Second Chance (15 page)

73 Rebecca Airies

“You’ll become ready.” Alek’s confident words only irritated her. An angry flush rushed up her cheeks. He smiled, enjoying the display. “The fact that your emotions run so high give credence to my beliefs. It’s only a matter of time. You are beginning to care for us.”

“You’re hard men to actively hate. You see to my smallest of needs, my wants seem to come first with you and even when my emotions are everywhere, you don’t yell back. Add to that the fact that you keep me satisfied with as much sex as I can handle and that the sex is beyond great. What do I have to complain about?” Laci joked with a wide smile as she paced away from the window and flopped down on the couch. She immediately became the recipient of almost identical scowls for her attempt at humor.

“All right,” Laci sobered. “Why are all the women Norik clones? I know what happened to Satira, but what about the others? And why do I have those dreams about her life?”

“Our people have always been mildly psychic. You dream about Satira because you do have a link with her.” Darion reached out, ruffled her hair and whipped his hand away before she could swipe at it.

“As to the other women, the scientists never planned on giving the nano-cytes to them. Those women that were infected through accident were killed by the scientists before the nano-cytes could spread through their entire body. Other women were killed in retaliation when we didn’t do exactly what they wanted.” Alek frowned and shut down the small computer.

“It was only a few years later, after we were free, that we saw the first children. We knew then that the scientists were recreating what they had destroyed through the samples from their storage.” Memories of that awful time leaped into Darion’s mind. He had hated the helplessness of the situation, being unable to help those who trusted him. He could still remember the pain the scientists had inflicted. They had shown no remorse for their acts of cruelty.

“How did you know where to find them?” Laci frowned. “After I escaped, I didn’t want anything to do with the labs, but was hunted. You had an identity the scientists and bureaucrats didn’t know about.”

“We’d been keeping watch, waiting for an opportunity for revenge. We had no hope. Then we saw some females. Suddenly, there was light. We waited for you to grow. We knew that all of you had the nano-cytes and that you’d be safe. The fact that you had them relieved many of us,” Alek explained.

“You were happy I couldn’t be an addict like Satira. Drugs hold little allure if most of them don’t work.” Laci looked over at Alek.

“We haven’t always known where you were, but just knowing that you were out there kept driving our search and the need to make a safe home for you.” Alek watched her face. Fear and then hope streaked across her face. “While we can’t find all the small groups that want to use us or harm us, we can make certain that we are strong enough to defend what we have.”

74 Second Chance

“The groups that we found are fairly untouchable.” Laci sighed and leaned her head back against the soft cushion of the couch.

“Life will be different for you here. You don’t have to fear being found.” Darion moved closer to her and ran his hand up and down her arm. “All the Norik have been planning for the time when they would find their lost women. No unnecessary chances will be taken.”

“Well, this is secure. Maybe it’ll be safe.” Laci’s eyes closed and she sighed. “Those groups, they are well-connected on the planets they chose as a base. The planets’ governments either ignore their actions or don’t recognize any complaints lodged against them, because the Arceins were supposedly created in labs combining alien and human DNA. They don’t recognize that we have any more rights than other lab test animals.”

“Those groups are probably heavily funded by Vari-Co, Mari-Tec or Bio-Mech.” Darion explained, holding out his hand in invitation. “Eventually, they too will fall.”

* * * * *

With acceptance came peace. Laci stopped fighting her need to be with them. She no longer made plans to escape. Leaving them would be next to impossible because of the fact that she was never alone. The most important factor of her decision, though, was that she didn’t
want
to leave them. Within the last few days, she had learned that it would be like leaving a part of her soul behind. They’d become very important to her in an amazingly short period of time.

As much as she accepted that she wanted to be with them, she never thought about the future. She never thought of going through the formal ceremony they had mentioned. Her thoughts on her feelings for them never went beyond what she felt at one particular moment. Living in the present had become a comfortable habit.

Only mild curiosity bubbled through her when Darion and Alek gathered their things and packed one night. The next morning, still half asleep, Laci dressed in a short green backless dress. She staggered a little as she walked along the paved path toward the shuttle. The trees shaded the weak light of the predawn and created a dark cozy haven, luring her back toward slumber.

Her eyelids felt weighted and refused to open to more than mere slits. Being roused from a sound sleep after far too little sleep the night before didn’t agree with her. Her mind was foggy. It was still dark and she wanted to be back in that warm, soft bed with them. The night had been long and pleasurable.

She felt Alek’s arm come around her and let him guide her. Laci slept through most of the journey to the small city around the spaceport. By the time they landed, she was awake and fully alert. They were walking across the building to the bay with the space-bound shuttles. There they met up with two other Jatohn.

“Alek, Rion, word has spread that you found your woman again.” The blond-

75 Rebecca Airies

haired man dressed in the blue and black of the Norik uniform greeted them jovially. Although he wasn’t quite as broad or obviously muscled as Alek and Darion, in no way could he be perceived as weak.

“This is Laci. She came to us when she was hunting Vanya Steryan,” Alek gently pulled Laci forward between Darion and himself.

“She’s very beautiful, Rion,” a man with reddish-blond hair stated. His eyes narrowed as he assessed her. He came to stand next to the blond.

Laci knew that look. She’d seen it far too many times. He was trying to see if she was anything like Satira. She resisted the urge to squirm as well as an even stronger one to yell that she wasn’t that witch. Every time she met someone who’d known that woman, they watched her, judged her and expected her to be just like that bitch.

“Laci is just as beautiful within. She’s bound only to us. She has made us very happy.” Darion smiled. His hand moved up and down her back, almost as if he sensed her unease. “Laci, meet Davik and Camin, the Jatohn of the
Mocant
.” He gestured first to the red-blond then to the blond.

“Hello,” Laci greeted them tentatively. By the way they looked at her, she could tell they were trying to deem her worthy or unworthy. Satira was beginning to haunt her.

“Hello,” Davik chuckled, a genuine smile crossing his face. “She certainly doesn’t act like her.”

“She’s nothing like her.” Alek returned the smile. He kept his eyes on Laci. “She’s sensitive and has dreams of Satira’s life. They upset her. Laci cares about us already and she’s so damned hot that just keeping her satisfied is exhausting.”

Laci felt a blush wash over her cheeks. Strongly tempted to elbow him in the ribs, she ducked her head to hide the rising red on her cheeks. Her hair fell forward hiding her rosy face from the two men at her side. She was standing right beside Alek. He knew that a remark like that would embarrass her, but he liked seeing her blush. At every possible opportunity, he provoked that tide of red.

“She blushes,” Camin—the blond—observed, his voice filled with laughter.

“Yes, she does and she can’t lie to save herself. Everything is right there for everyone to see,” Alek said cheerfully. “We never have to wonder what she’s feeling. We can tell by her expression and the look in her eyes and if we miss that, she’s likely to tell us.”

Alek’s hand slipped low on her back. His hand slid beneath the material of her dress and one of his fingers followed the crease between her buttocks. His finger stroked lightly over her flesh, teasingly dipping lower and lower.

Laci couldn’t control her increased breathing, the pounding of her heart. A strange mixture of anger and arousal pounded through her body. Her nipples tightened into hard nubs. That teasing touch was igniting an uncontrolled desire she knew they had no intention of satisfying anytime soon. This caused her anger to increase, which heightened her arousal in a vicious cycle. When his finger drew near to that puckered ring, she couldn’t help pushing her buttocks against that caressing hand.

76 Second Chance

“Now, what could you two be doing to cause such a reaction? Your woman is aroused…very highly aroused. I can smell her heat from here,” Davik chuckled.

Laci felt another hot tide of red wash up her neck to her face. She wanted to storm away, but Alek’s hand was down her dress. The material was thin, silky. If she left, it would probably stay. She’d gotten relatively accustomed to baring her breasts in public, but she balked at full nudity.

“Jatohn, everything is loaded on the shuttle.” The man who walked toward them was clearly human and didn’t have the nano-cytes—the scientists had never been able to construct a nano-bot that didn’t kill a human host. He must have been a member of Davik and Camin’s crew, as he was wearing the Norik uniform and Laci didn’t recognize him. “Is there anything else? Perhaps the Jatohn of the
Chimau
would like me to take their lady to their ship.”

Laci pressed closer to Darion’s side. She didn’t want to go anywhere with that man. She couldn’t explain why but she knew something was wrong. Something didn’t feel right.

“Perhaps that would be best. We need to talk.” Darion gave Laci a one-armed hug. “You go to the
Chimau
. We will be up as soon as we finish.” He gave her a little urging prod toward the man.

Laci felt hurt and anger rip through her. They didn’t trust her enough to allow her to sit through their meeting. She was also certain that they knew that she wasn’t going anywhere. They knew that she wanted to stay with them. Laci looked over her shoulder even as she stepped toward the man. She turned, lifted her chin and followed the man as he led the way to the spaceport.

Damn
, Darion thought as he saw the pain clearly on her face. If one tear fell he’d grab her and let her stay. Her tears had the power to send a knife ripping through him. They’d needed her honest reactions to help bait the trap, but he hadn’t thought of the pain she would feel.

The measures they’d taken to keep her from discovering that something more than a coincidental meeting was going on had worked. They’d known that she wouldn’t be able to carry off a convincing act if she’d been told of why she had to go with the man. She had needed to be genuinely surprised by the order. From the look on her face, he knew what conclusion she had drawn. It wasn’t true. They would deal with her doubts and her hurt when they went to get her.

77 Rebecca Airies

Chapter Ten

Laci buckled the seat belt as the door to the shuttle slid closed. She paid little attention to the man in the pilot’s seat. They’d sent her away from their discussion as if she were some loose-lipped dimwit. She couldn’t believe how hurt she was by their lack of trust. She had had such faith in them that she had expected her trust to be returned fully.

Laci stared straight ahead as the craft rose and began its smooth ascent through the atmosphere. As she felt the transition from gravity to weightlessness, she heard a slight noise as the pilot shifted in his seat but disregarded it, lost in her own thoughts. A moment later, she felt something press against her side.

* * * * *

Laci came awake as two men carried her from the shuttle. She kept herself absolutely still, her eyes open to mere slits. She allowed them to carry all of her weight. She didn’t want to give them any advantage.

The two men holding her by her arms were not Norik. They were humans. She could overpower the stupid, overconfident guards with ease. They didn’t seem aware of just what they were carting around in their arms. Their lack of respect for her would be their downfall.

She listened as she was taken through a building. She tried to get a feel for exactly how many men occupied this base. As they carried her, she heard one other voice. On their path through the building, she saw only pale white, slightly dirty hallways until they reached a door which they opened with a palm-print scan.

In the small room, a man sat at a desk. He paid almost no attention to the two who came in or their captive. With a single glance up from the monitor, he waved, signaling the two men to continue. Using another palm scan pad on the opposite side of the room, they carried her into the room beyond.

She raged a she saw that the room housed a row of cells. She wasn’t going back into a cage. As soon as the door slid shut behind them, Laci acted.

She turned her body slightly, sliding down the arm which the man on her right had hooked under her armpit. This lowered her hand into position. She reached between his legs, grabbed and twisted in a quick, fluid move.

Almost simultaneously, her foot stomped onto the right foot of the man to her left as she turned, shoved him with her left hand and stripped the stun gun from his belt with her right. She fired. He crumpled to the floor without a sound. She turned and shot