Page 14 of LeX (Darverius, House of DaR #17)
Chapter Thirteen
RAFE
The sound of a tortured moan makes me jerk open my eyes, only to find myself still sitting on the floor where I sat down to rest earlier when EvO stopped by. Easing myself up, I massage my tailbone as I stand in the doorway, watching Cassandra roll and twitch in the bed. I wonder what personality I’ll get when she wakes up this time.
Seizing the moment while she is momentarily asleep, I rush to the ionizer, shed my clothes, and savor the peace and quiet. I have no more than taken a breath when I hear the refreshing chamber’s door slide open and just as I start to reach for the pants I had laid out, a naked body slides in with me. Cassandra’s hands are instantly roaming over my chest as she smiles up at me.
“ Hello handsome, where have you been my whole life?”
“ On another planet … Cassandra , we’ve had this conversation. We respect each other’s naked space. I don’t intrude on yours, and you let me have mine.”
“ I don’t remember agreeing to your terms, and you can be so stuffy sometimes. Are all hot alien guys like you? I mean, what’s a girl have to do to get some attention around here? It’s because you don’t like me, isn’t it? You liked that other girl more, didn’t ya? I saw the way you were looking at her!”
“ No , I did not, and I do not. You are making all of this up in your head, because you never gave me the opportunity to look at any of the others. Come on, let’s get dressed.” She wraps her arms around me, pushing her beautiful, full breasts into my chest, and I must fight my arousal as she uses it against me every time she notices how her body affects mine. Even though I love the feel of her skin against me, I unwind her arms and physically turn her away from me. Only for her to back up so that her luscious little ass is now rubbing along my now hard as a rock shaft.
“ Looks like someone likes me, so maybe I should stop talking to you and concentrate on him instead. He doesn’t seem to listen to you and all your absurd rules. I mean, you’re a mature person and I’m a mature person, let’s do what we really wanna do! Wait , you’re not married or something are you? Or maybe you’re not into girls? There has to be a reason you’re constantly turning me away.”
“ I have no mate, I prefer females, and my shaft does not control me, Cassandra . You need to get well and in order to do that, we need to get dressed and then get some sustenance.”
She turns back around, shoving me away from her. Her long, straight hair flowing around her like a sparkling cloud as she stares up at me in anger. Fighting to keep my eyes on her face, I almost miss her next words.
“ You are always bossing me around, Rafe . I am done with you. There has to be someone, or something else, on this ship that would appreciate little ol’ me. And I can have my pick of colors if I remember correctly. As soon as I get dressed, I’m leaving. I’m tired of constantly getting lectured. You are not my dad and you sure as hell ain’t my husband and still, all I hear is no, No , NO ! To be so cute, you sure are a bore.”
“ You are not going anywhere, Cassandra . We have talked about this; you are not yourself right now. When you are feeling better, we can see about other arrangements but until then, you are staying with me.”
“ God , I HATE YOU and your superiority complex! The alien super stud who thinks he’s god’s gift, and his word is law. Well , you don’t own me, and you don’t know me either. What if what you think is broken in me is really who I am? For that matter, how have you convinced me that there is something wrong with me? I feel fine, and I’ve looked in the mirror, so I know I’m sexy as hell. Maybe there is something wrong with you and you’re blaming it all on me?”
Suddenly she gets quiet and like a switch being flipped her entire personality changes again.
“ Damn , you perv, how did I even get in here? What were you doing, hoping I would jump all over you just because you’re naked? I can’t deny you are quite handsome, in an odd way, but I don’t just throw myself at guys. I thought we talked about this?”
“ We did Cassandra , so please forgive me for being in your space. I am going to get dressed and prepare us some sustenance. I had extra garments made for you while you were sleeping. If you need any assistance, just yell.”
“ I believe I’m more than capable of dressing myself. What’s your name again?”
“ Rafe .”
“ Why do I feel like I should know that? And who is this Cassandra you keep calling me?”
“ That is your name.”
“ I think I’d know my own name!”
“ Then what is it?”
I knew better than to ask, but I couldn’t stop the words from spewing from my mouth. The very tic she has to think about anything, it’s like her mind crumbles. Instantly , huge tears well up in her eyes.
“ What’s going on? Where am I ?”
Instead of answering her again like I have over and over for the last few rotations, I grab my pants and walk out of the room. Normally it takes at least half a rising for me to see this many personalities come out of her, but this time she seems to be experiencing them all rapidly. Every time she opens her eyes, I pray she is getting better but so far, it’s a rerun of the rotation before.
My mating instincts are riding me to finish our bond, but I would rather go mad than do that to her in this state. The first few risings, my shaft was constantly hard, and she pushed every button I had as she tried to wear my resistance down with all her charms. Never could I have dreamed, I would have to shove my own mate away, but that seems to be all I am doing. Pushing , when all I really want to do pull her into my embrace.
She is everything and more than my simple mind could have imagined. Long feminine muscular legs, wide hips, bountiful breasts. A seductive smile that melts my heart every time she turns it on me. A heart-shaped face that frames flashing blue eyes that now haunt my dreams every time I close my eyes. My fingers ache to run their way through her long, silken locks of hair, but it’s that mouth of hers that keeps me in line every time I feel my resistance fading.
The moment her eyes seem clear, and I believe the drugs have left her system, she opens her mouth and another strange creature evolves. I know enhancements can and do make you act in countless different ways, but there is no way possible this little human could have so many sides to her personality.
Deep in my own thoughts, I head over to my private nourishment prep area. This is the one place in my suite of rooms that I designed personally, as cooking reminds me of home. Opening the cooler, I grab a few ingredients, working instinctively as my thoughts return to the crying female I left sitting in the refreshing chamber. I can still hear her sobs clearly, and that makes me pause in the middle of cutting up some of the tubers I so enjoy.
Refusing to give in, I focus on the task at hand as this is not a meal I have prepared for her as of yet. Just as I am placing the meal in its appropriate glassware, she comes strolling in wearing one of my shirts.
“ Cassandra , I provided you with your own clothing.”
“ They’re itchy and I like yours better.”
Instead of arguing with her, I motion for her to sit down and place the plate in front of her. “ Here , try this. It was a favorite of mine as a youngling.”
“ You talk so weird sometimes.” She pushes the tubers around her plate, but nothing I put in front of her seems to catch her interest as she tells me constantly that she is not hungry. I can see how frail she is becoming as the lack of nutrients, and the drugs are putting a strain on her already weak system.
“ Try to consume what you can Cassandra , you need the sustenance.”
“ What I wouldn’t do for a fudge round and a Pepsi . This stuff tastes like dirt.”
I know she is simply striking out, so I don’t say anything back, but after a little bit I realize she isn’t wrong; this does somewhat taste like dirt. Pushing my plate away, I walk back to the cooler, pulling another package out. I notice immediately that there are small black specks on the interior of the carton.
“ Destroyer , can you tell me if these have gone bad?”
Just as I turn to tell Cassandra to stop eating it, a small female hologram appears in the air in front of us. Being used to SAGE popping in and out, I do not think much about it. I am not prepared for Cassandra’s violent reaction.
“ What in the fuck is that?” Her plate flies by my head, food scattering everywhere as she swats at the Destroyer .
“ Master Rafe forgive me for popping in unannounced.” The Destroyer’s form flickers in and out each time Cassandra tries to knock her out of the air. Before I can even make it around the counter, she has picked up a pillow and tosses it into the air aggressively.
“ There is a talking ghost floating right in front of you, … don’t you see it , Rafe ?? Help , someone … she is here to take my soul!”
I grab her around the waist. “ Stop it, Cassandra ! What in the universe has sparked this reaction out of you? That is simply the Destroyer in a holographic form.”
All of a sudden, she goes limp in my arms, and I hear, “ I’m going to be sick.”
Before I can move, she spews all that she has just eaten all over me and the floor. Even though the smell instantly turns my own stomach, it’s the specks of red blood covering her chin that worry me the most. Rushing her to the refreshing chamber, I quickly start trying to clean her up, only for her to start vomiting again. “ Talk to me Cassandra , did the sustenance make you sick?”
“ It hurts.” That is all I hear as she bends over, holding her stomach as tears flow down her cheeks. Just as I manage to change her into something else, it starts all over again. “ Destroyer , get LeX here quickly.”
Lowering both of us onto the floor, I pull her into my lap, rocking her slowly as she grips her stomach so hard, she must be bruising herself. “ Try to breathe through the pain, Cassandra .”
“ Here it comes again,” she growls out. Lifting her small form, I gather her long locks in my hand as her body shakes uncontrollably and she dry heaves into the waste receptacle.
I hear the outer door ding and then slide open. “ Rafe ?”
“ We are back here!”
LeX’s hurried footsteps head our way, just as Cassandra once again starts to retch, but this time it’s nothing but blood. LeX is standing over my shoulder instantly.
“ Hold on little female, I have just the thing to make you feel better.”
I watch as he lays his medical bag on the floor. Taking a suppressor needle, he injects the side of her neck with something. She is so weak she doesn’t even make a noise. I feel her body start to relax under my hands and I lean her back against me, just as a med bot starts cleaning the area around us.
“ How long has this been going on?”
“ LeX , it came on so suddenly. She was fighting the Destroyer one moment, then the next, this is what occurred.
“ What ?”
“ She thought the Destroyer’s holographic form was a ghost, whatever that is?”
The Destroyer’s new form pops up in front of us. “ Forgive me Medic LeX , for not appearing to you as well. Because my appearance mirrored other female crew members, I had hoped to reassure her; however, she attacked me. I was truly worried for myself and her welfare.”
“ I forgive you Destiny . By the way, you are quite lovely in your new form. I am sure you simply startled the female, and that she didn’t mean anything negative about you.”
LeX reaches out to put his hand on Cassandra’s forehead and shakes his head. “ How are you feeling now?”
“ Tired , and I’m cold all over.”
Standing , I pick both of us up off the floor, cradling her close to my chest as I head back to my sleeping platform. When I go to put her down, she will not release the vest I have on. “ Please , I only feel better when you’re holding me.”
LeX follows us into the room, reading something on his holo pad. “ The withdrawals are weakening her system, so I wish there was a way to speed this up. Med bot tests on the fluids she evacuated reveal lower narcotic levels, but this doesn’t explain the blood.”
“ I think the sustenance I fixed for us was bad; the spores on the tubers may have caused this reaction.”
“ To be safe, I believe that theory requires additional testing. We will give her a moment to rest before moving her again.” Just as he is walking out of the room to give us some privacy, the Destroyer pops back in.
“ Medic LeX and Master Rafe , I was told to inform you of the following once her blood tested at this level. SCOUT was reviewing records from Earth and some of the methods they used to force invasive drugs out of one’s system. He provided me with the chemical makeup, and I could have the substance ready for you shortly, if you would like to proceed. However , there are a few drawbacks. She will be in extreme pain for several hours, but that may be manageable since right now your mate bond, even though one sided, is helping her.”
“ What is the benefit of putting her through this, Destiny ?”
“ Within a rising, her system will be free of all the unwanted drugs, and the withdraws will stop altogether. In other words, she will return to her drug free self.”
“ LeX what do you think?”
“ My mate is not the one it is affecting.”
“ How much longer do you think it will take for her to fight this off on her own, naturally?”
“ It is hard to tell as her body has become accustomed to the drugs being in her system, and it could permanently change her the longer it takes. The blood you just saw is proof of the effects it is having on her internally. It’s eating away at the lining in her stomach and other organs; it was not the nutrients you served her even though they were on the verge of spoiling.”
“ Already she is struggling with her emotions and how to handle them. I do not want to make it worse. What would you do?”
“ I would want that crap out of my mate as quickly as possible.”
“ Destroyer , Destiny whoever you are now …mix up whatever it is.”
Moments later, a small female holo form appears, with a med bot following behind. “ Master LeX , you will have to administer this to her. Originally it was meant to be drunk, but I do not believe she will be able to keep it down in her fragile state.”
This entire time, Cassandra has been hanging limply on me. Her eyes are glazed and unfocused, like she is asleep and awake at the same time. “ What did you give her LeX ?”
“ Just something to calm the nausea, but it may be reacting with something else already in her system. We will have to be careful with any future medications as her body seems to ingest them unfavorably. Hold her still because I have no idea if this will be painful or not.”
I grasp her to me a little tighter, her eyes never leaving mine the entire time LeX is giving her the shot. “ Hey , you with me in there?” I shake her gently.
“ You are so pretty, and I tried to stay, but I don’t like this new world. I want to go home. … Remember me.” Those are her last words right before her eyes roll back in her head and she goes limp.
LeX’s hand is on my arm immediately. “ She is fine, Rafe . It is just the medication talking. What if you bring her to medical where I can monitor her better? Give yourself the rest of this rising off. You look as exhausted as she does.”
“ No ! I mean I’m fine; I do not want her to wake up in a strange place without me there.”
“ That is understandable. I will go ahead and prepare her bed. This process will likely be easier on her if you are in the bed with her anyway, so I will have two pushed together. She is reaching for you now even in her unconscious state. Give me a few tics before heading to medical.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see LeX leave, but my full attention is on the small hand grasping my wrist to her chest. Hugging her tight, I allow myself a moment to fall apart, as my own tears splash upon her cheek. When I feel her twitch underneath my fingertips, I stand up, adjusting her insignificant weight effortlessly in my arms and head for LeX , and the med bay, not caring if anyone witnesses my only weakness. The female in my arms.