serviced, you might have been here to get her help faster!”

  Jared swung out and punched his father in the face. He had never hit anyone outside of his training as a warrior, especially not a family member. He waited for his father to strike back, but he never did. His father rubbed his jaw and just stood there silently until Jared walked away. Neither one ever brought up what had happened that day, but it never left Jared.

  Unfortunately, his anger with his father carried to his younger brother Kyle during his mother’s pregnancy. He resented the baby that took his mother from him. At least until the moment the medikos placed Kyle in his arms. All his anger faded away and he felt protective of such a small little thing that looked so much like his mother.

  He tried to be there for Kyle as much as possible, especially since their father had no coping mechanism for losing his mate. Jared took on the task of raising his two younger brothers. It was a lot of responsibility to place on his shoulders, but he was determined to do it for his mother’s sake.

  Lily had done the same thing in a way, taking on raising her son during a time of strife. His mother would have liked her, his own family loved her, and he was falling for her. A sense of peace settled over him. His mind was made up, now all he had to do was convince Lily.

  Chapter 7