Page 5 of Trak
He reinserted the chip and waited a moment. “So you see, the chip allows me to speak English.RealEnglish. Not that rubbish you speak.”
She smiled blandly at him. “Why do you need a chip? The Baylans don’t use them.”
“The Baylans are far more intelligent, m’dear.” He speared another bite and put it in her mouth. “Sorry you’re stuck with a primitive fellow such as myself. We can’t absorb languages by osmosis, or however they do it. It takes us time and practice to learn a language, or we can get a neural implant and put in a chip.” He gave her a considering look. “Can’t mold metal with my mind, either. I hope you’re not too terribly disappointed.”
“Not disappointed,” she said honestly. “Just curious.”
“Is there anything else you want to know?”
She considered him. “Why do you wear makeup?”
His look was blank. “Come again?”
“Your eyes. You have black makeup around your eyes.”
He smiled, flashing those pointy canines again. “Those are just my eyes, love. We Virilians are born with them. This, too.” He flicked his blue tail. “Anything else?”
She shook her head. He set the plate aside. With slow, deliberate moves, he unbuckled the chains and leather straps that crossed over his chest and placed them next to the tub. Anna’s mouth went dry when those long fingers moved to his pants. He undid the fastenings, all the while keeping his gaze riveted to hers. He pushed them down, freeing a cock so large she gasped at the sight of it. It sprang free, erect and thick, ready to be taken into someplace warm and tight. Her skin tingled at the thought of taking it into her, and she wondered what it would feel like. Would she find some pleasure in this, or would it really be all business?
It appeared she was going to find out right then. He pulled off his boots and kicked aside his clothing. He stood before her nude for a moment. “Don’t look so dreadful, love. This is just a preview.” He spoke in a low rumble, rough with arousal. “You will be getting all of this in the coming weeks, or longer. I do hope you like what you see.” Then he stepped over the edge of the tub and sank into the warm blue. It came up to the middle of his chest. He settled on the other side, facing, but not touching, her.
“You should know,” she said a little breathlessly. “I’m not a sex worker who’s comfortable just…” she gestured between the two of them, “…having sex with whoeverpays her.”
His glittering blue gaze held hers. “But you did agree to have sex with me. And you will receive financial compensation, will you not?”
“I did.” She said it softly. “But I’ve never done anything like this before. I need the money to—”
“Hush.” He leaned forward and pressed a finger to his lips. “Your reasons are your own.” His hand dropped away but he didn’t lean away. “You were chosen by one of the last High Sages, Ferias, to bear me a child. She did us the great honor of traveling to your world in an effort to preserve our people and culture. Ferias used her special sight to recognize the female who would be my match and produce a strong heir.” He touched the medallion around her neck, lifting it, then letting it fall back to the hollow between her collarbones. “You are a highly honored female. You will be the mother of a prince or princess. You will help ensure that my species does not die out.”
“That’s a big responsibility.” She’d given little thought to the child she was here to produce. It had been a theoretical, not a reality, but it began to carry a certain weight. What traits would the child have of hers? Or would the Virilian genes stamp out all the human ones? An image flashed in her mind of a beautiful little boy with Trak’s flashing blue eyes and her smile running toward her, arms outstretched. She pushed it away with a flutter of panic. She would be no better at parenting than her own parents. Her father was an incarcerated thief.
“It’s an honor,” Trak repeated, finally leaning back. “The child will be raised with love and privilege.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Her voice was hoarse.
He looked mildly surprised. “I thought you would want to know. I was informed that human mothers have some investment in the outcome of their offspring.”
Not Anna’s mother, who had suffered from drug addiction and abandoned them when Anna was five and Jimmy was just one. Not once in all the ensuing years had Anna heard from her mother. “Yes,” Anna murmured. “Some human mothers do.”
He rolled his shoulders. “Interesting species you belong to.”
She sighed. “More like dysfunctional.”
“Don’t be hard on yourself, love.” He laced his fingers behind his head and closed his eyes. “It’s not your fault that your males are deficient.”
“Our males aren’t deficient.”
“Really?” He cracked open one eye. “You willingly left your planet of billions of people—about half of whom are males—traveled millions of miles across the galaxy to be mistress to an alien who will hopefully impregnate you and send you home with payment.” He shook his head. “It boggles the mind that there isn’t a human male who can provide you with those things.”
She sank deeper into the tub. “Way to make it feel sleazy.”
“Sleazy means sordid, corrupt, or immoral. What we’re doing is none of those things. I’m just not sure why you had to go to such lengths. Surely there are other ways to earn money?”
“Not enough.” Anna’s throat felt dry and thick as she swallowed. “Not fast enough.”
His gaze narrowed on her. “There are a few reasons I can think of why someone would need a large amount of money in a short amount of time. All of them aresleazy.”
Anna shut her mouth and looked away. It was none of his business what she needed the money for. He could assume whatever he wished. Her brother’s treatments were the farthest thing from sleazy one could get, but she didn’t owe him an explanation. She only owed him sex. And a kid.God. What had she gotten herself into?
