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already, but Slone did recognize her reactions to her situation. He wasn’t about to let her move an inch. “Don’t even think it. Not until you eat and drink something.”
    She looked away, her blush spreading.
    Ja’Rol crouched next to them, directly in front of her. “Why didn’t you tell us? We would have taken care of you.”
    “Because I don’t know you,” she whispered, her voice dry.
    Slone picked up the ginger ale, holding it for her. “Drink, then we’ll figure this out.”
    “Her father has used food to manipulate her most of her life. She’s used to going without.”
    Ja’Rol’s growl was silent but clear to Slone. “ No more.” Then he gave Slone a broad, toothy grin. “ If we meet, can I breathe on him?”
    Slone chuckled, hiding it in Brigit’s hair. “ Bad boy.” Ja’Rol only shrugged.
    Inhaling by her ear, her scent filled his lungs. “ She is sweetness and caring. I am already discovering feelings for her.” He couldn’t restrain the awe in his heart, and he didn’t try to hide it.
    “She will need lots of love,” Ja’Rol said, his warming gaze drifting over the blonde in Slone’s arms. “ Brigit has not had many male role models. I think that is why she is so happy for her mother finding Gene. She sees him as the exception to the rule, someone her mother deserves after being with Brigit’s father.”
    Slone caught the other man’s honeyed gaze. “ She doesn’t believe she deserves the same?” It had been a different era the last time Slone had a female mate. How could she not know she deserved every courtesy?
    Ja’Rol sadly shook his head. “ One of the female mental beliefs I’ve seen over the years. They become conditioned into believing they are unworthy, for any number of reasons. She will be resistant, because her father has taught her she is unworthy.”
    Slone sat in silence for several minutes, letting her sip at the ginger ale at her own pace, his mind a whirlwind.
    Glancing over her head, he told Ja’Rol, “ I will let you breathe on him, but only after I do.”
    Ja’Rol spun to hide his laughter, his broad shoulders shaking with his mirth.
    Slone noticed she’d almost finished the ginger ale, and handed her the water, taking the one she’d drained. “Drink.”
    “I don’t want anymore.” She refused to grasp the cup.
    “You’re dehydrated and weak. You fainted because the take-off made you dizzy and nauseous.” He brought the cup to her lips. “Drink,” he told her tenderly. “Please.”
    Her lips molded to the cup rim and his gaze locked on her soft mouth. He grasped with a fleeting will to restrain the heat stiffening his cock. She was beautiful, a waif in comparison to them, but lush of body.
    “Slone,” Ja’Rol warned. “ Control.”
    Slone drew a long breath and closed his eyes and mind to the bewitching creature on his lap.
    “Easier said than done, my friend.”
    A mental touch of commiseration and understanding helped to ground him more. “ I know, lover. She is something unique, is she not?”
    “Unique and fragile, and wonderful.”
    When that cup was drained, he wrapped his arms around her and rested her head on his shoulder. Moments later, the tantalizing scents of chicken soup filled the kitchen and the rear of the plane.
    Ja’Rol walked over with a tall, steaming mug and spoon. “Take this, Brigit. It will help calm your stomach.”
    She eyed him warily. “Why are you being so nice?”
    He smiled indulgently, his gaze locking with Slone’s. “ I believe that is what they call a loaded question.” With his attention on her, he replied, “Because you are the daughter of a close friend, a woman who worked with us for more than a decade. Because it is the way we are, and because at the moment, you need someone to look after you.”
    “I’m almost thirty,” she retorted, implying that she was fine by herself. Then she tipped her chin away with a firmness to her jaw.
    Slone’s laughter was deeply hidden. “