The Gigolo's Bride (The Necklace Chronicles) (5 page)

She was a little stunned at the array of
colorful clothing inside. She touched the hem of one dress. "These
are for me?"

"Of course. I didn't know what colors you
liked, so I got you a little of everything. When we get home, you
can have things made in any color you like."

"Earth is my home," she reminded him.

He said nothing and shut the door. At the far
end of the room, a door opened for them, revealing a bathroom that
looked like it was nestled in the middle of a garden. The walls
were painted with beautiful trees and flowers, with birds and
butterflies that almost appeared to move amongst the leaves. The
floor was the color of summer grass, and felt soft under-foot, like
foam. In the center of the room was a large pool that he said was
for bathing. With the simple command "fill", the pool started to
fill up, the steaming water churning as it rose quickly.

"The temperature is regulated here," he said,
pressing a small blue panel in the wall near the tub and adjusting
a lever up and down. "Test it, and tell me if it's hot enough."

She reached down and let the water bubble
over her fingers. It felt perfect.

"It's good." A bath sounded heavenly right
then. She needed some time to absorb what she'd learned.

He moved to a tall cabinet and pulled out a
fluffy towel. "This is a
raki
drying towel; it's made to dry
you instantly." He set out a tray of jars, which he explained were
shampoos and soaps, and he pointed out the toilet, which looked
like a regular Earth toilet with an auto-flushing mechanism.

"When you're done, you can change into
something from the cabinet."

She liked the idea of getting out of the
shift. It just reminded her that aliens had been looking at her
while she was naked and unconscious. He must have caught the
embarrassment that crossed her face and pinked her cheeks because
he said, "Nothing bad happens during the exam; you were stripped of
your clothing and put on an exam table by medical personnel. Your
body was scanned, and then you were taken into a bathing chamber
and dressed. It was all done by female medical personnel.”

"Oh, that's a relief," she said
sarcastically, as if being handled by women while she was
unconscious was going to take away the humiliation of it.

He opened and closed his mouth several times
before he finally said, "I'm going to make us something to eat.
Take as long as you like, Ashleigh."

He left. As she heard the bedroom door snick
shut, she fell to her knees and wept.

* * * * *

She used the drying towel after her long
bath, and it really soaked up the water fast. Even her hair was
perfectly dry after only a couple of minutes wrapped up in the
towel. Using a brush left on a small counter in front of an oval
mirror, she brushed her hair until it shone, falling in waves past
her shoulders. Her hazel eyes were ringed with dark circles and red
from crying, and her face was blotchy. Not that she cared. It would
be better if he hated her or found her repulsive, but something
told her that he wouldn't, no matter what she looked like. Eden
looked at her like she was a missing part of himself.

She scoffed at the notion and opened the
cabinet. She opened one of the narrow drawers inside and found
silky undergarments. She selected a pale peach set. The bra was
lightly lined and very comfortable, as were the panties, which rode
low on her hips. After looking through the clothes, she selected a
navy blue tank and matching slacks that were made out of a soft but
shiny material. She slipped on a pair of soft ballet-style slippers
that matched the outfit, and looked at herself in the mirror. The
top and pants highlighted the lush curves of her petite body. The
top had a low, square neckline and wide straps, and it cut just
under her belly button, so a little bit of flesh showed before the
waist of her pants.

The bedroom door opened as she neared it, and
her stomach growled as soon as she smelled the food sitting on the
table. Eden was standing by one of two chairs, and she took the one
he pulled out for her and sat down. He picked up her plate and
talked about the dishes as he put some of everything on her plate.
The meat was an animal that sounded a lot like a cow, the mound of
yellow mash was made from root vegetables they grew in a garden on
the ship, and the noodles were actually the stems of a flower,
which he also used to make the soup. In a small blue crock was
mirsh
soup. She tried that first, and was pleasantly
surprised to find it tasted like cheddar cheese.

She drank a sweet fruit juice and ate
everything, feeling like she hadn't eaten in days, which prompted
her to question just how long she had been out of things.

“Our days are similar to yours, but we call
them
dins
. The drugs kept you unconscious for half of one
din
.”

She could tell that he wanted to talk more,
but she wanted to think, so the silence hung heavily between
them.

When they were finished eating, he sent her
to sit on the couch with a refilled glass of fruit juice while he
cleaned up. As he moved quietly and efficiently through the small
kitchen area, she mused on the situation. He had said that she
couldn’t go back to Earth. But if they had come to Earth, then they
certainly could take her back. Perhaps if she was rude or mean to
him, then he might not like her, and he would be willing to arrange
for her to be sent back. Then her brain’s equivalent of a warning
bell went off. What if he rejected her because of her behavior, and
she was sent off to some kind of slave camp or something?

When he sat down on the ottoman in front of
her again, she had the strangest feeling that he was setting
himself below her, as if he didn’t think he deserved to sit on the
couch with her. Something about that thought, about the way he held
himself shyly away from her, made her heart ache. But just a
little. She wanted to go home. She didn’t want to care about this
man who had stolen her from her home.

"Can I see the women who were in the cell
with me?"

"No. There isn't any contact allowed between
the brides until a moon cycle has passed on our home world."

She frowned. “What’s a moon cycle?”

“You would call it a month. There are
twenty-eight
dins
in a moon cycle.”

They probably didn't want the women all
gathering together and rising up against their captors. Although it
was kind of hard to see shy Eden as a captor. "So how long does it
take to get to your home world?"

"Two moon cycles."

Two months of travel, and then they didn't
allow contact for another month after that. They must want to make
certain the women were happy with their men before they allowed
them contact with their own people. Well, so much for conspiring
with Kate or any of the other women.

He licked his lips nervously, "I can put on a
vid, if you'd like to watch something."

"Vid?"

He gestured to a screen hanging against the
wall, and she realized that by vid he meant a movie or show. "I'm
kind of tired."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Let me
turn the bed down for you."

She was going to protest that she could turn
down the bed herself, but he was standing up and holding out his
hand to her with such an earnest look on his face that she didn't
have the heart to say no. She let him lead her into the room, where
he first opened the cabinet, pulled out some clothes and handed
them to her, saying she could change in the bathroom, and then he
busied himself pulling off the mounded pillows.

She changed out of the top and pants and
found that he'd given her a set of comfy-looking pajamas, a
short-sleeved top and a pair of shorts in light pink. She stepped
out of the bathroom and found him standing in the doorway wearing
only a pair of lounge pants with a drawstring waist. His upper body
was bare, and in the low light of the room, she saw how
well-defined his muscles really were. Although not large, he was
perfectly sculpted, as if someone had sat down and molded the
perfect man.

She knew he caught her looking at him, and
embarrassment made her lash out. "You can't sleep with me. I'd
rather be on the couch."

That same sad look skated through his eyes,
and he took in a slow breath and said with a soft voice,
"Goodnight, Ashleigh."

The door slid shut as he turned and walked
out into the other room, and she stood next to the bed in
dumbfounded silence for several minutes. Had she seen scars on his
back?

She said "lights off" after she was settled
under the covers, and the room became pitch black in an instant. As
she stared into the darkness, she thought about Earth. Her mother.
Her friends. If she’d known that those last few minutes were going
to be her last on Earth, she would have done things differently.
Called her mother the night before, even though she would have
already been in bed, so she could apologize for not calling and let
her know how much she loved her. Thanked Gwen for being such a
supportive friend. Hugged her book club friends a little tighter, a
little longer. Regret hung heavily around her and tears stung her
eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. She didn’t know what would
happen to her, but she couldn’t give up on the hope that she would
return to Earth at some point.

Her mind replayed over and over how she’d
been so close to pushing the 'call' button on her cell and talking
to her mother. She prayed she would get a chance to make that call.
Exhaustion settled over her, pushing away the sad thoughts, and she
slipped down into sleep quickly.

Chapter 3

She woke up to what sounded like someone
crying out for help. For a moment she thought she was back home in
her bed, but when she reached for her alarm clock to turn it so she
could see the time, she fell off the bed reaching for what wasn't
there.

Cursing, she said, "Lights on!" The room
illuminated brightly, and she groaned at the intensity. Doing what
Eden had said, she grumbled, "Lights dim!"

Her eyes adjusted to what amounted to
candlelight, bathing the room in soft amber. Rubbing first her eyes
and then her knees from where she'd landed on the floor, she stood
up and went to the door. It opened, and she didn't hear anything,
but she could see from a small flickering blue stone on the side
table by the couch that Eden was sleeping there. He looked asleep
still, so she was moving to go back into the bedroom when he began
thrashing on the couch and cried out in terror, "No! Don't take her
from me!"

She rushed to him, ignoring the pain in her
knees as she dropped by the couch and grabbed his flailing hands.
"Eden. Eden!" she said loudly. His eyes popped open and his wild
gaze took a few seconds to focus on her; then he grabbed her to him
in a fierce hug. "I thought they were taking you, Ashleigh."

Something warmed through her, and although
she knew it was foolish to sit there and let him hold her when she
was trying to figure out a way to get back home, she didn't try to
break his hold. She put her hands around him gingerly and said in a
low voice, "You were having a nightmare, it's okay now."

He froze and released her abruptly. Sitting
up and scooting away from her, he untangled his legs from the
blanket and said with a trembling voice, "Th-thank you for coming
out here. I'm sorry that I grabbed you."

She was going to tell him that it was okay,
that she understood nightmares because she’d had her share as a
child, but he didn't give her a chance. He asked if he could use
the bathroom before she went back to bed and she nodded mutely and
watched him stumble into the bedroom. This time, she clearly saw
the scars on his back and had felt them under her fingers. Whatever
had happened to him in the past, he'd not been treated well.

The flickering blue stone caught her eye and
she reached a tentative hand out for it. There was no warmth coming
from it, so she let her finger graze it lightly. It looked like a
blue crystal with a little flame inside.

"You'll be okay?" she asked when he returned
to the couch.

He nodded, embarrassed, and said goodnight.
She walked back to the bedroom and climbed into bed, wondering why
it bothered her so much that he'd had a nightmare. He dreamed about
her
being taken? She shivered at the thought.

Sleep took a long time to come, and when she
did doze off finally, she dreamed about Eden.

* * * * *

The next morning, Eden put a bowl in front of
her that looked like blood-red oatmeal. She stared down at it. A
bubble rose and popped and she gasped and scooted back in her
chair. Eden chuckled and put a metal spoon in the bowl, stirring it
up. "That's normal. It's fermented, mashed
jilo-root
, mixed
with the grains of the
hoir
plant. It's a traditional
morning meal."

When he stirred it, the color deepened. Her
stomach took that moment to rumble, and she picked up a spoonful
and took a delicate sniff. It smelled mild and slightly bready.

"What is normal for your people?"

"Coffee and donuts," she answered. When he
didn't say anything, she looked up and found him waiting for an
explanation. "Oh, uh, coffee is a dark, slightly bitter caffeinated
drink that most people drink in the morning to help them wake up.
And donuts are fried lumps of dough covered in sweet glaze,
sometimes filled with jellies or icings."

He smiled and hummed in his throat. "I will
try to find things that might be more to your liking, but do try
the dish, it tastes better than it looks."

"It would have to," she muttered under her
breath. She took a small bite off the end of the spoon, chewed and
swallowed. It tasted very mild, almost like plain cream of wheat,
but with a really lumpy texture like bread pudding. But the color
was just so off-putting. She concentrated on the table in front of
her and ate without looking into the bowl, finding that once she
got used to the taste she could pick up some different flavors. It
was grainy and lightly sweet.