Read Online Icarus Unbound by Bernadette Gardner - Free Book Online

research 64

    Icarus Unbound
    by Bernadette Gardner
    station even though they had claimed an island aerie as their permanent home.
    He cringed at the memory, but forced his regrets aside.
    Later he could apologize for his boorish childhood comments.
    Right now he wanted to touch his mate and demonstrate that his need for her transcended all the bad blood that had passed between them over the years.
    "I'll manage somehow." He grabbed her hand and headed into the tiny building with her in tow.
    Within the prefabricated walls he did feel somewhat confined, but he also felt surrounded by Lara. The decor reflected more about who she was than he could have ever gleaned on his own.
    She'd taken the mass-produced dwelling and turned it into a miniature aerie by painting the walls in shades reminiscent of island sandstone. Her belongings were stored in traditional Icarian fashion, hung in nets of alor vines, and though her bed was less than half the size of his, it bore a handmade fiber covering and smelled of the abundant plant which had provided his ancestors with so many of life's amenities.
    Jaran slowed his pace, stunned by the familiarity of his surroundings. "You made this a proper home," he said, running his fingers along a bowl made of the shell of a symbion egg. His gaze wandered to the only human-inspired elements of the decor, photographs of Lara's parents which hung in the entryway.
    "I figured I'd be spending most of my life here, so I modeled it after my parents' aerie." For the space of her response, all malice left her voice. Jaran liked the change.
    65

    Icarus Unbound
    by Bernadette Gardner
    "I'm sure they're pleased with the result."
    "They've never seen it. I moved here after they left for Daedalus."
    Jaran eyed the photographs. He recalled Caleb and Zara being loving, understanding parents who treated their only child with great affection. After losing his own mother, he'd been resentful of many of the happy families of his friends, even after Jidar and Namara took him in and raised him with as much love and care as they did Odan.
    "Don't we have business to attend to?" The caustic tone returned to Lara's voice, breaking the momentary spell that had held Jaran captive.
    Irritation flared in him. He'd come here to demonstrate his arousal to Lara, to claim her and prove to her that last night it had been his choice to forgo his own satisfaction, not any failure of his abilities as a male.
    Now, he felt foolish. His plan to ravage Lara, to let his symbion control their coupling, seemed petty and almost cruel.
    He straightened his wings and cast a wary glance at her.
    "I'm afraid our business will have to wait."
    Shock slackened her features. "What?"
    "I need to return to the aerie. I'm sorry to have interrupted your work day."
    "Huh?" Her wings ruffled, and she hurried across the room when Jaran turned to let himself back out the door. "You changed your mind?"
    "No. I merely need to put off our ... interlude." Jaran crooked a finger beneath her chin and raised her stunned 66

    Icarus Unbound
    by Bernadette Gardner
    gaze to meet his. "I will claim you later. I'll expect you at the aerie by sundown ... and you may leave your clothing here."
    He ran a finger into the collar of her loose shirt, skimming her soft skin.
    She gaped at him and for the first time in her life seemed at a loss for words. A wicked thought crossed Jaran's mind, and without preamble he brushed his lips over hers. The brief taste ignited his once again pent-up passions and after a second, he thrust his tongue past her lips. Rough and demanding, he took her mouth, swallowing her gasp of indignation.
    Shocked by his aggression, she tried to pull away, but he wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and dragged her body against him. Her hands came up to his chest to brace herself, and though she made a show of trying to push him away, he was well aware all of her strength wasn't behind the rejection.
    Her flavor filled his mouth and sent a call of