Lindsey paused beside Caris and extended her hand in an odd gesture. Frowning, Caris gripped her palm and their arms moved up and down. While Zadal stood by, Lindsey struck up a conversation with the woman and soon the two shared a laugh. After more words exchanged, Caris smiled at Zadal and left the two alone.
Jealousy slid through Baruk as the woman who’d sparked his interest for the first time in years began to talk with Zadal. Granted, it was one-sided, since from where he stood, Zadal hadn’t said one word.
But the part of him used to the adoration of women was slightly non-plussed.
Chapter 5
Lindsey frantically sought a means to go after Baruk. Her gaze landed across the room at the only other man who didn’t seem to hang with another guy. He and the pretty woman next to him looked to be arguing about something. He appeared bored, only tolerating what she said. The few times Lindsey glimpsed him, he stood by himself. Almost as if he preferred it that way. As a result, Lindsey had given him a wide berth.
Unlike the other men in the room walking in twos, women didn’t stare at the blond giant. She could understand why. If ever there was a man who should have had a sign around his neck declaring ‘dangerous, stay away’ it was this man. Grooves through his short, blond waves encouraged a woman to attempt to touch it but dark eyes warned he’d not take kindly to the action.
His face was all hard angles, a half-smile playing about sensuous lips as the woman next to him rattled on. The smile was more mocking than humorous.
Military style suits defined menswear tonight but the gentleman wore a straight, knee-length black jacket with a single clasp at the throat and black pants with an air of ease. No buttons, no frills. Simple and perfect. Lindsey formulated her battle plan and inhaled. No guts no glory or pain.
Hopefully, more glory than pain or guts. Lindsey wasn’t partial to pain.
He looked up at that moment, their eyes meeting. An electric current flowed between them. Her heart stuttered. Lindsey stopped in the middle of the room, hand going to her chest. His thick lashed lowered in a blink. When they lifted, he returned his attention to his companion, unknowingly releasing Lindsey from the momentary magnetic pull.
Lindsey licked her lips and added a sway to her hips. Heart pounding, she walked right up next to him.
***
Zadal was seconds away from dismissing Caris and her annoying chatter. He’d come here tonight with a purpose and it wasn’t to debate her latest concerns regarding a Senate vote that had taken place months ago.
“Sorry to cut in, but I had to let you know how much I love your hair.”
Caris stopped haranguing Zadal long enough to face a slim blonde woman who wore a dress even he in his fashion challenged state recognized as not pleasing to the eye. The fabric draped her in ruffles from shoulder to ankle, the short sleeve on the left loose enough to slip and reveal the curve of her creamy flesh. He recognized her of course, since she’d turned her back on his approach no more than two hours ago.
“Thank you, your hair is nice as well.”
Zadal stood immobile as the two promptly ignored him to share tips about hair maintenance and other things he didn’t care one inch about. He shifted his weight, fully prepared to leave them to their women’s prattle when Caris agreed to do lunch one day with the blonde before leaving.
“Okay that was really rude and I apologize. I’m desperate.”
Zadal flinched.
“Not desperate really.” The woman looked over her shoulder and he was certain she groaned before facing him again. “I’m Lindsey. Please tell me you’re looking for a wife. You have to be…because you’re here and I suck at flirting.”
She broke off her rapid speech to meet his gaze with eyes so deep a blue it caught Zadal off guard. She snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Hello??”
He grabbed her wrist out of instinct the moment it neared, fingers gripping her delicate bones. Her mouth screwed up in pain though she didn’t cry out. Zadal released her instantly as heat burned his cheeks. He swallowed back his remorse to say stiffly, “My apologies.”
She rubbed her wrist, staring at him in a hesitant manner completely opposite of her initial demeanor when she’d approached. Regret tore through him as he castigated himself. He liked her bright smiles better.
“My mistake. Let’s start again. I’m Lindsey and you are…” She dragged the last word out and arched a winged brow in his direction.
Zadal bowed from the waist, eyes up as he’d taught himself to do after weeks of watching vids on the polite gesture. “Senate Leader Zadal Gatar.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you a politician or something?”
What game did she play? Everyone here tonight knew who he was. The women made a point to keep their distance and the men pretended he didn’t exist. For the last two hours Zadal had strolled around the ball room in search of what he wasn’t sure. Any time his eyes made contact with a lady, her gaze would dart away in a clear sign to not approach. Just as this Lindsey’s had. Frustration and annoyance wore at his nerves. This was his chance to find a bride but as he’d feared, without the power of a known spouse partner, none of them would have him.
“Are you into politics?” She raised her voice on the question as if he’d had trouble hearing her.
“Yes.” He studied the fine lines of her features. The short nose, glowing blue eyes and high cheekbones gave her more than pretty looks.
All together she looked fragile and on the heels of the thought, Zadal stepped back. She was not for him. His wife would need to be made of sterner stuff and this woman had lightweight written all over her. A Senate Leader’s spouse partner and wife needed to be capable of adding value to his life in all aspects.
She hummed under her breath and Zadal was fairly certain she mumbled, “I guess I could deal with that.”
He wondered how he could extricate himself from her presence without being rude. Usually, he didn’t care about how others viewed him. His goal since he’d achieved his Senate seat this last year revolved around gaining power and respect. Yet this woman with her ridiculously long lashes and golden tresses trapped him with nothing more than the blue eyes staring up at him.
“I’d like to be your Triad bride.”
Zadal choked, then hoped he masked the horror on his face. A woman didn’t ask a man, a man did the asking. He clasped his hands behind his back and went for his most stern look. The one that sent fear quaking through the other Senate Leaders when they thought to oppose him in votes. Only the carefree Baruk Laars pushed back and publicly fought him during those times.
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.” He searched for a viable reason and the answer blared in his brain. “I haven’t selected a spouse partner.”
Her lower lip trembled and Zadal felt lower than a grimlet slug. Then she lit up like the sun, color giving her skin tones a pink bloom. “I might have the answer.”
She reached for his arm and he managed not to react to her sudden move for physical contact this time. Her fingers grasped the cloth of the only suit he owned and tugged, leaving Zadal no choice but to follow unless he wanted to injure her further.
His eyes dipped to the wrist he’d grabbed and three darkening dots marred her skin. Cold rolled through him. How many times had his mother begrudgingly fixed his meals, her body lined with bruises from the rough hands of her clients? Whenever she caught him staring, Aiella Gatar would sneer and tell him of all the ways men were evil and how he’d grow to be the same.
Aeilla berated him constantly for the smallest slight until he learned to be on his guard around her. Sometimes her drug-filled rants ended with him curled in a ball on the floor, hands pressed to his ears to block her screaming and insults. Other times he’d wake on the floor bleeding from where she’d kicked him into unconsciousness.
Zadal didn’t want to be the type of man who brought a woman that low. He didn’t want to hurt a woman to the point she hated any child they created together.
When th
ey reached the other side of the over-large ball room, he realized where Lindsey had taken him. Two of the three men standing in the group stared in disdain. Zadal straightened. This he knew well. The woman had temporarily thrown him off his stride but he slid easily into the role he’d fought for all his life.
Zadal inclined his head to Baruk and his friends. “Gentlemen.”
Lindsey touched his elbow and he realized she’d never let him go. “Hi, all. Um can you excuse us? I need to talk to Mr. Baruk here.”
“Mister? Do you know who you’re speaking to?” The blond Zadal recognized as Riun Paer, eldest son in line to inherit Zorona Mining, his father’s business. He enjoyed his reputation as a lady’s man and was here tonight with his spouse partner, Sefon, to select a bride.
Baruk raised a palm to stop his friend from continuing.
“Mr. Baruk,” Lindsey started once again. “This is Senator Zadal. He needs a partner.”
Baruk couldn’t have looked more stunned and the two men at his side burst into laughter.
“She’s amusing.” Sefon sneered after getting his humor under control.
Zadal stiffened and flexed the fingers Lindsey still held. A slight tug didn’t free his hand. He’d love to put the pompous fool in his place. Sefon’s only purpose seemed to be hanging around Riun. He didn’t have the wealth of the Paer and Laars family but he’d been born in a Triad. But for that one notable difference their status would have been the same.
Lindsey shifted from one foot to the other, gaze bouncing. “He’s Baruk Laars. He introduced himself earlier.”
Riun’s brow lowered and Zadal sensed him about to put the woman in her place. She had no idea she’d just dismissed the son of one of the richest families on Garulax.
Sefon’s chest puffed up. “He’s…”
“Baruk, only.” The Senate Leader cut off, never taking his eyes from Lindsey.
“But—” Sefon tried to protest, anger tightening the lines around his cold eyes.
Zadal braced his weight, prepared to defend the strange woman. If she would let his hand go.
Baruk must have picked up on the undercurrents and spoke. “Riun and Sefon, give us a moment.”
Both men gave Lindsey a sharp glare before storming off. She barely noticed, turning to Baruk and gifting him with the same smile which had somehow knocked Zadal off his axis.
“Would you like to be in our Triad?” She glanced up at Zadal and winked as if they shared a private joke. Zadal stiffened but she faced Baruk again. “He’s a Senate Leader but we need a third person and since you seemed interested earlier, I just thought…”
“Thought what?” Baruk drawled laconically. “That I wouldn’t have my own spouse partner designated for the evening?”
Lindsey swiped at her hair, mussing the artful arrangement. “I’m doing this wrong.” She huffed out a breath. “I don’t know how this is supposed to go. I came here to find a husband…husbands who would be interested in me. Someone I could care about and so far you two are the only ones who don’t appear to have a hidden agenda.”
Zadal stifled the need to correct her. He had an agenda. He chose not to share it and Zadal felt fairly certain Baruk had one as well.
Lindsey released Zadal’s hand at last but now he missed the soft contact. “I turned down a lot of guys already. You’re the only two who haven’t looked down on me for coming here through Earth’s single program.”
Zadal winced. It explained her odd behavior and odder speech. His plans tonight hadn’t included forming an alliance with his nemesis on the Senate panel but one look at Baruk assured Zadal that the man was seriously considering her offer.
“What do you think?” she asked, hands clasped in front of her.
The silent plea in her blue gaze pinched at his heart. Zadal ruthlessly crushed his desire to agree. The answer didn’t fully rest with him. He faced Baruk. “Have you a spouse partner? If so, I can decline the lady and you can move forward in the Triad marriage.”
“No,” Lindsey gasped, eyes wide. “I want both of you.”
Once more his heart tripped in his chest. Women lusted for him. Carnal desire brought them to his bed in droves but to simply want him?
As soon as the words cleared her lips, Lindsey turned red and the color worked itself down her throat. How far did the blush go? To her abundant breasts heaving beneath the dress? Suddenly, Zadal’s interest was far more engaged.
***
Baruk didn’t know whether to be appalled or amused. The panic in Zadal’s gaze pushed him more toward the latter. He’d never considered a Triad with the harsh Senate opponent. The man didn’t have a soft bone in his body, yet he remained here fully willing to accept a spouse partnership with Baruk.
“This is an important decision to make.” Was all Baruk could say.
“I know.” Lindsey from Earth peered up at him with earnest eyes.
Women looked at him with greed. With eyes to his wealth as the sole heir to the Laars fortune. In addition to his role as Senate Leader, Baruk ran a business empire worth billions of liko. But never had a woman gazed at him with such sincerity as displayed by this woman.
Coming here, Baruk knew what he wanted in his wife. A woman of beauty and poise, average intelligence to converse with those he entertained and someone who’d help him run his life smoothly as his mother once did for his fathers.
He did not come here to select a woman who was a stranger to his world. Yes, he’d been struck by her beauty when he noticed her standing in the corner but now that he knew more of her, she would not do. “I’m afraid I must decline.”
It was akin to kicking a baby kerdal. The furry animals had the softest eyes. He cast a glance at Zadal, whose knowing stare tempted him to change his mind. Baruk resisted the unspoken childish dare.
“I’m sure Senate Leader Zadal can name someone else more appropriate for your Triad.”
Because no way would the man deny this beauty. Zadal could be cruel and without mercy but he wasn’t stupid. Never that. Zadal understood as surely as Baruk that no other woman here would have him with his status as briot and questionable parentage. Men and women formed Triads befitting their status, placing Zadal in a difficult position.
As a Senate Leader his respectable role required and deserved a wife on his professional level but his personal life included a mother who worked in the sex trade and an unknown father because his mother avoided a Triad marriage.
“I want you, Baruk. You made my heart ping.”
Baruk’s head jerked up.
“I promised I’d marry a man who made my heart ping not just anybody.” She waved a hand in Zadal’s direction. “He’s handsome and polite. Maybe on the scary side but nobody’s perfect, except together we could be. He needs a spouse and I think you do too. Both of you need a bride and here I am.”
Baruk laughed, he couldn’t help it. He laughed and laughed, drawing stares their way. He laughed until Zadal shot him an ugly look. When he finally had his hilarity under control, Baruk answered. “Well then, I agree.”
Perhaps he’d end up in helta where evil souls reportedly roamed but Baruk refused to walk away from a woman who spoke this passionately about a tradition he’d become quite jaded about. And all her talk of pinging? He had no idea what that was. But what was the worst that could happen?
Having Zadal and the Earthling for a Triad Marriage couldn’t be that bad after all.
Chapter 6
Lindsey rushed through the twisting halls of the administration center a kind soul directed her toward. The soles of her shoes clicked on the tiled black and white checked floor of the massive building as she searched for room 202. The overhead skylights let in the early morning sunshine and busy workers stared as she passed them like a rocket.
Unlike on Earth and most business facilities, Lindsey learned after her mad dash upstairs that 202 didn’t necessarily mean second floor. So back down she tumbled, hands gripping the metal railing while sweat gathered between her breasts and beneath her arm
s as she pumped her elbows faster. Lindsey skidded to a halt when she reached the two-hundreds after zooming by several rooms with meetings in session. Every few doors, she peeked beyond the wooden entryways only to receive nasty glares as she muttered hasty apologies.
At the end of the hall, Lindsey peered into the last opened door in this section of the building. Above the archway, a discrete sign declared it 202. Her first glance inside caused Lindsey to cringe.
Baruk paced back and forth in front of a man in a black floor length robe with snowy, white hair which frizzed about his face. Zadal leaned against a shoulder-high metal cabinet, ankles crossed. Both men looked properly annoyed. At her entrance, all three turned.
Taking a deep breath, Lindsey smiled and wiggled her fingers in greeting. “Hi. I’m sorry. Getting around the space station is still new for me and no one told me the Andreii building was clear on the other side of Teeve. The transport also had propulsion engine trouble and I had to wait for another—”
“You’re late,” Zadal cut in, caramel eyes glaring. Had she thought them sexy last night, because right now she didn’t.
“I just explained.” She marched across the carpeted floor to stand next to him. Baruk stopped pacing, his dark head tipped to the side. Lindsey faced the man in the robes. “I’m ready.”
“What are you wearing?”
Baruk’s mild question stopped the robed figure from speaking. Lindsey smothered a sigh. Last night she spent most of her time thinking over her decision at the Triad Bridal Meet. Zadal’s rugged features were hard to ignore. His blond hair cut brutally short added to his rough looks and his brawler’s body made her breath catch. Baruk’s appearance by contrast spoke of elegance and refinement. Black hair and blue eyes gave him a cover model’s beauty.
“I think she has a hearing impairment, Honorable Sye,” Baruk said. “We may need to cancel the marriage.”
Lindsey gaped. “No. It’s not that. My translator’s not right.”
Lindsey's Rescue: A World Beyond Book 3 Page 3
