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“How dare you speak to me that way.”

Vahn glowered at the insolent human who didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned that she’d openly mocked the Emperor – a crime punishable by imprisonment.

“Get used to it. I’m your wife and I won’t be treated like an afterthought.”

“A Zhaalini is expected to have a modicum of grace and humility. Not spout insults like a common peasant.”

“Look, I get that you don’t remember me. But you must have figured out by now I’m not the type to sit round choosing color palettes. I’m a soldier, same as you.”

Vahn snorted.

“Hardly. Do Terrans not have a minimum height requirement for their warriors? I could step on you in battle and barely notice.”

Kara’s eyes narrowed.

“The Vahn I know respected me as a fighter.”

“The Vahn you know is gone.”

In the sudden silence, Kara’s heart constricted. She held Vahn’s gaze, trying to see beyond the thinly disguised contempt in his eyes.

“I thought we established I was your kalehsha?”

she said softly. “Yesterday, when you… when you smelled me, you had a reaction. I saw it.”

Vahn’s jaw worked.

“I felt something, I’ll admit. But whether it was kalehsh, I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

Kara was incredulous. “When you felt it on Minerva-6, you said it hit you here and here.”

She put a hand to her belly and her heart. “But now you don’t know?”

“I’m not a physiologist,”

Vahn said irritably, even though what she’d described was uncomfortably close to what he’d experienced. “As far as I’m concerned, I only just met you yesterday.”

“So you need more time to decide, is that what you’re saying?”

“I realize patience isn’t your forte but yes. That would be appreciated.”

Kara exhaled in exasperation.

“And what happens in the meantime?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re supposed to be disguising the fact that you’ve lost your memory. So shouldn’t we be working on restoring it?”

“That is the medic’s job.”

“But memories are often triggered by associations, like smells or sounds. So let that be my assignment, to help you remember. I can take you to places or do things that might jog your memory.”

Spend time with her? No. He couldn’t take the risk that they’d end up doing something he would regret. His aberrant nature couldn’t be trusted. Even now, alone in this room with her, he felt the pull of her presence. He shook his head firmly.

“I do not need your assistance, I assure you. I think it best if we give each other space.”

Kara felt her temper start to fray.

“I’ve got news for you, snake-boy. We’re married. So whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me.”

Vahn gritted his teeth. This was intolerable. Did she argue about everything? He tried a different approach.

“You are the Zhaalini. You have the run of the entire palace. You are free to do anything you want. Why don’t you spend a little time selecting your ladies-in-waiting and leave my memory problem to me?”

Kara successfully kept her mouth from dropping open.

“I have ladies-in-waiting?”

“Of course. You have access to a whole team of domestic staff.”

My own staff. Damn. If my squad could see me now. Kara shook herself.

“Regardless, you can’t just get rid of me when we have a peace deal to see through. We have to put on a united front or people will smell a rat. My mother, for one.”

Vahn closed his eyes wearily.

“Fine. So what do you suggest?”

“For starters, I can hardly keep sleeping in the other room. Not unless you want everyone to think we’ve fallen out already.”

“You want to sleep in here? With me?”

“Well, I mean, we are married.”

She took a breath. “Perhaps we should, um, act like it.”

“How do you mean?”

“I think we should, er, get to know each other again.”

Vahn watched, fascinated, as the human turned a deep shade of pink.

“Ah. You’re suggesting we fuck?”

“I’m suggesting, Mr Obvious, that we try to jolt that Swiss-cheese brain of yours by doing something familiar.”

“Like fucking?”

“Sweet Jesus, will you stop saying it like that? By acting like husband and wife.”

He couldn’t allow it, of course, but he was curious.

“I see. And you’d be prepared to sleep with a Vraxian who remembers you solely as an enemy combatant?”

“Well, I’d hope that at some point you’d start to see me a little differently.”

“And what would you do, to make me see you differently?”

He was watching her intently and she found herself flustered.

“Um, well, I guess I’d start by kissing you.”

He laughed.

“I’d have to bend down for that.”

“Actually, I have these boots that… let me show you.”

Kara kicked the toe of one boot into the heel of the other. Immediately she lifted off the ground, the anti-grav mechanism putting her at eye-level with Vahn. Not for the first time, she silently thanked the inventiveness of her dressmaker Daa’sten.

Vahn watched as the human rose to his height.

“Ingenious. So you’d start by kissing me. Then what?”

“I’d take my clothes off. Or maybe you’d take them off for me. And then you could… um, you could touch me.”

She couldn’t fathom his expression. He was either actively considering this as a way of jogging his memory, or he was deliberately trying to make her uncomfortable. He tilted his head.

“And where would you like me to touch you?”

“Wherever you wanted.”

She shook her hair back, ever-so-subtly pushing her chest out, and his eyes dropped to her curves.

Vraxian females didn’t have permanent breasts. They only gained them when they gave birth, and once nursing was over their chests flattened again.

So it wasn’t surprising that Vahn had found Kara’s curves endlessly fascinating. The old Vahn, anyway. He was obsessed with their shape, their firmness and sensitivity. Maybe she could use a little feminine seduction to jog his memory.

She undid the button at the neck of her robe and let it slip to her waist.

The ticking of the chronometer on the wall competed with the sound of her own heartbeat as Vahn stared silently at her body.

Vannla’s Sword. She is luscious. She is made to be caressed and stroked and…

His thoughts were interrupted when Kara leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. It caught him off-guard.

Her scent washed over him and for a few seconds he was unable to control himself. He forced her mouth open, growling deep in his throat as she accepted his tongue.

His serpetri wound around her thighs and bottom, crushing her to him. Her pliant body pushed against his growing erection and it excited him beyond belief. Sliding a hand over one of her breasts, he pinched her nipple, reveling in its texture, its tautness. She let out a gasp.

“God, that feels so good. Don’t stop, my kalehshun.”

Vahn froze, her breathless words bringing him to his senses.

Drek’aa beresh. Two minutes alone with the human and already his resolve was tested. With a violent jerk he pulled away.

“Cover yourself up,”

he told her coldly.

Her face clouded with confusion.

“What’s wrong? I thought… I thought you wanted to…”

“Make vastra with you?”

He steeled himself to ignore the hurt in her eyes. “Let me be clear, human. I don’t know you. I don’t remember you. For the sake of the peace deal I will treat you as my wife – but in name only.”

“What… what do you mean?”

“I mean I need time to come to terms with what has happened. And if you try to force the issue again before I am ready, I will lock you in a cupboard.”

He stalked out of the room. Kara dragged her robe back over her shoulders and willed herself not to cry.

She didn’t see him again for two days.