The Trillionaire's Lady (Trillionaire Wishes Book 2) (4 page)

Chapter Four

As they walked out to the parking lot, Megan noticed that several of the men were staring at her as Jon had.  "I don't like it here," she whispered.  "The people keep staring at me like I'm some kind of freak."

"They're just not used to seeing women at all, and especially breeders." 
Tessen stated the words matter-of-factly, like he thought it was normal.

"Is it that obvious from far away that I'm a breeder?" 
How could they tell? She'd never met a non-breeder, of course, but she couldn't imagine they would be that much different than she was.

"Yes.  First of all, all the non-breeders are in their sixties or older.  Second, non-breeders are never attractive.  I can't explain it, but they just don't look...right."
  He wanted to shudder as they talked about the non-breeders.  He knew a lot of men who had sex with them, just because they were all that was available, but he could never get past the stench.

She sighed.  "So every time I go out in public for the rest of my life, I can expect people to stare at me this way?"

Tessen nodded.  "Yes, you really can.  I know it seems odd to you, but you're something really special here."  He suddenly worried that she was going to eventually hate him for forcing her into marriage.  She could have closed her eyes and chosen any man in the world, and she was now stuck with him.  He knew he was moderately handsome, but she was beautiful.  He hoped she'd never be disappointed in the choice she'd made.

"I guess I'll just have to learn to deal with it."
  She wrinkled her nose, making it very obvious that she wouldn't be able to get used to it very easily.

"We honestly won't be going out in public very often.  There's too high of a risk to you."

"What do you mean?"  They'd never eat out?  Did that mean she'd be expected to actually cook every meal for the rest of her life?  She really wasn't certain she could do that.  She didn't mind cooking on occasion, but she'd always lived for the girls' nights out, when she wouldn't have to cook.

"Well, breeders get kidnapped.  I can't protect you if you're out and about all the time."
  Surely she could see his reasoning on that.

"Well, what about shopping?  I'll need to be able to get what I need."
  All she had to wear was a pair of pajamas.  She needed to be able to shop.

"Online shopping is really the way to go.  There are still a few stores left, but they're rare.  Most people do everything online, because there's always free delivery, and it never takes more than an hour."
  He shrugged.  Why would anyone not take advantage of online shopping?

"Wow."  Megan thought over his words.  "So, I'll pretty much see no one but you for the rest of my life?"
  She liked him, but she wasn't certain she could handle that.  She wasn't an extrovert, but she did need people from time to time.

He shook his head.  "No,
it won't be that bad.  I just built a compound for a breeder and her four husbands, remember?  I told you that earlier.  I'll make sure you meet Jayn and the two of you can be friends.  You can get together whenever you want."  If Porter agreed, of course.  Porter was one of Jayn's four husbands, and he tended to think everyone was out to kidnap his bride.

"What if I don't like her?"  Megan had never really thought about what it would be like to suddenly not have her best friends any longer.  She would need to get used to not having
Alexa or Alicia around.  It would be hard, though.  What were the odds the others had come to this exact time period?  She almost laughed at herself at the mere thought.  No, she'd never see her friends again. 

"You'll like her.  I promise."  Of course, he had no idea if she'd like
Jayn, because he'd never even met her.  He'd built the compound, but he'd been told to clear out long before she arrived.  They weren't about to risk their woman to any other man, even one they trusted.

"What about the fountain?  You were going to show it to me.  I want to tell it to let
Alexa know I'm all right.  And maybe it can tell us where the other two ended up."  Megan hoped the fountain would work, but she worried it would disappear, just as it had in 2014.

Tessen
nodded.  "I'll show you in the morning."

Megan shook her head.  "No, that won't work.  When we took the police back to the park it was only a couple of hours later, and it had already disappeared.  What if it's gone when we get there?  No, I have to let
her know I'm all right."  She felt almost panicked at the idea of not looking immediately.  Somehow she felt it was already gone, but she just had to know.

He opened her car door, and a thought occurred to him as he walked around the car to get inside.  "Do you promise not to try to wish yourself back?"

She sighed.  "We barely know each other.  Would it matter that much if I wished myself back home?"  She wasn't sure if she would or not, but she didn't like having to promise not to.

He turned to her before starting the car, amazed that she would even ask that.  "You realize you're the first real woman, who could actually bear children, who I've seen in my life?  I'm thirty-four years old!  Of course it would matter to me if you went back.  I need you."
  Not just to have children with either.  He genuinely liked her and felt that she'd be very easy to fall in love with.  The fountain had done a good job matching them up.

She felt terrible for even asking. "You're right.  I promise I won't wish to go back.  I'll write a note to
Alexa and wish it back to her.  Maybe that would work."  She wished she'd listened more carefully to Alexa's explanation of how the fountain worked the previous evening.  Or was that three hundred years ago?

He nodded, breathing a sigh of relief.  "That would be perfect."  He started the car, and she gripped the handle before he could even punch it into flying mode.  He grinned at her, squeezing her hand.  "I'm not going to let you get hurt."

She frowned at him, concentrating with all her might on not dying or vomiting in his car.  She didn't say another word until they landed five minutes later, and he'd parked the car in his garage.

He walked around and opened her car door, pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply.  He wanted to drag her off to the bedroom right then, but he knew that probably wasn't what she wanted immediately.  Maybe he could convince her, though.

His hands roamed over her body, going under her pajama top and stroking her breast with his fingers.

She moaned into his mouth, reaching her arms around his neck and pulling him down closer.  She had never been with a man before, but there was something about
Tessen that made her greedy for the pleasure his body could bring her. 

He broke the kiss and pulled her toward the house, hoping he could have her in bed under him within five minutes flat, but she stopped suddenly.

"Tessen, you promised we could find the fountain."  She'd almost forgotten, and she couldn't believe it.  Where was her loyalty to her friends?

He stared at her for a moment, blinking, and then he sighed.  "The fountain.  Yes, we'll go find the fountain."  He stopped for a moment, taking deep breaths and pulling her out of the garage and toward the lake.  If they could find it quickly,
they could come back and make love right away.  He knew she was probably hungry, but he didn't want to take the time to eat or do anything else before he made love to his new bride.

They walked on the path toward the fountain, and she clung to his hand.  "Tell me about where we live.  This is still the United States, right?"
  She knew it was a strange question, but she had to know where she lived.  The world was obviously a different place now.

He nodded.  "Yes, of course.  We're still a dominant world power.  Let me think about history.  We merged with Canada back in 2
077 after The Third World War.  Other than that it's a lot like you remember.  A lot more states now.  We have seventy-eight."

"Wow.  Seventy-eight?  It was always fifty."

He nodded.  "Puerto Rico is a state.  Guam is a state.  Canada was divided up into smaller states.  For some reason, Quebec decided to remain their own country, but they were always a little weird."

She suddenly grew sad.  "I'm a first grade teacher,
Tessen.  There are no children here to teach."  She couldn't imagine not teaching, but she'd been so frustrated with teaching before she'd disappeared.  She was certainly qualified to teach any children she had, and she wouldn't have to teach to a test.

He squeezed her hand tightly.  "I hope we can help change that.  I know the breeders from Wisconsin who have married have all had children.  I'm sure you'll have one soon too."  He felt his heart fly at the idea of having a child of his own.  He'd never thought anything like that could happen, and now he was certain it would.  It made him feel strange to even contemplate it.

"I don't suppose there's anything like birth control now, is there?"  Megan felt like she was being selfish for even asking, but she wanted time to get to know her new husband before a baby came along.

He laughed.  "Birth control is not something that's needed any longer.  Honestly, it's against the law for a breeder to use anything like that anyway.  We want more children in our world, and breeders are the only way we can get them."

"I guess I'll have nineteen kids and start my own reality television show, then."  Not that she had a choice.  She just hoped he made enough money that they could afford a nanny, because she wasn't certain she could handle that many kids all the time.

He looked at her with a confused expression.  "What are you talking about?"

She sighed.  "Long story."  She looked out toward the lake.  "How much further to the fountain?"

He looked out, shielding his eyes against the bright sunlight.  "We should be able to see it any second."  He was certain they should have been able to see it
from where they were, but maybe it was a little further.

She watched for it eagerly, almost like she would watch for an old friend.  She felt an affinity to the fountain in a way she hadn't for any other object in her life. 

Five minutes later, he stopped at the edge of the water.  "It was right there.  I know it was."  He looked around, confused.

Megan nodded slowly.  "I was afraid this would happen.  I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up."  One lone tear trickled down her cheek.  "I just need to let
Alexa know I'm all right."  At least she knew that Alexa hadn't spent her life rotting in jail for her disappearance.  The computer records had been clear about Alexa disappearing shortly after Megan.

He turned to her, pulling her to him and holding her close, trying not to think about how soft her body was or about how good it felt against his own.  "
I'm so sorry.  We should have come here before we went to marry, but I didn't expect it to just disappear."  He felt as if he'd let her down by not bringing her sooner.  He'd said he would, but he'd gotten so wrapped up in her that he'd completely forgotten.

"I know.  I didn't before either."  She rested her cheek against his strong shoulder, so glad he was there with her.  She couldn't have done it alone.

He stood holding her for a few more minutes before finally turning back toward the house.  "I'm sure you're hungry.  We should have some lunch."  As much as he wanted to rush her into bed, he realized that she needed time to come to grips with what she'd just learned.

"I'm starving.  I was eating breakfast when I just suddenly couldn't move any more, and then the next thing I knew, I was here with you."  She wondered what kind of food was served in the twenty-fourth century.  "I don't suppose I could have a hamburger for lunch?  With some onion rings and ketchup?"

He grinned and nodded.  "We can do that with no problem."  He looked at her slender figure.  "You must not eat burgers often."

"Oh, I do.  I can eat anything, and it always made my friends angry.  They said I should be fat, but I enjoy food."
  Her entire family was slender, and her mother, who was in her fifties, was still extremely slim.  It gave her hope to staying thin.

When they reached the house, she stepped in, looking around more this time.  He led her into the kitchen and showed her around.  "I guess it's going to be my job to cook all the meals while you work, right?"  She'd always known it would be her lot in life to cook for her family, but she'd never really enjoyed cooking, and she had no desire to change that now.

Tessen shook his head with surprise.  "Of course not.  Boudreaux will do the cooking."  He walked over to a door that Megan had assumed was a closet and opened it. 

A robot wheeled itself out of the
small opening that looked as if it had been created just for that particular robot, and its head lifted, its intelligent looking eyes going straight to Tessen.  "How may I serve you, Mr. Tessen?"

His voice didn't sound anything like what Megan would have thought a robot would sound like.  It was a very normal sounding voice, deep and rich. 

"My lady, Miss Megan, is hungry.  We'd like burgers and onion rings for lunch, please."

Boudreaux immediately rolled toward the kitchen.  "It will be ready in
twenty minutes, Mr. Tessen. Would you like to have some wine while you wait?"