Chapter Four
Rasha stood his ground. “I want to stay.”
Eva shook her head and repositioned Josanis on her hip. “Um…no, we already talked about this, remember?”
Rasha glanced from Eva to Jess. “But…”
Eva waited for Rasha to continue. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Eva said, “Thank you but I’ve got this.”
“They were posturing to fight us,” Rasha blurted. “It might not be safe for you and Josanis to stay with them alone.”
And he had to bring that up.
Jess pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Rasha saying it out loud and in front of Eva seemed so…so bad.
Eva cocked her head at Jess and JB. Both she and JB cowered slightly. “Really? Trying to go up against royal guards? Neither of you has any sense of self-preservation, do you?”
“I assure you it was a small misunderstanding,” JB said. “We did apologize.”
Eva rolled her eyes. “Jesus. Not even a full day,” she said to herself.
“I want—” Rasha said.
Eva put up a hand. “Rasha, I’ve told you I’ve got it from here. If they get testy again I’ll fuck them up myself.”
Jess shrank under Eva’s piercing stare. How could Eva assume she was the culprit? After all, JB did start it. Plus, didn’t Rasha know the cardinal rule of snitching?
Snitches get stitches.
She narrowed her gaze on Rasha. She’d have to teach him that saying. Maybe while they were alone. She could catch him in a darkened corridor…from behind…with a rock.
“Then when?” Rasha asked.
Then when what? Punish them? Throw them in the dungeon?
Jess watched the exchange warily. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
That motherfucker.
Jess moved to JB’s side and grabbed the back of his shirt, holding on to it with a firm grip.
“It’s all good,” he said, trying to put her at ease.
Eva stepped between Jess and Rasha. Her short stature did nothing to block Jess’ view of him. “Leave, Rasha. After I show them to their apartments, I’ll take them to the security center for registration.”
“For registration?” Rasha asked, confused.
“Yes,” Eva said, stretching her lips into what looked like a painful smile.
“If that is a command then it will have to suffice.”
“It’s a command,” Eva said through clenched teeth.
Rasha hesitated before he nodded and turned on his heels. It seemed Jess was the only one to notice that he glanced back twice before finally rounding a corner.
Eva let out a heavy breath. “You’ll have to excuse Rasha. He does take his duties very seriously. Everyone who visits Sonis for the first time has to be registered with security.”
JB pried Jess’ fingers from the back of his pants. “That’s totally understandable,” he said.
“But getting back to your actions. Tsk, I can’t believe you two,” Eva said warmly.
Eva extended a bronzed arm to JB. While the inhabitants of Sonis were golden in appearance, Eva had the perfect tan. No doubt attributed to the amount of time she spent training outdoors under Sonis’ two suns.
JB opened his arms to receive her embrace. “I’m sorry, Eva. I’ll take the blame. Jess wanted to wait for you but I got antsy and wanted to take a peek around.”
Jess cleared her throat. “No, it was me too. I guess my temper…”
Eva released JB and smiled her way. “Apologies accepted. I’m happy you came, Jess, temper and all.”
As Eva held out an arm, Jess instantly stiffened. For being so little, Eva sure was strong. She grabbed Jess and hugged her tight. It wasn’t long before Jess finally relaxed in Eva’s hold.
Eva pulled back and grinned up at her. She was beautiful. No wonder Taio had made her his queen. “Despite that little mishap, you’ll love it here, I promise.”
I sure hope so. “Thank you for inviting me.” Jess shifted on her feet. “I guess we screwed things up.”
Eva waved a hand through the air. “Oh, don’t worry about Rasha or the other guards. Sonis guards are always looking for a fight.” Eva winked at her. “You should fit right in.”
“They weren’t at fault. If we would have waited as instructed, none of this would have happened,” JB said.
“No worries. I’m just sorry I couldn’t meet you. I was working in the infirmary and couldn’t get away until now.”
“Infirmary? Sonis has a high-tech medical center, doesn’t it?” JB asked.
“Yeah, but once a nurse always a nurse.” Eva turned to Jess. “Come on, let’s go see your new home.”
New home.
She put a hand on her stomach to help control the acrobatic movements that had begun there. Could she call Sonis her home?
Eva led the away. The child on her hip wrapped a hand around her braid. “Did Rasha give you a tour?” she asked.
“No,” Jess replied.
Eva shook her head. “Figures.”
They made their way through a palace that rivaled Sa’Mya’s. Eva pointed out various rooms and introduced them to everyone they passed, human and alien alike.
After spotting a group of women, Eva stopped abruptly. “Mecca!” Eva said, calling to an African-American woman who was talking to three other women. “Here, hold Josanis.” She turned to Jess and before she could be stopped, held the baby to her.
Jess took a giant step back and shook her head. “I don’t do babies.”
Eva continued to dangle the baby in front of her. As he grinned, drool dripped from his mouth. Eva laughed. “He doesn’t bite,” she said, still dangling the baby, not accepting no as an answer.
“Anything that has teeth bites,” Jess replied, disgusted.
Eva pushed the baby into her hands. “Here, he won’t break. I’ll be right back.”
Jess found out why Eva had placed Josanis on her hip. He weighed a ton. She jutted out a hip and set the baby there, mimicking how she had seen Eva hold him.
“If you drop him, you can expect Eva to renege on her offer to let you live here,” JB said.
Jess rolled her eyes and motioned forward, pretending she would give the hefty child to him. “You take him then.”
JB maneuvered out of the way, flailing his hands in front of him. “No. Way.” He laughed heartily. “Man, what I wouldn’t give for a camera right now. The guys won’t believe this in a million years.”
Jess peered at him. “Don’t give me a reason to kill you.” She turned her attention to Eva speaking animatedly to the small group of women. “Besides, it’ll only piss Kane off. He’s quite fond of you.”
As promised, after speaking with the women, Eva returned. “I’m sorry. Mecca was a wedding planner back on Earth. She’s helping us get ready for the engagement party.”
Eva retrieved her baby and motioned for them to follow her as they continued their tour. Jess’ arms and hip immediately felt relieved.
“Engagement party?” Jess asked.
“For Taio’s little…well, she isn’t exactly little. But for Taio’s younger sister Saia.”
“Oh,” Jess said.
She followed Eva as she chatted about the decorations and plans for the party. JB pretty much ignored them both but flirted at every female they passed.
Eva lifted a curious brow at JB. “JB, you do know the human females are here to bond with the Sonis males, don’t you?”
“Um…it might have been mentioned before.”
“Didn’t you rescue them from slavers and brothels?” Jess asked.
“Mostly slavers. We only have a handful of women from the brothels. Many of them have been sterilized and Taio didn’t deem them as suitable mates.”
Sterilized.
Not suitable mates.
The memory of the brothel owner’s cackling laughter assaulted her. He couldn’t even wait for the drugs to wear out of her system before he gleefully told her she could no longer have children.
Jess stumbled over her footing.
Eva stopped and rushed to her side. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean…”
Jess’ legs shook and wobbled with each step she tried to take. “It’s okay.” Her lips quivered as she spoke. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t put me there.”
“Jess, I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn’t have said that…”
It wasn’t a secret that most of the females in the brothels were sterilized, if they were lucky. Brothel owners didn’t want to take care of offspring or lose profits from females dying trying to give birth to hybrid species.
Her head throbbed out of control. “Really, I’m fine,” she mumbled, ignoring the whispers between Eva and JB. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
“Understood,” Eva replied.
JB grabbed for her hand, holding it as Eva continued on. Eva kept looking over her shoulder with guilt and concern written across her face.
“The people of Drazlan have a pretty low birthrate,” Eva said.
“Drazlan?” JB asked.
“Drazlan is the home planet. You can see it on the horizon. Almost everyone on Sonis originally came from there. They’ve only settled on Sonis in the past thirty cycles.” Eva rounded a corner and led them down an empty corridor. “Not only were they having a hard time breeding amongst each other, but they’ve never had a successful pairing that produced offspring with any other species. Until now. We’re hoping to see a jump in the birthrate. Everyone is excited about it.”
“Great. At least humans are in high demand somewhere for something other than slavery,” JB said.
“And that’s exactly why you need to keep your hands to yourself and your dick in your pants while you’re here,” Eva replied.
Every woman here was a potential baby mama. Because of an unknown problem, the birthrate for Sonians had decreased steadily for generations. Coupled with the fact they had been unsuccessful with interspecies breeding, the Sonians had a real problem on their hands.
Enter human females. Only after Taio had gotten Eva pregnant, the first human female the Sonians had come across, had they finally found a solution. Humans and Sonians were compatible. Every human woman on Sonis was considered a prime prize.
“You might be asking for too much,” Jess interjected.
“I’m not asking him to give up his flirting ways. He just has to keep his hands off.” Eva stopped in front of a plain white, nondescript door. “We’re here.” She beamed from ear to ear. “This is your apartment, Jess.”
Jess stared at the door, not knowing what to do next. Eva stood by her side and talked her through the process of scanning her hand for security. After the door slid open, Eva entered first and motioned for Jess to follow her. Jess couldn’t budge. This was why she was on Sonis, right? New start. JB nudged her forward.
He tried to suppress a smile as he leaned in to whisper, “Aren’t scared of a new start, are you?”
Her lip curled up in disgust. The mere thought of admitting she was afraid of anything made her want to fight. “I’m not scared of shit.”
JB chuckled and pushed her over the threshold. “That’s my girl.”
After two steps in, Jess stumbled over her feet as she took in her surroundings. They were in…well…a regular-looking apartment. There was a small closet to the right and to the left was a full kitchen, including a breakfast nook. In front of them was a living room with a separate dining room off to the side.
JB came from behind her. “What’s wro—”
He stopped midsentence as he caught the same image as she had.
Eva stood in front of them. One arm cradled Josanis while the other rested on her chest. A light sheen of mist formed in her eyes. “Do you like it?” Her voice was no more than a soft whisper.
Jess’ gaze jumped from one object to another. Coffee table, couches, vases, flowers, dinette set… Raising her arms, she wrapped them around herself. JB placed a hand on her back and began to gently rub.
Her sparse cabin on The Vengeance hadn’t held any personal belongings. Everything in it had been tacked down to the floor. Even on Laconia, her room had been filled with furnishings that had been foreign and alien to her.
Finally, in a voice no louder than Eva’s, Jess said, “It reminds me of a regular apartment.”
JB turned in a circle. “It’s remarkable, Eva. If I didn’t know any better I’d think we were in an apartment back on Earth.”
“Thank you. That’s what I was hoping for. We have fifteen apartments in the palace that have more of an ‘Earth feel’. It’s been one of my pet projects with the architects. Well, apartments and houses.” Eva took a sweeping glance around the area. “I wanted everyone from Earth to feel comfortable here.”
“You have regular houses too?” Jess asked.
“Oh yes,” Eva responded. “There’s so much empty land here on Sonis. We’re building neighborhoods.” Her smile broadened. “And then hopefully, one day, there’ll be more schools.”
“Schools…” Jess said absentmindedly as she moved out of JB’s reach and farther into the living room, tentatively inspecting her new space.
Eva and JB watched her every move. Jess crouched and ran her hand over the carpeted floor. The plush material felt good against her fingertips.
Eva wrestled with a squirming Josanis. “If you don’t like this apartment, I can find you another one.”
Jess looked up at Eva just in time to see Eva flick her eyes to JB, as if she wanted him to interject. “No, no, I like it.”
Jess tore her gaze away from them and inspected the intricately designed wooden knickknacks arranged neatly on a side table.
“It’s perfect, Eva, thank you,” JB said sincerely.
Jess didn’t mind that JB spoke for her. He understood this was the nicest thing anyone had done for her in a very long time. Yes, Kane had let her stay onboard The Vengeance even after finding her as a stowaway. And Sa’Mya had given her a room in her palace after she and Kane had joined. But this was different, it was real.
Mine.