To be honest, the trip to Tangella Alpha-Prime was an excuse to keep her with me a little while longer. I hadn’t been lying completely—itwasa place where I wanted to establish trade relations for my company and Ididneed a female with me in order to do it. But I had pretty much given up on the idea of ever going—until Natalie had her vision of the rainbow woman on the crystal throne, which brought the idea back to my mind.
That vision had kind of revived the plan and I had asked her to go with me on the spot—not just to establish trade with the Tangellans, but to spend a little more time with Natalie.
I was hoping that maybe…justmaybeshe might change her mind about staying with me. I wasn’t going to push her, though. If she still wanted to go back and live on her home planet after this was over, I wasn’t going to try and stop her. But I was hoping that the more time we spent together, the more she might consider staying with me, even without a Bond.
With that hope in my heart, I set a course for Tangella Alpha-Prime.
THIRTY-THREE
NATALIE
The tub wasn’t as big but it was still really deep—it was the size of a hot tub but as deep as a swimming pool. It was also long enough for me to stretch out and float, which was nice. I hummed and sang to myself as I did, feeling the warm waters heat me to the bones.
This was one reason I had to turn down Vik’tor’s offer to stay on O’nagga Nine. His penthouse was gorgeous and warm, but you can’t stay insideallthe time. I wanted to go back to Florida, where it was warm ninety percent of the time and I could move around outside freely. I wanted to go to the beach again and feel the warm wind in my hair and the sand and surf on my toes. I would never have any of that if I agreed to stay on this freezing ball of ice.
I’m just not meant for cold weather—I was born and raised in the South and I wanted to go back. Wanted to feel the sun on my face and hug my family and assure them that I was okay.
If Vik’tor had been able to come and settle with me on Earth, I would have stayed with him in a second. But there was no way—he looked like what he was—an alien. People back home would either think he was wearing some elaborate Cos-play get up or worse, they would figure out the truth. Then someone from the government would take him away and cut him up in an alien autopsy or something horrible like that! I couldn’tlivewith myself if that happened to him.
So as much as I was beginning to care for him—maybe even love him—I knew I couldn’t have him. I had to let him go if I wanted to get home and Ididwant to go home—desperately.
So stop thinking about him,I told myself firmly, as I got out of the bath and dried myself off.You’re going to go on this one little side-trip with him and then he’s taking you back to Earth. After that, the two of you are probably never going to see each other again.
I didn’t know why the thought of never seeing him again hurt my heart so badly, but it really did.
I tried to ignore the feeling as I wrapped myself in a towel and wandered into the bedroom, which was connected to the bathing chamber. It was as nice as the bedroom Vik’tor had assigned to me back in his penthouse—though somewhat more masculine. It was done in some dark wood that gleamed in the light of the mini, glassed-in fireplace set into the wall across from the vast bed.
I smiled when I saw the golden flames jumping behind the glass. I could still feel some of their heat and the flickering shadows were warm and comforting.
I looked for something to wear to bed—my fur bodysuit was too warm and besides, now it had a hole in the crotch. There were drawers set into the wall beside the bed. When I touched one, it slid open soundlessly I found a selection of the short-sleeved T-shirt-type shirts that Vik’tor always wore.
I picked a plain white one and pulled it over my head. It had a plunging V-neck that showed my cleavage but it was warm and soft and the silky material smelled sweet like it had been freshly laundered. I pulled it over my head and slipped beneath the sheets of the big bed. The mattress was pillowy, yet firm and the sheets were silky and so soft they felt like heaven against my skin.
It would be something to live in this kind of luxury all the time,I couldn’t help thinking, as I watched the dancing flames in the fireplace with sleepy eyes. Back home I lived in a one-bedroom studio apartment and even after I got my PhD I wouldn’t be able to afford anything better for years. I was going to have massive student loans to pay off, which wouldn’t be easy on an assistant professor’s salary.
But then I thought of my family—Mama and Daddy and my brothers and Granny—and knew it would be worth it. Ihadto get back to them—had to get back to my old life. Living in the warmth and sunshine, even if I was poor, would be better than being rich and miserable on a ball of ice, I told myself firmly.
But you’re not thinking of Vik’tor,whispered a little voice in my head.He’s part of the equation too. What about the way he woke up your body sexually and allowed you to feel desire and need and sexual pleasure for the first time? What about that? And what about how sweet and kind and protective he is?
But I couldn’t let myself dwell on those things—if I did, I would be miserable. Because even though I hadn’t known Vik’tor long at all, I could tell there was a special connection between us—a connection I might never find again with any other guy.
I pushed that thought firmly out of my mind. I had to concentrate on getting home to my family. I would go on this one business trip with Vik’tor to the Female side of Tangella Alpha-Prime and then I would go back to Earth and everyone I loved again and that wasthat.
I had no idea how long that would take or how much was going to be involved in the little “side-trip” Vik’tor had asked me to come along on. But I was soon to find out…
THIRTY-FOUR
NATALIE
“So tell me about this planet we’re going to—why are the men and women split into two separate areas?” I asked, as we sat at breakfast the next morning.
The breakfast nook in Vik’tor’s ship was cozy and warm, though his kitchen seemed kind of empty, since it had only one appliance. It was something Vik’tor called a “food synthesizer” and it was basically a pot filled with green slime.
This might not sound appetizing—and believe me, it wasn’t—but somehow Vik’tor was able to make the pot produce all kinds of different foods. They were made up of the slime but they didn’t taste or feel slimy—they just felt and tasted normal. There was a special headset that you wore that was connected to the pot and you just put it on and thought about what you wanted to eat and the pot made it.
Despite the slime, I kind of wished I had a pot like it back home. It was so easy to use and it made perfect pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs—which was what I “thought up” for myself. Vik’tor had some kind of Naggian breakfast that didn’t look at all appealing to me—long curls of frozen, raw fish and a side dish of some kind of blood pudding.
Seeing the pudding, I asked him if he could simulate blood for himself to drink but he shook his head and told me that simulated blood didn’t have the same nutritional value as the real stuff. And besides, to get the full benefit, he had to drink directly from the vein—bagged or simulated blood just wouldn’t do.