She let Geno lead her up the boarding ramp and into the ship. She couldn’t call it anything less. Even though it resembled a small submarine, it was still quite large.
“How do you keep it hidden?” She hadn’t seen much of it while outside, but the boarding ramp and landing gear were big enough to know that they couldn’t hide the entire thing with a bit of underbrush and tree leaves.
“It has a cloaking device.”
“Of course, it does.” She bit her lip to keep herself from becoming hysterical. Wynter didn’t know how long pain would work to keep her distracted from the impossible things going on, but she’d keep it up as long as it worked.
The smooth white walls of the interior didn’t give her any idea of its internal size. Still, with most of the ship cloaked and the interior being much larger than it had appeared on the outside, it reminded her of one of Ella’s favorite science fiction TV shows.
“It looks bigger on the inside.”
“Not really. It just seems so because you haven’t seen the rest of the ship from the outside. That’s all.” Geno set down the three bags he’d lugged up the side of the mountain, placed his hand on the small of her back, and gently nudged her down the wide corridor into the belly of the ship. “I’ll take you to your room before we get going.
“Thank you.” Even though it felt strange, she allowed him to pull her closer to his side when he wrapped his arm around her waist. “Where are the boys?”
“They’re with Reno and Birgit. I’ve instructed them to put their things in the cabin you’ll be using. It’s one of only a handful that has more than one bedroom.” He smiled as he walked. “If our family keeps growing, I’ll have to purchase another ship soon, or we’ll be uncomfortable if we all go somewhere together.”
“Oh. Thank you. That was thoughtful.” His comment made her wonder just how many trips they took in the craft. It seemed as though someone would have discovered them on radar or something if they took very many.
“You’re welcome. But it was necessary. I didn’t think you’d want to have to share a bedroom with two rambunctious boys.”
“That wouldn’t be my first choice, no.” She managed to smile up at him. It was the first time she’d felt like smiling in a while. The news of their origin had been a shock. Then when Geno mentioned he had a real, live spaceship, she’d almost fainted a second time.
The first time she’d fainted in front of him had been embarrassing enough. Hell, the man had not only caught her, but he’d picked her up and carried her. It was a wonder he hadn’t hurt his back.
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He was muscular and appeared to be in his prime, even though he swore he was older than she was—not that she believed it.
“Here we go.” He waved his hand near a keypad, and the wide door slid open without a sound. “One of my sons will deliver your bags once they find them near the entrance, and the boys should be along shortly. I’m sure they’ve both demanded a tour of the ship.”
Geno waved his arm, indicating she should enter what appeared to be a large apartment.
There was an eat-in kitchen to the right, with a strange glass-enclosed box with an electronic keypad next to it and an apartment-sized refrigerator.
“The refrigerator is for any fresh food you might want to store.” He gestured toward the glass box. “This is the replicator. It can produce almost any kind of food you might like. If you don’t find what you want on the list, just tell one of my boys, and they’ll add it for you. All of the food from the replicating device is made from plant-based fibers and is healthy for you. Even your most decadent meals and desserts are derived from plants when using this device.” He rested his hand on the top edge of the glass and grinned. “The girls say it’s one of the best parts of taking trips with me. They can eat whatever they want and not gain an ounce or have to worry about cholesterol.”
She let her smile fade and wondered if he’d told her that tidbit of information because it was good for small talk about his ship or if he wanted to convince her to eat the food from the replicator so she’d lose weight.
Damn it. Another man who can’t like me the way I am. Her throat tightened, and her eyes burned.
“I see.” She stepped out of the kitchen and moved toward the entry to the bedrooms. “So which bedroom would be mine?”
“Whichever one you’d like. Though I think one of the rooms has a few bunks in it. You might want to let the boys have that one.”
“Why so big?” Wynter headed for the doors to her right, not waiting to see if he joined her. Truthfully, she wasn’t sure she gave a damn if he followed her or not. Men! You can’t live with them, and you can’t run them over with a tractor.
Geno wasn’t a human, though. Wynter seethed a little to herself. So maybe she could run him over without worrying about whether or not she’d go to jail. She sighed and shook her head. No matter what she might think, she’d never do anything like that. Besides, she kind of liked the man—even if he wasn’t as attracted to her as he’d first claimed.
The rest of what he said in the kitchen finally sank in, and she spun around to face him.
“What did you mean when you said the replicator was one of the things your daughters-in-law liked about taking trips with you? Do you make it a habit of tooling around the planet in your spaceship, or are you taking spins around the galaxy, or something?”
She couldn’t imagine he could take the spacecraft out very often without someone detecting it. “I mean, how do you manage to fly around in this thing without anyone seeing you?”
“We use the cloaking device, of course.”
“Of course you do.” She wanted to slap herself. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Probably because you didn’t know it existed until today.” He moved closer. “What’s wrong?”
“Wrong?” She shrugged. “Why would you think something was the matter?”
“Your attitude has changed since we entered the cabin.” He moved closer.
Wynter backed through the closest doorway and glanced behind her. There were two sets of bunk beds in the room, all large enough to accommodate grown men—very tall and mature men, like Geno’s sons.
“I guess this is the boys’ room.” She moved to check one of the bunks and realized the top two had sides to keep the occupants from rolling out in their sleep. “Thank you for giving me a room that I can share with the twins.” She turned around and noticed he’d stepped closer while she’d had her back turned. “Oh!” She tried to move around him, but he crowded closer, and she backed away until her back was against the wall.
“I don’t know what I did or said, takana, but please don’t be angry with me. Talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I already told you nothing is wrong.” She glanced around, looking for a way out.
“I know that’s what you told me. Now, how about the truth?” He leaned one arm against the wall and drew closer. “Every time you lie to me or say something bad about yourself, I’m going to kiss you. So, consider yourself warned.”
“That sounds more like a punishment for you than for me.”
“That’s it. I’m tired of hearing you berate yourself.” Geno put his other hand on the wall beside her head, caging her in.
Those gorgeous amber eyes met hers as he leaned closer and closer. The colors of the sunset and whiskey swirled together as his gaze held hers. The small pinpricks of red in the center of his eyes made her heart race as his face grew closer.
Firm lips pressed against hers, and Wynter held her breath. Bolts of lightning shot through her veins as he dropped his arms from the wall and drew her close, pulling her tight against his hard body.
Wynter pressed her hands against his shoulders, fully intending to push him away. Instead, she slid them down over the ridged muscles of his chest. He groaned deep in his throat when she brushed her thumbs over his cotton-covered nipples. She needed to stop this madness before things went too far if they hadn’t already.
Enticed by the passion of his kiss, Wynter laced her fingers together behind his neck and snuggled tighter against him.
Her head spun with confusion and desire. Ben’s kisses had never been so passionate, so full of excitement and heat. How could she have ever believed he had loved her when Geno could make her melt with just a kiss?
Had she been so lonely, so starved for affection that she’d mistaken her lust and Ben’s feigned interest for love?
Geno broke their kiss, his lips trailing over her jaw to her collarbone. “We’re the only ones here, takana. Leave him in his grave where he belongs,” he said against the side of her neck. “Think only of me—of this.” He kissed her again, his kisses growing more and more passionate as his hands skimmed over her back and rear.
After allowing the indulgence for a few more minutes, Wynter finally gathered her wits and pulled away, her breathing erratic.
“We can’t...” She shook her head. “We shouldn’t be doing this. Not here. Not now. Reno and Birgit could bring the boys in any minute.” She held her fingers to her lips, pressing his warmth to her.
What in the world had she been thinking when she’d kissed him back? She slid to the side and headed for the living area of the apartment.
“That was a mistake.”
“Why?” He’d followed her out of the room.
“Even if what everyone had said is true, and you are older than me, you still appear to be at least fifteen years younger than I do. How can I even think of dating someone who looks so much younger than I do?”
“Have you looked in a mirror lately?”
“Of course I have. I brush my hair and teeth every day. I can hardly do that without standing in front of a mirror.” She snorted and then gasped, slapping her hand over her mouth. “I didn’t just snort. I swear.”
“You haven’t paid attention to yourself, then, I’d wager,” he said with a chuckle. “Allow me to inform you about us shifters, my dear.” He smiled at her as though she was a child, and he, about to impart some great pearl of wisdom. “We tend to age much slower than humans.”
“I wasn’t born a shifter. Some nut in a laboratory turned me into one, or didn’t you catch that part?” She practically snapped the words at him. Was he dense, or was she?
“It would seem that it doesn’t matter. From what I’ve witnessed, when a human becomes a shifter, their aging appears to reverse. At least that’s what happened with Sela’s grandfather Clyde, and you.” He grinned at her and winked. “I’d suggest you take a good look in a mirror. Or, better yet, follow me.”
Geno didn’t give her a chance to agree. He merely grasped her hand and dragged her into the bathroom. It looked like any other bathroom on Earth, with one exception.
“If you planned to have me study myself in a mirror, you’re out of luck. There’s no mirror in here.” She glanced around. “I see you’ve done your best to decorate in Earth style, but you’re missing one thing.”
“Stand here.” He didn’t acknowledge what she’d said. Instead, he pulled her to a small platform and pressed a spot on a pad on the counter. Almost immediately, a holographic likeness of her popped up in front of her.
The rendering spun in a slow circle, showing her front and back, revealing every extra pound, every imperfection. The image looked exactly like her, with one exception. She no longer appeared to be a frumpy woman of middling age.
Wynter was still overweight. As before, she owned every one of her curves, but they looked good on her for once. She pointed at the figure, spinning in front of her, and turned to Geno.
“That’s not me.”
“It is you, and it’s how I’ve seen you from the first time we met.” He tapped the control pad, and her image disappeared. “Give or take a few years.”
“What... how?” Heart racing, she brought her hand to her throat and stared at the way she appeared in the image of herself. As much as she wanted to believe it was true, how could she? Still, no matter what she thought, he hadn’t had the time to program the machine to show her an altered image. Circumstances had thrown them together, and they hadn’t been apart for long since they’d met. “I look as though I’m in my twenties. How can that be?” She met Geno’s gaze. ”I don’t understand.”
Chapter Eighteen
“I DON’T EITHER, AND frankly, I don’t care.” Geno rested his hands on her shoulders and pressed a quick kiss to the center of her forehead. “All I care about is the fact that you now look younger than I do, and there’s no reason for you to reject me out of hand because I don’t meet your idea of a suitable romantic interest.”
“Why?” She cleared her throat. “Why are you so interested in me?”
“Because you are my takana.”
“What is a takana, and why do you keep calling me that?” She scowled at him, her hands resting on her hips.
If Wynter knew how gorgeous she was when she did that, she might not be so quick to draw those perfect brows down so sharply at him.
“The word is an old one. A takana is a rarity for my people.” He took her hand, led her to the sofa, and waited for her to sit. “When my people mate, we mate for life. We never separate, and it’s rare, very rare, for one who is widowed to find a second mate. It’s so uncommon that most of us commit the cal’tratu when our mates pass over to the afterworld.”
“The ritual suicide you were talking about.” She tilted her head. “Is that why you were going to do it because your mate died?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “Rowninda made me promise that I wouldn’t follow her until all of my sons were grown.” He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess I should have questioned her wording before today, but she’d said all of my sons, not all of our sons.”
Now that the two little boys she’d brought with her had adopted him, he supposed he had two more sons to raise before he could join Rowninda. And that didn’t count any children he and Wynter might make between them if she agreed to be his mate. If not, there was at least another twenty-four years between him and death, thanks to Nicky and Noah adopting him.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.” A crease formed between her eyebrows. “You still haven’t explained what a takana is.”
“I haven’t, have I?” He sighed and turned in his seat to face her better. “Takana means second-chance mate.” He took her hand because he needed to feel her soft skin beneath his fingers and mostly so she couldn’t run.
“You are my takana, my second-chance mate.” He held up one hand before she could protest. “I know you don’t know me, and you don’t trust me much, either. Frankly, after what your husband put you through, I don’t blame you. But hear me out before you reject me out of hand.”
“Hear you out?” Wynter drew her bottom lip between her teeth. “I want to believe you but—“
“But your husband ruined any chances I might have had by abusing not only your trust but by abusing you in nearly every way possible.”
“I’m not saying that. What I’m saying is...” She paused, searching his gaze. “How can you know I’m your takana when we just met? I mean, we don’t even know each other.”
“It’s a chemical reaction. Call it chemistry. Whatever you want to call it, it’s something we’re born with—something ingrained in us. We Zolonians know our mates the moment we meet.” He smiled as he moved his thumb over the back of her hand. “Getting to know our mates is merely the icing on the proverbial cake.”
“So, you’re saying you want to get to know me, then?”
“More than anything.” Geno lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss onto the back. “I wish that you would allow me to court you in the ways of my people.”
“How’s that?” Wynter wiped the palm of her free hand on her leg and shifted in her seat, gently tugging the hand he held.
“I would touch you whenever it is appropriate.” He smiled at her widened eyes. “That usually means when we are alone. I would show you what it is like to be my mate, and I would give you
gifts.”
“I don’t need—“
“Perhaps not, but I would love to do so anyway. It is our custom. While courting, we show our mates how precious they are to us. We gift them with precious jewels and delicacies and,” pausing he lowered his lids a bit and ignited what Rowninda always termed his burn. “We shower them with our love and attention.”
“You can’t possibly love me. We’ve only just met.” She snorted again, and like before, immediately covered her mouth.
“We can.” He placed his hand over the center of his chest. “I swear to you that our kind falls quickly when we find our mates. It’s not only a mental attachment. Physical chemistry binds us together.”
“Are you saying you have no choice?” She looked appalled.
“What I’m saying is that we don’t want or need a choice. Our goddess gives us a gift we are more than glad to accept. The goddess has gifted me with a second chance at life, another chance at love. Why would I wish to reject such a gift? When I look at you, I see a beautiful, courageous woman who I would be proud to call my mate.”
He raised his hand when it appeared as though she’d protest.
“You are everything Rowninda was not, and I still feel myself falling deeper and deeper in love with you. I have no idea why, and it is not my place to question the ways of the goddess.” He sandwiched her hands between his and stared deep into her gorgeous green eyes. “I will never strike you. I will never berate you in any way. I will always put your needs and happiness above my own. I swear it. Can you not find it in your heart to give me a chance?”
Wynter glanced down at their clasped hands and licked her lips. Gods, he found that one little nervous gesture of hers so damned sexy it nearly hurt.
Tears trembled on her lashes as she blinked. “I don’t know.” She bowed her head. “If you only knew what he did, what he said. He said things that were so hateful, so degrading.”
Wooing Wynter Page 12