Page 16 of DaR (Darverius, House of DaR #1)
Chapter Sixteen
DAR
I report to work for the next three rotations and life goes on as usual except for her … Kira . At times I want to blame SAGE for bringing this kind of aggravation into my private domain. But then I remember the feeling of her dying in my arms and that reminds me how I was and am so drawn to her.
She has not moved out of that room. She will not respond to me or SAGE . She just lies there and her food has barely been touched.
SAGE speaking to me startles me out of my own private thoughts.
“ Master DaR , Tordan has found what he believes are location records for other Terrans .
Apparently , they have always been in high demand and a lucrative commodity for the female slave traders.
He has sent me everything he has found so far.
He was lucky to find a vague history of their kind, and what I have so far is fascinating.
They seem to come in different colors, shapes and sizes, some even speaking multiple languages without translators.
I believe our own Mistress Kira is considered middle-aged for her kind.
This abduction would have happened after the prime of her life.
This , I believe, will make the abduction and the horror of her circumstances when she was taken more traumatizing than it would have been if she were younger.
Tordan is still trying to locate the ship that held Mistress Kira to see if he can find the actual coordinates of her planet.”
I stand there watching her tremble. The leaking has stopped, thank the Lord of Light , but she just lies there, fading away.
“ SAGE , open her door. I will not allow her to lie in this house and fade away. Father always said, “ Sometimes harsh love is the only way.” I am enabling her by being lenient.”
“ But Master … Sir , you told her no one would come into her room unless she permitted them!”
“ Am I still the Master of this house?”
“ Yes , Sir .”
“ Then open the frackin’ door.”
I march up to the wall and try to prepare myself for the confrontation to come. I would rather march against a plague of Arachnids than one single female; this is why I have stayed single all these years. I hate their emotions because I feel everything they do and none of it is rational.
The door slides open and she does not even look up at me. “ Get up! You have the rest of this solar rotation to get up and get motivated. Or I swear, I will call the healer and have him give you an injection that will make you forget your life before you got here.”
She curls up tighter. “ Go ahead, do your worst, and then just let me lie here and die in peace. I should have died on that plane anyway. If I’d fought harder, I would’ve died beside Rick , not here.
None of this should’ve happened. I lost everything.
Send for your doctor. Maybe … it would be easier if I just forgot. ”
I march over, grab her by the arms, and yank her to her feet.
“ I am assuming this Rick you speak of was your human mate. You do him a grave dishonor by lying here, willing yourself to die. Your mate knew the moment he stood up against the ones who took you with his weak human body that he was going to die, but he fought for you anyway. He gave his last breath so you would live. So , are you going to throw that sacrifice and his death back in his face? That was the greatest honor any warrior or mate could ever pay you. He gave his very soul so you would survive. But then … maybe you were not worthy of that sacrifice and he died for nothing. ”
I flinch at the emotions running across her face and through her mind. I almost smile when I feel them all turning into anger. Anger I can fight; despair I cannot.
“ Who the HELL do you think you are ?” She jerks away from me, standing before me with her hands on her hips.
“ I am the male who saved your ungrateful life! I am the only being willing to stand between you and the real monsters in this world. And you repay me like this?”
She shakes her head and sighs, “ Why do you even care what happens to me? Is this all just about the money you spent to buy and fix me back up? What ? You want to make sure I live long enough to get your money’s worth, is that it? That’s right. Damn , I almost forgot … I’m your slave!”
She has made me so mad I could shake her.
“ That is enough out of your disrespectful mouth! First of all, you do not have enough life spans left to pay off what I spent on you. And second of all, I have never treated you like a slave. I have provided you with more comforts than any other being that was purchased on that miserable planet will ever get. That I promise you!”
“ Comfort ? What , in this prison? Have you even looked around at this so-called home you live in?”
“ What is this thing called home? This is my dwelling, and SAGE is the very top of her AI line. ”
“ Damn , no matter the species, you men are all the same, clueless! You have no creature comforts, not a single blanket on a bed, or even a pillow to lay your head on. How about a family picture on the wall? You said you have kids everywhere. Are you ashamed of them? Are they all so damn ugly you can’t hang their pictures up?
Hell , at this rate, I would’ve been happy to see a collection of knives on the wall, or even a dead animal, something that would mark this house as yours at least.”
I stare down at her. “ I have no need for these items you speak of; I know what my children look like. Why would I want to hang their …picture? Do you mean their likeness on my walls? I do not have enough walls to do this thing you speak of; complete foolishness is all you are speaking to me right now.”
She has the nerve to roll her eyes at me. “ That’s apparent, so what do you want from me?”
“ Purchasing you was something SAGE had been hounding me about for eons. She will talk to you about your duties. You have my permission and all the funds you need to make this dwelling a home , as you call it, as it makes no difference to me at all. But apparently, SAGE wants to set a standard for all other AI dwellings to follow.”
“ I don’t plan on staying here, you know that, right? I want to go home! I’m not going to settle in like a good pet and make my whole existence all about you and your wants. ”
“ Well , right now we do not know where your home is, so you need to try and make the best of this for all our sakes!”
I watch small bumps cover her skin as she trembles all over again. “ What are these things now covering your skin? Are you feeling ill?”
She rubs her hands up and down her arms like she is trying to wipe them off. “ What’re you talking about?”
I grab her arm gently, fascinated with the smooth, silky texture of her skin. I try to rub one of the bumps off, but it does not work. If anything, they start to cover her all over. I look into her eyes and see wariness and caution. “ What is causing you this discomfort, Kira ?”
She shakes her head, and I am blessed with a small smile. “ These are called chill bumps, because I’m cold.”
I release her arm, angry I did not realize she has been in constant discomfort this entire time. “ You mean you cannot regulate your own body temperature?”
“ No , unfortunately. Until recently, I didn’t know others could. That at least explains why you have no blankets on the bed.”
She shivers all over again. “ SAGE , increase the temperature in the dwelling immediately. We are causing undue stress to her system. I take it you are used to being covered all over, due to a defect in your species? ”
“ Wow , you know how to pay a girl a compliment, don’t ya? What’s wrong with me needing clothing? Is that against the rules or something? If you could just provide me with some material, I can make my own.”
“ What is wrong with the garment you have on?”
“ You mean this curtain I have tied on my body? Is this a common uniform or something? Lord knows it’s itchy enough.”
She moves the strap off her shoulder and I am appalled at the red streaks running across it. SAGE speaks up before I can say anything.
“ Master , it seems Mistress Kira’s skin is extremely sensitive. I will contact the tailor and seamstress right away for her to be fitted with better quality material. I will also look into bedding and other comforts her kind may need to prevent any more of these chill bumps. Is this acceptable?”
“ Yes SAGE , spare no expense. She will need multiple items, so make sure they are delivered with due haste!”
“ Come with me!”
I turn away, willing her to follow me on her own.
I do not want her to see me as a monster.
I want her to depend on me to take care of her every need and desire.
I struggle with the feelings and emotions that try to push themselves to the surface because of her.
I have never needed anything or anyone besides my father.
The day I lost him; I separated myself from others purposely.
Now … Well , the pull to be close to her is something I am not used to.
Especially knowing she will leave me the first chance she gets.
We enter my sleeping chamber and I head toward the back of the closet. I grab one of my own shirts off the rack that I seldom wear and head back to her.
She has only stepped inside the door. I watch as she looks around and for the first time, I think I know what she is seeing.
The room is cold and barren like the rest of the dwelling.
I would just as soon sleep on the ship most of the time anyway.
There was nothing here worth making the trip before; one sleeping chamber was as good as any other.
“ Here , take that off and put this on. The material will not be so abrasive on your delicate skin.”
She reaches out to take the shirt from me and rubs the material between her fingers. “ Thank you.”
I nod my head, and she turns to head back to her own room. I wave my hand, and the door closes behind her. Then I turn immediately toward the two-way monitor.
I watch her close her door and then move to the cleansing room. I know I should respect her privacy, but the urge to watch her has become something I cannot seem to stop.
I hear her talking to SAGE and then the moment the ionizing shower comes on, I forget to breathe as she discards the garment she had on .
Her long hair sways back and forth across her behind, caressing her long curves with each of her movements.
She reaches around, gathering the long tresses and rolls them onto the top of her head.
As she turns, I catch a glimpse of her breast from the side, and the slight rise of her stomach.
My body instantly reacting to the sight of her like an untried youth.
She becomes what I will always compare all others to from this point on. Somehow , I have become the slave, and she is now my owner. I pray to the Lord of Light for guidance because I am swimming in unfamiliar tides.
I shut the viewer off, ashamed of myself for invading her privacy. I quickly leave the dwelling without saying a word to her or SAGE . I need to find out where she came from and if there are any others like her out there, because information is power, and right now, I am powerless.