Chapter 10
TEN
She turned to him, arms crossed, the instant they were inside and the door was closed.
She didn’t even pause to notice the opulence of their quarters.
Cali had officially run out of awe for the lavish, or rather, garish, surroundings.
“That was your contact?” she asked. “At first I thought she was one of your lovers.”
“Stars, no.” He looked like he would laugh out loud. “Pittar is a flatterer, but her species’ standard of attractiveness runs very different from Virilian males. She is my informant. We trade information.”
She dropped her arms, annoyed with herself for caring about Niir’s past—or present—bed partners. “What did she tell you?”
He crossed to a low-slung sofa in the sitting area. The floor was solid crystal and illuminated in undulating blue, to look like sensual, flowing water, she supposed. At the moment, it was just annoying.
He removed the thick metal straps crossing his chest, laying them on the floor. “If I tell you what she shared with me, I will have to tell you everything. You won’t like it.”
Calinae sat on the edge of the seat opposite him, hands folded. “You’ve said that to me before. I’ve survived.” She felt as though she was receiving a prison sentence.
Niir sighed, as if he knew this conversation was overdue, but wasn’t looking forward to it.
He got up and retrieved a clear screen from his belongings, which the station staff had delivered to their rooms, and brought it over to her.
His handprint brought it to life; he called up a screen full of data and showed it to her.
“Calinae, when our medical team assessed and treated your group upon arrival, a simple genetic test was performed. It revealed significant human DNA in all fourteen of you.”
It was right there, glowing blue before her.
Virilian translated to the universal language of the third quadrant so she could see the test results for herself.
Her hands shook as she took in the vital stats of all thirteen of her cousins.
She could see who had been dehydrated and starving when they arrived on his ship, who was hiding injuries and whose stress levels had been dangerously high.
And there, nestled amongst all that data was the genetic breakdown of them. They were not all identical. Some had higher levels of this or that. They all had one thing in common: human comprised over fifty percent of their genes.
Cali’s DNA contained some Sislus, Luktarian, Bezli and one other she couldn’t pronounce. She looked up in surprise. “There’s Virilian in me.”
He nodded. “There is.”
“Stars.” The shocking picture of her existence was beginning to unfold. “How is this even possible? Virilians and humans can interbreed, as we know, but all these?”
“As you can see,” he said, “you contain genetic material from at least six species, including, as you saw, Virilian.” He ran his hands through his hair and shifted on the cushions.
“This is not how I would have liked to deliver this information, but we have very little time before we reach our rendezvous point with Warlord Mek-la.”
“So, my group and I—we have no home. Our primary language is as dead as the planet we thought was ours.” Her stomach felt too heavy and her head too light. “I need this to make sense, Niir, but you’re trying to break something to me gently and I need direct. Blunt. Right now.”
“Very well.” He folded his hands. “You likely began life in a laboratory at the hands of scientists. What do you remember of your parents?”
A laboratory! She shuddered. “I…don’t remember them. According to our records, my parents died shortly after I was born. Was I actually born?”
“You were born, Calinae, but I can only theorize the conditions. There may have been surrogates, or a synthetic womb—we don’t know any of that.”
“We were all supposedly from the same large family. Orphans.” Her voice broke over the words.
“We were raised by Sislus attendants. They told us it was normal for us to look different from them, so we didn’t question it.
They were kind and nurturing. They cared for us and educated us until we could look after each other.
But all that time… What if we never had a family to begin with?
” Her voice choked off. It felt like searching for words among a storm of jumbled feelings.
Denial. Anger. Fear. Uncertainty. Sadness.
She saw on Niir’s face a reflection of how she felt.
He leaned forward, as though it was difficult for him to stay in his chair and offer comfort.
This was more emotion than she’d ever seen on him and it made her feel less helpless.
Less…alone. “Yes, you did. You had each other. And according to the test results, you really are related to each other. Your family is real. As real as mine is. I made my family, just like you did.”
This was true. There was no denying how much she loved her cousins. They would always be like sisters to her. “Who did this to us?” she asked. “Was it Mek-la?”
“Well, that’s where we are having some trouble.
” Niir leaned back again. The seat molded to his wide back with a liquid sound.
“Pittar wasn’t able to find out, except that it’s a well-funded and well-connected male who has managed to hide his identity.
We don’t think that Warlord Mek-la had anything to do with your creation.
More than likely, he agreed to take on the work of rearing you and keeping you alive in exchange for you, Calinae.
And he got the added perk of a workforce for his terti powder production. ”
She pursed her lips in frustration. “He’s not innocent in this.”
“Warlord Mek-la is the farthest thing from innocent you can get.”
“What happens to us now?” She asked it so quietly, she almost couldn’t hear herself.
He sighed. “Some of your friends were meant to be sold to terti producers, others likely want them for their harems, but neither of those things is going to happen,” he said flatly, as if to put it out there and be done with it.
“Pittar gave me the names of the buyers she could find and a warning. She told me to be careful and I can see why.” He spread his large hands.
“You and your group are very much in demand. Huge sums have been paid to acquire you. Every effort will be taken to collect.”
“So we’re in danger?”
He let out a rough laugh, then stretched his thickly muscled arms above his head. Sweet stars, he was beautiful.
“Yes, Calinae,” he said gravely. “We are in a lot of danger.”
She wrapped her arms around her middle. “I don’t like how you said ‘we.’ That means I’ve put you and the crew in danger, too.”
“We’ve been in danger before,” he said simply. “We can handle it. But you need to make some choices.”
“Choices.” She shook her head. “You’re telling me I am essentially…I don’t even know—an engineered person? Created for the purpose of…what? Working terti flowers? Decoration? Breeding?”
He shrugged. “Maybe all those things.”
She swallowed in disgust. “I don’t even belong to one species, but six. What choices could I possibly have?”
“What difference does it make how or where you were born? You are here. You are alive, and yes, you have choices.” Niir leaned forward, locking her in place with gray eyes that no longer looked so cold or impassive.
They shot sparks into the charged space between them.
“It is better to be hurt by the truth, than to be lulled by a lie. You will be okay. I promise you. But you must decide whether you intend to continue your betrothal to the warlord.”
Tears filled her eyes. “How did you and I become the only thing in the galaxy that makes sense?”
A whisper of a smile curved his lips. “Nothing about you and me makes sense.”
Impulse took over and before she could think, or stop herself, she rose from her seat and crossed to him. She closed the scant distance between them by sliding onto his lap.
He pulled in a sharp, surprised breath and went still. “What are you doing, Calinae?” he asked in that deep, gravelly rumble.
“I just need…” Everything. She couldn’t articulate it. Her body sighed into the muscular angles of his as she leaned into him. She needed comfort, his steady strength, and to explore the writhing attraction she felt toward him. The way he kissed her…
She may not know what her life would be like the next cycle, but she knew Niir wanted her.
Right now, that was enough. His heart beat hard and fast under the hand she had placed on his chest. She moved her arms up and around his neck and rested her head on his huge shoulder.
He felt so sturdy, so powerful. Like nothing could happen to her if she stayed right here, in his arms.
Only, she wasn’t exactly in his arms. Niir was still, but he hadn’t pushed her away. She’d take comfort where she could, as the picture she’d had of her life crumbled to bits. Later, she’d pick them up and try to piece together something new. But just then…
Slowly, massive arms closed around her. Wide hands flattened on her back, skimming over the bare skin at her spine.
She felt his lips on her hair, his breath on her scalp.
His hands moved up, over her arms. Beneath her thighs, his cock thickened, hardened.
She wriggled against it, eliciting a groan from him.
Warm wetness slicked between her legs, sending tingling sensations through her pussy. His fingers threaded through hers. Then…he pried her hands off his neck and trapped them between his large hands.
“We cannot do this, Calinae.”
She looked up at him. His eyes were turbulent silver. “Why?”
“Because I might kill you,” he said. “And then I would never forgive myself.”
Okay, that wasn’t the response she’d expected. “You might… Are you serious?”
“Yes.” He didn’t remove her from his lap, however. She was still firmly seated on his huge, rock-hard cock and he did not seem eager to unseat her.