Shiver (6 page)

“I’m so glad to have you back,” he whispered near her ear. His breath smelled like fish and wine.

Lian cringed at the blatant possession he already displayed, but kept her cool. She hated these fake dinner parties.

“Yes, so glad you decided to join us again.” Meiling didn’t sound amused, so Lian avoided meeting her gaze.

“So, what did I miss?” She picked up her fork and started toying with the food on her plate—a tiny portion of sautéed eel with a tangle of spring onions. Gross. Vera would deliver her a plate of real food later—red meat, potatoes and chocolate cake. That’s what she called a meal.

“We were discussing potential wedding dates and locales,” Meiling said with a chuckle. “Sergei’s home planet has summer all year round.”

“How wonderful,” Lian said with fake enthusiasm. “You must be uncomfortable here, then.” She hoped he
was
uncomfortable in this snowy terrain.

“Not if I have someone to keep me warm.”

Lian’s skin crawled.

“He also owns a space station, which happens to orbit his planet. Isn’t that exciting?”

“Yes, very.”

Sergei took another bite from his fork, while ducking his other hand under the table to squeeze Lian’s knee.

She gritted her teeth, trying not to react, even if the fingers holding her fork twitched. The urge to plunge the tines into his roving hand made it almost impossible to keep herself under control.

“A summer wedding sounds exhilarating—sun, fun, flowers, summer fruits…”

Lian lost her concentration and let her mother’s chatter become an annoying murmur while all her attention zeroed in on the feel of Sergei’s thick fingers trailing up her thigh and under the hem of her dress. If he only slid his hand back and forth from knee to thigh, she could pretend it didn’t repulse her. If his fingers hiked any higher, she would lose it.

She glanced at Sergei and found his gaze pinned on her. His thick tongue poked out enough to flick the metal piercings along his bottom lip. If she wasn’t so disgusted at this feeble attempt of seduction, she would have laughed. Instead, she willed him not to do what she anticipated he would do next.

Don’t do it. Don’t do it.

His hand moved higher, index finger caressing the outside of her panties.

She pushed her chair back and it tumbled with a
thump
. Sergei’s hand reflexively went to the table as if he had done nothing wrong. That was when she stabbed the fork into the back of his hand, making sure the tines went deep enough to pierce his fleshy skin.

Sergei screamed and the bodyguard sitting next to him stood, weapon drawn.

“Lian!” her mother yelled.

She couldn’t continue this bullshit charade any longer. She turned her back on the pathetic display, ran out of the dining room and up the stairs, craving the safety of her bedroom. As soon as she got there, she stopped at the large window and peeked outside. Her fingertips pressed against the cold glass, which at her touch processed and magnified the view outside. She sighed and the window fogged up.

It didn’t take long for Meiling’s heels to echo near her bedroom. She counted down the steps—
five, four, three, two, one—
while watching the doorway

“Lian, you’re acting like a child!” Meiling stormed into the room like a winter breeze and waved at the light dial by the door, turning it from dim to glaring bright. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I couldn’t play along with that pathetic dinner anymore.”

“You stabbed Sergei with a fork, like some kind of savage.” Her almond-shaped eyes shone with anger. “After taking a long bathroom break and keeping your suitor waiting, stabbing him isn’t going to impress him.”

“I don’t want to impress him, and I certainly don’t want him to be my husband. I’m sick of you trying to fix me up, Meiling.” In spite of how much she respected Vera, calling this woman mother was one thing she didn’t agree with.

“You’re acting like an immature child.”

Lian glared at her. She was sick and tired of going around in circles. “Do you know what that pervert tried to do while we all sat around the table? He was putting his hand up my skirt.”

“Right, like the one who tried to force himself on you last month?”

That particular asshole had gone home with a black eye and a sore crotch.

“I’m not making this up,” she spat. “What do you expect? You’re practically pimping me out to these men. So they want a little taste of the goods before buying. That’s what you intend to do with me, right? You’re going to sell me to one of these assholes.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I wouldn’t sell my own daughter.”

Lian couldn’t help but snort. “You stopped seeing me as your daughter a long time ago.” She could almost pinpoint when it happened. Lian couldn’t have been more than six or seven when a man her mother called Jenks dropped by. When she had noticed Lian watching from the top of the stairs, she’d paled and made a move for her to hide. She’d run to her room. Meiling never talked about the incident again, but she’d changed that day.

“Don’t be ridiculous, I just want you to succeed.”

“By getting hitched?” Meiling placed so much importance on being married, as if it was the only thing women should aspire to. Even though she treated her own husband—Lian’s father—like crap.

“Why aren’t you the least bit grateful?” asked Meiling. “I’m trying my best to find you a good man and all you want to do is accuse them of being perverted fools, after you assault them. Don’t look at me like that. You know you’re not acting like a lady.”

“If acting like a lady means I’m forced to spend the rest of my life with some pervert I don’t even know, I don’t want any part of it.”

“You’ll soon come around.”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” She wanted to close the distance between them and scream in her face, tell her how infuriating it was to have to go through this bullshit at least once a month—sometimes more.
 

“I don’t understand the dramatics, no.”

“Were you really so busy playacting that you didn’t notice what he was trying to do under the table?” A mother was supposed to protect her child, not put her in harm’s way. She had to have suspected something was going on. The gleam in Sergei’s eye should have been enough of a clue. Maybe all she cared about was sealing the deal.

Meiling’s face hardened. She opened her mouth to respond, but shut it instantly.

“He’s a disgusting, pierced asshole and I don’t want to see him again.”

“The piercings identify him as being someone of wealth and high social stature.” Meiling stepped closer, but Lian moved away until she was staring at her own ghostly reflection in the window. “It’s how his race measures worth.”

“Someone’s worth isn’t measured by their show of wealth.” Lian considered kind, selfless and helpful people to be more worthy than wealth.

“You have a lot to learn about how the world really works,” Meiling said with a shake of her head. “Wealth and social status will ensure you’re never a victim, or a slave.”

She scoffed at her mother’s words. So her idea of protecting herself was to be above everyone else, and make others what she wanted to avoid becoming? It was a load of hypocritical garbage.

“Don’t act like you know better, when you don’t—”

“Were you not listening when I said he was trying to shove his hand up my skirt?” Feeling almost defeated, Lian added, “Why do you always take a stranger’s side over mine?”

“You don’t need to worry about Sergei,” Meiling said. “You managed to spook him. He’s preparing to leave as we speak.”

Lian kept her back turned. She crossed her arms, feeling the cold sweep around her even though this room was heavily insulated and heated against the harsh climate outside.

“Lian, did you hear me?”

“Yes, I heard you.” She sighed. “You just don’t get it. You don’t
want
to get it.”

“I don’t understand why no one is good enough for you.”

Lian spun on her heel. “Hogan was perfect for me, but you kept him away.”

“Hogan
wasn’t
suitable for you, and never will be.”

A dry, humorless chuckle escaped her. “Why not? He’s a good man and I…”
I might have loved him once.

“And you what? Love him?” She shook her head, a smirk twisting her mouth. “A guard isn’t good enough for my daughter.”

“You act as if we’re more important than we are.”

“We’re from a high social standing. Just tell me, what are you looking for in a man? I’ll try to find one that’s—”

“I don’t need you to keep bringing men
to
me. I want to go out into the world and find my own way.” Lian wasn’t looking for a husband. She just wanted the freedom to live her own life, but her parents never let her go anywhere. Sure, her father tried to convince Meiling to let Lian take a few of the courier runs out to nearby planets to deliver the exotic fish he caught, but her mother never agreed. She always had an excuse and a hold over everyone. Whatever the matriarch wanted, she got. In the end, her father backed down and Lian remained housebound.

She wasn’t even sure why her mother kept any guards in the house. There was nowhere for her to run in the middle of this frozen wasteland.

The only place she could run to was her dreams.

“How many times do I have to tell you it’s not safe for you out there? The world is full of danger.”

“It’s also full of adventure.”

Meiling shook her head. “You’re young. You don’t know what you’re saying. You have no idea what can happen to beautiful girls out in the galaxy.”

“No, I don’t, because you won’t let me!” she yelled. “Instead of letting me see for myself, you’re willing to whore me out to the first guy who flashes enough credits to entice you.”

The slap made Lian bite down on her tongue. Her mouth filled with blood and she rubbed her cheek. It already throbbed and was beginning to swell.

“You will
not
speak to me like that again.” Her mother’s face was flushed, her open palm still in midair. “I know what’s best for you, far better than you do.”

Lian’s vision blurred as she tried to hold back the unshed tears. She refused to rub her aching cheek again. “How long are you going to keep me trapped inside this ice castle? I’m not a child anymore—I want my own life.” She’d become a pathetic doll trapped inside a snow-globe, and the protective shell was starting to crack.

Meiling sighed, grabbed both of Lian’s hands and led her toward the bed, where they both sat down. Most of the anger seemed to have faded and Meiling was back in control.

“Lian, I understand that you want to spread your wings and fly. I do. I wanted much of the same when I was your age…but it’s not safe out there. I learned in ways you can’t imagine, and I don’t want you to have to live through it as well.”

Lian made a move to snatch her hands away, but Meiling held on tighter.

She’d heard the
“I’m doing this to keep you safe”
lecture before—the family business and name needed to be upheld, social status meant everything, a guard wasn’t good enough to fall in love with. It was all bullshit. Lian knew where the credits used to fund this lavish abode really came from. Yet Meiling always paraded herself like some sort of lady.

“Lian, are you listening to me?”

“Yeah…” But she wasn’t. She’d spotted something bright moving across the night sky. A quickly descending flash of white laser light, followed by an orange fireball and a trail of thick smoke. Her window still displayed a magnified image outside, so she saw the details and sensed the presence of a vessel plunging toward the estate.

Sometimes she could tune into the external world by way of thought and sensation. She didn’t know why or how she did it, but she often
felt
when the wolves in the icy wilderness were on the prowl moments before she heard them howl. Or
sensed
when a new ship landed on their premises. She even believed that on the first night when she’d stumbled on the captives, it had been because she’d awoken from a dream with them in it.

He’ll
fall from the Heavens, and
you’ll
fall for him.

The thought came out of nowhere, but the impact made her spine tingle with excitement. What did it mean? Why would such a thought strike her?

“You’re always lost in some fantasy world, but you need to grow up. Any respectable twenty-three-year-old would be married by now, or at least promised to someone,” Meiling said. “You need to think about the reputation of your family, if you’re not concerned about your own.” She squeezed Lian’s fingers tight.

“Ow!”

“Listen to me.” She leaned so close Lian could see herself reflected in her eyes. “You’re a very ungrateful daughter. I’ve considered your feelings and tastes long enough, believing you would make a wise choice from the palette of men I’ve hosted for
your
benefit, but my patience is wearing thin. You either choose someone within the next week, or
I’ll
choose him for you.”

“But, Meiling, you can’t do that—”

“I am your mother!” The beeper strapped around her slender wrist buzzed and she glanced at it. “I’ve got some business to take care of before Sergei leaves, but I meant what I said. Think about your choices, because I’ve had it with your reluctance.” The glimmer in her dark eyes was cold and distant as she stood. “Making sure you marry a wealthy man is going to be better for you in the long run. Never forget that.”