Devotion (9 page)

The radio crackled into life, she heard Okil’s voice speaking. Tikki hoped it was a standard message of welcome. However, when he turned to talk to Darl, she could see the concern in his face, and then he was undoing his seat belt and coming towards them, holding onto the side of the cruiser as they came into land.

“We have been requested to stop. It’s not unusual, they always check who is on board, but I think it’s wise for us to ask Charlie to hide. Just as a precaution.” His expression was relaxed, but his face had brief flashes of blue exploding like stars, showing his agitation. Tikki knew him well enough to realise he was attempting to calm himself, to control himself so that he didn’t give them away.

Unbuckling her seat belt, she went to him, placing her hand on his cheek. “It will be OK, Okil.”

“I hope so,” he said and then quieter, “I don’t know what I will do if anything happens to you. Maybe we should have stayed on Earth. I could have protected you there.”

She looked up into his handsome face, feeling a surge of love for him. “You don’t know that, Okil. You have no real idea of what man is capable of. You have never seen their dark side.”

“I have glimpsed it,” he said. “When we came to Earth for Evie. There were men there who would hurt her.”

“These men may be worse. If the President is involved.”

He frowned. “Why do you think he is involved?”

“Something Charlie just said.” The ship slowed. “We’ll talk about it later.”

She turned away from Okil, holding her hand out to Charlie. “Come on, Charlie. We can look at the animals later. Right now you have to play hide and seek.”

“From the bad men?” he asked.

“They aren’t really bad. But they might not understand why you are here. Or even why I am here. So can you be really quiet, like when you hid in my apartment?”

“Yes,” he said, following her to the locker, where he obediently climbed in. Before she shut it, he asked, “Can we go and see the elephants soon?”

“I think we might be able to. I’ll ask Okil.” She kissed him. “Now be quiet. I will let you out as soon as I can, OK?”

He nodded and she shut the door carefully, hating to leave him there alone in the dark, but he held his old teddy bear, cuddled close to his chest. Then she went back to her seat, knowing that if her skin had the same colours as Okil’s, it would be flashing like a guilty beacon.

The ship landed. They circled around the airport once while they slowed their speed and then headed for what looked like a checkpoint. There they stopped. The exit ramp went down and Okil smiled at her before walking down it. Below she could hear him talking, laughing with the guards.

“I couldn’t help it. When you have a female, you will know how they attract a Karalian. I guess my prime was calling me. I am weak for human females; the Hierarchy knows this.”

“The council is not happy, Okil. I can see your point, but they cannot. You are ordered to go before them tomorrow.”

“I see. Thank you, Hanoth. I will go there first thing.”

“You are lucky it is so late, my friend, or else you would be before them now.”

“Yes, Okil, you would not be spending the night in the arms of your female; you would be there explaining your actions.”

“Then I am truly blessed,” he said, then lowered his voice and spoke.

The two guards laughed. “Go. Enjoy your female and make a child. When the lottery is extended, I only hope I will be as lucky to find a female I can’t resist.”

Okil walked back up the ramp, waving to the two guards and laughing. When he reached the top, he pressed the button for it to close. Only when it was sealed did he lean against the side of the ship and take several deep breaths. Blue pulsed across his face; if ever the Karal showed fear, she guessed this was it.

“Let’s go, Darl,” he said, and the cruiser moved forward at a steady speed. Not until they had left the compound did Tikki let go of her pent-up breath. Then she left her seat and helped Okil open the locker and get Charlie out.

“Where to now?” Tikki asked, giving Charlie a hug.

“The cruiser is mine, so we can take Darl and Reja home and then go on to my house. It’s a little away from the tower, no one lives close by, so we should be able to get Charlie inside unseen.”

“And that’s it, we hide there?” Tikki asked, not wanting Charlie to spend his days permanently inside but seeing no other solution.

“When I go to the tower tomorrow, I am going to check the surveillance cameras, see if we can get some idea of what Harri is up to and who he is working for. Then we can decide what to do. I’m still not sure if involving Elissa is a good idea or not.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to see her again. It’s only been a few months but it seems like a lifetime ago,” she said, thinking of everything that had happened over the period since Elissa had left for Karal.

“You were a different person then, Tikki. But I think she will be very proud of you and what you have accomplished.” Okil stroked her hair, smiling at her, as she held Charlie in her arms. The poor child seemed exhausted. He needed to sleep, and to eat.

“How long until we are at your house?” she asked as they sped across the grassy plains.

“Another of your Earth hours, maybe less. Darl lives in the opposite direction to me.” He kissed Tikki and then said, “I’ll go and speak to him. I can’t wait for us to get home and be able to relax. It’s been a long day, you must be exhausted.”

“Not as tired as Charlie,” she said, feeling the small boy grow heavier in her arms. “I think he is nearly asleep.”

“Maybe you should try to rest too.” He got up, helping her back to her seat. “I am hoping you will be a little rested by the time we get back.”

His eyes said what his mouth didn’t, and she allowed herself the small surge of longing to uncoil from her stomach and thread its way through her body. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to close her eyes for a few minutes.

“Thank you, Darl,” he said, watching the doctor walk down the ramp with a nervous-looking Reja.

“Don’t think anything of it, Okil. Now you get those two home and get some rest. Come to see me tomorrow after you have been before the council. We will put our heads together and see how we are going to make this work. I suggest if you have anything you need, for the child, you contact me in person. I will do what I can. Although clothes may be a problem.”

Okil hadn’t thought of that. There were no clothes on Karal to fit a small child. All the childhood clothes from his generation had been recycled long ago. With the next generation yet to be born, there was nothing available. As he closed the ramp, he decided that clothes were the least of their problems. He could probably find someone who could make the right-size clothes; he could say it was a gift for someone on Earth.

Don’t make problems for yourself
, he thought, y
ou have enough to deal with already
.

Although when he looked at Tikki, asleep with Charlie in her arms, it was impossible for him to think of them being a problem. They were his life, his responsibility, now; he only hoped he didn’t fail them.

Taking the controls, he steered the cruiser back out onto the empty road, feeling very alone now Darl had gone. But he realised how lucky he was to have the doctor, someone he would trust with his life, as a co-conspirator. Between them, they would make this work.

As he made his way home, he kept an eye out for any patrols that might stop him. He was still unsure how much trouble he was in for bringing an extra female to Karal. Darl had already cleared her on the DNA testing, and her ovulation cycle was regular, so he thought the Hier Council would let it go. Maybe he would receive some kind of warning, or even be dropped some credits, but that was all. The planet was gearing up to receive a large influx of females over the next couple of years, so Tikki arriving a few days early would not be a problem.

He only hoped that no one from Karal checked with Earth. Because he hoped by now, Tikki Sergeant was classified as dead and that no one on Earth would ever know she had moved to Karal with her lover.

His body warmed to that idea: she would be his lover. After waiting for so very long, they could now consummate their relationship.

As his house came into view, he hoped when he woke her, she would be rested enough. And that Charlie would sleep for a few hours, so that he and Tikki could get to know each other intimately.

“Are we there?” she asked as he touched her arm gently, trying not to wake Charlie.

“Yes. It’s early evening, so I think it will be safe to carry Charlie inside without anyone seeing.” He held out his arms and she let him take the sleeping boy from her. She was grateful to him because her arm had gone numb, and her legs were so tired she doubted she would be able to stand with the added weight of Charlie in her arms.

Following Okil down the exit ramp, she made sure she had picked up all of Charlie’s toys; he still had the scruffy teddy bear clasped to his chest. When the cool evening air hit her, she had to stop and breathe it in so deeply, she thought her lungs would explode. So this was what clean air smelled like.

Standing still, she looked all around her, at the two suns setting in the distance and the flowers in Okil’s garden, the fragrance sweet on the breeze. “It’s wonderful, Okil.”

He smiled, looking tired, yet the colours leaped across his skin. Tikki longed to touch his face and feel the electricity skimming his flesh and let the sensations travel through her body. She could not believe she was finally here, and felt the need to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

But then if this was a dream, they would not have so many problems hanging over their heads.

“I’ll show you the house,” he said, which she took as his polite way of saying they could not stay out too long with Charlie so visible. This would be their lives, too, from now on. Their happiness at being together would be tainted by the ever-present fear of someone finding out about Charlie.

Tikki could not let that spoil her happiness. For this one night, she was going to pretend that everything was good, that Okil was her prize and the Karal had welcomed her with open arms. First, they had to put Charlie to bed.

“I thought he could sleep in here,” Okil said, leading her to a room at the back of his house. “It’s where my child, our child, will one day sleep.”
If that happens now
, that was the message her eyes read in his face. “If you go into the sitting room, you can fetch the cushions from the sofa and he can lie on those. Tomorrow I will see what I can scrounge.”

“OK.” She found her way to the small sitting room. There she carefully removed the large cushions and took them back to the bedroom. Placing them on the floor, she watched Okil carefully lay Charlie down.

“I’ll fetch him a blanket and a pillow,” Okil said, and while he was gone she smoothed Charlie’s hair back from his head and kissed him goodnight. She only hoped that they had found a sanctuary here, that they were safe from whatever, or whoever, hunted them.

Okil returned, and they lifted Charlie’s head and placed the pillow under it, and then wrapped the blanket around him. Charlie didn’t stir; he was so tired he was oblivious to everything, and Tikki didn’t think that was bad at all. Let him sleep a dreamless sleep where no one hunted him, no one told him to be quiet or to hide.

“Come,” Okil said and he offered her his hand, leading her from the room. She thought he might take her straight to the bedroom, but she was grateful he went to the kitchen first. Her energy was so depleted; she needed to eat and to drink. And then … well, what happened, happened.

They faced each other across his kitchen, both suddenly nervous. This was not the way she had pictured it, not how she had thought they would spend their first hours on Karal. But her heart swelled with love for this man, this alien, who was risking everything for her and a boy he didn’t know, and had no responsibility for.

“I’m so sorry, Okil,” she began. “I know you have waited your whole life for a mate, that your prime is slipping away … you have done so much for the women on Earth already, I wish this had been straightforward and easy.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, coming to her and taking her in his arms. “You are the only woman I want, Tikki. I cannot fall in and then out of love with you just because it is not easy. Maybe humans can do that, but I cannot.”

“No, you are behaving just like a decent human would.”

“Then we are not so different, our two species.” He looked down at her, his face infused with yellow, soft like the sun at dawn. “Can we put this aside for now? Do you think we could spend this night in each other’s arms just as we dreamed, and not think of tomorrow or what may happen?”

She smiled at him, touching his cheek and seeing the yellow turn to a burning amber and then red as the fire inside him ignited. Moving her hand to the nape of his neck, she pulled him towards her and kissed him, feeling that fire in his lips, sending its message of need through her skin, deep into her core.

“All I can think of right now is you. All I want to feel is my love for you. Let’s enjoy now. Pretend that I came here as we planned, and that all there is in our world is hope.”

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, burying his face into the crook of her neck. “You are the air I breathe, Tikki. I would rather you were here, like this, with all the uncertainty that lies ahead, than for you to be still on Earth with no hope of us ever being together. I swear, whatever happens, we will face it together.”

With that, he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom, laying her down on the bed. She reached out, hooking her fingers around the hem of his T-shirt and lifting it up. He helped, taking it over his head and then discarding it. She gazed upon his body, she knew it so well, but now, here on a strange planet, it was as if she looked upon his for the first time. He allowed her to stroke his skin and he freed his emotions, letting them skim across his skin in reds and blues, a rainbow exploding when she leaned forward and kissed his chest, her tongue licking his nipples.