Lie to Me (17 page)

“Do it.” Her nostrils flared. “I’d rather be dead than a possession worth only the value of the children she spawns.”

Xeno’s were their future, their value worth more than just children. He’d wanted a life with her, a true marriage, someone to grow old with, share memories with, and someone to discuss his problems in the Regency. He’d wanted a union of friendship first, and hoped their relationship would mature into a real marriage. What she painted with her words was a using relationship, one where the X-gene was valuable so long as they bred, but was tossed aside or forgotten when their usefulness ran out. She was more than an animal to him. Even most other Xeno’s were treated with more value and respect than she described.

My God, what has happened to her
?
To the girl I knew and cherished
?

“You’ve got issues,” he said. Letting her go, he retraced his steps and retrieved the ration. Tearing it open, he looked at her. “I don’t eat these, are they any good?”

“When it’s all you’ve got, taste doesn’t matter.”

“How many do you have in there?” Hunger gnawed at his gut. This little bar wouldn’t even come close to satisfying him. He took a bite and chewed on the grainy stuff. Not something he’d want to eat often, but it’d do in a pinch.

“It’s my last one. Was going to stock up but forgot.” She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and curled up on the floor against the wall.

So she’d feed him, and not worry about herself. That didn’t set well with him. He tore the bar in half and offered it to her.

“No thanks.” Kella shook her head.

“Eat the fucking bar, Kella.”

“I’ve gone hungry plenty of times. Won’t kill me tonight.” She wrapped her arms around her knees and kept her gaze off him. “My advice, save the gentleman routine, it’s not going to change my attitude toward you.”

“Don’t need a gentleman routine, sunshine.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“As you so eloquently pointed out, I own you.” In his heart she was his, but not because he’d bought her, but because she’d wormed her way inside as a child. “Eat. I might require you to ride my cock later.”

That got her attention and put fire in her narrow-eyed glare. “You will have to rape me if that’s to happen. I
will
fight back.” But her voice had grown weak and just above a whisper. He easily discerned she doubted her ability to defeat his aggression, or maybe even her ability to resist him.

He shrugged as if forcing himself on her was nothing more important than the weather. “I overpowered you an hour ago, figure I can do it again.”

Kella trembled, fear darkening her emerald eyes. She looked away, lowering her gaze in a submissive gesture. Stone almost took the words back, but he lost all desire to salvage the atmosphere between them. Instead he obsessed over her misdeeds against him, what he’d do with her now, and fretted most over the possibility that his woman might’ve already suffered rape at the hands of another.

As he pinched off a piece of morsel and fed it to the kippy he contemplated their future. How did he resolve his anger, hurt, and desire to protect her? His twisted emotions threatened to split his head apart.

It was a good hour of silence, except for the pelting of the rain, before she asked, “Why’d you think I was dead?”

“Found blood on a knapsack and your clothes in the badlands three days after your disappearance. DNA testing matched it to you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Save your apology.” Stone wanted answers he could understand, not hollow regrets.

“Is my mom still with you?”

“Yes.”

Kella exhaled a relieved breath. “I worried your dad would blame her for my defection.”

“We thought you were
dead
.” Why couldn’t she get that through her thick skull? He’d mourned her, and all along she’d been alive and well, starting a new life without him. “Your mom’s never been the same since her only child
died
.” Her selfishness confounded him. Sure, she’d been a hellion, but she’d cared about those she loved. Defection’s disregard for the feelings of others countered the caring girl he’d known. At least her mother’s grief disturbed her enough she put the heels of her palms into her eyes. “Did you even think about giving me the benefit of the doubt when I bought you, Kella?”

“I wish I could say yes, but you looked so...emotionless when you bid on me.” She picked at the blanket, a tiny shudder shaking her body, and he got the impression she chose her words carefully as if she hid something from him. “Nothing like the friend I knew. Maybe I should’ve given you the benefit of the doubt, at least given you a chance to explain why you purchased me, but I wasn’t thinking straight. That’s not an excuse, but...I don’t know, I shouldn’t have been sold either.” He could understand her confusion, hurt, and fear, but he’d been her friend, and he expected her to know why he bid on her. “Being on that auction block, hearing the things people said about me—”

“I heard some of it. Made me furious the way some of my people talked about you.”

“Shouldn’t
all
of Quadrant13 be your people, Stone? Not just the spoiled spooners?” Kella looked him in the eyes with those questions, and he thought about the girl who’d called him on every blunder he’d ever made. She’d demanded a higher moral compass from him than his own father had required. She went back to picking at the fabric. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t know why I expect more from you when none of the Regents think that way. Spooners only look out for one another. The dregs of society like me have been on their own from the moment society fell from the pestilence.”

“I’m not a spooner.” Neither was he like other Regents, but telling her the truth of what he’d done...yeah, he just didn’t feel like altering her opinion of him. Let her think what she liked. He knew the truth.

“Name one thing you’ve done for the lower class that helped them instead of a spooner?”

Silence descended between them as he contemplated an answer. Rain pelted the metal tube, creating a tinny sound. Wind howled and rocked the airplane, while the crimson water dripped inside one of the pane-less windows. How’d he respond when he’d changed so many laws since his induction as Regent? He’d made plans with Kella to change the world. She’d reneged on their plans, not him.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. A spooner.” Kella pulled the coarse material tighter around her shoulders, a little shiver going through her as the temperature continued to drop. “It’s okay, Stone, you are what you are, and why change a system that benefits you in every way?”

“I’m not your enemy.”

“You’re not my friend.”

“Goddamn, Kella, you’re so frustrating.” But then she always had been. Stone dragged his fingers through his hair. “I bought you to keep you in my home, protected, and unmolested because you were my friend. I had a contract drafted that’d dictate the terms of our relationship. I’d planned to present it to you when I picked you up the night you ran off.” She opened her mouth to say something, and he cut her off, “Shut up. It’s my time to talk. After five years, you would be granted your freedom. I’d hoped that’d be enough time to convince you to marry me for real. I loved you, Kella, and I had every intention of making all of your dreams come true. You’re still listed as the beneficiary of my will.”

“You really expect me to believe all that? When you
bought me
to breed your supergene babies?”

“Damn you, Kella.
Goddamn you
.” He slammed his fist against the floor, and it gave off a hollow echo. Retro fled his side in favor of the safety of Kella’s lap. “I’ve never lied to you. Not once. I won’t start now. I’m fucking pissed off you ran off, but not because you didn’t want me”—although that hurt worse—“but because you put yourself in danger. If you’d have talked to me, you’d have known my intentions were genuine.”

Those emerald-green eyes he’d loved so much as a youngster stared at him. She chewed on her bottom lip, and peered at him with such intensity, he figured she gauged whether to trust him now or not. Frankly, he didn’t give a fuck what she decided.

“We’re going in circles arguing. Truth or not, if I believe you, then everything I’ve paid for my freedom has been pointless. I...I...” Voice raspy, a watery sheen entered her eyes. “Just know I never wanted to hurt you.”

“Epic failure.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. Appetite gone, he chucked the granola bar near her feet for her pet to enjoy. It took a moment, but Retro finally inched from her lap to steal the food.

“So, where do we go from here?” she asked.

R
egent Emmerson Home

July 6, 2274

––––––––

“Y
ou’re momma is gonna tan your hide if you get too much sun.”

Kella Starke opened her eyes to find her best friend and secret crush, Stone Emmerson, sliding his gaze along her bikini-clad figure. Momma wouldn’t be mad over the tan, but for the bikini. And maybe for teasing Stone with the skimpy attire. The secret was to not get caught.

For his benefit, she stretched and delighted in the way his nostrils flared. She thought he was interested, but he was Stone Emmerson, and he’d be Regent one day. Sure they’d been best buds for over seven years. They’d hunted snapdragons together and four-leaf-clovers. Shared custody of a frog that died a week later. They’d even found a wolf cub. Its eyes hadn’t even opened yet when they discovered the baby alone, covered in blood. Together they nursed him, taking turns feeding him at night. She’d lied for him to get him out of trouble, and he’d taken the fall for her on more than one occasion. Maybe they were a little too much trouble as a team, but she would always have his back, and she knew he’d have hers too.

But lately she found herself looking at him differently. He was cute with his longish, chocolate hair, complimented with his light-blue eyes, and all the girls at school called him a hottie. Kella agreed. He sure made her smolder.

His bodyguard James teased Stone about being short, and lanky, but she liked that he didn’t dwarf her. James was also an asshole, and he called her names too. His favorite name for her was holy terror. She didn’t know why he called her that, and she didn’t like it. Too bad Stone couldn’t fire James. If he ever could, she’d be there grinning as the brute was tossed out on his ear.

Stone skipped rocks into the river that ran along the backside of their land. “What do you want to do for your birthday next month?”

Pushing up on her elbows, she mentally praised his skill at skipping rocks. Was there anything he wasn’t perfect at? “Momma says I’m getting a fistful of switches.”

He tossed her a rascally grin. “You might need a switchin’, but she’ll never give you one.”

Anything she needed a switchin’ for, he’d been right by her side hell raising with her. Guilt didn’t eat her up at night though. Life was too short to follow unnecessary rules.

“I’d love a rainbow cake, but Momma says I’m going to have to start watching my figure now that I’m growing up.” Kella sighed. This growing up stuff sucked ass so far.

Stone tossed her an appraising glance, his gaze lingering on her breasts. “Your figure is fine.”

“Says my best friend.” Rolling her eyes, she decided coy worked great. “Besides, what do you know about girls’ figures? You’re a pretty boy.”

Hands on his hips, he faced her, standing over her. “I got eyes, and I like looking at girls. You’re sort of pretty.” He glanced away. “And so is your figure. All the guys at school are noticing too.”

Sort of pretty? Her self-assurance deflated. Yeah, but all those guys at school were rich and thought she was trash. None of them would ever take serious notice of a lowborn girl like her. “I don’t like any of them boys no ways.”

“That’s good because none of them are good enough for you.”

Kella rose to her feet and stared up at Stone. She pushed strands of his hair behind his ear just because she wanted to touch him. “Who is good enough for me, Stone?”

“I’m sure I’ll find someone to marry you off to.” The teasing light in his eyes dimmed her confidence. Like so many other girls of her status, she’d probably end up with an abusive drunk as a husband.

“Going somewhere?” The stinky guy blocking her exit from the alley cupped his crotch in a lewd manner.

She whimpered and tried to run, but her legs were frozen, and she couldn’t move.

No
! She didn’t want to do this again.

His unexpected backhand spun her around, and she collapsed on the dirt-packed ground.

Scrambling backward in a crab crawl, Kella’s back hit the concrete wall. The stench of rotted meat hit her nostrils. “Please, don’t.”

Mr. Stinky advanced and kicked her in the gut.

Kella screamed and—

––––––––

“K
ella
,
wake up!”

Before she opened her eyes, she knew it was Stone who shook her shoulders. Thankful the nightmare no longer held her hostage, she peered up at the face of her childhood fantasy. The tips of his hair brushed against her neck causing a weird response in her body, like her nipples coiling into achy points. Through dreams she relived the nightmare of her beating, the one that’d ended in her inability to conceive children.

“Sorry I disturbed you.” Tears wet her cheeks, and she attempted to brush them aside. She hated these nightmares. Sometimes she’d go months without them only to suffer them every night for a week.

With a groan, Stone lay down on the floor beside her, opened his blanket and drew her against his frame, securing the material around her. No longer a boy, his manly lines intrigued and intimidated her. She should refuse his offer of comfort, but this particular dream left her shaky and terrified every time it occurred. Reaper had taught her to defend herself, but she’d been helpless then, and her helpless situation now was probably what instigated the dream-memory.

Snuggling a little closer because his warmth invited her nearer—at least that’s the story she told herself, while in reality she just wanted an excuse to lean on him. She slipped an arm out of the blanket she’d cocooned herself in earlier, and her hand came in contact with his bare chest.