Grady's Awakening (9 page)

“What will they do with you?”

It suddenly occurred to her that he was an experimental subject. In all likelihood he’d been sprung for a mission and might have to go back to being a prisoner of the medical establishment after it was over. She didn’t want that for him. It made her realize that every moment away from the city and the doctors who wanted to study him like a lab rat was precious. He might never have this kind of freedom again.

“I’m not sure really. There was a small group of test subjects in my clinical trial. I suppose it depends on how well we do as a group. If the rest show the ability to live normally in Alvian society, perhaps we will be given some modicum of freedom.”

“What if they can’t adjust?”

“Then I suppose we will continue to be closely monitored. Perhaps for the rest of our lives.”

Gina sat back in her chair, raising her eyebrows as she pondered his words. “That’s no way to live, Grady.”

“I concur. Which is why I’m giving great consideration to the words of your Patriarch. If nothing changes, I have few options. If, however, other events prove the usefulness or necessity of expanding the experiment, the options for me and my group of test subjects could change drastically.”

“Oh, Grady, I hope you’re right. The Patriarch is the best of men, but he plays a deep game. None of us really knows for sure what his ultimate goals are. I can tell you that I believe he’s on the right path to help both your people and mine live together peacefully, once certain issues are settled. I don’t kid myself that it’ll be easy. In fact, I think this is going to be one of the hardest things either of our races has ever attempted. I believe in my heart that it’s worth it. Whatever the cost.”

Grady reached across the table and took her hand. She felt the stares of the Alvians seated closest to them as they touched. She knew they were hearing some kind of Hum, and she wished for a moment she could hear it too. She only felt the electric effect of his skin on hers, his emotions bleeding through her small empathic ability. He was worried, elated, hopeful and tense, just as she was.

“I’m grateful I met you, Gina, even though we’re both dedicated to other missions just now.”

“I could have wished for better timing, but I’m glad we met too. You’re the first Alvian I’ve ever met who can truly feel, and I hope you won’t be the last.” She kept her voice low so that only Grady Prime could hear her fervent hopes for the future.

He clutched her hand, his strong fingers applying light pressure to her knuckles and palm. “With any luck, I’m just the first of many, if not all. You give me hope for…many things, Gina. Hope for my people. Hope for yours. And hope for…us.”

“Us?”

“You and me, Gina. We could be mates. Don’t tell me that thought doesn’t intrigue you. Even now, every Alvian in here can hear us Humming when we touch.” His smile was temptation itself and meant just for her. His eyes drew her in until they were alone in the crowded room, the only air in the little bubble that surrounded them. At least that’s the way it felt to her.

A commotion at the door burst the intimate atmosphere. Mara Prime had arrived for breakfast with a contingent of his personal staff, and he was heading directly for them. Gina tugged on her hand, but Grady Prime seemed reluctant to let her go as he looked over to the door, his mouth hardening into a grim line as he saw the scientist drawing closer.

Mara Prime approached, his aides fanning out behind him like a cape. He was an old man—one of the few Alvians who actually looked old to Gina’s eyes. He regarded them with one eyebrow raised in mild inquiry.

Grady looked from the scientist to Gina, squeezing her hand once before letting go and turning his gaze back to Mara Prime. The elder’s eyes widened fractionally as the tingling that must have signified the Hum ceased.

“An interesting development.” Mara Prime nodded in greeting as he peremptorily pulled out a chair at the long table. “May we sit with you?”

There was no polite way to refuse, as Mara Prime had no doubt intended. He took a seat next to Grady, across from Gina, as his entourage ranged themselves around the table. Two young scientists flanked Gina and more sat across from her, next to Grady. She shot him a look that held both her amusement and consternation at these developments and she knew Grady understood when a ghost of a smile touched his lips, just briefly.

The rest of the meal was spent being questioned—none too subtly—by Mara Prime and his subordinates. The geneticist had been told that Ronin Prime required Breed servants to attend him wherever he went. Gina was one of Ronin Prime’s
pets
, as Mara Prime had been heard to call the human
Zxerah
adoptees, since the Patriarch allowed no interference with them whatsoever.

It wasn’t the most enjoyable half hour Gina had ever spent, but she did marvel at Grady’s ability to answer questions without saying much at all. He confounded the scientific team in such a polite and roundabout way, they couldn’t object. He had a way of drawing them off target and leading them directly where he wanted them conversationally. It was a talent she admired, a skill she had never mastered. Grady could have taught lessons on the old bait and switch. She had to give him credit.

While Grady was occupied with the scientists and their questions, Gina ate steadily. Finishing her breakfast, she was grateful to have an excuse to leave the crowded table and the probing, invasive conversation the scientists seemed to think was acceptable. In her book, it was downright rude. Then again, she wasn’t Alvian. Thank goodness.

Grady was sad to see Gina leave, but he knew it was for the best. Mara Prime was digging into areas Grady would rather not discuss in public—particularly not in front of a woman he thought might be his future mate. He’d rather she learn about his weaknesses and failures—as well as his strengths—naturally, over time.

He wanted desperately to spend time with her, learning her as she learned him. But duty called. His and hers. Both of them had jobs to do and superiors to satisfy before they would be free to pursue their personal lives, be it alone or together. Grady hoped like hell it would be together.

He’d never wanted a woman so badly. He’d never been so intrigued or inspired to such passion with her slightest touch, her weakest smile. She was like a drug to which he was fast becoming addicted, and he never wanted to stop.

Mara Prime dragged out breakfast as much as possible but eventually even the cagey old scientist had to let Grady Prime go about his duties for the day. Grady was glad to take up where he had left off with his investigation. He talked to more of the winged soldiers about their former leader and was learning things that would help his mission.

Or so he hoped. He needed to narrow down the parameters for locations he would search. Right now, the field was still wide open. Only through the observations of people who had known the former Prime would Grady be able to formulate an effective search plan for Sinclair Prime Past.

Grady admitted to himself, he was woefully distracted. How could he not, with the tantalizing prospect of a Resonance Mate in the offing? Gina was luscious and one of the few things that could make him forget his duty and have trouble concentrating on his mission. All he wanted to do was daydream about her and the tempting possibilities of what they could be together—if their stars were in alignment.

Lunch couldn’t come too soon to suit him. He arrived at the mess hall with eager steps only to find Gina there before him. She sat alone at a table in the corner. Even as he entered the room, he saw some of her
Zxerah
colleagues stop by the table to make conversation.

“Don’t sit down. Don’t sit down,” he chanted under his breath to no avail. A moment later with a quick, apologetic glance in his direction, Gina smiled at the two warriors as they pulled out chairs across from her. At least he could sit at her side, Grady consoled himself. He noticed she’d put a small backpack on the chair next to her, precluding anyone from sitting there when there were other chairs available around the long table. “Good girl,” Grady cheered her on under his breath.

If this went on much longer, people would start to think he habitually talked to himself. That wouldn’t reflect well on an experimental test subject. At the moment, however, he didn’t care. All that mattered was being with her, sitting next to her, hearing her voice and basking in her light.

They dined together, but had little opportunity to really talk. Not with so many attentive ears around the table. The warriors asked her about human fighting techniques and Grady listened, keenly aware that his possible mate was a fighting champion of some stature among humankind. The idea sat oddly with him at first, but as he listened to her speak knowledgably on a wide variety of topics, including strategies suitable for someone of her size against a larger opponent, he began to glow with pride.

His mate was a warrior. He never would have expected it in a million years, but he was glad of it. She was no weak city-bred female of one of the clerical lines. The only woman to date that he’d been tempted to subject to the resonance tests had been a Jaci—a lab tech with no athletic skills that he knew of. After meeting Gina, he couldn’t imagine the regret he’d felt when Jaci had mated two human males.

Oh, he liked Jaci and wished her well, but he didn’t regret that she wasn’t his mate any longer. Not with Gina near. In fact, all others paled in comparison to the human warrior woman at his side.

Grady was able to sit back and enjoy lunch, knowing that of all the males present, only he could truly appreciate her complexities. Only a short while ago he wouldn’t have understood her at all. Since his new emotions had stabilized somewhat, he knew he had something to offer her that other Alvian males could not. Just the idea of it made him feel smug—a new emotion to add to his ever expanding catalog of new experiences.

They parted after lunch with a quick promise to meet for dinner. Grady swore to himself he’d arrange it so they could dine alone. He didn’t want to share her attention with a table full of males again. Not when they had so little time left together.

On a new mission, he went through his duties as quickly as possible, then spent the remainder of his afternoon setting things up for an intimate dinner for two. His fellow Alvian soldiers may not understand emotion, but they certainly understood seduction. Since the change to their people, warriors, as a general rule, had to try harder to entice the females of their species into sharing their bodies.

Warriors were seen as less evolved and therefore less desirable than other classes of Alvian society. Yet it was their curse that they needed physical satiation more than others because of the echoes of aggression left in their genetic makeup to make them effective at their jobs. They had to get creative when seeking to share pleasure with a female. As a result, the other warriors understood without being told why Grady Prime was silently demanding privacy to share a meal with a female.

He didn’t have to explain to the cooks why he wanted special food items packed for travel, or why he required the best they had in the way of dishes and utensils. They also didn’t ask why he wanted a bottle of the fermented fruit juice the Alvian race had come to enjoy since colonizing this planet. They simply provided the meal and accoutrements and wished him good hunting.

Everything was set when Grady Prime walked back to the mess hall. He had left early, intending to intercept Gina before she had a chance to go inside. He arrived in the nick of time, calling out to her as she was about to open the door. She spun, a smile lighting her face when she saw him. She moved toward him and he stopped dead, entranced for a moment by the feminine loveliness of her.

Her smile turned questioning as she neared, her head tilting to one side. “What?”

“You are beautiful, Gina.”

A becoming blush stained her cheeks, and he could tell she was pleased with his unguarded words. He breathed a sigh of relief. This small woman could easily send him off course. She shook him up almost as much as he wanted to upset her composure—in the best possible way. So far, so good, judging by her expression.

“I have a surprise for you. Will you come with me so we can dine alone?”

Her expression softened with pleasure. She agreed, preceding him down the path. When she hesitated where the path forked, he placed his palm on the small of her back, guiding her. He kept his hand on her until they reached their destination, liking the feeling of her supple body under his fingers.

He guided her to a small clearing he’d found under the shelter of one of the largest of the redwood trees in the grove. So massive was the tree’s girth and the spread of its leaves that the ground around its base was relatively bare except for a soft layer of compacted leafy debris. With the moon just rising overhead in a twilight sky, the setting was perfect for romance.

Grady had thought ahead and had a small lantern ready for when darkness fell completely, but since the moon was nearly full and shining through an opening in the leafy canopy, he didn’t think they’d have to use it except perhaps when they made their way back to the encampment…eventually.

He’d taken a thick blanket from his quarters and spread it in the open area, then topped it with a snowy white tablecloth. The glasses, dishes and utensils he’d borrowed from the cooks were set out on top and the meal was waiting. It had been kept warm in self-heating containers the cooking staff had packed for him, ready to serve.