I’m never giving up.
“What do I get out of this?” Vordigar asks bluntly.
“Sex.”
The unscarred side of his mouth twitches. He leans forward toward me. “I’m not sure about you humans, but the way most mesakkah make babies is with sex.”
For some reason, his confiding, teasing tone makes me blush. Like I don’t know about babies or sex? “I know that’s how it works,” I tell him. “It’s one of the things I’m offering. As your wife, you have free access to my body. I’ll have sex with you anytime and every time you want.”
He stares at me, maybe a little startled at my business like tone. “And that doesn’t bother you?”
Oh, it bothers me. But not like it did once upon a time. Years of being a captive out in this unforgiving end of the universe has taught me that sex is just another bodily function, and one that doesn’t have to be romantic in the slightest. “It’s just sex,” I tell him. “You think I got captured and dragged from my world because someone wanted a human to do their laundry? I’ve had sex to get by in the past. I can do it when we’re married.”
He doesn’t look convinced.
I lick my lips, trying to think. He’s not moved by my offer of freaky human sex? That’s a first. “I’ll be your wife in every sense,” I tell him. “I’ll cook and clean and help run the farm. We’ll be equals. We’ll have land, and meat-stock, and a stipend from the government to help our farm set up. No one can send you back to prison. You’ll have a livelihood. All you have to do is stay with me.”
“I’m not a farmer,” he says flatly.
“I’m not either, but I’m learning.”
Vordigar rubs his jaw. He looks over at me again—and at my tits, which is a good sign—and then sighs. “I have places to be, Little Bit.”
“My name is Piper. And I know this isn’t ideal, but like I said, I have a very small window to get pregnant and you have a desperate situation. I thought we could mutually benefit each other. If you don’t agree, I can turn this air-sled around and go back to the jail to get another husband.”
He stares. Then, his mouth curves in a hard smile. “You’re playing a hard game.”
“There’s a lot on the line.”
“What happened to that sweet female that was batting her lashes at the guards?”
I drop my voice to the husky note. “You need me to be sweet? Will that change your mind?” I put my hand on his thigh.
He pries it right back off.
I’m surprised…and a little worried. I want to be relieved that he doesn’t want sex. It’s not like I’m dying to jump on his dick. But sex is just about all I have to barter.
“I want you to be real,” he tells me.
“All of this is real,” I say to him. “I need your help. You need my help. I thought we could help each other.”
“By having a baby? And taking up farming?”
“It’s not the life I would have chosen, either, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a good one.”
He leans back and gives me a skeptical look. “Why not sell your land? You said some praxiian is all over you wanting it. Sell to him. Make a tidy bundle.”
He doesn’t get it. He really doesn’t get it. “And go where?” I lean back, feeling a little defeated. “No one will take me back to Earth. It’s Class D, which means I’m not supposed to be out here anyhow. Humans are contraband. Let’s assume I don’t end up in someone’s zoo—I’ll end up in someone’s brothel instead, all of my money stolen. No one gives a shit about what happens to a human…except here. Here, they gave me land, and supplies, and a chance to have a normal life, and I’m going to take it.” I lean forward, just a bit, because I need him to understand just how much this means to me. “This is my land. No one’s fucking taking it from me, either.”
Vordigar watches my mouth. His lips curl into a slow, crooked smile. “I didn’t know humans could get so fierce.”
I lean back again, blowing out a breath in frustration. “This is serious.”
“Oh, I know.” But he keeps grinning at me. “I’ve just never been approached by a human and had her demand that I make her pregnant.”
“Only if we marry. I don’t want any of this”—I wave my hand and gesture at his form—“without some sort of benefit on my end.”
Vordigar throws his head back and laughs. “You mean you’re not dying for my cock? I’m wounded.” He clutches at his chest.
I start to smile. Just a little. “If we’re being completely honest, I’ve had enough alien cock to last me all my days, thank you very much.”