by Maia Starr
Waking up wrapped around my wife was a good feeling. I was completely involved in the emotions that went through me, just being with her. Making love to her over and over again was the best night of my life. It was better than anything I had ever experienced.
I could tell that it was about to be morning, and I felt reluctant to leave her bed. I wanted to spend every day and every night in her bed. But she wasn't all mine; it was hard to share. But it was necessary. If I didn't share, I wouldn't have her at all. I had to remember that.
I propped myself up on my elbow and looked at her. She was sleeping silently.
I pushed a strand of her strawberry-blond hair aside. I inhaled her scent. She was heavenly. She quietly rolled toward me, pushing her body against me. Then her eyes fluttered open.
“Good morning. I hope I didn't wake you,” I said.
“No, that is fine. Good morning to you,” she smiled.
“I have to say, last night was incredible. Thank you for being here. Thank you for allowing me to give you pleasure, my wife,” I said to her.
“You are welcome, Keara,” she said.
“I realized something last night, about you,” I said.
She turned and looked at me with wide eyes. There was almost a bit of fear inside of them. It was as if she was holding her breath for a moment.
“What? What do you know about me?”
“No, I said something that I realized. I realized that I love you, Reena. I don't know how it happened. I don't know when it happened. It happened quickly. It could have happened the moment I laid eyes on you that first time at the auction house. But I knew it last night. I could feel it. I love you; I am in love with you. I would do anything for you,” I said to her.
Her shoulders dropped as though she was relieved. She smiled. She put her hand on my cheek.
“Thank you, Keara.”
Then she gave me a quick kiss on the lips. I guess it was too much to ask for her to say the same thing in return to me. She had only known me for a short time. And she had to spread her love between four husbands. It didn't matter. I was glad that I told her. I wanted her to know.
“I should probably get up. Make food for the others, before they leave for their shifts,” she said, rolling away from me. I watched her as her gorgeous, naked body moved to her clothing. She pulled the dress over her head and down her body.
“I will help you prepare breakfast. I am up anyway,” I said to her.
“Do you not need to get ready to go in today?”
“Yes, but I go in much later. Not until noon, so I have time,” I said.
“Then I would like the help,” she said.
I got dressed and walked into the kitchen with her. We ate a light snack and drank a jug of water together. We needed the nutrition after what I had put her through that night. Then we began to make a light meal pancakes, some eggs, and some bread. Very standard.
“Good morning. I see you two are up early,” Bryne said.
“Yes, they must have got a lot of sleep,” Lokin said teasing.
“Smells good. Thank you for this,” Bryne said serving himself.
“I don't even have to go into a shift today, but the smell woke me up,” Lokin said. He was going to be there at home today, the official guard of our wife. This was good.
Arin woke up a while later, and we all ate breakfast. Then they were quick to get dressed and go to the military compound for their shifts, all except Lokin. Who said he was going to take a shower. I told him I was taking Reena for a walk on the lakeshore.
Together, we walked out of the house and down to the shore of the lake. We walked in the opposite direction than the usual path. We had some small talk, but there seem to be something bothering her. But I could only assume it was simply because of her situation. She was a human after all, and humans had suffered plenty. I was not going to blame her for not feeling happy every single day. She saw us as the enemy, even if we were her husbands and lovers.
“What is that? What is that in the distance?” She narrowed her eyes and looked out down the shoreline. I saw it too.
“Let's take a look,” I grabbed her hand, and together we walked.
“It looks like a rowboat,” she said.
“What?”
“It is a boat, a small wooden one. You put it in the water, and it floats. You have these paddles that push you through the water. It looks like it is in good condition,” she said walking around it.
“A rowboat,” I said and looked out toward the water remembering what was out there.
“Oh, no, I spoke too soon. Look it has a gash in it on this side. But could be easily fixed with some wood to cover and seal it. Seal it with some kind of sticky tar or glue so that the water does not come in,” she said.
I've looked at the houses on the shore. “This area seems to be empty. This boat might have been here for years. If it belongs to no one, then perhaps I can fix it up for you. Take you on the lake.”
Her face lit up. “I would love that! It is a bit boring sitting at home all day. Going out on the lake would be fun!” she said. Then she threw her arms around my neck and reached up on her tip toes and kissed me. I put my hands on her waist, enjoying this reward.
Chapter Twenty
Reena Okova
Pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall into place. Seeing that boat on the lakeshore was a good thing. The fact that Keara was going to fix it up with even better. I would keep tabs on his little project and make sure I knew where that boat was. It could be my escape later on when I needed it.
The next evening was a free night. Meaning I was able to sleep alone. The husbands were kind to me, making sure that I was comfortable. Making sure that everything was good for me. I stood in the kitchen cutting up some zucchini. I put a piece in my mouth and ate it. I was working on preparing dinner.
“How are you feeling?”
I turned around to see Arin standing there. He must be home early, I thought. I had been home alone that day with Bryne. But Bryne had been kind of doing his own thing, working on the house in the garden. Taking a nap. Polishing and taking apart his blaster gun.
“Hello, Arin. I am feeling well thank you.”
“You are not nauseous?” he asked me. I suddenly felt my body get warm. How did he know that I was feeling nauseous? It was a side effect of being pregnant. I was lucky that I had my own bathroom in my room and that did nausea came fairly early in the morning and only once a week or so.
“Nauseous? No, not at all. In fact, I'm quite hungry, are you?”
“Yes, I am hungry,” he grabbed a zucchini stick and stuck it into his mouth. “I am only asking because I have heard that is a symptom when a human female is pregnant. She is nauseous, lots of vomiting. But maybe that is only when one is pregnant with human offspring and not the Dains. That is all that I was asking.”
“Oh, I see. It is probably too early to tell. I haven't even completed the schedule of one-on-ones,” I said looking away from him and chopping the vegetables. But it was because I didn't want to make eye contact with him. It was because I didn't want him to know that I was hiding it. That I had a secret. I didn't know if he would be able to see it on my face.
“Yes, the schedule. When the schedule has been run through at least once, maybe even twice, we will take you to be tested.”
“Tested?”
“Yes, to see if you are pregnant of course,” he said.
I laughed a nervous laugh. “Oh yes, of course. That makes sense. I see that we are out of water. I will go to the storage and get it,” I said wanting to move away from him.
“No, I will get it. Do not trouble yourself, and it is heavy. Just in case you are pregnant. I am sure that my sperm is very strong, so you must be,” he winked at me. I laughed.
As soon as he walked away, I felt panic come over me. I wasn't planning on being tested so soon. But Arin wanted me pregnant; he wanted to know sooner rather than later. Maybe he would do it on a monthly or bi-weekly basis for all I knew. Pe
rhaps I could trick it once, but not more than that. I had been lucky getting past the virgin blood test with the small medicine that my husband gave me. I wouldn't get lucky again.
“Here we are. I will refill the jugs,” he said bringing in a very large barrel of water and going to work.
“Thank you.” Not wanting him to continue to talk about pregnancy, I decided to make small talk with him.
“How was your work today, husband? Anything exciting?” I did not look at him; I was concentrating on the cooking.
“Today was good. The new weapons are very well stocked and inventoried. Thanks to the new system that I put in place and make everyone use. I had a few meetings; of course, they were about the rebel Danish. But there hasn't been any new information except that there could have been a spotting of the group across the globe in the area that used to be known as Europa.”
“Yes, Europe.”
“Yes, that's what it is.”
“I am glad that I am in a safe home and well protected. Seems that fighting could continue. I would not want to get caught in that,” I said.
He came up behind me and put his arms around me. He pulled my bottom against his body, he was so tall, towering over me even behind me. He lightly put some kisses on the side of my neck. “I would protect you with my life, wife.”
I giggled a little bit. I was feeling conflicted. His words about being so radical and against the humans, wanting them dead as though they deserved it brought chills in my body. But when he said things like this, that he would die for me and protect me, it was hard not to feel some warmth towards him. To care for him. This conflict went on inside of me for each of them, each of my husbands. But for Arin, it was even harder for me. He was so vocal, so blunt. A true soldier and loyal Dain. Would he risk his life for me if he knew the truth? If he knew that I was pregnant with a human child? I had a feeling his words would change, but there was no way to know.
It was hard to make small talk over dinner, mostly because I was so nervous about what Arin had said: that I would be tested within the next week or the week after. Tonight I would be alone, and I would need it. I would need to figure something out.
After everyone went to bed, I started to figure out how I could escape. I would have to do it sooner rather than later. There wouldn't be time to take that rowboat because I'm sure Keara wasn't going to fix it right away. But maybe I could. I looked around the room, looking for spare wood. Then I remembered that there were the seating arrangements outside in the back of the house that they had made out of spare wooden boxes. If I could take one of those boxes with me, a hammer and nails, and some sort of plastic covering, then I might be able to fix that boat. But being stranded out in the lake not knowing where to go would be a lot to deal with. I wouldn't even have a paddle. So I would have to try to do the sewer system; I was more comfortable with that. At least I wouldn't drown in the lake. Next time I went on a walk, I needed to look for manhole covers, the nearest entrance to a sewer. It would be my only escape. I walked over to my window and opened it. The breeze from the lake hit my face. It felt good. It felt like freedom.
I crawled out of the window. It was on the back side of the house. I was just testing it. This would be how I would get out of my room. It wouldn't make any noise like a door would. I walked to the fence; it was high. I would have to climb over it. I could do it. When it came down to it, I knew that I wouldn't have a choice. I just wouldn't be able to wear a damn dress; I would need something more substantial. The husbands wore trousers; if I could get ahold of one and fold them up so that they weren't so long on me and wrap a piece of rope for a belt around my waist. Or I could pull it very high and cut a hole over my neck to make a sort of jumpsuit. All these thoughts were going through my head. I was feeling good about it.
I crawled back into my room and quietly closed the window. At least I had a plan for getting out of the house; the rest I would have to think of. I knew that I only had days to do it.
The next day would be my one-on-one with Bryne. He was always one for adventure. He was going to be home all day with me, guarding me.
“Do you think we could go for a walk today down the neighborhood? Just to stretch our legs and get a look around. I'm kind of bored being here all cooped up,” I said to him after we ate lunch.
“Yes, that sounds like an adventure to me. Just let me get my gun,” he said.
We began to walk out of the house and then onto the street. It was strange to see a whole neighborhood deserted. We walked in the opposite direction of Hazel's house, and I hoped that she was well. There was so much that I wanted to tell her. But I didn't want to waste a visit to her until I had all the information. I knew that I could not tell her that I was going to try to escape; her having that kind of information would put her in danger, and that was the last thing I wanted for her.
I was looking off to the side for drains, any entrance to the sewer. There were a couple, but I didn't think I would be able to fit in them, the ones that were underneath the sidewalk to catch water from the street. Then in the distance, I saw a manhole. It was in the middle of the street. We walked right past it. Bryne was talking and didn't notice that I was looking at it. I had picked them up before in my days of living in the sewer, but it wasn't easy, and it was very loud. I would need to bring some sort of bar with me to pry it up.
As we walked, I look down at my sheet.
“What is it?”
“Sometimes I just worried with all this rubble around that I am going to get my feet stuck by glass or a piece of splintered wood is all. These sandals are not really meant for walking the way we like to walk,” I said looking at the dainty sandals.
“That is true. I will see what I can do about that. Come,” he said looking around.
He walked off the road and towards the front door of the house. He went to the front door and knocked.
“Most of the homes that are occupied by the Dains and their wives are fenced in. But it's just polite to knock anyway just in case. But I'm pretty sure this is abandoned,” he said and then kicked the door open easily.
We walked in. “Go ahead. See if there is female clothing around for you. Especially for our walks. We can't have you getting cut by a rock or something that would give you an infection. You are right to want more covering. I'm going to look around here,” he said.
I arched my eyebrows at him. I was impressed. And I quickly went to the bedroom. It made me sad to look around. It looked like the people have left in a hurry. The bed was perfectly made, a closet door was open there was plenty of stuff in it. I went to the bed and pulled the pillow out of the pillowcase. I used the pillowcase and went to the closet. I found two pairs of jeans that would fit me. I pushed in; to my surprise, there were boots that were only one size bigger. That would be perfect. I could just push some material inside so that they fit me. I found socks and a couple of sweaters. This was all perfect. There was even a heavy coat. I pushed it all into the pillowcase. I wanted to look around for the other things I needed. Flashlights, a crowbar to pull up the manhole, but I knew that would be too suspicious. So I just had to make do with the clothing. I took off my sandals and put them in the pillowcase and put on the boots.
I entered the living room. I could hear Bryne in the kitchen.
“There's lots of good stuff here. I will need to come back and get more things.” He had a toolbox; it was open, and he was looking through the tools.
“Yes, that would definitely come in handy around the house. You could fix anything with that,” I said, already thinking about the tools I would take with me when I left.
“I see you found what you were looking for,” he said looking down at my feet.
“Yes, they fit a little big, but they will do. And I got clothes for the winter; it will be cold. The lake turns to ice. That way we can still take our walks, but I will be warm. And of course, keep our child warm inside of me when that happens.”
He smiled. “I like the way you think ahead. Always prepared. Just like
a soldier. You are the perfect wife for us. We should get back,” he said.
We walked out of the house, and he closed the door. We carried our loot back to our home. I went to my room and put my new clothes away. It wouldn't do to have them packed in a pillowcase as though I was ready to run off. So I hung them up ready to use for the winter.
That night, I had my one-on-one with Bryne. It was sweet. It was definitely different. Being with Keara was pure passion, and emotion. Arin had been animalistic and primal. Bryne was somewhat inexperienced. He laid there while I was on top, and we only did it once. He too went to sleep in his own bed.
A few nights later, I was with Lokin. He was a bit more experienced, but there wasn't any connection there. I cared for him deeply, but it felt a bit mechanical, I felt like I was being used to be impregnated and that was all. But I didn't blame him for it.
But what this meant was that in a few days Arin would want to have me tested, because I had been through the entire schedule. In a few days, I would be with him again, but he would want to have me tested before that. I knew that it was now or never.
So that night was a night alone. I went to bed at my regular time. I didn't want to give anyone any suspicion. I waited until everyone went to bed and then I waited two hours. So that they were deep in sleep.
I took the sheets off my bed and tied them into a rope. I filled the pillowcase with what I needed: tools, food, supplies. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater and the heavy coat. I was glad that it was black; it would help hide me in the night. I opened the window and put my boots outside on the ground. Then I crawled out. Once I was outside, I put the boots on. I went to the fence and threw the sheet rope over it, catching it on the top. This would help me to climb it. I had tied the pillow around a shirt, long sleeves, and now I draped that over my body diagonally, making a makeshift messenger bag. I looked around.
I took a deep breath, and then I began to climb. It wasn't as hard as I thought.
“Reena, what are you doing?”