Free The Power of Three by Kate Pearce

chancellor of the university system, and
the head of the Pavlovan military, who spoke to her at length about
his interest in her abilities. By the time he’d moved on, most of
the crew had dispersed leaving Esca, Trenx and her with the
reception committee.
    She turned to see Esca approaching a slim,
fair-haired male who had obviously just arrived. To her surprise,
Esca went down on one knee and kissed the man’s hand.
    “ First Male.”
    “ Second.”
    In less than a moment, Esca was standing
again and looking around.
    “ Private Lang? I’d like you to meet my
First Male, Ash.”
    She found herself moving forward, her hand
held out, her entire attention focused on the quiet face of the man
in front of her. She wanted to touch him, to see if she could even
attempt to understand the beautiful complexity of his shields, a
protection system that rivaled her own.
    “ Private Lang.”
    His voice was as quiet and refined as she’d
anticipated. He was nothing like Esca, and yet she could already
see why they were paired. It was definitely a case of extreme
opposites attracting, but where did that leave her?
    “ Senator.”
    She took his proffered hand and felt as if
she’d received a static shock. A slight widening of his blue eyes
made her think he’d felt something similar, but there was no break
in his shields.
    “ Thank you for saving my mate’s
life.”
    “ As I was just saying to your president
I think he saved mine as well.”
    “ Then perhaps I should be doubly
grateful.” He turned to Esca. “Did you ask Private Lang if she is
comfortable staying with us, or did you just assume she would
be?”
    “ It’s a separate suite. She can lock
the door if she can’t stand the sight of us.” Esca scowled at his
mate. “Shall we go?”
    Ash turned back to Soreya. He was still
holding her hand. “He’s correct that it is a separate suite, but
you will have to see us if you want to eat or leave the apartment.
Would you prefer to be on your own?”
    “ I think I’d like the company—if you’re
okay with that,” she added quickly. “I don’t want to
impose.”
    His smile was beautiful. “Don’t worry about
that. If it weren’t for you Esca wouldn’t have come back. Whatever
happens, I’ll always be grateful for his return.”
    Esca snorted. “He thought I was going to
die.”
    “ You nearly did.” Soreya retorted,
aware of Ash’s amused glance on them. He walked toward the exit and
she followed him, Esca at her side into the V.I.P. area of the
spaceport. Ash moved with the air of a man used to being waited on.
He still made time to smile and thank the people who ran around
him, finding his vehicle, checking paperwork and generally making
their departure as smooth as possible.
    The vehicle they were ushered into was large
and comfortable. Esca sat beside her, one arm across the back of
the seat, and Ash sat opposite them.
    “ I hope you’ll both excuse me while I
attend to some senate business,” Ash said.
    “ He’s always busy,” Esca grumbled. “I
have to make an appointment just to talk to him these
days.”
    Ash ignored him, his fingers tapping over a
communications tablet, his thoughts flying so fast that Soreya
could hardly identify that he was transmitting information at all.
And that was unusual. She was usually better than anyone she’d ever
met. It was tempting to simply sit back and bask in his psychic
aura—the miniscule piece he let her access, anyway. His shields
really were exceptional.
    * * *
    Esca glanced from Ash to Soreya but he
couldn’t tell anything from their expressions. They both had an
annoying ability to look calm and uninterested that he lacked. But
he could still sense the tension in the air, the awareness that
fizzed between the three of them like lightening.
    He was damn sure that he was right and
that she was their Female. All he had to do now was try not to frek
things up. When the limo slowed, Ash caught his attention. “Can you show Private Lang around?