Enhanced: Brides of the Kindred 12 (The Brides of the Kindred) (36 page)

“Even if the dispensation was hidden, she
is protected under the laws of the Kindred Claiming Period which state that no
harm shall come to a female who is being Claimed. “One shook his head. “I will
speak to Two. This is cause for a disciplinary action.”

“Thank you,” Six said stiffly. “It is good
to know you can see my point.”

“I’m still concerned about you, Six. I
know this assignment has put undue stress on you but I never intended for it to
force you into Feel-crime.” One gave him an almost fatherly look which made
Mei-Li think that the older male cared about Six—at least, as much as these
people could care anyway.

Six took a deep breath and squared his
shoulders.

“It is true that the Claiming period has
put an unusual amount of strain on my emotional damper—which is why I plan to have
it replaced while I am aboard the med barge. As for the girl, I wish to bring
her home myself for the same reason I defended her against Two’s assault.
Simply put, Mei-Li is my responsibility. I brought her to Z4 and I must bring
her home.”

One gave a long suffering sigh.

“Really, Six, the honor and ideals that
are part of your pure Kindred genetic heritage are very inconvenient at times.”

“Nevertheless, I must do what is right,”
Six said stolidly.

“Very well—I respect your decision. You
may have tonight and all the next day. It will take at least that long for you
to get your enhancements replaced and repaired and the female back to her own
planet.”

“That should be sufficient.” Six nodded.

One nodded back at him. “I will need to
see you at my domicile as soon as you return. Our plans for invasion of the
planet we intend to harvest continue apace and I require your help.”

“Indeed. You never specified which planet
we will be overtaking,” Six said.

One’s strange eyes flicked over to Mei-Li
and back to Six so quickly she would have missed the glance if she hadn’t been
staring right at him.

“It is not necessary to tell you now. I
will give you a full briefing once you return from taking the female home.”

“Understood.” Six nodded. “I will see you
soon, One.”

“May Fortune favor you,” One said
formally. Mei-Li thought he was about to sign off when there was a chime
somewhere off screen. One frowned. “Excuse me—there is someone here to see me.”
He concentrated a moment and the lights under his see through skull cap blinked
and winked. “Oh, it is Two. I will speak to him about the matter we discussed
and he will be appropriately disciplined, I assure you.”

“Thank you,” Six said. “May Fortune favor
you, One.”

“And you.” The older male replied and the
viewscreen went blank, leaving Mei-Li with a vaguely uneasy feeling in the pit
of her stomach.

“So…you guys are invading a planet?” she
asked, trying to sound casual. “Do you do that often?”

Six shrugged. “Occasionally it is
necessary to find and harvest a new source of raw material and natural
resources.”

“And what happens to the people who live
there—on the planet you’re taking over, I mean?”

“If they submit they are ruled with a
benevolent hand.” He still stared straight ahead as he spoke. “They are given
the opportunity to get emotion dampers and if they accept them, they are not
purged.”

“What?” Mei-Li could barely believe what
she was hearing. “So you go in and take over their world and tell them that
their only choices are losing all their feelings or death? That’s horrible!”

Six frowned. “It is simply the way of the
Collective and it is ultimately to the benefit of the world we are inhabiting.
We have brought lasting peace to many planets in this way.”

“Peace or oppression?” Mei-Li demanded.
She just wished she knew what planet the awful robot overlords of Z4 were
planning to take over so she could warn them. Then she remembered the way One’s
eyes had flickered over her and she got a sudden feeling of dread. “Six, he
wasn’t talking about
my
planet, was he? The Dark Kindred aren’t going to
try and take over
Earth,
are they?”

He shook his head. “Highly unlikely. I
have not been told the name of the conquest planet yet but I believe it to be
closer to our solar system than yours.”

“But you’re One’s right hand man,” Mei-Li objected.
“How come he hasn’t told you?”

He shrugged again, his broad shoulders
rolling under his protective exoskeleton.

“Such information is usually kept secret
until very close to the time of invasion. One and the Collective are probably
the only beings that know the name of the target as yet. One will tell me what
it is when it is necessary for me to know.”

“But you’re
sure
it’s not Earth?”
she persisted.

“I would guess not, although I would not
be surprised to see the Dark Kindred initiate a takeover of the Mother Ship
that orbits Earth’s moon sometime in the future,” Six said. “The head of their
Council, High Chancellor Terex appears to be unstable. It is conceivable that
the Collective might calculate the odds of such a takeover easy and prudent.”

“I see.” Mei-Li made a mental note to warn
the Kindred of the Mother Ship if she could. Chancellor Terex had been an
absolute bastard when she went with her father to meet them but some of the
other warriors on the Council had been nice—especially Commander Sylvan who had
gone out of his way to reassure her personally. They didn’t deserve to have
their emotions stripped away and their ship melted down for scrap metal or
whatever horrible thing the Collective had planned for them. She wondered if
there was any way to call them from the medical barge…

“We are here,” Six said, interrupting her
musings. “Prepare for docking,”

“I’m prepared.” Mei-Li watched as the
little space craft came in for a landing in the vast docking area with its
black walls and shiny black oil-slick floor. The only good thing about coming
back to the medical barge was that she would get to see Yipper again—at least
she hoped. She had grown quite fond of the little Tolleg and considered him a
friend. It would be good to see a friendly face, especially now when Six was
being so cold and formal again.

But when Six placed a call to ask Yipper
to meet them, they were informed by a robotic voice that he wasn’t available.

“What do you mean, not available?” Six
barked at the viewscreen, sounding agitated. “I do not care that it is
late—rouse him from his sleeping chamber. My enhancements require immediate
attention.”

“Apologies, Six,” the robotic voice
issuing from the viewscreen intoned. “But Yipper is not resting. He is
performing emergency surgery which is likely to take him most of the night. He
regrets not being available for you and offers a consult from one of his
colleagues, the Tolleg called Bowzer.”

“No, I want no one but Yipper,” Six
growled.

“Very well, he will see you first thing in
the morning,” the voice said.

“I suppose that will have to do.” Six
still looked unhappy. “Ready two guest rooms for us to sleep in.”

“Apologies but we are filled to capacity
at the moment. One room only is available,” the voice said. “Shall I ready it
for you?”

Six sighed. “Yes, do so.”

“Very good. You may go to the Kindred
guest quarters where a room will be waiting. Have a pleasant night’s rest.”

The voice clicked off, leaving the
interior of the shuttle quiet.

“You didn’t have to try and get us two
rooms,” Mei-Li said at last. “I don’t bite, you know. If you want I’ll sleep on
the floor.”

“That will be unnecessary. I will be the
one sleeping on the floor.” Six looked away. “Come. Let us try to get some
rest. It seems that your trip back to Earth will be delayed, at least for one
more night.”

Chapter
Twenty-six

Six tossed and turned on the floor beside
the olive green
sousa,
trying to get comfortable but sleep would not
come. He told himself it was because the floor was too hard and the fibers
covering it were too scratchy, but he knew neither of these issues was truly
the problem.

The problem was the female lying just a
few feet away. Though the room was dark and silent, he could still hear her
light breathing and the soft rustling as she turned on her side. He could still
smell her too—the sweet, feminine scent that drove him nearly insane with need
and lust seemed to hang around her like a perfume he couldn’t escape.

This was the real reason he had wanted two
rooms—her scent was too enticing. Just being near her and knowing that he
couldn’t touch her was the purest kind of torture. Gods, if only he could hold
her in his arms, just one more time…but Six knew that was impossible. If he
allowed himself to hold her, then he would want to kiss her. And if he let himself
taste her lips, he would soon want to taste other things.

Unbidden, the memory of kneeling between
her legs to worship her pussy with his tongue came back to him so strongly he
could barely stifle a groan. Gods, she’d been so wet and hot and her soft,
moaning cries had driven him nearly mad with desire. Her pussy had been so
sweet and wet, trembling beneath his tongue as he licked and sucked and lapped
her tender flesh until she quivered and called his name. Just thinking about it
made his shaft so hard he swore he could fuck through a brick wall. If he could
just…
No!

Six sighed in frustration and turned over
again. Gods damn it to the Seven Hells, he
had
to stop thinking about Mei-Li.
Had to stop desiring her. If only Yipper had been available to replace his
emotion-damper at once! If only there had been another room to spare! Spending
an entire night within such a short distance of the female he so desired was
beyond frustrating.

“You okay?” Mei-Li’s voice said softly
from the darkness. “You sound kind of restless down there.”

“I am well,” Six growled, telling an
outright falsehood. “I am simply attempting to get comfortable.”

“You don’t have to sleep on the hard, cold
floor, you know,” she said. “This bed is plenty big enough to share.”

“Thank you for your offer but I cannot
be…” He cleared his throat. “I do not trust myself to be so close to you. Not
with my emotion damper malfunctioning.”

“I promise not to touch you,” she persisted.
“If…I mean, clearly you don’t want me to.”

If only she knew how desperately he
did
want her touch! The memory of the night she had taken him in hand and
stroked him until he had come in her soft, cool fingers was suddenly strong in
his mind. It was almost enough to tempt him into going to her and taking her in
his arms.

No,
whispered a voice at the back of his head.
The
memories, Six. Mere and Pere and Kaylee. You must resist!

“Thank you anyway,” he said roughly. “But
it not
you
touching
me
that I worry about. I am…better off here.
On the floor.”
Away from you.

“All right.” She sounded disappointed and
also sad. It occurred to Six that he could tell her emotions simply from the
sound of her voice. How far he had come from the time when he had first claimed
her and he wasn’t certain of any of her feelings!
It’s because I’ve become
attuned to her. Because I’ve allowed myself to care about her. To have feelings
for her.

It was the worst, most damning confession
he could have made to himself and it was the absolute truth.

He hated himself for it and wanted it to
stop. At the same time, he never wanted to lose these feelings—these deep
swells of emotion that threatened to swamp him when he thought of her. He
longed to hold her in his arms, to cherish and protect her forever.

That was impossible.

Six rolled over once more and closed his
eyes tightly. His thoughts were in a snarl—a tangled knot that nothing but rest
could unravel. Tomorrow he would have his implant replaced and be rid of all
these troubling feelings. He would put away his memories of Mei-Li as
well—would lock them in the memory cache along with his memories of the past
and never view them again.

Tomorrow he would forget. Tonight, it was
time to sleep.

* * * * *

Mei-Li woke to a low gasping sound that
sounded like some large animal in distress. At first she didn’t have any idea
where she was. Then she recognized the supportive surface of the
sousa.

Six—is that him? Is
he okay? Is he hurt?
She felt around in
the darkness for a moment
and remembered the trip back up to the medical
barge and the fact that the big Kindred had decided to sleep on the floor.

“Six?” she asked anxiously as the gasping
sounds continued. He gave a low groan that sounded like he was in pain.
“Six?”

Nearly frantic with worry, she stumbled
out of bed, feeling for him in the darkness. She couldn’t feel him at first and
she dropped to the floor, reaching blindly, patting the carpet in ever widening
circles.

“Six? Can you hear me? Are you all right?”

There was no answer but the distressed
sounds. Then suddenly he gasped out, “Mere, don’t die—we’re almost there.
Please don’t die!”

Mere?
Hadn’t that been what he called his mother on the memory
video she’d seen?
Maybe he’s having a bad dream.

Mei-Li wished she could see him but the
darkness in the room was absolute.

“Lights!” she called as she had seen Six
do on occasion back at his domicile. But apparently the voice controls were
only attuned to Six’s deep voice because nothing happened.

Well, looks like I’m
working blind here.

Mei-Li followed the groans and gasps and
finally found Six’s big body curled in the far corner.

“Six!” She felt for his shoulder and shook
it. “Six, wake up. You’re having a bad dream. At least, I
think
you
are.”

“Mere? Kaylee?” He thrashed in her grasp and
he must have thrown out an arm because something hard suddenly hit her on the
cheek.

With a gasp, Mei-Li fell over, clutching
her hurt face.

“No, Six, it’s me,” she managed to say.
“It’s Mei-Li. Wake up—
please!”

“Mei-Li?” He sounded more awake now.

“Yes, it’s me. I was trying to wake you up
but I can’t turn on the lights.”

“Lights!” Six roared and the room
immediately flooded with harsh, brilliant illumination that seemed to come from
everywhere at once.

Mei-Li gave a choked little cry and put
her hands to her eyes, temporarily blinded.

Six cursed. “Lights, dim!” he growled.

At once, the brilliance in the room was
dissipated to something more like candle light.

Mei-Li blinked. “Thanks—that was way too
bright.”

“Did it hurt your eyes?” He was looking at
her intently. “And what about your face—why is it red?”

Mei-Li put a hand to her cheek which still
felt tender and swollen.

“You were thrashing around some in your
sleep, having a nightmare—I think your metal hand got me.”

“I hurt you.” He reached out to her,
concern growing on his face. “Gods, Mei-Li, I would never hurt you on purpose.”

“Not physically, anyway.” She scooted away
from his touch. Now that he was awake and clearly all right, she wanted to keep
her distance. She’d been rejected and rebuffed enough in the past several hours
to last a lifetime.

Six let his hand drop to his side.
“Forgive me,” he murmured.

“It’s fine,” Mei-Li said stiffly. She rose
and took a deep breath. “Now that I’m sure you’re okay, I’ll just go back to
bed.”

She turned and was halfway back to the
sousa
when he spoke again.

“Wait…”

“What is it?” She turned to face him.

“Please…” Six cleared his throat. “Don’t
go.”

Mei-Li put a hand on her hip. “You have a
reason I should stay? Want to tell me again how you’re taking me home and we’ll
never see each other again because you don’t care about me?”

“I care,” Six said in a low voice. He
looked away, as if unable to meet her eyes. “I care so much for you it hurts
me—here.” He put a hand over his heart.

“What?” Mei-Li could barely believe what
she was hearing. Was he finally admitting to having some emotions? To feeling
for her the way she felt for him? “What did you say?” she demanded when he
remained silent.

“I said,
I care.”
Six looked up at her. “I have emotions for you, Mei-Li. I
am…having them right now.”

He didn’t sound very happy about it.
Mei-Li frowned.

“Don’t worry—you won’t have to have them
for long. You’re getting your implant replaced tomorrow, remember?”

“You don’t understand.” Six shook his
head. “I don’t
want
to lose these emotions. I don’t
want
to stop
feeling for you.”

Mei-Li was at a loss.

“Well, then why are you acting this way?
You’re hot one minute—
incredibly
hot.” She shivered, remembering the
intense pleasure he had given her when he tasted her. “But you’re so cold the
next minute I feel like you’re trying to freeze me out. Telling me you’re going
to take me back and we’ll never see each other again…”

“Because I am a coward,” he said harshly.
“A wretched, miserable coward who cannot face his own past.” He ran a hand
through his hair. “I do not deserve to be with you, Mei-Li.”

“Okay…” She went back and sat beside him
on the floor. “Let’s talk about why you feel that way,” she said gently,
speaking to him as she would have one of the children under her protection. “Is
it because of something that happened with your family?”

“I don’t
know
what happened to
them.” Six ran a hand through his hair again in obvious agitation. “And I don’t
want
to know. I would rather
die
than know—than remember their fate
and feel the emotions associated with it—with that time in my life.”

“Wow, okay…” Mei-Li took a deep breath.
Whatever
it was, it must have been bad—terrible for him to be so desperate to forget it!

“Forgive me.” Six looked away again. “You
do not need to hear my pathetic excuses.”

“Actually, I’m very interested in what
you’re saying.” Mei-Li touched him gently on the arm. When he didn’t pull away,
she let her hand stay there, resting lightly on his muscular bicep. “Let’s talk
about it some more,” she said softly. “Sometimes when something really bad
happens to someone, they can block it out—bury it so deep they don’t have to
remember it. That’s the only way they can function. It’s a coping mechanism—not
something to be ashamed of.”

He nodded reluctantly. “That is the truth
of the memory cache. The memories are not really extracted—they are simply
recorded and then buried deeply in the subconscious. Having the emotion damper
in place deadens the feelings associated with them which keeps them from coming
forward again.”

Mei-Li nodded. “That sounds about right.
But…it seems like those memories are coming forward now.”

“But they won’t come forward
completely—not unless…”

“Unless what?” she urged gently.

He sighed unhappily. “Unless I have my
implant completely removed.”

“And if you do that, you’ll have to give
up everything—your place on Zeaga 4 and your job—everything.” She nodded again.
“That’s really hard to even think about. I understand.”

“No, you don’t.” Six took her hand and
entwined their fingers, looking at her intently. “I would give it all up,
Mei-Li—all of it to be with you.”

“You…you would?” The sudden declaration
took her breath away. Six had said that he felt strongly for her—clearly he
meant what he said.

“I would…but for the memories.” He looked
away.

“But…if the memories stay buried as long
as the implant is in place and yet you can still feel…”

“I can feel for you but I cannot
bond
with you,” Six said in a low voice. “We cannot truly unite our souls as a
Kindred warrior and his bride are supposed to do.”

“Okay, well…” Once again she didn’t know
what to say. She had read the part in the contract about “bonding sex” but she
still didn’t really know what that meant. Presumably they wouldn’t be able to
perform it unless he had the implant removed.

“It is because I am a coward,” Six said
roughly. “That is why I cannot face my past—even to have you, though I want you
with my whole heart.”

“Stop calling yourself a coward,” Mei-Li
said a little more sharply than she’d intended. “Look, everybody has issues—everybody
has baggage. That doesn’t make you weak or cowardly—it makes you
normal.”
She
rubbed his arm gently. “It makes you approachable, Six. All this time we’ve
been together you’ve seemed so remote—so…so unattainable. I mean, I feel for
you too…I guess…” She looked down. “I guess I’m falling in love with you. But
right now, tonight, is the first time I really felt like you could love me
back.”