“They must be pissed at losing you.”
“Yeah, they are. But, I can wangle the law now. Technically, a serving officer of the Fleet, which I am according to my rank, has to be ready to be an active member of a ship’s crew, as well as to be an active part of administration. My knee is busted. My hip was shattered. You know they’ll only allow so much polinium in your body at any one time. My hip was in a worse state so they’ve replaced the joint completely and patched up my knees with pins until my system addresses the polinium and I can have a new one.
“That means the Fleet will either have to let me bow out of service thanks to my injury or promote me. I’m good at what I do, damn good, but they can’t piss off the higher ranks by promoting me twenty annals ahead of schedule just to keep me. There shouldn’t be a problem with my becoming a civilian.
“And beyond all that, technically, my enlistment contract terminates in a few menses. Even if they do put up a fight, and want me to stay on, they can’t bully me into it unless I willingly reenlist.”
Knox snorted, then, seeing Rafer’s confusion, shook his head. “Then why was your crew in the right star quadrant? Just ready and waiting to help you and us out? That really sounds like you’re out of the scene.”
Rafer shrugged. “They’re my men. My handpicked team. Getting here almost caused a lukcin military incident. They must have followed me on the passenger cruiser I took. I didn’t order them to come here. Nor are they watching me. Anyway, it was probably a good thing they decided to countermand my orders, because there’s no guarantee you’d have gotten your receptionist back in one piece.”
Knox conceded that point with a grimace. “Okay, so I can do no less than thank you for that. Have your men heard anything else about the kidnappers?”
Rafer shook his head. “They’re all still refusing to talk. The only thing I’ve had confirmed is they’re not Barconians, as we originally believed. Nor are they an affiliated race to the Barconians.”
“You thought that because of the clothes they wore, right?”
“Yeah. The fabric is native to their planet. It kind of sucks in solar light and reflects it. It’s so goddamn hot on Barconia they had to adapt clothing to protect their skin. But it’s so effective, traders have been selling it for annals all over the galaxy. It doesn’t come as a surprise to me that the Barconians aren’t involved.”
Rafer watched as Knox finally took a seat in the armchair across from him. “They’re still investigating this, though, right?”
He grunted. “What the lukcin do you think? ‘Course they are, Knox. They could have taken Parker. Griljerrd, whoever was behind the kidnapping could still be after her. We need to find out who is actually the ringleader of all of this.” He looked Knox dead in the eye and asked, “Is there anyone you know who might be involved? Have you made any enemies?”
“Why me and not you?” Knox retorted, his voice an affronted growl. “It’s more than likely you who’s to blame, what with all your olan spy games.”
“It may well be, and my men are looking into any and all groups that hold a personal grudge against me. But they need to look into your life and Parker’s as well. We don’t want them to miss anything, do we?”
Knox still looked pissed off, but he admitted, “I don’t think there’s anyone with such a grudge against me that they’d go to those lengths. I’m pretty well respected on Madison. The planet’s economy has become so successful thanks to this complex.”
“Are the natives restless, though?”
Knox shrugged. “I don’t think so. There’s never been any threats. If anything, they’ve all been eager to work at the resort. Most of our staff are natives, and they’ve never said anything about this company being an enemy of the planet.
“The only thing I can think of is someone who we had to fire. It doesn’t happen often, but at least once every couple of menses or so.”
“Can you get together a list?”
“Sure. I’ll have my assistant send it to that lieutenant of yours.”
“He isn’t mine, Knox,” Rafer retorted on a sigh.
Knox just waved a hand. “Whatever. I’ve just had the get go from the government here on a project Parker and I have been contemplating for a while.”
“What kind of project?”
“We were integral in the plan to construct the three life-support domes on Madison. But the hotel is currently filling one dome to the seams. We’ve been looking into new life-support technology, and we can construct a single dome to overtake all three of the current ones.
“Guests have often stated how they dislike the underground tunnels they have to use to get around the planet, so we figured this was a way to resolve that, as well as enable us to add to the complex. Parker has ideas for a water and a theme park.”
“A water park? Is that even possible?”
Knox nodded, not in the least surprised that Rafer didn’t have a clue what one was. “She’s full of these kinds of ideas. Says they were everywhere on Earth. That’s why there’s so much going on here—they’re all things she remembers from her planet.
“A water park is a place with lots of different slides. High, low, bendy. I’ll show you the architect’s plans if you’re really interested. They’re not ordinary slides, though. They’re filled with foam, so you travel faster, and land in a pool.”
“You said foam, but it’s called a water park?”
“It would cost way too much to use water—even the synthetic stuff—on the slides. We had someone come up with a composition that has similar characteristics to the water found on Earth.”
“I’d like to look at those plans, please, Knox. It sounds interesting.”
Knox grinned. “I’ll send them to your comm. Just wait until you see what a rollercoaster is! I can’t wait to have a go on some of the rides myself. Parker spent a long time working with the architect to get the rides right. It’s not just for kids, if anything, it’s mostly for adults, and it will be unique to Madison.” He rubbed his hands together. “The complex will be full for menses when it first opens.”
“When does that seem likely to be?”
“An annal at the most. Now we’ve had the go ahead to construct the single dome, we can start laying foundations for the foam and the theme park. While the dome is being built, the parks can be started. Hopefully the two projects will finish together.”
“Won’t that cost a fortune? Having to suit all the construction team in life support gear?”
Knox shrugged. “We’ll make a goddamn fortune in the first mens. Hell, our projected yield is through the roof. I just want the damned thing open as quickly as possible.”
“Have you had any threats from any of the locals about this?”
“I don’t think so. Nothing that’s been brought to my attention at any rate.”
“Okay. Well, it might be worth taking a look. Send that information over to Jyk, too. Might as well keep the team busy while they’re here.”
“Slave driver,” Knox mocked. “They’re probably tucked away in one of the brothels right this minute.”
“Exactly. It’s my duty to save them from STDs.”
Knox snorted and threw two slim-line boxes onto the bed. “You’re all heart, you know that?”
Rafer just smiled. “I know. What are these?”
“The ledgers you wanted.”
“Thank Griljerrd. I thought I’d go crazy if Parker decided to change her mind about letting me look at them.”
“There’s definitely something going on, but what with all this kidnapping shit, I haven’t had a chance to look deeper into the situation. A manager is definitely involved. If you could clear this up for me, and save Parker and me some time, we’d lukcin appreciate it.”
“Anything to help. Eventually, I’ll need a job here, Knox. Wherever you want to put me, I’ll go,” he commented, his request awkward enough to bring a warm smile to Knox’s lips.
“I’m actually glad you asked. Parker’s concerned about keep
ing you entertained. She’s certain the black soup will call you away from her.”
Rafer grunted. “It never has called me away. My contract did that, as well as knowing there wasn’t a damned thing I could do about it apart from go AWOL, and one does not desert the Fleet. Not if one appreciates their hide.”
Knox eyed Rafer’s shudder with a frown, then he murmured, “What section do you want to be in? Admin? On the floor? In the hotel or on the complex?”
“When I’m back on my feet, do you think some of the managers could show me around the different parts of the resort? So I could make my choice then?”
“Don’t see why not. I don’t want to shove you somewhere you’ll be miserable.” Knox came to his feet and stood at the foot of the bed, looking down at his still-battered brother. “Whatever’s happened in the past, and even though I’m still pissed off, I’m glad you’re home, twinling.”
Rafer smiled. “Me, too.”
Knox nodded, then turned on his heel and left the bedroom. Rafer studied the now-closed door for a few seconds, and blew out a breath of relief. He couldn’t exactly say that the bridge between him and his brother was entirely mended, but he knew they’d both taken the first step onto that path, and for that, Rafer was thankful.
He eyed the ledgers in front of him and switched them on. The very first page was dotted with red circles, and when he turned on the second ledger, the same page shared those red circles. He eyed the dates, and from the table at his side, dragged out a tablet and stylus for him to take notes.
He’d only been working for about ten mins when an inner door to the suite opened and closed. Even with the portals shut, he could scent a recently cleansed Parker, as well as Knox’s seed still on her. His cocks stirred at the dual scents, as well as the perfume that told him Parker’s body was still in need.
It didn’t come as a surprise when she opened the door to peer in. He was shocked, however, to see the strange flush on her cheeks, the bright sparkle in her eye. Not even that Fahnil when they’d made love for the first time had she looked like this. Like her hormones were riding her. His nose told him that, even if his eyes could only tell him something odd was going on with his mate.
“Parker?” he asked after he switched off the ledgers. “Are you all right, maja?”
He watched with a frown of concern as her lips started to tremble. Her hands shook as she moved around the door and closed it, then pressed her back to it.
The scent she exuded made his cocks embarrassingly hard. Apparently, his body had decided he was ready for this. For her. He had to grit his teeth as the urge to mate with her overcame him. It had been so lukcin long. So many annals without her, so many annals with just his own fucking fist. Even screwing with the on-flight sex simulators had felt like cheating. He’d only ever used one of the goddamn machines during those times he felt he’d go insane if he couldn’t find release, and even then he’d felt like cheating scum.
“What’s going on, love?”
“I need you,” she whispered, and weren’t her words like lukcin music to his ears? “But I’m not ready for the Ceremony. Not yet.”
“The spirit is willing, maja, but the body is weak.” He shook his head, knowing his cocks were ready for something, but not for the Ceremony. “I won’t be ready for a while either. Not until I’m fully recuperated, at any rate. The Ceremony would be too much for me. That isn’t to say there aren’t other things we can do to ease our needs, though.”
She stepped forward. “But we can’t have sex. I remember the Ceremony distinctly, Rafer. Knox wouldn’t fuck me until we were properly bound.”
“He couldn’t penetrate you,” Rafer clarified. “That isn’t to say we can’t touch each other.”
She pulled in a breath. “My body feels like it’s going crazy. I should be used to that after all this time. I’m used to passing out after sex, used to waking up feeling like I’ve been in a goddamn coma, but this? It must be because you’re here. My body can sense it.” She shuddered. “If any Earthling ever heard me make such a comment they’d wonder what the fuck was wrong with me.”
Lips twitching, Rafer murmured, “Bodies don’t sense things where you’re from?”
She rolled her eyes. “Things like hunger and thirst. It doesn’t look for a man, then know when the right one is suddenly in the room.” Parker’s shoulders slumped as she approached the bed. “I didn’t want to do anything like this with you until we were ready, until I was ready.”
“Ready for what?”
She slipped onto the bed, and laid flat out at his side. It was her turn to stare up at the ceiling, and she kept her eyes trained on the Shuzon sunset hologram above her rather than look at him. “To trust you,” she whispered. “With more than just my body.”
“Oh maja,” Rafer murmured on a sigh. “I’m sorry I’ve hurt you. So many times and for so long.”
“Now I know what you were doing, I can understand it better. We had armies back home, you know. We had fleets, even though they were far smaller than the Fleet. Men had to leave their loved ones, some never came back, and some that did were never the same again. If you’d told me long ago why you couldn’t come home, I’d have resolved myself to wait. As it is, all this time, I’ve thought there was something about me that didn’t click with you. I questioned if I was your mate or not. It’s that I’m finding hard to forgive.”
“Who could blame you, Parker? Griljerrd, if I could have told you, I would have. I don’t deserve you, love. I never have.”
She reached for his hand, joined them together, and on a sigh, murmured, “How do we move on from this, Rafer? I don’t want to feel like this. I know how a mate bond feels. I know it should be as easy as breathing with you, like it is with Knox. The difference between us hurts, but I don’t know how to change it. How to stop it.”
“The only way, maja, is to let some time pass. Time in which we can start to learn who the other is. I know it’s my fault we’ve been apart for so long.”
“There’s no point in beating yourself up over it, Rafer. Not anymore. Not now you’re here. What’s done is done. We need to move on, and you’re right. Time heals all ails. We just need to be patient. I can’t expect for my relationship with you to be a clone of the one I have with Knox, and I don’t. Things would always have been different between us, even if we’d all mated at the same time, because that’s only natural. You might look like him, but you’re not him.”
“I’m not as patient as him, that’s for damned sure,” he admitted with a wry grin. He turned on his side, swallowing as his new hip took the burden of his weight for the first time since he’d had the transplant. It took a few seconds for the pain to dissipate, and even then, he could tell from the lip she was nibbling that his color wasn’t exactly healthy. His voice was slightly hoarse as he whispered, “Knox is a good man. I’m not.”
She frowned at him, and he could tell he’d switched her attention from his injuries and onto his words. He preferred that. It was hard having her see him like this. Weak. But he’d been in so much lukcin pain that he’d just wanted to be home and with her and his brother for his recuperation. He hadn’t thought about after, when he’d be on the road to recovery, when she’d be able to see him at his lowest, at his frailest.
No male wanted his mate to see him like that.
“Of course you’re a good man. What makes you think you’re not?”
“The fact that I was the first Shuzon male to join the Fleet? Ever?”
She scowled. “That has nothing to do with you being a good man or not. I hate the Fleet. I’m not going to lie. I hate what they did to my planet, I hate what they did to my people. But that’s what an army does. Goes off and conquers. Sometimes, they’re the aggressor, and sometimes, they’re there to stop the aggressors. Being a part of that body doesn’t make a person bad or good.”
“It does on Shuzon,” Rafer mumbled uncomfortably, even though he was touched at her defense of him.
She waved a dismissive hand at th
at. “You’re forgetting, I’ve met your family. I know as a race, you all are supposedly peace-loving, but your mothers are more bloodthirsty than Barconians.”
Rafer swallowed a laugh. “I should tell you off for that.”
“What? For telling the truth?”
She looked the picture of innocence with her blonde hair and bright eyes. All pink and white flesh, flushed with vitality. His mate. His. The thought was enough to make his cocks twitch.
“For insulting my mothers. Males duel over less on Shuzon. To the death.”
She snorted. “Yeah, peace-loving. You think humans are bad. I remember one of my mom’s bosses tried to bribe her into an affair once. My dad only broke the SOB’s nose, he didn’t try to kill him.”
He grinned. “I never thought of it like that. We’re taught from an early age to uphold the family honor.”
“I didn’t know that. Have you ever had to fight for the family honor?”
“No. But I know Knox has.” He grimaced. “When I enlisted, our good name took a battering. He got into a lot of fights. I don’t know if you know this, but a twinling can sense any physical pain the other experiences.”
“Knox told me. He said you’re such a big shot in the Fleet that they invented this serum to sever the link between the two of you.”
He sighed. “He shouldn’t have told you that.”
“He probably shouldn’t have told me you used to stumble around in your momma’s high heels when you were a little boy, either.”
She burst into laughter at his wide-eyed look of horror. His mouth worked, once, twice, then he gritted out, “I’ll lukcin kill him. I was lukcin five at the time. Practically a baby.”
Parker reached over and patted him on the chest. “There, there. Don’t worry, I’m good at keeping secrets.”
He grunted. “There go my erections.”
She chuckled. “I’m sure I can do something to get them back.”
“Yeah? Like what?” he asked with a pout.
“A truth for a truth.”
He eyed her. “What kind of truth?”
“Any kind,” she told him with a jerk of her shoulder. “Up for it?” At his nod, she murmured, “I’ll go first. Knox met me in a slave auction on Napalmi.”
A Menage Made On Madison [The Federation 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 11
