by Renee Rose
Goose bumps stood up on her arms, and her surroundings began to spin.
Dasha reached out and caught her elbow to steady her. “You should eat. Rest more.”
She nodded dumbly and walked toward the mess tent. What should she do now?
Blade wanted her gone. He had made it plain. And while she’d been offended the first time he told her, she’d since come to realize that he might know something about the timing of the revolution that she did not. He had arranged for her to be transported to the capital in two days and, from there, the Samaritans would transport her back to Earth.
She ran a hand over her still-flat belly. She had all the more reason to leave now, if the planet would be in unrest. A new life to protect. But the question was—did she tell Blade before she left? A lick of pain shot through her heart as she realized that imaginary life—the one where she was his Jeselian wife and she brought him this good news—would never be.
She was not Jeselian. Jesel was at war, or would be soon. And Blade was as much a lynchpin to the revolution as their precious President Black. Distracting him right now would be a mistake. Besides, she hardly knew the man. Telling him she carried his child would bind him to her when he would not have done so on his own.
Sure, he had murmured things like, If you were my wife..., but they had been teasing, because he knew how shocking his Jeselian ways would sound. Or perhaps he knew how they fanned the flames of passion for her, even as they offended her better sensibilities. He seemed to know things about her and her particular passions that she had yet to discover for herself.
No, it would be better to say nothing for now. It was too early in the pregnancy anyway. Thirty percent of pregnancies were lost in the first term. Despite all the scientific advancements they’d made in medicine, that figure hadn’t changed since before interplanetary travel began in the early 2100s. If the pregnancy went to term, and the baby was healthy...well, she could think about contacting Blade then. At this point, she had no idea if he even wanted to see her again after she left. She would never obligate him or bind him to her simply because she had a child. On Earth, people were parents in all kinds of ways. Some still followed the traditional family structure, but so many people raised children in alternate ways. She would have no problem rearing a child on her own. Besides, she wouldn’t be all alone. Her parents would be overjoyed.
Thinking of them gave her a pang of homesickness and she was glad she would see them soon. Tonight she would send them a message letting them know her arrival time.
Chapter Ten
It felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest and pinned to a tree for archery practice. Lara was leaving that morning. He had arranged it, had wanted it, yet none of that lessened the pain behind his sternum.
The air between them was charged with unspoken grief. She pulled on her tunic and brushed her hair, standing with her back to him.
“Come here, Lara.” He sat on the edge of the bed.
She turned with her brows raised, but when he said nothing, she walked to him, placing herself between his knees.
He tugged her over one of them and began to spank her with the flat of his hand.
The air left her with a whoosh, but, otherwise, she made no protest, nor did she struggle against him. Each crack broke down the tension between them, eased the thickness in the room.
He remembered the first time he’d spanked her. Her leggings had been wet, and they’d made such a sting for his hand. She’d kicked and fought him that time, his little she-tiger, his sexy little spitfire.
He spanked her now until she could no longer hold still and take it. He spanked her until she began to wriggle over his lap and her breath became labored.
He stopped and lifted her to sit on his lap. Her cheeks had flushed a delightful shade of pink; her nipples stood erect under her tunic.
“What was that for?”
“Ruining my pleasure at being alone.”
Tears sprang into her eyes, but she blinked them back. His girl was ever brave. He hadn’t expected less on this day.
He lifted her from his lap and stood. “Come on. I’ll walk you to the hovercraft.”
She laced her fingers in his and walked close to his side as they exited the transport ship and walked across the field to the small hovercraft readied to take her to the capital. It would be dangerous getting her there. Jamis, the pilot who was taking her, had volunteered, knowing he risked his own neck flying into the Capitol’s airspace without official business. But he was an Earthling, originally, and had a license to fly off-planet, so he had a cover to use.
Jamis sat in the open door of the craft, waiting.
Blade pulled Lara to a stop twenty-five meters away. “Lara…” His voice was thick with emotion. He had no words for all the things he wanted to tell her. Instead, he pulled his only possession of worth out of his pocket and pressed it into her hand.
She opened her palm and gaped at the monstrous diamond, pink in color and as big as her fist.
“Blade,” she gasped. “What is this?”
He closed her fingers around it. “I want you to have it. Make a good life for yourself on Earth.”
Once more, her eyes brightened with tears, but they didn’t spill. She thrust his gift back at him. “Blade, I can’t take this. It’s worth millions of IPCs.”
It was probably worth closer to a billion. “I know. I want you to have it.” His heart rate had inexplicably increased; his neck felt hot.
“But Blade—wouldn’t this be put to better use by the rebels? To fund the revolution? Or for a fresh start afterward?”
He shook his head. “When we take back our planet, we will own all the diamonds in the galaxy. We don’t lack wealth, we lack control...for the moment.”
He pulled a second gift from his pocket. “This one you probably can’t take back to Earth, so eat it on the ride and think of me.”
Her smile held a world of sadness as she accepted the bloodfruit. “I will think of you always,” she whispered. “Do you think...will I see you again?”
He cupped her face with one hand and ran his thumb over her lower lip. “I hope so.”
“How?”
He hadn’t asked for her direction-code, had no way to get in touch with her once she departed the planet. Nor had he offered his, not that he had one. The truth was he didn’t know if he’d live through the revolution. He planned to give his life to ensure freedom and liberty for all. He didn’t want to promise Lara he’d contact her, only to have her waiting for the rest of her life.
“If it’s meant to be, we’ll find each other.” He could offer her no more than that.
Her lips trembled, but she nodded. “Good-bye, then.”
He lifted her face and kissed her forehead then each of her cheeks and finally her lips. Not a sexy kiss. A flat, dead kiss. A good-bye forever kiss.
~~*~~
Lara clutched the bloodfruit in her hand. She didn’t realize her fingers were digging into the flesh until the crimson juice dribbled down her forearm. Hot tears speared her eyes. This time, away from Blade, she let them fall.
It’s only because of the pregnancy. I’m more emotional than usual.
She prayed for her rational, scientific side to return.
Buckled into the craft, she dashed her tears with the back of her hand and nibbled at the bloodfruit. She wasn’t hungry. In fact, nausea had been turning her gills green all morning, but having a little food in her belly would help. She licked at the juice running down her wrist and tried to forget the way Blade had fed it to her, the way he’d caged her intimately between his arms and knees, caring for her as thoroughly as he’d reminded her of his dominance. A man’s man. Thinking of him now, even amidst her grief, her attraction to him flared.
Maybe she should have told him. The thought had been nagging her since the moment they’d parted. It wouldn’t have changed anything. She knew that. He had a revolution to lead, and she needed to get off Jesel for safety. But it was his child, after all.
And now she had no way of telling him.
She supposed she’d expected them to make a plan. A time and way to communicate with each other. Something beyond his promise to find her if he survived. Because, frankly, that wasn’t cutting it. It left her completely helpless to contact him. Which is probably how it had to be when you were the hero of the revolution.
What if she never had the chance to tell him she was having his child? What if he died in the revolution? The thought made her nausea return full force.
Maybe knowing he had a child would keep him alive. Maybe he wouldn’t be the madman in battle. Or maybe, if he died, he’d die happy, knowing his legacy would live on with their child. She sniffed.
Damn the tears that spilled down her cheeks without end.
She hadn’t cried so much in the past ten years as she had since she met her rebel. But that was love, wasn’t it? It awakened a depth of emotion she’d forgotten she had. And if she knew she loved him, then she shouldn’t have left without at least telling him that.
“Unknown air unit, identify yourself.”
Jamis spoke into his comms unit. “This is Transport Craft number three eight three five, interplanetary taxi unit seeking to land in Jesel City.”
“What’s your business?”
“I’m transporting a doctor from the Interplanetary Samaritans, sir. She is scheduled to embark on an Earth-bound ship this afternoon from Jesel City.”
“Name of the doctor?”
Jamis glanced back at her, as if he was worried about her safety.
Her hand instinctively dropped to her belly.
“Dr. Lara Simmons, sir.”
A long silence ensued. Jamis tapped on the control panel, muttering.
“Does it usually take this long?”
He pursed his lips. “I’m sure everything’s fine,” he said in a way that made her think the opposite was true.
At last the voice returned. “Number three eight three five, you’re cleared for landing.”
They both exhaled, but the tension in the pilot’s face didn’t ease, making her think they weren’t out of the woods yet.
“Jamis?”
He looked over his shoulder at her, his hands on the controls. “Yes, Doctor?”
“I changed my mind. Please take me back to the rebel camp. I need to tell Blade something.”
Jamis’ eyebrows shot to the ceiling. “What?” He pulled up on the controls then shook his head. He flipped several switches. “Dr. Simmons, I’m sorry, but they’ve already magnetized us in. I can’t disengage now. As soon as we land, I can get clearance to take off again and I’ll take you straight back. Okay?”
Her mouth had gone dry. She attempted a swallow. “Okay, yeah. That’d be great. Thanks.”
As it turned out, he never had that chance, because the moment they landed, military police swarmed the craft and took her into custody.
~~*~~
Numbness crept through his veins, turned his body, mind, and soul translucent. Without noticing how he got there, he found himself back at camp, near the medic tent, of all places. How stupid of him to come to the precise place that would cause him more pain.
Lara’s colleague, Dasha, stood in the doorway, looking at him thoughtfully. She had another month left for her Interplanetary Sams stint and had agreed to stay with the rebels for it.
“Get out of my mind, Varu.”
“I don’t have to be in your mind, Jesel. Your grief fills your entire aura.”
He lifted his upper lip in a sneer. Auras weren’t something he put much belief in.
“Why would you release the one woman worthy of holding your heart?”
His chest tightened. Pain lanced through his chest.
“For the baby?”
His brain stuttered a dozen times and came to a screaming halt. His mouth went dry. “What?” The syllable sounded distant to his own ears.
Dasha blinked her wide, violet eyes then turned and moved away, seeming to realize her blunder.
He closed the distance between them and grabbed her elbow, tugging her around to face him. “What did you say?”
She shrugged.
His throat worked. “Did she know?”
Dasha nodded once, slowly. “She knew.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “But how—? Never mind.” He whirled, leaving the room before the Varusian read anything more from him.
He paced the tiny room they’d shared. Why had she not told him? Did she not plan to keep it? Or did she not wish for him to take an active role in the raising of their child? That thought hurt. He knew they were different. Jeselian men were far less civilized than the men back on Earth. Maybe she feared he’d control her or the baby.
He smashed the wall with his fist, splintering the plastic. Damn. He should have tried to behave in a more gentlemanly way with her. He should have shown her he was not all beast, all the time. He leaned his forehead against the cracked plastic wall, the sharp edges cutting lines into his skin. Fuck.
He glanced at the time. Maybe she was still on Jamis’ ship. He found the frequency on his comms unit.
“The hand of vengeance strikes.”
“And justice will be served.” Jamis answered the rebel code.
“Package delivered?”
“Ahh…”
He stiffened, fear leaping up his throat.
“That’s semi-affirmative. The package departed my craft, but did not make the scheduled transfer.”
What the hell had happened? He would rip Jamis in pieces if any harm had come to her. “What in the hell do you mean?”
“The package is in military custody, sir.”
White rage flushed through his body, and he palmed one of his swords, as if he might fight the enemy away from her from a distance. He spluttered.
“I fear—”
“Do not continue on this frequency,” he barked. It was a private channel, but he was too worried about what the Republicans knew. Because they fucking have Lara!
Jamis wisely remained silent. He’d already said too damn much, showing anyone listening that his relationship with the doctor had been more than mere taxi driving.
He clicked off his comms unit and gulped in air. Every cell in his body yearned to jump on a craft and crash his way into the capital, knock down every living being in his way and snatch up his bride.
His Bride.
The words had slipped into his mind, but they sounded so right. That’s what she was. If they left so much as a bruise on her perfect body, he’d kill every last breathing Republican on this planet. Unfortunately, he couldn’t smash down their walls today. Not tomorrow, either. To do so would jeopardize the revolution. But, damn, he hardly cared about it anymore. All he could think about was his beautiful doctor, his woman, and the tiny being growing inside her that belonged to both of them.
His hands were tied until their attack in two days.
~~*~~
“Step this way, Doctor.” The soldiers weren’t rough with her. In fact, they didn’t touch her at all, but they did crowd around her, leaving her with zero chance of escape. They led her onto a small hovercraft, and one of them indicated a seat for her.
“Where are we going?”
No one spoke. She hadn’t really expected an answer, but it had been worth a try.
The flight lasted precisely four minutes and, while she couldn’t see out any windows, judging by the change in light, they’d landed indoors or underground.
She unbuckled her harness and stood when the soldier who appeared to be in the lead beckoned to her. Again the group swarmed around her, not touching but staying close. They exited into what appeared to be an underground bunker.
A trim man in a crisp uniform stepped forward. “Dr. Simmons. I am Colonel Furce. Come with me, please.” He ushered her into what must be his office. A family photo hologram glimmered in the air above his control panel. He gestured to a chair. The room—the entire place—seemed decidedly “Earth-like.” After four weeks on outer Jesel, with o
nly the basics in furnishings, this place seemed opulent with the newest man-made materials and deco-art styling. The cushioned polycarbonate chair molded to her bottom and low back.
The colonel got right to the point. “You were kidnapped by the rebels.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Where did they take you?”
“To their camp outside Parth. To tend to their wounded.”
“And did you?”
She lifted her chin. “Of course. I am a doctor. I swore the Hippocratic Oath.”
A smile flitted across his lips. “I see. Did they harm you at all? They are heathens, the Jeselians.”
She forced her breath to remain calm. “I was not harmed.” She may have been spanked by her fierce warrior, but it had not been to harm her. It had only ever been to keep her safe. She understood that now. Her heart twisted painfully, thinking of him.
“And after the camp was attacked? Where did you go then?”
“I do not know. A wilderness camp—very primitive. And then I asked to leave, and they allowed it.” That was truth. Blade had been very careful not to give her any information that could be tortured out of her. They would have moved locations again by now anyway, so even if they impounded Jamis’ craft and downloaded the coordinates, they wouldn’t find the rebels.
“You have no political views on Jesel?”
“No, sir. I’m a Samaritan. I’m here to provide medical aid, nothing more.”
“So you would treat anyone, no matter their political leanings?”
“Of course.”
“Your assistance is required in the presidential palace.”
She stared, stunned. This she had not expected. She’d thought she’d be interrogated, possibly tortured. She expected reprimand at treating the rebels. That her services were in need came as a surprise. “Surely the president has his own doctors?” This could be a trick.