The Demon Master's Wife (Fantasy, Space Opera, Science Fiction Romance) (FORCED TO SERVE)

by McDonald, Donna

  “Don’t exaggerate. Zade needs to be checked for damage. I have to call medical to come collect him,” Gwen said. “I want you to stay with me in case he comes around before they get here.”

  “Why do you need me to stay? Are you still in the mood to bond?” Chiang asked, working hard not to laugh at Gwen’s furious glare. “Honestly, you look like you need some recuperation time to me. Zade must really know what he’s doing. Of course, he is a Siren.”

  “Chiang, zip it on the teasing. I still have half a charge in my weapon. It’s enough to put your Greggor ass on the floor beside Zade’s if you don’t stop,” Gwen said harshly, getting angrier when Chiang only laughed.

  She walked to the computer panel on the wall near the door and slapped it instead of Chiang, which Gwen badly wanted to do since Zade was already down.

  “Connect me to medical,” she ordered.

  “Connecting now. . .” the computer informed her.

  “Do you need medical assistance Commander Jet?” someone asked.

  “Yes—Lieutenant Zade has been stunned. He needs to be checked. Please come to my room and collect him,” Gwen ordered.

  “Right away, Commander.”

  Grateful the medic hadn’t questioned her further, Gwen walked back to Zade’s body. She felt the lust start to build again as she stared down at him. She wanted nothing more than to stretch out on top of his body until he woke. Realizing the turn of her thoughts, Gwen had to fight not to kick the unconscious Zade for it.

  She looked up in anger only to meet a grinning Chiang.

  “Check Zade and make sure he’s not dying. I can’t touch him right now,” Gwen said firmly, not sure how she knew it was dangerous to touch him, but she did. Instinct warned that if she put her hands on Zade, even her Thelorian side wouldn’t be able to constrain what she might have the urge to do to him.

  “I wondered when Zade was finally going to claim you,” Chiang said with a resigned sigh, stooping to press two fingers into the comatose male’s left shoulder through his shirt. He knew not to touch a Siren’s skin until the mating heat was completely gone. “His heartbeat is strong. His breath is steady. I don’t think you did long-term physical harm to him.”

  Chiang looked up at Gwen’s lust-filled eyes, sad that he would never see them look that way for him again. He supposed he should tell her Zade’s energy was all over her, but feared she might do further damage to the Lieutenant in her frustration.

  “How are you doing, Gwen?” Chiang asked with genuine concern in his voice. He’d never seen a female dealing with the Siren’s call, but during his healer training he’d read that it was challenging to bear. “Do you need medical to check you too?”

  “No—I do not need medical to check me,” Gwen said resolutely, going to a compartment in the wall and sliding it open. “I just need to change my clothes. Stay with Zade while I put on my uniform. I want to be properly dressed when I report to Synar about this.”

  Chiang laughed about the inevitable confession Gwen would have to make, but nodded in agreement to stay.

  Gwen walked to the bathroom on shaky legs, appalled to be fighting wave after wave of fresh arousal for Zade. Wanting badly to stay with him, she closed the door firmly behind her and locked it to make a barrier between her and her nemesis.

  On the floor, Zade groaned and thrashed as he struggled to come back to consciousness in her absence. “Gwen,” Dorian said anxiously, calling her name.

  Chiang patted Zade’s shoulder in understanding.

  “You might be older and wiser than me in many ways, but you went about wooing that fierce female all wrong,” Chiang lectured the mostly comatose male. “You need to forget how it was with all the others before her. Gwen Jet is not like normal females—trust me.”

  Medical came through the open door of Gwen’s room and loaded a groaning Zade onto a levitating transport. Moments later, they took him away with them, leaving a sighing Chiang behind.

  When Gwen came back out of the bathroom, Chiang had the oddest urge to salute her frowning face when she noticed Zade was already gone. It made his smile wicked and his words a bit more sarcastic than he could control in his amusement.

  He was really going to miss being with Gwen, but Chiang valued his life enough not to risk Zade killing him. A Rylen’s mate was off limits. The penalty for not honoring those limits was death. He had read that a Siren was a merciless enemy to have.

  “Maybe I’m glad you didn’t make it to see me. Zade was begging for more and calling your name as they carried out what was left of him,” Chiang told her. “What did you two do together? He was still completely dressed and you were wearing all your clothes as well. ”

  “On my mother’s life, I swear I will shoot you too if you don’t cease asking me questions about Zade,” Gwen warned, stalking past Chiang and his knowing smile on her way to find Synar.

  Her body still vibrated like a tuning fork, continuously echoing the sexual pleasure Zade had given her and trying to find it again.

  His body bounced back the answering echo, but Gwen told herself that didn’t mean she had to listen.

  Chapter 3

  Ania was lowering the mirrors on her lockers in preparation to call Malachi again when there was a knock on her door. Laying the rest of the mirrors on her desk, she went to answer it, not expecting to see Synar standing there.

  The memory of what they last shared rose immediately into her mind. She had to work hard to hold his gaze.

  “Synar,” Ania said softly in surprise, then she saw his worried expression and forgot everything else. “What’s wrong?”

  “There’s been an incident. I need you to go to medical and check on Dorian. Gwen rendered him unconscious with her stunner during an argument. She’s taking his duty until he recovers. I have a Peace Alliance meeting in ten minutes and can’t go check on him myself,” Synar said.

  “Of course,” Ania answered, stepping into her shoes quickly and out into the hall.

  As they walked towards medical, she tried not to dwell on the fact that this was the first time she and Synar had spoken in many days. Searching for any remaining anger she felt towards him, all Ania found was compassion for how weary of it all he looked. It was a great relief to her to not feel the same level of animosity she usually did.

  When Synar’s arm brushed against hers as they walked, Ania found herself also glad that she had once stepped in front of an enemy’s weapon and saved his life.

  “What happened between them?” Ania asked.

  Synar shrugged. “I know he was intending to claim her. Gwen said Dorian attacked her energetically. She said she asked him to stop, and when he didn’t, she had to stun him.”

  “Stun him? Hard to believe Gwen would use her weapon on Dorian,” Ania remarked, unable not to smile as she thought about how shocked Dorian must have been when he went down. Too bad she hadn’t been there to see it.

  “Medical doesn’t understand why Dorian is mostly conscious after being stunned at close range,” Synar said on a weary sigh. “I guess his medical records didn’t indicate how hard-headed he is.”

  “So are you thinking Gwen found a way to refuse the Siren’s call?” Ania asked.

  “Aye—or at least, she stopped Dorian from sending it for a while,” Synar remarked.

  A bubble of something sweet rose inside Ania as she imagined it happening. She was developing quite a taste for revenge, she decided, wondering if it had anything to do with Malachi’s presence within her.

  “Dorian and I exchanged words just before he went to her. I doubt he was thinking properly regardless of what actually happened,” Synar said.

  Ania stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I do not see this being about you, Synar. Dorian’s reluctance to deal with his own sexuality is what caused this, not your words with him. My guess is that he arrogantly assumed Gwen would accept his claim to her just because she was once attracted to him. He doesn’t really know her yet.”

  Synar looked at her hand on his arm, su
rprised that Ania so freely touched him today. The simple response of his muscles to the heat of her hand made him wish he could embrace her. His throat tightened with regret that this was not the place or time to even try.

  “I thank you for your words of comfort and appreciate your effort to be supportive,” Synar said sincerely. “I wish I could show you how much.”

  Ania nodded and dropped her hand. “Despite our recent differences, I have no wish for us to be enemies. I would rather we have a friendly relationship.”

  “Then we are still in disagreement because I would rather we be mates for the remainder of our lives. Speaking of our lives, have you changed your mind about dying yet?” Synar asked sarcastically, the irreverent question sliding off his tongue without his permission.

  “No I have not,” Ania said softly, trying not to be harsh when she answered even though his attitude irked her. “But I have changed my mind about blaming you for what you did in a moment where all decisions led to bad outcomes. I have decided I would have done the same. Now I blame you only for keeping the truth from me for so long.”

  “I suppose that is some progress, and I agree. Since further apologies won’t change the current situation, I won’t offer any. Maybe you will continue to reconsider the value of your life and ours together,” Synar said thoughtfully, bowing his head to her. “I must go now. Will you report to me later about Dorian’s condition?”

  “Yes, of course. For the duration of my stay on the Liberator, I consider myself one of your crew. You may assign me any duties you deem appropriate,” Ania said firmly, thinking again that Synar looked very tired.

  “We can discuss what duties suit you, but from what I have observed you seem to be engaging in useful daily activities without my interference. You are much more to me than a crew member,” Synar said softly, turning and walking away before he gave in to his urge to touch her.

  Ania watched Synar walk away from her in the direction of the conference room, feeling sympathetic for him having to mediate between two of his top-level officers.

  Unwilling to dwell on her sympathetic response for fear of it leading to an empathetic one requiring her to act, Ania walked swiftly in the direction of medical.

  ***

  “How can you laugh about this?” Dorian demanded. “You understand Sirens and well know I felt the bonding vibrations between you and Synar. It was torturous to me to want Gwen without her returning my desire. I rashly decided to help things along and paid a heavy price for my impatience.”

  “Yes you did, and now you also know how Gwen felt two years ago when you sent her away,” Ania said. “Learn your lesson well about rejection and never repeat it.”

  “I sent Gwen away politely. I didn’t use my weapon to stop her from offering herself to me,” Dorian complained.

  Ania laughed and patted his hand before walking a short distance away from him.

  “Forgive me, Dorian,” she said softly. “It is unkind of me to laugh, but I can’t seem to help myself. I know you too well to believe that all you did was just try to talk to her.”

  “Because the stubborn female refused to even listen, I had no choice but to take stronger actions,” he said, trying to defend himself.

  Dorian was sitting up in bed now so glaring at Ania was easier. The medics weren’t willing to release him until they were sure the effects of being stunned at close range were completely worn off. He knew males of many species wouldn’t even be conscious yet, but his body was in the process of creating the vibrations of the Siren’s call. His partial bonding was speeding up his nervous system, which had allowed him some immunity from the worst of the weapon’s effects.

  Additionally, Gwen’s release had brought him around sooner than he might have otherwise. Her energy still vibrated within him, still called him to complete his bond with her to claim her completely. His urge to do so was intense, more intense than he could remember it being the other two times he’d claimed a mate.

  Equally worrisome as his feelings toward Gwen was what the proximity to his Siren’s call vibrations would do to other species around him. Luckily, the medics were all males who preferred females, and Ania’s species was mostly immune to Siren ways. As only one of three females now on the Liberator, Gwen would be in trouble until she was completely marked. Until then, males could challenge, and in her condition, she might very well give in to them.

  Then the killing would begin if another male touched his mate. Dorian had no logic strong enough to stop him eradicating any threat between him and Gwen.

  On his planet, claiming was something done behind locked doors, and everyone kept their distance from the couple until the mating bond was completely finished. He’d claimed his second mate on a ship last time and had to basically stay unavailable for duty until it was done. However, his mate had not been a crew member, let alone the second in command.

  Ania crossed her arms and leaned against the side of Dorian’s bed. “I’m not reading energy as well as I used to, but I can certainly read the changing expressions of your face. What exactly did you do to her Dorian?”

  “Claiming is a private matter,” Dorian said, leaning back on stacked pillows and closing his eyes. “I should have heeded Gwen’s demands to cease, but it had been so long since I had allowed myself to desire any female that I had trouble controlling myself. Stunning me probably was her only recourse to stop me. Little else would have worked in the state I had entered around her.”

  He sighed and lifted his head to glare at Ania again.

  “Shades of Kellnor, it never occurred to me that Gwen would stun me over giving her pleasure. What kind of female does that?” Dorian demanded.

  Ania smiled with genuine pleasure at his distress. She felt a little guilty about her enjoyment, but not enough to keep from informing him in detail about his mistake.

  “Let’s start by discussing the most obvious fact that you chose not to acknowledge. Gwen wasn’t open to your attempts to mate her. Thelorians are known for their ability to focus on their goals in the midst of great distractions. You need to deal with the fact that you underestimated Gwen’s aversion to your sudden interest in her after two years of her believing you weren’t interested at all,” Ania chastised.

  “Gwen is still genetically a human female, and I bloody well know she found enough pleasure with me to have a full release. My body still echoes from it—echoes from her,” Dorian said softly. “I was incapacitated, but I feel it resonating even now. She has to be feeling the echoes as well. There is no other explanation possible. I know she found enough pleasure to have a release even if I don’t remember it fully. Gwen craves what I crave. We need each other to survive the madness.”

  Ania frowned at his arrogance. “Do not think to addict her against her will, Dorian Zade. Gwen is a worthy mate, but you will never win that female with force. She would die fighting her own needs rather than give in to you. I’ve been on the training mat with her enough to know what she’s like. She will concede when her mind sees it is logical and not one moment sooner.”

  “It may be too late not to addict her. I think she has already touched me,” Dorian said with a frown. “We are half a galaxy away from Rylen. Without their organics, I cannot make her immune if that has happened. I can only meet her needs and try to keep her satisfied.”

  Ania sighed. “Gwen will hate you for her own need of you if that is the case.”

  “Aye,” Dorian said. “I was careful not to touch her, but I do not know what Gwen did after I was stunned. I admit I was too impatient in making her see my desires to seek her understanding of what was happening. She was heading to meet another male and all I could think was that I had to stop her. I would do the same again now and she’d have to stun me again.”

  Ania laughed, mostly because there was nothing else to do. Despite her reduced ability to intuit things, the truth of his words was clear to her. It was reflected in his gaze.

  “I refuse to feel sorry for you, Dorian, but I hope you can repair this wit
h her,” Ania said. “I believe Gwen Jet is meant to be your mate, but I want you to win her the right way. She is an honorable creature and a good female.”

  “Could you talk to her and try to explain? Perhaps Gwen would listen to you as a fellow female,” Dorian implored, looking at Ania hopefully.

  “I’m not sure I still like you well enough to help that much,” Ania said lightly, searching Dorian’s pleading gaze. She was enjoying his discomfort more than was honorable.

  “It is for Gwen’s good as well as mine that I ask for this favor,” Dorian said with a frown. “I cannot let her suffer. I would have to subdue her if it came down to a matter of her sanity—or mine. If she were to go to another male, I would kill him if he touched her. You would be protecting her former bonding partners as well. I do not know if I marked her sufficiently. Everything in me is raging now because I am concerned about her walking around in her current state.”

  “Dorian—have you ever actually wooed a female?” Ania asked.

  “I spent almost two hundred years being mated,” Dorian said, narrowing his eyes at her question. “I think I have some experience with females despite the limited number of them I have allowed myself.”

  Ania laughed again as she moved away from the bed. “Yes, but did you woo them into a logical acceptance of you as their preferred male companion. Your other mates never had a thought except to serve your interests. This is not the nature of a female like Gwen Jet. Open your mind to learning and forget what you think you know. This is my gift of advice to you.”

  “Fine, consider me properly chastised. Now will you tell Gwen about what might have happened? Warn her until I can speak with her again myself?” he asked.

  “I will try for her sake and those of her former partners,” Ania said, allowing herself one last laugh as she headed to the door.

  “Ania—thank you,” Dorian called, stopping her. “Please find a way to stay with us. We need you. Synar needs you.”