by Marie Dry
“W…w…we were j…just p…p…” the poor man stuttered.
“Let him go, Zanr, they’re just playing.”
“They are hurting females.”
“No, she wants to be whipped.”
He stared down at her, eyes widened. “You will never say such a thing again.”
Rose sighed and looked at the woman. “Please tell him you volunteered for a whipping. If you’re there against your will, we will help you.” But she knew they didn’t have to help the woman. The people around her wore expensive clothes—the ones that weren’t half-naked anyway. And their ‘toys’ were of good quality and obviously new. No, this little sex club met in this part of town to maintain their privacy.
The woman, a curvy brunette with large breasts and a small waist, looked at Zanr and licked her lips, and now Rose wanted to grab a whip and have a go at her. “I volunteered.” Her eyes devoured Zanr, glancing from his oversized boots to his striking features. “You can have a turn if you want to,” she said in a breathy voice that was pure sex.
Rose balled her fists and tried to step forward. “Why, you little…”
Zanr kept hold of her. “I have omgraz-ra. You will never again insult me.” He glared at the woman and she flinched back. Rose smirked at her. Zanr looked around at the humans who’d frozen in place when he barged in. “This is a deviant sex club?”
She sighed. “Yes.”
He glared at the woman on the cross again. “The females are deviant, too. Willingly deviant?”
“Yes, they are. Let’s go. We might still find scientists and the weapons.” Rose bit her lip at what she’d let slip. You’d think she’d know better.
“If you’re looking for scientists, you’ll find some in that submarine in the Hudson,” a portly man in pleather pants said in a trembly voice. He watched Zanr as if he was a snake about to strike.
“How do you know there are scientists in this submarine?” she asked skeptically. The man probably just wanted Zanr gone from here. She had no doubt that if they returned in an hour, this club would’ve moved to a different location. “And how would a submarine end up in the river?”
The man shrugged. “I don’t know how it got there, but a few months ago, I woke up one morning and I saw something large in the river. Then it disappeared.”
Rose glanced at Zanr and she knew he was thinking the same thing. If they were cloaking the ship, then they were on the right track.
“Are you sure you saw something in the river and not just a reflection or an old car?” For some reason many twentieth-century cars had ended up in rivers.
“My apartment looks out over the river. It’s just close enough that I can see them coming and going every few days. Someone would walk up to it and it would become visible, and then when they stepped inside, it became invisible again.”
“And how do you know they’re scientists?” Rose asked.
“Idiots are wearing white coats. It’s like taking out an advertisement,” the man said scornfully. The woman at his side tried to drag him toward the door, obviously nervous about him talking to one of the alien invaders.
“Why don’t you go and find your scientists and leave us alone,” someone in the crowd said, and then looked really sorry he did when Zanr turned to him.
“Yeah, this is a private club,” someone else at the back muttered.
Zanr flicked a glance at the second speaker and then focused on the first one.
Several of the people took a step back at that odd predatory motion. “I do not take orders from a mere human.” He stepped up to the man and lifted him high off the ground. “Learn your place or I will teach you.”
The man struggled, but Zanr didn’t even seem to notice. “You have no right—”
“I have every right, human. Earth belongs to Zyrgin and no human will ever command a Zyrgin warrior.” Pure contempt for anything human rang in his voice.
It hit her then—he was one of the invaders—an alien who thought he could do what he wanted with whom he wanted on Earth. She turned and walked out, knowing he’d leave the man alone and follow her—this alien who looked after her, made tender love to her, and who thought humans should know their place.
Chapter Sixteen
Outside the building, Rose threw her braid over her shoulder and slogged through the water, wanting to cry and scream, but the tears wouldn’t come.
“You are going the wrong way.”
“I don’t care.” The water resisted her efforts to hurry, but she gritted her teeth and kept going.
“You are not to walk around on your own.” He kept pace with her. “You are little and someone can run away with you.”
She ignored him and kept going. Little? She’d show him little. And did he really think she’d allow anyone to just walk off with her? She’d made love with him, sat around a table and ate the food he’d provided. What did that make her? The way he’d talked to that man. She clutched her arms around herself. Is that what he thought of her, too? That she was a mere human and had to take his orders and bow and scrape to him?
“You are not to walk away from me like that,” he said and caught her arm to hold her still.
She tried to jerk away, but he wouldn’t let go. “Why, because I am a mere human and don’t know my place?”
He stared down at her. “You are a breeder—you have the best place.”
Unbelievable. She took a deep breath, clenched and unclenched her hands. “Let’s just go and find that submarine. The sooner we finish this assignment, the better.” If she was lucky, maybe one of the scientists would have the antidote for the nanos. “We should’ve asked that man where exactly in the river the submarine was.” She could’ve bitten off her tongue the moment she said it. She didn’t want Zanr shaking the poor man again. Or worse.
He grabbed her and went back to the building. “Hey, I’m not a doll you can cart around.” He kept going and she sighed in relief when they found the building empty, all the people gone. Rose bit her lip to hide her smile. It would make their search more difficult, but she was glad they got away before Zanr could hurt the man for more information.
They got on the hoverbike and she rested the tips of her fingers on his shoulders. But the arrogant alien reached behind him and put her arms firmly around his waist. “You will hold onto me and sit close to me, like you did before.”
She scooted forward. “Fine.”
They started on one end of the river, and even though they followed the path of the river for miles inland, they didn’t find any trace of a submarine.
They returned to the tent and Rose jumped off the bike before he could help her and stalked into the tent. He was right on her heels.
“You are beautiful when you are angry,” he said.
Rose stopped and turned to face him. “What?” Surely, she didn’t hear him correctly.
“You are beautiful when you are angry,” he said in a weirdly even voice. Then he grabbed her and kissed her.
Rose kicked and struggled and bit down on his tongue. At last she managed to free herself. So angry she could barely speak. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“There is nothing wrong with me. I acted correctly.”
Rose clasped her braided head. “Kissing me when I’m mad at you is not acting correctly. Telling humans that you are above them is not acting correctly.”
“When a woman is mad, her warrior has to tell her she is beautiful and then take her forcefully into his arms and kiss her.”
What? Maybe the nanos were messing with her mind because he could not have just said that. “Why exactly would you think it’s all right to behave like that?”
“Because, exactly, I did my research,” he said.
Rose closed her eyes for a long moment, gathering her patience. She opened them and fixed him with a glare. “What research?”
“I watched the educational files on your human TC. The facts are clear on how to treat angry females.”
“Which files exactly?”
“The
romance and relationship files.”
Rose stared at him. He’d watched romances and thought that was how he was supposed to act in real life. She shook her head. “I can’t deal with this now. I’m going to shower and change.”
She went to have a shower. Standing under the warm water helped calm her a little. She even laughed about his idea of how to treat an angry woman. It had a lot of hysteria in it, but at least she didn’t want to commit a murder anymore.
He had the food ready by the time she came out of the bathroom, and she ate in silence and afterward went straight to bed. She had no idea how he cleaned the dishes they used. Mostly they just seemed to disappear. She glared at him over her shoulder when he joined her in bed.
“I’m so mad at you,” she said and faced forward again, her back to him.
The bed dipped with his considerable weight as he got in on the side she faced. He pushed her back to make space for himself. He kissed her and she forced herself not to kiss him back, to push him away.
“I’m still too mad at you.” She turned onto her other side, her back to him again. “And leave my hair the hell alone.” She waited for him to make a move, but he only drew her closer to his warm body.
He grunted something and fell asleep. Just fell asleep as if he had nothing on his conscience. He should be begging her to forgive him, burning with unrequited passion for her.
The next morning, she woke to find him leaning over her. “We will do morning sex now.”
Rose wanted to tell him not to bother with an inferior human, but she wanted him, too. His arrogance was part of him, and she liked every part of him. But the next time he told a human to know their place, they were going to have the mother of all fights.
He aroused her and then made love to her until she was a quivering ball of pleasure. When at last he let her up for air, she lay on the bed, boneless. She didn’t even have the energy to worry about the nanos in her blood. Or him thinking humans should know their place.
He kissed her and got up. “I am looking forward to doing much morning sex with you every day.”
Rose watched him uneasily. She had the worrying feeling that he was going to insist on doing this every morning. No matter if she was mad at him or fed up. And what if she was sick?
“The morning sex does not count with your hours,” he said when he emerged from the bathroom.
She frowned at him. “What hours?”
“The hours at night we will spend in the sleeping place.”
“Okay.” She didn’t remember agreeing on any amount of hours, but who cared?
“I will be back soon,” he said and was gone before she could answer him.
She quickly grabbed some clothes and went to the bathroom. When she came out, the aroma of coffee hung in the air. A steaming mug sat on the table. Rose sat down and stared at the mug in front of her. This was the same alien who had told that poor man yesterday to know his place. What was she supposed to think? To do?
She sat down and absently scratched at her arm. She knew it was only her imagination, but she could feel those little machines crawling in her blood. Killing her a little more every day.
The door opened and Zanr came in carrying a brown paper bag. “I brought you a human New York breakfast.”
Rose couldn’t hold back the smile. “It smells divine.” While he opened the brown paper bag, she took a sip of the coffee. It used to be the favorite drink of every American. These days only the very rich could afford it. She’d tried to fit in with her colleagues and had never flaunted her money, but coffee was the one luxury she’d allowed herself.
Rose stared down at her breakfast and then asked the question that had been haunting her since they saw Morgan. “What do you think Morgan meant when he said my family took everything from him?” For some reason, seeing those people in their sad little club had reminded her of Morgan’s words.
“I think he is a disturbed human who needs to blame someone for his mistakes.”
Rose wasn’t so sure. There’d been something in his voice, a deep, angry grief in his eyes that was too honest to doubt. She thought about the reports of her kidnapping she’d accessed on the TC Zanr had given her. Lately, since she had to accept that Parnell had used her for his own cruel amusement, she doubted everything she thought she knew. What could her family be involved in?
They ate and Rose wiped her hands and mouth. “Thank you, that was so good.” She picked up her cup and then frowned, put it down. She stared at Zanr, her anger forgotten. “I don’t think I have any feeling in my fingers.” Terror gripped her so hard she could barely speak. Was this the beginning; would she lose sensation and then the use of her limbs?
Zanr took her hand in his. “Close your eyes.” She felt his big, warm claw on the back of her hand. “Do you feel this?”
She frowned. “I feel your hand cradling mine.”
He carefully laid her hand down on the table and she missed his comforting hold. “Now do you feel me touching you?”
She swallowed. “No.”
“Open your eyes. You have lost sensation in your fingertips. I will talk to Viglar.”
Rose opened her eyes and they stared at each other. “Those horrible little machines are starting to kill me,” she whispered. Somehow, she’d hoped that they’d remain dormant.
Zanr grunted and it was only when the image of the doctor appeared that she realized he’d been speaking.
The doctor instructed Zanr in English to do a few scans and asked Rose some questions. He and Zanr talked in their language for a while longer before the image of the doctor disappeared.
“What did he say?” She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know.
“The nanos are attacking your nervous system. They are moving slow, but it is only a matter of time. The scientists on the ship to home world are looking for the correct data among the confiscated material to send to the home planet.”
“I will go crazy if I think about it too much. Let’s just concentrate on the assignment.”
He nodded and picked up his spoon. He’d eaten his pink slop again. “I’ve been thinking. Morgan is from Portland, as well. I know his family is there and I believe he also has an apartment. There’s no reason for him to hang around New York. If we follow him, he might lead us to the submarine.” And if she got the chance, maybe she could find out why he hated her and her family so much.
He gave her a look. “We do not need to follow him. If I shake him hard, I am sure he will tell me whatever I want to know,” he said, calmly, as if he talked about the weather.
Rose glared at him. Parnell had told her about torture and how it was sometimes necessary. She didn’t agree then and she didn’t agree now. Especially with an alien who didn’t have any respect for humans. “He won’t talk that easily.”
“He will if I cut off his fingers.”
Her stomach churned and she glared at him, not believing what he’d just said. And no matter how much she wished it was a joke, she knew he was serious. “Don’t you dare hurt him. We will follow him and see if he leads us to a clue, and that’s the end of it.”
He loomed over her. “You are not the warrior here,” he said quietly. Coldly.
Rose froze. Not this again. He’d been so easygoing and almost endearing, she’d forgotten she was dealing with a dangerous predator. How could she have forgotten a day after he’d told a man he needed to know his place?
Her body became heavy with fear and for a few seconds, she couldn’t speak. He stared at her with cold, black eyes, not breaking contact, not backing down. The warrior, who’d made such tender, passionate love to her this morning, was nowhere to be seen.
“You have no right to harm him just because you want information.”
“This world belongs to Zyrgins and that human refused to give information to a Zyrgin warrior.”
It slapped her in the face, how different he was—alien in the true sense of the word. She could never allow him to lull her into believing him harmless again. He was ruthless wit
h a disregard for humans that was frightening. “I can’t believe you’d torture him for no good reason. For all we know, he doesn’t know anything.” The man who’d told them about the boat may have lied, as well. Just to get them to go away.
“A Zyrgin warrior should never be denied.”
“I will fight you every step of the way. Do not think you will harm that poor man and I will stand by and do nothing. I have skills; I can stop you.” And why the hell did she tell him that? She should’ve kept quiet and incapacitated him when he least expected it. Now he would be on his guard.
He clasped a hand on her shoulder, very gently, but still it managed to be threatening. His iris became shiny black, like icy ponds. “I will leave you here and get the information from the human.”
“No, you won’t.” She shook off his hand. “And stop trying to intimidate me. If you harm Morgan, I will never spend any time with you in the sleeping place.”
He stared at her, unblinking, for so long she had to concentrate not to fidget. “You want to breed with him?”
“No.” She knew, if she didn’t talk fast, Morgan was a dead man. “I’ve never liked him. He’s a mean, sarcastic man, and the only reason I don’t want you to torture him is that I don’t believe in torturing anyone.”
“You wish me to act like a human. I am not human. You have to accept that your warrior is a Zyrgin warrior.”
Rose stared at him, her heart breaking into pieces. “And I am human and you have to accept that. I could never make love with a warrior who tortured my colleagues.”
He stared at her so long, she was giving up hope he’d ever compromise when he said, “I will torture bad humans,” as if he offered a compromise.
“Let’s agree to follow Morgan. He’s our best chance of finding anything. You don’t torture him or anybody else unless we both agree.”
He stared at her with narrowed, pitch-black eyes, and then at last he nodded. She blew out the breath she’d been holding. She’d braced for another round of “I am the warrior and not you,” but he nodded.
They got on the hoverbike and parked on the roof of the building opposite Morgan’s. Hours later, Rose jumped off the machine and stretched. “Staking out is hard work.”