Page 27 of Tornn's Mate
Most of the time, the android rests in a compartment in the wall near the entryway. But when there is cleaning to be done or laundry to be washed, it magically makes an appearance. It’s a bit eerie when I’m putting dirty dishes in the cleaning receptacle and the android walks in, says something to me in Darrvason, and politely scoots me out of the way and takes over the task.
The android shuts the closet door and heads for the bathroom, a bag of cleaning supplies in its hand. I peek into the spacious bathroom and watch as it withdraws a large blue object from the bag. It presses a button on the device and waves it over the bathroom mirror, removing the faint water splotches I’d carelessly left as I’d brushed my teeth and washed my face earlier.
I move away from the doorway and sink onto the bed, my mind whirling with the events of the past few days. I’m mated to a Darrvason male whose desires are far more ravenous than I would’ve ever imagined. Heat blossoms on my face and my core tightens with pleasure as I recall the long, hard pounding he’d given me last night. I squirm in place and feel the soreness between my thighs. For a reason I can’t fathom, I experience a surge of satisfaction as the lingering ache resonates through my center.
After a while, a sense of restlessness hits me, and I peer around the tidy room. I’m not used to having idle time on my hands. It makes me feel guilty. Like I’m committing some terrible sin. On theJansonna, I was always busy. Everyone was expected to contribute to the running of the ship. Those who slacked off faced severe consequences. Reduced rations, relocation to less desirable living quarters, and non-admittance to recreational rooms, to name a few.
Not that I haven’t enjoyed the sudden downtime, during which I’ve taken countless bubble baths and reread several of my favorite history books, but there’s an itch inside me that keeps growing. The need to be useful in some way.
With a frustrated sigh, I hop off the bed and trudge into the sitting area and pause in front of the huge viewscreen. Longing pangs in my chest when I glimpse theJansonna. I miss my family and friends. My heart aches. I miss Nathan and the gentle love we’d shared.
A faintbeep beep beepsounds in the background, intruding on my thoughts, and I turn and scan the room, wondering what the servant android is up to now. But the android is walking quietly toward its home in the entryway, its morning tasks complete, and the beeping is coming from much closer. The noise also sounds familiar… but there’s no way it’s what it sounds like.
My gaze falls to the reading tablet I’d left on an end table next to the long sofa. The screen isn’t lit up, but as I step closer, I’m certain that’s where the noise is coming from.
I pick the tablet up, sit down, and press a button to illuminate the screen. In the upper left corner, a text bubble appears. At first, I think it must be an old message—surely no one from theJansonnawould be able to contact me from this distance—until I notice the date and time.
Today. From a few seconds ago.
My pulse accelerates when I realize who it is, and my hands start trembling.
Nathan.
I swallow hard and glance toward the entryway, cold terror skittering through me as I imagine the fallout of Tornn catching me in a text conversation with my fiancé. Ex-fiancé. Whatever.
I’ve known Nathan my whole life, and I still have feelings for him. If not for the Darrvasons and the alliance, I would be going forward with my plans to marry him. In a couple of months, we would’ve been husband and wife. We’d planned to get married the week after my twenty-second birthday, on the day of our five-year anniversary.
It takes me several tries to open the text bubble because my hands are shaking so hard. But I finally manage to swipe it open, and my eyes scan the message.
Ellie,
If you’re reading this,it means I was able to successfully amplify the signal on my personal comm and penetrate theHaxxal’sshields so I might send you a message. Rest assured that I’m using an encrypted but fluctuating comm number that should prove untraceable if the Darrvasons somehow detect it.
I miss you and I’m heartbroken that you’re gone. TheJansonnaisn’t the same without you. I pray that no harm has come to you.
Please write when you are safely able to do so.
Love,
Nathan
Tears blurmy vision and my entire body trembles. Sometimes late at night when neither of us could sleep, Nathan and I would text one another. He’d rigged up a program from his personal desk comm in his quarters that had allowed him to send messages straight to my tablet.
All interpersonal communications on theJansonnaare strictly monitored, but the messages we’d shared had remained secret. Undetectable by any nosey morality or security officers.
We could talk innocently about our desire to get married and start a family without a morality officer suspecting we meant to have intercourse, and we could discuss our fears about the inept command team without fear of getting accused of mutiny.
I count the days since I left theJansonna. Four days. Which means it’s been five days since I’ve seen Nathan, since he hadn’t come to the docking bay to see me off on the day I was handed over to the Darrvasons. On the day Tornn claimed me as his mate.
Only five days. Yet it feels like so much longer.
I glance at the entryway and my stomach flips. Tornn probably won’t return for another two hours. Thus far, he’s joined me for the midday meal every day since I’ve come to live with him.
After taking a deep breath, I type my reply to Nathan.
Nathan,
I’m sohappy to hear from you. I miss you too. I promise I’m okay. Please don’t worry. How are you doing and how are things going on theJansonna? Any update on the repairs to the worldship? How are my mother and sister faring?
