“There are hundreds of eligible males on Viros.The dragon shifters we met are interested too.I saw their stealthy glances, their appreciation of your beauty and brain.”
Pleasure suffused her at his words.He spoke of her intelligence.No male had ever complimented her in that way before.
“The lack of an arm is a handicap.My Stores made me whole, but losing it again has made me a liability.Don’t you want children?I’ve thought about bringing up a child and how I’d do things differently than my parents.But with one arm, it’s not easy to hold a child.How do I teach my son?How do I pass on the knowledge I’ve accumulated with my physical restrictions?”
“Stop feeling sorry for yourself.It’s not attractive.So what if you don’t have your brother’s or friend’s looks?So what if you’ve lost an arm?No matter what you think, you can’t let the horrible things from your past define you.”
“What would you have me do?”
“Forge a path for the future.Do it your way.Don’t let others try to tell you what you can and can’t do.You’ve listed your shortcomings before, and I grow tired of your excuses.You are an intelligent male, one of position.You will fail if that is what you want.You can grow into a bitter old feline who snarls at everyone or you can embrace the life of your dreams.A child would be lucky to have you as their father.”
Ellard flopped over on his back to stare at the fern roof of their shelter.“You make it sound easy, doable.It’s not that simple.You haven’t faced the same handicaps.You’re beautiful, and your looks make things much easier for you.”
“Crap,” she spat out.With one quick move, she straddled his hips and glared down at his startled face.“I will tell you this once, then we won’t discuss it again.”She ignored the surge of his cock beneath her bottom, the tensing of his big chest, and the watchfulness in his beautiful green eyes.“My father is the governor of the planet Ornum.Ornum is an inhospitable hole—the armpit of the Citron universe.It’s where neighboring planets send their prisoners, those who have committed terrible crimes.My mother was feline, yet she never shifted and didn’t bear a cat tattoo on her cheek.I believe my parents were happy and had a good marriage, but my mother contracted an illness and died when I reached ten rotations.”
“I’m sorry,” Ellard said.“That must have been difficult.”
“I still miss her every cycle.”
“You’ve made your point,” he said.“You had a difficult childhood.You can get off me now.”
“I haven’t finished,” she snapped.
Ellard fell silent, and she took that as a sign to continue.
“My father hired a nanny for me.Amme.He grew distant, and I believe that occurred because he missed my mother so much.The depiction I have of her—we look a lot alike.As I matured, the cat tattoo became visible on my cheek.My father didn’t approve.The mark horrified him because it meant my mother had kept secrets from him.He ordered me to wear a mask while in his presence or whenever I ventured from his mansion.He insisted I cover my face.”Their gazes connected and held.“I know how it feels to be judged for my looks.My father couldn’t bear to see my face, and whenever I went out in public, people whispered and gossiped about why I wore a mask.How is that any different?People still stare at my tattoo, which is why I cover it with makeup sometimes or use a potion Mogens developed during our Earth visit.”Her lips twisted.“Just so I can feel normal.”
“Your father ordered you to wear a mask?”Horror reverberated off each stiff word, and she could see his feline close to the surface.
At her clipped nod, his breath hissed free.He raised his hand to brush his fingers over the small black tattoo on her cheek.
“How did you come to join Ry and theIndycrew?I’ve always wondered.”
The question—one she knew would come—hurt all the same.She braced as pain and shame struck at the heart of her.She scrambled for equilibrium, but not before the backs of her eyes smarted, and her hands clawed into her thighs.A foreign snarl echoed through her mind, shocking her as she recognized her feline’s distress.Surprisingly, she became more aware of her with each passing cycle.
“Gweneth?”
She nodded in response, her thoughts tossed back into the past and the moment when her world had rocked off its axis.
She and Amme had returned from a shopping excursion in the better part of the town.They had entered the house and given their packages to the junior servant.
“Miss Gweneth,” the butler had intoned.
“Good morn, Gastonique.”
“The master wishes to see you in his study.”
“Thank you.I’ll go and change.I stepped off the path just as a wagon drove past.”She gestured at the muddy hem of her gown.“I won’t take long.”
“Your father wishes to see you.”Not a shred of expression crept into Gastonique’s stern and craggy features.“He has summoned me twice already.”
Gweneth nodded and stiffened her spine.Amme gave her arm a reassuring squeeze as she turned toward her father’s study.Before she tapped on the carved wooden door, she took a sec to check that her fabric mask remained in position and none of her face would be visible to her father.She sucked in a quick breath and tapped twice before pausing to listen for her father’s permission to enter.
“Come.”
She pushed open the door, stepped through, and after closing it again, she approached his large desk.He spoke on a communicator and spat directions at one of his aids like a robotic machine.Bang.Bang.Bang.
Two upright chairs sat in front of his gleaming black stone desk, but she knew not to take a seat.This meeting would be short.She stood to attention, hands clasped behind her back, gaze downcast.He would notice her muddy hem.He noticed everything.
