by Lara LaRue
“Eva!” a huge bass voice boomed my name. All activity in the kitchen paused as the workers looked up to see if their boss was upset or pleased. He had come through from the dining area and spotted me immediately, an Italian giant with a flamboyant mustache and dancing brown eyes. For a large man, he could move very quickly. In just a couple of steps, he’d crossed the entire kitchen and swept me up in a bear hug. I put my arms around Gino’s beefy neck and let him twirl me around, tears of relief gathering in my eyes.
I always felt twelve years old again within Gino’s hugs and very safe. Kitchen noises resumed as if they’d never stopped. Gino set me down and took my face in his meaty hands, cradling it like a wounded baby bird.
His brows drew together. “Who did this to you? I will kill him!”
I’d forgotten about my bloody lip and bruised face in my relief at having made it to my goal. “It’s a long story, Gino. Can I go sit in the office to tell you? And I need to call Laura. May I use your communicator?”
“Of course. You know you can.” Gino turned his six-foot-six frame and lumbered toward his office with me in tow. He was wearing his usual uniform, black dress pants and a white shirt with a tie—askew, of course. And, as he couldn’t resist putting his hands into every dish that left his kitchen, he had an apron on over his clothes. I smiled at his back.
At his low-pitched request, Dmitri nodded and began putting a plate together, I assumed for me. Thank God, real food after that institution crap.
We walked into the office just off the kitchen. His eldest daughter, Val, looked up from her ledgers and blinked a bit blearily at me, then she leaped up, eyes widening at my appearance.
Almost as tall as her father, but willowy where he was brawny, Val had an enormous, frizzy head of brown hair. Her hug was just as emotional as her father’s had been.
“Eva! We’ve been so worried. Did you know you’re on the communications net? All over the posts and the vids? President Maeda is going to hold a press conference about you in just a little while. President Maeda, Eva! Are you okay? What happened to your face? They’re saying you were abducted. Ivy is frantic.” Her questions and comments kept tumbling one on top of the other at me. I finally put up my hands in protest.
“Stop! Whoa, Val!” I shook my head. “I don’t know what’s going on. I just need to contact Laura right now. She’ll contact Ivy for me. I can’t do it. The people who took me may be monitoring her communications.” If they were cops, they could do so easily.
“Who will find you? Sweetheart, do you know who took you?”
I was starting to get my headache back. “I just need to make this call, and I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“Val.” Gino’s bass broke through Val’s answering flurry of words. “Let the girl be. She needs to use the comm.”
“Oh. Yes, of course.” Val moved out of my way.
Dmitri knocked on the door just then and popped through with plates heaped high with noodles covered in rich sauces and cheese. A piece of crusty bread was stuck on the side of each plate. The smells had my mouth immediately watering. He winked at me as he put the plates down on the desk, and he backed out of the room without a word.
“You’ll eat after your call,” Gino grumbled. “Your color is off. You need garlic! We’ll get you right again. Now call Laura.”
I smiled my gratitude and tapped the code that would connect me with Laura’s apartment. Instead of Laura, a small, cheerful face answered. “Hello?” Her pale pink complexion flushed with pleasure when she saw who I was. “Eva! There you are! I’ll get Mama!” Short, brown pigtails stuck out at odd, random angles all over her head and bobbed a bit as she turned and ran away from the communicator screen.
Almost instantly, she came back into view holding the hand of her mother. Same pale pink skin, same deep walnut hair, but very different eyes. Amber’s were the color of the sky on a clear day, bright, vivid blue. Laura’s were deep gray, the color of thunderheads right before a storm. Laura plunked herself down in front of the communication console and pulled Amber into her lap.
“It is you. I was worried Amber was telling stories. Oh, thank God.” Laura’s soft voice was a pleasure to hear again.
I cut to the chase right away. “Yes, it’s me. I need your help.”
“Anything, just name it. What happened to your face? What bastard hit you? I’ll kill him!” I could almost see lightning flash in those gray eyes as Laura got herself worked up on my behalf. For a moment, I imagined her, Gino, and his family wiping the grin off Crazy’s face for good.
“I’m good. I’m okay,” I soothed. “Can you send Amber to Ivy’s for some clothes for me? And then bring them here? I’m at Gino’s.”
She gave me a puzzled frown. “Just come here.”
“I can’t. I don’t want to be on the streets. I don’t want to be seen.”
“Where is your imagination? Be a delivery person. Dress in one of Gino’s staff uniforms, fix your hair, put some makeup on those bruises and bring me and my baby some supper!”
I laughed. Laura was just the person I needed to call. She always had an idea at hand. “I’ll talk to Gino. That just might work. If not, we’ll call you back.”
“Okay. I’ll tell Ivy you’re all right, then get you clothes and stuff, and come back home to wait for you. I’m glad you’re okay, honey. I was so worried.” She hugged her daughter, both of them smiling, Laura with relief.
I drew a deep breath and gave them my most reassuring look. “I’m okay. Love you.”
“Love you too. Bye.” Laura clicked off the communication screen.
I turned to Gino. “What do you think? Do you need a new delivery person? For just one delivery?”
He patted his ample belly with one hand and nodded his head. “I think we can make that work.”
Chapter 9
Raevu
I lay on my bed, exhausted but unable to sleep. We’d had nothing but frustrations all day. Even training with Baelon hadn’t helped calm or center me.
After the communication with the kidnappers, we’d held a brief meeting to discuss options. Knowing that charging out of the room and ripping apart every blond man I saw wouldn’t be an option T’ral and Baelon would entertain, I refrained from mentioning it. But I knew they saw my hands flexing throughout the discussion as I imagined doing just that to the bastard who had dared touch my Eva.
T’ral had the idea of tracking the kidnappers through the corridors by way of the camera feeds. It was a brilliant idea, but there weren’t cameras in every hallway, especially not on the maintenance levels.
Geoffrey managed to piece together a trail of sorts through the Center, but it ended with three men, one of them a blond, carrying duffel bags out of a maintenance area door, getting into identical nondescript vehicles, and speeding off in three separate directions. He had lost them after they’d made a couple of turns in New Atlanta’s crowded streets.
To Baelon’s disappointment, I’d punched a wall at that point. I’d imagined it was the face of the human who had hit Eva, and it felt good. The discomfort of stinging knuckles was of no account and easily dismissed.
Just remembering it now made me roll over in the bed and punch my pillow to make it fold into the shape I wanted. Damn! Where is Eva? The thought of that man touching her again nearly had me up and out of bed, but I closed my eyes and recited a mantra for calm.
If I didn’t get any sleep, I would be no good to Eva when she needed me tomorrow. That couldn’t happen. I forced myself to imitate a sleeper’s breathing and relax every muscle, chasing sleep with deep determination. We’d start our search again. And I would find her. Until then…I dreamed of her.
I found her sleeping on her back in a small bed in a dingy room that resembled both the medical cube I had seen her in and the room the captives had live-streamed her in. As I approached her silently, her eyes flew open, and she stared up at me in curiosity. I saw no fear in her eyes, just question. “How did you get here?” she whispered.
I knelt down beside the bed and reached out to cup her face in my hand. Her skin was silky smooth as she rubbed her cheek into my palm and smiled.
“Are you real? Or a dream?” she asked me in her throaty voice.
“Both,” I answered.
“Both?” she laughed, and my heart leaped in my chest at hearing amusement from her instead of pain or fear. “How can you be both? If you’re a dream, this isn’t happening, and I can have my wicked way with you. If you’re real, then I need to wait to get to know you better. I’ve saved myself for this long, what’s a little more time?”
“Saved yourself? What do you mean by ‘saved yourself’?” I asked as I stroked my fingers around the curve of her face and down her neck to her neckline. Her skin felt smooth and soft. I could even smell her, fresh and clean. She must have just bathed. Eva’s curly hair was piled on top of her head, forming a pouf of ringlets. My eyes drank in the sight of her.
Her tiny hands reached up and touched my face, mimicking my gestures on her body. “I’ve never had sex. I’ve waited and saved my virginity for someone I wanted to share my body with, but I guess that’s out now that I’ve volunteered for the program. I suppose I’ll have several mates, technically, if you harvest my eggs.” Her hands were on my shoulders now, exploring the muscles in my arms as I used a finger to trace back and forth along her neckline.
I was dumbfounded at the idea that she’s been saving herself for me without even realizing it. It struck me to the heart, and I let her go on instead of trusting myself to speak.
“I know what happens during sex, but I’ve never experienced it myself.” She looked me directly in the eyes. “I want to experience it with you. I’ve never wanted a man before, but I want you.”
My heart felt like it was going to beat its way right out of my chest.
She leaned toward me, and I became aware of the shadow falling between her breasts inside the neckline of her nightgown. “You saw me in the shower, didn’t you? I could feel your eyes. Your beautiful golden eyes.” She took her hands and smoothed them over my scalp and around my ears. “Just as smooth as it looks. No hair at all.” Her light touch skimming over my head and ears sent a shiver along my spine. Her boldness and how she made me feel had me speechless.
She sat up in the bed. “I don’t know who you are, Raevu, but you’re constantly in my thoughts, and now you’re in my dreams.” She reached up to her neckline and untied the little bow of pink ribbon nestled between her large, lush breasts.
My mouth went dry as she pushed the straps off of her shoulders, displaying her full breasts. Now I was speechless for another reason entirely.
She lay back again. “Touch me, Raevu.” Even as I stared at her breasts, her nipples hardened and puckered as if anticipating my caress.
I slid into the small bed beside her. My large body pressed up against her soft curves. I looked into her deep black eyes and cupped my hand around one breast. Her heated skin was warm under my palm. Her pebbled nipple begged for my mouth, so I had to oblige. I bent my body and lapped at the small nub, then drew the whole thing into my mouth with one gentle suckle. She gasped and arched her back, which pushed her breast against my face. I traced my tongue around her dusky areola and kneaded her breast under my fingertips.
My manhood sprang to attention. I pressed its throbbing length into her hip and drew on her nipple a bit harder.
Her moan of pleasure delighted me. With my free hand, I took hold of her wrist and guided her hand down to the pulsing shaft begging for her touch. When she made eye contact with me to ask permission to touch, I flicked my tongue across that sensitive nipple and grasped her other breast. Her tiny hands encircled my hard cock. I had never been so glad I slept without clothes on as I was at that moment.
I gently squeezed her breasts. She squeezed my shaft. I flicked my tongue across her nipple. She flicked her thumb across my tip, eliciting a gasp of indrawn air from me and a chuckle of pure, wicked pleasure from her.
With her nipple in my mouth, I kept sucking on it, drawing it in and out, running my tongue around and around, but I took the palm of my hand and ran it across her soft belly, down to her hip and inward toward her center. I placed my hand at the apex of her thighs and began to dip my finger between the folds of her sex, just as she had done in her previous provocative show. Her sweet scent intensified, and I knew she was getting wet for me. I pushed my finger into her womanhood, all the way to the base of her sex and then curled my finger back up to the little bud at the top, and I stopped for a moment. I removed my mouth from her breast and looked into her eyes. They were half closed with pleasure, and her lips were parted, her breath coming in shallow pants. I pressed my lips down on hers, tasting her mouth with my own. At the same time, I began moving my finger in small, slow circles around her most sensitive place.
Her hips bucked, and she moaned into my kiss. I sped up my circling. Her stroking of my shaft was gaining momentum as well. I wanted to mount her…making her mine, and then, suddenly, we heard a female’s voice. “Eva, I don’t think anyone knows you’re here.” The woman paused. “Oh. Um…wow. Sorry, Eva. Looks like I’m interrupting a great dream…”
“Laura!” Eva’s voice gasped, and my arms were suddenly empty.
I sat bolt upright in my guest quarters’ bed and looked around me. I wasn’t in a small, dingy room with a luscious, curvy woman moaning beneath my touch. I was in a high-ceilinged, airy room, lying in a huge, spacious bed with an aching shaft and empty arms.
What just happened? My extremely hard cock thought it had been the best dream ever, but I wasn’t so sure about the “dream” part. Some of it had been just too real.
I flopped back onto that generous bed and thought back about the dream. What about it had been real? What about it wasn’t?
My cock throbbed insistently. I reached down and gripped it in my right hand with a firm squeeze, and I began an age-old rhythm of strokes. I wished it were Eva’s hands instead of my own providing the pressure and the movement.
With the vision of her luscious breasts in my mind and her taste on my tongue, I came and released some of the built-up tension in my body.
Ugh. Curse it. I couldn’t go on like this much longer. We had to find my life mate and soon. I needed her.
Chapter 10
Eva
“Well, why won’t you tell me about this ‘dream’ you had?” Laura’s tone insisted. “Because it looked really hot!”
I swallowed hard. “Laura, quit it. I already told you. It was some kind of erotic dream. I don’t know where it came from.” But she was right…it was smoking hot.
Laura smiled as she scrambled the eggs in a battered aluminum bowl. “There’s nothing wrong with—” She shot a glance at Jaylynn and spelled out, “m-a-s-t-u-r-b-a-t-i-n-g. In fact, should be every woman’s best friend.” She turned around and slid the eggs into the hot skillet, which hissed and popped.
I rolled my eyes. “I know that.” I continued trying to braid Jaylynn’s hair into some semblance of order. “Hold still, little miss! What did you do? Take scissors to your hair as soon as I left?” Laura and I had already managed to get Amber’s hair into a set of matching ponytails for school today, but Jaylynn, as usual, was being stubborn, even if unintentionally. She crossed her deep brown arms and gave us a rebellious look.
“I don’t want to go! I want to stay here with you, Eva. You’re going to leave again, aren’t you? I need you.” Big crocodile tears brimmed in her deep mahogany eyes. They were almost my undoing.
Laura, as usual, rescued me. “Wouldn’t today be a great ‘Apple for the Teacher Day’? And lookie there! I happen to have one green apple and one red apple. Who gets which apple?”
She made the choice between green or red sound so…vital and exciting. I could predict which girl would take which apple. Red was Amber’s favorite color, and green was Jaylynn’s. No argument and no fuss later, they each had an apple to take to their teacher. The interlude had also given Jaylynn a chance to sit still lon
g enough for me to whisk her coarse hair into a simple braid. I was glad Ivy had brought her over the night before when they brought my clothes, but a five-year-old could be difficult to negotiate with.
I loved that Amber and Jaylynn were best friends. It truly had made life much easier to deal with for me and for Laura. The girls ate their scrambled eggs and toast and chattered happily until it was time to leave the apartment to catch the transit for school. Right as she hit the door, Jaylynn stopped, turned around, and ran back to me. She threw her arms around me and said, “Don’t go, Eva. Don’t leave us forever. I love you.” Then she just as abruptly turned and ran away.
When Laura came back from escorting them to the transit station, I hadn’t moved and had tears in my eyes.
“Oh, honey.” She put her pale, slender arms about my shoulders. “It’ll be okay. We all knew this was life-changing when you wanted to sign up for it. We talked about it for a while, but we agreed you wouldn’t be happy unless you tried.”
I wiped my eyes and went back to inspecting my split lip. “What?”
“Gino, me, Val, and Ivy. We talked about it when you brought it up. But we discussed it and figured you needed to do this for you.”
“You all sat down and talked about me?” I had a hard time wrapping my mind around that little tidbit. I didn’t like the idea of them sitting around worrying about me.
“Well, of course. Just like you and I did when Trevor ran away, and we didn’t want to tell Ivy.”
“I’m not a child,” I said indignantly.
“Of course not. But that doesn’t mean we don’t love you just the same, and want what’s best for you.” Laura hugged me hard. All I could smell was the lavender shampoo she used. “Eva, I love you. You’re my best friend. But I think this decision is what’ll make you the happiest.” She pushed away and looked me directly in the eye. “Now, we need to figure out how to get you back to the Program without those wackos getting the chance to grab you again, especially if this Raevu alien makes you very…erotic-dream-having happy.” With another laugh, she kissed my heated cheek and went to refresh her coffee.