by A. R. Kayne
“My future?” She gazed at him with wide, uncomprehending eyes.
“Your future. What you’d like to do with your life. Where you’d like to live. Those kinds of things.” Things like being underneath him while he pounded into her, for example. Or being pressed against a wall or riding him. That was a future he could endorse. With some effort, Pryce tore his eyes away from her breasts and kept them on her face.
“I haven’t thought about it,” she said in troubled tones, “I suppose I’ll be returning to my home.”
Pryce’s heart pounded. The hell she would. If he couldn’t talk her out of it, he’d lock her in a cabin until they were so far from the planet there was no possible way for her to return.
“You can do that,” he lied, “but I don’t recommend it. Between the Ghul and the remaining Imperials, Draco isn’t safe. Once one side or the other hears about the events you’ve been involved in – and they will, given who Ro’s family is – you’ll be arrested and interrogated. You’ll be dead within the week.”
She began to pace, clearly upset. “Where will I go, then? What will I do?”
“You can stay here, on this ship.”
“Am I supposed to leave everything I know? Draco is my home. My parents lived and died there. I buried my grandmother there. What would I do on a ship like this? How would I earn my way? I have no coin and no real skills, not of the type people like yours would value.”
Pryce waited for her to run out of words before he spoke, keeping his tones as calm and reassuring as he could.
“I know the idea of starting a new life is frightening. But Jess, everyone you knew and loved on Draco is gone. If you go back, you will be too. Your old life is already over.
“Ro’s family is extremely grateful for what you did. In their culture, sacrifice and debt are taken very seriously. They now consider you one of their family. They’ve asked me to see that you’re safe and cared for.” Actually, before he’d explained that Jess was his match, they were going to take her to live with them. He’d quickly put a stop to that. “You can do whatever you’d like; they’ll gladly pay for it. They’ll house and support you forever, if necessary.”
She shook her head emphatically, her hair swishing around her shoulders. “I don’t want that. They don’t owe me anything. I was glad to help Ro. I just want to learn, be useful, and do interesting things.”
He smiled at her. “I hoped you might say that. I have a proposal for you. Stay on this ship and study and train. The ship is primarily a research vessel. It’s full of smart people who do interesting things; it’s a wonderful place to live and learn. Before we leave, I’ll personally fly you down to Draco so you can collect your belongings and say goodbye to your old home.”
Jess scrubbed a hand through her hair, frowning as she considered his suggestion. “Alright. That sounds sensible, I guess. I’ve always hated the fact that I had to leave school and hide when the Ghul came. I can’t imagine I’ll be of any use on the ship, but I’d be a fool to turn down the chance to learn. Maybe if I learn enough, I can be useful somewhere else.”
She sagged down on a chair. She looked extremely tired, Pryce realized. It wasn’t surprising. After all, his troops had rousted her in the middle of the night while she was asleep. She’d spent the hours since then fighting, arguing, and taking care of a child. Now she was having the very foundations of her life rearranged.
“Good. We need to leave soon, before we attract the attention of the Ghul, but first we’ll fly down and retrieve your belongings. You can have a brief rest before we go. Think about what you’ll bring back.”
He couldn’t wait to see her old home and learn more about her. The troops had mentioned some interesting things in her home, devices cobbled together out of salvaged junk. He had a hunch that there was more to her than met the eye, more than one would expect of an unkempt woman clad in rags.
“Thank you. That would be nice.”
“There’s just one more thing to discuss, then I’ll have you shown to your new quarters.”
“What’s that?”
Her expression was guileless and unsuspecting. Pryce felt a pang of guilt, as though he was about to spring a trap on an innocent. He quickly staunched it.
“There’s the matter of your test results.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Pryce
Pryce flipped a stylus in the air while he considered his next words. As had often been the case since meeting Jess, he had to stifle a grin.
“Jess, we did some tests. You have extremely high physical and mental compatibility with one of the men on this ship. It’s in excess of ninety-nine percent, so high that it’s almost unbelievable.”
Her eyes narrowed and her lips pressed into a thin line. “What does that mean? What tests?”
“While you and I were chatting earlier, the shipboard computer analyzed your personality. Your DNA and other physical characteristics were assessed during your medical exam. The computer used those to create a profile. This is standard procedure; it’s done to everyone who comes to live on the ship, not just you. It just happens that you’re a close match to one of the men on board.
“Many of us who serve on ships have trouble finding mates. We spend most of our lives on the ship, often around the same few people, and our personalities can be … unusual. Some people find partners among their crew mates, but many don’t. It’s very exciting when a solid match is found.”
She stared at him, gape-mouthed. “I don’t understand even half of what you just said. I don’t know what you mean by DNA or percent. I guess a computer is a kind of machine? Are you saying that a machine watched me talk and decided to offer me to some man? Am I supposed to believe that works? Why would I want that? It sounds like a really bad idea. Maybe I should take my chances back on Draco. At least the Ghul will be honest about torturing me.”
Oh shit! No! Why hadn’t he waited to tell her until the ship had left Draco’s system?
“No, no. It’ll be fine,” he said hastily. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
She placed a fist on her cocked hip and glared at him. “Now why don’t I believe you? Maybe it’s because you sound just like my granny when she was trying to force something nasty down my throat.”
Pryce shook his head. “You aren’t being offered to anyone and you aren’t going to be. It’s just a matter of compatibility. Possibilities. It means you’d probably have a good life with him. As for why you might want it, people pair up for all sorts of reasons. For companionship, because they love the person, to have children, or for physical pleasure. Only you can decide whether you want any of those things.”
She scowled darkly. “Who is it? Who is this man I’m supposed to let knock me down so he can drive his barbs through my skin?”
The conversation wasn’t going at all as Pryce had hoped. People were usually delighted when they learned about a match. That was normally followed by a period of dating, a celebration, and formal partnership. Relationships began in other ways, of course, but having the compatibility match was reassuring. It was a sign that it was safe to get serious.
On the other hand, why had he expected her to be happy about it? He’d clearly been thinking with his dick, not his brain. She had no basis for understanding matching or anything else on the ship. Hell, he’d even had to show her how the cleansing chamber worked. Perhaps he needed to rethink his approach. There was a legal obligation to tell her there was a match, but there was wiggle room about giving her details.
She just needed time to adjust, that was all. Things would be fine after she settled in on the ship, learned its customs, and had a sex education course. Maybe in a month or two he could even seduce her; that would be fun. But in the meantime, he needed to stall. If she learned that she was matched to him, there was no telling what she’d do. It might even be violent and involve a bunch of screeching. He didn’t want to have to subdue her; it would get their relationship off to a bad start.
“There won’t be any barbs or sti
nging,” he said firmly. “People on the ship don’t do that. You know, Jess, I think we should postpone the rest of this conversation. You’ve faced enough tough decisions for one day. There’s no hurry to decide anything else. I just want you to know that if you do want a partner someday, the opportunity is there. For now, I think you’ll be happiest if you get comfortable with life on the ship and focus on having a variety of experiences.”
At least, Pryce hoped that would be the case. He hoped this situation wouldn’t turn into a crushing disaster. He was trying to do what he thought was wisest, but he was having to fight his own desires to do it.
“What does that mean? How am I supposed to do those things?” She looked overwhelmed.
“Don’t worry. It’ll happen naturally. After you get settled, I’ll have someone show you around the ship. We have a wide variety of activities on board. You can try them and find ones you like. You’ll also be studying and working. Life will fall into a rhythm.
“Once you’re comfortable, I’ll make sure you meet both your predicted mate and some other men. Some of them will probably ask you on dates, or you can ask them if you’d like. You can visit with them, have fun, and decide whether any of them appeal to you. There’s no pressure.”
Pryce had to force the words through his lips. Letting her date other men went against every instinct he had, but he knew the psych department would insist on it. However, if he got her in his bed fast enough, maybe it wouldn’t get that far.
Jess glared at him from across the room. “No pressure? That’s a huge amount of pressure! How am I supposed to know if I like someone? What if I decide I do want a mate but I choose the wrong person? I don’t even know if I want a man. Maybe I don’t! You say there’ll be no stinging, but my grandmother always said men were bad and not to trust them.”
Pryce ignored the latter part of her rant. Based on other things Jess had said, he suspected that her grandmother had been a bit eccentric. “It will all happen naturally. You’ll see men around the ship and you’ll work with them. You’ll chat with them and get to know them. Over time, you’ll form friendships and get a better sense of whether you want more involvement with anyone.”
She shook her head, utterly bewildered. “How am I supposed to do any of that? I haven’t had a friend since I was a little girl. The only thing I ever did with boys was chase them and throw rocks. I don’t know anything about men and mating. It wasn’t even something I thought about. I just assumed I’d die alone.”
“Believe me, you’re overthinking it. These things have a way of working themselves out. I’ll be available when you need to talk. So will the medical and psych staff, if there are issues you’d prefer to discuss with someone else.”
Jess flung her hands in the air and resumed pacing. “I can’t do that, the man thing. I don’t even want to think about it! I just want to learn and be useful. You’re the first man I’ve ever really talked to. You seem nice and it’s been interesting but I don’t want more than that. I’m tired just from coming to this ship of yours and meeting so many people. I don’t know which end of me is up anymore.”
Pryce allowed himself a private grin while her back was turned. She didn’t want to meet other men? That was fine with him!
“Focusing on studying is a good idea,” he said smoothly. “You’re young. There’s no hurry to change other aspects of your life. You and I will meet regularly for study sessions. When we do, you can update me on whatever you’d like.”
He really was rotten, Pryce suddenly realized, and he couldn’t help smiling at that realization. He’d just manipulated her into spending all of her free hours with him and avoiding the other male members of the crew.
“In the meantime,” he continued, “why don’t you go to your quarters and have a brief rest? I’ve arranged for you to have a cabin connected to mine, so you can contact me immediately whenever you need. I’ll have you shown there now.”
Pryce led Jess to the door, smiled at her benignly, then slapped at his com the instant his assistant escorted her away. “Kellis, it’s Pryce. I’ve been thinking about that report you showed me. I’d like a list of the thirty men on this ship who are least compatible with Jess. I’m particularly interested in homosexuals.”
Pryce leaned back in his chair, grinning wickedly. Yes, he’d gone through the motions of behaving ethically, but when it came down to it, he really was a bastard. Even worse, he was beginning to relish that fact. It wasn’t every day a man met his matched mate, much less one as smart and sexy as Jess. He intended to make the most of it.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jess
What should she leave and what should she take? Jess looked around her small dugout home. Building it was the greatest achievement of her life, but a scant few hours on the ship had shown her it was nothing.
True, it wasn’t at its best. Pryce’s troops had wrecked it the night they came for Ro, smashing through the concealed entrance and strewing her possessions everywhere. The floor was littered with broken bottles, scavenged cloth, and bits of rope and string. But even before the soldiers came, the place had been dim, dirty, and squalid, with a ceiling just barely higher than her head.
It had started out as a niche in the side of a hill, with so much brush in front it was barely visible. She’d hollowed it out and reinforced it by herself, because the work was too hard for her grandmother. It had been their home for years, providing shelter from the rain and a place to huddle when the weather turned cold. Now, after a single day on the ship, she realized how little it amounted to.
“What are you thinking?” Pryce asked, watching her closely.
“How my life has been a bunch of nothing.” She settled down on the narrow bed she’d once been so proud of, crafted from tree limbs and leather strips. She plucked a small leather slipper and a wooden toy knife off the floor and smiled sadly. They were Ro’s things, left behind after the skirmish with Pryce’s guards. They weren’t needed anymore, and they hadn’t been that good to begin with. His parents could provide everything he needed, and of far higher quality.
Pryce sat down beside her, took the things, and studied them. Compassion was written on his face and on the faces of the six guards clustered outside the doorway, even the ones she’d previously tried to kill.
“No, it hasn’t been nothing, not at all. You didn’t have much to work with, but you did a lot with it. Show us through your home and tell us about it. We’ll record it. It may be that the most precious things you can take from here are your memories. We’ll record them so you can see them whenever you need to.”
Jess gazed out at the hillside and the trees she’d seen so many times before. The view was clearer now that Pryce’s soldiers had trampled over the deadfall she’d used to hide the cave’s entrance. She would miss it.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Tell us where you came from. Where did you live before? Why did you come here?”
“My family and I lived in a little white house in the city by the great water.” She smiled a little, remembering. “We were happy. My parents laughed a lot and loved each other. I’d fall asleep at night hearing them talking in their room.
“I was ten years old when my grandmother moved in with us. One afternoon she took me to the market for sweets. ‘Your mother is carrying two babies and needs a rest,’ she told me. ‘You and I will have a nice walk so she can do that.’ We went to the market and walked by gardens filled with flowers on our way home. It was a lovely sunny day just like any other.
“We were almost home when the first ships went over. We heard blasts and screams and the ground rocked. Down the street, I saw my parents rush out of our house. My mother looked up, gasped, and screamed ‘Run!’. An instant later, there was a crackle of energy in the air. She and my father were scorched until they turned black and their bodies crumbled.
“I froze. I didn’t understand what I was seeing. My grandmother yanked me off the street and forced me beneath some rubble. ‘Be quiet and hide, chil
d,’ she said. She clamped her hand over my mouth and held me close while the ships circled over our city, turning it to dust and cinders. I didn’t know what the Ghul were. Until that day, I’d never heard of them. But in a single afternoon, they destroyed us. They reduced us to animals.
“At dusk the ships left and we came out. Bodies were everywhere. So was the stench of burned flesh. We were numb, almost beyond tears or terror. Grandma led me to the edge of the city, where the land began to turn wild. It too was scorched. Others had tried to make the same trip, but too early in the day. Ghul foot soldiers had shot the ones not killed by the ships. My grandma rummaged through their discards, filling packs with what we might need.
“As we neared the woods, a girl lay in our way, blindly staring up at the sky. At first I didn’t understand that she was dead. ‘She’s beyond our help, poor thing,’ said my grandma, ‘But we’re alive and we’re going to have to do things we don’t like. She’s about your size. Take her shoes and her coat. She doesn’t need them anymore. Say a prayer for her. Her spirit will forgive you.’
“I felt like a monster when I pulled the clothes off the girl’s body. It was the first time I stole from the dead but it wasn’t the last. I’ve prayed to that girl and thanked her every night since then.”
Jess felt Pryce’s arm around her shoulder, comforting but not intruding. She leaned against him. “Did you make it out without trouble?” he asked.
“Yes. The Ghul were gone, at least for that day. But we didn’t know that. We stumbled through the woods in the dark, bumping into trees and feeling our way over hummocks. We walked until we couldn’t go any further. The next day, we got up and did it again. We did that over and over again until the city was far behind.
“It wasn’t rough terrain, but we weren’t prepared. We had a little food but not enough. I’d never walked long distances before, so my feet blistered, bled, and scarred. So did my grandma’s. She wasn’t young, even then, and she was grieving and trying to keep me alive. Each day she got weaker and tireder. I think the only reason she kept walking was for me.
