The Bond That Ties Us

by Christine d'Abo

“I think everything is fine,” Kamran said. When she didn’t move, he leaned in and whispered in her ear, “You’re not on duty yet, Chief.”

  That got her moving.

  Only once they had cleared the group did she speak. “Is that common here?”

  “Not normally. Though Taber mentioned that there have been greater occurrences of fights in recent weeks.”

  Haylie frowned. “I wonder why.”

  “I’m sure that’s one of the reasons the administrator is anxious to have you on board. He needs someone who can monitor these situations. I’ve been telling him for months that his talents are better spent elsewhere.”

  “I thought it odd myself that the colony administrator would be in charge of security while you waited for a new chief,” she said—her tone was formal.

  This wasn’t good. “What’s wrong?”

  She stopped short and simply looked at him. Kamran was struck again by the exquisiteness of her eyes, the rich hazel color reflecting her deep emotions. But this time, he noticed the strength that mingled with her beauty. There was more to his Haylie than he first realized.

  “Are we permitted to go somewhere and talk?” Her voice was very quiet, but there was no mistaking her meaning. They had to talk. Now.

  “Of course. As long as it wouldn’t be perceived as intimate.”

  “Excellent. I believe this hallway loops around to the main corridor where my office is located. I assume the interrogation room sufficiently lacks intimacy.”

  As an ambassador, Kamran had dealt with many hostile races in the past. Humanity was the only one he knew who expressed their anger passively. Based on the pace with which Haylie was now walking, this conversation wasn’t going to be pleasant.

  Haylie’s legs were almost as long as his own and she set a brisk pace. They reached the security office in record time. She paused only long enough to release the door lock on the control pad and strode into the dark room.

  “Lights, computer.”

  Her voice echoed for only a moment in the dark before the lights came on. When they did, Kamran cringed. Hurt and confusion was clearly on her face as she stood there, arms crossed over her chest.

  Before he could say anything, she added, “Computer, privacy screen.”

  “Haylie—”

  “Are you playing me?”

  “Pardon?”

  “Are you playing me? Use me for a quick one-night stand and then play stupid the next day. I don’t mind. But I’d appreciate knowing before this goes any further.”

  And there it was. Kamran respected bluntness. As an ambassador, he’d wasted many hours of his life trying to sort through lies and half truths to get to the heart of the problem he was trying to solve. He should offer his future wife the same courtesy.

  “How much do you know about my people?” he said and sat down in the metal mesh chair meant for visitors. It was uncomfortable and he wished he’d suggested they talk in his quarters.

  “Very little beyond what is recorded in our official records. Your society is a matriarchy, but only males hold positions of danger or positions that take them off world. Your people have been instrumental in helping humanity become established in space, especially with this colony.”

  She then paused, and Kamran watched her fight off some unknown expression and keep her face impassive. “And you are some of the largest beings I have ever interacted with.”

  He wanted to smile. But that would be the wrong move. “Mostly correct. Some of our older matrons, those who have lost their mates, do take positions off world. They belong to our Elder Council. Do you know why we are a matriarchy?”

  “Good sense?” She tried to keep a straight face, but her lips twitched in a small smirk.

  “There are fewer females than males in Briel society. As they are the givers of life and theirs is a limited number, our society evolved to listen to the advice of our female elders.”

  “So if there are fewer females, how does your society decide who can marry and who can’t?”

  And here lay the crux of the matter. Kamran sat forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his knees.

  “No one does. Biology chooses for us.”

  When Haylie didn’t react, Kamran thought she hadn’t heard. Or chose to ignore him. Within a few minutes, she made her way around the desk and sat opposite him. She kept her face impassive, hiding her feeling behind a blank stare.

  “How does it work?” As she spoke, Haylie kept her voice low, but steady.

  Fate, luck and a bit of magic. “Our scientists have been trying to figure that out for centuries. Once it was determined that there were fewer and fewer females, our leaders wanted to ensure that all of them were able to find their mates early in life.”

  “To increase the chances of reproduction. Makes sense. But not very romantic.”

  “Is that important to you?”

  Her face was impassive, but her eyes…they looked hurt.

  “I’m not the romantic type,” she said quietly.

  He knew only the basics of human mating rituals. Physical contact resulting in an emotional attachment. Very different from his world, yet something about it was very appealing. The elaborate dance that humans engaged in to choose who they spent their lives with was…different.

  “But I didn’t answer your question. Our scientists discovered that Briel mates are able to detect their mates through the detection of pheromones. Female Briel are genetically triggered to be receptive to only one male’s scent. She will respond only to him. Likewise, that one male will be—to use a human phrase—turned on sexually by only that one female.”

  She still didn’t respond. Kamran had the near uncontrollable urge to stand. Did she not understand what he was telling her? He was hers and she was his. The cosmos had decided.

  “Haylie?”

  She inhaled a deep breath, leaned back in her chair and frowned. “So why have I responded to you? Has this ever happen before? I mean, between a Briel and non-Briel.”

  “Not that I am aware of. I can check my records to confirm this, but I trust the answer will be the same.”

  “I don’t believe it,” she said. The words came out clipped. She was clearly upset.

  Kamran didn’t blame her.

  “I can appreciate how this might be hard for you to—”

  “Bullshit!” She stood up from her chair so quickly it rolled halfway to the wall. “I’m not going to stand here and listen to you tell me I have no choice in this relationship.”

  His annoyance began to rise. In his mind, he quickly recited his meditation mantra, calming his frustration.

  “You didn’t seem to mind an hour ago.”

  “Don’t you dare,” she said, her anger barely contained. “You knew all this and you didn’t tell me. You never gave me the choice.”

  “When did I have a chance? Besides, we don’t have a choice.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Of course we have a choice. Everyone has a choice. It’s called free will.”

  Kamran was on his feet and beside her before he realized he had stood. “No, you don’t. Why do you think you reacted the way you did in the hangar bay? It was the pheromones. Biology. Nothing you have any control over.”

  “So next I guess you’ll say I have no choice over what happens to our relationship.”

  “You don’t. Neither of us does.”

  They stood facing each other for several minutes. Their eyes were locked on each other, both braced for battle. Kamran’s heart was pounding. He didn’t know if he wanted to fight her or kiss her. Maybe both.

  Finally, Haylie broke eye contact and sighed. She walked over to the food unit and banged her head once over the top of the dispensing slot.

  “Computer, water.”

  The sound of the glass being pushed into the food dispenser and filled with the liquid was surprisingly relaxing and Kamran felt the urge to sit back down. It was only after he’d returned to his seat that Haylie returned to hers with the glass.
/>   His next words were hard to speak. Kamran swallowed and had to concentrate to keep his voice steady. “Would it be so bad?”

  She took a slow drink of water, set the glass on the desk and wiped her thumb across the condensation that had formed on the outside.

  “I don’t know. In my experience, long-term relationships don’t work out.”

  Kamran shook his head. “They can be wonderful. I’ve seen it first hand with my parents, my brother.”

  “And I saw my father suffer through years of guilt and anger when my mother walked out on him with some jerk she’d met at an art exhibit.”

  To that, Kamran had no answer. Human relationships were so complex.

  Haylie finished the contents of her glass before looking him in the eye and asking, “Now what?”

  “As you can guess, we Briel don’t engage in casual relationships. When a Briel male has been chosen by his mate, he must relinquish his post and, in this case, return with her to our home world.”

  “They’ll make you quit your job?”

  She said the words so matter-of-factly, Kamran’s hackles rose.

  “You too. They’ll ask us to relocate to Briel where we will be expected to start a family as soon as possible.”

  He braced for another outburst. Rebuttals to her possible responses instantly sprang into his mind. None were necessary.

  She started to laugh. And kept laughing until tears streaked her face.

  “Haylie? Are you okay?”

  “I’m…fine…sec…” and another fit of giggles overwhelmed her.

  Kamran looked over his shoulder, trying to gauge if he could safely make it to the exit before Haylie could catch him. Just in case she had—what was the human expression—gone off the deep end.

  It took another minute for Haylie to regain her composure. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m okay now.”

  “Are you sure?” Kamran relaxed his hold on the armrest.

  “Yes.” She sighed. “It’s been months of hard work getting ready to take this post. I just spent that last several years of my life frozen in a tube so I could get here. The guy I’m replacing didn’t last two months in this job. I was not only determined to outlast him, but to do such a great job that everyone would forget that he’d even been here.”

  “And now, you will be forced to leave.”

  “Basically the same day I arrived.”

  She rested her head against the headrest of her chair. Her eyes didn’t leave his, as if she were searching for a long-awaited answer. For once in his life he didn’t have one to offer.

  “I can’t leave this place. I don’t imagine you want to leave either,” she said softly.

  “Of course not.” If she had walked into his life six months later, there would’ve been no questions. The colony would be safe and he’d be free from obligations. But not now. “I am in the middle of delicate negotiations between your people and the Ecada. To walk away now would shut down the peace talks and open up an opportunity for the Ecada to invade.”

  “I read the report. They trust no one but you.”

  “I would use the word trust lightly. But they do know that I will not strike at them without provocation.”

  “So, Ambassador, it appears we have a problem,” Haylie said, her voice taking on a professional tone. “We can either return to Briel, which will cause major problems for the colony. Or we can stay, break Briel laws and face the consequences if they ever arise.”

  “Which is incarceration for me until I agree to return home and begin a family.”

  “Excellent!” She sighed. “This is so fucking mental, it’s not funny.”

  Haylie stood and began to pace around the confines of her office. She slapped her hand against her thigh as she walked. Kamran smiled. The woman was incapable of sitting still.

  He jumped when she laughed again.

  “Screw it. Let’s not tell anyone.”

  She sounded so sure, so confident, Kamran almost instantly agreed.

  “You realize what you are saying? The consequences of what will happen if we are discovered?”

  “Yup. The new security chief of Eurus is about to commit a major crime after only being on the planet for less than…” she checked the computer console, “six hours.”

  She stood there, hands on her hips and stared at him. Her expression was almost a challenge, a look that shouted, “I dare you to come up with a better idea”.

  He stood and walked to her. Her scent filled his head, making him feel a little drunk. He was aroused. Again. Only this time, he knew there would be no relief.

  “That means when we have to work together, we can’t give any indication that there is anything between us. And we can’t continue with our physical relationship either. Briel simply don’t do that.” Kamran balled his hands into fists, trying desperately not to touch her.

  For her part, she moved her hands from her hips to behind her back, lacing her fingers tightly together once more. “That won’t be a problem on my end.”

  “Oh, really.”

  Kamran leaned forward and brought his cheek so close that it almost touched hers. Why he had the urge to tease her, he didn’t know. Nor really cared. The vindictive side of him knew that being this close to him would drive her wild. He didn’t want to be the only one in agony. He made sure that his breath would caress her ear.

  “Then we shouldn’t have any problems.”

  Haylie shifted her weight, but didn’t squirm away as Kamran had hoped. Instead, she swayed within a hair’s distance from him and chuckled lightly in his ear before she spoke.

  “Nope. None at all.”

  With amazing agility, she slid out from underneath where he stood and made her way to the door.

  “Goodnight, Ambassador. I’m sure I’ll see you around the station.”

  Before she opened the door, he felt it only fair to warn her.

  “You’ll dream of me tonight.”

  Haylie didn’t respond, but he knew she didn’t believe him. The doors closed silently behind her as she left. No matter. She would understand soon enough.

  Chapter Five

  Haylie had to pause before she entered her quarters. So much had happened in the last few hours that her head felt like a spinning top. And if Sara was inside, she’d be sent around for another turn.

  She scanned her hand on the security panel to release the door lock. It whooshed open to reveal a blessedly empty room. At least someone was giving her a break. Three steps got her into the room far enough to allow the sensor to automatically close the door behind her.

  What a day.

  Was it still today?

  Her mind was racing, turning over possible answers to her problem. The Kamran Incident. She laughed and wondered if he would mind being referred to as an incident. Most likely. In fact, she imagined she was already being referred to as the Haylie Predicament. He probably even has Taber trying to figure out a way of dealing with things.

  She’d have to tell him that she preferred “incident” to “predicament”.

  Haylie caught a glimpse of her profile in the mirror and stopped. Her face was flushed, but she looked rumpled and more than a little tired. Having sex on the floor in a public place will do that to a girl.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  This always happened to her. She found someone and something always screwed it up. How the hell was she going to fight against biology and alien laws? It’s not like she could use a blaster to solve her problems this time.

  Haylie realized that she was still standing by the doorway and moved to her bed. She didn’t bother to undress and instead flopped onto the mattress and pulled the blanket and sheet over her.

  To top things off, she was still horny. You’d think that a couple orgasms would cure a girl of that particular itch. Apparently not. And there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it now.

  Well, she could. But that would require moving and she wasn’t about to do that.

  She wasn’t even mad at Kamran
, simply at the situation. How the hell could she believe that fate had pushed them together? That was something her mother would’ve accepted. She’d take off to Briel without a second thought about the consequences. There was no way Haylie would ever live her life like that.

  But when she thought of Kamran and the feelings their short time together had pulled from her, her heart ached. She hated being alone. She’d spent too many days and nights with her own thoughts. Nothing but her sketches and her blasted perfect memory to keep her company. The loneliness ate at her.

  Not like her father. Other than the times they spent together when he was in port, he preferred solitude. Especially after her mother left. He’d died over a year ago now, but the pain was still there, still raw. Haylie smiled and wiped a stray tear away. He would have liked Kamran, a man with strong convictions. At least that was how he came across. Shit, she really didn’t know the first thing about him or his people. But the chances of the two races being pulled together this way seemed impossible. It was probably nothing more than an aftereffect of the cryo sleep.

  She had to forget this whole mess. Get a good night’s sleep and begin fresh tomorrow.

  Haylie propped herself up for a moment and pounded her pillow with her fist. She then gave her blanket a quick tug to balloon the air underneath. When she settled again, she took a deep breath and tried to calm her thoughts. She pushed away every image of her parents, her grief, even her desire and focused on the darkness behind her eyelids.

  But in the dark, in the place moments before sleep could come, she was more in tune with Kamran than ever before. She could almost pinpoint his location if she concentrated hard enough. No, not concentrate, but relax. She sighed. There he was, down the corridor, across from where they had been earlier. His office?

  When she tried to focus on the schematic of the station, she lost part of the thread that tied her to Kamran. She was still aware of him, though. Had he been there earlier, touching the back of her mind? The connection she hadn’t been aware of before, she now couldn’t miss it pulling at her consciousness.

  Haylie sighed and felt the beginnings of sleep creeping up on her. Everything would be better…tomorrow.