The Spawning (29 page)

There was little inside, but she saw a few food stores—fish and what appeared to be sea plants in one that was cool enough she didn’t doubt it refrigerated the food—a few rough looking ‘plates’ like they’d been using to eat from and several vessels that looked as if they’d been fashioned from some kind of shells.

There was a boxy looking thing on top of one counter that was roughly the size and shape as a large microwave—minus a viewing glass in the door. She didn’t see any sign of heating elements, fans, or even coals, though, and finally decided maybe it wasn’t for cooking. Unable to figure out the function of it, she left the kitchen when she’d finished exploring it and went back into Khan’s bedroom—where she made the most delightful discovery
ever
.

He had a bathroom! With a sense of awe, she explored the cunning design of it, realizing that it actually functioned! Water spewed from the overhead spout of the shower, and the spout in the lavatory. The toilet
flushed
! Feeling like she’d woken in heaven, she used everything.

It would’ve been well worth the nightmare trip to get here just for the bathroom, she thought with amusement when she emerged again.

Khan was sprawled on the hard shelf he evidently used for a couch when she went into the living area again, one arm propped on one of the cushions. A look of surprise flickered in his eyes when she smiled at him. He studied her as if he couldn’t decide whether to smile back or not, but some of the tension seemed to ease from him. “Are you hungry?” he asked, his voice sounding a little strange.

Disconcerted, suddenly feeling a little awkward, Miranda finally nodded.

He got up and strode into the kitchen. Miranda retrieved her gown, discovering with little surprise that it was barely damp even though it hadn’t been hung to dry.

Whatever it was made from seemed to repel water. When she’d dragged it over her head, she felt a little better and followed him into the kitchen.

He was standing over the box thing she hadn’t been able to figure out.

He seemed to be
blowing
into a sort of tube attached to it.

Miranda tilted her head curiously.

He flicked a glance at her and stopped. “Does the sound bother you?”

Feeling completely blank, Miranda merely stared at him. “The sound?” she

echoed.

He looked a little disconcerted. After studying her curiously, he opened the door of the box and examined the contents. Steam wafted from the opening. Flipping what looked like some sort of fish-like creature, he closed the door again, picked up the tube and—did whatever it was he was doing.

“Sonic heat,” he said a little sharply when he’d flicked a glance at her and saw the puzzlement in her expression. “Unlike the water, the air diffuses the waves too much.

We have to use this to concentrate them enough to cook the food.”

Miranda blinked rapidly as her mind tried to process that information. It wasn’t that she hadn’t heard that sound waves could be used for all sorts of things, but people couldn’t make them.

THE SPAWNING Kaitlyn O’Connor 129

Of course she’d heard of people—or at least women—who could hit a high

enough note to break glass.

And Khan wasn’t ‘people’. He was a Hirachi.

“You can’t do this,” he said flatly.

Miranda felt a sudden upsurge of anger—hurt, too, though she was determined to ignore it. “No. I can’t. I’m not Hirachi. So sue me!”

Whirling on her heel, she stalked toward the door with no clear idea of where she was going. He caught up to her, caging her with the circle of his arms. She grabbed his wrists, intent on flinging them away from her. He tightened his arms, dragging her back against his length. “I did not mean that the way you took it,” he said gruffly.

Miranda swallowed convulsively a couple of times. “How did you mean it?”

He was silent so long she decided he couldn’t think of anything to say that would have a grain of truth to it and still reduce the sting. “I am always … disconcerted when I realize that I’m different from you,” he said finally. “Does it bother you that I am?”

The urge to weep became more pronounced. He was worried that it bothered her

that he was different? She turned in his embrace, sliding her arms around his waist and rubbing her cheek against his hard chest. “Will you think I’m lying if I say I’m glad you’re different?” she murmured, meeting his gaze when he pushed a little away from her and tipped her face up with one forefinger beneath her chin.

His gaze flickered over her face before settling on hers. A faint smile curled his lips. “You like this Hirachi warrior?”

She smiled back at him with an effort. Like seemed a little mild for what she felt.

“I think I do.”

He chuckled. “You must consider it and tell me again when you have sampled

my cooking. Everyone says I am the worst.”

Tugging her back into the kitchen, he gave her a push toward the table and the single chair. “Where will you sit?”

“I will stand,” he said firmly, focused on pulling the dish from the ‘cook box’.

She should’ve grown accustomed to everything seeming surreal to her in this

length of time, but it still felt strange.

The fish-thing looked pretty horrible actually, although it smelled appetizing.

Wryly, she thought it might have been more appealing to look at if he’d taken the head off. She wasn’t used to having her food stare at her. She didn’t care if some chefs thought it was a nice touch or not!

When he’d placed the plate on the table, he crouched to pull several other food-type items from what she’d guessed was a refrigeration unit of some kind and moved to the basin with it, pulling a small knife from a slot in the ‘counter’ top and cutting it into pieces.

There was no sign of electricity that could see—even the light she’d noticed

seemed to be filtering through a long pipe from above the surface of the water—and yet the temperature of the rooms felt as comfortable as an air-conditioned house. He had a means of refrigeration, of cooking, bathroom fixtures that worked ….

It was almost like returning to civilization, however strange everything seemed.

When he’d cooked the ‘veggies’ to go with the meal, he used the small knife to cut everything into bite sized pieces, propped his rump against the counter behind him and tried to pretend he was focused on his own food. Miranda felt his gaze, though, THE SPAWNING Kaitlyn O’Connor 130

knew he was waiting to see what she thought about his efforts.

Trying to ignore the beast head on the table in front of her, she picked up a piece of the flesh and popped it in her mouth, wishing he’d given her something to wash it down with just in case of need. Surprise flickered through her when she discovered it actually had a taste and texture very similar to fish she’d eaten. It didn’t taste just like any kind of fish that came to mind, but it was close enough to calm her gag reflex. She smiled without looking at him, knowing he was watching her.

“Not too gods damn awful?”

“Pretty good, actually.”

Setting his plate down he pulled out two of the drinking vessels she’d seen earlier and filled them with water from the spout over the basin. She was astonished all over again when she tasted the water carefully and discovered it was fresh water, not salt water as she’s suspected, and surprisingly cold. “It’s cold!”

He nodded as he picked up his plate again. “Evaporation. It takes the taste from the water, but it chills it, so it is a good trade off, I think.”

Miranda flicked a glance at him, wondering if she should point out that she

couldn’t drink salt water without getting sick, but discarded the idea. There didn’t seem any reason to tell him when there was fresh water available.

That thought brought her mind rather abruptly to the women. “Did the others

bring the other women to the village?” she asked a little hesitantly.

A look of discomfort flickered across his features. He frowned at his plate.

“Yes,” he said.

Miranda couldn’t quite decipher his reaction to the question, but she decided not to probe. It was enough to know the others hadn’t been abandoned to get along, or not, the best they could. “Good.”

He sent her an indecipherable look, but returned his attention to his food so

quickly she almost wondered if she’d imagined the flicker of guilt she thought she’d seen in his eyes.

Maybe he felt guilty that they hadn’t brought them before?

She didn’t see any reason why he should. She would certainly have liked to have been here instead of enduring the misery of the compound, but then she hadn’t

encouraged him to think so when she’d discovered where the village was. She hadn’t even tried to persuade him. The prospect had completely dismayed her, in point of fact.

She wondered abruptly if it was just a ‘visit’ and they’d be deposited on the beach again in a few days—or maybe sooner.

The thought did nothing for her appetite but, try as she might, she couldn’t see that he looked as desperate for sex as he had when he’d pounced on her on the beach and it occurred to her that the marathon bedroom gymnastics they’d just enjoyed might be the extent of spawning season.

That thought, naturally enough, made her mind leap to the possibility of his

success. She couldn’t decide whether she was pleased at the prospect or not, but she didn’t feel any dismay.

Not until it dawned on her that the Hirachi males were apparently laboring under the illusion that
they
would be at peak fertility at the same time the Hirachi hit it.

That
realization actually sent a wave of nausea through her.

It took all she could do to choke down the rest of her meal. She got up quickly THE SPAWNING Kaitlyn O’Connor 131

when she’d finished and carried her plate and cup to the basin. “I should do clean up since you cooked,” she said nervously.

THE SPAWNING Kaitlyn O’Connor 132

Chapter Fifteen

Khan made an uncomfortable sound in his throat. “You should not stand.”

Miranda turned to look at him in total confusion. “Why not?”

His face darkened, his gaze flickering to her stomach. It took Miranda several moments to figure out the significance of his glance. When she finally did, she still wasn’t certain, but she felt her own discomfort level shoot upwards. “I’m fine,” she muttered, pretending she hadn’t understood him. “I felt a little weak right after the long dive, and the bedroom gymnastics, but I took a nap. Anyway, there isn’t much that needs cleaning.”

Khan retreated. She heard him pacing in the living room while she cleaned up the dishes. As soon as she shut the water off and started toward the living area, he ceased pacing and met her at the door. “I must work. We have not worked in … uh … I am not certain. Many days. We will not fill the quota.”

Miranda didn’t know whether to smile at his uneasiness or not. It dawned on her, though, that he might be trying to figure out some way to boot her out of his domain.

“Sure. I understand.” She hesitated, but as badly as she wanted to stay where she was far more comfortable, it didn’t feel right to impose on Khan’s good nature. “Did you want to take me back to the compound now?”

He looked startled and then disturbed. “You can not go back there now!” he said a little hoarsely. “You are breeding!”

Miranda blinked at him, absorbing that with more confusion than understanding.

She didn’t particularly want to bring up the possibility that she
wasn’t
breeding, though, however dishonest it felt to willfully deceive him. “I’ll be staying here with you, now, then?”

He looked uncomfortable again, seemed to ponder it, which didn’t make Miranda

feel particularly good about the situation, and then finally shrugged. “I do not know.

This is not something that has ever come up. Usually, the woman has her own pod—but you do not so … Do you not suppose it would be better …?” He broke off. “I’m sure it would not be good for you to try to go to their pod. You can not hold your breath long enough and you are not used to swimming. You may welcome your other lovers here and then, mayhap we will think of something else that will be more comfortable for all.

We must. You can not stay here until the birthing, and … uh ….”

He sent her a strange look. “We will talk of it later when I have had time to think what we could do.”

Miranda stared at him in disbelief as he dropped into the pool and then vanished before she could gather her wits to think of anything to say. She wasn’t certain how long she stood gaping at the rippling water of the pool, but finally she moved to the bench and dropped down on it.

It was a sign of just how distracted she was that she flopped hard enough to bite her tongue, expecting to land on a cushioned surface with springs. Wincing, she sucked at her tongue until the sting dissipated and finally looked around for the cushions.

THE SPAWNING Kaitlyn O’Connor 133

Grabbing both, she parked one on the ledge for her butt and shoved the other behind her back. For a moment, she allowed herself to relish the simple pleasure of comfort after having done without it so long, but her mind turned almost immediately from that to trying to unravel what Khan had said from what she’d
thought
he’d said.

He was only the stand-in for the spawning, she wondered a little wildly?

She
must
have misunderstood that, she decided. She was willing to admit that there could be a vast difference between their cultures, and probably was, but …
what the
fuck
? What the hell happened to ‘mine’?

He was done now so she was dismissed?

But she had to stay here because his fucking semen were swimming around in her belly and might, or might not, have found a little mate of their own?

Given the fact that she’d decided almost from the first that there were some things about the Hirachi that were just down right bizarre, she supposed she shouldn’t feel so …

swept up in some strange reality that was completely backwards, but she did. And what made it even
more
bizarre was that Khan was acting strange even for Khan.