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Chapter Four

Retmor

I lift a lock of her hair and stroke it, admiring how soft it is. So pretty. Several females on the dance floor tonight rubbed against me. None of them had hair as soft as my girl’s.

I notice another difference. My Little girl is not wearing makeup. Nothing mars her face. None of the pink stuff on her cheeks, no colors on her eyelids, nor black on her eyelashes.

She settles in deeper on the couch, drawing in a long breath. Suddenly, her eyes bolt open, probably because her inhale drew my essence into her. She makes a piercing squeak and pushes to sitting.

I remain kneeling in front of her, not wanting to send her into a panic by my size any more than necessary. I don’t touch her. I set my hands on the couch cushions on either side of her hips. “No need to worry, Little one. I won’t hurt you.”

She’s panting now, her eyes wide. “Who are you?”

“My name is Retmor. You’ll call me Papi.”

She frowns, still breathing heavily. She glances around. “Am I in trouble?”

“No, Little one. Why would you be in trouble?”

She meets my gaze again. Her eyes are the prettiest shade of deep blue—the same shade as moroxite. That thought shakes me to the core. Visions of adorning her with moroxite jewels fill my head.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I shouldn’t be here. I’m sorry. I’ll go.” She leans forward a few inches, but I’m trapping her with my arms. Not by touching her. I’m in her way.

“Deep breaths, Baby girl. What’s your name?”

She licks her full lips. “Eden,” she whispers. A moment later, she covers her mouth, her eyes widening in horror. “Please don’t tell anyone I’m here. If they find out…”

I frown. “Tell who, Eden?”

She lowers her hands, fisting them together in her lap. She purses her lips for a moment. “Please don’t send me back. I’ll do anything.” She glances around. “I’m great at cleaning. I could clean for you. It’s very dusty back here.”

She’s right about the dust, but what is she talking about? “I don’t work here, Little one. I’m your Papi.”

Her little brows furrow. “What’s a Papi?”

“It’s what Little girls call their mates on Eleadia.” I lift one hand and settle it over hers gently. “Can you feel the bond between us, Eden?” I don’t know how strongly human females feel the connection initially.

“Eleadia? Is that where I am?”

I frown, confused. “No, Little one. You’re still on Earth. I didn’t move you yet. You fell asleep here behind the stage of Club Zoom. I’ll take you upstairs with me to my apartment where we can get to know each other before we leave for Eleadia.”

“But I don’t know you. I can’t go anywhere with you. You’re a man, and it’s not right. And…where is Eleadia?”

I stare at her. How does she not know where Eleadia is? That seems unimaginable. Everyone on Earth is familiar with our presence. It’s impossible not to be aware. Even the most remote inhabitants can see our spaceship hovering above Earth. It’s enormous and creates a cluster of lights. Only blind people have not seen it. And even then, someone has told them about the mothership.

“You’re… You’re too close to me. You shouldn’t touch me. I don’t know you. It’s a sin.”

I look down at where my hand is covering hers. “A sin?” I know what a sin is. I’ve studied as much about the human inhabitants as is available to us, but my understanding is that very few are true believers in any particular religion, and it’s within the various religions that sin is mentioned.

“Is everything okay?”

I turn to look at Zack as he flips a switch, illuminating the area better. His brow is furrowed, and it draws together even farther when he sees my mate. He cocks his head to one side. “I didn’t see you in the club tonight. How did I miss you?”

She looks at him. “I wasn’t in the club.”

Zack flinches. “How did you end up back here?”

“I, uh…” She winces and bites her lower lip as though she fears she will be in trouble.

“Did you come in through the back door?” Zack asks.

She nods. “I’m so sorry. I was cold and…” Tears run down her cheeks, and she covers her face.

My heart is cracking. I hate that she’s so distressed. I can ease her stress. I know exactly how to. For one thing, I learned precisely what to do in my studies, but more importantly, it’s instinctive. The quill behind my front teeth is practically throbbing with the need to pierce her. As her stress increases, my quill’s presence becomes more and more pronounced. It’s been there, lying dormant for one hundred twenty-seven years, and suddenly in this moment, I know what to do with it.

“So you didn’t sign a waiver,” Zack states. “Fuck,” he mutters.

Eden flinches. “A waiver?”

I glance toward Zack. He’s running his hands through his hair and tugging on it. He’s at least as distressed as Eden. It’s not necessary. I don’t give a fuck if my girl signed a waiver or not. It changes nothing. “It doesn’t matter,” I tell him. She’s mine no matter what, and she’ll understand that soon.

Zack draws in a deep breath, his nostrils flaring. “It matters. There are rules. If anyone finds out about this… Shit, the paperwork alone is a problem. I have to turn in the paperwork to both my government and yours.”

I narrow my brows. “Did you have a waiver from the female who worked here? Chrissy?”

“Fuck, yes. She had to sign just like anyone else who steps through the front door. Except this woman snuck in the back door.”

I shift my attention back to Eden.

She’s biting her lip. Tears are running down her cheeks. “Please don’t turn me in.”

“Turn you in to whom?” I ask her.

“The brotherhood. If you send me back there…” She shudders as though the prospect of being returned to whoever the brotherhood is scares the hell out of her.

I squeeze her hands. “You’re not going anywhere, Little one. I promise.” I turn toward Zack. “What if she signs the waiver now?”

He sighs. “Yeah, I guess that would work. Let me go find John and grab a clipboard.” He spins around and hurries away.

I’m glad. I’d rather be alone with my Little girl. I sense that Tekfan has left. His scent is no longer nearby. He probably went upstairs to his own apartment.

“I need to go,” Eden mutters.

I move my hands to her thighs. The material of her skirt is rough to the touch, and it seems like she has on several layers. Why? To stay warm?

She gasps and stiffens, leaning back. Her small hands come to my forearms, and she pushes against me. “Please.”

I’m not sure why she doesn’t want me touching her. She should already be craving it. Maybe she is, and she’s fighting the need that’s growing between us. I haven’t even pricked her skin yet, and the pull to claim her in every way is increasing by the second.

“Where did you need to be, Little one?”

“I…” She bites her lip again.

“Is someone expecting you?”

She shakes her head. “They won’t know I’m gone until morning.”

“Who? Who won’t know you’re gone?”

Her breath hitches, and her cheeks turn bright pink as though she’s afraid she’s revealed too much. The reality is she’s revealed nothing. I’m baffled by everything she says.

I change my tactic. “Did you come here with anyone?”

“No, sir.”

I like the sound of that, but I’d rather her tone imply something entirely different. I’d rather hear the capital S in front of that word. Sir can be so flippant when it’s not being used as an indication of submission.

I cock my head to the side. Eden is deeply submissive, but something is off. Her submission feels…misplaced. I can’t put my finger on it.

“Where were you planning to sleep tonight?” That seems like a simple question.

She looks down, fisting her hands in front of her between my grip on her thighs. “I don’t… I don’t know. Here?”

I ponder her words, trying to make sense of them. “Where did you come from?”

“The compound.” She flinches again and jerks her gaze up. “Don’t send me back. Please. I’ll do anything.”

“Eden, Baby girl. I won’t be sending you anywhere. You’re mine now. You’ll always be with me. Whoever hurt you will not touch you again.”

Her eyes are wide. Her mouth opens. No words come out.

I didn’t mean to so blatantly claim her so quickly. I’ve startled her. But she seems to need some sort of reassurance that I will not send her back to whatever she fears.

She blinks at me. “You’re very big.”

I chuckle. “Yes, I am.”

“I’ve never seen a man your size.”

“Well, that’s because you’ve never seen anyone from Eleadia before. We’re all large.”

“Where is Eleadia? I’ve never heard of it.”

I hold her gaze. She’s not kidding. She has no knowledge of my people. How the hell is that possible? I don’t want to answer that question directly, yet. She will freak out. “It’s far away. How far did you come to get here?”

“I don’t know. I think it was about a half an hour.”

I’m stunned. What sort of place is within a half an hour of here and the inhabitants don’t know about Eleadia? Was she perhaps a prisoner? Held captive underground or something without human contact? It’s farfetched, but not as crazy as her not knowing about my people.

“Did you escape?”

She nods slowly. “Please. Will you help me?” She suddenly brightens up, hope in her wide eyes.

“Yes, Little one. Where did you escape from? Who was holding you?”

“The compound. Women aren’t permitted to leave.”

I sense Zack’s return. I hate him interfering, but on the flip side, I think I need his help understanding. I glance at him. “She says she came from a compound. What does that mean?”

Zack frowns. “Like a cult?” he asks her.

She slowly shrugs. “I don’t know what that is.”

“You don’t know what a cult is?” Zack asks. His brows furrow deeply.

“No, sir.”

Zack grabs a folded chair from against the wall, opens it, and sets it next to me. “Do you want to sit?” he asks me.

I shake my head. I’m not moving from this position. I don’t want to take my hands off my girl’s thighs.

Zack sits. He looks at her. “Was this a religious compound, Eden?”

She stares at him. “I guess.”

“Do you have leaders who speak of God and the Bible?”

“Yes. Of course.”

I’m starting to understand. I’ve heard of cults. But I don’t know enough about them. We don’t cover that topic deeply in our studies.

“How many people live there?” Zack asks.

“Uh, maybe two hundred. I’m not sure.”

“How many women?”

“Uhh, about seventy-five, I think.”

“How many kids?”

“Almost a hundred maybe?”

I’m smart enough to realize that makes no sense. The proportions are off. I know better than anyone what that means. There are no females living on Eleadia except the ones brought there from Earth. That’s why I’m here. To find a mate.

The population of Earth is close to fifty-fifty male and female. It makes statistical sense. Not three to one.

Zack asks the question on the tip of my tongue. “Do the men have more than one wife?”

“Sometimes.” She looks down, embarrassed. “It’s the way of things.”

It’s definitely not the way of things, I want to shout. I keep my mouth shut. Zack is getting more information than me because he knows what questions to ask.

“Do the women have a lot of children?”

She swallows hard and nods.

“Do you have any children, Eden?” Zack asks.

I hold my breath. That would be complicated.

She shakes her head. Tears run down her cheeks. “I… I’m barren.”

“Barren…” Zack stated. “That’s a very antiquated word, and how do you know that? You’re so young. Did a doctor tell you that?”

She shakes her head harder.

Zack sighs.

My emotions are stronger than his. I want to throw something. I’m so frustrated. I can tell this female is very uninformed about most things. I just don’t understand why.

“I see,” Zack says. “Does anyone know you left the compound?”

“No, sir,” she whispers. “They’ll find out in the morning.”

“Okay. How did you get away? On foot?”

“No.”

We wait for her to say more.

Zack encourages her. “Car? Did you drive here?”

She frowns deeply. “Women don’t drive.”

I flinch. She’s right. They certainly don’t drive on my planet. But they most definitely do on Earth. Something is very, very out of the norm.

Zack licks his lips. “But you came in a car?”

She bites her lips hard. “I don’t want him to get in trouble.”

This time I ask the question. “Someone helped you? Someone drove you away from the compound?”

“He didn’t know. I snuck into the van. Please, please don’t tell anyone.”

“No one is going to tell anyone anything, Baby girl,” I inform her. “You have my word.”

Her shoulders lower as she relaxes. “Thank you.”

Zack leans back and turns toward me. “I’m at a loss. This is very unusual. You’re not going to leave her, are you?”

“No.” That’s definitive.

He swipes his hand down his face and holds out the clipboard he brought with him. “She needs to sign this. I can grill her for information all night if you want, but it won’t change anything, will it?”

“No.” I take the clipboard.

Zack winces and turns back to Eden. “Do you have ID?”

“ID?” she asks, brows furrowed.

Zack rolls his eyes and groans. “Fuck. Just fuck.”

I have an idea. “What if no one ever knows?”

Zack cringes.

The plan is coming together in my head. “I mean on Earth. What if we don’t tell anyone. Only Tekfan is aware of this interaction. He wouldn’t tell a soul. No paperwork. No record of her ever being here. Who’s going to ask?”

Zack hesitates and then looks toward Eden again. “The man who drove you here didn’t know you were in his van?”

She shakes her head. “No. I hid behind the seat and waited for him to walk away before I got out.”

Zack slowly nods. “Did anyone else see you?”

She swallows. “Lots of people walked by me on the street. And that guy let me in the back door.”

Zack winces. “Who let you in the back door?”

She thinks, brows coming together again. “Matthew. He was being kind. He let me sit back here while he finished.”

I look at Zack. “It couldn’t have been for long or I would have sensed her. I went up to the control room about a half an hour before closing.”

“Matthew left you back here when he got off work?” Zack stiffens.

She shakes her head. “He didn’t know I was still here. He thought I left. He called for me and then left.”

Zack blows out a breath. “It might work,” he tells me. “It’s not like Matthew is ever going to come tell me he let someone in the back door. Though I do want to strangle him. He caused this problem.”

Eden gasps. “Please don’t kill him.” She looks horrified, eyes wider.

Zack chuckles. “I won’t kill him, Eden. That was a figure of speech. I just meant I’m mad at him for letting you in. It was risky. I promise nothing will happen to him. I’ll never mention it. If he thinks you simply left, all the better. The van driver never knew you existed. No one else specifically saw you.”

I nod. “It will work.”

Zack nods. “Especially because she’s most likely not registered as existing.” He shifts his gaze back to her. “Were you born in the compound, Eden?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have you ever left it?”

“Not until tonight.”

“Then no one knows she exists. Not the government anyway.”

“She’s mine, Zack,” I tell him. “I’m going to take her upstairs now. This never happened.”

He draws in a deep breath and rises to his feet. “Okay. Good luck.” He glances once more at Eden. “I’ll let Retmor explain everything to you. Have a great life.” He turns and shuffles away, muttering cuss words under his breath.

I can’t blame him. This situation is a mess. But what choice do we have? Eden is mine, and no one from this planet will ever know I took her from Earth. I might have some explaining to do when I get to the mothership, but they certainly won’t make me leave her behind. It’s not an option.

“Come, Little one.” As I stand, I tuck my hands under her and lift her into my arms.