Chapter 3

Sabra stared at her plate, finding it hard to look up and look at Ben, even when she could feel his gaze on her. He was too important, too necessary for her happiness to give him just an unconcerned glance. She didn't trust herself not to let her feelings show in her eyes where her parents would see everything and then throw one or both of them out.

"You're not eating?"

Sabra glanced at her mom and she pushed another small pile of peas from one side of the plate to the other. "I guess I'm not as hungry as I thought."

Kimber reached out, laying the palm of her hand against Sabra's forehead. "You feel a bit warm. Do you feel all right baby?"

"I'm fine." She picked up her fork and scooped the peas she'd been playing with into her mouth, chewing them and then looking over at her mother. "Happy now?"

At her mother's nod, she went back to pushing her food around her plate, listening as her parents talked to Ben.

"So I think you have us all in a state of suspense, Benjamin. Tell us, what is this big news?"

Ben sighed and wiped his mouth with his napkin before he pushed his plate away. He leaned back against his chair and smiled. "The council has decided. I am to marry."

Sabra felt her heart leap into her throat and then fall to the pit of her stomach. "M-Marry?"

Her stuttered question was pretty much ignored as her parents happy exclamations drowned her out. She sank back against her chair letting her fork fall into her plate. Eating was now impossible and she felt as if what's she'd managed to swallow now became a huge ball of iron in her stomach. She barely blinked back the tears that wanted to fall and only looked up when her mother said her name once more.

"Sabra? Are you not happy for your brother? He will have a wife and hopefully babies soon."

She glanced up at Benjamin, seeing a strange look in his eyes as he stared at her. "Congratulations," she managed to choke out. "I guess I feel worse than I thought." She excused herself and hurried from the room before anyone could say a word. Taking the stairs two at a time, she threw herself upon her bed, letting loose the scream of pain that was tearing apart her soul.

He'd come to her, kissed her, and then tore her heart from her chest all in the space of an hour. How could he look so happy? How could he marry another when he claimed that she was the one he loved?

Tears streamed down her cheeks, sobs tore at her chest until she thought she'd be sick. She almost didn't hear the sly scratching upon her door. Rubbing at her cheeks, she sat up on the bed, trying desperately to scrub away the signs of her pain. "Y-yeah?"

Ben opened the door, seeing the signs of her tears and felt his heart break. She'd left before he'd told her the big news, the news that was destined to change those tears to happiness and bring a smile to her face. He'd barely believed the Council of Twelve when they'd told him the truth of her paternity and their wishes. They were giving him the only thing he'd ever prayed for, the only thing he'd ever dreamed of.

Sabra wasn't his sister, she wasn't a Kozilinski. She'd been given to his parents when he was a little boy, his mother hiding away and pretending to have her to keep her hidden. She was the promised child, the one foretold so many millennia ago that would save his people from the scourge that had searched for her since before her birth.

And she was to be his bride. He'd been chosen because of his devotion to the craft and to the Council and ... to her. They'd somehow seen the love that he and Sabra had fought so desperately to hide, first from each other and then from the world. The Council knew that he'd give his life if it was necessary to keep Sabra safe. He'd gladly vowed to hold her before him for the rest of his life.

Now she sat upon the bed, her eyes red, sobs still clogging her throat. And it hurt him worse than anything had ever hurt him before.

"You didn't wait," he said, rushing to the bed and pulling her into his arms. She was small, curvy and sweet, smelling of strawberries and something spicy that he'd never been able to figure out.

"I-I couldn't. C-c-congratulations." She tried to pull away from him, ever vigilant even when he seemed to not notice the door he'd left open.

But he refused. He turned her face up to his, his hand on her chin and then he took her mouth, allowing all the passion and desire he'd kept bottled inside of him since the first time he realized how he felt about her.

"B-Ben, no..." she tried to say but he didn't let her, his tongue slipping between her parted lips, his hand holding the back of her head to keep her still. But soon it wasn't necessary and she was meeting his demands with some of her own, her hands moving over his chest and shoulders, digging into his hair.

The sound of his father's voice had her fighting to get away from him and she stared at Ben in fright. "D-dad..."

"I see you told her," Caleb Kozilinski said, clapping his hands together.

"T-told m-me?" she asked, trapped in Ben's dark eyes. "T-told me what?"

"I haven't had a chance Dad. But if you give us a few, I'll remedy that."

Sabra felt her jaw drop open as her father nodded and then took the door knob and closed the door behind him. It hung open as she stared back up at Ben.

He chuckled, too happy and eager to tell her of the wondrous news. He reached out and lifted her chin, closing her mouth for her before he turned toward the bed, making himself comfortable as he'd always done in Sabra's small room. Patting the spot he'd left next to him, he wiggled his fingers. "Come here and I'll tell you the rest of our good news."

The use of the word "our" seemed to hit her and she blinked. "Our good news?"

"Well, I consider it our good news but then again, I haven't had a chance to give you any hints or even warn you of what was coming because the Council refused to endanger you in any way. But if you come over her and kiss me, I might be coaxed into telling you." He patted the spot beside him again and then rose and pulled her down. "Come here, my love. I have a story to tell you."

Ben used his thumbs to wipe the stray tears away from her eyes and reached behind him to grab a tissue so that she could blow her nose. Pushing her hair behind her tiny shell-like ears, he bent his head again, the soft kiss that he meant to give her turning into one of heat and need that had her thighs spread and him between them, his hands full of her breasts, under her shirt.

Her body was arching into his, her hips moving rubbing against the heavy ridge that pushed at the zipper of his jeans. He was groaning, panting above her until he felt her tiny hands fumbling at the button of his pants. "No..." he growled, forcing himself away from her. He ended on the floor, next to her closet, his hands up and warning her back.

"God, I can't stop myself. We're going to have to get this wedding done quick," he breathed, rubbing his fingers through his hair. "I want you too damn much to believe."

"I don't understand, Ben. How is your getting married got anything to do with me? Incest is against all the beliefs of our people."

He chuckled but it was a hoarse sound. "It isn't incest if you aren't my sister."

Her eyebrows drew together and she stared at him as if he'd grown two heads. "How am I not your sister? We have the same parents."

"Nope, wrong again, love. Caleb and Kimber Kozilinski are my parents. Your parents died, your father protecting your mother while she was pregnant, your mother died in the birthing process. Mom and Dad petitioned the Council to be the ones to raise you, to keep you safe from any and all that wanted to hurt you. They never even told me of the secret."

Sabra shook her head, her hands in fists in her lap. "I ... I don't understand. Why all the secrecy? Why wasn't I safe? Who wanted to hurt me?"

Ben sighed again, mentally trying to force the desire that was throbbing fiercely through his veins into something containable enough so that he might get the rest of this out, to get her answer to the most important question he was ever going to ask her.

"It is a long story, sweet Sabra." He held his hand up, showing her how it shook. "You do this to me. You make me long to be able to make you mine, physically as well as every other way. God girl, I think I've had a constant hard on since you turned fourteen. How you never knew what I was thinking or feeling, I'll never know."

A small smile touched her lips and she ignored his warning look, sliding to the floor to crawl toward him. "So we aren't related?"

Ben held up his hands, trying to keep her from touching him. But she ignored him, her hands going to the buttons on his shirt, pulling them open.

"Are we?" she asked again, moving closer so that she straddled his legs, her hands pushing open the sides of his shirt. He groaned when her lips touched the heat of his flesh, feeling her tongue moving against the heavy pulse at his neck. His hands went to her hips and he felt himself losing the fight over his own will.

"No," he sighed. "We aren't."

She smiled, her lips moving over his chest, her tongue lapping gently at the hard points of his nipples. "And you want to marry me."

It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact, startling him. "God yes, say you'll marry me." This time when her hands moved to the button on his jeans he had no will to stop her. He could barely find the will to breathe. But a smile curved his lips when he heard her reply.

"I'll marry you."

His hand scrabbled into the pocket of his jeans even as she slid down the zipper, her little hand pushing between the harsh fabric to trace the bulge covered only by the soft cotton of his briefs. He growled his pleasure, pulling the box that contained the ring he'd spent three days shopping for. It had to be perfect, not too big on her little hand but nothing that didn't shout how he felt about her.

He opened it, lifting her chin and taking her hand off his hard cock. "God, you're going to kill me before I even get a chance to put the ring on your hand."

"R-ring?" She dropped her gaze to the dark blue satin lining and the beautiful ring that it held. "Y-you really do want to marry me?"

"You said you would. Don't even try to take that back, Sabra Lynn. I love you and I'm not letting you weasel out on me." He took the ring from the box and grabbed her left hand, sliding the ring onto her tiny finger. It fit perfectly and he lifted it to his lips, kissing the sign of his love and the proof to all that she was his.

"It's beautiful," she whispered, staring at her hand in awe then up into his eyes. "I love you, too, Benjamin Braden Kozilinski. I promise to never weasel out on you."

"And to never leave me," he prompted, rubbing his hands over her back and drawing her closer to him. "It would kill me to lose you or to ever see you look like you did when I came in here tonight."

"I thought I was losing you and you looked so happy about it." She nuzzled against his neck, staring at the ring over his shoulder. It seemed almost fairytalish, a happily ever after ending to the dream she'd had since the first time she'd noticed what a stud her brother was and how much she loved him.

But he wasn't her brother. "You're not my brother and you'll love me forever," she whispered.

"I will, and ten years after that," he promised, lifting her chin to claim her lips. He pulled away only long enough to pull her shirt over her head, pulling the thickness of her hair around her slim shoulders. Then his tongue was dueling with hers, his hands slipping over the tiny strap that held her bra in place. "I want you so much," he groaned, tugging the fabric down her arms. Her breasts pressed against his chest and he thought he'd go up in flames. Her taste was on his lips, the feel of her breath against his skin. "Tell me you want me," he ordered.

"I do. I want you desperately." She pressed her breasts harder against him, groaning at the spurt of heat that it sent to her pussy. "I'm so w-wet," she admitted, feeling her cheeks turning pink.

He growled at her admission, his hands curving around her waist, drawing her to her knees. He found one tender nipple, the pretty pink bud rigid on his tongue. She was sweet, addictive and he didn't know how he'd be able to stop now that he'd had his first taste. He sucked her in, his cheeks hollowing, hearing her moans and feeling her hands dig into his hair, holding him against her. His tongue flicked over it, his teeth nibbling on the delicious treat.

Her head fell back, his name a hoarse moan on her lips. "More, baby. Please, I want more."

Ben's mouth moved to her other breast and he wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her easily in his strong arms. He laid her on the floor next to her bed, his lips never leaving the turgid tip. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she moved under him, her body gently undulating against him.