Page 49 of Tempt

He meets my gaze, and I can tell immediately he has worked hard at hiding his intentions from us. There is very little to read in any of his movements. “Something like that.”

I take a seat across from him. “And do you have any questions?”

He scoffs. “It’s not that complicated. I get stripped down, tied to a chair, and sucked off. Your people get fed, then I go on my merry way and try to forget it ever happened. At least, until they call again. Isn’t that how it goes?”

“Do you wish for a truthful answer, or one that will make you feel better?”

His carefully placed mask slips for just a second, and I see his genuine surprise.

“You’re not like the others I’ve talked to.”

“No.” I let that word linger between us for a moment. Then I give him my canned response—the response I used to use in order to make myself feel better. It no longer works, but for the moment, it’s helpful. “You humans have what we desperately need. We have done our best to compensate for it, and someday—if we’re all lucky—there will be enough eager volunteers that service is no longer required.”

“Nice answer. Very believable.”

I laugh. I can’t help it. He’s dangerous, but I’m not quite sure how yet. And…in spite of all this—in spite of all the alarm bells—I kind of like him. I understand him. “That is very astute.”

His eyes widen again. “Why are you being honest? Everyone else has been blowing smoke up my ass.”

I choose not to answer him. I can’t tell him the truth but lying is pointless. “We have herbs to make this process easier, if you think that might help.”

“No, thank you.”

I take a breath, then say, “If ever you feel ill, you may say so at any time before your appointment. Vyastil have a particular…aversion to humans vomiting. So, please be sure to tell your nurse at any time that you are going to be sick before your Vyastil arrives.”

He stares at me, then his eyes widen just a bit. “You’re telling me the truth. Why?”

I shrug, then stand and beckon him to follow suit. “I prefer all humans to be as informed as necessary. I hope you have a good first session, Zane.”

He nods sharply, then turns and heads for the door before freezing and looking back. “Do you know Rathyn?”

My entire body goes cold. “Why?”

“He’s, ah…got a contract with my friend Everest.”

He’s searching for something, but I don’t know what, and I do not want to feed him any information. I must protect Rathyn and Everest at any cost. “We are acquainted. He is a high-ranking officer.”

“Commander, right? Of, like, the entire army?”

“That is an over-simplification of his duties,” I tell him.

He stares another beat, then nods. “Okay. Well…tell him I said hi, I guess.”

I say nothing as Zane lets himself out, and I carefully file all of this away for later. I need to speak to Rathyn about this man. He may be Everest’s friend, but I want to know who he truly is, and if he’s a risk we need to be aware of and possibly remove.

But that can wait. As I take a single breath in, I get a quick glimpse of Luca’s thoughts. I’ve been doing my best to shut him out over the last few weeks, but every now and again, he’s there.

The warmth of him presses against the inside of my skull. He’s safe at home. And right now, he’s sad. I would give anything to reach out to him, to offer him even a drop of comfort, but I can’t take the risk.

Instead, I sit back down and process Zane’s test before clicking into his profile. He’s not checked into the clinic. He’s listed as rescheduled due to a stomach ailment. I smile. I knew he would not be sitting in the clinic today, and I have a feeling he won’t be coming to his next appointment either.

I tap in my code, then move Zane’s next clinic visit to two weeks from now. The tablet pings as the request is accepted. I will be in trouble if I am audited, but I know we have plenty of cum flowing. No one will notice this one little thing.

And that will buy me time to look into this further.

For now, I have other things to focus on, and a human to attempt to forget.

If only letting Luca go were that easy.