Dazon Agenda: Complete Collection Read online

  He placed his hands on her shoulders and bent low enough to press a kiss to her forehead. He was afraid to do anything more, lest he give in to the temptation of exploring her body rather than fulfilling his duty. “I won’t make a promise I can’t keep, but I intend to join you this evening as planned. If I’m unable to, I’ll let you know.”

  She nodded her head, looking satisfied with his answer, though her disappointment was still obvious. He hoped to erase that disappointment by keeping their appointed meeting time, but first, duty beckoned.

  She didn’t have to be asked to leave, and he appreciated her sensitivity and discretion as she excused herself from his office a moment later, leaving behind the untouched lunch tray. He inhaled a couple of bites while contacting the commander and Ms. Saunders, ensuring they were both free to meet in ten minutes in the conference room. Once he disconnected with them, he ate his lunch in a hurry before leaving his office to join them. They all arrived about the same time, and he quickly shared what he had learned from Kible Del.

  “What does that mean?” asked Jordan Saunders.

  “I’m not certain.” He realized it was almost the same conversation he’d had with Mac, which made him think of her. He had to force his attention back to the task in front of him, though it was difficult when his mind would rather savor the memory of Mac’s mouth around his erection and anticipate what the evening might bring.

  “We should be on red-alert at all times,” said Sash.

  “Agreed,” said Orix. “I’ve been going through the files, looking for anyone who stands out as suspicious, but I’ve had little luck. I would suggest you do the same for your people here at the consulate, Commander. It’s most logical that the traitor is someone new, someone who came along with the rest of the armada, but it’s feasible they didn’t act until the newcomers arrived as a means to deflect suspicion from themselves. We should cover all bases.”

  Jordan frowned at them. “You have proof there’s a traitor?”

  “There’s no proof yet, Ms. Saunders, but I think it’s prudent to act as if we do have a traitor in our midst. Kible’s words suggest to me that someone on our side is orchestrating a plan against us before Emperor Aryk deploys the remains of the armada to attack Earth and collect the women. I think that’s clearly his intent, since Kible mentioned cultivating the resources.”

  The young woman shook her head, looking bewildered. “How does he propose to kidnap almost four billion women?”

  Orix shrugged. “I’m not sure. I imagine he’ll plan to do it in stages, taking the healthiest women first, or perhaps he’ll go geographically. He expects little resistance from the armada here at the consulate, so he’s likely planning a long-term invasion and harvest operation. It could be the only answer, since he’ll require multiple ships to transport the women, and none of our folding ships are large enough to accommodate anywhere close to the number of women who will be prime targets for harvesting—those of reproductive age who haven’t succumbed to ROMKS yet, and who aren’t on the brink of death. It’s just a guess, but I would expect it to take a year or more to remove every woman from Earth.”

  Sash looked angry, his shoulders a straight, flat line, and a glare distorting his features. “If he thinks he can just roll over us, he’s wrong. We’re the only thing standing between the emperor and his plans.”

  Orix nodded, sharing his friend’s opinion. They were vastly outnumbered, but they were motivated to prevent Aryk from seizing the planet and setting up a long-term process for removing the Earth women. It would be a difficult fight, but it wouldn’t be an easy victory for Aryk. He would ensure that.

  Mac hadn’t been certain Orix would show, and when he arrived a couple of hours late, he looked so tired that she almost suggested he forget their night’s plans and go back to his ship to rest. She wasn’t quite that selfless though, and she pulled him across the entryway and into her arms with an enthusiastic kiss.

  Perhaps she could find a way to ease his tension again, along the lines of their earlier encounter. She wasn’t certain where the bravery had come from earlier, or the urge to act. She’d simply surrendered to it. It had been the first time she’d done such a thing for a man, and it had surprised her how enjoyable the process was. His flavor was unique, so sweet as to border on the edge of bitterness, but she had quickly adapted. Now, she found herself craving more.

  She soon discovered she wouldn’t have an opportunity this evening though. There was a single-minded determination to Orix’s gaze, coupled with his almost efficient way of lifting her into his arms and carrying her to her bedroom. He stripped her clothes with the same kind of careful precision, as though approaching it like a military operation.

  Considering how orchestrated it was, it was still plenty arousing. She was damp with need, and her heart pounded when he lifted her into his arms and placed her onto the bed. A second later, he joined her after making his suit disappear. She reached for him as his arms encompassed her, and they shared a deep kiss that progressed no farther for several minutes. They were content to savor each other.

  Slowly, their need grew, and their touches took on an urgent edge. She gasped when his mouth drifted lower, his lips wrapped around her nipple to tug gently before he sucked the bud into his mouth. He circled her nipple with his tongue as one of his hands slid between her legs to test her wetness.

  Her folds were dripping, and she was ready for her lover to become her lover in every sense of the word. Mac spread her thighs as wide as she could in an unspoken invitation for him to join with her.

  A moment later, he lifted his head from her breast, but didn’t move his hand from between her legs. He used it to guide his shaft inside her, moving carefully so as not to hurt her. She braced herself for a sharp pain that never came—perhaps because of her age, or possibly because losing her virginity was never going to be that painful to start with.

  She didn’t know, and she soon lost the ability to think about it or really care as she sank into Orix’s loving embrace. Their thrusts started slowly, with a careful edge, but soon increased as their urgency built. She wrapped her thighs around his waist, anchoring him against her as she dug her fingernails into his buttocks in an attempt to draw him in deeper still.

  As they hovered on the edge of climax, she realized they hadn’t bothered with protection. They hadn’t discussed having a family, but it seemed like a foregone conclusion for both of them. His race was dying out, and she would cherish any children of her own as much as she cherished the ones in her care. She didn’t bother to ask if they were on the same page, because she knew instinctively they were.

  A moment later, her sheath tightened around him, spurring his own climax, and they clung to each other as they found release, Orix whispering her name several times. She was beyond even that simple action. All she could do was cling to him as she rode through the storm of completion to the blissful aftermath.

  Afterward, they lay in each other’s arms, and though she didn’t want to fall asleep just yet, because she wanted to savor the closeness between them, she couldn’t fight the heavy feeling in her eyes. A few seconds later, her eyelashes drifted downward, her eyelids closed, and she slept deeply.

  Chapter Five

  His shoulders were strung taut as a bow, and Orix shifted surreptitiously in his chair in an attempt to ease the tension. It was an impossible task, because he grew tenser by the minute. In the past three days, they had made little headway in determining the identity of the traitor, or what his plans were that would allow Aryk’s armada to invade. The only person who seemed to have made any progress at all was Dr. Wy, and Orix forced himself to stop stewing over what was coming to focus on the doctor’s debriefing.

  Dr. Wy stood at the head of the conference table, and he looked fairly tense himself. “I’ve determined the retrovirus has mutated to become airborne. This has bolstered the retrovirus’s numbers, and the parts per billion in Earth’s atmosphere are increasing once more. More than that, it also appears to be infe
cting human males now too.”

  The commander frowned at him. “Are you certain? There’ve been no reports of human men falling ill.”

  Dr. Wy nodded. “Yes, I’m certain. If you recall from the information you’ve read about Kaiser’s Syndrome, men are only carriers and aren’t affected by the symptoms of the disease. It appears to follow the same path with the ROMKS version too. I’m not certain if Dr. Ha intended for this result, or if it was an unpredictable side effect of the retrovirus, but it’s quite ingenious really. It ensures any future humans born will likely have the necessary genetic anomaly that makes them compatible breeding partners for Dazons.” He looked faintly nauseated at the thought.

  “If the retrovirus is mutating this rapidly, is it possible it will change into something dangerous…even more dangerous, I mean? Something perhaps Ha didn’t envision?” asked Jordan Saunders. She seemed to have completely recovered from her exposure to the retrovirus and subsequent dosing of nanotechnology.

  “It’s certainly possible, Ms. Saunders. I think we should increase production of nanotechnology. Realistically, we should plan to have a dose for every human on the planet Earth.”

  “That’s more than seven billion doses,” said Orix. “How many do you produce per day?”

  “We can produce five hundred thousand doses per day with a twenty-four-hour production schedule.” The doctor frowned, a hint of sorrow in his eyes. “It’s really closer to six billion doses now, between the Earthlings who’ve received the treatment and subtracting the population who have already died. Estimates are somewhere between ten and fifteen percent for that number.”

  “Still, at five hundred thousand doses per day, it’s going to take far too long to replicate the nanotechnology.” The commander looked angry as he made the observation.

  Dr. Wy nodded. “Yes, it will. We’re already at full production, and there’s no way to generate more nanotechnology with the equipment we have.”

  “What do you need, Doctor?” asked Orix.

  “At minimum, I need enough to set up another production facility. A replica of the lab I had back on the home world would be even better. It would still take two or three months to produce everything necessary, but it would shorten the production schedule drastically.”

  The commander shook his head, looking regretful. “I’m afraid both scenarios are unlikely, Dr. Wy. We don’t have enough equipment to make another lab for you here, and returning to Dazonia Major would likely result in your death. You’re just going to have to make do with what you have. Perhaps you can find a way to modify it to produce more quickly?”

  With a long sigh, Dr. Wy sat down in the chair behind him, scrubbing a hand down his face. “There’s no way to do that. We’ll continue experimenting with ways to increase production, but I’m not optimistic that we’ll push beyond the five hundred thousand doses we produce each day now. Not without more equipment, or a functioning lab that does everything I need. Unfortunately, the human technology available to me offers little assistance.”

  The meeting ended a few minutes later with no clear solutions. Taking advantage of a break in his schedule, Orix left the conference room and made his way to the nursery. He hadn’t seen much of Mac in the last three days, and he missed her deeply.

  He ached for her on a soul-deep level, one that was beyond a physical need, though he certainly wanted her again. He just wanted to be in her presence even more. He craved her scent and the feel of her skin, and the sound of her laugh. Just the sight of her as he entered the baby room was enough to release some of the tension in his shoulders. Instantly, he felt lighter and more optimistic. She was a reminder that not everything was bad in his world, and a symbol of what they were fighting for.

  As he drew near her, he was unsurprised to see Jake on her hip and Carmen in her other arm. He looked around for Lily, spotting her crawling a few feet away. He intercepted her as he approached Mac and the other two babies, settling Lily against his chest with easy familiarity, though this was only the third time he’d actually held her.

  Mac’s eyes darkened with concern when she saw him. “You look tired. Have you had any rest at all?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Bits and pieces here and there.” There was always something to do or focus on that seemed more important than an uninterrupted stretch of sleep. The last rest period he’d had available, he’d spent with her, though it had been here in the nursery, because she was on duty.

  She clicked her tongue at him. “You need to take better care of yourself, General. A lot of people are depending on you.”

  He let out a sigh. “It’s because so many people are depending on me that I can’t take time to sleep just yet, Mac.”

  She seemed to want to disagree with him, but different words emerged from her mouth when she spoke a moment later. “How was your meeting?”

  He quickly relayed what Dr. Wy had shared, watching her expression darken and take on an edge of fear he hated to see there. He put his arm around her waist, drawing her and the babies into his embrace. “We’ll find a solution to the production problem.”

  She nodded, though she didn’t seem entirely optimistic. “I think a more pressing problem is what is the traitor planning to do to allow the armada to invade us?”

  He inclined his head to indicate his agreement. “It’s a troubling prospect, and we’re no closer to discerning the identity of the traitor just yet.”

  She snuggled closer. “And I know you’ll take care of all of us.”

  She likely meant either everyone on the consulate, or perhaps even everyone on the planet below them, but for him, his focus was much narrower, restricted to the woman and children he held in his arms. “What’s going to happen to the babies—I mean long-term?”

  Mac stiffened, but she didn’t pull away. “No one really knows. I’ve spoken with Commander Darvig about the topic, and adoption would be the preferable option, but there’s some legal ambiguity. It’s not just a matter of the parents belonging to separate countries. We’re talking about entirely different species and planets. Who has jurisdiction to determine the adoptability? Who adopts? Humans or Dazons? It’s a tangled mess, and while searching for a solution, all I can do is focus on the here and now.”

  “You anticipate they’ll be opening adoptions in the future?”

  She looked up at him. “I don’t know. I hope so.”

  He nodded his head, giving into an impulse that compelled him to say, “When they do, I suggest we adopt these three.”

  Her eyes widened with surprise before softening, taking on that shiny look they got whenever she hovered on the verge of crying. She blinked a few times, and the glassiness disappeared. “Do you mean that?”

  He frowned her. “I never say things I don’t mean, Earth woman.”

  She rolled her eyes, but the delighted laugh that escaped her gave away her true feelings. “I think it’s a wonderful idea.” She looked faintly apprehensive though.

  “But?” He prompted.

  Mac blinked. “No buts. You’ve just answered a question I haven’t had time to ask you yet.”

  “What question is that?”

  “I was going to ask you what kind of future we have, because I wasn’t entirely certain what you were expecting or wanted.”

  He tightened the arm that was around her, pulling her close enough to make Lily squeak in protest. He lightened his hold just slightly. “You’re my mate. You are my future.”

  She licked her lips, an enticing sight, though he was certain she wasn’t trying to provoke his libido. “I was hoping for that outcome, but to be realistic, we barely know each other. It’s so soon to be thinking about a future together.”

  He couldn’t help a fierce frown. “Are you having doubts or second thoughts? Have you decided you don’t want to be my mate?”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m just trying to be pragmatic. I don’t want to get my heart broken.”

  “I would never deliberately hurt you.”

  She nodded.
“I know, but things happen when you least expect them.”

  He could appreciate her perspective, knowing her history. Kaiser’s Syndrome had robbed her of her future for far too long, so he understood her cautious pessimism, but that didn’t mean he shared it or had to encourage it. Speaking sternly, he said, “I want to be with you for as long as I live. I’m not leaving you, unless death parts us. If you want the same thing, there’s nothing to debate or question. We’re going to be together.”

  “General?”

  “Yes?”

  “Kiss me.”

  Orix happily followed that order as he bent his head and brushed his mouth against hers, careful to ensure he didn’t squash any of the babies between them in the process. It was a simple, light kiss, and though he craved more, he’d have to wait for a more appropriate time.

  With a small sigh of regret, he pulled away from her lips and lifted his head. A wave of warmth washed over him as he embraced his family. For the first time in days, he felt content and calm, releasing all the tension he’d carried. It was impossible, but he wished they could stay just like that forever.

  Late the next night, the chime of his communication device woke him from his first deep sleep in days. The deep sleep was thanks to having some time to spend with Mac, including holding her in his arms as they had drifted off to sleep. Despite how deeply he’d been sleeping, he was instantly awake and alert. He lifted the device closer to his face to see the screen. He immediately identified the caller as Commander Darvig. “This is Orix.”

  “Our sensors have detected several ships folding into the solar system, near Mars.”

  “Understood.” He tried to carefully disengage from Mac without waking her, but she was already awake. He could see the fear in her eyes, and he took a moment he didn’t really have to give her a long kiss. “I’ll find you when this is over. Stay in your quarters and stay safe, love.”