He slid his palm over her back as though helpless to keep from touching her. “You don’t call yourselves Earthlings?”
“No. We call ourselves humans.”
He loosened his hold and with apparent reluctance placed some distance between them. “But you’ve named your planet Earth.”
“Yes.”
“Weird,” he commented, borrowing her word.
She grinned.
He shook his head. “You are so adorable.”
She wrinkled her nose.
“Is that not a compliment on your planet?”
“It is. But women don’t want to be adorable. They want to be desirable.”
His smile turned wry. “You already know you’re desirable.” He gestured to the lap on which she was sitting. “Only you could elicit such a response from me when I’m in this much pain.”
Really? Only she could?
Silently she reprimanded herself for focusing on that instead of his injuries. “We should rest. You said sleep can help Lasarans heal?”
“Yes, though sleep has aided me little since my capture.”
“Well, let’s see if it will help now that they aren’t dosing you. I still think the drug should wear off soon.”
“I hope so.” He brushed her hair back from her face in a tender gesture that made her chest tingle. “Do you need to relieve yourself before we sleep?”
“Yes,” she grumbled.
Lips twitching, he turned toward the edge of the bed and helped her awkwardly gain her feet.
Lisa yanked the lab coat out from under the mattress and wrapped it around her.
“Game spoiler,” he said with a grin.
“Game spoiler?”
“Is that not the correct term for someone who won’t let you engage in an activity you enjoy?”
She thought for a moment, then smiled. “You mean spoilsport.”
He tossed the word back at her. “Spoilsport.”
Laughing, she headed into the bathroom.
Taelon woke slowly. He would never have believed he could find something enjoyable on this primitive planet, but waking up like this was his new favorite thing.
Lisa slumbered on her side, turned away from him, both knees drawn up to the base of her big belly. Taelon was curled up behind her, spooning her as she called it. Both were naked. Her back warmed his chest. Her bottom pressed against his groin where he was already hard. The fronts of his thighs cradled the backs of hers. His left arm formed her pillow. His right arm wrapped around her and held her in a protective embrace he still couldn’t believe she allowed. Sometime in her sleep, she had linked her fingers through his and held their clasped hands to her full breasts.
He allowed himself a moment to enjoy the peace and tranquility holding her brought him, the rightness that suffused him whenever she was close. Then he sighed and reluctantly let the ugly part of his new reality intrude upon his thoughts.
A week had passed, and neither Roland nor the soldiers in black had returned. Taelon’s wounds had not healed. His strength had not returned. And exercising his telepathy still made his nose bleed… unless he was communicating with Lisa. With her it remained inexplicably easy.
He didn’t understand why the drug had not worn off. He had not been dosed in over a week. Could something else be at play? Had the years of torture damaged him permanently? Had his regenerative capabilities been taxed to the point that he had lost them entirely? He had never heard of such. But none of his Lasaran brethren had been tortured on a daily basis for at least two or three solar cycles.
Had those butchers at the base wounded him so greatly—taking their samples and injecting him with toxins—that he would never be whole again?
He buried his face in Lisa’s soft hair. He cared more for his little Earthling every day he spent with her. He had hoped to coax her into coming back to Lasara and bonding with him. But he remained too weak to contact his ship.
And she and the baby needed a strong protector.
As if his daughter knew he was thinking about her, the baby kicked where his arm touched Lisa’s tummy.
Lisa sighed and shifted slightly, pushing deeper into his embrace.
Carrying his baby was taking its toll on her. Exhaustion dogged her constantly despite her attempts to hide it. And the pains she experienced had not lessened during their days together. He had hoped that being away from the stress of the base, that being free and able to rest more and consume nutritious meals would help her. But, like him, she did not exhibit any improvement.
Her belly seemed to grow bigger by the day. He feared the baby would come soon despite her assurances that Earthling pregnancies lasted nine months. Taelon had no knowledge of childbirth and feared what would happen should circumstances compel him to deliver the baby himself. They had no clean, sterile medical facility. They had no tools, no healing serums, no database he could search for information and guidance, no communication technology that would allow him to consult the Sectas. They needed help. And he knew of only one place they might obtain it.
But it posed great risk.
“You’re thinking too hard again,” she murmured, tightening her hold on his hand.
Brushing her hair aside with his nose, he pressed a kiss to her sleep-warmed neck. “Can you hear my thoughts?”
“No. But I know they’re racing.”
Because she knew him. The seven days they had spent together in this dismal motel room had been both torturous and blissful. He was anxious to leave, to ensure Lisa’s safety and well-being, to find his sister, then get them all the drek off this corrupt planet.
But he had enjoyed her company immensely.
“Something’s going to happen today,” she murmured.
“What?”
“You’re tired of waiting and are going to do something drastic, aren’t you?”
He tightened his hold on her. “How did you know that?”
She scooted away a bit and rolled over to face him, grimacing as she tried to get comfortable. “Don’t say it,” she warned, shooting him a dark look.
“Don’t say what?” he asked, all innocence.
“That I’m adorable,” she grumbled.
He smiled and adjusted the covers over her as she finally settled on her side with her knees drawn up again, this time resting against his abdomen. “You are adorable.”
“No, I’m not. And you’re trying to change the subject.”
He sighed. “Perhaps.”
She stroked one of his cheeks, now coated with a week’s worth of thick stubble. “Tell me what you’re thinking of doing, because I already know I’m not going to like it.”
“The Anomalous Cognition Research Institute was right about you. You do have prophetic abilities.”
“I’m not a prophet. I just make good guesses.”
“You underestimate yourself.”
She shrugged. “Maybe. So what are you thinking?”
“We need to leave.” He looked past her at the bedside table. “You’re almost out of currency. We need more so you can continue to consume the nutrition you and the baby need.”
“We could both use some clothes, too.”
They washed their clothing every night and slept naked while it dried. Taelon didn’t mind the latter at all. He loved having Lisa’s bare body pressed up against his, though the lust such inspired did make sleeping more difficult.
She nibbled her lower lip. “We need to get our hands on some cash. But I’m pretty sure the ACRI closed my bank account. Brad said they told everyone I died months ago. The apartment I was renting and all my possessions are long gone. The apartment manager probably sold my stuff to cover the rent I failed to pay after I was taken.”
“Our options are few.”
“We could call the number Brad gave me. It’s his ex-girlfriend’s. He said she helped him find me, so she may be someone we can trust.”
He considered it. “I think my plan will garner faster results.”
“What’s your plan?”<
br />
“To make the motel clerk—the one who was here when Agent Walker and his soldiers interrogated us—see a soldier in green arrive with a soldier in black held in restraints.”
She stared at him, her brown eyes boring into his. “You think Agent Walker might have left a contact number or something with the clerk?”
“It’s possible.” Unfortunately, he couldn’t read the clerk’s mind to retrieve it and a quick search had not uncovered it. “If they think a soldier from the destroyed base is holding one of their own captive—”
“They’ll burst in here, guns blazing.”
“And see only me.”
“Oh hell no,” she blurted, sitting up.
“Lisa—”
“If they see you, they see me.”
He sat up, too. When she struggled to untangle the covers enough to pull them up over her breasts, he paused a moment to help her. “Lisa,” he began in reasonable tones, “I won’t risk your—”
“This is nonnegotiable, Taelon. We’re in this together. No way in hell am I going to let them take you who-knows-where without me. Because you know that’s what they’ll do. They’ll take you somewhere more secure to interrogate you.”
“If they are willing to be reasonable…” He ignored her snort of disbelief. “Then I will let them see you. But I cannot risk them hurting you.”
“No. Let me call Brad’s ex first. At least let me try her. If she can’t or won’t help us, then we’ll revisit your idea.”
He only agreed because he neither wanted to leave her alone to fend for herself nor wished to see her held captive once more. The only other option was to steal what they needed to survive. But that wouldn’t aid them in obtaining medical care for her or in finding Amiriska. “All right.”
Brow furrowed, she scooted off the bed. “Let me get dressed first. Brush my teeth. Splash some water on my face.”
Anything to put off making the call? he wondered, not really blaming her. She had told him Brad and the woman had once been lovers, then had parted ways. The woman clearly still valued Brad though, otherwise she wouldn’t have risked so much to help him.
He watched Lisa cross the room and disappear into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
If he and Lisa became lovers, would she feel free to leave him the way this Kelly woman had left Brad? If he coaxed her into bonding with him, would she view that as a temporary bonding the way so many on Earth did?
The thought unsettled him. Though the circumstances that had brought them together were horrendous, Taelon already found it hard to imagine not waking up with Lisa in his arms every morning, not sharing every meal with her, not eliciting laughs and blushes from her every chance he got.
It would be even harder to let her go if they made love.
And harder still once their child was born.
The bathroom door swung open.
Lisa spoke, still beyond his line of sight. “Our day has had a pretty grim beginning, so I thought you’d like to see this.” Poking her head out, she stared at him with wide eyes and a mouth rimmed with toothpaste foam.
He laughed.
She grinned.
So damn cute, he thought as he rose and joined her.
Lisa’s stomach tingled with nerves as she lifted the receiver of the old touch-tone phone their motel room boasted. Taelon sat beside her on the edge of the bed, one arm around her back. Both were dressed.
Drawing in a deep breath, she dialed the number Brad had scrawled on the paper.
How was she going to tell Kelly Brad was dead?
Did she already know? If not, would Kelly blame her and call the authorities? Would she continue what Brad had begun and help Lisa find sanctuary?
“Hello?” a woman answered.
“Hi. Is this Kelly Vaughan?” Lisa asked, her hand tightening around the receiver.
“Yes.”
Taelon leaned close and pressed his ear to hers so he could listen, too.
“This is Lisa Holt. Brad Sykes gave me your number.”
“Brad who?” Kelly responded, the two words carrying puzzlement.
“Brad Sykes… from the Anomalous Cognition Research Institute.”
Silence.
“He said you used to date?” she added, giving Taelon a look.
His brows drew down.
“I think there’s been a mistake,” Kelly said, neither hostility nor suspicion entering her tone. Just confusion. “I’ve never dated anyone named Brad Sites.”
“Sykes,” Lisa corrected and spelled it for her. “S-y-k-e-s. Brad Sykes. Tall, blond, blue-eyed?”
“Nope. Still not ringing a bell. I’m sorry.”
It didn’t seem like a ruse. “He said you’re a journalist with connections. He said you helped him find me when I went missing and could help me disappear once he freed me. He said—”
“Wait. Find you? Help you disappear?” Kelly’s tone sharpened. “Are you being held captive somewhere? What did you say your name was?”
Lisa bit her lip and consulted Taelon.
He shook his head.
“Hello? Are you still there?” Kelly asked.
“Yes.”
Her voice lowered. “Is this about the battered women piece I did? Are you in trouble?”
Lisa didn’t know what to say. How could Kelly not remember Brad? “You really don’t remember Brad?”
“No. But if he was one of my sources, he might have given you a false name to protect himself. Some of my sources risked their reputations, their jobs, and their lives to help me with that story. Where are you? Your number isn’t showing up. What’s your situation?”
Don’t tell her, Taelon advised in her head.
Lisa agreed. She didn’t know what this meant, but they couldn’t afford to bring more unknowns into the equation. “I’m sorry. I’ve made a mistake.”
“Wait!”
She dropped the receiver back into its cradle.
Taelon straightened but remained close. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t either.”
“Her ignorance did not seem feigned.”
“I agree. She sounded… baffled. But how could she not know Brad? He said she was his ex. He said she helped him find me.”
“Do you think he lied?”
“No.” She thought back to the last two times she had spoken with him. “No. I’m sure he didn’t. Brad felt guilty over inadvertently playing a role in my being taken. When he came to my room, he was really freaked out and terrified of getting caught. And when he gave me Kelly’s number and the cash, he was dying. So he had nothing to lose. Why would he lie?”
Taelon shook his head. “If you don’t believe he did, then I don’t either. I trust your judgment.”
She gave him a hug. “Thank you.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “Do vampires have the ability to manipulate Earthlings’ thoughts?”
She frowned. “I don’t know. In the movies, some did. They could hypnotize people and get them to do their bidding.”
“Could Roland and his fellow vampires have wiped Brad’s existence from this woman’s memories?”
“I don’t know, but if they can… that’s disturbing as hell and just makes me more determined not to have anything to do with them.”
“What other options lay before us?”
She frantically sought some other avenue they could take. “I could call Dr. Aguera,” she suggested reluctantly.
“Who is Dr. Aguera?”
“My Biology II professor.”
“A professor is an instructor?”
“Yes.”
He frowned. “How could he be of assistance?”
Her shoulders slumped. “I don’t know. He doesn’t have any connections that I know of. I just can’t think of anyone else.” She had no family left. She had no real friends either, only acquaintances from class. Most of those were a few years younger than her and still lived at home, had no jobs. They didn’t have to work every shift they could to earn enough
to pay the bills and buy groceries. They never had to eat less for weeks at a time after spending a few hundred dollars on a car repair. Their problems had always seemed so trivial in comparison to hers, like those of high school students. She just hadn’t been able to relate to them. Only Dr. Aguera had understood. “Honestly, I kind of hate to get him involved because he has a wife and children and I don’t want to put them in danger.”
“Then we won’t involve him.”
“Which leaves us with the soldiers in black.” She glanced up at him. “If the vampires can make Kelly forget about Brad, what if they make you forget about me? Or make me forget about you? Or just make the motel clerk forget about us both, then kill us so we won’t pose a problem for them anymore?”
“I won’t let that happen,” he told her softly. “They may be powerful, but I still kept them from seeing us. If you wish to take a safer route, I’ll do as I said and lure them here. When they arrive… if they arrive… I will again keep them from seeing us. And while they search for the two soldiers the clerk will believe he saw, you and I will sneak into one of their vehicles—”
“And hitch a ride with them so we can listen to them and determine whether or not we can trust them.”
“Yes.”
She looked around the crappy motel room, hesitant to leave the little bit of safety it had provided. But what else could they do?
A cramp tightened her abdomen.
Wincing, she rubbed her tummy and breathed through it.
Yeah. They couldn’t stay here any longer.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
Chapter Ten
Taelon slipped back into the motel room.
Lisa sat at the wobbly table, her pretty face pensive. “Well?”
“It’s done,” he told her. “The clerk saw what I wanted him to see. He assigned me the room I requested, the one on the far end. Then he reached for the phone as I left the office.”
She nodded. One of her knees—clad in the thin, dark, formfitting pants she called leggings—bobbed up and down beneath the table, betraying her nervousness.
Closing the distance between them, he took her hand and brought it to his lips. “Come sit with me.” He tugged her up and led her over to the bed.
The wound in his chest still hurt with every movement. Pain shot through him as he knelt on the bed, then turned and sat with his back against the wall. Breathing through it, he stretched his legs out, then helped Lisa clamber onto the lumpy mattress.
The Lasaran (Aldebarian Alliance Book 1) Page 15