by Mina Carter
Realizing he was still looking at her for an answer, she took a deep breath and mustered a smile from somewhere. He’d touched her, voluntarily this time, the quick brush of his fingertips against her cheek leaving a trail of fire like a brand.
“If you’d just lie back for me.”
His deep voice seemed rougher than normal as he moved around the bed, the holographic display already starting up as she wriggled backward and pulled her legs up. By the time she lay back, it arched over her in a bridge of brightly colored light. She could see Laarn through it, his attention focused on the readouts, and she took the opportunity to study him without him noticing.
He was the most handsome man she’d ever seen, with strong features and long, dark hair. Filled with warrior’s braids, it fell past his shoulders, not tied back like it usually was. Although he was identical in looks to his brother, Tarrick, she’d know the two men apart immediately, not only because Laarn’s eyes were green, not gold, but because the way they moved was totally different. Laarn was more self-contained and reserved but with an edge of raw power and suppressed danger that hit her on a very primal level.
He frowned, his lips curling back a little in annoyance at something on the screen, and she couldn’t help the slight smile. When he didn’t know anyone was looking, his face was quite expressive. Right now, he looked frustrated as hell… it was cute, if a man his size could ever be called cute.
Allowing her gaze to wander over him, she studied the width of his shoulders and chest. Like the other warriors she’d seen, the fit of his jacket indicated he was packed with muscle, that impression backed by the solidity and power she’d felt under her hands a moment ago and the memories from the one time she’d seen him remove his shirt weeks ago.
His scars.
She blinked. He’d been all for kissing her, and more if the state of his body pressed against hers was any indication, until she’d tried to undo his jacket to touch him. Then he’d shut her down and stepped away so quickly her head had practically spun.
Oh shit… Could he be sensitive about his appearance?
Armed with this new possibility, she studied his face and hands again. With his jacket on, there was no evidence of the scars beneath, and he rarely took the jacket off around her or the other women, even though she knew his scars were like badges of honor in Latharian culture. Ones that proved just how good a doctor he was.
“It’s warm in here, isn’t it?” she started tentatively, wriggling a little on the bed. “Don’t you get warm all dressed up like that?”
Okay, crude but it was all she could think of to start the conversation she wanted. He flicked a glance at her, the lights of the display highlighting his features and turning his eyes pale. She sucked a breath in, liking that he looked like a dark angel, ready to swoop in and ravish her.
His gaze flicked to the screen for a moment and his lips quirked. “I’m fine, but yes, your body temperature is slightly raised. I can drop the temperature on the bed to make you more comfortable.”
She shivered as cool air washed over her. She hadn’t meant that and from the quirk of his lips, he bloody well knew it.
“Okay…” His deep voice was almost back to normal as he stared intently at the screen in front of him. “I see the link to your litaan. There’s some code here I haven’t seen before. May I take some of your eggs to test a theory? Not many, I’ll only harvest a few, and you won’t feel a thing.”
Jess paused, a frown between her brows. “Eggs? As in from my ovaries?”
He looked down at her through the display. A green light blinked on and off, reflected just under one eye. “Yes. From your ovaries, unless humans have a secondary location for them I know nothing about?”
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s the ovaries. But… you’ll only take a few, right? And I’ll still be able to have kids? I…I’d like a baby someday. I don’t want to lose that ability.”
Instantly as she said it, she kicked herself. Crass thing to say to a man whose species struggled to reproduce. A flush on her cheeks, she tried to cover up her gaffe.
“I mean, with the right man… warrior… of course.”
“You see yourself settling down with a warrior from my species?” he asked, his expression unreadable as his hands moved over the display in front of him. She had no clue how the medical machines worked, but she trusted him. If he said it wouldn’t hurt, then it wouldn’t. “Surely we seem a little… barbaric to you?”
She shrugged and then instantly grew still as he frowned and shook his head at her. Any answer she was going to give had to wait as the machine whirled colored lights around her, the intersecting lines speeding up as they focused on the area above her lower body. She tensed as warmth started to spread out from within her, but before she could fully analyze the feeling, it was gone and the lights clicked off.
“Was that it?” she asked in surprise, a small gasp on her lips when he nodded. “I was expecting, I dunno… something more invasive. Like a big needle or something?”
Laarn chuckled, his darkly handsome face splitting into a wide grin. “Please, we may be barbaric in some aspects, but in medicine? I can assure you we are one of the most advanced races in the universe. Cellular translocation,” he added, nodding toward her stomach. “I removed a couple of eggs, which I’ll use for my tests. They’ll be stored here in the lab rather than in medbay proper, so your genetic material isn’t available to any of the other researchers. I appreciate your trust in me.”
Something about the way he said it made her tilt her head to the side. Sitting up as the holo-arch shut down, she reached out to put her hand on his arm, speaking earnestly.
“I do trust you, Laarn, with my life. And I don’t think you’re barbaric…” She trailed off, her pointed look at him making it clear she might hold that view about the rest of his people, but that he was a different matter. “In fact, with the right man…” Him. “…the caveman act is rather hot.”
“I’M TELLING YOU, I need access to the sister,” Laarn argued, practically toe to toe with Daaynal just off the main training area.
Warriors around them pointedly looked the other way, apart from Karryl. His crossed arms and set expression said clearly he was prepared to back Laarn up, even against the emperor, but he expected they were both going to get a right pasting for it. Laarn made a mental note to thank his childhood friend later. No, they were more than that if he’d risk Daaynal’s wrath for him. That made them brothers in arms, blood-brothers at the very least.
Daaynal’s eyes, so like Laarn’s own, widened.
“Oh, you do, do you?”
His chuckle was unexpected but welcome, a bolt of relief rolling through the healer. As big-built and accomplished among the warriors as Laarn was, Daaynal was both bigger and more experienced, the first warrior’s braids in his hair years before Laarn and his brother had even been thought of. If he’d taken exception to Laarn’s challenge, neither his relationship to the emperor nor his standing as the best healer in the empire would have saved him from a beating.
“Why… planning on claiming both of them for your own?” Daaynal crossed his arms, amusement washing over his features. Just off the training grounds, he sported a split lip and a freshly blacked eye that had yet to reach its full purple glory. A quick glance behind the warrior emperor revealed Xaandril training with his son, Rynn. No doubt the source of Daaynal’s current injuries, he was obviously the recipient of some in return. Although he was covered in blood and held his left arm at an odd angle at his side, he was still more than capable of defending himself against his son… who appeared to be trying to kill him.
“I’m pretty sure there would be complaints if I allowed you to have two of the delightful creatures,” Daaynal mused, rubbing at his stubbled chin with a big hand.
“No, no… I don’t want two of them,” he added hastily and then caught the glimmer of amusement in Daaynal’s eyes, realizing he’d been had.
“Not two, but one at the least?” The emper
or’s grin broadened.
Laarn ignored him, carrying on talking. “I do need to check the sister’s medical condition. Apparently, she’s very ill and if she has the same genetic information as her sister—”
Daaynal frowned, the amusement gone as he pulled Laarn to one side away from the hustle and bustle of the training arenas into the shelter of the alcoves at the side of the palace.
“Why would she have the same genetic information? Is it possible she has the same bridge code as her sister?” Daaynal’s expression sharpened at the possibility and Laarn nodded.
“More than possible given that they’re litaan.” He paused to let that one sink in. “Apparently Terrans have female-female pairs, something we never have, not since antiquity. I’ve checked the other Terrans we have for the same code and none of them have it, not even the other female who reports she is also… a twin as the Terrans call them. Her litaan though is male, which leads me to think it’s either solely in the female pair code, or… even rarer… it’s solely in the DNA of the Kallson family.”
“If it is… Draanth…” Daaynal breathed, running a hand through his hair and raking the loose strands from his face.
“Yeah… exactly. Can you see why I want to take Jess and secure her sister as well?” Laarn pushed, knowing how much getting back to Earth meant to his little Terran. Quite when she’d become his little Terran in his thoughts, he didn’t know, and right at the moment it wasn’t important.
Checking that the corridor running alongside the alcoves was clear, he dropped his voice so that only his uncle could hear. “I managed to recover some of her eggs and tested my theory. Under lab conditions, pregnancy is possible. Of the eggs I tested, one is already a viable pregnancy.”
Daaynal’s eyes widened, a flash of something in the green depths. Satisfaction… hope maybe… or, and Laarn blinked at the thought, longing? He wasn’t sure, and the quick flash was gone before he could analyze it.
“So you managed to adhere to my orders in your own unique way… just,” he chuckled, obviously amused. “A pregnancy without being pregnant. Unique. And possibly a safer alternative than having Miss Kallson actually be with child… especially with the current mood from certain elements of our society.”
Laarn easily read the subtext. The purist idiots had been kicking up since the discovery of the Terrans in their little galaxy in the ass-end of beyond. They’d always had a hard-on against interbreeding with any species, even though with genetic manipulation, the females were only incubators for wholly Lathar offspring, but the arrival of the Terrans had kicked them into a frenzy. The clan leaders with purist tendencies had been very vocal about the Terrans and the threat of breeding with sub-Lathar species. If they got wind of an actual pregnancy, both mother and child would be in danger.
“Exactly. And that being said, surely you can see the reason I want a second test subject with that bridging code?” he pressed, feeling like a shit for hanging the threat of something happening to Jess over Daaynal’s head.
Even as he said it, a hot surge of emotion and rage surged up from his soul. No one would hurt Jess. Ever. Not as long as he had breath left in his body. She was his to protect, and no one, especially not those bastard purists, would ever harm her.
Daaynal rubbed his chin again, eyes narrowed in assessment. “I can, but I can’t allow you to take Ms. Kallson off planet. What happens if the ship you’re on is attacked and the only female we have with the genetic code we need is killed? It’s too great a risk.”
Laarn sighed, frustration rolling through him. Daaynal had a point. Despite his feelings for Jess, he had to see the bigger picture. If they lost her before he could replicate the code and disseminate it through the population, they were back where they started, facing annihilation within a generation.
“But… It may be a suitable proving mission for a younger warrior.” The big emperor leaned back against the wall, his gaze not on Laarn but looking out over the training arena to where the Imperial champion and his son were still mid-battle. Laarn raised an eyebrow, surprised to see Rynn still on his feet and fighting. He must be as hard to kill as his sire.
“You’d have her brought here?” he asked, his tone carefully level. If he couldn’t get Jess to Earth, bringing her ailing sister here where he could treat her was the next best thing.
“Yes. It seems the best solution all around.” Daaynal pushed off from the wall with a grin. “It’s decided then. Rynn will collect your woman’s sister while I and his father decide how to deal with those asshole D’Farans on the outer borders who think I haven’t noticed them building a small army out there.”
“She’s not my—” Laarn started automatically but then trailed off with a sigh as Daaynal swept away, issuing orders and stopping the fight between Xaandril and Rynn with a shout. His uncle seemed to have a mental block whenever he told him that Jess wasn’t his.
Even though he wanted her to be…
6
“T hey’re really pulling out all the stops, aren’t they?” Jane asked with a grin, settling herself into the seat next to Jess in the covered pavilion that had been set up next to the warriors’ arena.
It had been carefully cleared, the blood-stained sand removed and new sand carefully raked so the six challenge areas looked pristine. Seating had been placed all around the large rectangle, and long benches were interspersed with large seats for the clan leaders. Pride of place went to the raised and covered dais for the emperor, with the pavilion for the human women to one side as his honored guests.
“It seems that way, yes. Any idea what it’s all in aid of?” Jess asked, mustering a smile as she looked around. Guilt and frustration lay heavily on her. She should be going home, but since Daaynal had blown off her request yesterday, she hadn’t been able to get an audience with him again. He mostly appeared to be busy between “Imperial duties” and whatever today was about.
“It’s a tournament.” Cat joined them in a swish of silken skirts. As the wife of an Imperial prince, she’d almost totally adopted Latharian clothing, a jeweled tiara nestled in her dark curls denoting her rank and status. “In our honor apparently. The warriors will compete against each other as a showcase of their abilities. Daaynal is offering a couple of ships to the overall winner.”
“Shit, I should have entered myself. Just think what we all could do with a couple of Latharian ships…” Jane whistled softly.
With her marriage to a Lathar warrior, and her subsequent retirement from the Terran military, the former marine had also adopted Latharian dress. Instead of the silken robes and jewels Cat wore, though, Jane had gone for warrior’s leathers, teamed with her own combat boots and a tank-top. Her dog tags were gone, replaced with a set of octagonal tags on a chain.
All the women wore them, Jess’ own nestled next to her Terran dog tags, and they opened the weapons caches in the palace and on the ships of the K’Vass, as well as any of their allies. The Lathar had quickly realized that the human women they’d captured were not shrinking violets or damsels in distress. They’d all been personnel on a military base, so they knew one end of a rifle from the other, no matter what planet it had been manufactured on.
“Too right.”
The last of their party, Kenna, joined them. Like Jane, she was a dyed in the wool marine, so she wore leathers with her combat boots and a leather bustier top that made the most of her ample bust. She caught Jess looking and winked. “Keeps their eyes off my hands, and the blaster at my hip. Surprisingly effective on any man, even a warrior born and bred, especially when they haven’t seen proper women for decades…”
Jess chuckled. Trust Kenna. She was definitely the light relief in their party, and sometimes much needed. Before she could ask anything else, though, a fanfare sounded and the arena started to fill up. Warriors and robed and hooded figures, their courtesans, filled the seating around the main area, a sense of excitement filling the air. To their right, another fanfare rang out as Daaynal made his arrival. Instantly, the crowd were on
their feet, shouting and cheering.
“The emperor hasn’t called a tournament for years.” Cat leaned forward so they could hear her. “It’s only open to warriors above a certain ability level, so we’re going to see the best of the best.”
“Karryl’s competing,” Jane commented, a proud smile on her face as warriors began to enter the arena.
“Fellow warriors and honored guests!” Daaynal’s voice rang out, cutting through the cheering of the crowd. “I bid you welcome to the first combat tournament on Lathar prime for decades. In times past, tournaments of this type were a common fixture at the palace, in the cities, right down to our villages… where the best warriors amongst us would compete to show off our skills and perhaps catch the eye of that special female to prove our worth as warrior and male. I do not need to remind you why such tournaments are no longer held.” There was a moment’s pause as his words sunk in, the enormity of the situation the Lathar as a species were in a sobering one.
Daaynal spoke again, sweeping his arm toward the sheltered pavilion the women sat in. “But… fate has smiled on us. Thanks to the discovery of the Terrans, a long-lost branch of the Lathar, we once again have the chance to show off our skills and abilities to worthy females.”
He gestured to the silent warriors on the sand in front of him. “Before you, you see the best of our warriors. They will fight each other both together and solo until only one remains. The winner will become the proud owner of two of the empire’s newest battlecruisers and, if he is lucky, may win the appreciation of one of our delightful ladies here today.”
Kenna leaned forward, waggling her eyebrows. “I’d sure appreciate the hell out of half this lot. Have you seen the bodies on these guys?”