Untrained Fascination (8 page)

“Genetic alteration from a base species.”

Lianne blinked at that. She hadn’t really expected to get an answer.

“Which species?”

“The Rrassic. We needed warriors, so generations ago, we designed them.”

“Oh. Okay.” She regrouped. “What was the name of your enemy?”

“I will not tell you that either. If your classification rises, you will have the answers that you seek.”

“What do I need to increase my classification?”

“Have a child with a Rrassic. That is the only way to do it. Once your own genetics and emotions are invested in the project, you will have the answers that you seek.”

Her mouth must have been open, because he reached out and tapped her jaw shut.

The server returned, and he set down two huge bowls of steaming and fragrant something. Lianne wasn’t sure how to describe it. It was like an entire roast chicken tossed into a bowl of Pho with purple noodles.

The eating utensils were with it, and Sorrok grinned. “Just use whatever you are comfortable with.”

She picked a long spork and a set of sticks and went to it. Once she was fairly comfortable with getting the food into her face, she mumbled. “So, what am I eating?”

He chuckled. “The noodles are a twisted tuber shaved into coils, the meat is from a small domesticated bird and the broth contains a mixture of spices from four different worlds.”

“Oh. Well, it tastes good.”

“While I enjoyed my time on your world, the array of food is too much. I prefer the simpler foods of home.”

She nodded. “The familiar is always better for the soul. The new is nice, but personally, the smell of coffee makes me feel like I am home. Of course, it smells better than it tastes, but the scent makes me feel at home.”

He nodded in agreement and kept working on his meal.

She made it through half the bowl and finally had to surrender. “I give up. The Rrassic portion size has defeated me.”

He looked at her bowl. “May I?”

She slid it toward him. “Enjoy. I have taken what I can and don’t want it to go to waste. It is too good for that.”

He dove in and ate like a starving teen.

She poured some of the tea and was surprised by the fruity scent that filled the air. She poured for Sorrok as well and slid his cup over to him.

A sip of the tea made her smile. It had all the scents and tastes of summer flowers and fresh fruit. Each sip was different.

He finished her bowl, and the Nool came to get the dishes.

She looked at the Nool and cleared her throat. “Excuse me.”

He blinked and smiled. “Yes?”

“May I ask you a personal question?”

“You may. I reserve the right not to answer it.”

“Of course. Do you know the kind of Rrassic that you will turn into when you are fully mature?”

He grinned. “Of course.”

She was surprised. “Oh. Okay. Thank you.”

“That was your only question?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

The Nool looked to Sorrok. “Lucky. She seems to have minimal curiosity.”

Sorrok gave him an amused look. “You think so? Lianne, what kind of Rrassic will he be?”

She looked to the Nool, tilted her head and frowned. “Luthin, I think.”

The Nool looked surprised. “You are correct. How did you know?”

She shrugged. “Just something in the way you handle yourself and deal with others. The Luthin are fairly easygoing if they are not hunting.”

The Nool looked at Sorrok. “Fine, I take it back, you are exceptionally lucky.”

Lianne cleared her throat. “It is our first date. Don’t congratulate him too soon.”

The Nool made himself scarce.

Sorrok grimaced. “You could have asked me about being a Nool. I was one once.”

She snorted. “I didn’t know if the information was classified.”

He grinned. “Ask away.”

Other Rrassic were coming in and filling the small diner. She could feel the gazes on her, but she leaned forward and asked, “What did you do as a Nool? How old were you when you started?”

“I trained as a combat medic and administrator. During my transformation, I entered Hunter training.”

He leaned back and sipped at his tea. “By the way, nice observation on our server. I can tell by scent, but you had to go by appearance.”

“Yeah, and mannerisms. All the different types move differently.”

He smirked. “I am delighted that you notice. Many of the Breeders don’t bother learning that the different races are actually different people.”

“Are there a finite amount of Rrassic?”

He blinked. “You mean total population?”

“No, different races.”

“There are nine specific races of Rrassic. I believe at least six are represented here.”

She blinked and thought about the species she knew of. Sthik, obviously, Zjin, Luthin, Regiz, Saya and Dorbin. “Sure. That tallies with my count. What are the other three?”

He grinned. “You aren’t authorized to know.”

She sighed. “Right. Well, I am in the mood to punch something.”

He laughed. “We will be on our way in a moment. Any other questions?”

“No. You aren’t authorized to hear them.” She snarked.

He laughed, and they finished their tea in silence.

They left the table, he paid and they left. They returned to his bike. It wasn’t really a bike, but that was the closest vehicle that she could draw a correlation to.

He waited until she settled in front of him again before turning it on and pulling down the road toward the Breeder zone.

“Why are we going here?”

He murmured in her ear. “This is the gym that you will be using from now on. It is secure, and no one will try and take you out of it.”

To her shock, he drove them to a checkpoint, and she was forced to extend her identification.

The Regiz at the gate smiled at her and handed her a small digital display that gave her her room assignment as well as a map.

“Your clothing and personal effects have already been brought in. Welcome.”

She was going to comment on that, but Sorrok drove into the area.

The glowing barrier snapped in behind them.

“Am I really in a gated compound?”

“We prefer to think of it as a community.”

“Why can you come and go?”

“Because I am with you; also, I am assigned to you. I have a notification go off every time you enter a public area.”

“What?”

“The gym, the teashop. Anywhere you go where I can manage to join you, I will.”

“Doesn’t that mess with your work schedule?”

“Courting a Breeder takes all precedence.”

She watched the elaborate buildings passing. Each was a work of art, and the sparse female population with the occasional Rrassic male didn’t seem to do the space justice.

The gym had a huge glass dome, and that was the building he pulled in front of.

She was out of sorts when he lifted her off the bike.

Lianne stomped along with him. He was carrying one of the parcels from the clothing shop, and she was curious.

He handed it to her and said, “Take this to the change room. I will be out here when you are ready.”

The day had spun wildly out of her control. If she could get a grip on combat training, she would take it.

She checked in at the gym and went into the change room, opening the parcel when she was inside and safe behind the gender barrier.

The parcel made tears come to her eyes. She got dressed and tightened the breast band before wrapping the straps from either side of her breasts to tie them behind her neck. The wide-legged trousers and bare feet felt right. She swung her braid behind her and left the change room with her clothing tucked in a locker coded to her band.

Sorrok was leaning against the counter, and he straightened and grinned, showing a lot of fang. “You look amazing.”

The Nool attending the front desk stared at her.

She smiled tightly. “Did you get us a space?”

“I did. This facility doesn’t engage privacy screens. Is that a problem?”

She shrugged. “Nope. Let’s begin.”

He offered her his hand, and they walked to the workout room with the padded floor.

Sorrok showed her the first position of the dance the men had engaged in the night before, and she mimicked him. From there, they moved together. She was his slightly slow shadow.

She didn’t know how long they had been working out, but she was completely at peace by the time she finished. Her body was covered in sweat, and her skin was flushed. She looked to Sorrok. “How was that?”

He leaned in and kissed her, holding her head with one hand and not touching her anywhere else. The warmth of his lips and tongue teased at her, and she went up on her toes to keep the contact going.

She closed her eyes and remained in the moment as they met in the most basic of ways, only their mouths and his one hand touching.

When he pulled away, she went up on her toes a little further, fighting the lack of contact. She opened her eyes, and there was only one thought in her head as she met his smug gaze.

Damn it.

Lianne looked around her new apartment, and she grimaced. It was gorgeous.
Damn it.

She wished that she could pick on it, but the space was wide, beautifully lit, elegant and had all of the amenities she could want.

Her new clothing was already hanging in the wardrobe and an invitation to dinner a few doors down was flashing on her com unit.

With a desperate reach for what she considered normal, she called Mrtok.

“Hello, Lianne.”

“Supervisor, I have been moved to the Breeder compound. Am I still working for you?”

He frowned. “Let me check.”

She watched as he shifted and pulled up the information on his computer.

He smiled. “Yes. You are still my loader. I am expecting you tomorrow.”

“Good. I just have to find out how to get there.”

“The overseer’s office will send you an escort. They will be there in the morning an hour before you are due at the port. There is also another investigation note on your file, but that appointment is in the afternoon. What has happened now?”

“Attempted abduction by Regiz. It got a little bloody, but I have seen a medic and I am fine.”

“You will have a follow up tomorrow when you are finishing your meeting with the overseer.”

She made a face. “Fine. See you tomorrow.”

“Good. I need someone here I can trust. There was a flawed shipment, and the Hunters are all over the place. I am counting on you to get things moving.”

“You know me. I live to work through the lists.” She smiled.

“Good. We have shipments to get out.”

“Yes, sir, see you in the morning.”

His scaly face split in a grin. “You had better. I am depending on you.”

She nodded. “I will be there.”

She disconnected the call and sat back in her chair.

Sorrok had left once he saw her to her door, promising to return shortly. Upon opening her door, she had found that all of her possessions had been placed around the room and set in pleasing displays. It was annoyingly organized.

She got to her feet and practiced the patterns that she had just learned. The smooth movements and light pull on her muscles was relaxing. Even the twinge from her arm soon ceased as she bent, turned and stretched in slow, controlled combat with no one.

By the time she had calmed down a little, her head was pounding a little and she was reminded of how the day had started.

A knock at her door brought her out of a lunge, and she headed to the door, peeping at the view screen and opening the door for her morning companion.

He held up a padded container. “As you are on medical observation, I got you something for dinner.”

She snorted. “I had nearly forgotten about that.”

“I did not. I had to hand over the shreds of your clothing and picked up the meal on the way back.”

“Oh, yeah. Evidence.”

“Correct. The witnesses have already ensured the sentence of banishment, but this will keep leniency from emerging.”

“So, I don’t have to testify?”

“Not if there were witnesses and vid recordings. The fight took place on the street.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess I forgot. It was distracting.”

He chuckled and reached for her, pausing. “May I approach you?”

“You didn’t ask that in the gym.”

He smiled. “You had already given me authorization to touch you for instruction purposes. The kiss was a liberty.”

She sighed. “Fine. You can approach me.”

She was engulfed in a hug a moment later. Lianne inhaled and smiled against his chest at the soothing scent that surrounded her. She relaxed by increments, and he rubbed her back.

“Tell me about your life before you were brought to Imrahl.”

She noted the name of her current world of residence. “I just worked like I do here, loading and moving shipments all day, every day. On the weekends, I would go out with friends, but now, Lisa is on the other side of the city.”

“Who do you miss from home?”

She stiffened and pushed back. “My mom, my sister, my brother. All the folks on my file that are being threatened depending on my good behaviour.”

He sighed. “It was considered the most expedient way to get cooperation from your people. It worked.”

She scowled and looked up at him. “Holding our families under threat isn’t exactly endearing.”

“It was decided by the overlords and the Saya that it was the fastest way to get you here. It has worked.”

She knew he didn’t have anything to do with it, so she settled against him. “Have you been to Earth?”

“I have. It is very busy. Many people.”

She chuckled. “What were you doing there?”

“Scouting. I was looking for humans who would fit our needs.”

“Oh. Which cities?”

He chuckled. “I don’t know. They all blurred together. I found my targets, marked them and was on to the next city.”

“So, you were tagging men and women for the Rrassic?”

“I was. It was my job to select those who would be close to compatible with us, as did others of my kind, all wearing camo projectors.”

“How did you do that? I am pretty sure that folks would notice you, even disguised.”