by Abella Ward
He brushed his lips against hers, but Lisa couldn't make herself return his kiss. The whole notion of starmates was impossible. And the fact that Zon thought she was his… that was insane. But she couldn't tell him that, not after he had been so sweet to her. Instead, she mumbled that she was tired and turned over.
She didn't sleep.
Chapter Ten
"And this is the filter that detects any pathogens or foreign particles and analyses them before breaking them down to the atomic level." Zon's hand felt heavy in her own as he showed her the quarantine section for any new food or water taken on board. "Sometimes we have to jettison those atoms back into space, though. You wouldn't believe the weapons people create."
Lisa struggled to pay attention. All this should be fascinating, but she was too preoccupied by what she had learned of Zon's feelings for her. His starmate. She had to admit it had a nicer ring to it than soulmate; something more universal, maybe. But it was still terrifying. Yes, she had already planned to stay with Zon for the foreseeable future, but that was because she didn't know anything about this new world she had found herself in.
And we're having a baby together, she reminded herself. It wasn't like she could just leave him…
But love made things so much more complicated! She wasn't entirely certain that she believed that love was real, and not just a product of chemicals released in the brain. What happened when those chemicals ran out? What happened when Zon got bored of her and decided she wasn't his starmate after all?
Her arms wrapped around her middle as she turned and walked away, not even bothering to try to pay attention anymore. Tears filled her eyes as she thought of all the things that he could do with her after that. She was valuable. Who was to say that when she wasn't exciting anymore, when he got tired of constantly protecting her, he wouldn't just sell her again?
I'm his pet, not his starmate. He could tell me anything and I'd believe him.
Zon's large hand closed around her waist, tugging her out of the room they were in. She let him pull her along despondently.
The warlord took her back to their room, where he shut the door with a bang and turned her to face him. His mouth was set in a thin, angry line and his nostrils flared. For some reason, Lisa was actually happy that he was angry with her. It was crazy, she knew, and there was no reason that she should be happy to see him angry, but she was.
Maybe there is something wrong with me. I like him being angry with me. I like it when he's a little rough when we have sex.
But she loved it oh so much more when he was gentle and kind with her, or when he gave her that smile that nobody else could elicit. When he held her hand in his and kissed her forehead, it all made her glad to be with him, made the ache of losing her world and family a little less painful.
"What is going on with you?" Zon grasped her shoulders. "Ever since I told you we were starmates, you have been acting like somebody is going to die. Please tell me what is going on in your head. I hate seeing you in pain. Is it Earth? Are you just realizing that you will never go back?"
"It's not Earth," Lisa mumbled.
"Then what?"
Tears began to fill her eyes. Stupid pregnancy hormones. Zon looked even more alarmed at that and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.
"Did you change your mind about the baby? Do you—"
"No."
A long pause. Zon's breath was shallow. "Do you want to leave?"
Lisa shook her head.
"Then what?"
"I don't want you to leave me." Her voice was raw.
Zon pulled back, eyes wide. "Why would you think I am going to leave you?"
"Because one day you're going to wake up and realize I'm not that interesting."
"How can you say that? You are the most fascinating woman I have ever met. You're beautiful, intelligent and strong, and when you make up your mind nobody can budge you." Zon cupped her face. "I would like nothing better than to spend the rest of my life with you."
More tears. "You really mean that, don't you?"
"Of course."
Lisa wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly. She didn't want to cry but found herself sobbing anyway. "I was only ever able to count on my brother before," she whispered. "Our parents died when we were young, and we were put into foster care. We went from home to home and were adopted twice. But nobody ever kept us. Nobody ever wanted us. And when I started dating… it was the same thing. I wanted forever and they just wanted a fling."
Zon's arms tightened around her.
"It was always my fault when we broke up. I was boring, too stubborn, I gained weight, I lost weight, I worked too much… Nobody would ever stay with me. My brother was the only person I could count on." She looked up at him, tears still rolling down her cheeks. Zon wiped her tears away with the pad of his thumb, a furious expression on his face.
"If I could, I would take those men and tear them apart. Your fault? If they couldn't see what a wonderful person you are, then it's their fault and they ought to have been flogged for it."
Despite her tears, Lisa giggled. "That's what Tom used to say. Well, not the flogging. That it was their fault that they couldn't see how wonderful I was. I always thought he just said it because he had to, because he was my brother." Her lip trembled. "I miss him."
"I know." Zon gently kissed her. "And I know that will never go away. Sometimes I still wake with this ache in my heart after dreaming about my parents. But it will get better. I promise."
Lisa mopped her face and laughed, embarrassed by her meltdown. "I'm not usually like this, I promise. It's these stupid pregnancy hormones."
"Anything that makes you that beautiful can't be stupid."
A crooked grin emerged, and Lisa's heart jumped. Despite the remnants of tears still on her face, a swirl of heat filled her belly. Pregnancy hormones! She clutched Zon tighter, her gaze steady on his face. He saw what she wanted and grinned, picking her up. Her legs circled his hips, and he pushed her dress–a piece of clothing he referred to as a 'var'ki', as opposed to his more masculine 'var'kin'–up around her waist.
"We don’t have long," he murmured, shifting aside his own clothing. "We'll be at the United Species summit soon."
"Then you'd better be quick," Lisa replied, clinging to his shoulders.
Nerves churned briefly in her stomach. Zon was confident that his fleet could fight off anybody who came after her, trying to steal her from him, but he wanted her to be a proper citizen with rights, making it illegal to sell her, and the United Species was the only way she could be granted those rights. That in itself ought to have been enough to reassure her of his feelings towards her, but she hadn't been thinking straight.
In the next moment, though, his hand was between her legs, preparing her for him, and her head fell back, thoughts of everything except what was happening in that very moment fleeing from her brain. She clung to her alien warlord, moaning, grateful that he had found her at that auction.
His arms tightened around her as he looked into her eyes, swapping kisses back and forth as he filled her.
Chapter Eleven
Lisa ran her hands lightly over the swell of her belly as she walked through the silent, dim halls. It had taken several 'standard months' for her to receive her citizenship from the United Species, so much time that she was almost ready to give birth. The first thing Zon had done once she was officially a citizen, though, was to bring her here.
A group of religious archeologists had come to this world decades ago and claimed that they had found Earth due to the high levels of geo-nuclear radiation and the DNA they had managed to extract from the fossils that scattered the planet. A museum had been built, orbiting the planet.
This particular wing was a memorial to the dead, a crypt where pieces of bone were displayed behind glass walls, besides genetic reconstructions that hypothesized what the individual would have looked like. In some cases, they were lucky enough to find a full skull, but that was rare. In very rar
e cases they were actually able to put names to faces and had a little information that was salvaged from long-dead computers and records.
"How right did they get them?" Zon asked, walking beside her.
They were looking for the era that Lisa had calculated would be most likely to have been the 1900s and 2000s. Very few remains had been found from that time, but she hoped that there would be at least one person she recognized.
Lisa looked over the faces. They were mostly blue-skinned, which was apparently the most common tone among species. She smiled. There were a few individuals with actual human shades, but they were quite rare. "If this really was from my time, they have the skin all wrong."
"Did all humans have your color of skin?"
"No. My white skin was actually not that common. Although Hollywood would have us think otherwise…"
Her words died in her throat. At the end of the hallway, in a position of honor, was a projection of her brother. Her heart stopped and tears immediately blurred her vision. She ran forward, ignoring the faces that she passed. She hadn't dared hope to find him!
To her surprise, when she got closer, she saw that everything about Tom's picture was perfect. The color of his skin, eyes, hair. He was even standing the way he always had, his hands in his pockets, a slightly sheepish grin on his face, his shoulders bent forwards.
"You knew him?"
Lisa nodded, leaning back against Zon, grateful for his presence. There was an explanation of who Tom was beside his portrait. Lisa skimmed over it, soaking in the translated words greedily.
"This image was recreated from ancient digital recordings," she breathed out. "This unnamed man was credited with being the first person to correctly theorize how to avoid the temporal distortions in faster than light travel, allowing our ancestors to leave their planet without suffering the effects that plagued other primitive space travelers."
"I'm not sure I believe that," Zon muttered.
"I wish they had the date," Lisa said. "He promised me he was going to figure it out before my thirtieth birthday… I'm glad he didn't give up."
Zon squeezed his hand. "Who was he?"
"Tom. My brother." Lisa wiped away her tears before gently putting her hand on the glass that separated her from the holographic photograph. "I'm proud of you, Tommy. Who knew your legacy would live this long?"
It hurt seeing his face, but there was relief as well, knowing that her brother hadn't given up after she was taken from Earth. Knowing that he had continued his life gave her the strength to continue hers as well. She pressed a kiss to the glass.
"Goodbye, Tom."
Zon kissed the top of her head.
"We should name our son Tom," she said.
They had been able to see the holographic projections of their child for several weeks now and knew it would be a healthy baby boy who looked almost exactly like his father.
Lisa was growing more impatient every day to hold him, to watch him grow up and to know what sort of personality the little person growing inside of her would have. They had spoken a little of names, but neither of them had actually made any suggestions as to what exactly they should name their son.
"Tom," Zon repeated. "After your brother."
Reluctantly Lisa turned away from the picture of her brother and towards her mate. "If you have objections…"
"No. It's traditional for T'Shav to name their children after an honored loved one. Usually, it is after a great warrior, but given the situation, I am certain that we can make an exception without being frowned upon."
He grinned to show he was joking, but she playfully slapped his arm anyway. His eyes grew heated at the touch and Lisa hurriedly shook her head. "Nuh-uh. I can't possibly. Not when I'm this huge."
"Sex helps the baby and you both. Besides, you've been saying that you want him to be born already, and it can help to speed up labor. As for this beautiful, round belly…" Zon knelt and kissed her belly button, cradling her stomach in his hands. "I like seeing you on all fours."
Lisa shook her head, despite the heat that was rising in her. "Maybe later. Tomorrow. I'm too tired right now. We've been walking around here for hours… we should get back to the ship."
Zon got to his feet again, nodding, and wrapped an arm around her while they headed back. Lisa glanced over her shoulder several times, grateful to know that they could return whenever she was feeling too homesick. Earth might be a dead, barren world now, but at least she had this place to visit.
"There's something I should tell you…"
Zon glanced at her, bumping her gently with his hip. "You're not going to tell me that you're not actually attracted to me, are you?"
Lisa's jaw dropped. "What made you think I'd say that?"
"Well… T'Shav aren't an attractive species. Our skin is too red, our build too muscular…"
"Too muscular?" Lisa shook her head in amazement. "If you were on Earth back in my day, women would chase you all the time. You're the most attractive man I have ever met. Too muscular… Nope. Not at all."
Zon laughed. "So what is it that you want to tell me?"
Lisa stopped, reaching for both of his hands so he would turn towards her. He smiled, waiting patiently while she took in the sight of him. Her heart swelled and a silly grin grew over his face.
"I really don't know why it's taken me this long to tell you, or admit it to myself. I guess I was just frightened."
"Of me?"
"No." Lisa shook her head. "Of the magnitude of what I'm about to say."
"You'd better be frightened of me if you don't tell me soon." He added a playful growl in his throat that had Lisa rethinking her position of waiting until the next day for sex.
"I love you."
Zon's eyes widened.
"I don't know when it happened, but I love you, Zon. Whether we’re starmates or not, I don't know. But I can say without a doubt that we are meant to be together. I want to be with you for the rest of my life, and I can't wait to explore this exciting new world with you."
Zon wrapped his arms around her, bringing her in, answering her without words. As their lips met, far out in the reaches of space a star glowed brighter.
*****
THE END
Story 2: Caged by the Barbarian
Description
I am the prize in a cruel game. And these barbarians are killing each other to win me
What is Bond, warlord of the T’Shav, supposed to do when the woman to play the Goddess in the Fifth Cycle Festival turns out to be his mate? Throw himself into the arena of course, cutting down his competitors with savage joy. This woman belongs to him.
Lieutenant Sara O’Neill has one big secret: she’s human. After hiding her humanity her entire life, she is caged as the prize in a deadly, bloody game. She’ll be owned by the winner, his to do with whatever he pleases. Usually, that means being killed and eaten.
There’s no way that she’ll want this brute with his violent tendencies. Until she does.
But Bond has a mission to complete and he won’t be distracted. Yeah, right. That’s not happening when he’s stuck on a small spaceship with a curvy, delicious human.
Turns out someone’s out to claim her and his unborn young. Doesn’t the enemy know what happens when they get on Bond’s nerve?
Forced together, Bond and Sara have to fight the odds, focus on the mission and keep their hands off each other. Let’s see if they succeed... at that last part at least.
Chapter One: Sara
The controls shook in Lieutenant Sara O'Neill’s hands as she fought to keep the ship on course. The sudden pressure shift of entering the atmosphere caused it to buck from side to side. If she didn't keep its nose down, streamlined, she'd end up among the ash orbiting the planet. Her teeth clenched as the bright greens and blues of the planet's surface rushed towards her in the view screen.
"Ozone layer cleared," her computer coolly informed her.
Sara yanked on the controls, flipping the engines from forward to reve
rse thrust. It was a maneuver guaranteed to shut them off immediately in atmospheric conditions. The ship jerked and the hum of her engines cut out. Good. The engines were too powerful to be this close to the planet's surface; they'd propel her deep under the planet's exterior.
The smaller thrusters were already on. Sara reached out to either side, manipulating levers to slow her descent. She operated this stupid ship comfortably with two people, but in most situations required more. The ship she had wanted to buy would have been much easier to handle on her own.
Damn payroll cuts, Sara thought furiously as the control panel lit up, warning her of the imminent collision.
A string of curses flew out of Sara's mouth as she lowered the landing gear. If this didn't work, she'd end up a smear on the planet's surface – an example of what not to do when the Corps trained next year's students.
"Impact in ten seconds," the computer said. "Ten."
Sara threw the thrusters on full blast, flinching when the whole ship shuddered. Screeching metal tore at her ears.
"Nine."
The lights flickered.
"Eight."
"Come on," Sara hissed. She was still going way too fast.
"Seven."
She abandoned the flight controls and rushed to cargo and disposal.
"Six."
Sara's hands flew over a panel, opening up the garbage and waste ports.
"Five."
"Activate emergency waste expulsion," she shouted.
The propulsion of waste from the ports jerked the ship upright, throwing Sara to the ground. The control panels sparked and several rivets popped overhead. She curled into the fetal position as loose items were thrown all about. A solid thud had her rolling across the floor, trying to brace herself against the walls.
"Landing complete," the computer said.
Sara waited a moment to let the chairs stop rolling before she stood. Another curse escaped her as she took in the damage. Black scorch marks pocked the controls, and more than one lever looked like it had melted into place. So, the controls were fried and, no doubt, the thrusters were shot after that. At least she was in one piece. She put a hand to her chest, her heart pounding, and let out a shaky laugh.
