Vrak watched her leave the room and let out a grunt of displeasure. Fuming, he put on some clean pants and went looking for his assistant. He found her in the kitchen, hustling with the androids as they prepared the next meal.
“Asim, I need to have a word with you,” he ordered her coolly.
“Of course, sir. As soon as I’m done here…” she started saying, but he stopped her.
“Now.” He didn’t wait to see if she would follow him and strode to his office.
She entered the room right after him. “What can I do for you, sir?”
“You can start by explaining why you talked about our arrangement with our guest,” he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest and towering the small woman.
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” she mumbled, wringing her hands nervously. “I barely have talked with her…”
“Don’t lie to me. She told me all about it,” he warned her.
She stayed in silence for a few moments before she spoke again. “She’s an outsider. I just wanted her to know how things worked between us,” she said in a daring tone.
“And how do they work between us, Asim?” he asked, his tone getting taciturn. “Because, as far as I know, we have a simple arrangement that allows us to keep each other’s company when we’re alone, nothing more. We haven’t even been together in several moon rotations, because you were keeping company to a few of my men,” he stated, letting her know he was aware of her game.
Living on these huge ranches, away from most social life, men usually had this kind of agreement with their female staff. All partners involved understood it didn’t mean anything other than just keeping each other company, but it seemed Asim had had other plans.
She took a step closer to him. “I… you… you know you are the only one I want… but you’re always busy… and I have needs…” Asim whined.
“Of course, you do, and you’re free to satisfy them with whomever you want. I have no problem with that,” Vrak assured her. “My problem is with you telling Aliyah about it and making me look like an irresponsible prick that wanders from woman to woman as often as I change clothes.”
She let out a small cry, and a few tears ran down her cheeks, but he wasn’t moved. After a few rotations, he knew a lot about her histrionic abilities.
Knowing she wasn’t getting anywhere with him, she changed her course of action. “I’m terribly sorry, sir. I’ll apologize to your guest and tell her I was lying,” she offered, in her best conciliatory tone.
“Yes, you will, and when this storm fades away, you’ll leave this house. I’ll make sure you have enough money to support you for a few moon rotations, and I’ll even give you a good letter of recommendation…”
She threw herself at his feet, stopping him. “Please, sir, let me stay here. You know I have been seeing Bulk, and I would hate to be sent away from him. I promise I will behave and you won’t have another complaint about me,” she begged.
“You should have thought of that when you decided to interfere in my life,” he pointed out, not budging an inch.
Asim’s species was known for their lust and multiple partners, and he had accepted that when he had taken her in his bed. His rage was totally due to her gossiping.
“Please, sir… please, I’m begging you…” she insisted, still at his feet. “I’ll change places with Sonora, and you won’t have to see me again,” she suggested, mentioning the female he had working in his men’s housings.
Thinking more of his men than in her, he accepted her suggestion and sent her away. Now, he would have to find a way to convince Aliyah he wasn’t playing with her, that she meant a lot more than a whim to him.
Vrak looked for Aliyah in the house, and he was starting to get worried when she stumbled in through the main door, covered with snow and trembling so much she could barely move.
“What in the universe were you doing out there?” he asked, crossing the room to help her out of her jacket and her boots.
“I needed… to clear… my head…” she stuttered, still trembling from the cold.
He picked her up in his arms and carried her to her room. “You need a hot bath and a hot beverage,” he said, in a scolding tone. “I thought you told me there were storms like this one back where you lived. What were you thinking?” he added, as he prepared a hot bath for her in the huge bathtub she hadn’t had the chance to try yet.
“I wasn’t thinking… just reacting, I guess,” she mumbled, allowing him to take all her clothes off her shuddering body. She had tried to do it by herself, but she was shaking so much she simply couldn’t.
“Get in the tub while I get you a hot drink,” he ordered, and he left the room.
She followed his instructions, still mad at him, but still appreciating the way he was taking care of her. When he returned, she wasn’t shaking anymore, but she took the cup he handed her. She had no idea what it was, but it smelled delicious, a bit like a mix of mocha and cocoa.
“Thank you, I will be fine now,” she dismissed him, but he paid her no attention.
“Good. Now that I have your attention, I want to tell you my version of the facts,” he said, taking a seat on a sturdy stool he found on a corner of the bathroom.
“There is no need. I have no right to expect anything from you…” she started, focusing her attention on the beverage she was holding.
“Yes, there is, and you have all the right in the universe to expect all from me. As you pointed out, I’m disrupting your whole life.”
“Not anymore,” she assured him. “You can tell me your version, but that won’t change my decision. I’ll leave as soon as this storm allows me to, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” she added.
“Just hear me out.” He told her all about his arrangement with Asim and her lustful nature. Although she seemed to understand his position, he was sure she hadn’t changed her mind. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Aliyah, you have to admit what we shared is different, unique… we can’t let it slip through our fingers without exploring it thoroughly. Your impending marriage gives us no time for that, and that’s the only reason I’m asking you not to marry the Sumirion warrior,” he explained.
She sighed and looked away. “You’re asking too much of me. My life has been total chaos ever since the wars started. I’ve lost all my family, and most of my friends due to that situation and I’ve had enough,” she assured him. “I want a normal life. I want to live in peace and enjoy my life. You’re asking me to give all that up just for a chance to explore then passion we conjure when we’re together.”
“Are you really willing to marry a man you’ve never met and get under his sheets as if nothing had ever happened between us?” he asked, in a daring tone.
“That’s what I signed up for, and I’m keeping my word,” she insisted, still not able to face him.
She couldn’t. She knew one look at Vrak’s handsome face and those sensuous horns, and she would agree to any senseless plan he could come up with.
“I won’t let you do it.” He got up and walked towards the door. “I’m sure you’ll thank me later.”
With those ominous words, he left her room, and she didn’t see him again until the following morning when she went downstairs to eat something. She had asked one of the androids to get her something to eat in her room, the night before too tired to continue arguing with Vrak.
Vrak called his foreman to his office first thing in the morning.
“What’s up, boss?” the man asked, taking a seat in front of Vrak.
“I need you to take care of things for me, for a while,” he explained. “I’m leaving the ranch for a while, and I’ll be out of reach unless there’s a life or death matter. You’ll be the only one knowing my whereabouts because I’m sure I can trust you.”
The man straightened up on his chair, and worry showed in his face. “What’s going on? Is there anything else I can do to help?”
Vrak shook his head. “Just tend to things here. There might be trouble, but unless there’s a life at risk, I don’t want you to contact me.”
The man frowned but nodded.
“Where will you be?”
“I’ll need your help in that, as well. You still own that small cabin you bought on the other side of Terrion, up in the mountains?” he asked.
“Yes, I do. I go up there once in a while when I need to clear out my head,” the man confirmed. “You’ll be going there?”
“If you allow me to. I need a place to hide out for a while,” Vrak explained, without giving his man too many details.
“It’s yours, whenever you want it.”
“Thank you. I’ll leave in a few minutes…”
“With the storm raging outside?” the man was astounded.
“Yes. I’ll take the all-terrain vehicle. It’s a bit slow, but it will take me there,” he assured him.
“We were told this storm will last a few more days. You’re in for a hard trip,” Bulk warned him.
“I know, but I need the extra time. Just don’t tell anyone where we are, no matter what. Can I trust you with that?” he asked, in a stern tone.
“You certainly can. They won’t hear a word about it from me.”
“Thank you. Just hold on the fort for me, while I’m gone.”
The man nodded and handed Vrak the coordinates to his small cabin up in the mountains. “There should be enough food there for at least a moon rotation. Of course, you can always hunt or even fish in the nearby river,” he updated his boss.
With the information safe in his communication device, Vrak thanked his man and headed to Aliyah’s bedroom to pick her up. He wanted to leave as soon as possible. The vehicle was already parked at the front door.