Mending the Rift (2 page)

For a moment Marcus seemed startled, and there was a softness in his eyes that was solely reserved for Luca. The softness vanished too quickly for Luca’s liking.

Instead, Luca was greeted with Marcus’s usual, scrutinizing gaze. “You don’t want me, and you better never mention this again. It was a mistake. Now get it out of your head and be a good boy.”

“Be a good boy?” Luca sputtered.

Heat suffused his cheeks as he stared at Marcus. Had he really misread the man so badly? Marcus had been assigned as one of his bodyguards about a year ago. Right away there’d been a spark of attraction, an easy companionship. A few days ago, they’d given in to the temptation, and it had been everything Luca had ever desired. Since then, his whole life seemed to blow up in his face. He balled his hands into fists, his nails digging deep into the tender flesh of his palms, anything to stop himself from begging Marcus to take his words back.

Marcus beckoned for Luca to come closer. “Come on now, kitten, your father—”

“Do not call me that. Never again,” Luca hissed.

“What?” Marcus’s eyebrows furrowed.

“To you I’m Luca or Mr. Walker, understood? I’m sure you’ll also understand that I have no need of your service anymore, so fuck the hell off!” Anger rolled through Luca, making it impossible for him to keep his voice level.

“I’m not going to fuck off until I’ve gotten you into the helicopter and delivered you safely to your parents,” Marcus said, his voice steady. “I doubt they’ll agree to lay me off right now. There’s no one who’s better at tracking you when you lose your shit.”

Luca’s jaw dropped. How could Marcus be so arrogant? Fuming, Luca lowered himself to the ground close to the opening. As he swung his legs into the hole, his gut clenched. He doubled over and beads of sweat trickled down his neck and along his spine, leaving a trail of goose bumps in their wake.

Marcus’s boots crunched through the debris as he hurried to Luca’s side. He wrapped a heavily muscled arm around Luca. “Don’t,” Marcus whispered in his ear, the light gust of air sending a shiver through Luca’s body. A shiver Marcus had to surely feel, and there was nothing Luca could do against it.

“If you fall, you’ll be dead, and I have no desire to explain to your father why you thought jumping into an opening with a ladder that’s a suicide mission waiting to happen would be a better idea than coming home with me.”

“Thanks so much for your concern,” Luca spat out.

Marcus’s scruffy cheek pressed against Luca’s equally unshaven one. A moment later, soft but firm lips pressed a kiss to the left corner of his mouth.

Luca gasped and clutched the arm holding him. “Marcus….”

“You’ll be all right, Luca. Smith is a good man, and he’ll treat you well.”

“You’re a good man too,” Luca replied, past caring how pathetic he sounded.

Marcus exhaled before he said in a voice that brooked no further argument, “This discussion is closed. There’s a marriage agreement between the two of you.”

“Because I had no other choice!”

“Most breeders don’t have a choice in the matter. You’ve been lucky your father is who he is and that there’s a long tradition of strong breeders in your family. Your dad is one of Earth’s most renowned scientists, and he’s a breeder too, therefore their opinion matters. Otherwise you’d have been married off at twenty, you know that. You’ve been prepared your whole life, so why are you freaking out now?” Marcus pulled Luca away from the opening.

“I want what my father and my dad have,” Luca answered. Not to mention that he wanted Marcus, not anyone else.

“They got lucky,” Marcus replied. “At your age, your dad had already given birth to three babies.”

Luca tipped his head back so it rested on Marcus’s shoulder. “I’m scared.”

He was scared of the things to come: to leave his family and start one of his own. He’d been the baby of the family, and he’d taken advantage of that fact. His parents had made it easy for him, since they knew he’d be their last child. That he looked a lot like his dad probably helped a great deal in convincing his father of anything he wanted as well. And his dad? His dad was his dad; everyone loved him, much as he liked to drive everyone up the wall with his antics.

Luca closed his eyes when Marcus gave him a gentle hug. He clung tightly to Marcus, relishing his warmth and strength.

MARCUS CONVINCED
Luca that putting up a fight wouldn’t help him in any way, which was why he allowed Marcus to clip him into a harness. After Marcus made sure everything was secure, he gave the thumbs-up sign, and Luca was pulled up into the helicopter. There, Keith, another one of his bodyguards, hauled him inside.

“Hey, Keith,” Luca said, aiming for nonchalant but failing miserably. Keith deftly unclipped the harness, grabbed Luca’s hips, and lifted him onto a seat before buckling him in. Irritated, Luca said, “I’m not going to jump out of the heli, you know.”

Keith gave him a look from dark brown eyes before he drawled, “Now isn’t that a comforting thought.”

Luca watched him send the harness down again for Marcus. Keith’s shirt stretched taut over his broad shoulders, and sunrays accentuated the first gray streaks in Keith’s short-cropped hair. Keith was a handsome man, and he’d been one of Luca’s bodyguards since forever. Marcus climbed into the helicopter, and Keith slammed the door behind him. After Marcus stepped out of the harness, both men took seats opposite him, and Keith gave the pilot the sign to get going. Luca tried to loosen the tension in his shoulders as he waited for one of them to start a searing lecture. Neither of them said anything. They just sat there and stared at him, wearing impassive expressions.

Luca shifted in his seat, one hand going to his belly to rub there. Damn spasms had begun a day ago and were starting to drive him crazy. Sure, he’d gone through the procedure of stimulating ovulation so he’d be ready when Smith arrived, but he’d gone through test procedures before, something every unmarried breeder went through in irregular intervals to check if their reproductive system worked.

The insemination was supposed to take place right away, and the chance of getting pregnant was much higher with several eggs ready. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and he wiped a hand across it, annoyed to see his hand tremble. At least his dad would be with him during the procedure. He just hoped Smith didn’t insist on accompanying him as well.

To distract himself, he blurted, “Would you just get it over with?”

“What would you like us to say, Luca?” Keith replied. “How worried we were when you took off and we had no clue how to find you? How fucking mad your father is because you cleared off? How your dad hasn’t slept, and how he’s only eaten because your father charmed him into eating?”

Luca snorted. “That’s one way to describe it. Father doesn’t do charm or tact where Dad’s concerned.”

Keith stretched out his long legs, and Marcus’s lips twitched into a smile. Sighing, Keith said, “All right. Admittedly, there wasn’t much charm involved. There was a lot of yelling and blaming each other for you clearing off.”

Luca winced. His parents weren’t prone to yelling, so when they did, it always came as a surprise, and it usually got nasty. Before he could say anything, Marcus added, “Don’t worry about your parents. They’ll be all right once they have you back.”

Luca nodded, guilt blossoming inside him. He didn’t want his parents to fall out because of him, he really didn’t.

Marcus leaned slightly forward. “Luca, are you all right?”

“What? Me? Yeah, sure. I’m looking forward to reuniting with my parents and then waiting for my future husband to claim me.” Sarcasm dripped from Luca’s voice.

Keith gave Luca’s knee a pat. “Your siblings all have good marriages. They all lead comfortable lives; it won’t be different for you. Your father is extremely good at picking out suitable partners. If there were any doubts about Smith, your dad would’ve voiced his concern and your father would’ve listened to him.”

“Why do you all have to be so reasonable?”

“Because you’re not being reasonable at all,” Marcus said.

Luca’s gaze jerked to Marcus’s face, and he waited for Marcus to smile, to give him any indication he was teasing, but nothing happened. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Keith’s stunned expression, but he couldn’t think about that now.

Shaken, he averted his eyes and stared at the scenery below him. They flew over soft hills, tinted in various shades of yellow, orange, and red. Sometimes, they passed destroyed houses and farms, which at one time had been beautiful white buildings with red-brick roofs. This area had been well-known for growing wine and offering fantastic trails for hikers. Now, most houses were ruined and the castles worn down into nothingness.

Even though the war had been over for a long time, some regions remained as they were when the Northern Confederacy and the Southern Union signed the treaty. At least Luca didn’t live in the Southern Union. What he’d heard about their society left him scared, especially since he was a breeder. Whereas breeders were special in the Confederacy, they were seen as simple breeding machines in the Union without any regard for their health and well-being.

Luca grimaced when another spasm overcame him. Biting his lower lip helped to keep a yelp inside, but he couldn’t help both hands clamping onto his abdomen, rubbing fiercely. A belt buckle snapped open, and someone knelt next to him, followed by a hand clasping his neck.

“Shit, you’re burning up. Probably caught a bug during your time outside,” Marcus said.

“The area isn’t contaminated,” Luca replied through gritted teeth.

“True, but you’re not used to being anywhere other than close to home. Viruses and bacteria are different in the forest.”

Luca pressed his hands against his lower abdomen, a whimper tumbling over his lips unbidden. “Hurts.”

Keith unbuckled too, frowning. He crouched between Luca’s thighs, gently but insistently pushed Luca’s hands out of the way, and pulled his shirttails out of his waistband. “This is no bug.”

Luca smacked his head against the backrest of his seat when all his muscles went rigid at once, leaving him gasping for air. Keith remained seated between his legs, stroking over Luca’s belly with firm up and down movements. The pain lessened after maybe a minute, and Luca cast a glance between Marcus and Keith, releasing a shaky breath.

Keith showed a myriad of conflicting emotions. Luca tapped his shoulder lightly. “You know what this is, don’t you?”

“Yeah, kid, I know what this is. And if you think hard, you should realize what’s going on as well.” Keith rose to his feet, rummaged in an overhead compartment, and pulled out a small bag. He broke the content inside the bag and then pressed it against Luca’s taut abdominal wall. “This’ll get warm and help with the spasms. At least for a while. If you’re anything like your dad, you’ll need a high dosage of painkillers soon.”

“Painkillers? What’s going on? Keith!”

“Do you really not get it, Luca?” Marcus asked in a harsh tone.

Luca shook his head. “No, I don’t, and I also don’t get why you’re mad at me. I’m sorry I ran away, okay? It’s what I do, what I’ve always done. I know it’s wrong and doesn’t resolve anything, but when I panic I can’t think clearly. It’s that same damn flight reaction animals have.”

A wry smile appeared on Marcus’s face. When Luca gazed from Marcus to Keith, the other man smiled at him. “You’re so much like your dad it’s frightening.”

“You keep saying that.”

“Because it’s true,” Keith said. “Also, you’re pregnant. You’re in the beginning of the first stage. The fertilized egg has been transported to the womb, and in the next twenty-four hours your body will either accept the pregnancy or not.”

Luca’s mouth fell open. Hot flashes surged through his body, and breathing took conscious effort. Everything around him vibrated as he clutched the armrests to anchor him to something. This couldn’t be true!

“Hey, kitten, breathe,” Marcus murmured softly into his ear. He was sitting beside Luca, though Luca had no idea since when, and rubbed a hand over Luca’s shaking back. Luca tried to catch his breath, but it seemed to take forever until he succeeded. When his breathing stopped sounding like a steaming kettle, Marcus said, “That’s it. You’re doing fine.”

“Fine?” Luca rasped. “Keith just told me I was pregnant. That’s impossible!”

“I know the signs of a male pregnancy when I see one. I’ve seen your dad go through ten, and since we’re practically living next to the Northern Confederacy’s main breeding hospital, I’ve seen hundreds of pregnant men. You
are
pregnant, trust me.”

“It’s a bit unusual to fertilize the egg prior to the marriage,” Marcus chimed in. “I thought you’d tell me, um, us, if that’s what you were going to do. You know how important it is to be under observation after fertilization. I’d definitely thought your dad would alert us so you would have been under observation every second.”

“I didn’t know!” Luca yelled. “Dad said it’s the usual procedure of stimulating ovulation, so the chance of a successful pregnancy is high. No one told me anything about fertilization. Dad would’ve told me and made sure I’d stay with him.”

Luca clutched the hot bag to his belly. His eyes stung in a way that preceded him bursting into tears. This was impossible. Everything followed a strict protocol. The computer technology used for stimulation and everything else was 100 percent accurate. His dad had been with him; there had been no chance for anything to go wrong. Of course, he’d been sedated through the procedure, and he’d even fallen asleep. He was so used to all the tests and procedures that he never questioned what happened to him. Had there been a difference this time? He honestly couldn’t say.

“You seriously didn’t know, did you?” Marcus asked.

Luca shook his head, curling his hands into fists. Marcus grasped his chin and turned his face so they could look at each other. As soon as Luca’s gaze connected with Marcus’s, the first tears spilled over. Marcus pulled him into his chest, holding him tight as Luca cried.