Page 46 of Warrior's Captive
Eventually she fell asleep, and distantly realized that though she’d told him to stop, she hadn’t really wanted him to.
16
A soft scuffof feet broke Vivian away from her tablet. She glanced up at Tai’ri, who stepped onto the deck and then simply stared at her.
He shoved his hands into his pockets. She set her tablet down, poured him a glass of lemonade, and gestured.
“Something’s wrong,” she said. “What is it?”
He frowned at her, not quite an expression of displeasure. “How do you know something is wrong?”
“Your tell.” She nodded at his hands.
Tai’ri sighed. “Figures.” He sat though, eyeing the glass of lemonade. “I don’t suppose this has something stronger than fruit in it.”
“I don’t suppose it does.”
He sipped, winced a little, but drained the glass. “Before I forget, the art district we went to the other evening has a public warehouse that stocks supplies from several different planets. Do you want to go?”
Poor man. He actually thought he had to ask. “I have plenty of blood I can sell.”
“What?”
“It’s a joke, a bad one. I would love to go.”
He stared at her, baffled. “I don’t know why you keep saying you don’t have a sense of humor.”
“I didn’t use too, truly. But maybe something about being here brings out that side of me.” Something about not having to work long, relentless days suppressing her unhappiness.
Tai’ri rose, went back into the house, then emerged a minute later with a small glass of clear liquid she just knew wasn’t fruity. He sat down. “I bought a human woman.”
Vivian considered him, the set of his shoulders that betrayed discomfort. “Why?”
“You aren’t upset?”
“I don’t feel I’m in full possession of the facts. I can get angry later, if anger is warranted.” She spoke slowly, because obviously he was bothered, and expecting some kind of recrimination.
Tai’ri leaned back in his chair, stretching his legs out. He eyed her broodingly from that sprawl, his fingers tapping on the armrest. “I was following a lead of the people trying to sell you. You take out one and another takes it’s place.”
Her stomach clenched. “It sounds like you’re playing whack-a-mole.”
“What?”
Vivian paused, mentally side stepping the translator, and used her manual language skills. “Whack-a-mole.”
His expression cleared. “Your Yadeshi is getting better. The accent is cute.”
“Thank you.”
“I get it, though.” He glanced up at the sky, appearing thoughtful. “It’s a long game.”
“So you bought a woman. I surmise you were under cover?”
“Yeah. Thing is, I’m legally her guardian until her citizenship paperwork comes through.”
“Interesting. Where is she?”
“At one of theBdakhun’slocations. She’s pregnant.”
