A Desconian Marriage of Convenience (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (2 page)

If she understood anything at all, it was that this guy was happily married.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly as she tried to ease out of his embrace. For a moment his arms tightened in what seemed a reflexive movement, but he was quick to let her go. “I know you’re trying to help, but it’s not really anything that can be fixed.”

“How so?” he asked in a casual voice. She knew him well enough to know that there was nothing casual about the question. Hell, when had that happened? She’d taken over most of the stuff Deanna used to do, so she worked closely with Katarnia and her staff, but when had she started thinking of Tosh as a close friend? “Come on, Jen, give me something to work with here. Why can’t it be fixed?”

She bit her lips and wondered if she’d said too much accidentally-
on-purpose
. Maybe a part of her realized that sooner or later she would have to trust someone. Eventually someone was going to notice the distance Jenelle kept putting between herself and the Desconian couples the fertility council matched her up to.

She’d done everything she could to make herself useful here. Jenelle had received very little formal education on Earth and had never been very good at schoolwork, but she’d studied her ass off to learn the written language of Descon so that she could take over the important work Deanna had been doing.

But would it be enough to save her when the truth came out?

Human women were highly valued for their ability to produce offspring. What would happen to her when the authorities learned it was the one thing she couldn’t do? And if she told Tosh, would he be required to report her condition to the people in charge?

“Tosh,” she said, shaking her head, “you’re a good friend, and I really appreciate you trying to help, but…” Her words trailed off. Telling him she had something she didn’t want to tell him because she didn’t want the authorities to know was probably just as bad as telling him outright.

“Does it have anything to do with the scars on your back?”

* * * *

Her panicked expression terrified him. She shook her head violently. She was already moving away from him, but this time he couldn’t let her go. Hell, he’d been the one to put that look of fear on her face this time, not some recurring nightmare. He reached for her, dragging her back into his embrace, forcing her to accept his comfort.

With a loud sob she finally relaxed into the solace he offered, her back and shoulders trembling as she shook with grief. He let her cry, knowing she needed this release. To everyone else she was bright and happy, enthusiastic and competent. Only he knew of the nightmares disrupting her sleep, and that had only been learned by accident. Just over a week ago another ship from Earth had arrived unexpectedly. He’d come to collect her so that she could be an interpreter for the human women but had found her in the grip of a violent nightmare. The sounds through the door had convinced him she was being physically attacked. He’d forced his way into her single-room apartment and been almost surprised to find her alone.

As her crying slowed and she lay against him, exhausted, he wanted desperately to ask for an explanation. Fortunately, this time she started talking without his prompting.

“I was raised in a group home for girls,” she said quietly. “The woman who ran the place, Mrs. Doderson, was strict and unyielding, but we were well fed and for the most part taken care of. As childhoods on Earth go, it could have been a lot worse.”

She sighed, and he wondered if she was perhaps remembering some of the happier times of her younger life. He didn’t want to interrupt her train of thought, so he continued to hold her close, running his hand up and down her spine, trying not to linger on the deep scars that seemed to crisscross her back.

“I was about seventeen when I started work. It was the first time I’d even talked to boys. I knew I wasn’t supposed to be friends with Justin, but it didn’t feel like we were doing anything wrong.” She snuggled closer. “Sometimes he’d just hold me like this. Sometimes we did more.” She tilted her head back to look at Tosh. “I didn’t even know at the time that there was a word for what we were doing. When Mrs. Doderson found out, she went ballistic.”

“The scars on your back?” he asked, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. She nodded against his chest.
Fuck
. She’d been an ignorant young woman, barely older than a child, and essentially just following the dictates of her body. Nothing she’d done would ever justify the ragged scars on her back. If he ever ran into Mrs. Doderson, the rotten woman might just learn what it felt like to be at the mercy of someone who really wanted to hurt her. Damn it. He was a doctor. Sworn to do no harm, but if he had the woman in his surgery, he’d be hard-pressed not to slice her into little pieces.

“Is that why you’ve refused medical treatment since arriving at Descon?” It wasn’t unusual. Many human women had been fearful of doctors and anyone in a position of authority, so Tosh and his medical teams performed only the least invasive procedures to ensure the human women weren’t ill and then let them get adjusted to life on Descon before offering further medical testing.

“No,” Jenelle admitted in a very quiet voice. “I’ve refused because of what happened months later.”

His arms spasmed, pulling her closer as a shudder went through him. What the hell could be worse than being whipped by a maniac? He didn’t dare open his mouth to ask for fear that his anger would be misinterpreted. No way in hell did he want Jenelle thinking his fury was directed at her.

She hesitated. “Tosh, if I tell you something, do the authorities need to know?”

“Like what?” he asked reflexively. He had a legal obligation to report if she was planning to kill someone, but almost everything else was considered confidential. He explained it to her in as few words as possible.

“Okay,” she said on a deep exhale. Apparently whatever she had to tell him was something that she had feared would get her into trouble. “I didn’t understand why at the time, but now that I’ve seen the informational videos and know how things work…” As her words trailed away she took a deep, shuddering breath. “I…think that maybe I was pregnant. I’m not really sure, but whatever Mrs. Doderson saw or knew or thought she knew made her furious. She was with a man I’d never seen before. He was scary huge, bigger than anyone I’d ever seen before. He said something to her, and then she…um…” Her words were barely whispered, but her body shook violently. “She called the other girls, my friends, into her office, told them what to do, threatened to whip them if they refused, and then she and this big man just stood back and watched as a dozen young girls beat the hell out of me and then kicked me when I hit the ground.” Jenelle took a deep, faltering breath and seemed to drag her emotions back under control. He started rocking slightly, the movement meant to be comforting, but not just for her. He’d heard some awful stories of rape and abuse from other women from Earth, but forcing children to physically abuse another was horrifying.

“It wasn’t their fault,” she said quickly, perhaps thinking he’d misunderstood. “I might have done the same thing if the situations had been reversed. I don’t blame them for doing what they were ordered.”

And there it was in a single sentence—the reason why he was quickly falling for this lovely woman. Her heart knew no bounds when it came to forgiveness.

“I don’t blame them either,” he assured her quietly, “but I’d be willing to take a crack at Mrs. Doderson.” The words were half joking. He wouldn’t hit a woman no matter what the provocation, but if the bitch ever made her way to Descon, he’d be the first person in line to fill in the paperwork to send her home.

Jenelle sat up slightly, wiping the tears from her face as she gathered her composure.

“Anyway,” she said tiredly, “I’m not sure what happened when I was unconscious, but the next thing I knew it was several days later. I was in my own bed, and Mrs. Doderson was sitting with me, almost as if she cared if I lived or died.” Jenelle gave him a sad smile. “She told me that my sins had been washed away and that she’d made certain I wouldn’t sin again. I didn’t understand it at the time, but I think I know now what happened.”

So did he, and the anger he felt for Jenelle and the child she might have been carrying boiled in his gut. He was still trying to drag his own emotions under control when she sighed quietly.

“What will happen when the Desconian Fertility Council learns that I can’t have children?”

“Jenelle,” he said, leaning back to see her face, “nothing is going to happen. I promise you that. We’ve come across infertile human women before. You’ve met Cindy Richards.” He smoothed a stray curl out of her eyes. “She was originally diagnosed as infertile. Nobody tried to send her home.”

“It would have been a little harder to expel a princess and official intergalactic ambassador than it would be to shuffle an unknown human to another planet.”

“I know you don’t have a whole lot of reasons to trust people, but I promise you that won’t happen.” She gave him a smile, but it was clear that she still expected to be screwed over. He supposed after a lifetime of negative experiences it was to be expected. “Did you get any medical tests done while you were on Earth?”

She simply gave him a look that said he’d asked a really stupid question.

“Okay,” he said, wondering if he was rushing things. “Would you let me run some tests for you?”

She seemed to hesitate and then shook her head minutely. He was still deciding whether to back off or keep trying when she offered an explanation. “I don’t want you to be my doctor. I…um…” She blushed and dropped her gaze. “I would prefer to keep you as my friend.”

“So you’ll go have some tests?”

She nodded against his chest, but he didn’t miss the shudder that worked down her spine.

“Would you like me to go with you? As a friend?”

She lifted her head and stared into his eyes. “Would that be okay with your husbands? I mean…they don’t actually know me. I shouldn’t be monopolizing your time.” And then, as if she realized she was still sitting in his lap, she tried to awkwardly move away.

“There’s an easy way to solve that,” he said, not wanting to let her go but refusing to frighten her by holding on, “come home with me.”

“I don’t want to get in the way,” she said with a quick shake of her head. But then she jolted as if she’d just remembered something. “Isn’t it supposed to be your night off?”

Busted.

“You came in on your night off just to watch over me?”

He couldn’t deny it without lying, so he just shrugged and gave her a smile.

“Oh, hell, your partners probably already hate me. God, Tosh, go home, be with your husbands.”

“Only if you come with me,” he said, trying to convince her that it would be okay. “Jenelle, they both know about you. They’d be thrilled to have a houseguest for a few days.” He tried his most pleading grin. “Come home with me. We have a couple of spare beds in our room. You can sleep in one, close enough for me to wake you up if the nightmares come, and I’ll still be able to sleep with Jax and Baylen.”

“I don’t know,” she said, clearly tempted.

“If you don’t like it, I’ll bring you straight back to the compound. No harm, no foul.” He lifted himself off the floor and held his hand out to her. “Come home with me, please.”

She smiled shyly. “All right, but if Jax and Baylen don’t want a houseguest, you promise you’ll bring me straight home.”

He grinned and nodded, knowing that Jax and Baylen weren’t going to be a problem. After everything he’d told them about the beautiful human helping the staff at the compound, both men were already eager to meet her.

Baylen grinned as a warm hand ran over the globes of his naked ass. “You’re late,” he said in his best imitation of a grumpy voice. He wasn’t really upset. Both of his partners had incredibly demanding jobs, and he’d accepted that long ago, but it was always nice how they managed to make it up to him.

This morning was no exception. Jax wrapped his arms around him, pressing his deliciously hard erection against Baylen’s ass as he peeked over his shoulder. “How long before breakfast?”

“At least an hour…maybe more,” he said as he leaned over and turned the temperature on the oven down. This dish was better cooked slowly anyway.

“In that case…”

Baylen laughed as his oversized husband turned him around and quickly hoisted him over his shoulder. He had but a moment to appreciate the delicious view before they made it to the bedroom and he was unceremoniously dumped in the middle of the mattress.

“Hands and knees, lover,” Jax said as he stood back with his arms crossed over his chest. “I need that ass.”

His own cock throbbed in excitement as he did what his bossy husband ordered.

“That is a beautiful sight,” Jax said as he came over to run a hand down Baylen’s spine. The harsh slap on his ass was a little unexpected, but the rush of adrenaline combined with his arousal worked to make his cock even harder. He sighed and wiggled his bottom, inviting more. He wasn’t disappointed. By the time Jax reached for the lube, Baylen’s ass felt like it was on fire. Hell, he’d probably glow in the dark if the lights weren’t on, but it was the delicious feel of Jax’s rough hand gliding lovingly over his burning flesh that had him gasping for air. His cock was so hard it left a smear of pre-cum against his stomach every time he twitched.