Page 15 of ReBOrB

“I don’t remember drinking tea. When did you get back?” Frowning, she opened her eyes.

Reb squeezed her hand and stood, fixing her another cup. “I returned a few hours ago. You’ve been… sleeping. I need to talk to you. It is very important and I don’t know how long you’ll be awake.”

Her smile was gentle, and the sadness in her eyes unmanned him. “You don’t have to tell me what’s happening, Reb. I probably understand what my body is doing better than you do. Remember? I’m a nurse. The medical facility missed a bleeder in my brain. And out here…“ She weakly motioned toward the window and the alien landscape. “Out here, there is nowhere to go for help. I know what that means. I’m dying.”

Pressing his lips together, he helped her take a sip of tea. “This will help the pressure. I don’t have enough of it to do any lasting good, but for a short time, it will help.” Then when her eyes met his, he reassured her, “I will not let you die. We have three options, and any of the three will keep you alive. I just need you to decide what you want me to do. The first option is for me to contact the DoMicile and have them pick us up immediately.”

She held up her hand, studying him for a moment before asking, “Didn’t you say something about it being dangerous to contact the ship? And they couldn’t come pick us up anyway, because several of your brothers are still in the city? Tell me the truth about why we’re here and not already on your ship.”

Holding the tea to her lips again, he explained, “Because our ship had to leave Viant’s spaceport before I could get you out of the med center. The authorities planned to search all the ships for your sister and any trace of the Iceactic spider that infested the Siloth ship. You wouldn’t have been bitten if that wasn’t an issue. The authorities were worried the spiders would spread to the other ships or their planet.”

She frowned. “And we came here because?”

Reb sighed. “Because my brothers wanted us to find a non-populated spot on the other side of the planet where the DoMicile could land. But they want us to wait until the Captain finishes his investigation at the port. You and your sister shouldn’t have been brought to Viant. Slavery is supposed to be illegal. Yet here you are. They need us to wait for the Captain because it would be too risky to make more than one trip down to Viant’s surface.”

“That hasn’t changed.” She frowned and rubbed her temple, obviously in pain. “I can’t contact Casey, right? You don’t want to risk the electronic trail if we communicate with the ship.”

Reb nodded. With the condition of her brain, he was amazed she remembered.

Cammy met his gaze again. “That doesn’t feel like a good option. I won’t trade my life for your brothers. So, what is option number two?”

If she didn’t like that one, she was going to hate this. “I can take you back to the med center and make it look like you wandered off and fell asleep in an empty room. They would treat the head injury and stop the bleeding. Once that was done, I’d take you out of there again.”

She rolled her eyes and huffed out an exasperated breath. “No. I am not going back so that the man who bought Casey can find me. They will not use me as a pawn to make Casey come out of hiding. Besides, you know they’d increase security if I showed up again. I’m not taking that risk. What’s the third choice?” Cammy demanded.

Cameron

Reb kneeled on the floor so his eyes could meet hers. “The third choice is me.”

Cammy blinked. Reb looked serious. What was he talking about? She lowered her eyelids for a moment. Her head hurt. She wasn’t sure she could deal with this right now. Only… she had to do something or pretty soon she wouldn’t be able to deal with anything. “What do you mean, you are a choice? How?” When she opened her eyes, his dark ones were steady.

He helped her drink the last of the tea. It really helped the pressure in her head. For a little while.

Reb reached down and pulled off his shirt.

Her eyes widened, and she sucked in a breath. Wow! She knew Reb had broad shoulders and lots of muscles. He carried her when she couldn’t walk with obvious ease. But this… expanse of light blue skin and a chiseled chest was something she’d only seen in her dreams. The man was amazing.

“I need you to be careful.” He stopped her reaching hand. “You can’t touch my bare skin until you make a choice, but I want you to look at my markings,” he prompted.

She frowned. Tearing her gaze from his chest, she studied his body. Markings? Oh. “You mean your tattoo?”

On his right, massively muscled bicep Reb had a dark ink tattoo of half a stylized sun and several woven rays that spilled down to his elbow and ended on what reminded her of the islander version of fishhooks. It was breathtaking. And not just because it highlighted all that muscle and strength, but because the artwork was superb.

“There is a lot to tell you, and yet I believe we have very little time. Your headaches are getting worse and you grow weak. I’ll try to hit the highlights.” He waited for her to agree.

Cam nodded. “I think that is a good idea.” She scooted down on the bed, ready to hear those highlights.

“I’ll save the story of my creation for another time. My brothers and I are all clones created by the Father. What you called my tattoo, I’ve always thought of as marking bands. There are twenty of us. We all look alike except for our skin color, the marking bands, and how we choose to grow the hair on our head and face.”

Carefully, she nodded. “I met your two brothers. One red, one purple. I didn’t see their arms, but I noticed one had a full beard and the other a small mustache. And you are blue and have beard scruff.” She smiled at him.

“Yes. But recently we learned that the marking bands have another purpose. Our creator Father told us he didn’t want to leave our choice of female to fate. So, he mixed his DNA with genetic material from the dragon king on Megoth. The Megoth dragons are born with mating bands, which will only react to their perfect mate. The bands somehow ensure that the male is also the perfect match for the female and a perfect partner. When those who have these mating bands meet their mate, the bands throb. They itch, and small pieces break away. The marks create a physical and mental link between a couple. The small pieces move into our mate’s body, and one of their primary functions is to help heal any injury or illness. This action will tie our life spans together.”

He stopped talking, and she frowned. Did he mean an actual dragon? Cam couldn’t deal with the dragon question now, so ignored it. She studied his arm and noticed it had smaller pieces under the large ribbons of color. Had he found his mate? The pang of jealousy was sharp. He was going to leave her.

“Cammy, did you notice the small pieces under my mating band? The moment I saw you, my bands began to itch and drive me crazy. Then fragments of the original band broke away. Now they are waiting for you to accept me.”

“Are you telling me that your bands think I’m your perfect mate?” So, he wouldn’t leave her. But she wasn’t sure this was better. Wasn’t sure she was ready for a mate. “Do you feel that way?”

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