She lifted her head and stared at him dizzily, uncomprehendingly.
“Now!” he growled. “Before I do something I’ll regret.”
She bounded up from his lap and retreated to the bed, almost tripping on the sheet she was dragging in her rush. Embarrassment and anger had joined her confusion and the fear that set her into flight by the time she clambered onto the bed. She settled on the bed as close to the far wall as she could get, but the desire to curl in upon herself was stronger than the prompting of wounded pride to display her resentment by showing him her back and her indifference.
The problem was that she wasn’t indifferent. She drew her knees up to her chest, curling into a tight ball, and tried to convince herself that it didn’t bother her that he’d apparently decided he didn’t want her after all. It wasn’t as if she’d wanted him to paw her! She certainly hadn’t volunteered for breeding—as if she was a fucking barnyard animal!
There was nothing wrong with her damned breasts, either! Could she help it if she had perfectly average breasts and his hands were like—pie plates? No! They’d have to be the size of fucking bowling balls, or her head, to fill a hand that size! And who wanted that kind of aggravation?
Her throat closed with emotion.
She told herself that she was angry and fearful.
The last part wasn’t a lie. As resentful as she’d been over the plans he had for her, she couldn’t help but wonder—now that it seemed she didn’t have to worry about that—what she did have to worry about. Would they use her for experiments after all?
He’d suggest that he would let Koryn have her when he was done with her, she recalled, pushing aside the resentment that had caused her at the time. Would he offer her to Koryn now? And what if Koryn didn’t want her? What if none of them did?
Did she have any palatable options?
She hadn’t realized that it had almost made her feel safe to think that Tariq wanted her, despite her anger and resentment that they treated her as if she was chattel, property to be used and disposed of at will. She knew it was stupid to feel any sense of security about it all, and yet she had nothing else to cling to. She didn’t even have that small source of comfort now.
What was she going to do?
What could she do?
She’d told herself that yielding was the only sensible thing to do and yet she couldn’t even convince herself that she’d merely tolerated his touch and hidden the revulsion she should have felt.
She had a bad feeling he knew just how much his touch had affected her, too, and that shamed her more than anything else.
She’d almost worn herself out and dropped to sleep by the time he joined her on the bed and yet the moment she felt the mattress dip, she jolted completely awake and tensed all over—fearing/hoping he would reach for her. He did. He took the cover she’d wrapped around her and spread it over the two of them. Even as she curled into a tight ball again, however, he planted a hand on her belly and dragged her back until she could feel the heat of his body and the tickle of his chest and groin hair along her back. Tucking her head on one rock hard bicep, he curled his other arm around her and then a leg and settled his face against the back of her head.
She was still lying stiff and tense against him when she heard his breathing slow and grow deeper and knew he’d fallen asleep. She couldn’t have been less comfortable if she’d been strapped to a rock and yet, somehow, she managed to fall asleep.
The nightmare woke her. Even though she couldn’t recall more than a little of it when it jerked her awake, she knew it was the same dream. Tariq’s hand glided slowly up her belly and settled between her breasts as she lay panting with residual fear. She thought at first he was merely moving in his sleep, but then he tipped his head downward and she felt his lips along her shoulder.
Her heart calmed its frantic rhythm. Shifting closer until she could feel his heat against her back again, she drifted, comforted by the wall of flesh surrounding her. It flickered through her mind to wonder if he meant to do more and then she dropped into nothingness.
Chapter Four
Tariq didn’t regret his decision although he was willing to acknowledge that Koryn was right in a sense. He was borderline obsessed with Emerald, but he had been on a purely scientific level and as a potential breeder for the heir he wanted so badly since she’d begun to develop so he didn’t see his interest, as keen as it was, as anything to be particularly concerned about. It wasn’t obsession in the sense of a pathological need. It was a rational, controllable interest and for equally logical reasons.
His bloodlines were not only important to him, they were important to the Anunnaki or he wouldn’t enjoy the position he did among them. Emerald was as close to perfection on a genetic level as he thought he was likely to find among the purebloods, especially considering what they had found, so his decision to breed her was just plain good sense. On a less exalted level, his sexual urges were also completely normal and understandable given his situation. They’d expected to be transporting a large number of the purebloods back to Nibiru and had limited shipboard personnel accordingly. It was his vessel and he was the commander and he was fully aware that he could’ve brought a woman along to provide for his sexual needs. He’d chosen not to for the simple reason that it would set a bad example for the lower ranks, which was always a matter of prime consideration for him, and also because he’d fully intended to choose one of the purebloods for his bed as soon as one was available.
He hadn’t expected to endure abstinence quite as long as he had and his superior bloodlines didn’t protect him from his natural urges any more than it did anyone else. There wasn’t a man onboard that wasn’t suffering from blue balls as badly as he was except for those who’d found respite in a fellow crewmember.
And he hadn’t taken a female crewmember into his bed for the same reason he hadn’t brought a woman along to start with—bad example to the others. He firmly believed in leading by example. If he set the highest standards for himself—and he did—his men struggled to give him their best.
He’d been tempted to discard his lofty principles and take care of his needs, more than once, but he hadn’t, which made it completely understandable as far as he was concerned that he was now approaching the point of feverish desperation to get his hands on Emerald.
It wasn’t obsession. It was need!
Any warm female body would do. He just didn’t see any sense in having plain bread when he could sink into a delicious piece of cake only by waiting just a little longer. It was as much a matter of proving to himself that he had the discipline to wait as it was the desire to anticipate rather than capitulate and settle for less than what he wanted.
He wasn’t in the habit of settling for less than precisely what he wanted.
If he wasn’t entirely happy with the decision, he had no one to blame but himself—and possibly fate—that capricious bitch that supposedly controlled random odds and yet always seemed to stack the deck against everyone, especially when they were at their lowest ebb.
He didn’t believe his reasoning was faulty in any way or adversely influenced by his interest in Emerald. He’d made it a point to remove himself as far from that distraction as possible and consider every angle carefully.
He fully intended to load his ship down with purebloods before he returned to Nibiru for the simple reason that failure wasn’t an option as far as he was concerned—and returning without them would not only be a failure for him personally. It would be a disaster for the Anunnaki. They needed the purebloods. As badly as everyone hated to admit it, they all knew they were doomed without them. It didn’t matter that it was their own poor decisions that had brought about the disaster. They had to deal with it, and the purebloods were their only option of doing so.
He had to consider the possibility, though, that his ship might make the return trip to Nibiru without the numbers he’d anticipated and fewer purebloods meant severely limited supply to demand. Those with power and position would
get first choice, as was their right. Those directly beneath them would get their castoffs and so on until supplies trickled down to the lowest levels. Except supplies wouldn’t be trickling far down the scale if they were as limited as what he’d discovered so far and there were too many in the ranks above him, as it stood, for him to get more than a whiff of a pureblood.
He’d decided to take what he wanted while he had the chance—right of conquest plus most superior rank present—and handle any consequences later. He was sure there would be consequences, possibly very unpleasant ones, but that was immaterial as long as he ensured his own lines. Assuming he was successful enough to appease those of higher ranks than he was, he’d also decided to include Koryn for the simple reason that he didn’t want anyone of superior rank to his to look too closely at his prize and run the risk being usurped.
And they would exercise their rights if he made it too obvious that he considered Emerald a prize. The only way he could avoid that pitfall was to make it clear that he wasn’t obsessed with her or even particularly possessive—in short to make it clear that she was of no particular importance to him at all beyond her breeding capabilities and the only way to do that was to make her available to others—or at least one other.
It was a logical conclusion. He knew it was. Unfortunately, it was also the only thing about his decision that had caused him any revulsion.
He didn’t want to share his prize. The sense of possessiveness that twisted sickly in his gut at the mere thought of sharing did disturb him, but it also strengthened his resolve. He had to share to protect his own interests and that being the case, who better than Koryn, who was almost more like a brother to him than a friend?
He could trust Koryn not to try to stab him in the back by trying to win Emerald’s affections.
He thought.
Except he didn’t trust the fucking bastard! He just trusted him more than anyone else he could think of.
He didn’t need her affection, he assured himself, trying to shake the sick feeling that twisted in his gut every time the thought crossed his mind. He’d claimed her and he was absolutely determined no one’s seed would prosper in her belly but his until he was satisfied he’d adequately ensured his bloodlines. He would also enjoy fucking her any time the notion struck him, and his claim took precedence. There was no reason to be particularly disturbed about it even if Koryn did capture her affection. Her first obligation was to him and always would be—unless someone of higher rank usurped him and Koryn was the only hope he had of preventing that unless they found more purebloods—and quickly!
Emerald might well be the key to that—which was yet another completely logical reason for him to consider her of value. When and if her memories returned, she might be able to tell them what had happened to the others or at least give them some idea where to search.
A shout on the other side of the excavation caught his attention. Tariq studied the knot of activity for a moment and finally made his way quickly to the site to see what they’d found. When he was close enough to see that the workers had broken through a wall that appeared to connect to a vast cavern or perhaps a tunnel system, he felt his stomach go weightless with anticipation and excitement.
“Let’s get some light down there and see if we can find a way down.”
Even as he voiced the order, someone hurried forward with several flares, activated them, and tossed them into the darkness beyond the hole. The glow of the artificial lights illuminated an eerie subterranean cavern that bore all the marks of having been manmade or at least utilized by them for some sort of underground transportation. A pair of rails made of what appeared to be some sort of metal formed a parallel ribbon into the darkness beyond the reach of the light. Tariq could just make out a hulking shadow at the far end that appeared to be a machine of some kind. Closer, a platform had been built several feet above the rails.
“Stairs!” one of the men peering into the cavern announced excitedly.
Tariq surveyed the area until he spotted them. “Get a scanner and let’s get a reading on that location.”
Impatience flickered through him when they’d determined the distance and coordinates and found the location on the surface. There was a pile of rubble over it that looked to be at least thirty feet deep. He surveyed it with disgust, considering options. “Let’s setup a winch and pulley at the hole we’ve punched through and lower a couple of men to check it out. If they find anything worth the effort, we can put a group together to clear away the rubble.”
They had to send men back to the ship to gather up the tools they needed. Nearly two hours passed before they had men on the ground inside the manmade cavern. Tariq stared at the moving lights impatiently for a moment and finally glanced at the winch operator. “Haul the seat up. I’m going down.”
The man looked startled, but he hastened to obey. A few moments later, Tariq stepped through the opening and began his descent. He hadn’t reached bottom when he heard a shout from one of the men who’d gone down before him. The voice echoed around the giant chamber, making it difficult to pinpoint the direction, but Tariq saw several other men that seemed to be converging on the same point. Leaping off the crude transport they’d put together the moment it was low enough, he strode quickly toward the other men.
His stomach clenched the moment he drew close enough to see what they’d found.
There was a tangle of six to ten bodies. It looked as if they’d huddled together in a tight knot near one of the back walls. At least half of them appeared to be children.
Thrusting aside his revulsion, he crouched down and studied the group, looking for anything that might tell him their story. He discovered it didn’t actually take a lot of imagination or a very long search. “They suffocated.” Straightening, he took the portable light he’d brought from his pocket and scanned the walls nearest the bodies. There appeared to be a good bit of soot on the upper parts of the walls but he couldn’t be certain it was enough to indicate a fire had killed them. If they’d been sheltering in the area for a while, they would’ve needed some means of cooking. He couldn’t even say for certain that they were huddled together because they’d known what was coming and were terrified. They could’ve been crowded together for warmth or even comfort from misery.
By the time they’d found the fifth group, Tariq decided, grimly, that he was fairly certain he could dismiss any possibility beyond the first. They’d died cowering in the darkness from something they knew was coming after them. His anger threatened to boil over into rage. Had they turned on each other and fought a war to end all wars? Or had outsiders invaded with the determination to wipe them out? And if that was the case, what would’ve provoked them? Or had they not needed provocation beyond a desire to destroy?
He realized when he’d finally tamped his anger that they still had nothing to say, positively, that a war had caused the apparent extinction. The Earth had had time to recover from any number of things—including various natural disasters and if something as cataclysmic as an asteroid was responsible, that would also explain why they’d taken shelter below ground and cowered in terror.
The area they’d discovered was virtually undisturbed. This might be their best chance to track down what had happened.
He returned to the surface and organized the workers into three groups. The group remaining topside would focus on clearing enough rubble to give them easier access to remove the remains. The two going below would divide into a recovery group and an investigative group.
He looked around for Koryn when he’d outlined the plan and discovered Koryn wasn’t among the workers. Trying to convince himself that Koryn was working on extracting the DNA from the pair they’d found the day before, he headed back to the ship, but he discovered it was hard to contain the rage seething just below the surface.
* * * *
Koryn relaxed fractionally when he’d gone over the latest scanner results on the developing clones. Everything was testing normal as far as he could see. It was e
arly days in the development, of course, but he didn’t see any reason for the alarm that had first smote him when the female’s cells had begun to divide and then separated. Clearly, she was genetically predisposed toward that particular trait. Once the cells had split to form two, they’d begun to generate more cells very rapidly that had clustered.
Tariq would be pleased, he thought wryly. It was a shame he couldn’t take credit for it!
Turning his attention to the readings on the male, he studied those with equal care and was satisfied with the development of the two clones he’d managed to coax with the DNA he’d harvested from the male.
He had no idea how desirable the end result was going to be, but the males seemed to be mongoloid, at least, which meant they’d managed to harvest representatives of two races—assuming the cells continued to develop.
The more varied the genes they collected, the more pleased everyone on Nibiru was likely to be since genetic diversity was the objective in collecting the purebloods to start with. With any luck, the clones would be ready to transplant into the larger pods within twenty four hours, Earth time.
Not that luck had been particularly forthcoming in this endeavor!
He hoped to hell they found more soon. At the rate they were going, they were going to have the council breathing down their neck any day, demanding to know what the hell was going on. They should already have made a shipment back to Nibiru.
He didn’t envy Tariq!
That thought produced an image of Emerald in his mind, unfortunately, and he abruptly felt a sickening wave of the emotion he’d just denied. He hadn’t realized the proprietary interest he felt toward Emerald went beyond either pride in his achievement, scientific curiosity, or even the general sense of ownership they all felt toward the purebloods who were, after all, theirs, since they had developed them.
Deep Penetration; Alien Breeders I Page 6
