She shakes her head. “No. Stop saying that. There’s no way I’m going to outer space to have some alien perform surgery on my leg. No. Fucking. Way.”
I grab her hand, bring it to my lips and pierce another finger, her pointer this time. I do it so fast that she doesn’t have a chance to react or rebel before it’s done. I inject her with a larger dose of calming serum this time.
Instantly her body relaxes. We’re manipulating her, but it’s necessary, and we’ll do whatever it takes to keep her from panicking.
She leans against the arm of the couch and stares at the ceiling. When she lifts both hands to swipe them over her face, I can see the resignation to her new fate sinking in.
“You’re ours, Little one,” Nanish says softly. “You can feel the bond growing between us. I know it’s confusing. Humans don’t experience the kind of connection Eleadians do with our mates. It will grow stronger with every passing hour. After a few months on Eleadia, you won’t remember what it was like to not feel so magnetically drawn to us.”
I nod, grateful I have someone with whom to share this explanation. According to the documented records Jefared has kept, there has been no incident of two Eleadians claiming the same female. We’re in uncharted territory here.
Both Nanish and I are fully aware of the challenges we face in the weeks to come—not including the time she will spend in stasis on the transport vessel. The most trying time will be afterwe arrive as our Little girl learns to accept her new environment and our customs.
But this right here. This initial shock. It’s difficult to navigate, and I have a partner to share it with. A part of me is still stressed about the logistics of this odd arrangement. My mind is going a mile a minute. How the fuck does this work? We share her like fifty-fifty custody?
Fuck no. Not happening. I wouldn’t be able to leave her at Nanish’s house for even one minute let alone overnight or for a week. And I’m certain he’s feeling the same way.
No. We’ll have to move in together, either into one of our homes or a new home. And where do we sleep? I’ve never once considered sleeping with a man. But again, I could no more leave her in another bedroom for the night than I could leave her in another home.
Little girls have their own nurseries in our homes. They have cribs where they can sleep safely without fear of falling. Some Little girls sleep in them at night, but I’m struggling to imagine how any Papi can rest well with their mate in another room.
I’ve known this precious Little such a short time, and already I feel so connected to her that I don’t want her out of my sight. In fact, I want to be closer to her than I am. I want to get out of this suit. After six weeks of donning it every night, I’ll never have to put it on again.
I reach up and tug the tie, to loosen it.
Nanish smirks. “How did you dress like this for six weeks?” He asks as he pulls his entire tie off and then goes to work on the buttons on the front of his dress shirt.
“Apparently I was waiting on your ass to arrive,” I joke as that fact becomes clear to me. No wonder I was here so long. I was never going to meet Margaret until Nanish arrived. She wasn’t even going to come to the club until Nanish arrived. That’s how Fate operates. Plus, apparently, part of that dominoeffect was our Little girl getting injured. She’s only here tonight because she’s hurt. I hate that for her, but we’ll get her all fixed up in no time.
I pick up our girl’s hand again. She lets me. She lets Nanish do the same after he completely removes his shirt.
She licks her lips as she stares at his chest. “You’re so huge,” she mumbles.
He chuckles. “You’re so small.”
“Ha.” She rolls her eyes. “I’m not small by human standards, but I do like how tiny I feel next to the two of you. No one has ever made me feel small.”
“You’ll be tiny for the rest of your life, Little one,” I inform her.
She draws in a deep breath. “You’re really going to take me to another planet?”
“Yes.”
“My roommate…” She winces. “I need to call her.” She leans forward and to one side, pulling her hands free again so she can reach back. A moment later she produces a cell phone from her back pocket. She holds it in her lap, staring at it. “What the hell am I going to tell her?”
I slide my hand up her arm because I need to touch more of her. “Tell her you’ve been chosen.”
“What happens to my things?”
“John will handle that. You met him at the entrance. It’s his job to take care of people’s…lives.” I wish there was a better way to sugarcoat that, but there isn’t.
“Is there anything you need from your home? Anything sentimental that feels too upsetting to leave behind?” Nanish asks.
She sighs and shakes her head. “No. I’m not very sentimental.”
“What about family? Parents? Siblings?” I ask.
“No,” she whispers. “My grandmother raised me. She passed three years ago.”
