Sagat followed them out into the cargo hold, then curved his body around Wanda’s legs. At first, she looked nervous, but when Sagat began to purr, she smiled and cautiously leaned forward to pat his head.
“He’s so soft,” she exclaimed. “I thought his scales would be rough.”
“They can be. If he is threatened.”
“He’s beautiful. How long have you had him?”
“It is probably more appropriate to ask how long he has had me. I made a call in a port on Arslan. He was trapped in a cage, and I let him loose.” An action that almost got him killed and ended up costing him most of his available credits. But he had never regretted it. “I assumed he would return to the wild. Instead, he followed me onto the ship and we have been together ever since.”
She smiled a little wistfully. “That kind of loyalty is very rare.”
“Is there no one who is loyal to you?”
“Not anymore. I was raised by a single father. He had an accident the year after I graduated from college, so I moved home to take care of him.” She smiled again. “It wasn’t exactly how I thought my life would turn out, but I think in the end it worked out for the best. I have—I had—a very happy life.”
“Until the Vedeckians came for you,” he said grimly.
“Yes. But hopefully your Patrol can take us all home again.”
“Hopefully.” He forced himself to agree with her even though he was already beginning to dread the prospect. The lights in the cargo hold were dim, and it created a sense of intimacy as they stood talking. That had to be what was creating these… unwanted feelings. He shook his head and firmly steered her towards the stairs.
“You will have to guide me as to what humans would like to eat.”
She laughed. “We don’t all like the same things.”
“I still expect you will know more about your race’s preferences than I will.”
She threw a look over her shoulders as she took the first step, but her foot caught in her dress and she stumbled. He automatically reached out to catch her before she could fall and wound up with her body plastered against his. For a moment, he was distracted by the lush softness of her breasts against his bare chest but then he felt the firm mound of her stomach that had been concealed beneath her dress. His race might have lost their females, but he wasn’t ignorant of the facts of reproduction. His whole body froze.
“You are mated?”
“Mated?” She sounded dazed, her body still leaning heavily against his.
“You are with child.”
That fascinating tide of pink covered her cheeks again. “Yes, I am.”
“Where is your mate? Was he left behind? He must be frantic.”
“I don’t have a mate. I’m doing this on my own.”
“How is that possible?” His head spun at the notion. The Cire could not reproduce without a mating bond. Without it, their sperm would remain infertile.
She glared up at him and started to pull away. “I assure you it’s quite possible. I don’t need a man to have a child.”
He belatedly realized that he had managed to offend her. “It is not physically possible amongst my people,” he said quickly. “I meant no harm.”
She studied his face, then nodded. “I’m sorry. I’m probably sensitive about it because a lot of people didn’t understand why I would choose to have a baby by myself.”
“You will have no one to take care of you.” The thought horrified him. Even before the plague that killed all of the Cire females and destroyed the future of his race, a pregnant female was always nurtured and protected. But this brave human female was all alone.
“I told you. I can take care of myself.” Her eyebrows drew together as she tried to pull back but only succeeded in wiggling against him. He bit back a groan at the indescribable pleasure of all that soft, warm flesh rubbing against him. His cock jerked and her eyes widened before she pushed more frantically against his arms. “And you can let me go now.”
“No,” he said firmly as he lifted her into his arms. “I will not take the chance of you falling on the stairs.”
Ignoring her protest, he carried her up to the landing and immediately set her gently on her feet. “You should not take the stairs again. There is a cargo lift that you can use.”
Her eyes blazed as she put her hands on her hips. The sight of her fiery defiance was even more arousing, but he forced himself to concentrate on her words.
“I’m not cargo,” she fumed.
“No, of course not,” he said hastily. “But you are with child and if anything should happen to you on my ship, I could never forgive myself. Please, Wanda. Do not take any chances.”
She still looked ready to scratch his eyes out, but then Sagat butted his head gently against her hips and she gave a reluctant laugh. “Very well. I know when I’m outnumbered.”
“Thank you.” He bit back a sigh of relief.
She opened her mouth, then shook her head and headed for the galley.
“Kareena said that women and babies are very valuable,” she said a minute later. “Is that why you’re concerned?”
“My people have always revered their females, but I suppose now that they are gone all life is more precious.”
“What do you mean? Gone?”
“Did the Vedeckian—”
“You mean Kareena,” she interrupted.
“Did Kareena explain to you about the plague?”
“Yes, she said that it killed billions of people.”
“It did. Most races suffered but the Cire were amongst the worst hit. We lost all of our females.”
“All of them?”
“Yes. I had to watch my sister die. And then my father when he couldn’t live with the guilt of having survived.”
Her hand reached over and touched his arm, and his tail came up to cover it. “I’m so sorry. Is that how you ended up here?”
“Yes. Our government tried artificial reproduction, and we were forced to contribute.” Her hand tightened on his arm but he ignored it. “I hated it, so I stowed away on the first ship I could find.”
“How old were you?”
“I had only just made the transition to manhood.”
“What happened then?”
“The captain of the ship found me. Cursed me up one side and down the other, then wore his belt out on my backside.”
“That’s terrible.”
He smiled at her indignation. “It probably was not as much as I deserved. And as soon as I learned my lesson, he took me on and taught me everything there was to know about running a ship. So here I am.”
“What happened to the captain?”
“He is still around.” The usual mixture of guilt and anger swept over him, but he shook his head. “Now enough about the past. What shall we cook?”
Chapter Four
As Wanda watched Mganak move around the ship’s kitchen, she tried to sort out her mixed feelings. He had disappeared long enough to take a quick shower and returned wearing loose black pants and a shirt. But even though they concealed his body, she could still clearly visualize the intoxicating sight of his muscles rippling as he moved through his exercises. But it was more than just a physical attraction. Something about this alien called to her in a way she had never experienced before.