Chapter 16
Eva
I dressed indulgently after my nap. I had a smile on my face after the first good sleep I’d had in…I didn’t even know how long. I wore a knee-length black leather sheath dress that hugged my curves, and I paired my attire with black stilettos. After I fixed my minimal makeup and ran my fingers through my hair, I went out to join the males in the main room.
Stepping through the doorway that joined my smaller suite to the larger one, I skirted to a stop. The men in the room stood as a gesture of manners when I walked in, but my attention focused entirely on Raevu.
My breath caught slightly as we locked eyes. I didn’t know how, but I sensed his urgent desire and need to touch me, and a tingle of pleasure swept down my body.
Enough, Eva. Get your mind off him and sex.
I pasted a smile on my face and turned to the other men in the room. “Good morning, gentlemen. I hope you slept well.” I walked toward Baelon, the male in the room I’d known the longest, which wasn’t saying much.
He stepped over to a chair next to Raevu and pulled it out for me. I moved toward it and took my seat. Baelon then proceeded to plunk a little bit of every food selection on the table onto my plate. I didn’t recognize half the dishes, so I didn’t protest at getting a sampler.
“Eva,” Raevu began, drawing my eyes to him, “this is President Ken Maeda. Maeda, this is Eva Knight, my betrothed.”
Hearing it spoken such a formal and official manner startled and bothered me. I had never actually agreed to marry anyone. I forced a smile anyway. “Hello, President Maeda, it’s nice to meet you.”
He replied, “Eva. Please, call me Ken.”
I’m now on a first-name basis with the president? Damn. I’ve come a long way in a short span of time.
I couldn’t believe that the man who sat in the Ivory Office on the Humanity Space Station was now sitting at the same table as me.
I pinched back the urge to relish this total fangirl moment. When I glanced up, I thought for a moment I saw Raevu frowning at me, but even as I focused on him, his face grew calm. Then he looked over at the male called T’ral, who was speaking. “…should be ready to leave within the week, barring incidents. A channel shall be kept open between our two worlds so that any communication about the progress of our genetic trade shall be considered priority one…”
I interrupted him. “It may be possible to leave within the week, but it seems that I need to remind you that it depends on how soon my requests are taken care of. I’ve made it clear there are several things that have to be taken care of before I’ll be going anywhere.” I set my knife and fork down resolutely. I had to make sure what I wanted and needed was seen to even before my physical needs were satisfied.
“Yes, Eva,” Raevu agreed. “And all of your requests shall be handled expediently.” His voice was sultry, as always, but also calming and soothing. I narrowed my eyes, suspicious of his motives.
“So, you agree to all my terms?” I asked archly.
“Within my power to do so, yes,” he agreed.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means that there may be things I cannot make happen during the time frame we have to work within. I will make as much happen as I can, and we will set other things into motion. All of your concerns, needs, wants, and desires will be listened to, considered, and, hopefully, relieved.” His voice seemed to pluck at strings deep within me, and I felt a tingle of need begin under my belly.
He continued, “There are several things that need to be taken care of as swiftly as possible, and we need your input on them.”
I was astounded. He was actually listening and seeking my opinion. Much better. Maybe his surly attitude yesterday was from lack of sleep. I nodded in agreement and twirled my fork in the air as if to give them permission to carry on.
As I ate, they spoke of supplies for the length of the trip. It would take the equivalent of three Earth months in warp space to get to the Juhlian solar system, and another two Earth weeks before we could disembark on the planet itself.
They spoke of duty rosters and rations, reminding me that they were a military people in nature. And they spoke of a ceremony that would be held on the Juhlian planet when that three and a half months had ended, a mating ceremony between Raevu and myself.
At that point, I interjected, “Mating ceremony? Is this like a wedding?”
The Juhlian men looked confused for a moment, but T’ral came to the rescue. “In fact, my lady, yes. It would be considered similar to a wedding of Earth origin, but Juhlians mate for life. There is no desertion of the vows. There are more informal unions, but for a Juhlian king and his life mate, nothing less than the mating ceremony under the Sopu tree will suffice.”
“And we are hoping that our—” I searched for the right words “—union will bear fruit?”
“Fruit?” Baelon looked completely confused. “No, we want children. Preferably girls.”
President Maeda and I were the only ones who chuckled at Baelon’s confusion. “Baelon, I’m sorry. I don’t think the translator units handle metaphors very well,” I said. “In this case, ‘fruit’ means children.”
He understood immediately and nodded, chuckling a little.
Damn. Well, I guess I should figure out what to do about potential kids now.
I looked over at Raevu and T’ral. “You have physicians on Juhl who are practiced at delivering babies?” It seemed ridiculous that they wouldn’t, but according to the literature on their genetic crisis, naturally born babies were incredibly rare.
All of the males nodded, but T’ral answered, “Of course, my lady. We have what you would call obstetricians on our world. Physicians and scientists expert in pregnancy and fertility.”
I replied, “But these doctors are expert in Juhlian anatomy and fertility, not human. I think we should see if there’s a human obstetrician, preferably one with expertise in fertility, who’s willing to go with us,” I proposed. I didn’t want to be thousands of light-years from a doctor who understood how my body worked when I did get pregnant and had questions or, God forbid, problems.
“Quite a reasonable request,” Raevu stated. “What other tasks would you like to see done before we depart?”
His easy acquiescence after yesterday’s misunderstanding pleasantly surprised me. I had come into the room expecting to have to fight for everything I wanted. I began to go over the list I’d made in my head as I’d gotten dressed earlier. “I discovered that the clothes issue isn’t an issue at all, as I now have a complete wardrobe. A good night’s sleep helped me feel worlds better, but I still feel fatigue, chills, and aches. I’d like those symptoms treated before traveling. Also, I have some personal items to collect from Ivy’s apartment, and I have some shopping to do. There are some supplies I’ll need to get until I can figure out if the Juhlian equivalent is sufficient for me or not.”
All the males at the table just stared at me silently. I couldn’t tell if I was making valid points or if I’d numbed them into speechlessness. This last part was the most difficult. I swallowed before continuing, but I held my head high. “And, if my new home will be Juhl, I’ll need to say good-bye to Ivy and her kids, Laura and Amber, and a couple of other people I care about.” Finished, I took my coffee cup and sipped the now-tepid brew.
The males all sat in their silence for a moment more.
Raevu was the first to speak. “I believe that most of that can be handled promptly.”
Baelon interrupted, “My lady, if I may ask, if you didn’t think you’d be making your home on Juhl, where did you think your home would be? You did understand you were signing up to see if you could be compatible to breed with a male of our race, did you not?”
“Yes.” I frowned as I thought this through. “My briefing left out many details. It wasn’t clear to me whether I would be going myself or simply donating ova. I knew I needed to help the people of Juhl. I knew I needed to sign up and pass all the screenings. If asked, and no one did, I think I would have said that the women who passed would all live together in barracks-type housing, be a type of soldier for the cause, and we’d get furloughs and visits home. Honestly, I didn’t think about the ‘breeding’ part. I thought I was an experiment, so I guess I believed I’d be artificially inseminated. I never thought past the experiment part of it.”
President Maeda coughed quietly. “It seems that I must apologize again for the severe mismanagement of this project. Who are the names you mentioned, Ms. Knight?”
“Ivy gave me a place to stay after I couldn’t stay at the Children’s Ward any longer. I’d been her babysitter for a few years, so she knew me.” I spotted T’ral’s open mouth and guessed at his question. “People can hire from the Children’s Ward for a small fee for certain jobs like babysitting, yard work, or trash cleanup. We don’t get the funds, but we get out of the Center for a while and get to meet people. I was good at babysitting, and Ivy couldn’t afford regular child care.”
T’ral nodded and sat back.
I continued, “Ivy’s husband passed away when she was pregnant with Jaylynn, her youngest daughter. That’s when I started helping out. She has four children, Trevor, Mark, Josephine, and Jaylynn. They’re all under twelve years old. My friend Laura has a daughter, Amber, who is the same age as Jaylynn. None of us is related, but they’re the closest I have to family.”
Now T’ral spoke up. “These supplies you need, my lady? Can you make a list? And possibly calculate how much of each you’d desire for some set amount of time?”
I nodded. “Sure.”
Maeda smiled. “Raevu, we stand by our trade agreement. You will send an official ambassador here to establish an embassy. We can then start making regular trading missions between our two planets. We can exchange more than information: trade goods, livestock, plants, medicines, and, of course, genetics, if more women than Ms. Knight are compatible and amenable to the exchange. So, you won’t need to stock up on quite so much as you might believe.”
The President turned to me. “I’m hoping you, Ms. Knight, will agree to temporary ambassadorial status until we can get someone appointed and moved to Juhl.”
The whole conversation was beginning to make my head swim. “Of course, Mr. President, sir.” Me? An ambassador? Wow.
T’ral said, “We can put out notices for doctors interested in applying for the position. And—” he turned his attention toward Raevu. “Sire, the needed elixir has been made ready and is on board our ship.”
That caught my attention, and I opened my mouth to ask about this “elixir,” but what Baelon said next distracted me.
Baelon cocked an eyebrow at him. “And what of Geoffrey?”
T’ral smiled smugly back at Baelon. “We get to take him with us. Thank you, Mr. President.”
President Maeda dipped his head in acknowledgment. “Actually, you’re doing me a favor. The computer programmer in charge of keeping up Geoffrey’s maintenance has been clamoring for something to do, a new challenge to oversee. Adapting Geoffrey to your technologies was a challenge he couldn’t resist. He’s packed and ready to go whenever you are.”
I was quite pleased to be able to “keep” Geoffrey. He’d been more than helpful so far; he’d been a godsend.
I had about used up my energy for the morning. My head was pounding. I pulled the soft white cardigan I’d draped around me closer about my body. I could feel the chills and aches creeping back into my muscles, and I was reminded that I hadn’t had my painkillers since getting up. I took a couple of mouthfuls of water and tried to focus back on the conversation around me.
Raevu stood up abruptly. I followed him with my eyes.
“Excuse us. I believe Ms. Knight may be feeling unwell, and I need to speak with her a moment.” He walked over to my chair and helped me push it back from the table.
As I stood, he placed a hand on my elbow. I could feel the electricity in his touch even through the layer of clothing between us. He kept a sturdy hold on me as he walked me back to my sitting room.
I lowered myself into one of the chairs. Not as comfortable as the brown chair across from my bed, which I was already fantasizing about, but it would do until I could get back into my room.
“Please sit,” I requested of him. “You’re very tall, especially from this angle.” I hoped my tone came across as calm and not cranky.
“First, I’d like to apologize for the overbearing manner in which I asked about your mark yesterday evening. Its origins are important, but I believe you when you say that you know no one explicitly put it there.” Amazed that a king would apologize, I nodded my acceptance. “Secondly, I need to speak with you about this illness of yours.”
His voice, as usual, sent a shiver of need down my spine. It settled deep in my belly.
“Yes? What about it? I’m usually quite healthy. I’ve never had flu symptoms this long. But I’m sure I’ll get over it quickly enough now with rest and fluids.”
“No, I’m afraid you won’t.” His golden eyes stared into mine. “The mark and the illness are connected. The mark appears on the royal heir’s life mate when she comes of age. With it comes illness of sorts, fatigue, chills, upset stomach.”
Troubled, I began making a list of questions in my head, but I nodded for him to continue.
“The illness remains until the mating ceremony is completed between the two life mates. There is an elixir that will help ease the symptoms, but it has side effects.”
“That’s why suddenly I’m your betrothed?” He nodded. “And why I’m no longer part of the Peace Opportunity Program?” He nodded again. “What is this mark?” I demanded.
“It is the royal family crest. If there is more than one possible heir to the throne, it appears on the rightful one’s chest. If the royal heir has not mated by a certain age, when his life mate comes of age, it appears on his life mate in precisely that spot, according to our histories.”
I nodded slowly, my eyes widened.
“Some heirs and kings have refused to take a mate until the crest has appeared on their special one, their life mate. Some have not worried about it. So many of our kings had taken mates before a crest appeared, so we had almost forgotten about this tradition. For the last several generations, the number of females has diminished, so there were fewer to choose from. They all seemed to have chosen well.” He quirked a half smile at me.
With my fingertips, I traced the mark on my neck and shoulder. I stood and went to a mirror, pulling my clothes aside to study it. It was an intricate pattern of loops that were raised up out of my skin. It was also slightly darker in color than the skin around it, like a tattoo.
“How did I get it?” I asked.
Raevu came up behind me and studied my reflection over my head.
“It’s not definitive. We do know that it was my DNA you were injected with, and you are already of age as you are over the age of twenty-four years on your planet. We are life mates.” His eyes looked hotly into mine. “I think we can both appreciate the benefits of that.”
I blushed slightly at his reminder of our shared dream, but I refused to look away. “What is this elixir? Can I start taking it now?”
Raevu shook his head. “It’s made from the Sopu nut, the same tree under which our ceremony must take place. It’s on our ship. As soon as we are underway, you may begin taking it.”
“Why do I have to wait?” I spat out. “Is this how you convince me to leave immediately? ‘You’ll stay sick until we go?’ That’s pathetic! I can’t believe you’d use my illness against me like that!” I began to storm off, intending to find something to throw at him, when he clasped my arm.
“No,” he said simply. I stared daggers at him. He sighed. “We cannot give you the medicine until we are underway as the side effects are slightly unpredictable. We’ll need you in a secure place where we have easy access to more of it, your protected quarters, and only those most trusted by me and you.”
I looked coldly and pointedly at his hand on my arm. He removed it. I refused to acknowledge how my skin tingled where he’d touched me.
“Please, Eva. Yes, I want to get you home. To our home.” I could hear the earnestness in his voice. “But not for selfish reasons. The last thing on my mind when we started this program was my own life mate. I looked only to the continuation of my people. But now, seeing you? You, my life mate, are constantly on my mind. I want you well, happy, and safe. I want to help make sure you are all three. There’s only so much of that I can do until we have the mating ceremony.” He lowered his head slightly. “And if you are on the medication and you are kidnapped again and kept from me, it could be disastrous. Trust me, there is no other ulterior motive.”
My demeanor must have softened. He reached a hand toward me, stroking the back of his fingers down my cheek. I let him.
“Your skin is as soft as it was in my dream of you. You are so much lovelier, though, in person.” He stepped closer to me. I could feel the heat of his body through his suit. Unconsciously, I leaned toward his warmth.
He turned his hand over and cupped my cheek. The whole side of my face fit in his large hand. I turned my head, slightly brushing my lips against his palm. He smelled…deliciously male. I could smell the soap he used; there were lingering traces of lemon, orange, and patchouli. But underneath those surface smells was warmth. I didn’t try to explain to myself how a smell was warm. I just breathed him in.
He tilted my face up toward his and leaned down. His lips brushed across mine once, then once again.
“So soft,” he murmured.
He pressed his lips firmly to mine and slid his hand around to the back of my neck. I kissed him back, and I couldn’t explain why, but it felt…right.
His other hand moved to the small of my back, pulling me into the hardness of his body. This alien was the epitome of virile.
I moaned. He took advantage of my slightly opened mouth and traced his tongue along the edges of my lips. When I cautiously skimmed my tongue against his, he pulled me in tighter and plundered my mouth with his tongue. His kiss was demanding, forceful. Swept along, I returned his passionate kiss.
Suddenly, he pulled back from my lips but held me close in his arms, for a long moment just staring into my eyes before he eased away.
Tracing one thumb across my bottom lip, he said, “We will take this slow. Besides, there’s only so much we can do until we have the mating ceremony.” His voice was husky and deep.
I nodded shakily. “I understand. I’ll be ready to leave within the week.”