“Now, you’re thinking,” Gary said.
While Xavier recovered in sick bay, Sparrow sat beside him and worked with a team of Militia investigators to hack into Bishop’s systems, one at a time. Once she had gotten in, she locked Bishop out and implemented new access codes. The investigators siphoned through all of the data. After a night in sick bay, Xavier was released but had been cautioned to take it easy. He made a point of emitting a quiet gasp or groan each time he moved. Sparrow always took the bait, fussing over him and attempting to make him more comfortable.
“You know. There is a small pool to which we have access. Soaking for a while might help with some of the pain,” Xavier said.
“I’ll help you,” Sparrow said with worried, big brown eyes.
Since Sparrow had never been swimming, Xavier had no trouble convincing her that clothing wasn’t worn in a pool. Every experience was new to him through her eyes.
Sparrow and Gary were becoming better acquainted. It hadn’t hurt that she had seen Gary in full battle gear beside the anti-grav gurney on which Xavier had been taken to sick bay. Sparrow had looked at Gary with obvious hero worship. She had said, “You saved him, just like you said you would. How can I ever repay you?”
Gary had held her face in his hands, looked into her eyes, and said, “That’s my job, because I’m your daddy. Anytime you have a problem, I’ll fix it.”
Xavier had melted a little more as he had watched them. Sparrow had believed him. Here was the man who could solve every problem and make everything that was wrong in her life right again. Maybe it also had something to do with genetics, but Gary had earned Sparrow’s complete trust. She had thrown her arms around his chest and held on.
Xavier had Sparrow’s love, but he didn’t have her complete trust, not yet. It was Ocet’s fault, and it infuriated Xavier. Bishop and Ocet woke up screaming from their nightmares each and every night. Xavier made sure of it. It continued until the Constantine arrived and took them away to their assigned facilities. The Hadrian was transporting the cyborg to a Galaxic Medical facility for rehabilitation.
The official pardon had arrived from the Parvac Empire for Sparrow Ponidi. Xavier was afraid that even with the pardon, Sparrow might prefer to remain with her father onboard the Hadrian. During dinner with the two of them, Xavier forced himself to stop being a coward and ask her.
“I guess I’ll stop sabotaging her programming since she apologized and seemed sincere. I’m not forgiving her for what she named me, and I’m not interested in having a relationship with her,” Sparrow said.
“She made some mistakes. I did, too, but I don’t regret having you as my daughter. Have you thought about what I asked you?” Gary asked.
“I have.”
Xavier felt sweat forming under his arms and in the center of his back. A hard, cold lump settled low in his chest.
“Xavier, you’re bending your fork,” Sparrow admonished.
Xavier put the utensil down. Had Gary asked Sparrow to remain onboard the Hadrian? It was completely understandable that he would want to get to know his daughter.
“I would like to get to know you better,” Sparrow said to Gary with finality.
Xavier felt sick inside. Sparrow was everything to him. He had never wanted anything as much as he wanted her in his life. However, like his brothers, he had sworn an oath of fealty to Teagan. He had no choice but to return to the Empire, even if it meant returning as a shattered hull of himself without her. Stoically, Xavier tried to prepare himself for what would be more pain than he had ever before experienced, forcing himself to keep out of her mind and give Sparrow what she most wanted, freedom to make her own decisions. He clutched his fisted hands under the table on his thighs.
“It’s okay if Gary visits us when the Hadrian comes to Parvac, right?” Sparrow asked.
Xavier’s heart rose up to pound in his throat. “Yes, anything you want,” he said with a thick voice.
“Are you okay? I know I don’t pick up on social cues, but you look like you might puke or something,” Sparrow said as she scrutinized him.
“I was terrified you weren’t going to come home with me,” he admitted.
Sparrow stared at him before asking, “Don’t you want me to?”
“Yes, more than anything. I never want to be apart from you.” Xavier was terrified that he might cry in the officers’ dining room.
“Don’t worry. I can support us if that’s what this is about. I just need to replenish my credit chip.”
“Sparrow, no. You can’t be doing that kind of thing. Eric was livid when he found out. As a favor to me, he didn’t arrest you, but all of those credits have been returned. I had to cover the amount you had already spent. Be glad you shared your frisson dampener design with the Militia. That helped to get you out of a…galaxy of trouble.”
Sparrow stared at Gary and shook her head. “I can’t believe she gave me a stripper name.”
Gary winked at his daughter.
“Credits are no issue. You will have everything that you desire,” Xavier promised. He fumbled with one of his shirt pockets. “I had something made for you.” When he lifted his arm, Sparrow saw the sweat staining his shirt, so did Gary.
“Nervous, son?” Gary asked with a smirk.
Xavier blushed. It would be unseemly to punch his wife’s father. He pulled the ring from his pocket. “Out of respect for your human customs, I had a wedding band made for you.” He placed the ring on her palm.
The clear band was made of Sparrow’s favorite polymer, the one she preferred for her weapons designs. Imbedded within the polymer were hundreds of diamond specks with a single two-carat diamond at its center.
“It’s pretty,” Sparrow said as she examined it.
“May I put it on you?”
Sparrow nodded and handed it back to him. After Xavier slipped the ring onto his wife’s finger, he gave her lips a chaste kiss and said, “You have made me happier than I have any right to be.”
Confused, Sparrow asked, “Do we have to earn our happiness?”
“No, baby girl. Xavier realizes how lucky he is. That’s all. Now, listen here. You had better keep my girl happy, or you’ll answer to me.”
“Yes, sir,” Xavier promised.
Chapter Sixteen
The next day, Gary helped Xavier to move Sparrow’s few belongings to his stealth vessel.
“Gary, I have a gift for you,” Xavier said.
“For me?”
“Yes, sir.” Xavier pulled out his vid-screen and sent information to his father-in-law.
Gary looked at what he had been sent. “Well, would you look at that.”
“I will send you others.”
“Thanks. She looks real pretty in a dress, but she looks more like herself in this picture with these goggles.” Gary extended his hand, and they shook. “I’m glad to have you in the family. Hell, I’m glad to have a family again. It’s just been me for quite some time.”
Xavier felt the truth of his words. “It’s an honor, sir.”
“You two are so formal,” Sparrow said.
“Come give me a hug. I have to get back to my ship. We depart soon.”
Sparrow continued to hold on after Gary had let go. He put his arms back around her and rested his chin on her curls. “I have that weird feeling again,” Sparrow said.
“What do you mean? Are you sick?” Gary asked.
“She’s trying to tell you that she loves you,” Xavier explained. He walked to the bridge when he noticed Gary’s eyes swelling with moisture. He knew it was hard for him to say goodbye to the child he had never known. However, Gary knew as well as he did that they would see each other frequently.
“Now, you let me know if you need anything. Okay?” Gary said.
Sparrow looked up at Gary with obvious hero worship. “Yes, sir.”
Gary gently squeezed Sparrow’s hand. “Take care of my girl,” he said to Xavier.
“Yes, sir. I’ll walk you out.”
After t
hey entered the lift, Sparrow reacquainted herself with the habitation area. All of her clothes were squished next to Xavier’s in the storage cabinet. Her books and tools were stowed under the bed. Prepared meals filled the cold storage unit. Sparrow was excited to get to be alone with Xavier for the journey to Parvac and away from all of the unfamiliar people.
“Are you ready?” Xavier asked when he came back up.
“Yes, I am.”
Sparrow selected a new Laconian romance novel set in their pre-industrial era and settled into the co-pilot’s chair. Xavier took them up. Sparrow was content to sit beside him in silence. Glancing over at her, he smiled at his ring on her finger. He continued to struggle against his Eriopis’ instincts to hide troubled thoughts from his female’s own mind. Sparrow had experienced freedom for the first time, and he didn’t want to diminish her experience by sheltering her from it. Freedom meant everything to her, and since she meant everything to him, he refused to make her feel controlled through their bond.
His empathic abilities provided her with welcomed comfort and gave him control of the rage always warring within him. He longed to truly bind her mind to his, but for so long, it had only been in Sparrow’s mind that she had enjoyed any freedom.
After she had been reading for a few hours, Sparrow decided to ask Xavier what was bothering him. He had been brooding silently, but smiling anytime she looked at him. “Xavier?”
“Yes?”
“Is something wrong?” She closed her book.
“No, all is perfect because you are at my side.”
“You’re telling a lie.” She stared at him. “I don’t like that.”
Xavier glanced at Sparrow, realized how very serious she was, and set the autopilot. “My nature demands that I bind you to myself.”
Sparrow looked down at her ring. “You and I are bound.”
“Empathically and telepathically,” he said while looking at his knees.
Sparrow let her book fall to the deck and laid her hands on top of his. “I thought we were.”
“Empathically we are, and I can sense your thoughts but force myself from your mind. It requires much effort. My mind seeks yours out. It is an intense craving.” Engulfing her hands with his, he brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them.
“Why? Are you afraid of me?” Sparrow knew she was different. She wasn’t gregarious. It was difficult for her to talk to people. She never could figure out how they felt or what they might be thinking. Was Xavier worried that she would start to make him have the same problems? Could her condition be transferred telepathically to her husband?
“I love you. Your happiness and well-being are my primary concerns. If you were to feel controlled and stifled, I would be failing you as a husband. You mean too much to me to allow that to happen.”
Sparrow considered his words. “So, it isn’t because you are afraid of me?”
“Wait, are you serious?”
“I’m different.”
“You are perfect, and I adore your big brown eyes.” His need to bind her completely to himself clawed at his mind.
“Xavier, I have no objections to the type of union to which you refer. I thought that you understood when we first met that I see your abilities as being efficient. Your hesitance confuses me. I thought you already had bound our thoughts together.”
He shook his head. “I only sense from you what I can sense from everyone. Ocet’s manipulative control infuriated you and made you feel your freedom had been violated.”
Sparrow became frustrated. “It did. However, you and I have chosen to integrate our systems, so to speak. It would be stupid to use only a few power cells or relays when we could use them all for optimal results. Well, wouldn’t it?”
Xavier chuckled. “You are looking at our marriage as you would the construction of a weapon?”
“It makes sense to me to do so. With our systems fully integrated, we are stronger.”
Sliding from his seat, Xavier kneeled before Sparrow. He lifted his hands to her hair and pressed his forehead to hers. The mental bond took hold rapidly and filled Xavier with unimaginable relief. It was as though he had carried a hundred-pound weight around on his shoulders all of his life that had suddenly been lifted.
When Xavier pressed his forehead to hers, pleasure burst through Sparrow as if it were exploding from every pore. It left her panting and trembling. Xavier picked her up from her chair, carried her to their bed, and made love to her until she blacked out from the pleasure.
Hours later, Sparrow woke up giggling in his arms.
“What’s so funny?”
“I have no idea.”
Xavier rolled his female over onto her back. When he looked into her eyes, they sparkled at him. He could feel her love and trust. Her thoughts were of how handsome she found him to be. She appreciated the corded muscles in his arms, and his mismatched eyes intrigued her. He brought his lips down to her neck and spiked her endorphins. She gasped as he stimulated her pleasure centers. Beneath his large, calloused palm, he felt her small soft breast and rubbed his thumb against her nipple until it had become painfully hard. Then, he took her breast into his mouth and spiraled pleasure through the sensitive bud. Sparrow moaned as the jolt traveled from her breast to her center.
“Xavier, please!”
His female wanted him, needed him. Positioning himself at her entrance, he pushed. Her soft lips covered his head, making him shiver as they touched his undersides. He drove his hips forward, enjoying her hot, tight walls as he slid within her. Xavier closed his eyes and savored the feeling of Sparrow clamping down all around him. His balls had drawn up so painfully tight that instinct forced him to speed up his thrusts. Sparrow was mewling beneath him as she tossed her head from side to side on the pillow. Each time he drove forward, he spiked her endorphins and spiraled pleasure through her. His female had already learned the benefit of having a Laconian husband. Further quickening his pace, he surged forward and emptied himself into his wife. In complete satisfaction, Xavier grinned down at her. Sparrow’s eyes were glazed with his lovemaking. He kissed her and sent her into a restful sleep. Then, he dressed and went to the bridge.
By the time they docked on Parvac, Xavier’s black eye was no longer such. The white sclera around it made it look practically human, and his white eye had a pearl-like appearance. Sparrow smiled as she watched Xavier. Through their bond, it was becoming easier for her to relate to emotions, and Xavier bounced with excitement to introduce her to his family. Earlier, he had loaded their belongings into the small transport before waking her up to breakfast in bed. Afterwards, she had dressed quickly.
“Let’s go,” Sparrow said, not wanting to make him wait any longer.
When Xavier drove them from the ship, Sparrow stared in wonder at the sky. It was pink and orange and unlike anything she had ever seen. The land port was clean and orderly. Each dock worker wore a uniform and worked with a military-like precision.
“This is impressive. It’s so beautiful and clean. Nothing appears old or worn out,” Sparrow observed.
Glad that Sparrow’s first impression of Parvac was favorable, Xavier said, “The sky is the result of ancient dust particles in the galaxy.” Sparrow narrowed her eyes at him for his use of that particular word. Xavier grinned at her showing off his white teeth. Then, he wrapped her in an empathic hug. “The Parvac Empire is a warrior based society and functions with militaristic procedures. I believe you will enjoy the order.”
Sparrow looked through her window at the manicured gardens lining the road. Xavier had the distracted appearance he often got while telepathically communicating with his brothers. A huge white palace came into view. Against the backdrop of the pink and orange sky with its two moons, snow-capped mountains rose up in the distance, and a serene lake surrounded by lush forests spread out beneath them.
“What is that?” Sparrow asked. She wasn’t sure if it was a government building or a museum.
“That is the Palace where the Imperial family
and their retainers reside. Most of my brothers and I live in the barracks. However, I will buy us a house nearby. Zared has found four from which you may choose.”
Sparrow looked at him. “I get to pick out a house for us to live in?” Sparrow’s excitement rivaled his own at that bit of news.
Xavier parked the transport in front of the Palace and powered down. A team of guards wearing black uniforms waited for them. With a grin that split his face, Xavier got out and went around to open her door. A tall man with solid black eyes and long, grey hair smiled broadly and pounded Xavier on the back.
“Brothers, meet my wife, Sparrow Ponidi.”
All of the men were as big and strong as Xavier but with solid black eyes and of varying ages. As one, they bowed to her.
“Hello,” Sparrow said nervously. She knew Xavier was keeping her from panicking.
“Welcome, sister. You have accomplished much. Never before has our brother smiled so broadly or been so…. What is the word to describe his emotions?” Zared asked his brothers.
“Giddy?” Jazon asked.
“Bubbly?” Zeth, the only one wearing a suit rather than a uniform, asked.
“Get used to it. He’s been this way since he touched his forehead to mine.” The men laughed. Sparrow blinked at them. “Why was that funny?”
“Because you’re cute,” Xavier answered.
Sparrow cocked her head at him. “I thought I was too dangerous to go unsupervised.”
“Stop talking like that, or I’ll have to take you back to bed,” Xavier said to loud laughter from his brothers.
Sparrow said, “I don’t get it.”
“You are an adorable little female with the knowledge and skill to decimate a universe. You are incredibly sexy,” Xavier explained.
“Okay.” Sparrow decided to make Xavier a dangerous new blaster.
He took her hand in his and vicariously enjoyed the feeling of contentment it gave her.
“Be prepared. The Probus ladies have prepared an elaborate welcome for the two of you,” Rozz warned.
Xavier: An Omnes Videntes Novel Page 15
