Dating Outside Your DNA (29 page)

"I want you," he said.

She trembled in his arms. "Yes, yes. Take me now!"

His mouth covered hers. He cringed when she stuck her tongue  in his mouth. He closed his eyes, completed the seal, and began to  inhale. She struggled at first, but it was useless of course.

When she was completely limp, and in a state of limbo, he let  go of her and belched loudly. The air around him was filled with the  disgusting smell of roses. He coughed, which only made it worse.

He leaned forward, pushing the button that lowered the glass  between him and the driver.

"Return to the compound."

The driver waved his arm. "Ugh, the smell."

"It was her! Not me! She bathed in something she called roses.

Just drive."

He refused to have someone so far beneath him say he smelled. Kings did not smell. What had she done? Drank a gallon of that awful stuff?

The smell had only worsened by the time they returned. The

driver stopped the limo, opened the door, then quickly stepped back.

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"Take her to her cabin and place her on the bed." Anna would

be in a state of limbo for at least a week. By then, they would have

found the daughter and returned home.

That was the only big problem with the Roverts. They couldn't

actually kill someone by sucking out their essence. They could only

leave them in a state of inertia, but it served his purpose because

Anna wouldn't be able to warn Lyraka about him.

Yes, he could taste his revenge. He belched and filled the back

of the limo with the putrid odor of roses again. Ugh, it would take at

least six moon cycles to be rid of this odor, but it had been worth it.

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Chapter 23

R
oan opened the door to Joe's office and walked in. Joe looked

up.

"Have a seat. Something has happened."

He sat across from Joe's desk. "What's up?"

"The Adnams are causing a problem. I'm pulling Johnny and

Gavin to take a team to meet with their leaders."

Better them than him. An Adnam had sprayed his leg once and it had taken a month for him to get off all the slime. The smell had been as bad as the boiled cabbage his aunt used to cook. After he'd been slimed, everyone had stayed clear of him the entire month.

"You'll have the new team by yourself," Joe told him.

"They learn fast so that won't be a problem."

"We may need them to go out sooner than we'd expected if this turns into a full fledged uprising."

"It'll be too soon. They haven't trained enough, maybe in another month."

"We might not have a choice. I doubt it will be anything but a  show of manpower. I only wanted to keep you up to date on what's  going on. They've cut our funding, and we're having to manage on a  shoestring budget." Joe massaged his temples. "Sometimes I wonder  if this is all worth it."

"The public might feel differently if they knew what we do."

"Either that, or there would be all-out panic. Look what happens  when aliens monitor us like we monitor them. New Mexico, Arizona,  and not too long ago, Stephenville, Texas, of all places. It was in all  the blasted papers. Intelligence did a quick cover-up and made a joke  out of it. So now it's even more important that we fly below the

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surface."

"Still..."

"Yeah, I know." Joe leaned back in his chair. "Do the best that

you can do. That's all I can ask. What are they doing today?"

"Taking the day off." When Joe frowned, he continued. "They've

been at it solid for the last few weeks. I had to give them a break."

"I guess you're right."

"I am."

As he left Joe's office, Roan had to wonder if deceiving the

public was the best thing. People had a right to know other species

existed. Most aliens were good, some not so good.

He looked up, then stopped in his tracks. Lyraka was walking

across the yard, talking with Alesha and Warren. As usual, Warren

carried a stack of books. He wondered how long before there would

be no books left for Warren to read.

Lyraka laughed at something someone said and looked up. Her gaze met his. She waved the other two on, then changed her direction and started walking toward him.

Damn, she was so beautiful she made him ache with longing to hold her in his arms. She had a natural easy grace with just the slightest sway in her hips.

"Did I tell you thanks for the day off?" she asked when she was closer.

"I just spoke with Joe. It may be the last day off for a while."

Worry crossed her face. "Why?"

"The Adnams are stirring up a few things. Johnny and Gavin  are taking a team up."

"So we're on call?"

"Not yet. It's probably nothing. This isn't the first time something  has happened to stir up another planet. Usually, a mediator can set  things back in order."

"What are we supposed to do now?"

"The team continues to train--tomorrow." He grabbed her hand.  "Come on, let's get the hell out of here. I think we both need a day off.  Besides, I have a pager."

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"I thought we weren't supposed to leave the area?" She cocked

an eyebrow. Damn, she was cute when she was a little sassy.

"It's allowed if you leave with the instructor."

"Really?"

"Do you want to go or not?"

"I don't know. Exactly where are you kidnapping me to?"

"Does it matter?"

"No." She laughed.

God, he loved the sound of her laughter. He grabbed her hand

and headed toward his Jeep, and didn't release it until they were in

front of his ve hicle. Her hand was small and soft and he felt it growing

warmer. It was nice to know he could do that to her.

He went to the driver's side and she to the passenger's side.

After he started the Jeep, he backed out from the parking place and headed down the hill, rather than up.

"I thought you'd whisk me off to the obstacle course. Where exactly are we going?"

He shook his head. "The closest town is about an hour away.

It's all downhill until you get to Springtown. I've been there once. I think you'll like it."

"Is it big?"

"About one hundred and ten thousand. The river that I showed

you the other day runs through it, there's a park, a shopping mall, a

few bars. It's a nice town."

"I didn't go into the city much. My mother was always afraid for  our safety. It seemed she was always looking over her shoulder."

"Was she afraid of other Nerakians? Weren't the elders the

ones who exiled her, rather than her leaving of her own free will?"

"I hadn't thought the elders would harm her, but I wondered if it

might have been someone else. That she might have an enemy or

something." She shrugged. "Maybe she was just afraid we'd be found

out by the government here on Earth. Either way, she was very

protective."

"Does your mother know what you're training for?"

"I think she knew she didn't have a choice but to let me go.

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Maybe I finally convinced her how much this meant to me. Who knows? But she cut the apron strings, and for that, I'll be eternally grateful."

"And yet you've been stuck on the mountain training."

" But I'm away from my mother's colony."

"Was it that bad?"

She combed her fingers through her hair and looked out the window at the scenery. There were fewer trees the farther they drove.  The woods had been replaced by fenced pastures with cows grazing

on the thick, almost knee high grass. Occasionally, she would see a

farmhouse. It all looked so normal. Not that her life had been

abnormal, just isolated.

"Bad? No, it wasn't that bad. It was lonely." She'd wanted to be  with other girls but Aasera had continuously drilled it into her that they  were different. Even her mother's best friend, Anna, hadn't known  who they really were. Her mother had been caged as much as

Lyraka.

A smile curved her lips. But now they both had their freedom.  Her mother was training other interplanetary travelers, and soon she  would take to the air again.

A few times, her mother had told stories of the places she had  traveled, but not often. For the most part, she hadn't talked about her  life on Nerak. Lyraka hadn't pressed the issue. When her mother had  spoken of her home planet, there had been such deep sadness in her  eyes that it had hurt Lyraka almost as much.

How long had she been lost in her thoughts? She sat up as

they approached the town. "Is that a Ferris wheel?" She pointed  toward a slowly turning circle of chairs that appeared to dangle in  midair. She'd never been on one. There were a lot of things she'd  never done. She glanced toward Roan and wondered if they might at  least drive by it.

"Looks like there's a carnival in town." He gave it a cursory

glance.

Sometimes men weren't that good at taking a hint. "I've never

been to one."

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"You know what a carnival is?"

She frowned when she looked at him. "I can read." She'd read

a lot growing up. Her mother had let her get a  library card and she'd  always had a stack of books checked out. She probably hadn't read  as much as Warren, but she'd bet it would be close to his count.

"Reading isn't the same as experiencing one."

It was all she could do to not wiggle in her seat. "I  suppose."  She didn't want to act as though she were ten years old.

He parked the Jeep near the entrance, then glanced her way.  "You can barely contain your excitement."

She shrugged. "It looks like something that will pass the time."

"We could walk in the city park."

"No!"

He laughed.

Ass. She grinned. "Okay, I'm excited."

"Then let's go."

He got out, then locked up as she stood in front of the Jeep and stared at the flashing lights and the crowd milling about. He was right, she was more than a little excited. Her mother would have never

allowed her to go to a carnival.

But she was here now. She grabbed Roan's hand when he

joined her, then pulled him toward the entrance. Everything looked

magical and she felt like a fairy princess.

"Have you been to many carnivals?"

"Two or three."

A man twirled something pink onto a paper cone.

"What's that?"

"Cotton candy. Want some?"

She nodded. He paid for one and handed it to her. She took a

bite. The pink sugar confection stuck to the tip of her nose, but melted

in her mouth. Roan leaned over and licked it off. Laughter bubbled

out of her.

This was what it felt like to be a kid. To laugh with someone you enjoyed being with. To feel as though she could conquer anything.

"Come on and I'll take you to the top of the world." He tugged

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her along with him.

"You already have."

"I wonder if we could start a new mile -high club."

"What's that?"

"Never mind. I have a feeling it would never work."

He gave the operator some bills, and they sat on the bench. A

bar was dropped in place and then they were climbing. She grabbed

his arm and held on. The Ferris wheel stopped at the top and gave

her a clear view of the river that ran through the town.

"It's beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you."

When she turned to look at him, he lowered his mouth to hers.  Warmth filled her. She wrapped her arms around him, drawing him  closer as his tongue caressed hers. She never wanted this day to  end. She wanted it to go on forever and forever.

She vaguely felt the jerk of the wheel as it began its descent.  But she heard the clapping when they got to the bottom. They pulled  apart. Great, an audience.