Unexpected Mates (Sons of Heaven) (16 page)

“But all the ones I’ve seen are.”

Rietin hesitated. “The strongest genetically are given first priority in finding mates.”

Her temper uncorked. “Being wingless is seen as a genetic weakness? Being part human is?”

“No!” Rietin lost his composure for the first time. “I’m not sure anyone can claim to be pure Sakk at this point. Well, besides Sa Beldon, of course.”

“But you said —”

“
I
am genetically inferior.”

“The men who come here to find mates are all fully-winged.”

“Not all of them.”

“Maybe women should know that.”

Rietin stared at her, his expression questioning.

“You know. Let them know there are options.”

He mouthed the word ‘options’ back, as if it was foreign to him.

No time like the present.
“For example, are any of the Sakk warriors willing to live on Earth with their human mates?”

The silence was palpable. “If you’re afraid of leaving Earth—”

“I haven’t agreed to anything,” she reminded him. “But the last thing I would agree to is leaving my family on Earth and moving to another planet.”

Rietin nodded slowly. “I can understand how difficult that would be.”

“Well?” she prompted him.

“No one has asked. If it meant a mate, I imagine a male would agree to it.” But he was pensive, seemingly unsure of his answer.

“But?”

“The consulate is not currently adapted to that purpose. But it could be,” he hastened to add. “Do you believe more women would agree to be tested if we arranged it?”

“Some would, I’m sure.”

****

Sakkra’s muscles tightened at the sound of his comm unit squawking out an urgent summons. “Yes?”
If it is not Rietin, the tracker will answer to me personally.
Evening meal had come and gone, and still there had been no word from him about Amy Davidson’s condition.

“Rietin comming, Sakkra.”

“Secure line to me.”
He may have personal information about her. There is no reason to expose the warriors to that.

After a moment, Rietin opened the discussion with the fact that he was connected.

“What in Sakkan’s name took you so long?” Sakkra groused.

“Ms. Davidson wanted to know my plans for protecting her. We discussed it over a meal.”

Words failed him, and his temper rose.

“I have no plans to seduce the young match,” Rietin assured him. “I helped her when she dropped a box of her belongings, and—”

“She was leaving?” Sakkra’s heart pounded at the thought of it.

“No. She...” He hesitated long enough to make Sakkra’s stomach churn. “She lost her position of employment and was bringing her belongings home from work.”

“Why? Was it our fault?” How much upheaval had the Sakk caused in her life?

“I don’t know yet. She went to her office and left it again shortly afterward. I don’t know what transpired inside.”

“Yet.” Sakkra added a tone of order to that.

“I will need Koebi to handle that tomorrow. It was too late to investigate today by the time I learned she’d lost her position.”

“Agreed. I will have his schedule changed to put him at your disposal for the next few days.”

“Good. That will help.”

“What about the rest of your plans?”

Rietin didn’t waste a moment. “She has allowed me to install simple monitoring...stress activated voice and panic buttons in her apartment. I have also erected a shield wall on the outside walls and windows of her apartment.

“I will need Koebi and a warrior with a background in maintenance to see to the lock on her apartment door.”

“Changing the locks?” he asked. Did someone dangerous have a key to her home?

“No. I checked to be sure. Only Ms. Davidson’s parents and the building manager have keys to the lock. I ran a background check on the manager. He has no criminal history, no ties to anti-Sakk groups or organizers, and there is no indication that he is at risk of accepting bribes to pay for outstanding debts. But the lock sticks. In an emergency, she must be able to get the door open quickly.”

“Understood. When should I tell them to arrive?”

“When she leaves. She already feels pressured.”

“In what way?”

“She is not comfortable with allowing me to escort her. Thankfully, she isn’t balking at me following her.”

“Good.” It wasn’t. It would be safer if Rietin was in the vehicle with her. Safer still if she was behind the bulletproof glass of Rietin’s van. But after learning the tracker had enjoyed Amy’s company, Sakkra was selfishly glad she wasn’t comfortable with Rietin’s continuous presence.

The tracker wisely chose not to question his response.

“How much time did you spend with Ms. Davidson, Rietin?” How Sakkra envied him every moment of it!

“Less than two hours. Enough to help her clean up her scattered belongings, discuss the security arrangements, set up the shield—”

“Share a meal.”
Why does that bother me so much?
He denied it was jealousy. Amy wasn’t Sakkra’s woman to be jealous over.

Rietin remained silent.

“What is it?” Sakkra snapped. Had the tracker gleaned his interest in Amy?
Unfortunate and ill-timed though it is.

“Ms. Davidson raised some interesting ideas, but it is hardly my place to—”

“Say it.” His muscles were strung tight, and Sakkra had no idea what had been suggested or in what context.

“She believes we should arrange for matches and their mates to stay on Earth.”

“Another breeding colony?”

“I don’t believe that was her intent...precisely. But daughters produced by Earth-side matches could find mates at the consulate or back on Sakk.”

“To what end?” Sakkra didn’t understand her purpose in suggesting it.

“Two main reasons. The first would be that female young raised in the consulate would be more at ease with Sakk traditions and culture...and language, for that matter. They would be more accepting of mating and less skittish of Sakk males.”

“Is Ms. Davidson skittish of our males?” The question was out before Sakkra could talk himself out of asking it.

“She doesn’t appear to be, though she did suggest that we should bring in more wingless males of strong stock and tell the human women that such males are available, if they prefer it. If they are uncomfortable with the idea of mating with a fully-winged male.”

“Was that her second reason?”

“No. That was a separate suggestion.

“Ms. Davidson suggested that letting women know they don’t have to leave their families and friends and lives behind on Earth to move to Sakk would be advantageous and might entice women who wouldn’t otherwise choose to test to the consulate and Sakk mates. As their daughters grow older and their families die off, they may be willing to relocate to Sakk, but in the meantime, they could produce daughters.

“Ms. Davidson will not leave Earth. It is her home, and her family is here. I believe she feels that accepting a Sakk mate means she will have to abandon all of that. Not that she is prepared to accept any male so soon after losing her fiancé.”

Sakkra’s heart sank. “I see.” He’d come here as an ambassador of his people, when Master Beldon and his mate returned to Sakk. Would he have come if it meant leaving his home and family forever?
Probably not.

His secret hopes evaporated that quickly. Amy might take a mate someday, but only if she could stay on Earth.
And only if her mate is wingless.
“I understand. Let me look into it. Be sure to report what you learn.”

“As you wish.”

Sakkra closed the comm and made his way to bed, weary in body and mind. Her ideas were sound, and Sakkra felt they could be beneficial. For now, he would have to figure out how to present them to Ellwood best.

Perhaps Amy could help with that as Jannie helped Beldon present their case for testing. Perhaps I should invite her to dinner.

Chapter Eleven

Amy twirled around to check her dress, her heart pounding in anticipation. Though Rietin had told her it didn’t matter what she chose to wear, being invited to dinner by a prince seemed to indicate something more than jeans, even if it was a business meeting and not pleasure.

Go with it. It’s not like you have any other reason to get dressed up in the near future.

I am not going to think about that tonight. I am going to enjoy myself. Period. End of subject. This is my new life.

That decided, she pulled on a long coat, picked up her purse, and headed down to meet Rietin. He met her at the security door and escorted her to her car. With a tip of his head, he went to his van and followed her across town.

In the wide drive at the back of the consulate, he pulled around her car and preceded her through the shield layers, his stops and starts letting her know when it was safe to continue on.

I should have let him drive me.
It retrospect, it seemed petty to insist on driving herself, considering the fact that they were headed the same place. The van Rietin drove was a plain panel van without the Sakk seals, so it wouldn’t draw unwanted attention. And... The Sakk weren’t asking for anything from her, and accepting a ride from Rietin didn’t obligate her.

I shouldn’t depend on them.
That was a hard idea to shake.

There was time to find a balance. The Sakk would likely be part of her life forever, now that they knew she was Sakk-descended.

They parked in an underground garage, and Rietin led her into the consulate and through the hallways to a door not far from the clinic. He knocked for her, tipped his head, and left without a backward glance.

“Enter.” It was definitely Sakkra’s voice, but he sounded distracted.

Amy pushed through the door and examined the room before closing it behind herself. It was a large office with four-foot-high screens along one wall and bookshelves lining two of the others. A large tapestry depicting a Sakk man and woman holding hands took up much of the last wall. The furnishings consisted of a conference table surrounded by ten cushioned chairs and a desk with two guest chairs and one chair behind it...currently occupied by Sakkra.

He looked up, then startled and pushed to his feet. “Oh, I am so sorry.”

“You look busy.”

Sakkra glanced toward the paperwork and back to her. “You have given me many things to think about.”

“The ideas about mated couples staying on Earth?” she guessed.

“Among other things. Please, make yourself at home.” He motioned to the conference table. “I’ll call for the meal, and we’ll discuss your ideas.”

Amy headed to the table and removed her coat. She folded it over one of the chairs. On the other side of the room, she heard Sakkra speaking in the Sakk language.

She turned to look at him, smiling at the way he moved. He was graceful. Amy had never seen a man move the way he did. There was something nearly hypnotic about it.

He pressed a button on the board, then stood. His smile of welcome disappeared, and a heated look took its place.

Amy swallowed hard and took a step back. Maybe the choice of outfit hadn’t been prudent. She’d forgotten why the Sakk were looking for mates in the first place.

Sakkra straightened, and his expression smoothed into a strained smile. “You look lovely.”

She smoothed the dress over her fluttering stomach. “Thank you.”

He crossed the room toward her, and Amy forced herself not to retreat. That would offend him, she was certain.

Sakkra guided the chair to her left out and motioned her into it.

Amy struggled to remember the last time a man had held a chair for her.
Certainly pre-Jason.

I will
not
think about Jason tonight.
She took her seat with a nod of thanks, and Sakkra slid her closer to the table.

He didn’t join her immediately. Instead, he collected some papers and a pen from the desk.

“I thought the Sakk typically used...your version of computers,” she noted.

He took the chair across from her and settled the papers in front of him. “For most things, we do. I like making notes and drawings for myself on paper.”

A knock at the door interrupted them, and Sakkra shouted out an order for whoever it was to enter. Two Sakk warriors came in, pushing a cart laden with food between them. They set the table, then placed platters of food and pitchers of drinks between them. The two didn’t serve the food. They were gone with a quick snap of a bow, closing her in with Sakkra again.

****

Sakkra didn’t question that Amy Davidson was discomfited, but he wasn’t sure precisely why she was.

Quantifying his own discomfort was easy enough. The sight of her in the skimpy little black dress and the memory of her sleeping in his arms had rendered his cock hard and ready for a sexual encounter she wasn’t going to offer.

He started describing the types of food on the table. It was an innocuous enough discussion that he hoped would cause his cock to subside in disinterest. It didn’t.

Amy chose the rice dish and sautéed baby vegetables with a side of dark bread.

“I apologize that there are no meat dishes,” he offered.

“I don’t eat much meat. Mostly beef and fish.” She paused with the fork halfway to her mouth. “I suppose that makes sense, all things considered.”

Sakkra swallowed a mouthful of the vegetables. “It does, actually. Very few of the Sakk-descended we’ve found on Earth have been big meat eaters, and even those matches typically lose the taste for meat when they are carrying young. They may still eat fish, but rarely land animals or fowl.”

“Do you serve any fish or meat in the consulate?”

“Typically fish. We do occasionally serve beef or pork. We do not serve winged animals...for obvious reasons.”

“Well that makes sense.” She took another bite of the rice.

“We farm several types of Earth fish—at the consulates, aboard ship, and on Sakk itself—for the Earth-born matches. Introducing cattle and pigs to Sakk is more problematic, so we transport a small amount of frozen meat from Earth every month.”