Mated (The Sandaki Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

shower system. Women would never leave their homes again.
    Finally, she was able to gain her feet so she could leave the bathroom. Thankfully, no one was waiting to use it. On shaky legs, she made it to her pallet and collapsed onto it. Between the exercise and the fabulous orgasm, Laira was exhausted. She pulled a gray blanket up to cover herself and promptly went to sleep.
     
    Laira breathed deep, feeling the burn through her muscles as she ran. Isha turned out to be an excellent jogging companion. The planet she hailed from required many muscles to swim. Though she no longer had the fins, the musculature was still there waiting to be utilized. Since they’d begun exercising together, Laira liked it for more than just the activity it afforded them. She enjoyed Isha’s company far more than she had anyone else’s at home. She let the reflection enter and exit at will. She found that forcing thoughts of home from her head made them dig in their heels that much deeper. When that happened, the tears came, and Laira hated crying. Tears meant weakness, and right now, she couldn’t afford that. Instead, she tried to focus solely on the here and now. She didn’t think about the future, nor did she think about the past. It brought a sort of peace she’d never really known before.
    Laira stopped dead, stunned by her own reasoning. There was no way this could be peaceful. Could it? Jeez Louise, maybe she was losing her mind. Maybe she was really locked up in a mental ward.
    “What is it?” Isha ran back to join her. “You look…odd.”
    Laira gave a small laugh though there was nothing funny about any of this. “When I run, things kind of rush around in my head. And one of them caught me off guard, that’s all.”
    “Would you like to talk about it?”
    Laira opened her mouth to shake Isha off, but stopped. Maybe hearing it said aloud would banish the idea. “I realized that being here made me focus on now, not what was in the past and not what was going to happen. And doing this brought a peace that home didn’t give me. Is that crazy, or what?”
    Isha watched her intently. “No, I do not think it is. I have heard you talk about your world, and it sounds very hurried and stressful. Perhaps, whether you like it or not, being here has given you the chance to rest as being on your planet never did. There are no obligations here. No worries. All we have to do is focus on ourselves, which often can be an uncomfortable preoccupation.”
    Laira laughed for real. “You know, girl, you’re damn smart.”
    “Yes, I am.” And with that, Isha started off again with Laira running along behind, still smiling.
    After their run and shower, the two women eased down on some cushions in the center of the room. In the time she’d been in the Silarin’s hold, she’d discovered that the bizarre sounds she heard emanating around the room was actually supposed to be music. Today, the tune that played in the background sounded like a bunch of kids hitting spoons on a metal fence. If it was supposed to inspire serenity, it didn’t do the job. In fact, it set Laira’s teeth on edge and made her nerves more frayed, if that was possible. Most days, she came away from the chamber with a headache that only a run could get rid of. Today she wasn’t sure, but felt as if killing someone would be a better idea.
    “Can I ask what we’re listening to?” Laira whispered to Isha.
    “The music comes from Garja’s home,” Isha explained.
    “Okay, so why do we have to listen to it all the time?”
    “From what others have told me, she set herself up as the…supreme one here.”
    “We’re all being held against our wills. What makes her any better than the rest of us?”
    Isha shrugged, a gesture she had picked up from Laira among other things. “I do not know. This is what someone told me.”
    “So if I wanted to hear something else, what would I do? This noise has gotten on my last nerve.”
    “You are stirring up trouble.” Isha