Twelve Days of Xanthus (4 page)

“Been a long time since I’ve done that. Maybe there are some benefits to this whole thing.” She stood and the expression of happiness on her face turned to panic. “Please tell me I can’t get some alien S.T.D.”

“S.T.D.? Oh, a sickness, no, we don’t have those things on Zenton.”

“Thank God for small miracles.”

His lips twitched upward into a smile as he laughed. “Thank you, Violet.”

“What for?”

“For treating me like a man.”

“I call it like I see it.” She gave him a wink, rose to her feet, took his hand, and squeezed. “I like you, Xanthus of Zenton.” She released him and stepped away. “You should get dressed and meet me in the living room when you’re done.”

She turned on her heel, crossed the floor, and exited.

§ § §

Shit! She was turning into a slut, an alien loving slut. Her cheeks burned. It was discombobulating, not having control over her sexual urges, but what was worse, a part of her enjoyed it. Had she gone without a man for so long any sexual contact made her happy?
No.
She might be able to lie to others, but not to herself. The chemistry she shared with Xan was off the scales. They had the potential to be good together. A man was emerging from the dominated shell. He was intelligent, sensitive, and sexy as sin.
Could he be the man she’d been waiting for all this time?

She snorted. The thought was absurd. The man had even more baggage than her. After all those years as a slave, he needed to learn to be on his own. A relationship together would be unhealthy, wouldn’t it? They’d never know if it was his pheromones or not.
If you were both happy, would the catalyst really matter?
It was a question she had no answer to. Violet sighed. Xanthus told her the intensity of the pheromones would fade over time. She hoped the process would start soon because the crazed nympho act wasn’t for her. Right now she was doing everything in her power to keep from having sex with the stranger, but she knew that was only a matter of time.

Footsteps sounded in the hall. Violet looked up. The clothes were a smidge too tight, but they’d work in a pinch. The uncomfortable look on his face was almost comical.

“I know they aren’t s the most comfortable, but you’ll get used to them soon.”

He shot her a look that said,
I doubt it
.

Even now she felt the slow burn threatening to resurface at the sight of him. Distraction! She needed something to take her mind off the rapidly rising arousal that was threatening to rear its head.

“So we need to help you blend in and figure out how to outwit Kala. Can you get rid of the tracking chip?” Violet asked.

“I don’t know. No one has ever tried. We were told it was linked to our nervous system,” Xan said.

“If that’s true, how did you escape? Why didn’t they just flip the switch and fry you?”

“Because I was able to exit the range of detection before they realized I was gone.”

She frowned. This sounded like a scare tactic. “Have you ever seen this defense system set off?”

“Yes, once. It was not a pretty sight. Drister, a fellow slave, tried to escape. He bled from the nose, ears, and mouth before he fell to the ground, twitching and foaming at the mouth until his life force was eradicated.”

“Okay, so that’s out. How do you know the system will go inactive in twelve days?”

“I once heard my mistress say this to another about a slave who’d escaped with a trade ship headed to Earth before I was born. Any longer than that and the risk of exposure to your people becomes too great.”

“Okay so we have eleven more days.” Her voice was muffled as she spoke more to herself than to him.

“Will you be able to tell when they get close?”

“Yes, my bands will grow hot, begin to emit a high pitched whine, and eventually they’ll emit a tracking signal.”

“How accurate is the signal?”

“I don’t know.”

“Right…we’ll stay here for now, until I can figure something else out.” She sank down onto the couch and waved him over. “Come over here and sit please.”

He did as she said.

“First thing we need to do is Americanize you. If you want to be unnoticeable, you need to stop referring to women as mistress. I know that it’s hard but if we want to hide we have to do it in plain sight. That means not raising any red flags to make us memorable.”

“I understand, Violet.”

“Good.” She scooted to the edge of the couch, and reached down to bring out the silver laptop she’d placed under the couch earlier.

“Do you know what this is?”

“A personal computer?”

“Yes, but it’s called a laptop. Your strange way of talking is one of the things we need to fix.”

They filled the next few hours with browsing the web as she gave him a crash course on the 20
^th
century, pop culture, and modern day etiquette.

§ § §

Kala felt fury like none she had experienced before burn deep in her belly. How dare Xanthus escape and make her the laughing stock? She was their Queen! It was his duty to serve her as she saw fit, for as long as she deemed it necessary. She gritted her teeth and turned to watch from the window in her throne room as her crew prepared her ship for travel to Earth. She would track him down and watch as he suffered and drew his last breath. The blood that would spill onto the ground would work wonders for her pride. Among her people, reputation and perceived power were everything. She hadn’t remained Queen for so long by being outsmarted by a slave. Some of her people forgot themselves with their men, mistook lust for love, and became weak. She avoided all of that by getting rid of her man each time her defenses threatened to be breeched.

Xanthus had been the slave she’d kept the longest. He’d given her two healthy babies and obeyed her well. She’d been saddened about what she’d have to do, but now… She curled her aquamarine hand into a fist. Soon she would have him in her grasp. A wicked grin curved her dark blue lips upward at the corners.
You will suffer, Xanthus of Zenton.

Chapter Three

He had to tell her. He’d begun to notice an almost indiscernible noise coming from his bands. Kala was closing in on him; the cabin was no longer safe. He hated to ruin the laid back atmosphere they had going in the cabin. He’d gotten to know Violet better with each day that passed, and six days in, he was smitten. At times he thought she felt the same. But he couldn’t be sure. Xanthus studied the woman beside him, and wondered for the millionth time why she was helping him. She’d even planned a mock Christmas dinner just for him.

She paused and looked up from the list she was scribbling in a notepad. “You’re staring at me again, Xan. You know how I feel about that. What’s wrong?”

“Why are you helping me?”

“Why not?”

“Because really I am none of your concern and I bring the potential of danger to you.”

“Well, what’s life without a little danger? Besides, there are still people out there who do the right thing. My people were originally brought over to this country as slaves. After decades of being treated like no more than property, we received our freedom. It took many years after to come into our own and some would argue that we still haven’t made it there yet. How could I see this same scenario played out right in front of my eyes, and not do something about it?” Her eyes flashed, and she squared her jaw. “Not on my watch.”

He admired her passion and conviction.
What would it be like to be able to pick and choose what you stood for?
You are about to find out soon.
The thought excited and terrified. His entire life had been about obeying orders. Now the possibilities were infinite. It overwhelmed him.

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Think too hard. I can practically
see
the smoke coming out of your ears.”

He placed his hands over his ears to check the temperature.

She snickered.

“It’s an expression, Xan.”

“Aaah.”

“Cheer up. We’re getting ready to go shopping in your first human store. Isn’t that something to look forward to? I mean don’t you want to see all those things we looked at on the computer yesterday in person?”

“Yes.”

“Good, focus on that. I swear it’s like adding another brother to my family.”

The thought made him frown. He did now want to be thought of as brotherly.

“I do not believe you do the things you do with me to your brothers.”

Her head popped up as she set down her list. A strange look crossed over her face and he tensed. Had he gone too far? What would she do?

Violet tipped her head back and laughed a magical sound that reminded him of chiming bells. Her hair fell back and swirled around her shoulders. Her face glowed with joy. Her unrestrained emotions called to him. After a life lived on a planet that abhorred any open displays of emotion, this was like water for his thirsty soul. Violet O’Shea dazzled him. Her even white teeth flashed as her laughter died off.

He couldn’t tell her about Kala now; he’d wait until after the dinner. She’d spent days planning his first Christmas experience.

“You just made a joke, I’m impressed.”

“It was not my intention.”

“I know, Xan, that’s sort of what makes it even more hilarious. But don’t worry I promise I’m laughing with you, not at you.”

“How is that possible, when I’m not laughing?”

She chuckled and shook her head. “We’ll keep working on it.”

She tucked a shopping list into her pocket and came over to pat him on his shoulder. “You ready for your trial run?”

“Yes.”

“Here we go, let’s get our coats on and head out. The nearest store, real store, not the one up here for the renters of the cabin is about forty-five minutes out.”

“What is it called?”

“Walmart.”

She slipped her arm through his and guided him outside with one hand on his arm. His looked at their surroundings as he breathed in the cold air, and his chest ached. Violet had explained earlier on one of their walks, the feeling was a natural response but it made him uncomfortable. Like his lungs were about to stop operating. The white snow covered every inch of ground and dusted the trees and the porch railing.

“Come on, we need to get the car going and brush the snow and ice off.”

He followed her, wondering what the ground beneath the powder that gave way beneath his feet looked like. The crunch sounded sharp to his ear, and the clouds of smoke that swirled out from his mouth were whimsical. Zenton was flat lands in shades of red and orange. It was a rarity but they did get an occasional rain. There was plenty of vegetation but it was not the green of Earth. It was deep purples with the occasional pops of magenta and burnt orange. The temperature ranged between the eighties and nineties. When they reached the vehicle he knew to be an SUV, he eyed it skeptically. The dark green metal machine didn’t look safe to be driving on the dangerous road.

“I know she doesn’t look much compared to posh space crafts, but she handles like a dream.”

How had she known what he was thinking?

“I may not have extra senses, but I read faces like a dream.”

She flashed him a wink and hit the tiny square on her key chain. The beep the car emitted made him jump as it echoed though the empty space.

“It’s just my car alarm.”

She opened the door, placed the key into the tumbler, and told him to get inside. He did as she asked and watched as she hit a button on the front of the dash display, and removed a stick with bristles. As she brushed off the snow, the car warmed up, melting the ice. He had to give it to the humans - they were creative. Still, the technology on his planet made them seem downright primitive. He focused his energy on the heaters and gave them a boost with his powers. At least he could do this much. It felt odd, letting Violet do everything. He was bred and built to be a warrior. As Kala’s slave, he was also charged with her protection. Kala was strong, but a queen always has enemies, and he was the one who was closest to her.