Chevon's Mate

by April Zyon

  “I don’t know. I have the worst feeling that someone decided they didn’t like me.” She sounded out his name in her head. Oh, she liked that. A lot. It was so odd that she wanted to lean into him, wanted to have him touching her. It was so strange to have him close to her but so far away in her mind. She let her mind wander and frowned, her nose wrinkling as her thoughts kept going back to the moment when she’d translated something from Imarian to Craegin, something strange … and important? She couldn’t think of what it was exactly.

  “Whatever you’re thinking about, don’t worry about it. It will come when the time is right. How is she, Doctor?”

  “She will be sore for a while and likely have a headache for a couple days but she is otherwise completely healthy. I can give her something for the pain. There shouldn’t be any ill effects provided she is not allergic to it.”

  “Laura?” She could hear the question in Chevon’s voice.

  “Yes, please,” Laura said, taking a deep breath. There was something she needed to remember. And it was driving her just a little crazy.

  “I will prepare the shot for you to give it to her when she is settled in her quarters, then, Admiral.” The doctor turned toward her, a kind smile on his face. “The bed will be more comfortable than anything in these rooms.” A few moments later, the doctor left them alone with the nurses, who undid the restraints at her ankles and waist. Chevon unsnapped the one at her wrist, and her skin tingled where he touched her.

  When she was freed from the restraints, she found herself turning toward him. She didn’t understand why but she wanted to be closer to him. “Thanks.” She kept her voice to a whisper in deference to the pain in her head.

  “Let’s sit you up so we can get you into this robe, and then when the doctor returns with the medication we will get you settled into a set of quarters. It will be quieter than it is here, and you can even turn the lights off so your head doesn’t cause you as much pain.”

  Laura nodded, then gave him a small smile. She let him help her sit up and when he had his hands on her shoulders and was pulling her closer, she moved her hands to his chest. Something was going on, something that was far bigger than she was. She was drawn to him, needing to touch him. She had never felt anything so strange.

  He got her into the robe, and when the doctor returned he assisted her off the table. Chevon kept an arm around her waist and guided her on the slow journey out the doors and into a lift. “How is your head feeling?” he asked quietly.

  “It’s hurting like madness but aside from that okay, I think?” She found herself leaning against him again. What she felt was practically euphoric that he was there for her. “I thought that your people and ours were at war. I thought you would have killed me on sight but you haven’t. You’ve been kind and generous to me. Why?”

  “Because unlike our ruling body, I prefer to judge a person on their own merits. Your speech and looks clearly tell everyone you are not Imarian, but those are the only differences. You haven’t tried to do myself, my crew, or ship any bodily harm. Until you do, you will be treated as I would one of my people.” He led her off the lift at the same slow pace they’d used when leaving medical. After what felt like a small eternity they stopped in front of a door, and he ushered her into the room. When the door shut behind them, she was surrounded by silence and a space that smelled like he did.

  “You can rest comfortably and safely here. I’ll need to go see about a few things, but I will check in on you soon. If you need anything, I will leave a communication device set for my code by the bed that you can use to reach me. There’s water, juice, and some snacks in the cooler for later if you get hungry or thirsty.” Chevon bent and soon she was seated on a wonderfully soft bed with the right amount of firmness to have her sighing. “Do you want to keep the robe on?”

  “Yes, please. This is your room?”

  Chevon nodded. “It’s secure, and only a limited number of people can get in here under emergency circumstances. Under regular circumstances, I am the only person that can enter these quarters.” He rubbed his thumb against her cheek for a moment before pulling away. “Under the blankets. I want to give you the medication so you can rest.”

  She let him put her under the blankets. Then she lay back against the pillow. Her cheek was still warm from his touch, and his intoxicating scent wrapped around her. “Your bed is so comfortable. The room smells so good,” she admitted. “Will you stay, for just a little while, please?”

  He stared down at her with an expression that was difficult to read. “I’ll stay until the medication takes hold.” Brushing her hair back, Chevon skimmed a finger over her cheek before running his hand down her arm to lift it up. He pushed up the sleeve, and she felt the coolness of the alcohol wipe before the pressure and slight pinch from the injector.

  “Rest now,” he told her quietly. “I will be right here until you fall asleep.” He squeezed her fingers gently. His other hand stroked over her hair.

  “Thank you.” She closed her eyes and simply leaned against him. She didn’t understand why he felt so vital—so important—to her. And right then she was too worn out to try to reason through it. She yawned, something she couldn’t have stopped if she had wanted to.

  “Sleep,” he murmured. He continued to stroke her hair, the motion soothing. Her hand was warm in his where it rested on his thigh. “Let yourself relax, Laura. You are safe on my ship. Sleep, little one.”

  Chapter Four

  When Laura woke fully, she was disoriented. A warm hand touched her cheek. “Easy,” Chevon said from the darkness. A second later a side lamp went on low to give her enough light to discern shapes and where she was. Chevon was holding a glass in his free hand while watching her. “Water,” he said, offering the glass to her.

  “Thank you.” She shifted so that she could lean against the headboard and watch him as he moved around in the room. She took several sips from the cup, then asked, “Are you going to be in trouble for taking me in like this? Are you going to have to turn me in?” She recalled, a while back, a Craegin general had returned from being captured and suffered one of their people’s harsher punishments for his Imarian love. She’d seen the two of them together and had to admit, though, theirs was a love match.

  “Unclear,” he told her. He shrugged off his uniform jacket and hung it up before turning to look her way. “I’ve put out feelers to a few close associates to see if they know what the current mood of the ruling body might be. There has been no report filed about the pod and subsequent rescue yet. Because the majority of the crew are trainees, we have kept a lid on this. Only a couple know you were in it. The rest all believe it to be a training exercise. For now, that is how we are keeping it.”

  “How can you get me back to my people?” she asked, scooting over to give him a place to sit should he want to. The response was automatic, almost as if… “Oh no.” That’s when it dawned on her. The reason she was always reaching for him, the reason she wanted to touch him and bring him closer to her. Oh, she was so screwed. It couldn’t be possible, could it? An Imarian … her soul-bonded mate? She gaped at him, beyond stunned.

  He glanced up with a frown before he finished removing his shoes. Standing, once more he walked toward the bed and sat down on the end, facing her. “If you want to return there is a way. It won’t be easy, or quick, and you would never be able to speak about it because it would put too many on both sides in danger. But I can make it happen.” Chevon didn’t look particularly happy about it but seemed to be firm in his resolve to help her if that was her desire.

  “And if I don’t?” she asked softly. There was a moment’s pause. Then she looked down and began to toy with the blanket on her lap. She finally said, “The Craegin people, we have what’s known as a bond mate. It’s someone that fits us perfectly—the other half of our soul. When we find this person, it’s kind of like being dropped from zero gravity to full gravity in a moment. That person, if we find them, is the only one that will ever do for us. We
would do anything to be with them. Do you … have anything like that?” She had to know if he felt the same draw she did.

  Reaching out, he stilled her hands with the warm weight of his. “We have what’s called a soul bonding. It is comparable, from what I’ve heard the Craegin people have. The draw is immediate once the two individuals are close enough to one another, and I feel it strongly for you, Laura. But I would never make you stay if you didn’t want to. I’m not saying I wouldn’t try to talk you out of leaving.”

  “And if I want to stay here? How difficult would it be for you to keep me?” she wanted to know. “I have nothing there, to be perfectly honest. I was supposed to be joined with someone and I learned that he only wanted me because of my twin brother. I’m not very old but he and I lost our parents when we were in our teens. Now I have no one. I only have the man that could be mine. I only have the man I want to be mine.” There, that was as much of a confession as she could give him. She had tried to do marriage before and that had failed epically for her to the point of almost dying before the wedding, but this was so much more. At least with her ex she knew he was Craegin and what to expect, but Chevon was Imarian, a race she barely knew a singular thing about. What would happen when he decided that having a Craegin wife was more trouble than it was worth?

  “I’ll do whatever it takes, Laura Troxell.” He tipped her chin up so there was no avoiding his gaze. “I will fight for you, for us. And anyone that takes exception will have a huge surprise waiting for them. Will you stay here, with me, Laura?”

  She leaned into his touch and nodded, her eyes closed as she did so. “Yes, I will stay here with you.” She looked at him and smiled, doing her best to shove her trepidation to the side. He had been trustworthy so far. He had been kind to her. And was it so bad that she simply wanted to trust him after all she had been through, that she wanted to believe there was still goodness left in the world? There was so much they would have to overcome, but a part of her desperately wanted to believe that they could if they both wanted it. “I trust you.” It was far more than just because he exuded confidence. It was because of how he had treated her thus far.

  His lips curved into a smile. Leaning in closer, he stopped when the tips of their noses brushed against one another. “I would like to kiss you right now, Miss Troxell.”

  She lifted her hand to curl around the back of his neck, stroking a thumb over the exposed skin there. She could practically taste him now.

  He slid his hand up to cup the side of her neck. “Open,” he breathed against her mouth a second before he pressed his lips to hers and stroked his tongue along the seam. She felt his tongue brush hers and moaned, opening to him. There was a moment where she sighed into the kiss. Then she shifted so that she could be closer to him. Laura kissed him with the passion that had been missing in her previous relationship, kissed him with her full being, heart, body, and soul.

  His arms closed around her, and soon she found herself in his lap, allowing her to wind her arms around his neck and press in tighter to his body. One hand cupped her head, his fingers wrapping around her hair to give it a light tug as he changed the angle of the kiss. Over and over Chevon’s tongue stroked to hers.

  She didn’t know where one ended and the other began, but in reality, that was the way it should be between soulmates. She needed this. She needed him. She kissed him back with all of the desperation of a woman who was starving.

  Tugging her head back, he stared down into her eyes, his breath hot against her face. Gently he ran his hand up her back, then down to rest on the curve of her hip. “We should stop for now,” he whispered. “You need to rest more before we do anything else.”

  Laura sighed. “Okay.” She didn’t want to stop, but she knew that he was right.

  “Once you are fully healed,” he told her. Chevon pressed a quick kiss to her lips, then leaned back. “Are you up for a shower, or a bath?”

  “I would be able to have an actual bath? A bath with water?” She didn’t know of many cruisers—or people, for that matter—that allowed for water baths. Sure, on the pleasure cruise they had them but they weren’t battlecruisers like the one she was on now. “I would love a bath.”

  He nodded with a crooked smile. “Every crew member has a water ration to use however they want. Finish up that glass while I start the water in the tub, and then we will get you some more to drink.”

  “Thank you.” He was so kind to her. “For everything,” she added when he turned to look at her. “Do you think you could find me some clothing to put on after the bath?”

  “I’ll make it happen,” he assured her. Brushing his fingers to her cheek, he pushed up from the bed and headed for the bathroom. She heard the water come on a short time later. Then he wandered back into the bedroom. “My cousin is about your size. She’s left a few things here over the cycles. I’ll grab them all and you can pick out whatever works for you. Bryerly will not mind, believe me.”

  “You’re close to her, aren’t you?” She could tell as much by the way that he said the woman’s name. “She visits often?”

  “No, she has a career of her own,” he said, his pride evident. His next words held something else, though. “She also has found her soul-bond mate and married him recently. I actually was the one to marry them with an old tradition from a friend’s planet. She is quite sappy in her love.”

  “I didn’t think the Imarians had weddings,” she said, confused. “I know the Craegins have a ceremony to join together. It’s a public ceremony that the family and friends are all invited to but I didn’t know that the Imarians had one as well.”

  “We don’t, traditionally. We have a binding ceremony much like the Craegin joining ceremony for the family and close friends. While I know in the past there were what was termed to be marriages, they were greatly different from the one Samantha brought with her. Her ceremony is quite spiritual and can be made simple or extremely complex.” Chevon held out a hand to her. “The water should be ready.”

  She placed her hand in his without hesitation. When he helped her to her feet, she smiled. “It sounds as if perhaps this woman, Samantha, has a blended version of both ceremonies. Is she from one of the outer colonies that are close to the neutral territory?” It was the only place she could think of that would have such traditions still in place.

  “Hardly,” he said, walking at her side into the bathroom. “Samantha is from a planet called Earth. I actually rescued her, too, her and her antiquated Earth craft. It took us some time but eventually it was discovered she had been in space for a little over nine hundred of her years. She likes to hold it over her soul-bond mate’s head that she is older.”

  “Oh, my. How could she have survived that long?” She was no expert but she was certain that there had to be a limit to the amount of time a person could spend alone in space. “So you have made it a practice to rescue women?” She was grinning as she said that.

  “Samantha survived because of an ancient practice that the earthlings used called cryo-sleep. She was nearly dead when she was found, to be truthful. As for my rescuing women, well, I had to practice so that I could be ready for the most significant rescue,” he said. Leaving her leaning against the vanity, he moved to turn the water off. Chevon dipped a finger in and nodded. “I’ll go get you some more water to drink and the clothing. Will you be all right alone?”

  She nodded. “I have a bump on the back of my head, but I’m only a little dizzy now.”

  He walked right up to her and cupped her face. “I’ll leave you to your bath in peace. But if you don’t come out in a reasonable amount of time, then I’ll come in to check on you. The clothing I will set on the vanity without peeking in.”

  “I’ll hurry. If for no other reason than to be able to get to spend more time with you,” she said with a grin. “After all, it’s going to take time to learn more about the man I’m destined to spend the rest of my life with.”

  “Enjoy your bath, Laura. I’ll have a snack and water waiting f
or you when you come out. Call out if you need anything else.”

  She smiled as she watched him walk away. When she was alone, she stripped out of her clothes, then got into the bath. She let out a sigh and leaned back. “This is so nice,” she whispered, then reached for a cloth. The sooner she was able to get out of the bathtub, the sooner she was able to get back to Chevon.

  Laura heard the door slide open and watched Chevon stick a hand in with a large pile of neatly folded clothing on top. He settled everything on the vanity before shutting the door again. “Hopefully, there will be something in there you feel comfortable in. If not, you are more than welcome to wear anything of mine.”

  She could only smile. He had left as quickly as he’d entered and just as quietly. To herself, she said, “I have a strange feeling that I’ll adopt more of your clothing than you’d like.” She liked that idea, actually, the thought of being able to wear Chevon’s clothing, being able to smell like him. Laura craved him in a way that bordered on insanity.

  “I’ll put in a request for more if it comes to that. I am heading to the kitchenette for your snack, so I’ll be out of hearing range.”

  Laura laughed. She hadn’t realized that the wall and door between his room and the bathroom would be so thin. This was her first time on a military vessel. “I would appreciate that but only if you wear them first,” she called through the closed door.

  By the time she was done in the bathroom, Chevon had a plate of food and a fresh glass of water sitting on the little table of the seating area. He stood when she came out. “Feeling better?”

  “I am, thank you.” She felt clean and now knew that she had a fist-sized lump on the back of her head. “I think someone meant to kill me,” she blurted. “The lump on the back of my head, with its placement… I don’t think someone was trying to just hurt me.” Another reason she was jubilant to be where she was now.