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Chapter Twenty-Four

RYLIE

In the last hour, I believe I have gone through every emotion. Anger , pain, hurt, awe, and now I’m just sitting here, staring at this dark holo pad. Suddenly curious, I walk into the bathroom and strip off the gown I have on, only to stand there in front of the large mirror, my eyes examining the new me.

At first, I feel like I’m looking at a stranger, but once the tears slow down, I realize I’m still me, just slightly different from what I was before. Different is the word that explains it all. Different world, appearance, life, expectations, reality. I really want to be mad at LeX , but instead I just stand here numb. I understand why he did what he did. Would I have done the same? I’m not sure. He must have felt something more for me than any of the others; to have taken the risks he did to save my life. Did he know this would happen? I don’t think so, but would he have still made the same choices if he’d known the outcome?

All I’m doing is creating more questions for things I’m not sure I want to know the answers to. Running my fingers down my arms, I trace the line of delicate scales that end right above a mark on the inside of my wrist. The symbols and swirls mark me in some way. The small scales seem to only be on the upper part of my body. It’s like someone quit drawing on me halfway through. I’m slightly smaller than I used to be, so I must have lost weight while in that pod. Once again, so many more questions.

Wiping another tear off my face, I stare back into my familiar blue eyes. I might look different on the outside, but I’m still in here.

Sighing wearily, I’m so caught up in categorizing all my differences I don’t hear LeX come in until his head pops into the bathroom before instantly turning away since I’m standing here naked.

“ Sorry , I didn’t mean to barge in on you.”

Normally , I would’ve been embarrassed, but his actions make more sense now. However , I wonder how far I can push him. I need to see who he really is; the gentleman he appears to be, or a man who simply saw an easy victim. My mind says he’s honorable, but isn’t it human nature to want proof?

Strolling out of the bathroom naked as the day I was born, I stand in what I’m hoping is a sexy pose against the doorway. My arm stretches up against the frame as I kick my hip out. Until he hears my voice, his back is to me. “ Doctor , I believe I might be in need of an inspection.” The moment those words come out of my mouth he turns around, his eyes looking everywhere but straight at me when he realizes I’ve not gotten dressed.

“ Rylie , it is cold in here, so you might want to put something on. Here , let me wrap this blanket around you.”

LeX grabs the light cover off the top of the bed and walks to me. His eyes stay above my head as he wraps the blanket around me, pulling the front closed. I pull my arm free, placing my hand in the middle of his chest, and pushing him backward into the only chair in the room until the back of his knees hit, and he falls into it.

Before he can say another word, I scramble up on his lap straddling his hips, and I have to bite my lip to keep from smiling as he suddenly looks terrified. He can’t figure out what to do with his hands at first. When I grind down on him, he gently pushes my hips away from his very prominent hard-on. When one of my boobs falls out, he quickly pulls the blanket up over my shoulder before placing his hands back on the arms of the chair.

Opening the blanket and letting it fall to my hips, I watch as he grips the chair tightly as I casually rub my naked chest against his shirt. Slowly , I start unbuttoning the front, my fingers tracing the dark scales that line his collarbone when he grips my wrist.

“ Rylie , stop. We need to talk.”

“ Now why would we want to do that when we could be doing this instead?” Fighting against every insecurity and moral I’ve ever had, I keep pushing. I have to know what he’s willing to tell me, because if he doesn’t tell me the truth now on his own, I believe my fragile state will shatter.

His bright yellow eyes stare up at me and just as I lower my lips to his, he moves his head to the side so I end up kissing his cheek instead. “ What is this game? Are you playing hard to get, LeX ?”

“ I wish that was the case, … Rylie I must tell you something, and I am terrified because at this moment with you naked and writhing on my lap, I have never been happier, nor more frightened. Although I am afraid of your reaction to the truth, I do not want to jeopardize what we could have because of my secrets. Rylie , before we begin I ask for your forgiveness for the things I have done. No , … I beg you for it.”

The entire time he has been talking to me, he has slowly covered me back up with the blanket.

“ Oh LeX , it can’t be that bad, can it? Wait a minute, are you cheating on me?”

“ What ? No , never!”

“ What makes you act like you could never do that? You’re a man, after all!”

“ He grabs my arms forcefully, making me look at him. Rylie , you are my world. My mate, the one and only female who could make my body come alive. That proof is pressed hard against your feminine heat as we speak. You are now the reason I take a new breath each rising. No one and nothing is more beautiful to me than you. Not only would I never, but I cannot cheat on you mentally or physically.”

His words are intense, and I can see the truth written all over his face. All my life I’ve looked, … no dreamed of someone who would complete me and here he is. Who knew I had to lose everything, including my own identity, to find him?

“ Rylie , I did something to you. I took choices away that should have been yours to make. I forced changes and a bond upon you that you will probably never forgive me for.”

“ I know, LeX .”

“ No , let me finish while I still can.” His eyes well up with tears, and I know right then and there I have to stop this. There’s no reason for either of us to hurt any longer. Cupping his cheeks in my hands, I make him look at me.

“ LeX , I know everything.”

“ Explain everything, so that I know we are having the same conversation.”

“ I know you tore my pod apart with your bare hands in order to get me out before I drowned. I know you spent rotations without sleep or food researching ways to save me. How you reached out to every known source, even subjecting the other survivors to testing to see if there was a way to cure me. I saw your tears, felt the tremors in your voice when you read or talked to me. As you injected me with your blood and very essence, I saw the horror on your face when my body began to change. I also recall the small smile on your face when you put this mark on my wrist that matches your own. Even the wonder in your eyes when I suddenly appeared by your side when you needed me the most with Ember . How you’ve tried to act like everything was normal after I came-to, thinking I’d dreamed about being a human. Is that the right conversation?”

“ How ?”

“ Full access granted by you for the holo pad.”

“ You probably hate me now.” He looks away from me and I can see his heart breaking.

“ I’ve never sat naked on anyone I hated. My mind might be slightly confused, but I’m pretty sure of that. Am I upset? Yeah ! But what was the alternative? I could have laid there in that coma for years, slowly wasting away and never knowing the life I was missing on the other side of my own dreams if you hadn’t proceeded.”

“ Rylie , I had no idea my blood would change your looks when I gave it to you.”

“ I know that LeX . I read the scans even though you tried to hide them in a secret file. You were as shocked as I was when I realized this is not what I always looked like. Did you like my human form more than now?”

“ No , you are the same to me. I could not care less what form or color you are as long as you are MINE . You were beautiful then and stunning now. I would be lying if I did not say I love that your scales and markings match my own. And I may sound slightly prehistoric when I say I like that it is obvious to others that you are mine. But I think the biggest question is, how do you feel about it?”

“ Scared and optimistic at the same time. My mind has somehow merged our lives, so some things are still fuzzy. This is the first time I can recall having no idea what to do next.”

“ You have options, and I will not interfere if you decide you do not want to remain with me or on this ship. But know if you leave me, I will find a way to follow you. If it takes me until my very last rotation, I will prove my love for you. I promise to always be honest and forthright from now on and never make another decision without discussing it with you first.

In the meeting, Father requested that the original crew remain on the ship when it departs once again, but I won’t go without you. If you decide this is not something you want to do, that is fine. I will make other arrangements until we find a place you are happy.”

“ LeX , I have no idea what I want or what my future holds, so right now, I’m simply following your lead. I have always loved the stars and now’s my chance to see them from the other side.”

“ No matter how long it takes Rylie I will win your trust and love, I vow it.”

“ I believe I’m a half in love with you already LeX . You forget, I was in your head too, and every time you came to me while I was in that world, we merged even more. I know you, the real you and not the confident doctor you try to show everyone else. Your heart and oath to care for others is in direct conflict with the training that was forced upon you as a child, simply because of who your father was. I saw how you feared ViN and EvO would turn away from you when you announced wanting to walk another path in life. I also saw the bright smile on your face when you saw your father and all your brothers standing in the back of the room at your graduation from med school. You work harder than most because you feel like you have to prove that your skills are needed as much as their weapons.

What I think you’re missing is how much they call on you for advice and help when they’re at their weakest. Men of your brothers’ caliber wouldn’t allow just anyone to treat or care for them when at their worst. You are a good man LeX , and I’m proud to be marked as yours. This is new to both of us, and we’re going to fumble around for a while, but that’s ok. I reckon the next question is … what’s next?”

LeX has rearranged the blanket so that he can rub the top of my bare legs. “ What is next? What now? What have I missed? … Those words have flowed through my thoughts so often I think I should make them into a poem or song. The real question is, what would you like to do? Of course, I am not talking about this late in the rising, but we are free to go and see whatever we want for several coming up.”

“ I have no clue, but damn, I’m alive and I’ve stepped into another world. If this is a dream, it’s a good one! Even though I have no money and no way of making any right now, what’s cheap to do around here?”

“ Are you telling me you are worried about credits?”

“ If that’s money, then yeah.”

“ You see that mark on your arm?”

“ Yeah , I was going to ask you about that.”

“ It’s the House of DaR mark.”

“ And ?”

“ It not only shows others that you are a member and protected by the most powerful family in this solar system, but you never have to worry about credits again.”

Leaning in closer I ask, “ So what you’re saying is there are perks to being your girl?”

His hands find my naked waist, holding me still because I hadn’t realized I was still squirming all over his lap. “ Do you have any idea how hard it is to concentrate with you straddling me like this? The smell of your arousal, the feel of you under my hands, my mind knowing only a thin covering is separating me from tasting you, is pure torture. But leading back to that statement, only members of the immediate family are granted this mark, with the added benefit of showing the world that you are my mate. That somewhere, the Lord of Light decided I was worthy of a female of my own. You will never worry about a roof over your head or sustenance in your belly. It is an honor to take care of you.”

“ Wow , that’s a lot to take in and you’re right, it’s late so no exploring this evening, but you still promised to do something.”

“ I did?”

“ Yep , if I recall correctly, you said you would read to me.”

“ As much as it pains me to say this, you will have to get dressed if you want me to do that because my willpower only goes so far. I will run down to the med bay and grab the holo pad, then be right back.”