Chapter 11
Madison kept her eyes closed and prayed for patience. “Thank you, I’m not hungry right now,” she said through her teeth.
“You need nutrition to feed your feeble human brain for your studies and training,” he said. Everyone around them hastily cut off their sniggers.
Glaring at him, she took a bite of food hoping that would make him go away. He leaned down, pressed his forehead against hers. Madison sat frozen, not sure what to do. What was with the forehead touching. His skin was warm and leathery against hers, inviting her to touch. Before she could react, he straightened and then left them with that blurring speed.
“My, aren’t we special?” Sandra said into the pregnant silence, with a syrupy sweet smile.
Madison balled her fists. Viglar, who’d almost been out the door, turned and came back to lean over Sandra. The other woman looked ready to have a heart attack. Several of the other interns slithered away and if Viglar wasn’t blocking her way Madison might have run too.
“I have observed that you are a particular lazy human. Your interactions with the other humans are confrontational. I judge you deficient.”
Pale and trembling, Sandra stood and scurried away, and Madison didn’t know how to feel. On the one hand, she was human enough to enjoy seeing Sandra put in her place. Madison had been living with her digs and nasty comments since they entered uni together. On the other hand, she fought her own battles. You didn’t grow up in the swamps with six mean brothers without learning to toughen up.
“I can stand up for myself,” she told him.
“I am your warrior. I stand up for you.”
She rolled her eyes at Rachel. “I’m not going to win this argument. So let me eat this food. I’ll see you tonight,” she said, ignoring Viglar she turned to face Rachel.
“I’ve got a few more minutes,” Rachel said. She’d been about to leave when Viglar returned to deal with Sandra.
Madison appreciated Rachel’s loyalty.
Viglar stood over her with his arms folded across his chest until she ate everything on the plate. Everyone except Rachel made a getaway. Madison knew from the looks her colleagues gave her that she was in for a tough time with them.
Madison thought Viglar might be sticking around to protect her against more nasty remarks. He’d been ready to leave her alone before Sandra started with the comments.
“Okay, I’m ready to return to the salt pits of Egypt.”
He stared at her and then took her arm and steered her to his office. “We are going to my office, not the salt pits.”
Now that they were alone she kept thinking of that pelt in her flat, of him using words like claimed. Was he attracted to her as well. He despised humans so she can only guess the attraction was in spite of his dislike of her species. In his office, she turned to face him. “What did you mean when you said you claimed me?”
“It means you are my breeder.”
Her stomach turned and his shoes were in danger of being decorated again. She’d expected him to say he was attracted to her and wanted them to live together or have regular sex or something. Not this. “What exactly does that mean?”
“It means I am your warrior, and we will make small warriors to serve the empire.”
Oh hell no. Her brothers would chop him into little pieces. No matter how strong he is. If anything was left of him when she got through with him. She was nobody’s breeder.
“I will not be anyone’s breeder. No way are you forcing me into anything that barbaric.”
How many other human women did they force to have alien babies? Nightmare visions of women kept in cages or locked behind doors and bred like animals haunted her.
“We will do the human kissing now,” he told her. Ignoring her objection with his usual arrogance.
It set her teeth on edge. “Did you even listen to what I said. You don’t tell me you’re going to breed me like an animal and then think I will kiss you, I won’t be used by you and you’d better just get used to that.”
“It is an honor to be a breeder in our empire. We do not breed like animals, we breed like warriors.”
“Unbelievable. Listen you, I do not find it an honor.”
“I have seen you look at me. You find my body pleasing.”
Her face burned so hot, she was surprised steam didn’t come out of her ears. She did like to look at his body. He was ripped. The, coupled with his obvious intelligence was irresistible. But he could’ve pretended not to notice instead of embarrassing her like this.
“So you’ve got a good body, it doesn’t mean I want you. Didn’t you hear me just telling you that I will not be forced into being your breeder.”
He stepped closer, touched her hair. “From the first time I saw you I wondered what it would feel like to kiss a woman with eye-colored hair.” He sounded uncharacteristically hoarse.
“Eye colored hair?”
“Your hair are the color of war eyes.”
“If red eyes are war eyes, why do yours turn red every time you look at me?”
“Kiss me and I will tell you.”
“No, I told you--”
He pulled her close, molding her against his warm muscled body, and moved his lips over hers, preventing her protest from escaping. A light almost-there touch. As if he wanted to feel the texture of hers. His lips always looked stern and unyielding, but they were as soft as she remembered against hers. Harder than those of a human male. He held her head still while he moved his lips over hers a few times. His eyes were open staring at her. In the history of kissing, it had to be the most impersonal, unromantic, and hottest kiss ever. Then he deepened the kiss. Madison swore the Earth moved. Her lips tingled with pleasure and suddenly she wanted more. More of his kiss and more of him. She forgot that he’d claimed her to breed her like an animal. That she should fight him, make him acknowledge that it was wrong to claim her as if she had no say in her own life. Breeder, she repeated over and over in her mind and found the strength to push at him. He lifted his head, stared down at her and then allowed her to break out of his arms. He was so strong, how would she defend herself if he insisted on continuing to kiss her. What if he wanted to do more?
She sidled away from him, trying to look relaxed, but keeping a wary eye on him.
He stepped back and handed her a silver cup.
“How do you do that?”
He’d produced the cup as if from thin air.
“Zyrgin efficiency.”
“What is this?”
“Vitamins. You will take it daily to ensure you function at optimum efficiency.”
“You mean you want me strong so you can work me into the ground and breed me like an animal,” she mumbled.
“You have to be stronger to be my breeder.” He conjured something that looked like a tube. “You will put this on your skin at all times.”
“What is it?” She half expected him to say it was an aphrodisiac or fertility drug. “And I’m plenty strong enough since I’m never going to be a breeder.”
“Protection against the sun.”
“Will it make my freckles go--”
Whenever they talked he was focused on her, as if the rest of the world did not exist. Now she lost his focus. He stilled and she thought he might be listening to someone. She’d tried to look without him noticing, but couldn’t see any receivers in his ears. “I have to go,” he said. “You will not paint anymore,” he pressed his forehead against hers.
“Yeah, that will make me miss popular.”
“I do not understand and do not have time for this conversation.”
“I prefer to continue with the painting, everyone thinks we’re sleeping together when I’m in your office. If I stop painting they’ll be convinced you’re giving me privileges in return for sexual favors.”
“Their opinions does not interest me,” he said with pure disdain.
“Easy for you to say, you’re not the one enduring the snide remarks.” She bit her lip. She’d been the one that approached him, had wanted to remain a doctor and she’d jumped at the chance. This breeder business aside, he’d been pretty decent to her.
“We will go to reception. The medical units have arrived.”
“This discussion isn’t over. You don’t just tell me you’ll try and breed me like an animal and go merrily on your way,” she warned him.
“I will not breed you like an animal. I will present you to my leader and after that we will have small warriors and live in my quarters.”
“Never mind, let’s go and see the medical units.” She was relieved at his explanation. At least it sounded more like he expected a relationship than a sex slave. She’d explain the concept of two people in a relationship deciding on how many children they would have. Wait, since when did she have a relationship with the irritating alien?
They went to the reception area without talking, passing interns who gave her pointed looks she ignored.
Madison was excited to see the medical units that could replace a person, a doctor but, like her fellow doctors, she resented the machines that would take a lot of her duties.
Something large pushed through the double doors. Madison and Rachel, who’d taken a call at reception, turned and watched as a huge silver crate floated down the hall. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to watch.
“Humans, commence working,” Viglar said and walked up to the crate that seemed programmed to go to a specific location. It was eerie seeing them move through the corridor about a foot off the ground, with no one pushing or steering them.
The hallway had been widened with four square hollows built into the wall. The crate stopped at each hollow and unloaded rectangular tube-like objects about six feet long and three feet wide. What impressed and fascinated her was the way the machine did all that by itself.
When it was installed, Viglar pressed buttons on each of the tubes. Madison walked up to him.
“How does it work?”
“A human walks in, it heals them, and the human walks out,” Viglar said.
Man, was she tempted to feed the superior alien a knuckle sandwich. “I was hoping for a little more detail than that?”
“You cannot comprehend the intricacies of Zyrgin technology.”
“Why don’t you try explaining it to me instead of assuming I won’t understand.” One of these days he was going to make one superior comment too many and someone would kill him in his sleep.
He pressed several more buttons on the devices and then came to stand in front of her. While she glared up at him he gave her a detailed description of what she supposed was how the units worked. It was so technical she had no hope of understanding what he was talking about.
“Do you wish to discuss this more?” he asked.
“No, I’d love to stay and discuss this fascinating subject but I have to do the women’s clinic”
She turned smartly and walked away, half expecting him to call her back or grab her and make her admit she didn’t understand a word of what he just said. Glancing over her shoulder, half expecting to find him on her heels, she hurried. No way was she admitting that out loud. She’d expected to see him standing there, looking at her but he’d disappeared.