If she screamed, would the Gweithi come in and save her? Or merely block her ears?
In a strange way, the impending terror of seeing Wrexel was welcome after days of numb acceptance. Amber closed her eyes and told herself that if she complied with his requests, he would allow her to return home.
* * *
Wrexel entered seconds later. He wore loose-fitting clothes and looked as if he had just bathed. His hair was slightly damp. Despite her hatred, Amber could not deny that he was a pleasure to look at. However, the confidence he exuded and the way he filled the room with both his size and his presence annoyed her. His burnished gold eyes were cold, but he greeted her warmly, not coming near her until he had poured her a glass of wine.
Amber accepted it without thanks.
Would this be the night he ordered her to his bed? Part of her wanted the torture over.
“I’m sorry it has taken me so long to see you, Amber, but I have been busy.”
Retorts came to mind, but she did not have the inclination to voice them. He asked the same questions about her comfort that Leyahanna extended on a daily basis. When his eyes roamed over her with cold calculation, Amber decided that it really didn’t matter what came her way. The only time she felt anything was when she thought of Travis. When the aching and yearning became too much, she sobbed until she had no energy left. Some nights she would dream that they were still together, then wake up alone in her strange surroundings, screaming into her pillow until she had no voice.
The wedding they had spoken of in the garden, the children they would raise, the dreams they had. All gone! She saw Wrexel studying her. As he led her to the table to eat, his gaze lingered on the dark circles beneath her eyes. “Is Leyahanna helpful?” he asked as Amber picked at her food.
“Yes.” She sipped her wine, unable to bring any food to her lips.
More silence.
“Please eat, Amber. There is no need to keep looking at me in fear; I told you I will not take you against your will.”
“But I will never want you,” she said immediately. “So why keep me, why torture me?”
He put down his utensils, his smile mocking. “I hope you have been watching the chronicles of all the races, Amber; they are informative about the Thromian nation, but not very detailed about a Thromian Royal. We have superior genetic capabilities; we are faster and stronger, and can breathe underwater. We also have heightened senses. I know you are not immune to me; I can scent it when I touch you, so stop denying it.”
“Perhaps when I didn’t know what a fiend you are I found you mildly interesting.” She glowered. “But now I feel nothing but loathing!”
He merely smiled at her. They ate the rest of their dinner in silence. Eventually, when they were done, he asked her to move with him to the window. It arched outward like a glass bubble in the side of the ship. Fully enclosed in glass, she could see into space in all directions, to the ships that hovered in the distance and Earth in the far corner.
The surrounding visual kept her momentarily occupied as she stared out in wonder; then she felt him close to her side and bristled, taking a firm step away.
He caught her wrist. “Wait, please, I want to talk to you; just for a few minutes and then you can return to Leyahanna.”
She tugged her arm but he closed his fingers around her wrist and gently urged her to come to him.
“What are you doing?”
“Relax, Amber, I merely want to ask you something,” he said softly. “A few questions… I want nothing else... will ask for nothing else.”
Amber stared up at him, her eyes wide with nervous apprehension. His gaze was warm as his thumb ran over her palm. She tore her hand away and tucked it on her hip.
“Do you see that ship?” He ignored her action and pointed into space. “It’s an infirmary. Many of those we are reallocating had diseases that could not be cured on Earth, but Throm has the ability to see them healed.”
“That totally makes up for the billions you will kill,” she snapped.
His amused look never wavered. “At least you have somebody to blame for the end of this Earth’s cycle; in a hundred years or less, the fault would have rested on your own kind entirely.”
“We will never know, will we?”
He frowned. “Did you see a bright future ahead, Amber? Did you see changes in your governments and policies that would bring about an age of enlightenment?”
She could not answer.
“In Diogel, we have our problems, but you will never see hungry children in the streets on any of our planets. There are no mass regions suffering from starvation, homelessness, poverty… the Yimmyrd ensure that these diabolical issues that affect Earth are not present. Our governments are held responsible for their people. On Throm there are no orphans, there are no homeless people, there are no hungry.”
“Perhaps if we had a Yimmyrd nation watching us we would be the same,” she whispered thoughtfully.
He nodded. “I don’t understand the reason behind Earth needing to reach enlightenment alone either, but it’s not my call. You would think humanity would change, but old thinking runs deep. They make the same mistakes over and over again, and corruption never dies. We have the Yimmyrd to thank for the morality that currently exists in the instances that count.”
Her eyes widened. “I thought you didn’t like them; you were so dismissive of the Yimmyrd before he… left.”
“I do not like obeying them in every respect, but I fight my father in his quest for dominion over them. Shihlo is a know-it-all so I’ll never admit this to him, but he’s right; no one but the Yimmyrd could control Diogel as effectively. I have no desire to rid our system of their presence in entirety, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to always obey them, especially when it’s to my own planet’s detriment.”
She found herself smiling back at him when he slowly grinned at her. She quickly reined her response back to a glare.
* * *
He was deceptively charming and she steeled herself as he spoke more about Throm, Diogel, and the evacuation plans. He was extremely witty and she responded to his sense of humor without thought at times, struggling to focus on her angry resolve.
Suddenly, when she least expected it and was at her most relaxed, she found him a little too close for comfort as he put his hands on her shoulders. “I have a question for you.”
He had a way of looking at her that made her feel a little weak in the knees – as if she was something he revered. His gaze was alight with warm admiration for her, a small smile still lingering at her terse and cheeky responses to his feedback. He didn’t look at her condescendingly or with blame; he enjoyed her rebellion and this did strange things to her insides.
He brought her gently to him. “Just a question,” he said again as she stiffened. He continued to look at her with warm earnestness as he slowly wound his fingers into her hair and gently tilted her head back.
“So beautiful,” he whispered with undisguised longing as his thumbs moved over her temples.
Amber was sure he was going to kiss her. He was so close, his breath fanning her lips as his eyes held hers. She was about to push him from her when he whispered, “Who is Banjo?”
“He was my dog, my pet…” She hesitated.
“A pet?” He continued to scan her face as if he found every feature interesting. “This is the one you mentioned to me when we first met… do you remember that day, Amber?”
She began to pull away; his eyes were too intoxicating. The way they swirled in beautiful shades of yellow and violet had her off kilter. She gave a little start when she felt the heat of his palm on her back, locking her in place without bringing her to him. She pressed her hands against his chest and pushed, but the action merely brought his lingering hand more firmly against the base of her spine. Warmth seeped into her flesh but she had no chance to run when he said, “Leyahanna said this animal is important to you?”
Amber murmured, “Yes.” For a moment she was spellbound, t
he reactions within her body taking precedence over her need to move away. A vague alarm bell reminded her to move, but then his fingers ran over the small of her back and she swayed. Her chest finally touched his and she breathed in sharply. Her softness melted into his chiseled, hard frame, the contact bone-numbing. His violet eyes captivated her, the raw hunger made her dizzy. Her heart pounded when he dropped his cheek to hers. His breath fanned her ear as his hand toyed with her lower back and spine. He nuzzled her temple as his hands settled on her waist; his thumbs stroked her ribs, lingering beneath her breasts. “You’re so soft,” he moaned in her neck. Her hands tightened on his shoulders when his maddening thumbs stroked higher against her ribs. She wanted to push him away, but she also wanted his fingers to move up. Her breasts were full and heavy against him and she yearned to know what it would feel like if he…
“Will you admit it now, Amber?”
She went rigid.
“Your desire smells like honey to me.”
Amber jerked back. Her face flamed, and she lifted her hand to slap him but he caught her wrist.
“You’re angry with yourself, not me.” He dropped her hand as she stormed from the room.
“You will be mine, Amber, it’s just a matter of time,” he called after her.
“No, I won’t!” she yelled. “I will never give myself to you.”
She blotted out the voice that told her if she had a few more minutes of his intoxicating stare and touch, she would have done exactly that.
17
Discoveries
Over the next few days, Amber endured more meetings with Wrexel. Still reeling from her humiliation at their dinner, she berated herself continually for her doe-eyed behavior and planned her future responses with determination. She was willing to fight him if he so much as looked at her with desire.
She had speeches prepared!
Scathing ones!
She even planned her rebuttal of his touch.
Wrexel took the wind from her sails.
He reported on the welfare of her kind, told her more tales of Throm and Diogel, his manner reserved and his actions respectful. His only request related to her lack of appetite. He did not come close to her in any way, wasn’t even mildly flirtatious. It was almost as if she were a colleague, an outside observer of Earth’s fate who required feedback.
Instead of relaxing her, his manner made her want to scream with frustration. When he entered her room on the fifth evening and asked Leyahanna to give them some privacy, Amber was on edge. All her undelivered speeches remained prepared; her body went stiff and she readied herself to fight. Anxiety thrummed through her as she wondered if he would be his new, cordial self.
“Leyahanna said that your appetite is improving,” he said as Amber moved to the seating area.
She sat and folded her hands in her lap, waiting for an opportunity to launch an attack.
“I feel as if I should reward you.” He perched on the edge of the couch’s wide armrest. “But it turns out we are both due a reward.”
Amber frowned.
What did he mean?
“I have left you to recover from your shock. I have not laid a finger on you despite my desire to do so.”
“Congratulations,” she said sarcastically.
Wrexel grinned and uttered what sounded like the start of a laugh. He slid onto the couch directly opposite her, his smile wicked with intent.
“My reward will be an embrace such as the one you gave your ex-fiancé on the transporter one night.” He tapped his annoyingly sexy mouth. “Yours will be a small, furry creature I had delivered to my room last night, whom I find to be completely annoying.”
Amber raised her eyebrows.
Could he mean…
“Banjo, a musical instrument I believe, though the sounds he emits are nothing like one.”
She sat upright. “You have my dog?” Her heart raced.
“Yes.” Wrexel nodded and then touched his lip. “And you have my embrace.”
She squirmed.
“Trade?” He grinned.
* * *
Amber was giddy with joy and yet his request angered her.
Her beloved Banjo, so close, just a kiss away. She decided it was worth the suffering.
“Deal.” As she stood to walk over to him, her heart somersaulted in her chest.
She was unsure what she would do once she was close to him, but he did not wait for her to decide. He grasped her and pulled her to him.
“Comfortable?” he asked, shifting her in place. His eyes danced with merriment, which made him even more attractive. She hated herself for noticing this and stiffened, pulling back. He gave her room to move, and she relaxed when he avoided placing her in direct contact with his groin area. She straddled his legs; she could live with the position for now.
“Then let’s begin.” His voice was low, teasing.
Amber leaned forward awkwardly, not sure where to put her hands. He stopped her as she closed in for the half-hearted peck she had planned.
“If I don’t get what I want… what I know you can give me… the deal will be off and I will have Banjo returned.”
Amber grimaced and inhaled. His breath was a sweet contradiction to his threats. She fought against the awareness between them, tried to steel herself against the way her body immediately responded and put her lips on his.
He sighed.
It was difficult to kiss him when he remained immobile; his lips never moved beneath hers. He really was a novice at what he called the human embrace. She sat back in annoyance. “You really have no idea?”
He shook his head, a small frown furrowing his otherwise perfect forehead. “Thromians don’t do it that way.”
“What way?” she asked.
“With tongue.” He grinned but before she could respond, the smile faded. He clasped her cheeks and pulled her gently back to him. “Show me.”
Amber did, keeping it as innocent as possible, a slight taste, a gentle glide of her own tongue over his lips and then… oh.
Either he lied, or he was a quick learner.
His ancestors must have been French.
Amber melted into the embrace, forgetting everything, even her anger. The feel of his mouth on hers was inebriating. Her planned three seconds failed. In the end, she hated to admit it, he was the one who drew back.
Her cheeks were on fire. She realized she had moved closer to him, filled her hands with his hair, and trembled in need as his mouth teased hers. Never, not once when she kissed Travis had she felt anything remotely close to the feelings Wrexel stirred within her.
It felt like a first kiss.
The triumphant gleam in his eyes annoyed her.
“There,” she choked out, horrified by her reaction to him. “Now get my dog.” She scrambled from his lap and sat across from him, watching as he stared at her with his beautiful violet eyes. Wrexel spoke a few clipped words into his communicator. Soon, a Thromian entered the room and placed a box at Amber’s feet. She whipped it open and retrieved her pet.
She sobbed into his fur as Banjo licked her face. Amber cuddled him as she tried to calm him down.
When the greeting was over, she realized that Wrexel had left. She was overjoyed at Banjo’s arrival and for a short moment forgot everything about her hopeless situation. She needed to work harder to win the battle of wills against Wrexel. Her reaction to him wasn’t normal.
It was as crazy as the vision of her mother that hovered above her as she played with her dog.
She sighed when Lilith began to speak.
“He has a capacity for love. Bring it forth. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
Amber pinched her eyes shut. “You are not real.”
“You need his protection, Amber, and can gain his love at the same time. He was handpicked for you, he will be the one who ignites your heart forever.”
“You are not real!” she shouted.
When she opened her eyes again, her mother had left. Amber
summoned Leyahanna and told her she needed the medication desperately.
* * *
Leyahanna did not let Amber down. When she woke the following morning, it was to two Thromian males carrying Leyahanna’s stash. The floor bore not only her luggage but also the entire wall safe from her father’s room.
“You didn’t ask him to open it and give the medication to you?” James usually gave her a bottle a month like a child. The locked safe still had some concrete attached to the back and Leyahanna blushed, confessing to outright burglary. She also brought random items she thought Amber would like. As more boxes were delivered, Amber smiled for the first time in days. Leyahanna presented item after item from her home, seeking her approval. Amber smiled and nodded, telling Leyahanna she was happy with the can opener, the ashtray, and the garden gnome.
“I didn’t see the girl Sam,” Leyahanna said as she held up a selection of her father’s neckties for Amber to approve. “She has been evacuated already.”
Amber thanked Leyahanna profusely for everything. Her eyes fell on the sealed safe that had been ripped out of the wall.
“I can open it,” Leyahanna offered and to Amber’s amazement, she did exactly this with something that looked like a hair clip.
Amber knelt and took out her anti-hallucination medication. After taking one, she counted six more bottles and frowned. She would require more soon. Judging by the annoying reoccurrence of her visions, she might need to increase her dosage.
“I will analyze them and create more for you,” Leyahanna promised.
Amber felt guilty that she was about to rummage through her father’s things, but she rationalized the choice by deciding she could always send important stuff back with Leyahanna. Leyahanna did not understand the privacy of a safe and began helping Amber unpack it. She opened a box and rifled through some photographs while Amber stared at old passports awash with memories.
“Oh, Amber, your mother was beautiful.”
AMNESIA Page 23