Sought...Book 3 in the Brides of the Kindred series (13 page)

“Okay, it’s in. You can open your eyes.”
Piper sounded like she was laughing. “I know it takes some getting
used to but believe me, in a minute or two you won’t even know it’s
there.”

Kat wasn’t sure about that, but at least the
little creature wasn’t moving around any more. It seemed to have
found a comfortable position and was staying still. Instead of the
feeling of having a hairy bug in her ear, Kat felt more like
someone had plugged it with a piece of cotton. “It makes it kind of
hard to hear on one side,” she said uncertainly.

“No it doesn’t,” Piper said confidently.
“You think so because of the way it feels but actually the
convo-pillar conveys sound as naturally as your own eardrum
does.”

“You’re right.” Kat nodded. “My ear
feels
like it’s plugged up, but actually I can still hear
just as well on that side.”

“Of course you can.” Piper hooked her arm
through Kat’s. “Come on—let’s go try it out.”

Kat frowned, suddenly worried. “Uh, I’m not
sure how Deep and Lock are going to feel about this.”

“
Please
, honey.” Piper made a shooing
gesture. “What they don’t know won’t hurt ‘em. Here—we’ll go out
the back way.” She tugged Kat toward the opposite end of the large
room where there was a small door.

“We’re just going to leave without telling
them?” Even though she’d been longing to go off on her own, Kat was
still reluctant.

“Of course. Aren’t we bad?” Piper giggled
and tugged at her arm. “Come on, it’ll be an adventure. And don’t
worry—we’ll get back to your boys before you know it.”

“Well…okay.” Though she still had some
doubts, Kat allowed herself to be led out the much smaller, back
exit from the ladies room.

She just hoped the convo-pillar worked. If
she had to wear a live insect in her ear, it had damn well better
be worth it.

“Are these the only thing you guys eat or
are they just prison food?” Lauren lifted one of the cardboard pop
tarts questioningly after the tall man with the red-on-black eyes
slid it across to her. “I mean, not that I’m not grateful,” she
went on hurriedly. “Because I am. I was just wondering.”

He had been heading for the door to the cell
they were keeping her in, but he turned back with obvious
reluctance. “Nutra-wafers are specially formulated to provide all
the protein, vitamins, and nutrition a warrior needs in a single
work cycle. They should keep you in good health until the AllFather
is ready for you.”

Lauren cringed at the mention of his father
but she was determined not to let fear shut her down. Her jailor
was the only person she ever saw—her only hope of escape. She
had
to form a connection with him.

“I was just wondering if you guys had any
kind of junk food,” she said, trying to smile. “You know, Cheetos,
Doritos, cupcakes?”

He frowned. “What are those? What is ‘junk
food?’”

Lauren sat forward and wrapped his cloak
more securely around herself. “It’s food you eat just for fun. It’s
usually not good for you but it tastes really good.”

He shook his head. “We have nothing like
that. What would be the point?”

“Pleasure is the point,” Lauren said,
looking up at him. “For instance, I own a cupcake bakery called The
Sweet Spot back on Earth. Nobody who comes in my shop actually
needs
one of my delicious cupcakes but they buy them for
pleasure.”

“I still don’t understand. Why should one
take pleasure in eating?” He was still just standing there, staring
down at her. Lauren wished he would sit down. If she could just get
him to stay with her a little while she might have a chance of
connecting with him.

“You wouldn’t ask that if you could taste
one of my deep, dark chocolate devil’s food cupcakes,” she said
enticingly. “The cake itself is dense and moist and it just fits in
the palm of your hand. Well…” She looked at his large, rough
looking hands. “
You
could probably hold two or three. But
anyway, when they first come out of the oven they’re hot and sweet
and sticky—they practically melt in your mouth.”

“That sounds…strange.”

“Not strange—
delicious
. Stay and talk
to me a little while. I’ll tell you all about it.”

He frowned. “Why should I stay? I have
duties to attend to.”

“Because I’m lonely.” She didn’t have to lie
about that—it was the absolute truth. “Please…just talk to me for a
minute,” she whispered, almost pleading.

“I shouldn’t.” But he settled himself slowly
in the opposite corner of her cell and made a motion with his hand.
“Go on—tell me more.”

“I frost them twice,” Lauren said, her heart
thumping. “With homemade butter cream frosting. First, when they’re
hot out of the oven, I put on a thin layer that just melts right
down into the cake. After they cool, I frost them again. I pipe out
a thick, creamy dollop right on top and then cover them with
chocolate sprinkles that crunch when you take a bite.” She closed
her eyes, remembering the deep, chocolate flavor wistfully.
“They’re so good people come from all over to get one.”

“All the flavors and textures you
describe…I’ve never had anything like that.” He shook his head. “We
have no such ‘pleasures’ aboard the Fathership.”

“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Lauren
sighed. “And that isn’t even my best seller. I make a raspberry
filled vanilla bean cupcake with cream cheese frosting that’s out
of this world.” Remembering her surroundings, she gave a sad little
laugh. “Well, out
my
world, anyway.”

“You’re very passionate about your work.
These things you make—the cakecups—”

“Cupcakes,” Lauren corrected gently,
studying him from under lowered lashes as she talked.

Despite his frightening eyes and strange,
gray skin, he had strong, noble features that looked like they had
been carved out of granite. His profile looked almost Native
American and she had an idea that the coal black hair he kept in a
club at the back of his neck might be soft and thick if he ever let
it free.

“Cup…cakes,” he repeated slowly. “You enjoy
making them for others to consume?”

“Yes, I enjoy it very much. I love
baking—creating things that give other people pleasure.” She smiled
at him. “I wish I could bake one for
you
.”

“Me?” He looked startled. “Why would you
wish such a thing?”

“To see you eat it. To watch your face when
you first bite into it—I love to watch people the first time they
taste one of my cupcakes.”

“You do?” He sounded perplexed.

Lauren nodded. “Yes—it’s always the same.
The smell gets them first—warm and fragrant and then they
have
to take a bite. Even the ones who swear they’re on a
diet—they just can’t resist.”

He leaned forward a little. “Yes? And
then?”

“And then the flavor hits them. It rolls
over their tongue, sweet and perfect as the cupcake just melts in
their mouth. Their teeth sink through that moist, delicious texture
and crunch on the sprinkles. Then their eyes roll up in their head
and most of the time they moan.”

“They moan?” He frowned, his red eyes
narrowing. “I thought you said it was a pleasurable
experience.”

“It
is
. They moan because it tastes
so good—feels so good in their mouth. Haven’t you ever had anything
that made you feel so good you just had to let it out?” Lauren
asked.

He shook his head. “No, never.”

She sighed. “Then I
really
wish I
could give you one of my cupcakes. If we were on Earth, in my shop
right now I would hand you one and say, ‘Here you go, Mr…” She
paused and tilted her head to one side. “I just realized I don’t
know your name.”

He frowned. “I suppose there’s no harm in
telling you. I am called Xairn.”

“Is that your last name or your first?”

“I have only one name.”

“All right. Zzzairnnn.” She rolled the name
on her tongue and looked up at him. “And I’m Lauren—but you
probably already know that.”

“Your name is known to me,” he acknowledged
gruffly. “Not that it makes any difference.”

Lauren refused to be sidetracked. “Xairn, I
wish I could bake you a special cupcake to thank you for what
you’ve done.”

“What have I done but capture and imprison
you?” he demanded.

“You’ve given me more to eat when I asked
for it. You gave me your cloak.” She nodded down at the thick black
fabric which kept her from freezing in the cold and lonely cell.
“And you’ve given me your time and attention when I needed to talk
and to hear someone’s voice. I don’t feel so alone because of
you.”

He scowled. “You don’t mean that—any of
it.”

“Yes, I do,” Lauren protested. “Please don’t
be angry. I’m just trying to get to know you.”

Xairn seemed to loosen up a little bit—at
least some of the tension went out of his broad shoulders. He
really was huge, Lauren reflected. Every bit as big as the Kindred
warriors who came to Earth now and then to call their brides. “What
do you want to know?” he asked.

“I don’t know…what are your hobbies? What
are your dreams?”

He shook his head. “I have neither. I was
born on the Fathership and I will most likely die here. I do not
aspire to anything else.”

“That’s so sad,” Lauren blurted. “I mean, to
never have any hopes or dreams.”

“I have work that must be accomplished or I
will be punished,” he offered.

She shook her head. “Uh-uh, work doesn’t
count. What do you do for
fun?
You know, for enjoyment?”

Xairn shook his head again. “Nothing. I told
you, we have no pleasures here.”

“Nothing at all?” She leaned forward
eagerly. “You don’t play games or read books or watch vids? Don’t
you have any pets?”

But she seemed to have said the exact wrong
thing. Suddenly his face, which had been almost open to her,
closed, and he stood up abruptly. “None of what you mention is
permitted here. I must go.”

“Wait!” She reached for him, upset at the
sudden change when everything had been going to so well. “Please
don’t go—I’m sorry if I said something wrong.”

Xairn looked at her, his eyes narrowed to
black and crimson slits. “Cover yourself,” he said coldly. “I have
no desire to see your flesh.”

Looking down at herself, Lauren realized
that his cloak was gaping open, showing her bare breasts. “I’m
sorry,” she whispered, pulling it closed quickly. “It was an
accident. I…I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“I must go,” he repeated. At the door, he
turned to look at her, his face impassive. “Eat your nutra-wafers.
They may not be as good as your
cupcakes
but they will keep
you strong until the AllFather sends for you.”

And then he was gone.

Lauren watched the heavy metal door close
and heard the muted sound of the locking sequence being keyed in
from the other side.
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
Tears of
frustration rose in her eyes and she sobbed aloud before she could
stop herself. So close! She’d been so close to making a connection
with him—she could feel it. And then…nothing.
What did I do?
What did I say that upset him? That drove him away?

She sobbed again and then blotted her tears
with the corner of his cloak which still carried a warm hint of his
scent. It wasn’t just the lost chance that upset her—she genuinely
didn’t want him to go. He was the only person she ever saw, the
only one who would talk to her. Her only link to the outside world
in this claustrophobic metal prison.
Watch it girl—you’re stuck
on an alien ship, a prisoner of the Scourge—the ultimate bad guys.
The last thing you need is a bad case of Stockholm syndrome on top
of everything else,
she warned herself.

Lauren knew it was true but she couldn’t
help herself. Xairn was the only one she had to talk to. She missed
him when he was gone.

Xairn stood outside the heavy plasti-steel
door and listened to her sob. He told himself that he felt nothing
but it wasn’t entirely true. For some reason he wanted to open the
door again and go to her. And then he would…
What? What would you
do?

He didn’t have the faintest idea.

It was a foolish thought, anyway. Better to
keep your mind on your duties.

Yes. He had much work to accomplish if he
didn’t wish to be punished. And just because the AllFather was no
longer able to feed off him didn’t mean he couldn’t devise some
cruel and cunning physical penalties. He could have Xairn thrown in
the drowning tank, for instance, as he had when Xairn was young.
Just the memory of that made him cringe inside. After all these
years, he still feared deep water, though he knew how to swim.

I need to get back to work,
he told
himself, turning away from the soft sounds of distress on the other
side of the plasti-steel door.
I won’t visit her again. I’ll
instruct one of the vat-grown to bring her meals.

The thought of never seeing her again seemed
to stab at him, to touch a place inside that ought to be
untouchable—frozen like the rest of him. Xairn ignored it. There
was work to be done and punishment to be had if the work was not
completed. He had no time for the human girl—
For Lauren,
whispered a voice in his brain—no matter how strangely she made him
feel.

“Here we are! These folks are prominent
locals right here in town,” Piper said, ushering Kat up to a middle
aged threesome who smiled and nodded at her kindly. “This is Twila
and her two mates, Fishes Often and Catches Many. Go on, say hi,”
she urged, nudging Kat with an elbow.

Kat looked at the smiling, nodding people
and felt suddenly shy. “Uh, should I just talk in English and the
Twin Moons language will come out of my mouth?”