Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Of course, much of her life thus far has probably been a nightmare. Did I make it worse?
Tarak opens the door, calling out. “Captain, I have our landing—” He stops when he senses her in my arms. His eyebrows go up and he points, then grins. Mouths, “You dirty bastard.”
My body stiffens. “Veck you,” I murmur back.
He hears it, even though it’s only a whisper—his hearing is super-heightened due to his lack of vision. And I know that even though he can’t see features and faces, he has infrared heat-sensors built into his brain insert, which allows him to see body forms… and their proximity to each other. Yes, Tarak knows exactly what I’ve been doing with Taisha.
My little human is fast asleep, so I gently shift her to the hoverseat and pull her shawl up from the floor to hide her nudity.
“Turn your back out of respect,” I snarl to Tarek in an undertone as I join him, even though she’s already covered, and he can’t see features.
“Settle down. I’m not going to touch her.” His voice holds a trace of humor.
I grab his arm and pull him outside the door, and it hisses shut and beeps, the light flashing locked. If she gets up, she won’t be able to leave the area. She’s still our prisoner, of course. I’m not stupid.
“What’s gotten into you? Did you veck her?” He narrows his eyes. “You know that’s not—”
“No, I did not veck her,” I snap. Although I came pretty close. “I, ahem, punished her for lying. Tried to extract the truth. Then I just had to, ah, console her. Dr. Daneth told me humans require such attentions.” I clear my throat.
“Is that so?” Tarek scoffs. “You wanted to extract knowledge? More likely you were trying to insert something instead of extract.”
He’s not wrong.
I check my temper so I don’t punch the wall or his face. “I did what was necessary to see if she was lying. I believe she’s truthful about the syringes.”
He gets serious. “If that’s so, then what we have now is a prototype of a brand new bioweapon, Captain. One that could help us fight Ocretions, if it ever comes to that.” We’re best friends as well as crew members, and he’s able to shift from banter to work in a split second.
“Exactly right. And if the Ocretions get wind that we have this, it’s a high probability that they will act, either against the humans on Romon-3, or us, or both.”
We both stand as I stare through the port window at her sleeping form. She looks small and delicate, but underneath her lovely exterior is a mystery. “Maybe she’s brought us a secret weapon that could give us the advantage over the Ocretions.”
“Or else she’s brought us a curse that will start a war.” Tarak lets out a breath. “King Zander will need to decide what to do with her.”
This does not sit well with me. “Asylum for her, of course,” I say, frowning.
Tarak tilts his head. “Unless our planet is better served by returning her.”
“I would never give a human—”
“Not under normal circumstances. But if it were for the good of Zandia…” His voice trails off.
My chest feels tight. “It will not come to that,” I vow, although of course I have no way to ensure it is so. “We cannot send a sentient being—a human, no less!— back to certain torture and death.”
“Humans have been enslaved for millennia by Ocretions and most of the rest of the species of our galaxy. Zandians never interfered before,” Tarak says.
I growl. He’s right, of course. But now that I’ve held that human in my arms, there’s no way I’d ever send her to her death.
I stand up straight. I need to get myself together. My whole life had been devoted to Zandia and the survival of our species. Not only am I a captain of a fighter ship, I am also in training as a judicial sage, under none other than King Zander himself. I must keep myself cool and level-headed so I can make decisions about asylum and matters of state that best protect Zandia...not my own selfish desires.
“Of course you are right.” I’m letting my lust get the better of me. “It’s said that humans bring out emotions in Zandians and weaken them. I should stay away from her so that does not happen.”
Tarak slaps my shoulder. Before I follow him to our command center, I take one last glance back through the window at Taisha. She’s shifted in her sleep and one perfect hip juts up. My cock hardens and I force myself to concentrate on the task at hand—landing my ship on Zandia.
Exquisite though she is, I cannot afford to waste mental energy and my time on her. My king and planet need me to be completely devoted.