Parallel Seduction (15 page)

Everything suddenly crystallized into this one single moment; her words seemed to slow down, becoming painfully slow,
infinitely
slow, until he heard, "… have conceived a child."

"Conceived a child?" He jumped right out of the dais, causing the transmission to immediately disconnect. The elders vanished just as immediately, leaving him alone with his wife and queen.

Falling to his knees in front of her portal chair, he grabbed hold of her hands. "Are you telling me that we-we've … w-we're.…" He couldn't force the words past his thick tongue. Finally, gazing up into her eyes, he just whispered, "A baby, Kelse? You and me?"

She nodded toward where the elders had been flickering a moment before. "I wanted them to share in your moment. I know you might have wanted to hear it from me first—well, hear it alone at first, I mean."

He cupped her face in trembling hands. "Do you honestly think I care how or when you told me?"

She smiled at him, her eyes shining with emotion. "It's just … they've given you such a hard time and I wanted them to know in no uncertain terms that your succession is going to be secured."

He nuzzled her, nibbling at her neck, kissing her along her collarbone. "You realize it's no accident that I'm kneeling in front of you," he murmured. "You're a true queen, sweet Kelsey. Knowing how to manage my public image, thinking of how to wrangle the council. I have chosen quite well." He slid one palm onto her belly, grinning like he had the first time he'd flown solo. "And now, inside of you, there's our child: already in there, growing. Our two lives brought together as one, and soon all of my fractured realm will know: a prince or princess of D'Aravni shall be theirs."

"I wanted to give you this moment so badly." Her voice faltered and she wiped at her eyes. "Of course I wanted a baby with you, totally, but it was just … I knew I was a political obstacle. And that your family line was in jeopardy. So many things, and I wanted you to have all that you deserved." Her tears began to stream down her face, and he pulled her into the security of his arms.

"I understand, Kelsey," he soothed. "Shh now, love. It's okay."

She pulled back, looking into his eyes. "I have to say this, Jared. After Marco's letter, after realizing there was this whole other world of ruin and destruction, I was secretly afraid that we'd never have a child. That letter never mentioned anything about us having children or heirs, and I've just been so afraid—terrified really—that your elders would be proven right. That they'd keep at you, and at me, and we wouldn't be able to—and oh my God, Jared, just the thought of them gloating like that—while you suffered because I couldn't—"

 "Not because
you
couldn't, Kelse. It would have been
us
in it, together." He reached and gently covered her abdomen with his hand, almost hoping to feel fire beneath his fingertips. "Just as we're in this beautiful, blessed situation now. Soon we'll be feeling the babe, right beneath my palm." He couldn't help grinning in wonder as he softly stroked her flat belly. "And soon you'll be ripe with this child, your body brimming with life and energy. Then what will my council say? They'll crown you a goddess among our people, I should think, for having saved the D'Aravnian name and lineage by seducing their king."

She clapped a hand over mouth and burst into wild laughter. "You do realize you basically just hung up on your council, right?"

"Ah, but they are quite happy with us just now." He stroked her face, brushing away her damp tears with his thumbs. "They've likely draped themselves in traditional D'Aravnian heraldry and gone dashing about their chambers. I should imagine poor Aldorsk is alternating between apoplexies of joy and sorting out protocol, he's been given so much to consider today."

Jared sprang to his feet with a joyous laugh. "Ah, much to consider, much to consider, indeed." Pacing about the room, first in one direction, then another, he reminded Kelsey of every Hollywood stereotype of a brand new father-to-be. It was amazing how literally universal certain facts were.

"We've got to make an announcement tonight, after dinner—and it should come from me, I'd think." Deep in thought, he walked in a circular pattern around the edges of the chamber. "Or, then again, perhaps it's better from you?" He worked a hand at his temple, so obviously considering all the royal necessities relating to their happy news. "Or perhaps we shouldn't announce it yet at all?"

She began to giggle, just watching how her usually unflappable husband actually seemed … hyper. He stopped midstride, dropping his hand away from his face. "Am I being thoroughly ridiculous, is that it?"

"Well, maybe we don't have to be in such a rush to tell your people, not when.…" She cupped her abdomen protectively. "It's just early, Jared. Really early, and this is an interspecies pregnancy, where we might encounter all kinds of problems."

"Which is exactly why the next place we're going is to the med complex, so they can check you out, prepare you for what to expect."

"What to expect? I think I probably know, don't I?" She laughed, but noticed that Jared wasn't exactly laughing along with her. "Or maybe I don't know what to expect at all. I did see the doctor today, though."

"And what did he tell you?"

"That I'm pregnant. That's about it."

Jared sat down on the lower-level platform, the step that led into a pit area where the councilors' images were always displayed. He seemed to consider his words carefully before continuing. Kelsey stood and climbed down out of the data portal, where she'd been watching him pace and dither, and slowly settled right beside him.

He rubbed both of his thighs, throwing her a tentative, awkward look. "It's just that Refarian pregnancies are a bit, uh,
different
than what you'd expect as a human."

She swore she could feel her eyes bulge right out of her head. Practically squeaking at him, she asked, "Different how? And if it's
significantly
different, then maybe you should have said something before"—she raised her voice sharply—"
right this very moment
?"

"No panicking," he scolded with a gentle smile.

"I'm not panicking, but you better start talking and fast before I do."

"Well, the gestation period is shorter, for one thing," he told her, as if he were commenting on the overnight snowfall accumulation. "Only five months."

At first she figured she'd pretend to be calm, but the words
five months, five months, five months
kept echoing inside her head, and finally sent her over the edge.

She nodded, slowly rising to her feet. "Yeah, that is pretty much … a
major freaking detail
!"
She swatted him atop the head with her open palm, popping him lightly over and over while he did his best to duck.

"Cease fire!" He held up his forearm to block any more of her attack.

She retracted her hand, but only for the time being. "And what else, J'Areshkadau?"

He sucked in a breath. "Well, that's one thing, the gestational period. Then there's the fact of my D'Aravnian nature, for another, and this baby will be a dual being, just as I am."

"You're saying I'm going to be carrying a 'dual being' inside of me?" A sharp wave of nausea overpowered her, but she choked it down. "All your fire and everything? That's what you're saying?" She realized her voice was reaching near-hysterical proportions, but no matter how much she'd thought about carrying Jared's child, she'd just sort of assumed that the whole "being of fire" problem wouldn't be part of the gestational scenario.
Dumb, dumb, Kelsey! This is all alien, all the time!

He clasped her by both shoulders, staring into her eyes. "Breathe, Kelsey. Breathe!" She let out a gasp, only then realizing she'd been alternating between a state of hyperventilating and holding her breath.

"I'm breathing," she choked out, and he nodded his approval, breathing in and out slowly himself.

"Good, now keep on breathing. This isn't anything to be afraid of; it's the most natural thing in the world. We've managed to conceive, and that means you should be able to carry this child to term."

"I'm carrying a being just like you." She thought about all his thermonuclear meltdown warnings about their sex life. "I'm carrying a ball of fire? That's what you're saying. That our baby is going to be exactly like you, and still somehow be inside of me?"

Jared sang, "'Goodness gracious, great balls of .…'"

She turned to face him, jabbing at the air between them. "Don't you dare make a bad Earth joke, not right now, Bennett."

The man had the nerve to smirk at her; he was actually enjoying this on some level. "But you've such wonderful music. Jerry Lee Lewis seems to say it well, no?"

She groaned, burying her face in her hands. "I'm feeling incredibly cranky all of a sudden."

"And I'm feeling incredibly randy all of a sudden."

"You're gonna have to give me a few hours on that one."

"I will definitely reconvene as per the issue of further matings. I am told—by those who know such things—that you will be nearly insatiable while you carry this babe."

"Now, that's not a purely Refarian thing—that's human women too. Thank you, hormones."

He grinned at her wolfishly. "And that's precisely what I'm talking about."

She shook her head, still thinking over the logistics. "How is this even possible? Won't I get burned alive? You keep saying that I can't touch you.…"

"Because the babe will be inside of you, protected.
Protecting
you."

"Protecting me?"

"It's what has guaranteed our succession among the D'Aravni for all these thousands of years. Somehow, mystically, the babe will not harm you. He—or she—will create a protective barrier between their true nature and your body. As apparently I did for my own mother."

"But your mother was a D'Aravni.
She
was a being of fire, so no problem, right?"

"True, but not all the women in my line have been dual beings, and in her case, she was still in her physical form. If she'd dared to touch my father in his natural fiery state while in her body? It would have destroyed her. I could have destroyed her while she carried me, but I did not. It's the mystery of our kind."

"Un-freaking-believable," she said. "And you do realize what this means, don't you?"

"That we're going to have a prince or princess?" he sang delightedly. He was like an overgrown boy, all beaming and glowing and joyful.

"Yes, that, for sure. But it also means something else, too." She stared into his eyes meaningfully, knowing he wasn't going to be happy with her next words. Nevertheless, it was time, now more than ever.

"Oh, my beautiful human wife, what else can it possibly mean?" he trilled, still grinning at her. She almost hated to end his sweet reverie, but still, the moment had come.

"Jared, it also means," she said seriously, "that I'm going to have to call my father and tell him all about you."

S
cott blinked back sleep
and felt surprisingly … refreshed. Alive. Ready to slap on his body armor, holster his K-12, and take on ten battalions of Antousians.
Damn!
It was as if every cell in his body had been electrified. Sitting up, he lowered the bed rail, glancing around the small hospital room. The lights were low, only the sounds and glow of his bedside monitors filling the semi-darkness. He had no idea what time it was, or how long he'd really been asleep, but the one thing he did know was that he was healed.

Maybe Jared was right about me needing rest. Maybe that's all it really took,
he thought with a grin, stepping onto the floor. He took the bed sheet with him, draping it around his naked waist, and began searching for his gear. Poking around inside one of the cabinets, he came up empty-handed. Looking toward the far corner closet, he realized that was probably where they'd hidden his uniform.

A familiar feminine voice stopped him midway in his tracks. "They're not there."

He spun to find Nurse Shelby Tyler glaring at him, one firm hand planted severely on her hip. "You don't really think we'd have left your clothes around, do you?"

He glared right back. "Give 'em over, Tyler. I'm feeling invigorated."

"Uh, yeah!" She looked about the room, as if someone else might explain the facts to him. "That's probably because no less than ten healers visited you in your sleep, Lieutenant." Shelby moved right into his path, blocking his route to the closet. "You don't think our lord just knocked you out for nothing, now do you? I mean, really, Lieutenant. He always has a plan."

Scott turned slowly to face her. "You're telling me that the healers came in here while I was asleep?"

"I'm telling you that the
reason
you feel so
spry
and
eager
to roll is because you've been healed—well, mostly healed—thanks to a special visit from the Most Holy at the urging of our commander." She huffed her way to the closet, and with another huff, revealed it for what it was: totally empty. "That, my dear Lieutenant, is precisely what I'm telling you."

He stared at her, dumbfounded. "So where's my gear?"

"Out of your reach, right where it should be."

"Is that a royal directive?"

"You'd better believe it, sir."

Scott circled her, pulling the sheet about his chest, doing his level best to look seductive and appealing. "But I bet you know where I can find my stuff, huh?"

She wagged a finger at him. "I'm under orders, sir—express orders from the king himself—that you are to rest. Rest! That's the order. No screwing around."

He flashed her a languid smile. "Screwing? I absolutely love screwing."

She folded both arms over her chest, looking wholly unmoved. "Don't even try it, Lieutenant Dillon. I've had plenty of time to study your maneuvers in the past days. You ain't getting past me, buddy. You are here to stay." She gave him a light shove in the chest. "So go! Back into that bed, sir. That's my directive, and I'm going to enforce it."

He rolled his eyes and let the sheet drop, revealing his full naked glory. "Really?"

Shelby clucked her tongue, putting her back to him. "That don't impress me none."

He repeated, "Really?"

"If you want to get your way, sir, you'd best stop trying to work me. Get to what you really want—"

"Out of here."

She cast a single pointed glance over her shoulder, taking in his naked form with a long, slow glide of her eyes. "Well, you just pull that sheet back up and we can start talking."

He obliged, drawing the cool material up to his chest. "Done. So tell me how I can bust free from this lockdown."

Slowly Shelby turned to face him, shaking her head. "I have my orders, sir, from our king and commander, to keep you in that bed. Now, you don't really think I'm going to violate His Highness's directive, do you?"

"You bet I do, Nurse Tyler." Scott took several slow steps toward Shelby. "You know why? Because you like me."

She rolled her gaze over him. "Not that much; with all due respect, sir."

Okay, so none of his strategies were working, but it was evident that Nurse Tyler was pretty much the gatekeeper, as per his commander's orders. It wasn't just about his clothes; it was about finding out the status of current events. He flashed a sexy, imploring smile.

"Tell me, Shelby, where has the chase gone?" he asked in his sultriest, most provocative voice. It always worked on human women while he was seducing them. Unfortunately, Shelby—like all the other Refarians under his command—was totally unimpressed by his physical charms.

"Look, you just get right back on over there." She began shooing him toward the empty, waiting bed. "Go on, now. Into that rack, soldier."

A new strategy was in order, at least, if he had a hope in hell of overriding Jared's orders. So he decided to behave obediently, and walked slowly across the room, trailing the sheet behind him like a regal toga. With a searing look over his shoulder, he addressed Shelby one more time.

"I would think a nurse like you would understand what I'm after."

Once he climbed back onto the bed, she whipped the sheet over him, allowing it to settle atop his body. "You really aren't going to let this go, are you, sir?"

"Never," he said, dropping every manipulative pretense. This whole dance was about Hope and her safety, and when it came to her, the stakes were far too high to joke around. He met Nurse Tyler's serious gaze, imploring her visually, making sure she could read just how real his intentions were.

Shelby raised the railing beside his bed, and at first said nothing, checking the monitors and his readings as she reconnected him. But Scott studied her intently, determined to break through her committed resolve. Finally, she spoke with slow and careful precision.

"Now, if I was a fellow, and found myself making a journey to the wrong spot.…" She stared at the ceiling for a long moment, narrowing her eyes. "Well, you know, I'd just go back to where I'd come from. I mean, it's like getting on a transport you think'll stop in Thearnsk, but it goes to Trajsek. You just get right back on that ship and head back to where you came from."

Scott scowled; it took a moment, but finally he caught the gist of Shelby's words. They hit the mark with sharp alacrity, making him shudder. "He's planning to take Hope into the future. That's what you're saying he's trying to do. You're saying he loves her, and he's going back to where he came from—with her."

"I'm just saying the guy probably wants to get back home; he sure doesn't belong here—thought he had a mission, but it turned out to be void. Now he's gonna want to get back to his own time."

"But he'll try and take Hope with him." It was as if a clawing hand had gripped him around the chest, choking the very breath out of him.

She tilted her head quizzically. "Now, why would he do that?" His nurse really had no idea; of course, why would he expect her to? Just because she knew Jake had arrived from the future—and had now intuited his motives, what he hoped to accomplish—didn't mean she got the full picture.

Scott climbed out of the bed once and for all; he would not lie in a hospital again, not unless he was dead, and then he wouldn't need a nurse. "Because when a man's in love, Nurse Tyler, he'll do anything—anything at all—to make sure he doesn't lose that woman."

Shelby shoved him in the chest with her fingertips, poking him over and over. "Oh, no, no, no, you don't, sir."

"Anything, Shelby," he repeated, blocking her next attempt to corner him. "I'm stronger than I look, and you're not stopping me."

She stuck her chin out, folding both arms over her chest. "Then I'm going with you. You're going to need some help."

"No, what I need is a fellow soldier. And some warm clothes." He hit his comm, calling Anna. "The rest I'll handle on my own."

T
he wind burned Hope's
cheeks; her eyes watered despite the helmet's visor, and it seemed, repeatedly, as if the snowmobile would go right off the roadside trail. She'd adjusted to the rumbling feel of the machine, the way it pulled and gave, never just holding fast to the snow beneath them. Her ears ached from the frigid air blowing over her, and even wearing a parka, gloves, and periodically availing herself of the hand warmers on the back handlebars, she felt frozen through and through. Still, onward they had continued to go, mile after mile.

Pressing her face against Jake's back, she wondered what he planned to do. Was he going to take this tour guide right up the mitres? Was he going to get her inside of the place—whatever it really was—and finally tell her all about her future? And if he traveled back to his own time, what would happen to her? How would she ever make it out of the park on her own? She doubted that he even had a plan at all.

Without warning, the snowmobile slowed, causing her body to pitch against Jake's. She thought he shouted something over the noise and air, but couldn't make out his words.

"What?" she yelled, leaning slightly upward and closer against him. "What did you say?"

The snowmobile sputtered, slowing rapidly, and then came to an abrupt stop. Jake swiveled on the seat, leaning closer to her. "Was just explaining that the guide is stopping us. I told him we wanted to see this overlook." He cut the engine and it silenced immediately.

"Really. And what, pray tell, does he figure a blind girl is doing on a trip like this?" She lifted both eyebrows.

"He doesn't figure." Jake grunted, sliding off the bench. "You stay here, okay? I'll be right back." She heard him trudging away from her, the snow crisp beneath his feet, the sharp give and take of boots and icy substance.

She called after him, "What do you want to see here? Why this lookout?"

The crunching sound of snow under Jake's boots grew closer again as he circled back toward her, and she stared up at his looming form. He placed a strong hand on her shoulder. "This is where we end it, Hope. I'm sorry I dragged you into all of this."

"End it?
End it
?
As in, you dump me here with Tour Guy, and go on your merry way?"

"I can't take you into the backcountry; you know that. Hell, even I know that, no matter how much I want you with me. You're not strong enough, not with your diabetes."

She yanked her helmet off. "And you claim we had a relationship? If you don't know me better than that, then you're making the whole thing up." She scowled up at him, wishing she could discern his features and get a better read on him. It was amazing how much she'd always relied on sight simply to know what was happening, what people were feeling. "I'm not totally blind, not yet. And I have my insulin with me, Jake. I have everything I need: my test strips, my medications, I've got it all." She reached behind her, gesturing at her refrigeration pack.

He cupped her chin with a tender, soft gesture that shocked her to the marrow. "But you've got no way out of here if I manage to get back home."

Tears filled her eyes, and she couldn't begin to understand why. "You haven't told me anything, not a damned thing about how I die, or what happens. You're just going to leave me totally unprotected."

Against her, his hand stiffened; then, he jerked it away. "I'm protecting you now, Hope. This is goodbye."

"Hey, so you guys gonna go check it out or not?" It was the voice of their tour guide. "We've gotta keep moving today; it's a long ride in and out." He stepped closer, appearing beside Jake. "And looks like a storm's starting to build. So step on over there, have a peek, and let's roll some more."

Jake strode away from her, toward the guide. "About this tour," he began, and Hope wondered just how the hell he thought he'd bribe the guide into letting him head off the trail.

N
ow was the moment. If
Jake couldn't convince the guide to let him take off on his own, his plan to return home wasn't worth
medshki.
The man stared at him dubiously, shaking his head. "I could lose my license, my job; there's just no way, man. Not gonna do it."

Jake reached into his pocket, producing the thick banded roll of bills that he'd saved for this moment. The guide's eyes widened slightly at the sight of so much cash. "So is there really no way, Randy?" Jake held out the roll. "None at all? Or did you just mean
maybe
there was no way?"

Randy stared at the load of green in his hand. "Dude, if this is a set up. If you're a park ranger.…" He shook his head, still staring at the seductive wad of money.

Jake held up a hand. "I'm not a ranger; I promise you. I'm just a guy who needs to.…" Jake thought for a moment, reaching for a motive; he had to be convincing. "I've always wanted to see Mirror Lake frozen over. It's such a mystical part of the park in the summer, so I really want to check it out, man."

Randy fanned the money against his palm like a card deck. "There's got to be at least a thousand bucks here. Mirror Lake ain't worth that much, not to nobody."

"It is to me." Jake trained his gaze on the young guy, hard and unwavering. "Everybody's got their fetishes."