Page 20 of Irene

A weight slammed in her gut. She swallowed a wad of unexpected hurt at his blunt, almost harsh question. “I…I wanted to see you guys. Say hello, maybe talk music some more? You don’t want me here?”

Jemi startled her by rushing forward and wrapping his arms around her. Irene was suddenly pressed close to a strong body, enveloped in his musky-spicy scent and warmth. “No want you hurt. You in danger, Irene. Shouldn’t come.”

“Rusp learn about Earth. Cruel to women who come close to men. We stay away and hope you stay away too.”

Irene found it hard to concentrate on Sherv’s speech. Jemi was holding her tight to himself, his rock-hard chest against her breasts, their stomachs touching, and below…

A stab of heat spiked through her. She hadn’t been held by a man before, and it was a revelation, her softer curves molding to his powerful physique. She couldn’t breathe.

She came close to grabbing Jemi when he stepped back and held her at arm’s length. His worried gaze cleared the fog of whatever it was she’d been experiencing, and she returned to her senses.

“It’s okay. Nobody messes with Odeergins, right? I’m careful.” They didn’t have to learn about her near-encounter with Clan Nil.

“Is big risk,” Rusp said, his anger evaporating in favor of concern. “What Earth do to you if you catched…”

“If you were hurt because come to visit us, I not stand it.” Sherv raked his fingers through his thick black hair, mussing it. “Why you take chance?”

Still feeling a ghostly sensation of Jemi imprinted on her, Irene went to their dinette and sat on one of the huge chairs surrounding it. “My world has been so small. Not Earth, but where I’m allowed to go, what I’m allowed to do. Imagine never going anywhere, never experiencing anything except what people tell you is proper. Could you live like that?”

Sherv sat next to her so they could gaze eye-to-eye. He was warm, so warm. Would he feel like Jemi if he held her?

He spoke to her slowly, carefully, as if she were a child. “Your government torture and kill for this, Irene.”

“Do you think I don’t know it? They took me from my parents when I was sixteen. They ripped me from my family to sing for them. My parents would have been jailed if they hadn’t agreed to it.” Irene choked on bitter laughter. “I comprehend all too well what my government is capable of.”

“You don’t see parents for so long?” Jemi’s voice caught as Rusp’s already grim visage became sterner.

“We’re allowed occasional supervised visits. I count the hours until I see them again.” Irene swiped at a tear. “I was forced to move from California to New York to train and sing opera, and my parents weren’t allowed to come with me. I wished for death then. There isn’t a second of my life Earth doesn’t dictate, except when I sneak off. If I didn’t escape every now and then, I’d go insane.”

“Is it worth your life?” Sherv held her hands in his.

Irene wished she wasn’t wearing gloves. She wanted to discover how his skin felt on hers. She wanted the warmth of simple contact with another. It leant a note of desperation to her tone. “This is life. Getting out, meeting people who aren’t ‘safe’ for me, seeing and hearing and touching and tasting what Earth would keep from me. When I run away is the only time I truly live.” She gripped his hand tightly. “Don’t send me to my quarters. I know the risks, and they’re worth it.”

You’re worth it.The thought whispered in her head.

He considered. Long seconds slipped by as Jemi and Rusp watched in apprehension, their gazes shifting from Irene to Sherv and back.

“I not know how to decide,” Sherv said at last. “You make sense, but I scared for you. I want you here, but this is hard when you could suffer.”

“Give me a choice, Sherv. Do what Earth won’t, and let me make my own decisions.”

Another pause. He slowly nodded. “You be as happy as you can. We will help if you keep visit.”

“Thank you.” She felt a soaring lightness when they didn’t show her the door. She took off her gloves. “You’re giving me a priceless gift.”

It took a little while before the gloomy atmosphere eased. Unsurprisingly, the magic of the music they’d conjured returned the clan’s smiles.

“Give me.” Sherv set aside the uferliss to take the guitar Irene was playing, her results admittedly less than stellar. “Try this.” He played a variation of the notes she’d thought would work in the third song they’d been concocting.

“Much better. Show me again?”

“I play. Uferliss not working on this tune, I think. You sing.”

“Okay, but I still don’t understand why you prefer this song sung in English rather than Kalquorian.”

“Your language works with sound better. It easier for you to sing your words.” He started to play the intro, and Jemi’s trasbu joined in. Another measure, and Rusp added the perfect gentle drum fill.

Irene had to admit that particular song did work best minus the uferliss. “What’s your opinion on adding piano or keyboards?”

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