The Commander's Slave (16 page)

“
And of course you know we
are basically genetically compatible because ....”

He saw her flush, and inexplicably, it
cheered him. So she wasn’t as impassive as she appeared.

“
Of course, I took Doctor
Zehnda’s initial analyses into account.”

For the first time since he eyed that
glorious ship descending, Tangus relaxed.

“
What do these women of
your planet look like? Do they look like you?”

“
We have variations, the
same as on any planet.” She touched her coiffed hair. “My coloring
is the most common. My cousin, Onduin, is as fair as sunlight, but
there are many who are more exotic.”

He leaned against the wall and folded
his arms.

“
But eighty percent? That’s
a very high proportion.”

She hesitated, unsure. “I’m sorry, but
Her Eminence is immovable on that point. Perhaps if some couples
produced more than one child in the stipulated three years, we
could negotiate something.”

“
And when would we have to
give you an answer?”

Arais was floored by the question. In
her musings, she had imagined handing the pad over to Tangus and
him jumping for joy and ordering immediate evacuations. Things
weren’t working out she way she had planned at all.

“
I was hoping for a quick
answer.”

“
I see.”

She really didn’t know men at all, Tangus concluded. A
whole planet of women who looked even vaguely like her? To have a
life again, with new families and old friendships.
To not be forgotten.
Did she really think he could even
hold back the stampede once he announced the proposal?

He straightened and walked over to
her, circling her slowly, breathing in her scent. How he had missed
her! Missed her like the beating of his heart or the pulsing of
blood through his veins. But he had to ask one burning question,
even though he knew he didn’t want to hear the answer.

“
And what about
us?”

“
Us?”

His heart broke in two as he
circled.

“
I presume that there’s
some marriage arranged for you. That’s how things normally work,
isn’t it?” An arranged royal marriage that he was now sure he had
ruined through the taking of her virginity. Part of him wanted to
howl his despair, while another part wondered how he could offer
himself as a substitute. Could he imagine waking up next to his
woman for the rest of his life? Could he contemplate the
alternative, the despair of the last two months compounded by
decades? But most importantly, would she even want to have anything
to do with him after what he had put her through?

He spun her around, holding her by her
arms and looking deep into her soft amber eyes.

“
I’m sorry,” he told
her.

She looked dazed. “Sorry?”

“
Dammit, Asha-Arais, if you
want me to beg, I’ll do it. Put a collar around my neck, I’ll do
that too. I … it look a long time but I realize now I can’t live
without you. I only wish we could have met under better
circumstances. I wish I could have shown you the man I once was. I
wish … I wish many things. But as demanding as I was, as selfish as
I was, believe me when I tell you that, no matter what happens, I
will never stop loving you.”

The transformation was astounding. Her
eyes lit up and her face opened, releasing tension he hadn’t
realized was there until it was gone.

“
If there’s any way you could regard
me
as your
prospective mate, I’ll be
your
slave,” he
murmured as he bent and nuzzled her neck. “Anything, as long as I
don’t lose you again.”

“
I do have one condition,”
she whispered.

“
Anything.”

She moved away and reached into her
skirt pocket, this time bringing out a length of silken cord. She
lifted an eyebrow.

They didn’t emerge from his quarters
for more than an hour and the celebrations lasted well into the
moon’s long night.

The End