Page 38 of Tornn's Mate
I’mrelieved when Tornn leaves after breakfast. After he’d finished telling me about what happened to his homeworld and his people’s females, I didn’t quite know what to say.
‘I’m so sorry’ seems like a woefully inadequate response after someone tells you about the destruction of their homeworld. Yet that was all I said as Tornn sat across from me at the table, both of us still as statues, our meals forgotten.
Jenny would’ve known the right thing to say. She would’ve uttered something deep and touching.
God, how I miss her. I would give anything to speak with her again.
It seems unfair that I have a clear view of theJansonnafrom the viewscreen in Tornn’s quarters, yet I can’t communicate with my family.
I swallow hard and rise from the table. I place the dirty dishes in the sanitation receptacle just before the android enters the kitchen, then aimlessly wander around my mate’s living space.
Two weeks. I’ve belonged to Tornn for two weeks now, though it feels like so much longer. Sometimes I become so homesick that I find myself holding back tears. Other times I briefly forget about the life I left behind—that usually happens during my evenings spent with Tornn.
We slaughtered them. The Yelltzins. We erased them from existence. We always, always hunt down our enemies.
My mate’s words from earlier keep replaying in my thoughts. There was already no doubt in my mind that the Darrvasons were powerful and could be deadly, but hearing Tornn admit they’d destroyed another race is jarring.
What would his people do to humankind if we crossed them the wrong way? I think of Nathan and whatever plot he’s involved in and shiver. I still don’t know if he had a hand in what happened with Officer Paddax.
Tornn remains infuriatingly secretive about Paddax and his mate, though I’ve since learned her name is Sheila. Whenever I bring up the topic, he insists it’s being handled and that I have nothing to worry about because the alliance is still intact.
So much for my original plan to visit Sheila in the brig. I’m not sure if she’s still incarcerated, nor do I have any idea whether Paddax remains in the medical bay.
With a frustrated sigh, I grab my reading tablet and settle on the plush sofa in front of the viewscreen. To my relief, there aren’t any new messages from Nathan waiting on me.
In an effort to distract myself from present circumstances, I start perusing the reading material that’s available to me.
The tablet contains thousands of history books, most of which I’ve already read, but as I swipe through the various covers, trying to decide what I’m in the mood for, I come across the hidden file that contains the banned romance novels I’d swiped from an old electronic library in the bowels of theJansonna.
Do I dare read one?
I glance around Tornn’s quarters, my heart racing.
Though I’m no longer aboard the worldship, I can’t help but worry that a morality officer is about to barge into the room and arrest me for indecency. Nathan’s cousin is a morality officer, and my skin crawled whenever I was in his presence as I worried he would somehow discover my illegal reading habits.
Logically, I know the only person who will enter Tornn’s quarters is Tornn himself. Even the workers who deliver his fresh meat every evening don’t come inside. They ring the bell, hand over the goods, and I barely catch a glimpse of them.
After a steadying breath, I select a historical romance novel that was always one of my favorites. It contains numerous detailed passages of sexual activities, including a rather scandalous romp in a moving, horse-drawn carriage. Though the book has never caused me to experience arousal, I can’t help but wonder if maybe now it will.
I’m off the hormone suppression shots, and I feel as though I’m in the midst of a carnal awakening. I’ve enjoyed myself every single time Tornn has claimed me. My face heats and warmth quakes in my core as I think about how he buries his face between my thighs and laps at my clit at least once a day.
Feeling naughty but also brave, I swipe open the illicit book and start reading. If I’m remembering correctly, the wedding night happens in the second chapter. With a sigh of contentment, I snuggle deeper into the sofa and read faster.
* * *
TORNN
“If you willall take a look at the data,” I say in the calmest tone I can muster, “I’m confident you’ll find Planet 58-Zallnanis is a perfect candidate not only for humankind’s occupation, but for the Darrvason Empire as well. Given that there are six large continents, that leaves us with plenty of space to spread out. We can reside on a continent far from wherever the humans create their first settlement.”
Advisor Bemment snorts. “And live in close proximity to a race that’s tried to infect us with a deadly virus? No thank you.”
Some of the advisors at the table murmur their agreement, while others shake their heads and voice their opposition to Advisor Bemment’s views. Emperor Radakk, who sits at the head of the long table, appears deep in thought, though I cannot discern whether he supports my viewpoint.
“While I can understand your concern, Advisor Bemment,” I say, “I am confident that the humans won’t pose a threat to us. Our weaponry and our technology are far superior to theirs, as is our medical knowledge. By my estimations, we are at least three thousand years ahead of them in all major developments.”
“And what happens in three thousand years, then?” the disagreeable advisor blurts. “I don’t want the humans showing up on my great-grandchildren’s doorstep and blasting them to pieces! I won’t have it! I say we see the humans settled on 58-Z, then once we acquire the remaining females they have promised us, we will set off to search for a planet more to our liking. A long-term plan is a better one, Admiral Tornn.”
Advisor Yumuf, an old friend of my father’s, scoffs and gives Bemment a dirty look. “Perhaps in three thousand years the humans will be just as advanced as we are now, but where do you thinkwe’llbe in three thousand years? Do you honestly think we’ll be frozen in time? Do you think we’ll fail to continue making scientific advancements? There are times, Advisor Bemment, that I’m afraid the rumors about you are true—that you have rodent excrement for brains.”
