His by Right (14 page)

            There was no furniture except for several large pillows lying on the floor, reminding her of the lounge on the whoreship. Bajud was already resting on several. He gestured toward some others a few feet away.

            "Sit down."

            "Why?"

            "Because I do not think you know the truth."

            She almost sneered at him. "Try me."

            "Sit down." His order was rougher, and sounded very much like Neeveer's low baritone. She knew she had the option of turning around and walking out, but she would still have no idea how to get back to the bedroom. And this was apparently a big, big ship. Resigned, she lowered herself onto the floor, crossed her legs, and drew one of the smaller pillows into her lap.

            "Tell me what you are thinking," he commanded.

            "That I'm fucked, literally and figuratively." She ran a hand through her hair, tossing the length over her shoulder. A ruby gleam caught her attention as the bead of light fell a few feet away. It hit the cup without a sound. "That's pretty. This whole room is pretty. I like the way those balls of light appear to be melting."

            "They are from my world. We use them to light our homes." He waved at one nearby. "They get smaller when they evaporate."

            "What you're saying is that this room most closely resembles your way of life back on your world?" She waved a hand to include the pillows.

            "Yes."

            "Okay. So why are we here?"

            "To answer your questions."

            "We could answer those anywhere. Why here?"

            "To give you a taste of what life will be like on Alcatia."

            Meredith tried to take a deep breath, but failed. Tears threatened to flow again.

            "I'm just a whore to him, aren't I?"

            "No."

            "No?" She narrowed her eyes at him. It was not what she expected to hear. Yet, if he had said yes, she knew it would have crushed her.

           
Why? Why would it, when I know it's the truth?

           
"He has a wife back on your world, doesn't he?"

            "No."

            "No?"

            The Alcatian grimaced. "Why do you not believe me? Do you think I am lying?"

            "You're his son! That means you have a mother."

            "Yes, I have a mother, but Neeveer is not bound to her. He never was."

            Meredith clutched the pillow harder. "Tell me the whole story."

            "There is not much to tell. Neeveer was young and careless when my mother bore me. She would not have much to do with me because I had no status. Since they were not bonded, I became ineligible. But Neeveer did not give up on me. He stayed with me. He cared for me. When I came of age, he helped me join the service and paid my way until I was ready to be assigned to a ship."

            "Why didn't Neeveer and your mother ever marry, err, bond?"

            "They were not
seela.
So they knew they did not care enough for each other to make it last."

            She pressed her face into the pillow. "There's that word again.
Seela.
When he says it, it's almost reverently. Like it's something very special."

            "It is special. Many of us wait our entire lives to find the one who will accept us, without any luck. Like my father, I never believed he would find his."

            "Why not?"

            "He is not a loving man. He is hard to know, harder to understand, and nearly impossible to care about. But I do care about him, and not because he is my father. He is good. He is fair. He is also forgiving."

            She could also see those traits in the man. She also realized that if she allowed herself, there was a chance she could learn to care about him, too.

            "Is he always distant?"

            "I've never known my father to be a man who cherishes individual things or others. Not deeply. Not enough to last. He does not become obsessed with anyone or anything. He is always aloof and distant, but he is also faithful and loyal to those who earn and deserve it."

            The Alcatian leaned toward her. "I have never known or heard of my father becoming focused on anything other than the mission, or the battle. Up until a few weeks ago, he was a known loner. He has few friends, and I have only known him to need a female three other times in the past. Which is why we were completely unprepared for you."

            She raised her face from the pillow to peer over at him, and waited for him to continue.

            "We had heard about the pleasuring ship in the past, but we never came across it until we were in this quadrant of the galaxy. Neeveer thought it would be interesting to check it out. See if all we had heard about it was true. He took one of the small survey shuttles, and when he came back..." Bajud took a deep breath, then gestured toward her waistlet. "He has had that in his possession for years. He bought it from one of the greatest jewelry makers on Venilios Six. It cost him...a lot. When he showed it to me, I asked him what it was for. It is not something an Alcatian master would wear. He said it gave him comfort. He said it represented the one thing in his life he had yet to find, but he did not tell me what that was. I never thought I would see him part with it."

            "Did you know he offered to buy me?"

            Bajud appeared surprised. "He did?"

            Meredith nodded. "Nearly twice what they considered to be a fair price. They turned him down." She saw the young man nod.

            "I know he visited you twice, until we were given new orders to proceed to the Juria galaxy and give protection to a stranded ship lying too close to the Tarakkian border. He brooded the entire time we were en route. We were several days away from the ship when he ordered us to remain in orbit around the fourth planet in the Jaius system, then left without telling us where he was going, or why. Not long afterwards, we received orders from him to backtrack and storm the pleasuring ship with stun blasters. He emphasized no one was to be killed. We were told to search for a humanoid female wearing the evadium jewels, and to bring her back with us." A corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. "I cannot speak for the rest of the crew, but I believe they were as shocked as I was."

            "He may have kidnapped me from the whoreship, but he left behind payment. Nearly twice what he originally offered."

            Bajud almost choked, and muttered something under his breath.

            "Are you sure he has no other woman? He doesn't have a harem? Or a mistress?"

            "My father was a loner when I was sired, and has remained that way."

            She absorbed that piece of news. Across from her, the young Alcatian studied her reaction, when a thought came to her. Grabbing one of the pillows with a smooth surface, she plopped it between them and gestured for him to watch.

            "Tell me what this means." As best she could remember, she traced the mark Neeveer had placed on her into the fabric. Bajud stared at it in surprise. "Does this look familiar? I don't know if I got it exactly the way it was, but it's close. What does this mean?" she repeated.

            "It says Neeveer."

            "His signature?"

            "Yes. Where did you see it?" He lowered his hairless brows at her.

            "He wrote it on me. In his own blood."

            That last part made him blanch slightly, raising her concern.

            "What does that mean?" she demanded.

            "It is his name," Bajud hesitantly told her again.

            "You're holding back on me. Don't lie. He wrote this on my stomach, and he used his own blood, I guess because he didn't have a pen handy."

            "He wrote it on you because he claimed you. He used his blood to show he claimed you for life. To show you were his
seela,
and you are now his by right."

            "His by right?"

            The room suddenly grew hazy. Afraid she would fall flat on her face, Meredith fell back heavily onto several large pillows and stared at him. "For
life
? What is he going to do with me?"

            "He has not told you?"

            "He won't talk to me about anything."

            "That sounds like him." Bajud suddenly laughed.

            "It's not funny!" Meredith sat up and threw the pillow at him. Despite the Alcatian's reassurance that there was no other female vying for Neeveer's attention, the fate of her relationship with him, and her future, remained cloudy. She was his by right? For life? What the hell did that mean?

            "I am not a thing," she emphasized, pointing to herself. "I am a human being with feelings. There's things I want in life, too. Those creatures on the whoreship were wrong to take me from my planet. They kidnapped me, just as your father did. Do you know the definition of kidnap? It's to take a person without permission. No one asked me if I wanted to become a prostitute. I was simply told to do it, or they would starve me until I complied."

            Grabbing the waistlet, she jiggled it to catch his attention. "This means nothing to me. We don't know about evadium on Earth. It's just a bauble. A piece of costume jewelry."

            She got to her feet and strode stiff-legged to the door, where she turned and gave him the angriest glare she could muster. "Take me back to the bedroom. I need to be ready when your commander is finished with his work."

            "Merry."

            "Please."

            Reluctantly, the young Alcatian stood and returned her to the bedroom, then left her by the doorway without saying another word.

            Once inside, Meredith leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. He was unattached, which made her feel better, but not by much. She had a lot to think about, although the big questions remained unanswered. Why was she here, and what were Neeveer's future plans for her?

           
"He wrote it on you because he claimed you. He used his blood to show he claimed you for life. To show you were his
seela
, and you are now his by right.
"

            "At least you have one thing to be grateful for," she muttered. "There won't be a jealous female to contend with at the end of the trip."

Chapter Twenty-Three

Joy

            Neeveer knew he was being watched. Casually glancing over his shoulder, he straightened and partially turned to address the young man.

            "Is this ship's business?"

            "No. This has to do with Merry."

            Neeveer glanced around at the others in the control room, but no one appeared to be listening. Regardless, he couldn't take the chance. Motioning with his head, he gestured they take the conversation into the corridor.

            Before the door had the chance to solidify behind them, he turned a fearful face toward the assistant. "Has something happened to her?"

            Bajud smiled. "She is fine."

            Relief made him hang his head. "Then what do you want?"

            "Are you taking her back to Alcatia?"

            "She has not made that decision."

            "Not made the decision?" Bajud stared at him. "I thought you claimed her."

            "She is not Alcatian. I must honor what she wants."

            The assistant clasped his hands in front of him. "This side of you astonishes me. I do not know if I should be fearful or wary of this show of caring."

            "Why fearful?"

            "Because on those rare occasions when you care, you leave yourself vulnerable."

            "And that makes you fearful?"

            "I would rather have you hard, cold, and sure of yourself."

            Neeveer glared at his son. Bajud smiled. "Yes. Like that."

            "Are you saying Merry is a weakness?"

            "She completes you. No man can be unmoving all his life, and expect to find happiness."

            When Neeveer didn't comment, he persisted. "You are happy."

            "If you are finished, you are dismissed."

            "Then let me talk to you as your son. She makes you happy. Have you realized that?"

            "She is my
seela.
"

            "She is your life. She gives you life. She has completed you. Hold on to her, Neeveer. Do everything you can to keep her with you."

            "Are you finished?"

            "I like her, Neeveer. She has done something that no one has managed to do."

            "What is that?"

            "She makes you anxious for the coming day. To the coming night. She makes you look forward to the end of your shift so you can be with her."

            "Have you been spying on me?"

            "Observing, the way a son observes his father. The way an assistant observes his commander."

            Neeveer briefly closed his eyes. He made sure to keep his voice low. "She never leaves me. Her voice remains in my ears. Her scent clings to my skin. Her warmth is always inside me. Around me."

            "Why? Have you figured out why she affects you this way?"

            "No. But I have figured out one very important thing."

            Bajud smiled slightly, as if he already knew what Neeveer would say next.

            "If she chooses to leave, I will not deny her. Even though I will slowly begin to die inside."

            "She brings you that much joy?"

            He struggled to answer. The admission was difficult to admit because the feeling continued to be new to him. Exciting, delirious, and often overwhelming. Despite the fact that Bajud was his son and his closest confidante, he wanted to keep his relationship with Merry as private as the ship would allow.