The Torid Affair by Laurann Dohner
Chapter Fourteen
Jessa woke feeling groggy and confused. She stared at the white ceiling as her memories slowly returned. She realized she was studying the ceiling with both eyes.
She used a hand to cover her natural eye and only used the ocular implant.
Absolute clarity.
She connected with it and quickly realized it was missing an important function. There was no scanning ability to pick up heat signatures. She’d have to upgrade it in her lab later, but she had the spare parts to do so. The important thing was she could see again.
She closed her eye and gently probed the skin around the new implant with a finger. It wasn’t sensitive to the touch and her eyelid responded perfectly when she tested it. Next, she sat up to find herself still inside the same exam room. One glance at the display next to the med bed showed her heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels were perfect.
She shoved back the blanket and removed the patch over her knee. The skin only showed a little irritation but it had mostly healed. It meant she’d been down for at least ten hours. She reached out and turned off the monitors before climbing out of bed.
Her body felt weak but she made it to the bathroom, used it, then studied her face in the mirror. The small scratch on her cheek was gone already. One brown and one blue eye stared back at her. She leaned in, noticing that the color was exactly as before, but the implant had a more natural-looking pupil.
“Because it doesn’t have a scanner hidden in there.” She tried the zoom feature as she turned away. It worked fine when she amplified a spot on the floor to see that it was speck of dried blood, likely from a previous patient. “Make a reminder to tell the sterilizing crew to do a better job.”
She left the bathroom and walked to the door, just wanting to return to her lab. It didn’t open.
She frowned and focused on the pad, mentally connecting to it. Anger surfaced as she immediately hacked into the system. The door had been put on security mode and only two people had access. Neither were her.
She overrode the lock and the doors slid open.
A large man stood from a chair next to Jessa as she stepped out. She turned, expecting to confront a fleet guard.
Maith’s green eyes held hers and he reached out, his big hands clasping her waist. “How do you feel? They wouldn’t allow me to sit with you.”
“I’m good. I need to go to my lab, then I want to check on Ned. He should be in a quarantine unit. Those are located near the contamination area.”
“You’re not dressed.”
“I know. They took away my decontamination gown. I looked for it but it was gone. That’s why I’m making a trip to my lab. I keep spare clothing there. Ned is my patient, and I’m going to check on him.”
Maith suddenly grinned.
“What?”
“You’re feeling well enough to attempt to argue with me and others.”
Jessa rolled her eyes. “I’m not doing that. I’m the A.R.S.; it’s my job to check on Ned. I’ll find someone to give me an update on Wilma, then I’m going to my cabin to eat. I’m hungry.”
“The pregnant human female is doing fine. She was transported here because of her pregnancy and being exposed to Prissa. Ned is awake and responding to treatment well. There is no longer any sign of the living parasites inside his body. They moved both humans out of quarantine not long ago. I have seen them both.”
Relief hit. “Good. What’s happening down on Torid?”
“Your fleet has called in other vessels to assist the humans living on the planet. Clark Yenna informed our grouping that they will take over and sort out the huge mess down there. He said it is going to be a long-term effort to reestablish stability on the surface and put new leaders in place. Defcon Red will leave once they are on scene, since we’re no longer needed now that the fighting has ceased.”
“That’s good news. Did Carlton cry when he was arrested? I see him as the type to have a breakdown when he realizes that he’s fucked.”
“I’m unaware of tears, but I can ask whoever was assigned to transfer him off planet, if you wish.”
“I wish.” Jessa knew it was petty, but she really did hate Carlton. “Never mind. I’m a better person than that. Imagining it is good enough without confirmation. What about Boyd? I know he was still breathing when your grouping arrived. Did I manage to do any serious damage?”
“He will recover.”
“Too bad. Did anyone figure out where that secret tunnel was located and find their escape shuttle?”
“Yes. Roth said they also found more hidden supplies that the governor admitted to stealing, along with a large amount of currency from the colony. The threat of death made him answer the investigators. Clark said they are going to lock him up for the rest of his life, but he won’t be put to death for his crimes.”
“I’m not surprised that Boyd made a deal with the fleet. He’s the type to do anything to save his own ass from getting sentenced to death.”
“The shuttle they had hidden belonged to the Velenics. It wasn’t Earth-made.”
That news threw her. “Those aliens from different races who banded together to become space pirates? That’s what they call themselves, right?”
He nodded. “It seems that’s who the bad humans were trading with. It’s also how they probably got ahold of Deki technology. They bought it from thieves. The governor was trading away food, medical supplies, and sending out hunters from the colony to slaughter Torid animals, to freeze the meat to give to the Velenics. Some aliens need to consume it to survive.”
“Fucking Boyd,” she spat. “What an asshole. I guess now we know why he had all those freezer units in the bunker.”
“I spoke to Abby and Commander Bills. I also updated our king.” He glanced around.
Jessa instantly had a bad feeling. “This isn’t the place, if you’re talking about what I think you are. Med Bay is monitored.”
“We should find privacy.”
She inwardly cursed. What had the Veslor done? Then fear trickled in. Would the fleet make her disappear? It was a real possibility. They had locked her inside the exam room. Maybe they’d planned to keep her prisoner until they could transport her away.
“Let’s go to my lab. It’s right next door.”
“We’ll go there now.”
“I want to see my patients soon.”
Maith snarled at her.
“Don’t be a grumpy ass,” she hissed.
“Both humans are being given excellent medical care. You know that. We have more important concerns, Jessa. Forget the humans for now.”
He was sexy and good-looking, but he really pissed her off sometimes. “I don’t take orders from you.”
“We will see about that.”
“You’re being annoying!” she accused in Veslor.
“You’re my mate,” he snarled back in his language.
She switched to English because in her current mood, it was just easier. “We haven’t sealed that deal yet.”
“We will.”
“What in the hell are you doing off your med bed?”
Jessa snarled savagely, doing a great impression of a Veslor as she spun to face her nemesis.
Cynthia Kane rushed forward and stopped feet away, the taller woman putting her hands on her hips. “I’d ask how you got out, but I can guess. You need to get back inside exam six and stay there.”
“We both know there’s no medical reason for me to stick around. I’m fine now. Thanks for the work you did.” It almost hurt Jessa to be nice to the woman who’d made her life miserable more than not. “I appreciate it.”
“Wrong. You need to stay. That med team I spoke of earlier wants to monitor your vitals and are planning on having a vid chat with you. They want to make sure you didn’t suffer…a head injury. They’re on standby, waiting for me to contact them. I was just coming to see if you were awake.”
Jessa didn’t like anything she just heard. Especially after Maith hinted that he might have blabbed to the commander about them wanting to be mates. Then there was being locked in that exam room. That wasn’t normal protocol for patients unless they were considered mentally unstable or criminal. “I’ll call them from my lab. Send the contact information to my workstation.”
“That’s not what they requested.” Kane released her hips to cross her arms over her chest.
“I don’t give a shit,” Jessa told her. “I smell like chemicals from that damn decontamination shower, my ass is feeling a breeze wearing this gown, and I’m hungry. My lab has a food dispenser, a full bathroom, and spare clothes. I’m going there, then I’ll speak to that medical team.” Or not, she silently added. It would depend on what Maith had to say once they were in a secure location. She might have to destroy all her encrypted files in case she was arrested and the fleet planned to make her disappear.
“Return to your med bed,” Kane snapped. “That’s an order.”
Jessa reached up and rubbed her ear. “I’m sorry. I can’t hear you. I need to run a diagnostic on my hearing implant. Did you see that in my med file? Probably not, since I didn’t see it on the hologram scan.” She turned, storming toward the exit doors for Med Bay. “I’m off to do classified stuff.”
“Get back here or I’ll call security!” Kane yelled.
Jessa spun, glaring at her. “I wouldn’t do that. I wasn’t joking about the ear. Now think about what else you don’t know. Let me leave for half an hour and then I’ll return. I have two patients I want to check on.” She turned again, reached back to try to hold her gown together, and exited Med Bay.
Her lab was about two hundred feet down the corridor to the left. Maith trailed her, not speaking. She didn’t need to peek over her shoulder to know he stayed close. She halted in front of the door scanner and bent slightly to put her face near the pad to gain access. Then cursed.
“What is wrong?”
“Eye scans aren’t going to work since I had one of mine replaced.” She stared at the pad and began to hack it. It set off a silent tampering alarm but the alert would only go to her broken fleet wrist device, since she’d been the one to insert that function.
The doors unsealed and slid open. She marched in, waited for Maith to enter, then sealing the door again. She quickly checked the drop drawer. Inside was her med kit. She took it out and placed it on a nearby table.
“Why was your kit in there?”
“This is how things are transferred to my lab when the door’s sealed. My kit had to be sanitized. I just wanted to make sure they’d dropped it off. It’s important to me, since my sister gave it to me.” She turned to him, ready for some answers. “What did you do while I was unconscious? I thought we were going to speak to Abby together. Tell me everything. And fast. We probably don’t have much time.”
“I told Abby your secret about the fleet owning you, and why. She’s in our grouping. Then she called the commander. He is family to her. She made him promise to listen not as fleet, but just as her uncle. We came up with a plan to get you and your sister free. Commander Bills is contacting your Earth to make it clear Veslors are willing to go to war if they do not release you both.”
He’d absolutely stunned her. It took several long seconds for his words to sink in sink in. Then they finally did.
“Fuck. What part of ‘they’ll make me disappear’ did you not understand?!”
He took a step closer but she spun away, rushing to one of her data stations.
“I have to wipe all the files of my ongoing projects!”
He grabbed her hips and hauled her backward, preventing her from touching the data drives.
“Maith, let go! The only leverage I have is the work I’ve been doing. I don’t want them coming in here to steal it. I can bargain with U.E. and the fleet if I have something they want badly enough.” She continued to struggle, trying to break Maith’s hold. “My two most important projects are a sedative that will work on the Elth and a neutralizer to stop Ke’ter saliva from continuing to mutate DNA in their victims. It won’t repair the damage already done by the time a victim is treated, but it will halt it from spreading. That’s a start. It’ll mean some lives can be saved where there was previously no hope. And I’m close to a solution on both. The fleet and U.E. will want those. I might be able to force them to let me stay on Defcon Red.”
She was talking too fast, but she had to wipe those drives!
“Jessa, you don’t need to do that. I got our king involved. He is speaking to your Earth, claiming you and your sister as Veslors. Your family is a part of our grouping. It’s our way. Commander Bills believes the threat of war and breaking the alliance, now that your people depend on our food supplies, will be enough for them agree to destroy your contracts.”
She felt frustrated enough to cry. “I’ve seen what the fleet does to people who make threats, Maith. It’s never good! The people in charge can be vindictive, untrustworthy assholes. I wish you’d waited and spoken to me first!” She waved a hand toward her data station. “I was hoping to leverage some of my research to knock off a few years of service. It wasn’t ideal, but it wouldn’t have pissed them off enough to retaliate.”
Maith turned her to face him. “Trust me.”
Jessa closed her eyes and clutched his shirt, fighting for calm. “You can be so naïve.”
“No. We just don’t fear humans or your planet. We’re Veslors. We always get our way.”
“That doesn’t sound arrogant at all.” She rolled her eyes, but at least her breathing was starting to slow down. “They do some really awful things as payback, Maith. I’m worried.”
“I know you are, but please trust me. Our grouping and our king won’t allow anyone to take you from us. You’re a Veslor now.”
“Not really. We haven’t actually mated.”
“I can do something about that.”
He kissed her without warning.
She had planned to continue arguing with him, but she lost her train of thought. The Veslor was really good at making her forget everything except his mouth.
His big hands cupped her bare ass and he lifted her, walking across the room. He placed her on the end of the med bed in her lab, based on the soft padding under her bottom. She spread her thighs when he pushed against her knees, making room for him.
A low rumble came from Maith’s chest, making her nipples ache. When he broke the kiss, she was panting.
She met his gaze. “That’s not fair. We’re fighting.”
“Not about this.”
“I―”
He kissed her again, silencing what she was about to say. Then words escaped her fully. There was only his hot mouth and tongue tormenting her, his hands roaming her body. The flimsy gown was torn from between them by the time he stopped kissing her again. She opened her eyes in time to see him toss it to the floor.
Maith suddenly gripped her thighs and tugged, dropping Jessa to her back. His green gaze narrowed as he released her with one hand to reach for one of the control panels on the side of the bed.
“What are you doing?”
He licked his lips as the bed started to lower closer to the floor. “I was taught all the operations of these beds. It’s part of my training with the task force team medics.” He lowered it as far as it would go, which was about two and a half feet from the floor. Then he grabbed her thigh again as he dropped to his knees. A wicked grin crossed his face. “You’re mine, Jessa.”
The second his mouth fastened on her pussy, she gasped and clawed at the edges of the cushioned med bed. He sucked, licked, and growled, creating vibrations that had her moaning in seconds. Any questions she had on whether Veslors went down on women were soundly answered. They clearly did…or at least Maith did…and he was a master. So much so that her climax hit fast and ferociously strong.
Jessa cried out his name.
“My mate,” he snarled.
Jessa tried to catch her breath and open her eyes as she recovered from having her mind blown. The feeling of Maith closing her legs and flipping her onto her stomach helped. She opened her eyes to find herself face down and twisted, so she now sprawled sideways across the med bed.
She looked back at him as he tore open his decontamination jumpsuit to reveal his upper body. Then he shoved it down his hips. He leaned forward, pinning her tight against the cushioned surface. His face hovered inches from hers.
“Say yes…and spread your thighs.”
Jessa hesitated.
“You’re my mate.” His voice turned gruff. “We both know it. Agree, and spread your thighs for me. Accept me, Jessa. I’m claiming you.”
The fleet and United Earth would be furious. They’d probably send her to a black site and punish her. And as she peered into Maith’s beautiful eyes…none of that mattered.
She wanted to be his.
She knew exactly what he planned to do. He’d lowered the med bed as far as it would go so when he shifted into his battle form, he could still mount her. And Veslors mated for life. He’d never let her go.
She didn’t know all the details, since Veslors were so secretive about their race, but she’d learned a lot from treating Darla right after the fleet had rescued them from the Elth. Gnaw had accidently gotten Darla pregnant and mated her while they’d both been held captive. Jessa had learned enough Veslor to understand the gist when the grouping arguing about how it shouldn’t have happened, since Gnaw hadn’t transformed into battle form before mating Darla.
From that little information, it hadn’t been hard for Jessa to fill in some blanks. She’d also gotten to run various tests on Darla during her pregnancy. She’d never discussed her findings with anyone. Darla’s DNA had been slightly altered—and it hadn’t been caused by the pregnancy or carrying Gnaw’s twin cubs. Jessa suspected it had something to do with Veslor sperm. Maith had just said he wanted to claim her. It implied…
“Jessa,” Maith growled, though it sounded almost like a plea. “I’m your mate. You’re mine.”
“I could get pregnant if my birth control implant doesn’t work against Veslor sperm,” she blurted. “None of you would donate any for me to test.”
He returned her stare unflinchingly. “That would be ideal. I want cubs with you. Say yes.”
She studied his face in surprise. He really meant that. He wanted to bond them together for the rest of their lives and have kids with her.
Jessa could finally admit to herself…she was in love with him.
The fleet and United Earth could go fuck themselves.
She spread her thighs and blindly reached up, grabbing hold of the other side of the med bed inches above her head.
“Yes,” she told him, holding his gaze.
Maith adjusted his body, and she felt the broad tip of his cock press against her pussy. She was soaking wet, but he entered her slowly. A moan tore from her. She tried to maintain eye contact but he suddenly reached up and fisted some of her hair, gently tugging her head up. He lowered himself against her back and kissed her neck. First with his lips, then his tongue, then she felt his fangs.
He drove into her deeper, enough for that bumpy and well-coated yunce to press against her clit. Jessa gasped.
Maith nipped her with his fangs. “Close your eyes,” he urged.
She didn’t want to, but as he started to pump into her deep and fast, she couldn’t do anything but focus on the intense pleasure. He picked up the pace even more and wrapped around her tighter, until she couldn’t move at all. He released her hair and pressed his forearms against her sides.
Another climax built, and Jessa screamed as it crested, but it was muffled into the cushion. Something hard pressed against her wrist but it didn’t matter. She was feeling no pain.
There was no missing when Maith came. Not only could she feel it inside as heat warmed her where they were connected, but he also unleashed a low, guttural groan.
Jessa forced her eyes open and stared at where Maith’s hand had pinned her own. But that wasn’t what she saw. Instead, a huge paw was attached to a thick, leathery limb. She caught only a glimpse before it quickly changed back into his hand and arm.
No panic hit. Not even shock. It just confirmed what she’d already been told by Darla. Veslors did normally transform into their battle form to mate a woman.
Maith released her wrist and brushed a kiss over her neck. “My mate.”
He lifted some of his weight off her and Jessa inhaled deeply a few times to catch her breath. She had just mated to a Veslor. It was a done deal.
“Jessa?” They were still intimately connected as he leaned in close to peer into her eyes.
“Wow,” she managed to get out. “That was incredible.”
“I am a good mate who will always give you deep pleasure.”
A laugh erupted from her. “Yes, you are. But I was talking about how I didn’t feel a certain part of you changing. I guess that’s one part that stays the same, huh?”
Maith laughed, amusement sparking in his eyes. “Always with the questions.”
“Guilty.” She didn’t regret what they’d done. That would come later, when the fear returned over what would happen when everyone found out that they’d mated. “Now you can’t stop me from examining every inch you. Your body belongs to me.”
He adjusted his large body over hers and cupped her face. “As yours does to me. We will be happy, Jessa.”
She didn’t really believe that. He was naïve if he believed a mating would be enough to get her free from her contract. But she didn’t want to think about that now. She decided to change the subject. “I guess tomorrow I should take a pregnancy test to figure out if human birth control implants hold up against your sperm.”
“I want cubs with you.” He leaned closer. She thought he might kiss her again, but he didn’t. “Do you want my cubs, Jessa?”
“Yes.” She wouldn’t lie to him, despite all the years she’d denied it to protect herself.
He smiled. “Good.”
A buzz sounded, interrupting the moment. Maith’s good mood faded. “What is that?”
“Someone is outside, trying to get our attention. Probably Kane, since it’s been about half an hour. I didn’t return like I said I would. That woman drives me nuts.”
He growled in response and gently withdrew his cock from her. She turned when he moved off her, backed up on his knees. “You’re still hard. How is that possible? I know you came. It’s running down my thighs, now that you’ve uncorked me.”
His expression was one of confusion.
She laughed. “I’m going to shower. You deal with Kane—but don’t let her in here. She just gets angry when she sees the nice lab that she covets. Tell her I’ll come back to Med Bay soon.”
Maith stood and pulled up his jumpsuit. The front part of the shirt area was ripped where he’d pulled it apart. There was no fixing that. Kane would see a strip of his bare chest. His booties were also torn, not having survived his feet turning into paws with sharp claws.
The door buzzed again. Jessa got to her feet and quickly pushed the control to put the med bed back to standard height. Her med gown was still on the floor. She didn’t bother to pick it up.
The buzzer went off again. And again.
“I’ll hurry. Don’t let that bitch gawk at you.” She winked at him. “You’re very sexy.”
She fled into the private bathroom in her lab. It had two showers. She didn’t need decontamination again, so it wouldn’t take her long to wash and put on a uniform, since she kept two spares in a closet there. Then she planned to eat.