by T. J. Quinn
“They might send a vessel to pick me up,” she insisted.
“Are you sure, Sharian?” he asked, emphasizing her name once more. “Would they actually go to that much trouble to rescue a daughter they won’t be able to put out in the mating market?” he asked, probably with a bit too much sarcasm.
Her golden skin lost some of its shine, and she looked away. He knew he was harsh, but it was time she faced the truth.
After she mentioned the mating market, he had done some research, and from what he had seen, the Borzans weren’t the most loving parents in the universe. They saw their children as merchandise they traded for a lot of credits on the mating market.
However, according to all he had read, the females were expected to be untouched and unseen. Sharian had been abducted by pirates and had been surrounded by males ever since.
“You don’t know that,” she protested, but her tone wasn’t confident.
They reached her bedroom, and he opened the door for her, entering the room after her and closing the door.
“You know I’m telling you the truth. Your parents can’t advertise you as untouched and unseen anymore.”
She walked to the small window on the other side of the room, keeping her back to him. “That’s not important,” she said, but they both knew she was lying.
He let out a sigh and closed the distance between them. “I can arrange the call if you really want it, but you must be prepared for the worst,” he said, with a gentle tone.
“My parents love me,” she insisted. “They will want me back, no matter what.”
“For your sake, I truly hope you’re right.” He replied, sighing, as he walked back to the door. “Come, let’s see what we can do,” he invited her, stretching his hand out to her.
She turned to look at him a bit confused until she realized he had agreed to help her. She rushed to where he was standing and shyly slid her hand into his.
He took her straight to the communications room. Robin wasn’t there since it was their resting period and the system was set to warn him of any emergency, so they had the place to themselves.
Kenyon took a seat behind the screen and typed a few commands to start the search. “I’ll need your full address to locate your family,” he asked, once he entered the Borzan communication system.
She gave him all the information he needed and soon they were establishing contact with her family.
Her father was the one that answered the call. At first, he only saw Kenyon. “Greetings, citizen. May I help you?” he asked in a polite tone. After all, an Asloran, a very prized alien race in the mating market, was contacting him.
“Greetings. My name is Kenyon, and I’m contacting you on behalf of your daughter Sharian.”
The man’s expression changed completely, turning into a harsh mask. “Sharian? I’m afraid I have no idea who you’re talking about.”
Sharian had stayed in the back while Kenyon initiated contact with her father, probably because she wanted to prove to herself and to Kenyon that she was right, that her family loved her and would do all in their power to have her back.
However, her father’s words shattered her dreams, and she crashed hard against reality.
She took a step closer to the screen, almost pushing Kenyon out of the way to face her father. “Father, how can you say that? Have you forgotten me so fast?” she asked, in a harsh tone, pushing each word out, over the knot constricting her throat.
The man’s expression didn’t even change. He really acted as if he had never seen her before. “I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me for someone else. I don’t have a daughter called Sharian,” he said, in an even colder tone.
“Father, please. Just hear me out. Nothing has happened, I was rescued,” she tried to explain, but the man interrupted her.
“My dear girl, I have no idea what you are talking about, but trust me, we are not your family. You must have confused us with someone else,” the man insisted as if he was actually talking to a stranger and that he felt sorry for her.
“How can you do this to me? Father, please,” she insisted once more, but the man didn’t budge an inch.
“I’m truly sorry, my dear girl, but there’s nothing I can do for you. Have a nice day,” the man concluded, with a bored expression on his face before he ended the call.
Sharian was astounded. Her rational side had known all the time this was the most possible outcome, but she had refused to believe her parents would disregard her that way, act as if she had never existed.
For a few moments, she stayed there, staring at the dark screen, doing her best to hide the tears welling up in her eyes. She wasn’t ready to hear Kenyon say, ‘I told you so.’ She needed to take in the pain that was crushing her heart, alone.
Kenyon ranted in silence at the man’s behavior. He could have acted more decently, even if he wasn’t willing to take his daughter back. But, he, more than anyone else, knew that some people simply weren’t cut out to be parents. He had experienced that same rejection from his own kin, so he had a pretty good idea of how she was feeling right now.
He jumped out of his seat and took her by the arm. “Come, walk with me,” he suggested, not making any comment on what had just happened.
For a moment, he thought she was going to reject him, but she finally relaxed and allowed him to guide her out of the room and down the hallway.
Instead of taking her to her chambers, he took her to a recreational chamber they used to relax and enjoy themselves during the longest journeys. The four walls of the room were giant screens. There were also several holograms, all over the room. They would recreate any location you wanted, just by typing a few commands into a small panel.
He had her walk into the room, and after typing some commands, the whole room turned into a small hill, surrounded by thick woods, looking at a sinuous river, lightened by a huge blue moon. A cool gentle breeze added to the sensory experience.
Sharian was so deep into her sorrow she didn’t notice any of it, but he knew she would, eventually. He took her to a small bench in the middle of the room and helped her sit next to him.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked gently.
She snorted. “Is there anything to talk about?” she retorted, her pain and despair evident in every word.
“I know this isn’t easy now, but you’ll come out of it,” he said, doing his best to comfort her.
“How could you possibly know?” she ranted. “My own father acted as if he had never seen me before, treating me as if I was a stranger with some kind of mental issue,” she sobbed, covering her mouth with her hand, in a vain effort to hold back the cries struggling to come out.
“It’s their loss, not yours. You’re better off without them. Instead, they are losing a loving daughter,” he pointed out.
“You don’t know me,” she grumbled, breathing hard.
“I know enough. You wouldn’t be hurting this much if you didn’t care, Sharian,” he replied, taking her hand in his, his thumb caressing its back.
The simple caress was all it took to tear down the fragile walls containing her emotions. Before he was able to do anything else, she had thrown herself into his arms, hiding her face against his broad chest and crying her heart out, while punching his chest with her fists.
There was so much rage and frustration mixed with her pain, she didn’t even realize what she was doing. She just kept crying and punching him.
After the first moment of surprise, he pulled her into his embrace and let her cry, caressing her back and giving her as much comfort as he could, completely ignoring the way she was punching him.
Sharian had never cried this way. Her life had been dull, with very little emotions in it, as she lived, basically, in a bubble created by her parents, with little contact with other people other than family.
Her abduction had been the most significant moment of her life until then, so, she guessed it wasn’t that surprising she was unprepared for her father’s rejection.
S
he should have known that would happen, and Kenyon had warned her about it, but she had refused to see it. Now, she was alone with nobody that cared for her and she had no idea what would become of her.
After a while, the pain inside her finally started to slowly subside. One of Kenyon’s hands moved up to her head and caressed her hair, just before he leaned over and kissed her forehead.
All of a sudden, she realized she was in Kenyon’s arms, with her face buried against his broad chest. Her nostrils were assaulted by his mind-blowing musky scent, and in the blink of an eye, all she could think of was him.
Embarrassed, she tried to pull away, and put some distance between them, but he didn’t let her. Instead, he wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and caressed her cheek, sending jolts of energy and arousal rushing through her whole body.
Before she could do a thing, his hand slid to her chin and made her look at him, just before his lips brushed hers.
It was supposed to be just that, another sweet kiss, more comfort than anything else, but the minute their lips touched, the passion that had been building between them ever since they saw each other, finally lit up and its fire enveloped them in a split second.
He cradled her face and slid his coarse tongue inside, delving into every corner of her mouth and playing with her tongue, steadily increasing their arousal.
Her hands moved up to wrap themselves around his neck and pull him closer, as if possessed with free will, deepening the kiss and taking things up to another level. The roughness of his tongue turning that kiss into an even hotter caress.
Kenyon was so hot, and so hard he was having trouble controlling the urge of taking her right there. But he knew it wasn’t the moment, and with every cell of his body crying in protest, he kissed her one last time before he moved back.
Chapter Seven
Sharian was so lost in the passion he had conjured within her, it took her a moment to realize he had stopped kissing her. Embarrassed, she jumped up from the bench.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you with my silly breakdown,” she said, in a low tone, looking around for the first time since they had entered the room.
“You don’t bother me, at all,” he assured her, leaning back on the bench, enjoying the sight of her, under the bluish light of the moon.
She cleared her throat, unsure of how to answer that. “Where are we?” she asked, instead.
“This is a stage room. We can change it into whatever we want,” he explained.
“It’s amazing,” she commented, though he could tell she wasn’t paying that much attention to their surroundings.
“Are you feeling better now?” he asked in a kind tone.
“Yes, thank you,” she replied, looking at the distant river. “You were right about my family.”
“I wish I weren’t,” he assured her.
She nodded and stayed in silence for a few minutes. “What will become of me?” she finally asked.
“We have time to decide that.”
“Do we?” she asked, with a scowl.
“For better or for worse, you’re stuck with us, in this vessel, so lean back and enjoy the journey,” he suggested, with a smile.
“I wish I could, but it’s hard to enjoy anything when you have no place to go,” she replied, with a scowl.
“Don’t worry about that, we’ll find you a home,” he assured her.
“Why would you? I’m not your responsibility.”
Kenyon chuckled. “You know, back on my boss’s planet, they have this strange saying – if you save a life, you become responsible for it. We’ve made it our motto.”
“You don’t need to feel responsible for me,” she protested, not sure she liked that idea. She paced the place, admiring the holograms. “Does this place exist?”
“It used to. It was back on Earth, but now the planet is completely destroyed,” he replied, with a sad tone. “I never saw it. When I got there, the place was already a wreck.”
“That’s a shame.”
“It is. That’s why we’re here, in this quadrant. We’re looking for a new home.”
She nodded. “I wish you find one soon.”
“It will be your new home too unless you want me to take you back to Borzan,” he replied.
She shook her head. “There’s nothing left for me there. I’m an outcast and outcasts aren’t welcomed in Borzan,” she explained, oozing rage and scorn. “I always thought those were lies, you know, myths, but now I realized they are the hard truth, one I chose not to see for all these years.”
“I know what you mean. Earthlings have another saying. They truly believe home is not where you were born, not even where you grew up. Home is where your heart is, and I’m convinced they are right about that too,” he said, with a smile.
Sharian chuckled. “Your friends have a lot of sayings.”
“They do, and you’ll get to know a lot of them when you get to know them better,” he assured her.
She sighed, looking at the blue moon for a moment before she turned to look at him. “Thank you for being here for me. I know you have all the reasons in the universe to hate me, considering what happened to Samantha,”
“I don’t hate you, and you have nothing to do with what happened with Samantha,” he assured her, jumping up off the bench, with a stern expression on his face. “Though I wanted to save you from being sold, the truth was I would have delivered you to Zyrh to save Samantha and the other girls. They were my priority at that moment,” he confessed, in a somber tone.
“I know that they are your friends and I was just a stranger,” she replied, with a matter-of-fact tone.
“Samantha made a decision I don’t agree with, but she’s a grown woman, and she’s entitled to it, even if that doesn’t please me,” he added, sighing.
“Do you think she’ll be alright?”
“I truly hope so, or Zyrh will have to answer for that.”
She nodded. “I hope so too.”
He stretched out his hand. “Come, let me show you around. You’ll be on this vessel for a while,” he suggested.
She smiled and put her hand on his. A jolt of energy startled her, but she didn’t step back. She was starting to get used to the effect he had on her and the way his touch made her feel. The warmth that rushed through her body felt like nothing else she had ever experienced before, and she loved it.
He gave her a full tour, explaining how the vessel worked and what she could do while they were traveling.
When they reached the main control room, she looked at the main screen, mesmerized by the greatness of outer space.
“You look surprised. You have never seen space like this?” he asked, curious.
She shook her head. “No, I hadn’t. My parents never took me out of the house,” she explained. “They said it was for my protection, to keep me safe.”
“You sound as if you didn’t believe that.”
“I don’t. Not anymore. After their reaction to my abduction, I realized they were only protecting the merchandise, you know, their assets.”
“That’s a bit harsh,” Kenyon pointed out.
“But it’s the truth and you and I both know it.” She sighed and turned to the screen once more. “Where are we going now?” she asked, changing the subject. Her parents’ rejection still hurt more than she was willing to admit.
“We’re on our way to recover my friend’s vessel. It was hidden on an asteroid by the Sherlaacs.”
“How did you get them to give you its location?” she asked, surprised.
“We didn’t. Cyborgs have a few special abilities, and they are able to hear an insect swirl in the air miles away from where they are.”
“Cyborgs?” she asked, a bit confused.
“Yes, they are highly upgraded human beings. All of my men are cyborgs, as well as my boss,” he explained.
She turned to look at him. “I’ve wanted to ask you about that. Why are you working for a human? You’re an Asloran,” she asked in a
puzzled tone.
“Like you, I’m an outcast,” Kenyon told her in a self-deprecating tone. “But you’re right, I could be on my own, but I chose not. When I met Ethan and his men, a few years back, they invited me to join them, and I accepted. It was better than wandering the galaxy with no purpose,” he explained.
“It makes sense.”
He chuckled. “I have some work to do. Do you think you can get back to your chambers on your own?”
She nodded. “Yes, I believe I can,” she said, a bit embarrassed. She had taken too much of his time.
“Good. I’ll see you later, then.”
“Thank you for the tour.”
“It was my pleasure.”
Kenyon watched Sharian leave the room and sighed.
Matthew turned to look at him. “Have you decided what you’ll do with her?”
“Not yet. Taking her home is out of the question. Her family has turned their back on her,” he explained.
“I’ll never understand that kind of behavior,” Matthew said, shaking his head.
“Humans are programmed to love and protect their offspring, no matter what, but that doesn’t happen very often around these parts,” he explained in a cold tone.
“Well, it feels wrong,” Matthew stated.
“That’s because it is wrong. Some people simply don’t understand it.”
Sharian walked down the hallway trying to find her way to her chambers. Though she had told him she would be able to find her way, she wasn’t that sure. The hallways were too much alike to know exactly where she was.
After a few wrong turns, she was ready to admit she was lost when she saw Neela coming down the hall.
“Hi, there. Taking a walk?” she asked, with a smile.
Sharian smiled shyly, a bit embarrassed. “Actually, I was trying to get back to my chambers.”
Neela chuckled. “I know the feeling. I still get lost, when I’m not paying attention to where I’m going. I can take you there, but if you don’t have anything special to do, you could join us for a cold beverage,” she suggested.
“Are you sure I won’t bother you?” she asked, welcoming the distraction.