by Laurie Roma
But then had come the torture.
She’d been shown to a room where she had been pushed back into a reclining chair with hot steam blasting in her face until she felt like she was going to suffocate. After that, a woman had scraped at her face until she had been almost sure she would have gigantic gouges in her skin when she was done. Then they had taken her to another room where they slathered her body down with something that looked frighteningly like cum and wrapped her in what seemed to be big piles of seaweed until she resembled a mummy.
After that she had been taken to a private suite that reminded her of an autopsy room and she’d been hosed her off before two attendants scrubbed her entire body with some rough concoction that smelled of a mixture of fruits. The entire ordeal was a mortifying experience because she couldn’t help but admit to herself how close she had come to bolting from the room several times.
The strangest part of it all was the other women having the same types of services actually enjoyed themselves. They had been smiling and cooing over how wonderful everything was, when all Skylar wanted to do was punch the women who were attending her in their pretty faces.
Being a woman was damn hard work, but she had reached the edge of her endurance.
“I mean it, Serra. I have been scrubbed, buffed, slathered and I won’t even mention the fact I’ve had more people touching me today than I want to think about, but I draw the line at painting my nails. Not gonna happen. Ever.”
Serra frowned at her. “You are afraid of the most peculiar things.”
No, it wasn’t fear, Skylar thought. It was pure terror. Not that she would ever admit it out loud. “Don’t make me hurt you.”
“I thought you would feel that way, which is why I got my nails done while you were getting the body scrub.”
“Wait—what the hell? You didn’t have to lie down on that autopsy table?”
Serra shook her head and laughed. “For star’s sake, Sky. It’s not an autopsy table.”
“It sure felt like it,” Skylar muttered as she headed back in to the dressing area.
“Anyways, it wasn’t necessary for me to get the body scrub done. A few nights ago, Jax and Sully used this new sugar scrub I got on me in the shower and—”
“Okay, that’s enough information. Let’s get the hell out of here and get back to business.”
Skylar felt better once they left the spa area and headed down to Commander Jessup’s office on one of the lower levels. She had been relieved seeing the familiar surroundings of the Alliance command center where the elites conducted their duties on the base.
Since Serra had visited the base before, she informed Skylar that there were seven underwater levels of the base. The few windows there were had been blacked out from the outside, with holographic imagines of sky and sea on the inside for the men who were stuck inside, out of view of the Avox.
When they arrived on the lower floors, they were guided to a conference room at the far end of a long hallway, away from the main flow of traffic where Arik was sitting at a table with Commander Malloy and Officer Perez. As if he sensed her presence, Arik looked over and smiled at her through the window. He stood and greeted them at the doorway to the conference room, taking Skylar’s hands in his.
“How was it?”
“Don’t ask,” Skylar replied. She felt herself blush as he leaned down and brushed his lips over hers, not used to affectionate gestures in front of people. “Why are you guys hidden away back here?”
“Commander Jessup thought it was best if we kept a low profile, considering why we are here.” He moved to the side to let Serra passed them to go inside, giving him and Skylar a small amount of privacy as they stood just outside of the room.
“That makes sense.”
“You smell absolutely delicious, my love. Good enough to eat.” he murmured. “You are so beautiful, something it hurts just to look at you.”
She could feel a shockwave of his lust hit her so strong, the intensity of it made her sway on her feet. He caught her to him, pulling her close as he looked down at her, his iridescent eyes blazing with hunger. “They did enough to fix me up—”
“No, Skylar. You need nothing to enhance your beauty, here or here,” He said, gently touching his hand to her face, then her heart. He raised his fingers to the claiming mark next to her eye. “You wear our mark here. Can you sense how much I need you, Skylar? Are you ready to be mine in truth?”
“I am,” she said, unable to deny him any longer. He pulled her closer, and the world seemed to disappear around them as she leaned into him. “I made my choice when I let Dom put your mark on me. I want to be your keeper, Arik.”
“You already are,” he growled, then sealed his mouth on hers in a kiss so hot she felt singed to her core.
“Wow, they have some pretty potent chemistry,” Officer Perez commented as he watched them with wide eyes.
“Ignore them,” Commander Malloy ordered. “That’s what I’m doing. In fact, I’m not even here.”
Serra laughed softly from her seat at the table as she watched Skylar pushed out of Arik’s arms, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “It’s always fascinating to me to see the different reactions people have to public displays of affection.”
“It makes the Commander twitchy. Malloy believes bonding is catching, so he tries to ignore it as much as possible,” Perez explained.
“Which is why I’m pretending I’m not here right now.”
Ignoring them, Skylar and Arik entered the room and took their seats. Skylar was determined to avoid making eye contact with anyone until she felt the heat in her cheeks dissipate, then was happily distracted when she saw what was on the table.
“Oh, sandwiches! I’m starving!” She picked one up from the big platter in the middle of the table and took a big bite.
Amused Arik said, “Here, take this plate. And a napkin.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled around a mouthful of food as he pushed the offered items in front of her.
“You shouldn’t fear bonding,” Serra told Commander Malloy. “Since Jax and Sully claimed me I’m much happier, as are they. And this morning even Dominic wasn’t as irritable as he usually is, even though we had to practically tie him to a chair in order for him to let Skylar out of his sight after last night. I’ve tried to tell him sex would help his disposition before—”
“Now I’m the one who isn’t here,” Skylar interjected. “Oh, look. There’s Commander Jessup and I bet the three people with her are the scientists we’ve been waiting to speak with.”
Everyone in the room turned to look out the conference room window to see Commander Jessup speaking with a man and two women at the end of the hall. “As I said, we’ve briefed Commander Jessup on the basics of the case,” Arik informed them. “She was...very displeased.”
Commander Malloy grunted. “That’s an understatement. She was fucking pissed.”
“Well, she should be. This has all been going down under her command.” Skylar studied the three people standing with the commander and saw the reluctance on their faces as they started down the hallway toward the conference room.
The older scientist was a pretty brunette. Her hair was pulled back in a haphazard bun on the top of her head. The other woman was younger, with sunny blonde hair. She was absolutely gorgeous, and looked completely mismatched with the geeky guy she was holding hands with. “The young one...she’s been tainted with xili.”
Arik shot her a look. “We don’t know that yet.”
“Wanna bet? Just look at them. She’s hot and he’s...definitely not.”
“That’s unkind, Skylar.”
She snorted. “But true. She is so much hotter than him, but she chooses him over all other men to bond with? And she only takes him and not a second? Nope, she’s tainted. See? He’s so skinny and dorky looking, and he’s even a mouth breather. I hate that.”
Commander Malloy and Officer Perez snorted in amusement as Serra nodded. “They do seem to make an odd pairing, bu
t it seems within range.”
Arik frowned at her. “What do you mean by that?”
“There is empirical data on relationship dynamics that states pairings are often based on a combination of attractiveness, things people have in common and other various factors, however, generally speaking, those terms are usually within a variance of the quotient of the higher individual’s measure on a quantitative scale using a divisor of two.”
“What?”
At the blank stares from everyone sitting at the table, Serra tried to explain a different way. “On a scale of one to ten, if we were to say she was a...”
“Eight,” Officer Perez said. “She’s an eight...maybe even a nine.”
“Okay, if she’s an eight, then the quotient we would use would be a four. So, she would be expected to be with someone who was at least a four.”
Skylar blinked at her friend. “You’re mind fucking fascinates me sometimes.”
“Thanks...I think.”
“But he isn’t a four. I’d say he’s a two...and that’s being generous,” Skylar said as she looked out the window again.
Serra frowned thoughtfully. “But he could have a big—”
“Enough! You people are crazy,” Commander Malloy snapped.
“Well, if he is well endowed that would raise his ranking,” Serra said, ignoring him. “Also, you aren’t factoring in love.”
Skylar waved a hand in the air. “Whatever. I still say she’s been brainwashed. Just look at them. And add the fact that he’s her only bonded, I call bullshit.”
Arik stared at her, then Serra, then back again. “You females are terrifying creatures.”
“Yeah, they’re a little scary,” Officer Perez agreed. “But I think Officer Stryker-V’Dir is right.”
“I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation,” Commander Malloy said as he looked up at the ceiling.
Skylar felt a jolt of surprise hearing her new name. She glanced over at Arik and felt her nerves settle when she saw the look of pride on his face. No, there was more than pride...there was also love. She lost herself in his gaze for a moment, and had to force herself to focus as Commander Jessup and the three scientists entered the room.
“Everyone, I would like to introduce Dr. Catherine Whitmer-Fields, Dr. Henry Atwood and Dr. Astrid Atwood.” From the cold look on Commander Jessup’s face, she was not hiding her anger very well. “I was just informing the doctors that they will have to put all their tests on hold and be available for you to speak with as long as needed.”
Skylar could sense the irritation emanating from both of the female doctors, but what she felt from the man was annoyance and anger mixed with a hint of fear.
“Something’s off with him,” she murmured sotto voce to Arik. He squeezed her hand beneath the table, letting her know that he’d heard her.
“Why don’t we begin then,” Arik announced, claiming everyone’s attention as he stood and strode forward to greet the doctors. “I am Ambassador Arik V’Dir, and would like to thank you for joining us.”
Despite her annoyance, Catherine’s attitude relaxed a bit as she shook Arik’s hand after he extended it. “As I told Commander Archer when he contacted me, we are happy to help any way we can.”
Skylar settled back in her chair as she watched Arik greet the younger woman, aware of what he was doing. Although he could sense things about a person by being in the same room with them, he could read them better through direct contact. He was checking each of the scientists for the taint of xili under the guise of being polite.
Devious, she thought.
She liked it. A lot.
Arik moved past the females and approached Henry Atwood last. He took note of the way the smaller man took a step away from him, but he persisted, reaching down to grab Henry’s hand before he could evade. The moment Arik touched Henry, all the panic and fear the man was feeling became crystal clear. Arik was careful to give nothing away as he walked back to his seat besides Skylar, but he made eye contact with Matt Malloy, putting the commander of the Strike Force Team on guard.
Commander Jessup sat next to Serra, but the three doctors sat down at the far end of the table, away from everyone else. Astrid nervously tapped her fingers on the table before speaking. “I’m sorry. Catherine and Commander Jessup told us you wanted to speak with us, but I don’t understand what this is all about.”
Skylar’s eyebrow rose. “Didn’t Dr. Whitmer-Fields explain to you why we are here?”
Catherine shifted in her chair. “I didn’t see a need, as I told Commander Archer what I knew. Honestly, I didn’t really think you would bother to come here to speak with us personally.”
Skylar’s bullshit radar went crazy as she watched the older woman rub her temples. “What’s the matter, Doc? Headache?”
At Catherine’s curt nod, Henry leaned forward in his chair. “I think we should postpone this meeting until later when Dr. Whitmer-Fields is feeling better.”
Astrid placed a hand on his arm as if to calm him. “I’m sorry. We’ve been working non-stop and haven’t slept in about twenty hours. Of course we want to help, but I’m sure whatever this is about can wait until we have all gotten some rest.”
“Sleep is going to have to wait,” Skylar said briskly. “Why the accelerated timetable on your project, doctors? What’s the rush?”
“We’ve been working on this particular project for months now,” Catherine replied. “We’ve had numerous setbacks, but finally made a breakthrough the other day. If all goes according to plan, we could have a viable formula completed within the next few weeks. Timing is critical right now in this stage of the testing. I’d be happy to show you our notes, but I don’t understand what this has to do with some mistake on a shipping manifest.”
“Because it wasn’t a mistake.” Arik leaned back in his chair. “And I believe the reason you have been pushing your timetable up on the xili project you’re working on may have something to do with forty million credits Henry here has hidden in an account on Reema.”
Henry Atwood’s eyes bulged out as he sputtered for a moment. Sweat beaded his brow as he tried to protest. “What? I have no clue what you’re talking about!”
“I think you do. You have a lot of questions to answer, starting with why both the female doctors have been tainted with xili, but you aren’t, Dr. Atwood.”
“Tainted? We haven’t been tainted with anything. We’re studying the xili plant, not using it,” Astrid insisted.
Serra’s voice was filled with sympathy as she said, “Not voluntarily.”
“This is crazy!” Catherine exclaimed. “Henry doesn’t have those kinds of credits, and we certainly haven’t been tainted with xili.”
“Funny thing about my man here,” Skylar said casually as she nodded toward Arik. “See, there is a well kept secret about the D’Aire. They are able to tell when someone has been drugged with the xili drug just by being in their presence. It’s a pretty fucking cool ability, actually.”
“Thank you, my love. It certainly comes in handy.” Arik stroked a hand over her hair before pinning the sweating man with a steely stare. “I could tell Catherine and Astrid were under the influence of the xili drug as soon they entered the room, but it was confirmed when I touched them. But you, although you were trying to block your thoughts, you were thinking about escaping the planet tonight when I shook your hand.”
Overcome with panic, Henry bolted from his chair. But before he could take two steps, Commander Malloy slammed his fist into Henry’s face, dropping the small man to the ground in a dead faint.
“Henry!”
Ignoring Astrid’s cry of distress, Skylar simply looked down at the man on the ground with disgust. “That was...highly unsatisfying.”
“I don’t know. I found it pretty fucking satisfying.” Matt Malloy cracked his knuckles then grimaced as Henry came to. “Oh man, he’s crying. I hate it when they cry.”
“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Astrid said, tears s
treaming down her cheeks. She raised her hands to grip her head. “I can’t...my head. My head feels like it’s going to explode.”
Serra moved around the table to sit next to the crying woman. “I know this is confusing right now. You may not believe me, but I know exactly how you feel. Stop trying to think about Henry right now. Clear your mind and focus on pushing past the pain.”
“I did it for you!” Henry sobbed. “I did it all for you, Astrid.”
“For me? What, Henry? What did you do?”
“He drugged you,” Arik said softly. “He drugged both of you.”
“Why? Why would he do that?” Astrid cried.
Before anyone could react, Catherine launched herself at Henry just as Commander Malloy hauled him to his feet. Henry hit the floor again as she landing on top of him, wailing away with her fists as she screamed, “What have you done? You son of a bitch, you drugged us? How could you? How could you!”
“We should probably stop her,” Commander Malloy commented as he leaned back against the wall with his arms folded.
“Stars! Catherine, stop!” Commander Jessup rushed forward, trying to pull the doctor off Henry who was curled into the fetal position on the floor trying to protect himself. With a sigh, Commander Malloy gave a nod to Officer Perez, who helped Commander Jessup pull Catherine off Henry.
“Shut the hell up,” Commander Malloy growled as he picked the sobbing man off the floor and shoved him back into the chair.
“What did Henry do to us?” Catherine demanded. “Is there some way we can fix this? I want my bonded. Rachel, I want Dale and Micah.”
“I’ll get them for you,” Commander Jessup said, then got on wrist unit to make good on her promise.
“The effects of the xili coercion can be counteracted if Henry tells us exactly what happened,” Arik explained. “You’ve been drugged with the pure form directly from the plant and not the altered version we’ve discovered, but the truth shall release you from its thrall.”
