Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“I’m sorry, Alexandra,” he rumbled, still staring straight ahead. “I’ve told you why I can’t be with you.”
“Yeah, right. Fine.” She grabbed her bag, her vision swimming with tears. “I guess I’ll see you in a week.”
Before he could respond, she stormed down the gangplank into the Docking Bay. Voices echoed in the huge chamber filled with similar shuttles—boots striking the deck plates, ships hissing as they vented steam—but she ignored it all. She walked fast, head down, until she reached the corridor that would take her to the civilian residential section.
There was only one place she wanted to be on the Mother Ship and it wasn’t anywhere near that asshole who had broken her heart.
By the time she stood outside Natalie’s suite, her chest felt so tight she could hardly breathe. She jabbed the door chime with more force than necessary, desperate to get inside.
The door slid open, and Natalie’s pretty face appeared—full cheeks, warm brown skin, and a crown of long braids falling to her shoulders. Her full figure was hugged by a soft green dress and her brown eyes widened in shock as soon as she saw Lexi.
“Lexi! Oh my God, what happened? You look terrible!”
Lexi didn’t answer. The tears she’d been fighting since the shuttle welled up hot and fast, and she crumpled.
“Oh, honey!” Natalie caught her instinctively, pulling her inside and into a fierce hug.
Lexi hugged her back, sobbing. She still couldn’t talk.
“Come in here, honey. Let’s get settled and you tell me everything.”
Natalie guided her forward. Her suite was warm and inviting—everything Lexi’s heart craved at that moment. In front of the big, overstuffed couch where they settled, a firewall glowed, flames dancing blue and gold behind the glass. Their soft crackle filled the room, casting shifting shadows over the low coffee table littered with books.
“Sit down, now.” Natalie eased her down onto the couch cushions. They sank beneath Lexi’s weight, hugging her body with softness. Natalie sat beside her, curling one arm around her shoulders. “You’re shaking! Tell me what happened. I haven’t heard a word from you since you sent me that message saying you were taking the job with Dr. Brandt and leaving immediately.”
Lexi pressed her face into her hands, ashamed but unable to hold it in anymore.
“Yeah, I never sent that message. Dr. Brandt basically decided to take me with him, whether I wanted to go or not.”
Natalie’s brown eyes grew wide.
“Oh my God, Lexi—are you saying he kidnapped you?”
“I guess you could say that.” Her jagged laugh came out sounding like a sob. “It seems like a million years ago now, though.”
“But what did he do? I mean, what happened? Tell me,” Natalie urged. “I need details!”
Lexi drew a ragged breath.
That first day when I went to interview for the job you set up with Dr. Brandt, he, uh, tested me and said I was exactly who he was looking for. But he never gave me a choice. He said he needed me for his research, and then—then he took me away. He didn’t even let me say goodbye! That message you got saying I was fine? That wasn’t me. He sent it.”
Natalie’s eyes went wide, her mouth falling open.
“Lexi! I knew that message felt wrong. I told V’rin it sounded fake—but I thought maybe I was just being paranoid. Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I never should have told you about that job. I just thought—you know, since he’s a Kindred scientist, he’d be safe.”
Lexi shook her head quickly.
“It’s not your fault. He took me to another planet—to Bio-Terius Centra. Then he offered to pay me a lot to stay and cooperate. I agreed at first because I thought it was just a research position. But then—” She swallowed hard, her cheeks heating even as more tears slipped down her face. “Then he infected me.”
Natalie’s brows shot up. “He what?”
“With Bacillus Aurum. It’s this bacteria—it makes my breasts produce nectar. Golden nectar.” Lexi’s voice shook with embarrassment. “He…he used me to create it. For cancer research.”
Natalie reared back slightly, her hand pressed to her chest.
“Lexi, that’s…horrifying. You have to report him.”
“No!” Lexi clutched Natalie’s arm. “Don’t you understand? It’s for cancer. He said this could be the cure. You know I lost Grandma to breast cancer. He lost his wife too. That’s why—” She broke off.
Natalie’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s why what?”
Lexi bit her lip, but she couldn’t hold it in.
“That’s why he says he can’t be with me.”
“Wait—what? I thought you said he kidnapped you!”
“He did. But then I fell in love with him. He made me fall in love with him!” Lexi stated crying again. “And I thought he was falling for me too. But then he told me about his wife. After she died, he took a sacred vow and now he can never Bond another woman to him ever again.”