“You didn’t bite your new brooder, did you?”
Rather than answer, I stare him down. Naturally, I meant it to be intimidating, but Lehar just laughs happily.
“No need to answer that, my friend.”
“I do not think mating works the same way with females who are not Drakon.”
“Only the gods know these things. Never did I think to see the day when Tarion of the Hielsrane was this obsessed with a brooder. I feared that you had given up on finding a female to brood your young.”
“When we are together, I sense a bond of sorts. She is filled with desire for me and though I cede to her every wish, it is never enough to satisfy her. She talks only of being free and I wish only to have her as my own.”
“Perhaps she will change her mind if you open yourself to the idea of seeing her more as she wishes to be seen and less like the person she is perceived by others.”
Unable to grasp his meaning, I frown. “I cannot bend reality to our liking. You know better than most that it is beings who must bend to the ways of the verse.”
“This I know all too well, my friend. What I suggest is perhaps honoring her request to experience freedom, only at your side where you can protect her.”
“I do not know if she wishes to remain with me, Lehar. Perhaps I might assist her in finding a place in the far reaches of the galaxy where she might live peacefully.”
“Would it interest you to know that she roamed the ship before the morning chimed?”
“It would not surprise me to know she attempted to leave the ship again. She is willful in that regard.”
“She did not attempt to leave. Watching her on the security feed, she seemed to keep a wide berth between herself and the loading bays.”
My chest grows tight. “I am pleased to hear such.”
“She appeared to be familiarizing herself with our ship, much as a female does her new home.”
From the tightness in my chest, hope blooms. “What exactly did she do?”
“She wandered around inspecting the ship and ended up in the grand ballroom.”
Chuffing a laugh, I can hardly believe she found that to be at all interesting. “Leave it to my brooder to find her way to the most uninteresting, empty room on my vessel. It’s my luck. Why couldn’t she have found the hydroponics unit where all the beautiful green things grow, or the holographic mapping room where she could have learned about the galaxy? Those attractions may have inspired her to stay.”
“I spoke with her.”
Lehar is the only male aboard this vessel to be trusted alone with my brooder, so I find not a drop of jealousy welling up in my soul. Instead there is curiosity. “Was she well?”
“She was conflicted about staying with you. It took her quite some time to get it all out, but from what I could understand, her dilemma was how to have freedom and you at the same time. Carissa’s struggle seemed to be mostly about accepting that humans are not free beings in this sector. When you came up, she stated you were perfect. She does not wish to change you. You must prove to her that you value her as a person, not just as a bedmate or brooder.”
“Perhaps if I support Carissa’s quest to reunite with her mother, it may prove my loyalty and worthiness as a mate.” Voice prompting the meeting room table to display a map of this quadrant of space, I point to a slave trading post on a nearby planet. “Our first order of business is to get that collar off her neck. I’ll not risk her life if the unit malfunctions. Rather than take her to the planet, I will entice a trader to come aboard and remove the collar.”
Lehar is pensive for a long moment before responding. “It’s too dangerous to take her down to the planet. Every slave trader in the galaxy will be looking to collect her bounty. She is far too valuable to risk leaving the collar in place, for her former masters can use it to track her down. I honestly see no other course of action.”
I rub my jaw as I turn the situation over in my mind. “We’ll have to come up with something tempting along the way for the whole fleet.”
“Keeping command of so many ships is difficult even on a good day.” Lehar’s keen observation makes me smile ruefully.
I am forced to agree with his rueful assessment of our situation. “We’re only in command as long as everyone agrees we are, after all.”
Lehar nods, responding lightheartedly, “When all else fails, you can always intimidate them. That usually gets them to fall into line.”
“Intimidation is a poor substitute for credits to fill their accounts.”
“I’ll set course for Balar Prime and identify an enterprising young trader with the expertise to remove the collar and enough desperation for credits to come to a ship like ours.”
“Those two qualities seem mutually exclusive, but I’m certain you will work it out. I wish to speak to Carissa about getting the collar removed. Having it around her neck is a constant source of anxiety for her and I don’t like the way it chafes her skin.”
“I noticed that as well.”
“Noticed what as well?”
We both look up in time to see Carissa walking into the room. The walls are glass, so the entire bridge crew gazes at her lovely form as well. I’d like nothing better than to tear their eyes out, but I won’t because I need them to fly my ship. She’s wearing a fresh new uniform, one that molds itself to the wearer’s body. It looks fantastic on her. Unable to restrain myself, I reach for her. Drawing her into my lap, I’m gratified that she
