by M. K. Eidem
"Really?"
"Yes. Is it not that way on Earth?"
"Not really. As I've said before, food really isn't an issue for most people on Earth. 'Well provided for' is more like making sure you have a nice house, a nice car, nice coverings, and enough credits to purchase whatever you want." Jen listened to what she was saying and realized how shallow that sounded, but that was exactly what she and Todd had been working for. And it was exactly what they'd had to give up with Kimmy coming to live with them.
"I see." Treyvon frowned as his gaze traveled over the sparseness of where they were. His home on Crurn had more comfortable furnishings than this, but it wasn't the opulence he'd seen in either the Palace or any of the homes that had females in them. He was a Warrior and didn't need much, especially when he was off planet. It wasn't that he didn't have the credits or the position that allowed him to have such things, as many of his Generals did, he just never felt the need. Would Jennifer see that as a failure on his part? His gaze returned to her. Even the beautiful covering she was wearing had been provided to her by someone else.
"Treyvon, what's wrong?" Reaching out, she covered his fisted hand with her own.
"You must view me as an unworthy male."
"What?!! Why would you say that?!!"
"Because of these surroundings. They are inadequate for a female."
"Treyvon…"
"And then there are your coverings. Although they are beautiful, I did not provide them for you."
"Treyvon…"
"And then…"
"Treyvon! Shut up!”
He reared back, glaring at her, unused to anyone talking to him like that. “What?”
“Do you think any of that matters to me?”
“But you just said…”
“That that’s the way it is on Earth, but we’re not on Earth now, are we? And anyway, none of that matters to me! My God, don't you know that this," she waved her arm around the room, "is a luxury to me after sleeping in a cave? That while I love this covering," she touched what she was wearing, "that I'd be just as happy wearing what you originally gave me."
"I've given you nothing that shows how much I value you."
"You see, that's where you're wrong. You show me you value me every day in so many small ways." Reaching out, she placed gentle fingers on his lips, stopping him from speaking. "You gave me a reason to be here by allowing me access to your food stores. You didn't have to do that. You found me quarters near Mac, knowing I would be more comfortable there. Something else you didn't have to do. You even furnished me with sheets and shampoos from your personal supplies."
"How could you possibly know they came from my personal supplies?" he asked, savoring the feel of her fingers against his lips.
Jen gave him a small smile. "I've slept on the sheets in Medical and on the sheets on your bed. Did you really think I wouldn't notice the difference? Or how the only time I ever notice a particular scent is when I'm near you or showering? You are always giving me gentle touches and looks, Treyvon. You immediately believed me about the rings instead of Rachana. Even last night, when you were filled with so much pain and grief, you didn't hurt me."
"I would never hurt you, Jennifer."
"I know that, and that's how I know you care and value me. The rest… it doesn't matter. Not to me. They're just things."
"You are so different than any female I have ever met."
"Is that good or bad?" she asked lowering her hand.
"It is good, very good." He captured her small, soft hand and brought it back to his lips, kissing her knuckles. "It makes me want things that I never thought I could have before."
"And what's that?"
"Everything." His eyes bored into hers wanting her to see his truth. "Everything you are willing to give, everything you are willing to share. I want you in my quarters, Jennifer. Living there. Resting there."
Jen was shocked for a moment at the blunt words then realized she shouldn't be. Treyvon had always been forthright with her, had never lied to her. Even when she didn't like it, he told her the truth.
"Does that offend you? Go against your Earth traditions?"
"No to both. But I didn't think Kaliszians rested with anyone who wasn't wearing one of their beads."
"We don't, but you are not Kaliszian."
"So you do rest with them if they are non-Kaliszians?"
"I don't know of any male that does, but that could be because the only females now available to us are Kaliszian."
"Really? What about that other species? What did you call them? The Tornians."
"While there are tales of how once all the species in the Known Universes were compatible, it was before the Great Infection struck. After that, we no longer could. It has affected the Tornians the most.
"What do you mean?"
“While the Goddess allows us to still present fit offspring, she took away our ability to provide them with the abundant nutrition. For the Tornians, she allows them to have more than enough to feed their people but limits the number of females conceived. Now there are so few Tornian females that they are fiercely protected. The Tornians would kill any male that tried to claim one."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. Their situation has become so dire that they are now searching for a species that they can produce fit offspring with."
"Fit offspring?"
"Yes. Since the Great Infection, any offspring conceived between a non-Tornian female and a Tornian male rarely survives long after it is presented."
"What about the Kaliszians? Are you able to have fit offspring with other species?" She suddenly realized that while she and Mac had discussed the possibility of Mac becoming pregnant, Jen hadn't given any thought to the fact that she could be after last night with Treyvon. Was it even possible?
"The only other species would be either the Zaludians or the Ganglians." He saw the disgust that crossed her face and agreed with her. He would never consider either species a viable option, but then he wasn't desperate to save his people, at least not that way.
"What about that other one?" she questioned. "The one you were defending the Kaliszian Empire against?"
"The Ratak?"
"Yes."
"We really don't know that much about them. They are a very elusive and secretive species. They typically arrive, take what they want, then disappear. It has only been in the last few years that they have started trying to claim parts of our territory."
"And you've never captured any?"
"None that have lived long enough for us to get any useful information from. They are fierce Warriors that continue to fight unless a death blow has been delivered."
Jen let her gaze travel over his face for a moment taking in his expression. "You respect them."
"They fight with skill and honor, and where we have driven them out, the indigenous inhabitants had been well treated."
"That would be a hard thing to do when you are an invading force."
"Yes. So you aren't offended by my request?" he asked, getting back to what really mattered to him.
"To live with you? No, but I still don't understand why you thought I would be."
"Because I am not offering you my Ashe bead first." He wanted to, the Goddess knew he did, but she'd made just such a commitment to her Todd, and he wasn't sure she'd be willing to do so again… not with him. "A Kaliszian female would be highly insulted at the request."
"Because exchanging beads for you is like exchanging wedding rings for us."
"Yes."
"I… I'm not ready to make a commitment like that, Treyvon."
"I know this, Jennifer, which is why I didn't offer it." He kissed her knuckles again.
"I'm not offended or insulted, Treyvon, but are you?" Her eyebrows drew together as her gaze searched his.
"Me?"
"That I'm not demanding it? It has nothing to do with Aadi or that I think less of you. It's because…"
"You are not yet ready."
"Yes."
"But you are willing to live with me in my quarters?" he pressed. "To rest with me?"
"Yes."
"Then that is enough…" ‘For now,’ he silently finished then rose, pulling her into his arms to capture her lips for a hard, demanding kiss. Lifting her, he carried her into his quarters… now their quarters. He planned on showing her just how grateful he was when Liron's distinct ring came from his comm.
"Treyvon?" Jen asked lifting desire-filled eyes to his. "What is it?"
"Liron's on the comm," he told her gruffly.
"Oh." She started to remove her arms that were wrapped around his neck so he could put her down, but instead he carried her with him to his desk and settled her across his lap. "Treyvon, what are you doing?"
"I'm not ready to let you go yet," he told her, then leaning forward connected the transmission.
"But…" she cut herself off when Liron's face suddenly appeared on the screen. The slight widening of his eyes was the only indication he gave that finding her in Treyvon's lap was anything unusual.
''Treyvon, am I interrupting something?" Liron questioned.
"Yes, Jennifer has just agreed to move into my quarters."
"What?" Liron brought his face closer to the screen, his gaze searching. "She wears your Ashe bead?!!"
"No," Treyvon said.
"But…" Liron's gaze flew to her.
"I'm not offended, and it's between Treyvon and me," she told the Emperor.
"I see." But she could see he didn't.
"Why are you contacting me, Liron?" Treyvon asked. "Has something happened?"
"No, I wanted to be updated on what Commander Nikhil found."
"At this time of night?" Treyvon knew Liron was still on Imroz and that it was a great deal later there."
"Is it late?" Liron asked frowning.
Treyvon nodded, knowing that when Liron started working, he often lost track of time. "Yes."
"Umm, I'll just…" She tried to wiggle out of Treyvon's lap, so the two could talk freely, but instead Treyvon pulled her even closer, letting her feel how her movements were causing his erection to grow.
"Be still," he growled, enjoying the blush that colored her cheeks when she realized what she was feeling beneath her. Then he turned his attention back to Liron. "Nikhil was able to get more precise readings on where the signal was when it was on planet but still can't find what was transmitting it. My initial belief was that either you or a member of your party was carrying the transmitter, as we were able to track the intermittent signal from the Monarch to my Command Center. I also believed that the reason so many missiles were fired was because the signal wasn't strong enough to give a precise location."
"What changed that belief?" Liron asked.
"Nikhil discovered that right before the attack, the signal became strong and steady and it was emanating from the gairdín. Neither you nor any of your party went anywhere near there."
"That is where the only missile that got through hit," Liron mused quietly.
"Yes," Treyvon agreed, his arms tightening around Jennifer. He couldn't help but remember she had been in that gairdín and that he had nearly lost her there.
"And Nikhil's found no one connected to all those locations?" Liron asked.
"No," Treyvon replied.
"Yes," Jen whispered, her mind racing, seeing what they weren't. She knew about the signal that had drawn Treyvon and a large number of his Warriors back to the mine so that the Zaludians could attack and try and get Mac back. But she hadn't known anything about there being another one. One being sent from Liron's ship, then from Treyvon's office, and finally from in the gairdín. The gairdín where she had been sitting holding the rings the Zaludians had taken from Todd.
"What are you talking about, Jennifer?" Reaching down, Treyvon tipped her chin up until she was forced to meet his frowning gaze.
"There wasn't a someone in all those places, but there was something. Something that was once in the Zaludians’ possession."
Treyvon's eyes widened as he realized what she was referring to. "Your rings."
"Yes," she agreed.
"But you still have them… don't you?" Liron's question had Jen looking back to him on the screen.
"No," she admitted.
"What do you mean no?" Liron demanded. "You fought to get them back. So why would you no longer have them?"
"That's none of your business!" Jen fired back not caring that she was yelling at the Emperor.
"It is if you are a part of this!"
"A part of this? A part of this?!!" Jen's voice rose as she bent forward against Treyvon's restraining arm until she was nearly nose-to-nose with Liron's image on the screen. "You think I'd help the Zaludians nearly kill me for the third time! If you're that stupid, then it’s no wonder someone wants you dead!"
"Jennifer," Treyvon whispered quietly, "you are speaking to the Emperor."
"So?" She turned, her eyes blazing into Treyvon's. "That doesn't mean he can't still be an idiot!"
Treyvon was sure that later he would find the expression on Liron's face humorous, but not right now, not when his friend and Emperor's life was at stake.
"Truth," he agreed, earning himself a glare from Liron, but he kept his focus on Jennifer, "but right now we need to know what happened to your rings." The fire left her eyes as he gently cupped her cheek then prompted. "Tell me."
"I threw them," she told him quietly.
"What?" he questioned, unable to hide his shock.
"I just got so angry sitting there under the Crann." Her eyes pleaded with his for understanding. "Thinking about everything that had happened because of those rings. Todd died because of them. I attacked someone because of them." She shook her head in disbelief. "That's not right. They're just bits of stone and metal."
"That were given to you by your Dasho, a male you cared a great deal for," Treyvon replied quietly.
"So? Does that make them worth dying for?" Reaching out, she touched the Ashe bead still in Treyvon's hair. "If I could give you a bead such as this, would you be willing to die to keep it?"
"Yes!" was Treyvon's immediate response.
"Why?" she demanded. "Whether you're wearing it or not isn't going to change how I feel about you. It's just a symbol. It can be replaced. You can't."
Treyvon felt his chest tighten at her words. He wanted to know more about what her feelings were for him but now was not the time. Not with Liron listening so intently and not when they still needed to know where those rings were. "So you threw the rings."
"Yes," she admitted, and closing her eyes took a deep calming breath. "Down the short path, that ended at a wall."
"Where the missile hit," Treyvon confirmed, looking from her to Liron.
"I need it verified, Treyvon," Liron told him. "I need to find out if there was a transmitter in those rings."
"What you need to find out is how Rachana got rings that the Zaludians took from Todd," Jen told him.
Liron silently glared at her for a moment, unable to believe that this female, or anyone for that matter, would argue with him like this. She especially should be trying to stay in his good graces. After all, she wasn't Kaliszian, and there were those who felt because of that, she shouldn't be provided with any of their valuable and limited food supplies.
While he could understand those concerns, he refused to let them influence him into doing something he knew was wrong. It wasn't Jennifer's, Mac's, or any of the human males’ fault that they had been taken. They'd been sorely abused while in his Empire, in part because he wasn't paying close enough attention. Providing for their basic needs would never make up for what had happened, but it was all he could do, as he couldn't return them to their people.
Liron opened his mouth to tell her that when he paused, looking at how perfectly she fit in Treyvon's arms. At how the arms of his longest and most trusted friend were wrapped so protectively around her. He'd never seen Treyvon like this before, and for a moment, thought that another of his people had
found their True Mate with a human. But Treyvon's True Mate bead was still in his hair along with his Ashe bead that apparently Jennifer didn't want, even though she was willing to live with Treyvon, human females were strange creatures.
"That is already being investigated," Liron told her.
Chapter Twenty-Six
"So how do you feel about me?" Treyvon asked.
They'd finished up the comm with Liron by Treyvon telling his Emperor that as soon as the Pontus sun rose he would conduct an extensive search of the gairdín.
Jennifer looked up to find glowing blue eyes staring down at her intensely. How was she supposed to answer that?
"Jennifer?" His eyebrows drew closer together at her silence. "Tell me truth, for that is what should always be between us."
"Truth?" she asked faintly.
"Yes."
"I'm afraid," she admitted, her gaze searching his.
"Of me?!!" He jerked back in his chair as if she'd physically struck him.
"No!" she instantly denied, putting a reassuring hand on his chest before continuing much more quietly. "I know you would never intentionally harm me, Treyvon, but I better than anyone know how quickly life can change. How the things we take for granted can suddenly be gone."
"You speak of the Ganglians taking you from your planet."
"No, I speak of how today we could be living together but tomorrow... tomorrow your True Mate bead could transfer and then you would be gone." She reached out touching the crystal blue bead with silver swirls that was his True Mate bead.
"You believe I would abandon you..." he said, his voice full of pain.
"No. I believe that you are an honorable male and that if I wore your Ashe bead you would feel obligated to stay with me, even though your heart belonged to another."
"I can vow to you that that will never happen," he told her, reaching up to gently cup her cheeks.
"No, you can't," she whispered, fighting back the tears that wanted to fill her eyes.
"Yes, I can. Because my heart is no longer mine to give. It belongs to you."
"Treyvon..." At his words she lost the battle and her tears started to flow down her cheeks.
"I love you, Jennifer." His thumbs gently wiped away her tears. "I don't need to see my beads in your hair to know you are who the Goddess created just for me."
