Claimed by the Zandian (Zandian Brides 6)

“But you’re strong.” I grab his hand. “The best navigator Zandia has seen. You know this! You’re a blessing to the planet. Your disability has turned you into something magnificent.” And large. For a small baby, he turned out to be one of the biggest Zandians on the planet. With muscles atop muscles.

He shakes his head. “Do you know how much time and energy Dr. Daneth has invested in trying to fix me?” He snorts. “And that’s only because Zandians are nearly extinct. Otherwise, the royal physician never would’ve wasted his time on me. And then there’s the time I’ve spent training myself. Zandia is good at making the most of a bad situation, but I will never foist tainted offspring onto our people.”

“You’re being too harsh on yourself.” I feel dizzy. “First of all, you’re so wrong. I’ve only been here a short time, but I can see how necessary you are to this planet. And second…” I take a deep breath. “Coming from a being who wants children more than anything, it’s difficult to hear you casually dismiss them.”

He stands. “There’s nothing casual about my decision, Zina.” He snaps the next part. “Did you not hear a word I said?” His expression is twisted and unhappy.

I jump up, too. Adjust my dress, damp with sweat and the scent of sex. “I heard every word and I ache for you. But at some point, you have to grow up and make a different choice. You are not your father.”

“Well, you’re more than your leg and your belly,” he snarls. “Stop using that as an excuse to avoid life.”

“Excuse me?” White hot anger kindles. “How dare you say that?” I put my hands onto my hips and glare at him. “What part of helping Enya escape and doing my best to integrate here is avoidance? What part of me trying navigation is avoidance? I think you’re projecting, Tarek. You’re the one using your blindness to push away the chance at happiness. And a family.”

He grabs his breeches and steps into them fast, pulling them up over his magnificent ass. “You’re wrong.”

“Oh, just stop it!” I laugh despite my anger and sadness. “Tarek…” I shake my head. “This is ridiculous. How did we get here in like thirty seconds?” Tears well up in my eyes. “I don’t understand.”

His whole body slumps suddenly and he blinks hard. “Ah, Zina, I’m sorry.” His voice is low and sad. “I’m broken on the inside, all right? I have nothing to offer you.” He waves an arm around the room. “You want to train here, fine. I’ll train you. Come in three planet rotations, at the same time. But this can’t happen again. And forgive my comments about your leg.” His voice is stiff now. “I was an asshole. I don’t know why I said that.”

Tarek

“So, how did it go with the human?” My captain strolls over to my screen. Puts his arms behind his back. “You spent time alone with her?”

“She showed promise.” I think of the noises she made when she was coming. My cock gets hard at the memory, and I adjust myself.

I clear my throat. “I think it’s important that we work on that new satellite attachment arm. Does the tech dome have the updated spec?”

“Next week they’ll have it ready for testing. So, are you seriously considering Zina for your program?”

“We’ll see. Right now, I need to update these protocols.”

“Great. Remind me of her score?” He rocks on his heels. I don’t know why he’s smiling. DX protocols are no joke. Nor is my training.

“They… could be improved upon.”

“I see.” He slaps my shoulder. “Listen, if you want to be her master, then mate her. The mistake would be to let her think there is a future with you, if you’re certain there is not,” he points out. “A reminder that humans bond quickly to a master or mate. If you don’t intend to fulfill that role, you could hurt her.”

“And how are you such an expert? Just last week you said you only know about one human. Yours,” I snap.

“Mine is as capricious and emotional as they come.” His voice is mild. “I’ve learned to expect the unexpected with her. She’s… complicated, my fierce sweet mate.” He shakes his head, but I can hear the happiness in his voice. “Maybe you want a mate yourself.”

“You know I do not. I don’t want to discuss it.” I power down the screen.

“It’s acceptable to change one’s mind.”

“And it should be acceptable, as well, never to do so.” I grab my satchel. “Please respect that. I must go check on… something.”

He nods. “Just keep in mind that if you’re not planning a future with her, and she’s not a suitable fit for the nav program, you owe it to her and Zandia to tell her sooner rather than later.”

“I understand.”

Veck it all. She’s not nearly good enough to be in the nav program, and I’m most definitely wasting her time and mine—and Zandia’s. But it’s true that while I’m training her, she’s under my jurisdiction. And the idea that another Zandian male might take the liberties with her that I have? It makes me so angry I could rip apart a shuttle with my bare hands or deafen a fleet of beings with my roar. No one is going to touch Zina that way.

My captain is right. I’ll cut her loose. Soon. When the time is right. Spending time and vecking Zina is enjoyable. But it’s a fleeting pleasure, one of those transient moments a being must grab before they are gone forever. I’m not the kind of Zandian who gets a chance at mating and family life.

I don’t want to hurt her, but it’s just that right now she’s giving me something I haven’t had in a long time… and something I probably won’t get in the future.

Is it so wrong to seize the experience for what it is, and damn the future?