Then her body gave up fighting and fell against his as the darkness claimed her once more.
Chapter 13
Feeling guilty for falling asleep while meditating, Boca opened her eyes slowly, frowning in confusion when she felt the blankets used in Medical covering her. Reaching under several layers, she sighed in relief to find her tunic still in place. Why she cared about the tracking mark, she didn’t know. Puzzlement over her concern had her swearing, which grew as she began to remember everything. How could she have allowed Chiang to break down her defenses enough to fully bond with her?
“Don’t worry, Boca dear. I didn’t let the big, angry Greggor take off your tunic,” Malachi reassured softly, patting his unexpected patient’s arm. “Actually, Chiang didn’t stick around long enough to argue about how I tucked you in. I don’t think I’ve ever seen our good doctor quite so forceful and determined to have his way. He went off clutching a handful of black cloth and threatening the life of my host body if I took my eyes off you until you woke up.”
Boca slid down under the covers and pulled them over her burning face. “La kreintoj malbenis min?”
“None of us is sure what you’ve done. What were you trying to do?” a female voice asked from the other side of her.
Boca poked her head out of the covers, turning to see her commander grinning at her.
“You suddenly speak Sumerian?” Boca demanded.
“No, I read mating energy. I could tell things shifted between you two, even if Chiang still had the disposition of a raging bull in heat…uh, I don’t know what the equivalent animal is in Sumerian. Loud and belligerent. Stubborn,” Gwen said thoughtfully. “Help me out here, Malachi. What’s a better animal metaphor in Sumerian?”
Malachi shrugged and crossed his arms. “What am I? Your walking information center? Use your com unit and look it up, Commander.”
“Wow—you’re awfully touchy today. I’m just making conversation. Besides, you always seem to know everything,” Gwen said with a grin.
“About energy perhaps—and maybe laser weapons—yes. However, I am not an expert on Sumerians, nor does it appear I am ever going to get to be. Somebody just went way off the market. I would appreciate it if you would quit reminding me I’m down one more potential bonding partner on this ship,” Malachi said flatly.
“Really? You wanted Boca? I thought you had your eye on the set of new dual-births on board, even though they’re both pretty creepy if you ask me,” Gwen said.
“Well, I didn’t ask you,” Malachi countered back with a grin of his own. “And neither Ethosian is any creepier than I am.”
“Commander, why are you here? I am fine,” Boca insisted, ignoring the male laughing softly beside her, and what the commander was implying about her changed status with Chiang.
She had never been a potential anything for Malachi except a friend, but she was not up to debating the situation.
And Chiang—she wasn’t ready to think about what happened between them yet. He would just have to wait until she could do some research and find out what occurred between them. All she had at the moment were suspicions.
“Relax while you can, Ensign. I’m here for the same reason everyone is going to be here in…oh, about ten minutes after I call them. We all want to know what you found out on your little trance trip today,” Gwen said, patting her arm. “What happened after you got back…well, no one needs to know about that but you and Chiang.”
“Yet you seem to know,” Boca accused.
“Yeah. Damn Siren mating gift. It’s not like I even want to know. It’s just there in your…you know, all over you,” Gwen explained, waving her hand at Boca’s body. “Zade noticed too. He smiled and headed to find Chiang to make sure he was okay. Turns out Zade and Chiang had a few angry words with each other while you were passed out. He wouldn’t tell me what was said, but I got the basics. Chiang thought you were dead. It took Zade a while to convince him you weren’t.”
Boca turned her head back to center and closed her eyes, recalling Chiang’s insistence that she not undress in front of Lieutenant Zade anymore. Her face flooded with heat, followed rapidly by the fear that one day the Commander might react much worse than Chiang when she found out what the argument had truly been about.
“Did Chiang carry me here from the meditation room?” she asked, looking at Malachi instead of Gwen.
Malachi made a clicking sound with his tongue. “Yes. He had you wrapped up like a swaddled infant in one of Lieutenant Zade’s black robes. Why are you asking questions you really don’t want to know the answers to right now?”
“Maybe I’m into torture as much as you,” Boca joked, keeping her eyes shut tightly.
Malachi laughed and patted her arm again. “Perhaps you are. Otherwise, why would you do the whole Sumerian claiming thing with the Greggor of all males?”
“I did not do the Sumerian claim…” Boca broke off, clamping her lips shut on the protest. There was no sense arguing with the demon until she had had time to consider it further.
Malachi made a sound with his mouth again. “Still in denial, I see. Chiang must not have been as astounding as all the females report. How long do you plan to keep pretending you two are not a bonded pair? Your energy is too merged with his to deny it.”
Gwen’s wrist unit went off, just as the conversation was getting good in her opinion. “Jet here. Yes, she’s awake. No I haven’t asked her any questions. I didn’t figure Boca would be up to going through it all more than once. Call Zade and Chiang on your way here. Tell them to stop fighting.”
“Commander, we have spoken about this twice this week. Stop giving me orders,” Synar’s voice said dryly through the com, ringing clearly throughout the now silent Medical. “Is Malachi with you?”
“Yes. He is carefully monitoring the patient, just like the doctor ordered,” Gwen said with a smile at both Malachi and Boca.
“Very well. Ania and I are on our way. Synar out,” he said.
“Well Jet is out too,” Gwen said with a laugh, grinning because her captain had already disconnected.
“Slaggika,” Boca whispered.
“If that means ‘shit,’ yeah we’re in it deep now. While you were taking a nap for most of the afternoon and evening, the Dread Nought sent word their arrival will be delayed. Looks like the Liberator and the Paladin are in this alone for a while longer. The Peace Alliance scout told Captain Warro that there was talk in the court of Orem Sel about him getting a new mate two days from now,” Gwen said. “That means you’re heading to the surface tomorrow.”
Boca nodded. “The information is true. His new mate has already been wired.”
Gwen was too surprised at Boca’s confident statement to hide it. “You’re sure?”
“Yes,” Boca said, folding the edge of the blanket nervously as she thought of the young woman in the cell. “Her name is Kefira and she is chaste at the moment still. For some reason, I think it’s important that she remain that way. The emissary was most insistent that I know this fact.”
Gwen frowned and cracked her knuckles. “I wish like hell I could go instead of you.”
Boca sighed because she wished the same thing, but did not think it wise to say so—nor was it fair.
When Chiang appeared, her insides fluttered, nerves springing to attention at his nearness. Some kind of current seemed to cross the very air between them. He looked past everyone else in the room, stopped at the bottom of her bed, and held her gaze for several long moments. After what seemed like hours of his intense scrutiny instead of the mere seconds it probably was, she watched him respectfully bow his head.
“Are you well?” he asked gently, his voice calm but demanding of the truth. She looked as frightened of him as ever. It almost made him ill to know it.
Despite Chiang’s tone, his genuine concern echoed through Boca. All she could do was answer him honestly. “Aye—I am well,” she said. “The extreme tiredness I could not fight before seems to have now passed.”
Behind Chiang, Boca watched Lieutenant Zade, Captain Synar, and Ania walk into the room.
“Welcome back, Ensign,” Dorian said kindly. “You did well today. Now we need you to tell us what you learned.” He put a hand on Boca’s arm to reassure her it was safe to share. A low feral growl in his ear had him snickering and pulling away from the tiny female in the bed. “Relax, Doctor. I offer only comfort to your patient.”
“I warned you, Siren. Hands off,” Chiang ordered fiercely as he glared, his mind instantly full of the image of Dorian Zade’s perfect body.
A string of Sumerian swearing stunned the entire group standing around the bed and had them looking away to hide their amused reactions from the angry female uttering it.
Boca turned to glare openly at the male who obviously could not control himself.
“And I warned you that what we did would change nothing,” she shouted in English, scooting over in the bed and patting the edge of it. “Come here, you thick skulled barbarian. Sit at my side and be at peace so I can answer Lieutenant Zade’s questions without further embarrassment.”
Chiang narrowed his eyes at the female in the bed but advanced to go to her side anyway. He heard Zade laughing softly, so he shoved him with his wide shoulder as he passed by. Instead of perching on the edge of the medical table as Boca had ordered, Chiang reached out and put a hand on Boca’s shoulder. Electrical current jumped between them again. He slid his hand behind her and his palm continued to tingle where it rested.
Allowing herself one final glare at Chiang, Boca ignored the energy arc of his touch as much as she could.
“In my vision, I met an emissary of the Creators. She showed me my Lotharian captor and his new mate so I could watch him torture her and be reminded of my time there,” Boca stated coldly, not flinching when Chiang’s hand behind her rubbed in support. “Then the dream changed to another place. I saw a young woman in a prisoner’s cell. She was freshly wired and unable to walk. Her name was Kefira and she was being counseled on becoming Orem Sel’s mate. I believe she is the high ambassador’s daughter.”
“Would you recognize the place again if you saw it?” Gwen asked.
“Yes—but know the emissary would not let me help Kefira or follow her guards. She said…she said it was not time yet. She also said there was much to be learned in the rescue, and that I would need the help of others to be successful,” Boca said, frowning. “She said that there were reasons not to just kill all the Lotharians, but I found it hard to hear her words about sparing their lives without getting angry.”
“Did the emissary say anything else? They often give you information to help you personally,” Ania stated, watching color climb Boca’s face as she pulled away from Chiang’s touch.
“Yes, she did, but the rest was a very personal message. I would prefer to keep it private. It has no bearing on the mission,” Boca declared.
There was silence in the room for several moments, then Chiang spoke up. “I agree with her desire to keep it private. Since we have resolved our situation in a way that suits us both, I agree it has no bearing on the mission.”
Dorian’s gaze went back and forth between the two of them. So their bonding had created more problems than it had solved. He was not surprised, and also not without some compassion for their desire to keep their private life private.
“I’m not sure I concur with your assessment of its value to the mission, but let’s have the other intuitives check.” Dorian turned and looked Ania and Malachi. “Any thoughts?”
“Their personal relationship does affect the mission, but I think Boca and Chiang have a right to work through the details privately,” Ania said, bowing her head to Boca, who let out a ragged breath.
The Sumerian’s female’s great relief brought on a mouth twitch that finally blossomed into a smile on Ania’s face. How well she understood Boca’s reluctance to tie herself to another controlling male. She was so tightly wound up over Chiang the Greggor, Ania was surprised Boca hadn’t yet exploded.
Malachi crossed his arms. “More than the fate of the high ambassador’s daughter is at stake in what the Creators shared about Boca’s bond with Chiang, but I agree with Ania—for now. I know I am involved as well, whether I want to be or not, but the exact role has not been made known to me. They are no more in the dark than I am on the situation.”
“Since when do you take orders from your wardens? How is anything from the Creators made known to you at all?” Gwen asked.
Malachi shrugged. “You could say there is a giant communication inbox in my spirit, Commander. Now and again I get a direct message there. It is quite unavoidable. So I have learned to deal with the messages as gracefully as possible. Not always do I have the voice to make them known, nor a reason. This host body has changed my investment.”
“Liam?” Dorian asked, going on to the last person in the group.
“The Liberator is way over its normal quota of personal drama affecting missions. I have to trust that Chiang and Boca are both calm-natured enough—which they are most of the time—to handle the stress of their current connection,” Synar said, having to search for neutral words. “I would rather we focus on the rest of what she learned.”
“You mean about others needing to help?” Ania suggested, expecting and seeing her mate’s nod. They had been in surprisingly constant accord with each other since the Trax females had arrived. It was almost strange to feel so warmly toward her mate all the time.
Synar looked at Boca and Chiang. “I’ve been intuitively seeing for a while now that more help was going to be needed for the mission’s success. I’ve been working on formulating a plan. Before I discuss it, I want to speak to Ambassador Onin. Regardless of our feelings about her, she is the Peace Alliance’s representative.”
“I keep forgetting we have to deal with the Mistress of Pain. Can’t say as I’ll be sorry to dump her off on Lotharius when this is over,” Gwen said.
“We’ll meet in the morning to discuss the details. Boca and Chiang will be delivered to Lotharius in the afternoon. Since the Dread Nought isn’t here yet, Warro’s crew from the Paladin will be assisting instead. I suggest we all get some rest tonight. Lieutenant Trax has the bridge.”
They all filed out of Medical. Gwen waited to walk out with Zade.
“What is making you smile so appealingly?” he asked.
“Just thinking we need to take advantage of a night off together again. I have a feeling after tomorrow you and I won’t be sharing the same shift for a while,” Gwen said sadly.
“Indeed,” Dorian said sadly in return, mirroring her tone as he offered a hand, pleased to feel Gwen slip her fingers into his. Glancing over his shoulder, he grinned at Chiang. “You were wise not to challenge me further, Greggor. You would not come out of our fight unscathed. Let go of your ridiculous jealousy.”
“Manca rahat si mor,” Chiang said coldly.
Dorian laughed and looked at his mate, who was not laughing. Gwen was obviously not pleased at his current conflict with Chiang, but it wasn’t like he was trying to provoke the male. It was just happening.
Dorian grinned and lifted a hand in salute as Gwen and he headed out of Medical. Chiang returned his grin with a snarl that made him laugh.
***
“Should I be worried about what I just saw, Zade?” Gwen asked as they headed down the hall.
“Would you rather Chiang direct that venom at the demon instead of me?” Dorian asked. “Malachi would be far less likely to tolerate his hormone-driven aggression. Greggor mating is animalistic and crude, but not to be taken lightly. All males are a threat until he reaches some sense of confidence about Boca’s exclusivity as his. So far the claiming is tentative. They are still not in accord about the matter.”
“Yes—anyone with eyes and ears has figured that out, but why is Chiang so mad at you specifically?” Gwen asked back, also whispering. “I would have thought Malachi would be the natural target.”
“Normally yes, but the Greggo
r is not in his right mind about the time she is spending with me in meditation training. Honestly, I believe he fears Boca finds me more attractive than him. Certainly, it is just his mating hormones overriding his common sense, but I don’t want to make fun of his irrationality,” Dorian said with shrug, liking his mate’s giggle as she swore.
“Well, you are prettier,” Gwen said, agreeing that it was illogical but understandable. “But Chiang has some pretty good moves, and you’ve got to admit he’s no slouch in the looks department either.”
“Are you saying you favor the Greggor over me?” Dorian asked, his grip tightening.
“Not even a little,” Gwen said, lowering her gaze. “But you two do have something in common. You’re part Greggor, and those males appeal to certain females, which reminds me of something. If I beg nicely, will you show me your tongue? I want to see it.”
“No,” Dorian said with a grin, “but if you talk sweetly, I might use it on you.”
Gwen laughed. “Okay—deal,” she said, picking up the pace and tugging her mate along with her. “One day you’re going to forget to hide it. I just hope I’m not too shocked.”
“Earthlings and their aversions to that which is different,” Dorian said snidely. “What was I thinking in mating yet another one?”
“Well technically I’m a hybrid like you. And you were probably thinking about my tongue, which is every bit as talented as yours,” Gwen declared.
“Indeed—that is a profound truth. And now I wish to continue this discussion in private,” Dorian said.
He let go of her hand, only to toss a laughing Gwen over his shoulder, running with her the last thirty meters to their quarters.
***
Back in Medical, silence filled the room. Chiang stared at Boca, who said nothing more to either him or the demon.
“Need anything more, Doctor?” Malachi asked politely, mostly to fill the awkward silence. “To clarify, I mean ‘need from me.’ Your thoughts are fairly screaming about Boca, so I can clearly see your need for our sweet little Sumerian. Regrettably, I can’t help you there. You’re on your own getting into her good graces. I advise you to keep all sharp knives away from the female when you argue.”
The Healer's Kiss: Book Four of the Forced To Serve Series Page 17
