Fractured Chances Read online

  He lifted her chin and kissed her, smiling as he leaned back. “That sounds nice.”

  She chuckled. “It took me a while to get to that place, but now, mentally, that is where I live.”

  “I like that. All of my days have blurred together until the day that shuttle was falling. Now, I am enjoying each day to a ridiculous degree. Your joy in your life is contagious.”

  She smiled. “It is hard-won, but it keeps me moving forward.”

  He hugged her. “I am very pleased it has gotten you here.”

  She chuckled and simply relaxed against him while he stroked a hand over her back. His fingers moved across the scars, and he closed his eyes slightly as if memorizing something.

  “What are you doing?”

  He smiled. “Learning part of you that will fade in time.”

  “Fade?”

  “As our bond increases, your body’s regenerative abilities will increase, and that will mean your skin and organs will remain youthful for a very long time.”

  “How long?”

  “Three or four times your natural lifespan. It depends on you. Many companions simply let themselves fade over time. They have had enough of life.”

  Nan frowned. “Seriously? But... there is everything out here. How could you get tired of it?”

  He smiled. “I hope you still think that in the centuries to come.”

  She looked up at the dance in the stars above her head. “It is constantly changing. How could it get old?”

  “The stars that are being born in the distance have thrown their light thousands of years ago. It is only reaching us now. Time passes differently for everyone.” He looked up at the moons and stars. “It is a beautiful dance, though.”

  They remained together for a while, and then, he got to his feet with a rush of water and carried her out to dry her off.

  She looked around. “Where did my clothes go?”

  “The bots came out and grabbed them to clean them and put them in the wardrobe.”

  “Bots?”

  “Housekeepers. They keep things from getting too intense when I am working or travelling. Sometimes I leave the window open.”

  She laughed. “And the matriarch and her mate take care of the khitans.”

  “They do.”

  She blushed as he knelt and dried her legs with a soft cloth. When she was dry, he slid the robe she had generated over her shoulders and tied the sash for her. He wrapped a drying towel around his hips, and they walked back toward the house, her hand in his.

  Once inside the house, she wandered into the kitchen and checked the fridge, pulling out some fruit and cream.

  He leaned in the doorway. “What are you doing?”

  She found some honey and put out two bowls. “Dessert.”

  Varix frowned. “I really don’t need any.”

  She shrugged. “I do. Figuring out what everything tastes like is tiring.”

  He snorted. “Really?”

  Nan shrugged. “No, but I never need an excuse for fruit, cream, and honey.”

  He laughed and took a seat. “Fine. I will watch.”

  She chuckled, and she shook her head while she prepared two bowls of fruit. She put the stuff away and sat across from him, offering him one of the bowls. “Oh. Wait. Spoons.”

  She got up, and he reached out and snagged her as she passed.

  He murmured, “Fingers were fine for dinner; they are fine for dessert.”

  He settled her across his lap and pulled one of the bowls toward him. He picked up some of the doused fruit and held it in front of her. “Open up.”

  She opened her mouth, and he put a berry in. She smiled at the flavour and ignored the heat in her cheeks. It was good. Somewhere around the fifth berry, she asked, “Is this foreplay?”

  He chuckled and put a piece in his own mouth. “This is dessert. Foreplay is different.”

  She swallowed and watched him lick his lower lip. “How so?”

  He slid a creamy-sticky finger between her lips, and she sucked on it. “Allow me to demonstrate.”

  When she had finished with a digit, he pulled it back, and she released it with a soft pop. He gripped her hips and lifted her, moving her until she straddled him. After she was in position, he pulled his towel aside, and his erection was soon nestled at her entrance. He eased her robe from her shoulders and put a berry between his teeth.

  She took in the heated gaze and the sharp canines and leaned in to take the treat and the fruit. Leaning forward caused more pressure, and the tip of him slipped inside her. Her breathing picked up, and she moved back. He repeated the motion, and she slid further onto him with the next bite. Nan had started with her hands on his shoulders, but when he leaned to get the other bowl. She moaned and pressed her head to his neck. He murmured, “And now it is my turn.”

  He put a piece between her lips, and she leaned in as he slid further into her. He dribbled some of the cream and honey and had to lick it up while she shuddered.

  By the time he let her stop, every muscle in her body was quivering, he was deep inside her, and her skin was tingling. His hands spanned her back, and he held her close as he kissed her with devastating thoroughness. He broke from her and whispered against her neck. “That was foreplay.”

  He gripped her hips and slid her onto the table, still inside her, and he began to thrust. She screamed and dug her nails into his arms. He whispered encouraging words as he continued to pound into her, jolting the table hard. She gasped with tiny moans when the vocals got higher, and he bit her in the shoulder again. The rush of pleasure that followed the spike of pain ran through her, and she moaned long and low as she arched up against him, her breast flattened against his upper chest.

  He let out a low growl and shuddered. She felt heat inside her, and her body clasped at him rhythmically.

  He released her shoulder and licked at the wounds, lifting her up against him and carrying her up to bed.

  It was a very, very long night.

  Chapter Ten

  Nan remained still and napped a bit during the flight to the colony. When they landed, she was jostled out of her doze, and Varix set her on her feet.

  She was wearing an outfit chosen by the overlord of Abix. He had her in leggings, a gauzy skirt, and a breastband that supported her a bit, covered by a nearly translucent floaty top. Her hair was mostly unbound, and the small braids at her temples were tied behind her, as were the layer of thin braids that kept her hair confined. Varix had quick fingers.

  The colony administrator was there to greet them; his pale-yellow skin and silvery eyes were familiar. “Lord Varix, Lady Ananda, it is wonderful to greet you on this bright day.”

  Varix kept a hand around her waist. “Thank you for the greeting, Administrator Hoarth. We would like to see all of the Urther children who arrived in the crashed shuttle.”

  “The ones that are still in school are all together; the others have begun their apprenticeships.”

  “We will see them all to set the lady’s mind at ease.”

  The colony town was a small city, which surprised Nan. She had more of a frontier town expanse in mind, not a city with public transport and personal vehicles. None of the buildings was larger than three stories, but it was still a wide sprawl.

  “Of course, Lord Varix.” The administrator bowed. “I have brought the skimmer for in-city transport. Shall we begin with school?”

  Nan smiled. “Please.”

  Varix kept his hand on her waist as they stepped on the platform of the skimmer and were whisked away down the streets to a wide and elegantly designed school. Archways over the doors, tons of windows, and children of different races and ages were lounging on the lawn.

  Hoarth stepped out and offered his hand to her, and when she took his fingers, his eyes flashed black for an instant. He let her go and stepped away from her when Varix came up behind her. The administrator was flustered. “This way, Lady Ananda.”


  Varix murmured, “Do you prefer that?”

  She shrugged. “Nan is fine. Ananda Cork is a designation for another world.”

  He chuckled as they walked toward the school. “So, I can rename you?”

  “I would have to agree to it, but you can suggest an alternative to Nan.”

  His fingers gripped her waist. “I will give some consideration to the option.”

  She grinned and walked into the school to see the administrator speaking urgently to the school head, who nodded and said, “They are waiting. Lord Varix called ahead.”

  The female, in a charming vivid blue, smiled, and said, “My lord, my lady, please come with me.”

  They followed what she guessed was the principal of the school. They were walked through the halls that were wide and well lit. The lockers that were in place reminded Nan of her high school, but the place was very calm and very cheerful. That broke the resemblance.

  The room that they were escorted into was some kind of small assembly room. The familiar faces broke into grins as they recognized her.

  Nan rushed forward, and she hugged and checked on everyone. Leena smiled at her. “Nan, you got prettier.”

  Some of the teen boys nodded before the other girls noticed and elbowed them.

  Nan stroked her cheek. “I am less worried. That is all. And a little bit relaxed.”

  Leena whispered, “Are you dating him?”

  Nan slowly turned back to look at Varix, and he smiled slightly before returning to his conversation with the educator.

  “Um, yes. Yes, I am.”

  “Mia is going to be pissed. She said she was going to get into his bed.”

  Nan winced. That did sound like Mia. She was forthright and willing to do what it took to climb the social ladder. This was going to require some delicate conversation.

  “Don’t worry about her, Nan. She’s an asshat, and she has been since we were on the road. She’s always trying to get something for nothing.” Leena touched her arm in sympathy.

  Nan was frowning as the other kids said the same thing. That she should ignore Mia. Leena gripped Nan’s arm and turned it over. “Nan, where did your scar go?”

  She blinked. “What?”

  “Your scar. The one you got when the deer got into the bus. It’s gone. Well, it is mostly gone. I just recognize your arm in the dark by that scar.”

  Nan looked at her forearm where a thin line had been. It was faded and shining slightly.

  “Huh. That’s new.” She didn’t look behind her, but she could feel Varix looking at her. “Maybe they did it when I was in the med centre.”

  Leena frowned. “Maybe, but you were there for weeks, and it didn’t fade there.”

  “Weeks? I thought I was out overnight?”

  Leena shook her head. “You had internal bleeding. You were pretty close to death. They chose not to tell you before they knocked you out. After that, the place went crazy.”

  Nan frowned. “No shit. Well, I am going to have a chat with Varix about that.”

  Leena’s eyes were dancing. “Are you?”

  Nan could feel him approaching behind her. “I am going to ask him what the hell he was doing, not telling me how long I had been unconscious, and when did he decide to give me a transfusion? And what kind of a jerk doesn’t tell a lady that she nearly died?”

  He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her shoulder. “A wise one.”

  Leena’s eyes went wide, and she blushed. The other teens looked either awkward or fascinated.

  Nan was amused, and she slid her hand into his hair, tugging sharply. “What did I say about PDA in front of minors?”

  He had barely moved an inch. “Keep it to a minimum, and no hands under your clothing.”

  “Check your thumbs, sport.”

  He looked down and slowly moved the thumbs that were pressing on the underside of her breasts. “Apologies.”

  He straightened, removed his arms from under her clothing, and wrapped them around her upper torso instead. “So, Urthers, how are you enjoying Abix?”

  Leena bowed. “Thank you for asking, Lord Varix. We are adapted and enjoying our studies. Most of us have already found a job path in the last few weeks, and we appreciate your hospitality.”

  Some of the younger ones nodded and smiled.

  “We also know that Nan won’t be free of her position as caretaker until we are all eighteen, so we are doing our best to be worthy students in that time. Perhaps you could consider letting her go early?” William spoke earnestly, but his voice was crackling.

  Varix stilled. “You want her free of her caretaker contract?”

  The kids all nodded. Leena smiled. “We do. She’s worked so hard to get us here, and now, we are fine. We have carers, clothing, social events, food. We even have therapists now. She doesn’t need to be tied to us anymore.”

  Varix nodded, rubbing his chin against her head. “Fine. I will draw up the contract to free her from her duties as caretaker.”

  Nan chuckled when the kids looked relieved.

  Tom paused. “Wait. What is she going to do for money if she doesn’t have that contract for funds?”

  Varix’s grip on her was snug.

  Nan smiled. “I am sure Lord Varix has another contract in mind for me. I could always contact the administrator if I needed to. Plus, I still have to work off the damage that the crash did to the wildlife.”

  Will scowled. “She just crashed because we were hit. If we weren’t hit, she would never have been flying anyway. She doesn’t know how.”

  Varix held her tightly. “I will take that under advisement, but she will remain on Abix. That much is certain. I have a need for an assistant when working with wildlife, and I have never seen a woman gut a carcass like she does.”

  The boys nodded in understanding, and half the girls looked nervous. Leena nodded but narrowed her eyes. “You are going to lock her into a companion contract, aren’t you?”

  Varix chuckled. “It has crossed my mind.”

  “Oh, Mia is going to hate that.” Leena was smug.

  Varix leaned in to whisper to Nan. “Mia?”

  “Female just becoming an adult. Likes to do things the easy way for maximum reward.”

  “Ah, she wants to take your place in my bed?” Varix kissed her ear.

  “Probably. She is one of the stops on tour, I have no doubt.”

  He chuckled. “Well, you can confirm that my bed is rarely in use.”

  She blushed. “Right. Yeah. That.”

  She turned her head, and he kissed her sweetly. When the chaste kiss was over, the kids were grinning and nodding toward each other. The rest of the visit was the boys asking how much Varix could lift, and the girls asked if Nan had seen any new animals. Nan tried to describe the khitans, and as she was describing them, there was a shout coming down the halls. Nan saw the small ball flapping and caught her neatly, setting her on her shoulder. “This is a khitan.”

  Leena stared at it, and her hand reached for it. Little Buddy crouched, so Nan caught her hands. “She’s not certain of you. Allow me to make introductions.” She brought her free hand to Little Buddy and stroked her behind the ears until she was relaxed.

  Little Buddy tensed and then kept herself balanced with her tails wrapped around Nan’s neck. Nan brought Leena’s hand up to meet Little Buddy’s nose, and soon, there was a lot of petting going on.

  One by one, Little Buddy met all of Nan’s crew. She thought of meeting them as scared kids and kept that thought while the khitan was meeting them. She changed it for every new introduction.

  Varix watched with a smile on his face and a gleam in his eyes. When the khitan had displayed acrobatics, the educator called for the children to return to classes. Little Buddy returned to Nan’s shoulder, and she hugged all of the kids that had given her a focus when the world ended. When they were gone, she leaned back against Varix, knowing that he was there. It was possibly the first t
ime in her life that she had someone at her back she could trust.

  “So, my scars are fading?”

  “You were given a platelet transfusion and some plasma.”

  “So, I got blood. From where?”

  He chuckled. “Me. You were too close to death, and the children were upset, so I... helped.”

  “Thank you.” She chuckled and sighed. “My life may have sucked, but there have been bright spots. That is what keeps me going. This visit was a bright spot.”

  “So, you can summon the khitan?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “She looked so sad when we were leaving. I sent her happy thoughts, and I guess I didn’t stop doing it.”

  “So, you can link with them?”

  “The matriarch made that happen in no uncertain terms. I really didn’t have much choice in the matter. So, you can hear them, too?”

  “They speak in images and raw sound.”

  She looked up at him. “So, shall we be on our way to the next stop?”

  He nodded. “Let’s deal with that young woman first.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I am not quite sure how to handle that. This situation hasn’t come up before.”

  They were walking arm-in-arm to the door of the school.

  “What situation?”

  “Someone targeting a man I wanted to keep. Usually, I would just walk away.” She smiled slightly, and he picked her up and kissed her as they exited the school.

  “No walking away from me.”

  She was being held casually with one of his arms. “Uh, I can’t walk. My feet aren’t touching the ground.” She kicked her feet.

  Little Buddy was surprised and jumped to Varix’s shoulder instead.

  He set her in the skimmer and nodded to Hoarth. “The designers.”

  The administrator nodded and flew them at street level a few blocks into the heart of the colony, and he set the vehicle down.