“Your mother.”
Arton narrowed his eyes as resentment echoed through his being. This wasn’t the first time Kage’s fascination with Skyla Lux had become a point of contention between Kage and him. “My mother is dead, and I don’t give a damn what my father’s war bride had to say about anything.”
“Generally I’d respect your wishes, but her reason for comming was…interesting.”
“Maybe to you. I’m not interested. Period.” Unmoved by Kage’s attitude, Arton moved back toward his workstation and started to sit down.
“I was under the impression we can’t leave without Lily Fontenot. Has that changed?”
Arton clenched his fists. He hated it when Kage resorted to his “overlord” voice. It sounded too much like the instructors at Harbinger Academy. Struggling to relax his expression, he slowly turned back around. “I’m working on it.”
“Was Torrin’s security code still valid? Last I heard, that was your best hope for getting aboard the Triumphant.”
Glaring did no good. Kage knew the answer to these questions or he wouldn’t be here. “General Lux is too damn efficient for such a slip. But there are other ways of gaining access to Lily.”
One of Kage’s brows slashed upward and challenge flashed in his ink-black eyes. “Would a personal invitation from General Lux to ‘parley’ aboard the Triumphant assist you in any way?”
Arton stilled. Why would Sedrik do such a thing? It was foolish. Unless he was planning some sort of trap. “For what purpose? Why would my brother agree to meet with me now? We’ve barely spoken in the past twenty years.”
“Gee, I wonder.” Kage grinned. “Could it have something to do with the human females we’ve been gathering like butterflies?”
Again Arton wanted to punch his boss in the face. They were only collecting human females with such brazen determination because Kage was in such an irrational hurry to leave Earth-space. “Even if I agree to the meeting, I’m sure I’ll be under guard every step of the way. How does that help me reach Lily?”
Kage started laughing. He tossed back the shaggy section of his hair and turned toward the door. “You really have no imagination when you’re stressed. Go toss back a few with Torrin and see if the two of you can come up with a plan.”
* * * * *
Sedrik handed Rebecca a glass of Bilarrian blood wine and kept one for himself. He generally preferred g’haut to the tamer beverage, but he needed his head clear for the emotional transfer he’d proposed. She remained in her semi-reclined position against the couch’s padded arm. Her knees were bent nearly to her chest, which left room for him to join her. He sat, resisting the temptation to touch her. She seemed ready, even willing, to share her body with him. Unfortunately, her heart was still locked away.
She took a sip of wine and then another. “I can’t believe we met a day and a half ago. I feel like I’ve known you for months, even years.”
He smiled, watching her closely. “It’s the memory transfer. That’s why courting couples often use them. The interaction creates a level of intimacy that would take months, even years, to create in the human way.”
“Well, the ‘human way’ failed me utterly. I’m ready for something new.” She lifted her wineglass and took another drink.
He watched her lips press against the smooth glass and the red liquid flow into her mouth. Never before had he been so envious of an inanimate object. Rather than mutter some inane comment, he took a drink as well.
“So, does this work like it did in the cave, or are you going to do something different?”
After draining more than half his wine, he set his glass aside. Excitement melded with anxiety, making him restless and eager to start. “I’ll use the same link. All you have to do is relax and accept me into your mind.” If her massive gulp of wine was any indication, this was going to be much harder for her than him. “I won’t hurt you, Rebecca. I will never intentionally harm you.”
“There are many kinds of pain.” Her voice grew reedy and harsh. “He demonstrated all of them.”
Sedrik didn’t need to ask who “he” was. She refused to dwell on the details of her suffering, but the flashes of memory he’d picked up during their first exchange were more than enough to fuel Sedrik’s hatred of James Dayton. “All you ever have to do is say stop and I’ll stop.”
“I know.” She finished her wine and set the glass on the floor. “If I didn’t trust you, I’d never agree to this.”
His foolish heart thundered at her words. She trusted him. That was a very important first step. “Are you ready?”
She nodded, looking uncertain, maybe even afraid.
Unable to resist the instinct to comfort his mate, he slipped his arm under her knees and gently lifted as he scooted across the couch. Her legs draped over his lap and he was finally within reach of her lovely face. “Close your eyes, love.” She did as he ran his fingertips along her jaw, brushing his thumb over her softly parted lips.
He followed the link into her mind. Her mental shields were surprisingly strong for an untrained human. He’d noticed the barrier when he’d anchored the transfer link in the cave. It would be easy to dismiss the finding as incidental, a quirk of genetics. But he knew better. Her mental defenses had built up gradually over time as her abuser continually pelted her with negative energy and pain. It was a wonder she could trust him at all.
His eyes drifted shut as he slowly ventured deeper. She grew restless, fidgeting against the arm of the sofa. Acting on instinct again, he lifted her onto his lap, supporting her back and drawing her against him. “I’ve got you,” he whispered. “You’re safe in my arms.”
She wrapped one of her arms around his neck and the other around his back. “Kiss me,” she whispered in return. “I need your taste.”
Warmth washed over him in languid waves and he lowered his head until their mouths just touched. He wanted to keep things calm and focused, but she had other ideas. Her soft lips parted, then her tongue eased past his lips. He groaned and greeted her boldness with a swirl of his tongue.
They’d already established that she wanted him sexually. His pride—and the hope smoldering in his heart—refused to believe that lust was all she felt. Sill, holding her like this, feeling the softness of her lips and having her taste explode in his mouth drew his aggression to the surface.
He tore his mouth away, panting harshly. “I can’t think when we do that. I need to concentrate.”
“Sorry,” she murmured, but her dreamy smile appeared anything but contrite. She pressed her face against the side of his neck and snuggled into his warmth.
Thrilled by her apparent need for his embrace, he closed his eyes and returned his focus to her mind. Taking advantage of her relaxed state, he eased past her shields. Vivid colors and sudden bursts of emotion assailed his being. She fought so hard to control her emotions that only the strongest impulses escaped. He didn’t want to witness her abuse, knew enough about what she’d endured to make that sort of exchange unnecessary. Instead, he focused on recent events, doing his best to remain objective.
Her desire for him burned brightly, the need even more intense than he’d realized. She ached for him, longed not just for the pleasure, but the fundamental connection of male and female. As she’d said, she admired his accomplishments and enjoyed spending time with him. But deeper emotions, tenderness, love, appeared to be missing from the mix.
He took a deep breath, horribly disappointed, yet refusing to ignore what he sensed. If she didn’t love him, lacked even the spark of eventual love, what sort of future could they build together? He wanted a mate, not a close friend.
With a frustrated sigh, he started to release the link and ease out of her mind, but an impulse, a faint movement in the corner of her mind, drew his attention in another direction. For a fraction of an instant, he felt warmth and affection bathe his weary soul. Yet when he turned, eager to locate the source of the tenderness, he found darkness and pain.
The distortion was
black and twisted, like the muscular coils of a snake. He’d avoided the area before, knowing it was the result of her abuse. Hatred wrapped around despair, surrounding an inner layer of desperation. It looked as if she’d deprived the area of energy until the emotions were shriveled and easy to contain. He wasn’t sure the tactic was healthy, but it seemed to be working.
As he studied the emaciated coils, he saw an occasional flash of light. How odd. Why would light reside at the center of misery? The same warmth and tenderness accompanied each flash of light and Sedrik froze, paralyzed by the implications of his discovery.
She’d been abused by a person who claimed to love her, a person she’d loved until his betrayal. So her ability to love, her instinctual need for a mate was now deeply connected to her abuse. Was it possible to separate the two? To free the love trapped within the damage without fueling the dormant emotions?
He studied the coils, analyzing the blockage with the skills he’d learned from his mother. He looked beyond the obvious, opened his being to psychic understanding. All he needed was a weapon, a strategy, so he could help her fight this battle.
A dizzying rush of images and sensations flooded his mind. The scenes passed so quickly he only gleaned the importance of each situation without absorbing the details.
Trust. It’s all about trust. The thought reminded him of his mother, though the voice was deeper, more insistent.
She is starting to trust me, he defended. I’m not sure what more I can do to—
It’s not about you, silly man. She’s lost faith in her own judgment. She must learn how to trust herself.
He slowly eased out of her mind, stunned, yet strangely hopeful. It would be a long, complicated battle, but at least he understood the nature of the conflict.
“You’re smiling,” Rebecca pointed out. “Does that mean I’m not as screwed up as I thought I was?”
She wasn’t the type of person to lie to herself, so it was unlikely he’d discovered anything she didn’t already know. “You are still capable of love. The ability hasn’t been extinguished, but its constrained, tangled up in—”
“What Jim left behind?” He nodded and a sad sort of frustration filled her gaze. “I could have told you that. I’m still in survival mode. I don’t know how to move beyond it.”
“It is and has always been about trust.” He gently stroked the side of her face, briefly teasing her lips with his thumb.
“I trust you,” she objected. “Or at least I’m starting to.”
He shook his head, gaze moving over her face. “I’m not the one you’ve lost faith in.”
Her brows drew together and she nervously licked her lips. “You mean me. I no longer trust myself?”
“You chose Jim.” The last thing he wanted was to hurt her, but this was not the time for subtlety. “You flirted, went out of your way to draw his attention, and he turned out to be a monster.”
She stared into his eyes, her expression conflicted. “How can I trust what I’m feeling for you when…”
“I’m not Jim and you don’t have to depend on your judgment. The transfer link will show you everything you need to know. I’ll leave it active until you’re convinced that I am who I claim to be and we’re meant to spend the rest of our lives together.”
“And if that never happens?” She lowered her lids, shielding her emotions with her lashes.
“We’ll try something else, and we’ll keep right on trying until you accept my claim or walk away. I’m task orientated. I can’t let anything go until the objective is met.”
“And in the meantime?” Color stained her cheeks and she slowly raised her gaze.
“That’s entirely up to you. If you haven’t figured this out, we’re making much of this up as we go along. Nothing like the transformation program has ever been attempted before, so the possibilities are endless.” She remained silent, her expression thoughtful. “What did you want for yourself before you met Jim? What were your dreams and ambitions?”
A sad little smile bowed her lips and she shook her head. “The usual childhood nonsense, racecar driver, astronaut, that sort of thing. Then I got a crush on Jim and all I could think about was marriage and babies. I was willing to work, but what I really wanted was to be a homemaker, a wife and mother.” She sighed and lowered her lashes. “I know that sounds horribly old-fashioned, maybe even lazy.”
“There is nothing ‘lazy’ about wanting to raise children and manage a household. My mother uses her abilities when they are needed, but she has never sought employment. Even after we were grown she remained a homemaker. I assure you, no one who has met her would call Skyla Lux lazy.”
“I honestly don’t know if I’d enjoy a job or not. I married Jim six days after my eighteenth birthday. I’d barely begun to explore who I was when he took control of my life. As I said, I often felt as if I should get a job, but Jim wouldn’t let me. He felt strongly that it was his duty to provide for me.”
But rather than providing a loving environment where she would feel cherished and safe, he’d beat the shit out of her, isolated and controlled her. “No wonder what I offer doesn’t appeal to you.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Strength returned to her voice as she blinked away the past. She sat up but remained on his lap. “Of course happily ever after appeals to me. I’ve always wanted a home and family. But that’s what Jim promised too, so I’m struggling to believe it’s real with you and me.”
“It’s real, sweetheart, or it can be. You know I want children, but I want you to be happy even more. If you’re satisfied as my mate, that’s wonderful. But if you find you want something more, something just for you, I’ll help you figure out what that is. We’ll explore the options until you find something you really like, something fulfilling and fun.”
“‘Fulfilling and fun.’ That sounds pretty good to me.” Color blossomed on the crest of her cheeks and she quickly looked away. “Speaking of fulfillment,” she whispered then swallowed with difficulty and dragged her gaze back to his face. “If we’re not going to make love, I want my own cabin. Being near you, touching you, is too hard if we’re not going to move this thing forward.”
Physical need slammed into him, speeding his pulse and hardening his cock. It would probably be best to move her to another cabin, to allow her time to make sure this was what she wanted before they indulged their mutual desires. But just the thought of crawling into his bed alone made his entire body ache. “I don’t want to be without you, but you need to be sure. Sharing pleasure will deepen our feelings for each other, make it harder to walk away.”
“That might be a good thing.” Her siren’s smile returned and she touched his face, stroking from his temple to his chin as her gaze melded with his. “The more I want you, the harder I’ll work to overcome my past, to learn to trust myself and my feelings for you. I only ask one thing in return.”
His heart was beating so fast he could barely think. “Name it.”
“You have to promise not to claim me until I’m ready.”
He sighed, frustrated that she felt the need to ask. “We will never do anything unless you’re ready.”
“Good.” She smiled at him. “I’m more than ready to share your bed.”
Her casual words sealed her fate. There was no way he’d let her go now. He’d fight any foe, search the universe until he found the right approach. She would be free of her past, or he would die trying to help her.
Chapter Nine
Rebecca laid her head on Sedrik’s shoulder, unable to believe they were finally going to make love, or share pleasure as the Rodytes liked to say. It had only been a day and a half since she first encountered Sedrik, but so much had happened and she’d spent so much of that time longing for this that it felt much longer.
The lights came on automatically as he entered the bedroom. Like the outer room, this one was sleekly elegant, designed to maximize each millimeter of space. The slanted headboard and nightstands were built into the wall, creating a smooth, flo
wing esthetic. He set her down beside the neatly made bed, issued a Rodyte command that dimmed the lights, then went to work on his clothing.
Fascinated by his movements, and the impressive shape of his muscular body, she just stood there and watched. He removed his boots then tore off his socks. Grasping the back of his shirt with one hand he tugged the garment off and tossed it aside. He reached for the fastenings at the front of his pants, then noticed she was just standing there.
“Need some help?” He flashed a charming smile, then stalked toward her, gaze hot and hungry.
She’d seen his desire before, but this was the first time she knew he didn’t intend to stop. She toed off the slip-on shoes Lily had “printed” for her. The clothes she wore had come from a supply hub somewhere on the ship, but even the smallest Rodyte shoes had been several sizes too large.
Sedrik framed her face with his hands and tilted her head up until their eyes met. “Are you sure this is what you want? You’re hesitating.”
She shook her head. “This is what I want, what we both need. I’ve just never…I’ve never been with anyone but him.” Refusing to speak his name helped minimize his power over her.
Sedrik pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply. “That creature was your past. I’m your present and your future.”
He caught the hem of her shirt and drew it upward. She lifted her arms so he could pull it all the way off. She wasn’t wearing undergarments, so her breasts were bare and he paused to explore the fact. He cupped one soft mound and then the other, his attention fixed on her nipples with such rapt interest one would think he’d never seen breasts before.
“Your body is so beautiful it’s a crime to cover it.”
She laughed, pleased by the praise yet embarrassed too. “My body is barely average. My breasts are too small and my butt is too big.”
He grabbed her ass with both hands and slid her up his body. When their faces were on a level, he gave her behind a firm squeeze. “You are perfect in my eyes and my eyes are the only ones that matter.”
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