Page 43 of A Mate for Vasek
Then there were the little Euphora pods. She’d been a little nervous to try them until Sarah had assured her that the pink pods were formulated for her specifically, and Dawn had at least thirty pounds on the petite woman. The idea of putting something in her neck creeped her out a bit, but she was also very curious. And in the end, curiosity had won.
She was glad she’d tried them, because now colors were more beautiful. The music sounded so good. And every accidental touch on the dance floor was wondrous. Everything was perfect. Well, at least it had been until Vasek had shown up. Now she was acutely aware of him watching her.
She tried to focus on the Tallean male trying to dance with her instead. He was pretty good-looking and very, very fit. Like all muscles, not an ounce of fat, and could probably lift a house kind of fit. Except he wasn’t Vasek.
The music slowed, and the male corralled her into his arms. He was grinning, and she giggled in response. Maybe he wasn’t so bad.
Then suddenly there was a low, familiar growl, and the male was gone. Vasek was there instead. Excitement filled her for one glorious moment. He wanted her after all. But an angry little voice inside would not be silenced.
Did he think he could just show up and scare her dance partner away after what a jerk he’d been? Oh hell no!
“Hey!” she exclaimed. “We were dancing.”
“And now you are dancing with me.”
Dawn looked around for the male, but Dex and Berus were already dragging him away. Dex winked at her, and Cami gave her the thumbs up.
Oh, those scheming little…
Dawn was suddenly wrapped up in Vasek’s arms. God, he smelled so good. She wondered if she could bottle it up and sell it as an aphrodisiac, then realized she would probably be too jealous to share.
“Stars! I missed you.” Vasek’s words had a lump of emotion forming in her throat.
He’d missed her. The words made her giddy, but she refused to give in to them.
“That’s on you. You were the one who disappeared on me.”
“I thought… Forget what I thought, I was wrong.”
They weren’t really dancing, just hugging and talking, even though they were taking up the dance floor. So Dawn started to move, letting the music guide her. Vasek groaned as her bodyrubbed up against his. Even in her Euphora-enhanced haze, she remembered how Danka had declared that her young suitor would have no chance if he didn’t shape up. Well, Dawn wanted more than just this. She wanted Vasek to really want her.
“You can’t just say that because you don’t like me dancing with someone else. I’m my own person. I can dance with whoever I wish.” She eyed the dance floor for an escape route. She wasn’t sure she could handle being here if Vasek didn’t do something to prove he truly wanted her.
“I was wrong, Dawn. You are mine. Mine. I can’t let you go.”
Words. All Dawn heard were words.
Maybe she was broken, but she was too afraid to believe him. What if this was just because he was jealous now? What if tomorrow he went back to not needing her? If she let herself spend more time with him, she was going to fall, and she was going to fall hard.
She imagined waking up in the morning to find that Vasek had left after another wonderful night together. No. She couldn’t let that happen; she couldn’t handle it.
Spying an opening in the throng of people, Dawn made a dash for it. Tears stung her eyes and blurred her vision as she ran, weaving through the ocean of jeweled fabric, glitter, and drinks. Recognizing the guard who usually stood in front of her section of dorms, she made a beeline for him.
“’Scuse me. Pardon me. Coming through!”
He noticed her flying toward him, but his eyes were on Vasek instead. The guard opened the door for her and let her out, but then promptly stood back in front of the closing portal. She heard the start of the resulting fight as the door slammed shut, closing out the noise of the party.
Dawn found herself in the extensive gardens that ran through the entire compound. She didn’t recognize this part of it, but she knew that everything was interconnected, so she kept walking through the organized chaos of green, hoping she’d find a way to her room eventually.
The gardens looked so wild in the night despite being lit here and there with lanterns and sconces. She marveled at the size of some of the trees. The trunk she was currently walking around was so thick that she’d originally thought it was a building since the bark was covered in climbing vines just like the stone walls.
She made a mental note to come back to this section of the garden sometime after work to explore. Exploring this place was so much better than the wilds. At least she knew nothing could really harm her. Correction. Nothing could really harm her here except for Vasek, with his promise of a broken heart.
She went by several more doors, but didn’t recognize any of them. It wasn’t until the third door that she realized the doors were labeled with plaques on the side. The other ones must have been covered by the growing vines or the bushes. The plaques even had English words added to them!
“Training simulator,” she read aloud to herself.
That was where Danka worked. She’d mentioned that if Dawn missed Earth, she could always go visit the Earth scenes they’d programmed into the machines. She went all the time to visit New Rhea. That had been where she grew up, and when she’d found out that Dawn had just been at Port Number Two, she’d asked a bunch of questions. Danka had been rather disappointed that the park her mother used to take her on walks in had been turned into a giant shopping complex.
