Domestic Duet: Domestic Alliance & Asset (13 page)

"I wouldn’t put it passed him to try.” She tipped her chin up gesturing toward the stairs. “Sent him to get washed up and ready for bed."

“Good...he'll just sweet talk me into allowing him to stay up late. What would we do without you, Sadie?"

"You wouldn't be having this party tonight, that's for certain. How many guests did you invite anyway?"

“Suga, you know as well as I do, Richard can’t resist inviting people over at the last minute. He always gets in over his head and next thing you know, we have a house full of people. I think maybe thirty.” With the cabinet open, Savannah took down the punch bowl and little crystal mugs to hang off the sides. “Sadie, be a dear and wash this for me. I’ll go and bring the alcohol out. A bunch of bankers sitting around talking finance without alcohol is just unheard of in this house.” A warm smile pushed at the smooth skin around her mouth.

Sadie took the offered crystal bowl and eased it into the warm soapy water, then turned to Savannah.

“Hmm, that awful Mr. Cantrell will be here no doubt—no offense to your family,” Sadie begged off.

Oliver’s arrogant personality rubbed her the wrong way. The fact she knew of his secret made him a walking contradiction. Pretending to be a banker, he fit in with the other bankers, with his chiseled features and a body that wore the hell out of a pencil suit. He was gorgeous.
However, it’s not time to let him know I know who he truly is.

“You don’t find him to be the most handsome man ever?”

“Of course I do…a dead ringer for Rock Hudson, but his stares start at the floor and by the time they reach my face, I’m sweating. I feel as if my dress was made from cling wrap and he’s cataloged every inch of my body.”

“Oh, Sadie, the way you go on. He’s not one of those derelict stalkers they show on the evening news, going after defenseless women in the parks.”

Sadie shrugged.

“That’s why most women carry a switchblade nowadays,” she added, her accent thick as molasses.

That would make it to her report: ogling her body, in public. He knew better than to flirt with black women in this century on Earth. They’d taken classes on era appropriate behavior. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t known she was undercover. They trained not to give in to the prejudices of the time, just to blend in. Don’t agree with what you know to be wrong because the era is accepting of it. But she’d save that fight for another day.

Sadie felt as if she were spying on the Edwards as well as her colleague, Cantrell, on this mission.

“Sadie, if Oliver bothers you that much, I could ask Richard to talk to him. Although, I’ve only known Oliver less than a year, he is Richard’s cousin. I’m certain he didn’t mean no harm.” She twisted her gold watch, the little chain catching the light. “He moved down here after his wife died in Ohio. By all appearances, he’s a wonderful man.”

Back track before you get him reassigned.

“Oh, don’t do that. Besides, if I’m out of here soon enough he’ll never see me.” Blushing, Sadie scrubbed at the bowl. She couldn’t get him taken off the case, but he had to stop flirting.

“Sadie…you’re blushing. Don’t try to hide it. I saw the way your eyes danced just now. You are smitten by Mr. Cantrell.”

“I would have to be blind not to be.” She fired a quick glance at Savannah. “Sometimes I wish everyone saw the world through your eyes. We could never be a couple.” After living on the Space Station, where being human made you a minority, Earth’s various prejudices were exhausting.

“But—”

Halting further conversation about Oliver, she nodded toward Savannah’s peach robe. “The party’s less than an hour off.”

Savannah slipped the silk sash out of its loose ribbon and opened her robe. “All I need is for you to fasten my pearls once I put my face on.”

Silver sparkled off the bejeweled cocktail dress. White satin with silver sequins flickered under the kitchen lights. Her boa feathered house slippers even sparkled.

“Whose gonna notice anything I make when you’re in the room,” Sadie drawled.

“Their noses will notice, Suga. Believe me. You’re cooking is legendary in this town, so make certain to put up something for Timothy’s lunch tomorrow.”

The two women rested against one another as their laughter filled the buttery-scented room. Moments like this made her job a pleasure. The comfortable atmosphere scented the house along with the sweet biscuits.

“Sadie, why don’t you stay and at least have some drinks before heading off? I know you have your sister’s party tonight, but honey, I’d hate for you to go through all this trouble and not have one drink with us.”

Baffled by Savannah’s ability to block out reality, Sadie placed an arm around her shoulder. “You are the only one that seems to forget I’m just the hired help.”

“Oh…c'mon now, Sadie, you have never been
just
anything.” Her country twang drew out the words on a syrupy string of praise. “You keep my home in order and life organized. You’re essentially family, Suga. Timothy practically has two mothers.” She dipped her head in a coquettish flare only Savannah could pull off. “Come on, share a drink…you’ve worked so hard on this.” Warm green eyes held Sadie close. The invitation was sincere.

Pushing Savannah out of the kitchen, she warned lovingly, “Go and finish getting dressed or I’ll never be done in here.”

The two women stood and held the other’s gaze. Savannah pressed her lips against her palm and blew Sadie a kiss before turning to glide up the stairs in her elegant manner. She called back over her shoulders, “I’m not done with you, Sadie. I’ll leave it alone this time, but you know you’d be perfect for Oliver.” She disappeared around the corner, and the scent of her sweet gardenia perfume hung like a bouquet in the air.

Sadie stood, shaking her head, amazed by Savannah’s way of blocking out the truth. If only the rest of the world were so blind.

Chapter 2

Red Sector Five

The red lake surrounding the station never laid this quiet, and Captain Aroc Farkus of the karuntee, soaked in the serenity even if short-lived. With the churning of the atmosphere bringing on the approaching two weeks of darkness, an oppressing cloak settled over the space station.

The moon had shown brighter last night, sending the shift in the atmosphere to crash and swell as the two weeks of frigid temperatures approached. Shutting down travel for those two weeks became an imposition for some while a reprieve for others.

Lifting the coffee mug, he took a healthy drink of the warm, bitter liquid, and then set the mug on the high table perched in the window of the breakfast canteen’s dining hall. He thought he’d never move beyond the crushing pain of losing his mate. Until
her
—the human female that had crossed his path down on Earth and changed his mind and world.

He’d not intended to keep her that day, yet he found releasing her next to impossible. But he had—reluctantly—with stipulations. Now their friendship wasn’t so easily defined.

Sadie consumed more of his thoughts every day.

Flustered, he rested his arm along the strip of metal supporting the glass wall. The arrival bell from dock fifteen rang over the speakers. Aroc caressed the patch of hair that grew on his shoulder, remembering how his human had touched it in her sleep. She was the only female Norese would eat for and lately the woman starring in his dreams.

Turning his head, he caught sight of Earth through the viewing panel. Time appeared to move slower than normal today. He was desperate for her feminine touch.

Although initially intimidated by his anatomical differences, Sadie stroked his retractable spine with a firm hand until he nearly purred from the pleasure. Some days he craved more than her touch. While struggling to honor the life of his deceased mate, anticipation roared through him at the picture forming of Sadie walking into his home. Strong-willed, a warrior for what she believed in, and everything a karuntee male looked for in a female.

Katherine would want him to mate again.

Dipping his head, he listened to the heavy footfalls of his males. One stood out from the others. Solid, purposeful steps free of hesitation sent a vibration across the floor. Without looking, he greeted the only male strong enough to fight at his side. “Morning, Montage.” He rolled his shoulders. The muscles under the patch of hair, the sign of an adult karuntee, stretched releasing the tension. As he approached, Aroc caught the stress lines marring Montage’s forehead.

“Morning, Captain Farkus,” the male greeted. “What number is that, cup two or three?” With a nod, he indicated the mug of coffee gripped between Aroc's fingers.

He studied the number of coffee ring stains on the white surface. “Three, no four,” Aroc corrected himself, raising his arm to drape over the male’s shoulders and to walk him toward the bay doors. “Norese doesn’t sleep well without Sadie. I’ve given up. I leave the door open so she can crawl in when she needs to.”

“And you can’t sleep with her in the bed?”

Aroc sighed. “An hour of restless sleep is not sleeping.”

Aroc cracked his neck and caught himself before he sent out his retractable spikes for a good stretch. He’d ripped enough vests over the years and refused the ones with the holes because his spikes would catch and he’d end up tearing the damned thing anyway. He’d had to have his vests hand tailored to accommodate his three-inch spines when fully exposed.

The spikes were a form of defense in battle. If an enemy grabbed a karuntee from behind many organs would be punctured and ripped from their bodies.

“I don’t envy you, Captain. She’ll have questions one day, about her mother.” Montage cantered his head to the right, the burgundy ponytail slipping over his shoulder. “I hope you have pictures or a good memory.”

“Hopefully I’ll know what little girls need by the time she starts looking for answers. A blank stare won’t be enough.” He gestured a hand over the panel, and the doors slid apart. “Sadie’s good with her, she’ll help.”

Aroc was aware many considered humans less than desirable. However, a few held to a higher standard and Sadie caught his attention.

“Sadie’s good.” Montage sighed, and then fed him a curious stare before scrubbing a hand across his chest. “Human’s don’t have a code of conduct they operate by. Having never encountered anyone different than themselves, they have a superiority that taints them in the eyes of other species.”

“They would never exist in the underwater world of our allies.”

“No!” Montage agreed. “They wouldn’t believe such a world exists until one of them is abducted and exposed to that life. Perhaps one day they will.”

“Can you imagine a human living in the ocean?” He laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. Aroc thought of Sadie.
Anything’s possible with an open mind.

They moved into the flow of bodies in the corridor, both males and females patrolling the bay doors surrounding the canteen.

“You’re kinder than I would be to the human female,” Montage said, handing him an electronic pad. “Here’s the report from the last seven shipments this week from Earth.” He eyed the company names listed on the log. “Two tanks were quarantined, contaminated, and shipped back before the station became infected. The others passed inspection.”

“I’ll handle this one personally. This banker’s crossed the line more than once, and I haven’t served up an elimination in years.” He slapped Montage on the shoulders, shaking the large male. “It's time the humans paid a bigger price for breaking the rules. Don’t you think?”

Montage accepted the log. “You know my feelings on the dirty breed. They’re an infestation. Look at their planet,” he said, letting his hands drop to his sides in frustration. “You wouldn’t catch a karuntee dumping trash where they live.”

Aroc chuckled. “Got a rogue spike digging at your back this morning, Montage?”

Montage sniffed, sending a tired look round the corridor, then back to Aroc. “Captain,” he relaxed his body, reaching across his chest to stroke the pelt on his shoulder. Calmer, he continued, “Your human female, Sadie, is a friend to our kind as much as Katherine was. She respects the karuntee lifestyle and follows the rules of the station. And from the length of time the glow remained on your skin after you mated, I’d say she’s physically compatible to your taste in females.”

His body tightened at the mention of that day. Sadie had answered the call of his veracious hunger, opening her body as well as mind to give him what he needed. Taking her that day wasn’t planned. He’d given in to the need riding his body for a taste of Sadie. Her feminine presence overwhelmed him. He hadn’t touched her since, not wanting to kill the friendship they’d developed over the year. Yes, Sadie was special.

The grimace on Montage’s face shook the fog from his mind. Aroc stopped walking when they reached the bay door. He could see the male needed to talk. “I can’t read your mind, warrior. What’s bothering you?”

“May I speak freely?” he asked, his gaze moving through the roving crowd of karuntee going about their morning.

“I count on your honesty.”

“Why are you transferring me? I’m your best male with the most experience in running this station.”

Aroc hesitated, shifting a curious glance on the male. “I can promote Salazar if you think I made a mistake appointing you to your own sector.”