Pursued (3 page)

Lauren frowned. “Really? From the way you described how she acted with Merrick, I never would have thought that.”

“Oh,
Merrick
…” Liv sighed. “I’m afraid that’s part of the problem. Things, uh, didn’t really end well between them.”

“What?” Lauren’s amber eyes widened. “But you said they were just getting going. And it’s already over?”

“Afraid so.” Olivia eyed that covered plate in her cousin’s hand. “Hey, are those what I think they are?”

Lauren grinned. “If you’re thinking they’re double chocolate, chocolate chip cupcakes with dark chocolate icing then yes… yes they are.”

“Mmm…” Liv’s stomach rumbled at the very thought and the baby kicked at the same time. “Oh!” she gasped, putting a hand to her curved belly. “I think Junior wants one of those almost as much as I do.”

Lauren laughed. “He gave you a little hint, did he?”

“Kicked me right in the bladder,” Liv admitted. “Now I don’t know whether I want to eat or pee worse.”

“Is your shift almost over? I know we’re supposed to have a girl day later, but you could come to my place and do both. And you can have as many cupcakes as you want. I’ve even got some extra dill-pickle icing to go with them.” Lauren lifted the plate enticingly. “Come on, cuz, you know you want to.”

Liv smiled and gave her cousin a penetrating look. “I guess I can clock out a few minutes early. But Lauren, this is about more than just cupcakes and Elise, isn’t it?”

Lauren looked down at her slim brown hands holding the plate. “Well…yeah, kind of. I wanted to talk to someone about you know, pregnancy issues. And since you’re almost two quadmesters ahead of me I thought…”

“Of course.” Olivia smiled at her cousin’s still-flat belly. “But you’ll be catching up with me in no time. Come on, let me clock out and we’ll got back to your place.”

They made their way through the quiet hum of the med station and Liv was about to clock out when a large hand landed on her shoulder. Turning in surprise, she saw Sylvan standing there looking very upset.

“Where's Elise?” he asked urgently. “I went to her room but I was told she’d been discharged. Where is she?”

“She went back to Earth,” Liv said. “Shouldn’t I have let her go? I thought you said she was okay to be released.”

“I thought she was.” Sylvan ran a hand through his spiky hair distractedly. “But something was bothering me. I remembered one last source on stasis sickness I had neglected to check…” He shook his head. “Well, at least she’s with Merrick. That should mitigate most of the effects until we can get her back up here.”

Liv frowned. “But she’s
not
with him. He got upset when it came out that she had a fiancé she’d forgotten about.”

“A
what?”
Sylvan and Lauren said together.

Liv shook her head. “Never mind—it’s a long story. The point is, I had to get one of the spare pilots from the docking bay to take Elise back to Earth.”

“They’re separated?” Sylvan demanded in uncharacteristic agitation. “Seven hells! Well then, where is
he?”

“He said something about running a diagnostic on his ship.” Liv bit her lip. “I think he wanted to leave the Mother Ship as soon as he could—he was pretty upset.”

But she found she was speaking the last words to empty space. Sylvan had already left the med station, practically running in the direction of the docking bay.

* * * * *

Merrick tightened a last lug nut on the inside of his star-duster’s engine and closed the casing. Stepping back, he wiped his grimy hands on a rag and eyed the little craft critically. “There—that should hold. Good enough for now anyway.” He’d meant to do a more complete diagnostic on the little ship, but now he just wanted to get finished and leave the Mother Ship and all the new, hurtful memories he’d made here behind.

Stop thinking about it,
he commanded himself.
Stop thinking about
her.
But no matter what he said or did, he couldn’t get that hurt look on her face out of his mind. Couldn’t forget that soft, sobbing way she’d whispered his name as he walked away.

What he didn’t understand was how he could have been fooled into thinking a female like her could care for a male like him. But Elise had seemed so helpless and innocent and he hadn’t smelled another male on her at all. If she and her fiancé had made love—Merrick gritted his teeth at the thought but forced himself to continue—
if
they had made love even
once
in the past year or so, his sensitive hybrid nose would have picked up on the faint trace of male musk he would have left on her. But there was nothing—nothing but Elise’s own sweet, fresh scent that drove him crazy whenever he smelled it. So what was going on?

Merrick frowned. From what he knew of her culture, it didn’t seem like the females were in the business of waiting until they got joined to have sex, like they did on Tranq Prime. So was Elise a virgin? Somehow he didn’t think so. She had none of the uncertainty and trepidation of a female who’s never had sex before. But she obviously hadn’t had sex with her fiancé either, unless Merrick’s nose was wrong. And it was
never
wrong.

They’ve been promised for over a year but he hasn’t claimed her. Why?
He stared at the side of his star-duster as though the answers might magically appear in the dull silver metal.
Why wouldn’t he at least try to mark her as his own? Why wouldn’t she—
Then the harsh voice of reality broke in.

The real question is,
why
are you still thinking about her? She’s nothing to you—less than nothing. She’s not even—

“Merrick! Thank the Goddess I caught you!”

He turned in surprise to see Sylvan coming up behind him, his boots echoing with his rapid footsteps. “Sylvan—what is it?” His old friend was noticeably upset and anxious—completely out of character for the normally cool and collected Tranq Kindred.

“I’m so relieved.” Sylvan came to a halt in front of him and ran a hand through his hair. “I was told by Control that you already had clearance for take off.”

Merrick shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, well…I didn’t want to waste any time. Look, I know I should have come to tell you goodbye first but I figured you’d understand after Olivia talked to you.”

“Yes, yes, she told me something about Elise having a forgotten fiancé.” Sylvan made a shooing gesture with one hand as though the information was of no importance. “The point is, she’s left the ship prematurely and she’s in danger.”

Merrick’s heart jumped in his chest but he tried not to show his distress. “So?” he said casually. “Why come running to me? What can I do?”

“You have to bring her back here
, right now,”
Sylvan said. “It’s of the utmost importance.”

Merrick frowned. “Why me? You want her back on the ship,
you
go get her. She’s no longer under my protection.”

Sylvan looked frustrated. “Because
I
can’t help her. No one can help her but you
—
you’re the only one who can feed her
hunger.”
The way he emphasized the word let Merrick know he meant more than a physical craving for food.

“Hunger?” He frowned. “What in the seven hells is that?”

“I don’t have time to explain.” Sylvan faced him and took him by the shoulders. “Old friend,” he said, looking Merrick in the eyes. “I know you’re angry with her now, but I saw the way you acted around Elise—the way you cared for her. If you have even a drop of that emotion left inside you, I beg you to go after her now. Go get her and bring her back to the Mother Ship before it’s too late.”

Merrick couldn’t play it cool anymore. “Fucking hell, Sylvan!” he growled, running a hand over his skull-cut hair. “She’s got a male. One she neglected to mention the entire time we were together.”

“I know she does,” Sylvan held his eyes, not allowing Merrick to look away. “But he’s not the one she needs right now. She needs
you,
Merrick. You’re the only one who can save her.”

“Goddess damn it!” Merrick pounded a fist against the side of his ship, making a hollow clanging sound that echoed in the docking bay. His insides felt like someone had taken a blowtorch to them. On the one hand, the need to see Elise again was an almost physical ache in the center of his chest. On the other, the idea of going down to get her and seeing her hanging all over that rich bastard of a fiancé made him grind his teeth in frustration.
“I can’t wait to hold you again.” That was exactly what he said, the way he ended their conversation,
he thought.
Nobody oughta be holding her but me!
She’s mine—
mine!

It was irrational, stupid, and untrue, but he couldn’t deny the way he felt. Couldn’t lie to himself about what he wanted. And at that moment he knew—knew that no matter how angry and hurt he was, he couldn’t stand by and let Elise die—not if he could save her.

“Merrick?” Sylvan made his name a question and Merrick knew what he was asking.

“Fine,” he said roughly. “I’ll go. What do you want me to do, just bring her straight back?”

“Yes.” Sylvan nodded. “But there’s one more thing.”

“What?” Merrick was in the act of swinging into the cockpit of his star-duster but he stopped to hear his friend’s last words.

“Touch her.” Sylvan looked at him seriously. “If you want to save her, you have to
touch her.”

During the trip down to Earth, Elise felt more and more unwell. She told herself uneasily that it was just motion sickness. It always happened to her if she got into a moving vehicle on an empty stomach, and she hadn’t eaten a thing since the night before. And though the Kindred pilot was flying with smooth, professional precision, the vehicle she was in was capable of pulling more Gs than a roller coaster—a hell of a lot more. It was no wonder her head was pounding, her heart was racing, and her stomach was rolling. Right?

I’m just hungry,
she told herself grimly as the blue and white globe of the Earth raced toward them in the viewscreen.
As soon as we land I’ll get James to take me someplace for breakfast.
Not that she really wanted to eat right now. What she really wanted was to crawl off somewhere and lick her emotional wounds until she felt more like her old self again. Instead, she would have to play the part of the happy fiancée for James, who would no doubt expect her to be overjoyed to see him.

I
should
be overjoyed—I love James. What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I get Merrick out of my mind?
Try as she might, all she could think of was the big Kindred’s dark, animalistic scent—like fur and musk and smoke. All she could remember was being held in his arms, the feel of her cheek pressed against his chest, the sound of his heart beating in her ear. Making her feel safe, making her feel protected…

Stop it,
she shouted at herself mentally.
Just stop it
right now.
We’re landing—it’s time to leave the dream world behind and get back to reality.

It was true, the blue curve of the Earth filled the viewscreen and she could clearly see the continents now. North America shot toward them, the long peninsula of Florida their obvious target.

“Coming in for a landing now,” the pilot said in a pleasant, even voice. “You might want to close your eyes and hold on tight. This is the part that usually makes you Earthers sick.”

“Oh,” Elise said faintly. “I…thank you for the warning.”

“Not a problem,” he said cheerfully. He did something to the controls and the little ship lurched in a most distressing manner. Elise’s stomach lurched right along with it and she had to fight to keep herself from throwing up.

She won the fight with her rebellious stomach—just barely—and was extremely relieved when the ship leveled off and touched down behind the HKR building in Tampa.

“Here we go—domicile, sweet domicile.” The Kindred pilot grinned at her. “Isn’t that what you Earthers say? My mate taught me—she’s from the region you call Kansas.” He sounded proud, as though he was announcing his wife was from Buckingham Palace.

He loves her—loves her so much that he’d be proud no matter where she came from,
Elise realized. The thought made her sad for some reason and she was glad for a minute for her rolling stomach. At least it was harder to cry when you were trying not to puke.

“Uh, I think the expression is ‘home, sweet home,’ she said, smiling politely. “But it’s pretty much the same thing.”

“Oh, right.” The pilot nodded. “So are you here to visit family? Should I wait to bring you back up to your intended?”

“My fiancé is here—he’s from Earth,” Elise said stiffly. “I…I won’t be going back up to the Mother Ship. Ever again.” The words seemed to stick in her throat but she forced them out anyway.

“Really?” The Kindred pilot frowned, looking confused. “Forgive me my mistake. It’s just…you smell very strongly of another male—a
Kindred
male.”

“I do?” Horrified, Elise sniffed at her arm—but she could smell nothing. The flirty red dress Olivia had found for her to wear back to Earth complimented her complexion and hair color but left her arms and legs mostly bare. Was she exuding a scent—
Merrick’s scent—
in all directions without knowing it?

The Kindred pilot laughed. “Don’t worry—only another Kindred could tell it,” he assured her. “You must have been in contact with an unmated male who cared for you.”

“Well, I
was
in the med station for most of my stay. And there was a…a male who, uh, helped in my recovery.” Elise shifted uncomfortably, remembering the way Merrick had held her close to his broad chest, the way she’d allowed herself to melt against him. Oh yes, he’d helped all right. He’d helped himself to her heart and then left as soon as he could—not that she blamed him.

“That must be it, then.” The pilot said, interrupting her bitter-sweet thoughts. “Well, if you won’t be needing me again, I’ll head back to the Mother Ship.”