Dominated By Desire (25 page)

“Sure. Heard it a lot between couples.” She turned the water off and stepped out into the area were the dryers were.

“It doesn’t translate into our language. We use phrases to show our appreciation to the person who is our mate, not an expression of an emotion.

My heart is about as close as we get to I love you.” She opened a cabinet and pulled out a big fluffy towel. “My heart is very close to my love.”

He took the towel from her and started to dry her off. She reached for a second one and dried him off. Such a simple act had such a profound effect on them. Their feelings went way beyond the physical. They were one.

“I supposed it is. But I want you to know you are my heart. How you got there so fast I don’t know but I’m not complaining.” He wrapped the soft towel around her, pulling her into his embrace at the same time.

She snuggled against him, happy and content. He needed to know about her recording the things she had seen in her dream but she didn’t want to break the moment they were sharing. She just hoped there were many more just like it.

Chapter 14

Storm stared at the readouts to see if he could figure out anything new about the AI. Heather stretched beside him. Their limbs entwined. The feel of her soft skin against his brought him joy.

“That is going to drive you crazy isn’t it,” she said it softly, her voice still laced with sleep.

“Not as much as you and your luscious body will.” He rolled over on top of her.

“I do believe I have created a monster.” She smiled up at him.

The door sounded.

Storm dropped his head against hers. “That is the drawback of staying with my mother. They know we’re here so I can’t just ignore them.”

“You were the one who felt it was safer here.” She stretched a second time. “Go answer it before they call the guards.” He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and got up. “Don’t go anywhere.” She laughed. “Like you’d let me.”

He slipped on a pair of pants and padded to the door. Why he started doing that he wasn’t sure. Heather must have rubbed off on him. He opened the door to find Streya and his mate.

“We’re sorry to disturb you but we wish to speak to your mate.”

“Of course.” He opened the door wider to allow them entrance. Just as he turned to alert Heather she came out of their room fully dressed.

Somehow she must have sensed they were coming. “For you.” She smiled at him and gave his face a brief touch as she passed him.

She then focused that smile on their two visitors. “How may I help you?”

“We wish to speak to you about the treaty,” said Streya. “Perhaps we could walk in the gardens?”

She nodded as she looked at Storm. As much has he wanted to keep her for his own plans he knew she had been getting communiqués from Earth asking why the treaty hadn’t been finished yet. She was doing a great job balancing both world’s wants and needs but it was taking its toll on her. This was something she needed to make her old world happy.

He gave her a quick kiss. “Hurry back.”

****

“My planet will be very grateful for an update.” She followed them out the door and outside. Heather hadn’t seen the gardens before this and found it beautiful. The flowers were exotic to her, but she wasn’t as familiar with the plant life of Vespia as she’d like to be.

“You have been very patient with us, unlike other citizens from your planet.”

“They are very anxious to see this treaty done.” She knew they hadn’t understood why it was taking so long.

“And you aren’t?”

“Please don’t misunderstand. This will help our planet immensely, but I have learned that you move at your own pace. Pushing doesn’t really help.

I knew you would come to me when you were ready.” She walked beside them. “My leaders haven’t understood my silence but they will be very happy once it is done.”

“You seem to understand the Vespian way.”

“I’ve had a good teacher.” She smiled at them.

“Your mate.” They looked to her left.

She nodded and looked at well. Storm stood nearby, watching as they walked.

“He seems very attentive,” said Streya’s mate.

“He is.” She knew he feared someone would snatch her from him so didn’t want to let her out of his sight for a moment.

“You’re happy with your mate then.”

“I am.” He had been there for her from the beginning. Not many others would have done that. But she wasn’t there to talk about her love life. “What can I tell my planet?”

“We will sign your treaty and give in to the concessions they have asked for but there is something delicate we need to ask of your people.”

“And what is that?” One more thing she would have to ask her planet to give into. They were tired of these requests.

“If you haven’t noticed we have very few children born to our new generations. We need an influx of fresh DNA to help build our progeny.”

“But you want to be able to pick the donors.” She stopped and crouched down so she could enjoy the aroma of one of the flowers. “Can I also assume you wish to only have tissue to implant?”

“Yes.”

“I will make my people aware of your request, but I’m not sure how they will take it. Just like the Vespians, humans are very proud. Children are the future and very precious. This will be a decision the individual person will have to make, not our government.” She wasn’t sure if anyone would want to go along with their request. Their desire to remain isolated from other planets wouldn’t make it easy for anyone to want to help them.

“Do you miss your home?”

“Earth?” She hadn’t really thought about it. “At times, but I spent most of my life away from the planet so it’s hard to say I’m homesick.”

“Do you feel at home here on Vespia?”

She wasn’t sure how to answer that. Storm was her anchor. Wherever he went she would follow. “It is a beautiful planet. What little I have seen of it.”Streya’s mate laughed. “Our males can be a little overbearing at times.” All she did was smile. Storm did a great job of dominating her, but she loved it. It made her feel safe, loved, cherished and very satisfied.

“We wish to invite you and your mate to have a meal with us,” said Streya. “We wish to get to know our future leader’s mate.”

“We would be honored.” She hoped Storm would agree. He didn’t like sharing her very much.

“Then we shall let you go to your mate. He seems to be losing his patience with us.”

“Thank you for your time.” Heather bowed before heading back to her mate. “I hope to have an answer for you quickly.”

“Done?” He wrapped an arm around her, watching Streya and his mate leaving the gardens.

“Yes. No thanks to you.” She wrapped her arm around his waist as well.

“What do you mean?” He tried to look innocent but didn’t do a very good job at it. He urged her to move so they could walk along one of the garden paths.

“They knew you were about ready to pounce.” She walked slowly, enjoying their leisure time together. They had so little of it.

“Sorry, but they did interrupt.” He squeezed her waist. “Did they say anything worthwhile?”

“Gave me one more stipulation to offer Earth which I think is a deal breaker if Earth doesn’t go along with it. They are tired of the delays. I’m not sure what they will think of this last demand.”

“I’m sure you will handle it with your normal grace and wit. I’ve been amazed at how you have put up with them in the first place.”

“And I could say the same thing about how you put up with the council.” She leaned her head on his chest. “Oh, and they invited us to have a meal with them. I’m not sure why or when. They also didn’t mention a date or a time.”

“Their family has been part of the elders for as long as my family has.

They do have a say in who takes over when the time comes.”

“Thought you were the next leader.”

“I still have to pass their test. Most of them have not been too happy with my overactive libido or that fact that I couldn’t seem to find a mate.

Mother has probably told them you have centered me and helped me mature and they just want to see so for themselves.” He smiled at her. “A meal means we can choose which meal to have with them.”

“And which one would show the most respect?”

“Good question. Let me speak with their servants and I’ll find out which one they wish us to pick.”

****

The meal was three days later in the evening. Storm found out it was their daughter’s birthday and for some crazy reason that was the day they picked.

“What happened to the daughter?” Heather sat in a chair, waiting for Storm to finish getting ready.

“Mother never really talked about her. She died when I was a child.” Storm stood in front of a mirror and brushed his hair. “They were heartbroken when she passed and have celebrated her birth every year.”

“Then why would they want us there today of all days?” She didn’t like the idea of invading on such a personal day. It was a little bit creepy to her.

“Their daughter was to be my mate.” He turned to face her. “We were promised when we were children. This is their way of accepting you into the family so to speak.”

“Storm, how can I live up to that?” It made her feel a little sick to her stomach. Such an emotional day for them and she had to make sure she didn’t say something stupid inadvertently.

“Ready?”

“No. Can I feign an illness?”

“Come on.”

They headed through the large plaza to the home of Streya and his mate. Heather wished she knew the woman’s name but since Vespians don’t use proper names that much when speaking to each other she hadn’t heard anyone use it. Asking had crossed her mind but only when she was in the woman’s presence and it just didn’t seem right. She was about to ask Storm when she felt butterflies in her stomach take flight. Something didn’t feel right.The door to their home stood ajar. She grabbed Storm’s arm.

“This can’t be right.” Storm entered first. The whole place was a wreck.

Storm and Heather had carried weapons on them since the last attack and they pulled them out as they worked their way through the house. They found Streya crumpled on the floor near a bedroom door, his mate prone on the floor inside the room.

Heather stepped into the room, knelt beside the woman and pressed her hand against her neck. “She has a pulse.”

“So does he.”

Medics were called as they continued through the house, securing one room at a time. Once again they were too late. Streya’s mate started to stir, making Heather reenter the room and beg her to stay where she was until she could be checked out.

“What happened?” A point to the walls made Heather look and swallow hard. Once again whoever attacked them had been looking for her. Angry words covered the wall.

You thought to hide Heather from me but I have found her anyway. She
will be mine.

Heather remained quiet as the medics came and checked out the elders.

They weren’t required to go to the center but the medics didn’t leave until they were sure they were okay.

Storm spoke to the security men who had come to take statements.

She found herself wandering around the place, looking at the nothing in particular. On one wall was an image that caught her eye. She stepped up to it and felt the blood drain from her face. She turned and asked Streya about the picture. “Can you explain that?”

“What?” Storm dismissed the security men and turned his focus onto the picture.

“That’s me.”

Chapter 15

“Um, my heart, why would they have a picture of you?” Storm wasn’t sure what to make of her comment.

“That is a very good question and one I would love to hear the answer to.” She turned to them and waited. When no one said a word she wanted to scream, but knew there was only one way to get their attention. “Can we access my files from here?”

Storm nodded and held up a small device. “Have it with me all the time.” He popped it into a terminal and stepped back.

She had one of the very first images after she had been found on the screen in seconds. There was the same little girl with violet eyes and long blonde hair. The outfit was identical. “What did you do? Take this then send me away seconds after?”

“It’s not like that.” Streya said, his voice quiet.

“Then explain this to me.”

“It’s complicated.” He looked at his mate.

Storm’s brows creased together. That thunderous look was appearing on his face. “I think you need to start explaining why you would send a child away.”

“It was to protect Heather.” Streya rubbed his face. “There is so much to explain.”

“How was this to protect me?” Heather could feel Storm’s anger growing. He didn’t like this any more than she did.

“I can’t believe my mother allowed any of this to happen,” his voice flat. “She had nothing to do with this,” said Streya.

“I don’t believe you.” Storm shook his head. “No one could do this without her permission.”

“They could if your uncle was involved. He was the one who put all this in motion.”

Heather rubbed her head, trying to comprehend what was going on.

She was suddenly sitting in her parents’ house? Parents who abandoned her years ago on another planet? What could have been so bad they would do that to her? And what did Storm’s uncle have to do with any of this? “Can we start at the beginning and focus on one thing at a time?” Streya nodded. He gestured for Heather and Storm to take a seat. “When we learned we were having a child we were ecstatic. As you know Vespian children are rare. Children born to the elders are rarer. We have more of the ancient blood in us. It takes more than the physical act to bring a child into the world.”

Heather wanted to ask them what they meant by that but they continued before she could say a word.

“It didn’t take long before everyone knew of the pregnancy and that I would have twins,” said his mate. She had joined them but kept quiet until this point. “Storm and his sister where young then.” She looked at her mate before continuing. “Long ago the three families had decided that if we were to have children there should be a rotation to how we would mate for progeny. It was to keep the blood lines even so no one family could say they were the strongest because they were the ones who had the leadership blood lines. Most of the time it never came into play because when there were offspring only one of the three families had them so mates were chosen from the general population. Once we had two families with children.”