Wedding Hunt Ylara (Blind Date Corporation 8) Read online

  He licked her ear and took her hands in his, stretching her arms wide.

  “So, you have another sentience in there?”

  “Secondary instincts. Now, scorpions see their mate, and they lock claws and dance. The male anchors a sperm packet on the ground and dances the female over it, where she will take it up and use it to make his babies, but only if the dance proved he was the best choice.” He grinned. “For obvious reasons, I am not in favour of that method of delivery. I prefer the direct approach.”

  His arms guided her up on her knees, using her straight arms for leverage. He moved her until he was nudging at her entrance, and then, he leaned forward and closed his jaws around her neck. She moaned and shook as her body produced a surge of slick that wrapped around the head of his cock. He eased his hips upward while pulling her down.

  Ylara felt her eyes widen as he seemed impossibly big, but he continued to ease into her with slow pulses of his hips while the thrumming from his chest continued. When he was mostly inside her, her body began rhythmically clasping his.

  In her ear, he whispered, “I see you approve of my dance.”

  She turned her head and caught his lips with hers. They writhed together with the water sloshing violently as they surged together.

  Chapter Three

  When their riot finally stilled, she panted against his shoulder. She had a thought, and it wasn’t a good one.

  “Some people are going to be coming for me. I need to check my messages.”

  He chuckled. “Let them come.”

  “If Zera is truly worried, she will tell my patrons. They might request that she retrieve me.”

  “You are an escort?” He was surprised.

  “Yeah.”

  “So, you do this type of thing often?”

  She stiffened. She got off him and pushed back, surging through the water. Ylara shivered. “Well, thank you for your opinion. It’s been lovely until now. You can now have a tale to tell your buddies. Congratulations.”

  Ylara couldn’t believe she had forgotten who she was and what she did for a living. She had also forgotten how non-patrons looked at escorts.

  She left the tub and wrapped a towel around her. All the murmurs of the future turned to ash in her mind. The heat was over, and that was the end of their connection.

  She didn’t say another word. She walked into the bedroom, saw the freshly made bed that didn’t look like they had spent five days wrecking the sheets, and found the robe he had ordered for her. She dropped the towel, slipped on the robe, and left his bedroom.

  In the outer room, she called Zera.

  Zera was in her daywear and smiled. “Ylara, you dropped off the grid. That isn’t like you.”

  “No, I... made a mistake. I am on Daycross with no clothes, and I don’t know how I am going to get home. I don’t even know what day it is.”

  “Is your heat over?” Zera’s voice was caring.

  Ylara’s throat got thick, but she nodded.

  “You don’t want to stay with him?”

  She managed to croak out, “He doesn’t like escorts.”

  Riithan’s voice rolled over her. “I never said that. I just asked if you did things like that often. Hired women usually tell me what I want to hear.”

  Zera murmured, “Put me on projection, Ylara.”

  Ylara stroked the com, and her friend and boss’s face was projected in the room.

  Riithan paused. “I recognize you from the wedding. You were with Torun.”

  “That is correct. Now, I would like you to obtain clothing for Ylara and send her back to the capitol. Thank you for helping her through her heat. You will be compensated accordingly. If she is not on her way home in the next two hours, a team from the capitol will be sent to bring her home.”

  “She isn’t leaving. She might be carrying my child.”

  Zera snorted. “We can deal with that. If she chooses to bear it, you will be notified. If not, we can deal with that as well.”

  Ylara hadn’t considered that. There were no visions of a future with a child, so she wasn’t hopeful.

  “The child is mine.”

  Ylara looked at him. “I don’t see it. There is no vision of it. You aren’t losing anything.”

  His expr

  ession was stricken. He nodded. “Wear one of my shirts. It is large enough to double as respectable clothing.”

  Ylara held herself back. He was letting her go, just like that. All of his sweet plans and protestations were just talk.

  Through a thick throat, she said, “Please, choose a shirt, and I will be on my way. I probably have enough to get me to a ferry. Zera, I will need a mark scrubbed.” She sobbed but breathed deep.

  He went to his closet and brought a black shirt out of his bedroom. She pulled her arms out of the robe, keeping it pinned to her and then pulled on the shirt before dropping the robe.

  “I will arrange for the mark to be removed, sweetie. Just get to the BDC offices, and we will take care of you. If you need help getting home, just call.”

  “Thanks, Zera.”

  “Oh, what is his name?”

  Riithan spoke with a dull voice. “Riithan of the Sethir-Nin.”

  “Excellent. Oh, look at that. You applied a month ago. Consider your application to be a patron cancelled and the fee refunded. I am also sending you the price for spending a heat with our escort resources department. Good evening. Don’t bother calling to check on your application.”

  Ylara nodded. “See you soon, boss.”

  She put her shoes on and left his room, looking longingly at the pretty tray outside the room with flowers all over the tray. She left without looking back. Dignity was prized in the BDC unless the client wanted something else.

  When she got to the main floor, the housekeeper stopped her. “Miss? I thought you were staying...”

  She smiled sadly. “For a while, I thought so, too. Have a good day.”

  She left and walked down past the car and headed for the public road. Her heels clicked on the pavement, and she tensed herself to not look back to see if he was watching.

  * * * *

  An escort. She had been everything he wanted, everything he dreamed of. Of course, she was. It was her job.

  His chest ached. He had had women come to his bed because they were paid to before. This had been different. Felt different. But it wasn’t. She was a professional lover who had swept him off his feet. She was indeed going to be a story for him. The one that could have been everything.

  * * * *

  She shivered on the ferry heading to the capitol. It had been such a nice wedding. She was going to let Lyric take Baola over with Lii for visits. She didn’t have the heart to go back to Daycross.

  She disembarked from the ferry and got public transport to the Z-Tech building. Zera met her on the main floor and took her inside, an arm around her shoulders as she sobbed. It was the end of the worst heat ever.

  The chemical cocktail that she had ingested via his stinger was complex, and Dr. Kritz was analyzing the hell out of the compounds. Removing the mark was more difficult, but when a healer removed the venom from the bite and healed her skin, she felt hollow. Ylara just wanted to go home and hug a pillow.

  She was wearing part of her wardrobe as escort twenty-five, but she hadn’t worked in that capacity since her induction. She had gone through with the entire masked date three times, and after that, her skills at scouting new escorts and patrons with her visions had become her earning skill, but she wasn’t allowed to tell anyone that.

  She wrapped her hand where the mark had been, and hot tears streaked down her cheeks.

  Dr. Kritz came in and smiled. “Nothing in your system is dangerous. I will have a full analysis tomorrow. You go home and get some rest.”

  “How long do the monitor pods have to remain on my skin?”

  “At least two days so we can be sure you are back to normal. If I recall the file, you have an extremely tenacious heat.”

  “Yeah. It’s up to five days now.”

  “Harsh. Well, nothing more can be done today. Go home.”

  She nodded, hugged Arcady, and headed home.

  In the transport on the way home, she ordered delivery and then got home, changed into pyjamas, and went downstairs to collect her deep-fried snack before locking up and turning on the TV in her room. She ate her meal, got up to brush her teeth and get a glass of water, and realized that it was the only thing she could remember consuming since the wedding. There had to have been snacks or sports drinks, but she didn’t remember any. No wonder she hadn’t fought to stay with him. Her blood sugar crash was famous among friends and family.

  She smiled and called Lyric. “Hey, sis. How are you doing?”

  Lyric smiled. “Good. How are you doing? I hear you have made a match.”

  “You were misinformed. I got a heat partner, and that’s over now. He didn’t know I was registered with the BDC. He didn’t particularly like that, so I am back home.”

  “Oh, honey. What was his name?”

  “Riithan. And about him. If Baola is going to be doing any sleepovers with Lii, can you take her? I... can’t go back there.”

  “Ylara, do you need us to come?”

  “No. Oh, no. I can see you are with Khytten and Salat. I just ate a ton of deep-fried seafood. I am watching a movie and going to bed.”

  “Is there a chance you are pregnant?”

  Ylara swallowed. “I don’t see it.”

  “I am sorry.”

  “It’s fine. Probably better this way. I thought he knew. I mean, Vallu introduced us, and I just thought he knew.”

  “As soon as we are back in town, I am giving you the biggest hug. Baola will, too.”

  “Take care and hug Khytten for me.”

  “I will.”

  “And congratulate her on the triplets.”

  Lyric was laughing as Ylara hung up.

  She went to sleep with the vid playing and her soul a little bit lighter than it had been.

  The next day she got up and headed to her home office, putting on her recording halo and doing sweeps of the capitol for likely escorts and patrons.

  She found three possible escorts and seven patrons. All of the information was forwarded to Tirra, who would make the final decision for recruitment or enticement.

  She got up and checked the clock; it was noon, so she ordered lunch. She was heading to the door twenty minutes later when white spots assailed her vision, and she collapsed with a thud. The last thing she saw as she dropped was a cute little girl with big black eyes.

  She woke up in Kritz’s lab at Z-Tech. There was an oxygen mask on her face and monitors with leads on her hands.

  Arcady was next to her, holding her hand. “Hey, sweetie. I have good news and bad news. Good news is that you are pregnant! And wow, what a dramatic way to announce it. Kritz’s monitors went crazy, your pizza delivery guy freaked but called for medical assistance, and Torun was in town and broke your door down. Torun brought you here, where the medical team was waiting.”

  “Oh, boy. I really should have gotten dressed today.” Her voice was muffled behind the mask.

  “I liked the kitten PJs.” Her purple eyes were sparkling.

  “Thanks.” She sighed. “So, aside from carrying cargo, any other changes? Oh, wait. The spectrum is different. My eyes have reverted to normal.”

  “Yeah. You need to take better care of yourself. Your vitamin and mineral levels are rocketing up and down. Kritz and Zera are trying to create a pump to keep you topped up or an alert that tells you when to take a vitamin.”

  She grimaced. “Great.”

  “Brittany has been notified as your next of kin. Well, a message was sent. She’s not answering.”

  “She has a new mate. I think she’s busy.” Ylara smirked.

  “Fine, but we aren’t releasing you on your own.”

  Ylara blinked. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I am. Very. We want you to survive and thrive, Ylara. We want to see that little one of yours make it to breathe air.”

  “I saw it. As I fell. Little girl.”

  “Oh, wow. Those are super rare with the Sethir-Nin.”

  “Well, I will have to let him know eventually, but eventually isn’t now.”

  She took her mask off when her com chimed. “Oh, hey, Vallu. How is the honeymoon?”

  “Moving back to Daycross. I was going to ask you to meet me for lunch, but where are you? Where is Riithan?”

  “I don’t know. Probably at home doing ambassador stuff.”

  “Fine. Why isn’t he with you?”

  “I am not his type.” She smiled and shrugged. “If we had gone through the BDC, I would have at least known if he was interested in me beyond my heat. Turns out, that is where it started and ended. He’s not a fan of escorts.”

  Vallu looked stricken, and then, she looked mad. “I am going to kick his ass. I am going to punch him into next week.”

  “No, Vallu. Let it go. It’s all right. How are you and Etgar doing?”

  “I want my mani-pedis and my own bed with him in it. Honeymoons are overrated. Wait. Are you in a hospital?”

  “Z-Tech. Medical wing.”

  “Why?”

  She paused. “Hooray. I am pregnant. I am going to wait a while before I tell Riithan. He’s going to insist on a DNA test, and I can’t do that for a few months. I don’t want the drama right now.”

  Vallu scowled. “If he puts one hand on you, I am going to snap his tail off.”

  “Don’t get grumpy. It’s all right.” She smiled. “It’s a little girl, so I don’t think he will believe that either.”

  Vallu’s expression got soft. “A little girl?”

  “Yeah. She’s going to look mostly like her daddy. No tail, though.”

  “Oh. That is going to be so cute.”

  Arcady leaned in. “Hiya, Vallu! Do you know anyone who can put Ylara up for a few days? She’s not supposed to be alone.”

  Ylara glared at Arcady. “They are still on their honeymoon. They don’t need me there.”

  Vallu smiled. “Helen has bought a place in town. You can use the dower house, and the chef here is already used to preggo diets. No one will know you are here, and you can have plenty of privacy. Plus, a high-speed connection and a good friend next door.”

  She snorted. “No. I am just going to hail a cab in my pyjamas and go home.”

  Arcady snorted. “Absolutely not. She needs to be supervised in case she collapses again.”

  “Wait. She collapsed?”

  Arcady and Vallu had a discussion about Ylara’s medical situation.

  She listened to their agreement to transport Ylara to Daycross. It looked like she didn’t have a choice. If she wanted out of Z-Tech, she would need a handler.

  Arcady went to collect some clothing for her, and Vallu sent a car. In forty minutes, she was going to be on the water and heading for Daycross. It was the last place she wanted to be, but in the arms of friends was where she needed to be.

  The dower house was lovely, and she was delivered and settled before there was a knock on the door. She draped a scarf over her head and hid her face when she opened the door a crack. “Hello?”

  “Miss? Are you ill?”

  “Uh, no. I haven’t had a chance to wash my hair or anything else. Who are you?”

  “I am the chef of the Daycross household. Are you all right?”

  She shuddered. “I am fine. Just a few mineral and vitamin deficiencies. I am just dealing with a lot. I came off my heat and had a sudden drop.”

  “Ah. Got it. I will bring you some food, and leave what you don’t want. All right?” His voice was soft.

  “All right. I am going to take a nap for an hour. Would it be rude if I asked you to leave it outside the door?”

  “No problem, Miss.”

  She slowly closed the door and slumped down it. She had begun to turn grey on the ferry. Her skin was now a matte colour of cement, and her hair was like ash. This wasn’t good.

  * * * *

  Vallu prodded Etgar. “Call him. Find out what the hell happened.”

  “He might not want to say.”

  “And he might.”

  She looked out the window at the silent bulk of the dower house. There wasn’t any movement, but the sensor that had been sent to Daycross house indicated that Ylara’s vitals were weak but steady.

  Vallu rubbed her baby bump and bit her lip. “I am worried. Really worried. Did you see her when she got here?”

  “No. The staff brought her bags in. I saw her walking, but her hood was up to cover her face.”

  Vallu was agitated. “Now I am really worried. She hates hoods.”

  Lady Daycross came in. “What is going on? The staff is saying a cancer patient has come to die on the property.”

  Vallu snapped. “That’s it.”

  She headed to the door to the garden and stalked over to the dower house, and knocked on the door.

  There wasn’t a response, and then a harsh voice said, “Just a minute.”

  Etgar murmured, “Riithan wasn’t answering. I called his father. He’s on his way.”

  “Isn’t Riithan older than you?” She said softly as she opened the door.

  “He is, but he is idealistic.” He followed her inside slowly. “She probably didn’t have the right-coloured hair, and once her heat was over, he realized she wasn’t what he thought. I haven’t heard of it happening before, but there is a first time for everything.”

  Vallu moved into the house, but her husband patted her shoulder and pointed toward a shadowed corner.

  In the shadows, something moved. “Sorry, I didn’t make it to the door. So tired.”

  Vallu moved toward her, and she flinched back.

  “Nooo. Stay back. I look bad. They took almost all of him out of me, and now, I am looking bad. He thinks I am bad. I should never have gone to the wedding. It was pretty and then turned so ugly.” She was crying and covering her face.