Shanti asked, “Did they do it to you too?”
Cold tickled up Semeera’s spine. “Do what?”
After a glance at the other women, Shanti said, “The aphrodisiac.”
Semeera’s apprehension grew, but she kept her mouth shut.
“They pumped some weird smoke into my room. I figured out they weren’t gassing me to put me out but to make me horny. Shit was strong, let me tell you. I was a mess. And then these lizard guys came parading through.”
“They didn’t—”
“Nah. None of them touched me.”
Danielle said, “Not me either.”
Josie shook her head.
Shanti said, “Two guys came back, one at a time. They had this weird smell.”
“Musk,” Semeera whispered.
“Yeah. That’s what it was like. Musk. Don’t know the point of it. The two guys fanned it around, waited a bit, and then got dragged away. They didn’t seem happy about it either. Let me tell you, I was damn happy there were bars between the two of us. No explanation given. I rode out the effects of the aphrodisiac after that.” She tightened her arms over her chest. “Not masturbating, though. I wouldn’t give the fuckers the satisfaction.”
“Same here,” Danielle said, but the bright red blush on her pale cheeks said she may have given the khartarns a show.
Josie said, “Likewise, but I had three that came back.”
Semeera stared at her friends with remorse. That test was her fault. Completely her fault. The doctors had been trying to incite the mating frenzy to see if anyone else would end up like Kader. And just like with Doctor Gyan, it hadn’t worked. Why it hadn’t worked didn’t concern her as much as the fact that they’d done it at all.
Gavin asked in a jeering tone, “Did they get you all hot and bothered, Meer? Did you play with yourself for their viewing pleasure?”
“No. Hell no,” Semeera snapped. “It… Nothing happened when they tried.” Not a lie since nothing had happened when Doctor Gyan had used his musk on her. Not the truth either since Kader’s musk had worked, but not in the confines of an experiment. She knew what her friends were asking, but she would not give them any more ammunition to attack her with.
Josie snorted. “I bet you did, you slut. They stopped bothering me for days. The only contact I had was with the lizard who fed me and then suddenly I’m roofied. I’m thinking you had something to do with that. Did you go all National Geographic with one of them?”
Semeera’s non-answer was an answer.
Danielle smirked. “You did, didn’t you?” She looked Semeera up and down. “And look what it got you—all well-fed and clean with nice clothes. Your hair even looks freshly done. Whoring is not only the oldest profession, it’s universal too.” The derisive words hurt worse coming from her. Danielle had always been supportive and encouraging.
“I didn’t…” Semeera stopped. Maybe she had.
Kader had said he gave her all he did, probably even kept her on his ship while the others were sent away, to court her. To get into her pants.
He’d been nice to her since the beginning. Gentle. A gentle warrior? Kind, even. Yeah, right. Everything she’d read about khartarn culture said their warriors were muscle-headed Neanderthals who preferred hitting things to talking. They were trained for war, not flirting.
Gavin asked, “Hit a nerve, Meer?”
Semeera couldn’t defend herself. Her friends weren’t wrong. She’d been treated as an honored guest because of Kader, but she doubted the others had been afforded the same. Mason had arrived in a covered box, for Christ’s sake.
Her friends hadn’t cooperated and were treated poorly. Maybe not badly, but definitely not with care. She had cooperated, earning her a cushy bed and a shower. And not just any shower. The shower in the captain’s suite.
She really was a traitor and a whore.
For the second time in her life, she’d fallen for someone who manipulated her for his own gains. But unlike her ex, Kader had managed to rip out her heart and stomp all over it in the process.
Chapter 16
Kader had heard enough. He’d heard far more than enough. The only reason he hadn’t put a stop to this when the male first berated Semeera was because of Gyan. Once out of the infirmary, the male had invoked doctor override to declare Kader unfit, citing his use of lockdown protocols to threaten members of the ship.
Not a lie.
It was also enough to put Gyan in charge… for now. He’d revoked the lockdown and had every security member on the ship with tranquilizers pointed at Kader, rooting him to the spot. He wouldn’t be allowed to interrupt the experiment, which continued despite the location change and this unscheduled reunion.
Beside him, at the viewing monitor, the lead doctors from each human’s team conferred with each other and scribbled notes. All they saw were lab animals.
Kader’s life was in that room. Every second Semeera stayed widened the gulf between them. He needed to talk to her. Make her understand nothing he’d done had been a ruse to control or deceive. Not one bit of it. And he would have fought if the doctors had suggested it.
Courting her had been his idea. His initiative. He’d earned her love. She was his.
“This is over,” Kader snapped, glaring at the doctors. “Observe the others all you want. My mate returns with me.”
Gyan cut off one doctor before he could speak. “Of course, Captain. You may go.”
If not for the tranquilizers, and really, they were only a partial deterrent, Kader would kill the male right then. He calmed himself, focusing on Semeera and his need to speak with her alone.
“No one speaks to the humans of the mating. Not one word. The one who does, dies by my hand.” Kader pinned every person in the room with a hard look that promised death he would be all too happy to deliver and then left to retrieve his mate, backing down the guards with the tranquilizers who quickly jumped out of his way to keep from being mowed down.
When he entered the infirmary, the humans looked at Kader. All except Semeera. She actually turned her back on him, shutting him out before giving him a chance to defend himself. He’d expected that. He tamped down his first urge to force her. That wouldn’t win her back to him.
“This meeting is at an end.” His words filtered over the infirmary intercom in Semeera’s language. “You will be better cared for aboard my ship. Forgiveness for the care you’ve received until now.”
The humans sneered at him. The one male… Gavin was what Semeera had called him… He held up his right hand with the middle most finger extended. That was an insult. Kader gathered that much, but it didn’t bother him. His full attention was for Semeera.
Gavin said in a jeering tone, “Go on, Meer. Your john is waiting.”
Semeera stiffened.
John was a name, but the translation matrix offered another meaning as Gavin used it—a male who paid for the services of a prostitute.
Kader hissed, wishing he had the control to Gavin’s collar but causing the male pain would upset Semeera further. Her earlier defense of the male had angered Kader, making his possessive instinct rise. It threatened to overwhelm his good sense now. He needed to get Semeera out of there, or he would hurt her friend.
That was all the male was. A friend… though no longer, it would seem.
Him stalking to Semeera’s side made the humans back up, even Gavin. The male probably wasn’t used to seeing a khartarn of Kader’s size. He doubted the captains of the other ships had taken any interest in the humans. They were seeing him now, and his stature made Gavin retreat several steps with his fists up. Fists that shook.
He was brave, but stupid. The male wouldn’t last more than the time it took Kader to backhand him, which meant Gavin ranked less than a passing annoyance in Kader’s mind. Ignorable.
He gained Semeera’s side and grabbed her upper arm. Before she could pull away, he yanked her close and said only loud enough for her to hear, “Do not make me.”
She stiffened wi
th a soft gasp, jerking her gaze to his and burning him with the fury in her light-brown gaze.
To weaponize the mating musk in such a way pained him greatly. And it was an empty threat. He would never do that to Semeera. Not in front of witnesses. Never again. But the threat of it made her docilely follow him out of the room.
“Happy fucking, Meer,” Gavin called after them.
Kader slammed the door shut, but the damage was done. Under his grip, Semeera trembled. The heat radiating from her body almost made her too hot to hold. He maintained his grip, guiding her back to their suite. Theirs. Together. No matter how angry she was, the mating bond remained.
After he closed the door to the suite, he released her. “Sssemeera—”
“Don’t. Don’t you dare even think about talking to me. Just don’t.” She stalked to the guest room and slammed the door behind her.
A short while later, the sound of her sobs reached his ears. Kader wanted to break something. He wanted to break Gavin. But the human male was only part of a problem Kader had brought on himself. The moment he’d been able to communicate with Semeera, he should have told her the truth. And if he’d known then what she would come to mean to him, he would have.
He hissed at the empty room, thrashing his tail, struggling to figure out which action would aid him when he knew none could. But inaction and waiting wouldn’t help him either.
Prepared for the battle to come, he faced it as a warrior should—head on. He entered Semeera’s room… No. Not her room. The guest room. Her room was the master bedroom she shared with him.
“Get out!”
He didn’t move, standing still as she threw pillows and books and anything else she could get her hands on at him. Once she ran out of ammo, he stepped into the room and locked the door behind him. “We will speak.”
“No, we won’t. Everything you say is a lie.”
“Not everything.”
“And how will I know?” She glared at him. “How do I know you didn’t lie about the bond?”
“Do not!” He bit back a hiss, slamming his tail on the floor. “I never lied about that. You are mine.”
“They tried to bind the others.”
“That has nothing to do with us. Our bond wasn’t some experiment. I courted you of my own volition. The doctors would have stopped me if they had known. Ten superiors have dressed me down for engaging with you sexually and then bonding with you on top of that. Never would I put up with any of that if our connection was false.”
Semeera stared for several heartbeats. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“It didn’t matter because it changes nothing.” He softened his tone and inched closer. “I didn’t want you to worry, so I kept it from you.”
“Like everything else.”
“Sssemeera—”
“No! You lied to me. You’re still lying to me. Were you ever going to tell me about my friends?”
Kader balled his claws into his palms, letting the bite of them piercing his flesh center his thoughts. “No matter how I answer, you will not believe.”
“You’re right. I won’t. Get out.”
“You remain my mate.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you going to force me?”
“Never would I do that. What I said earlier was a bluff. I wouldn’t have done that to you before witnesses. It pains me that you thought I would.”
“It pains me that you’re still here. You lied to me. Manipulated me.” She started to say something more but pulled the words back on a shuddering gasp while blinking quickly. “The bond is real. I’ll give you that. But nothing else is. I’m done.”
His heartbeat thundered in his ears. “Done?”
“Cooperating. You may as well lock me up with the others because I won’t be compliant or complicit any longer.”
“You won’t go to them. They are a danger to you.”
“They’re my friends.”
“I’m your mate.”
“They’re human.”
Kader closed his mouth with a nod. After organizing his thoughts, he said, “Your place is here. Here is where you will stay.”
“You—”
“Any interaction you have with the humans will be in my presence. I won’t allow them to hurt you… physically.” He could do nothing to stop the mental pain her friends caused her. In that regard, he felt totally helpless.
A warrior helpless. There shouldn’t be such a situation. And yet he found himself in it. Watching his mate suffer and knowing he caused most of it.
“What will happen to my friends? What do you want?”
“You.”
Semeera clenched her fists in the bedding and said through her teeth, “You know what I mean.”
“I am not privy to the scientists’ plans for your friends.”
“You can find out, right? This is your ship. They have to tell you.”
“I could find out, yes.” He met her gaze with a sad one. “Whether you believe anything I report is another matter entirely.”
Semeera opened her mouth, but only a single syllable exited before she closed it again. “Why didn’t you just tell me about them from the start?”
“The only human who exists for me is you.”
For a brief moment, a flicker of need flashed in her light brown eyes.
She struggled not to come to him just as he struggled not go to her. The bond demanded they be together, especially now that strong emotions ruled them. She wanted to be in his arms as much as he wanted her there, but wounded pride and loyalty to her species kept them apart. And he couldn’t say he wouldn’t have reacted the same if their roles were reversed.
This battle had no victors. There was only retreat.
Kader turned from Semeera and left her in the guest room. He ordered a meal be brought to her and guards posted outside his suite. They wouldn’t allow her to leave and would permit no one to enter. He also locked communications so no one could contact her without going through him first, using a special command code that even Gyan couldn’t override.
After leaving her to curse his name, he went about seeing to her friends. He assigned the males to one room and the females to another, both guarded, and made sure they had access to all they needed to be comfortable—food and clean clothes topping the list.
Next came the doctors. There were too many of them on his ship. He stalked into the infirmary. An annoyed hiss brought everyone’s attention to him.
Doctor Gyan asked, “How is—”
Kader glared at the man, not bothering to hiss.
“Forgiveness, Captain.”
“Gyan, choose who will continue whatever study you are conducting. Everyone else leaves.”
Over the upset words of his colleagues, Gyan said, “You no longer have the authority to—”
Kader crossed the room so quickly the male stumbled back, tripped over his own tail, and fell the ground. Looming over Gyan, Kader said in a low cold voice, “This is my ship. Your temporary usurpation of my authority was just that. Temporary. I am in control once more, and I am through indulging you, Gyan. Try my patience again and you’ll find yourself on the wrong side of the nearest air lock.”
Gyan’s eyes grew wide, and he nodded quickly. “F-Forgiveness.”
Others in the room put more distance between themselves and Kader.
He straightened to his full height and swept his gaze over the room’s occupants. “The humans will be treated the same way you would treat Ssse—” He thrashed his tail, biting back a hiss “My mate. As for her, you will limit your contact with her to only those times she is with her friends. I will be present to ensure that.”
“Understood, Captain,” a few people chorused.
Kader turned his attention back to Gyan. “What do you have planned for the humans?”
Trembling and holding his tablet like a shield, Gyan got to his feet and backed up several steps. That distance seemed to give him back a modicum of courage as he straightened his clothing and said
in a normal tone, “It is our hope being reunited will foster intimacy. We are curious about human copulation, especially since you refuse to give details.”
“My refusal continues. The humans can refuse as well. What else?”
“What we observed of their social behavior earlier was intriguing. Their interactions resembled a pack mentality, how they…” Gyan stopped and cleared his throat. His tail swished in nervous agitation. “We will observe how they are together to determine if they can be integrated into our society. The current belief that we are an invading force will make their cooperation difficult.”
“Are we?”
“You would know better than I, Captain. You are the warrior.”
Kader let the barb go. Gyan pricked his sore spot on purpose, knowing Kader would have no access to any military operations using the information the humans—no, not the humans, because the others had resisted. The information Semeera provided.
That hurt, being unable to tell her beyond a doubt that his people didn’t mean to travel to her home on a military campaign. Such action shouldn’t even be possible. But the experiment that had brought Semeera to him had been moved away from his ship upon her arrival. He didn’t know if it had progressed to the point of being stable. Even now, warriors could be transporting to Earth and waging war on Semeera’s home world.
Or not.
Kader may command in disgrace, but news of such an invasion would reach him. He was sure his former superior would use such information to taunt Kader over not being allowed to engage in combat. But lack of news didn’t mean a campaign couldn’t be underway soon.
“You have one hour to carry out my orders, Gyan.” Kader left the infirmary and headed to his ready room.
No answers awaited him there. There were only more questions and cold, clawing fears. Perhaps Semeera’s friends had valid cause to worry. Kader had discounted it as nonsense, but why else would the doctors continue their studies? Surely, they had learned all they could from Semeera. She’d given them so much. Nothing more was needed to determine if she could live on Home World.
Based on past experience, this level of study had always been reserved for potential enemies captured during scouting missions. And if Kader hadn’t been so obsessed with Semeera and their bond, he would have seen that before now.
Alien Mate Experiment Page 19
