Domestic Duet: Domestic Alliance & Asset Read Free Page B

longer.” The doctor gave Sadie’s shoulder a light squeeze then stepped away. “She’ll be cautious of her surroundings when she wakes; possibly combative. Be patient, Captain. She'll need your understanding.” The doctor patted a hand to the side of his medical bag. “I’ll send her vitamins shortly and pain killers. Humans are susceptible to headaches when they’re stressed.”
    The doctor left, leaving behind a list of human ailments Sadie may experience. He scanned the list…constipation. He shuddered, setting the paper on the table The exam reminded him of the time Katherine suffered a common illness among her people, a cold. Hot, clammy, achy, and mucus ran from her nose constantly. It pained him to see her ill.
    In front of the replicator panel, Aroc stole furtive glances at his guest, while making himself a hot cup of coffee and a new selection of snacks for Sadie to eat. The ones Katherine preferred. The tray of replicated items he’d thought she might eat remained untouched on the table. Condensation ran down the sides of the chilled, unopened bottle of the ale he added to the fresh meal.
    Being seven feet tall, with wine-tinged skin, and retractable spikes down the length of his spine made humans edgy. The carpeted floors masked his footsteps across the room. At the wall, he peered out the window into the vast expanse of space. Down on Earth, he’d watched her for weeks.
    One of his males spying on one of the men they suspected of transporting tainted fuel informed him of the maid that worked for Edwards. She visited his office at the bank several times a week running errands. They placed her under surveillance. Every day the reports came back clean. Sadie Ochi Alexander had worked for this family for seven years, helping raise the son. The family didn’t deserve Sadie.
    He needed a female—not a wife—to help him raise his half-karuntee, half-human daughter. He’d keep Sadie indefinitely and see if she could help with his other problem, insomnia.
    Up close, Sadie held a fierce elegance appealing to him in a way he thought long buried after his life mate died two years ago. Aroc Farkus took whatever he wanted. A family that stole from their government, in turn, from him, when he allowed their fuel to recycle on his bay would pay for their treachery.
    The treaty between them allowed for the fuel exchange. Karuntee filtered it then sent back metal to use for their train cars. Edwards sent contaminated fuel to a rogue clan of karuntee living on the fringe of civility. That fuel, once recycled, they sold to the underwater world. Cutting off the treaty with the humans would slam the lid on all the work he’d put in with the marine king.
    Becoming allies to the humans—he’d wrestled with the notions for months when they presented it to him. He’d put the benefits to his species before his dislike for the humans. However, making himself an enemy to the underwater species would kill all future endeavors. Many nights he went without sleep to establish a relationship with their king to share their fuel. He couldn’t chance severing that alliance.
    “What are you? And what do you want from me?” Sadie’s strained voice roused him from thought.
    “Your help. My name is Captain Aroc Farkus of the karuntian clan from the moon. You’re in my home in Sector Seven in outer space.”
    He waited for her response to his words. She gasped, staring up at him. “Outer space… I don’t believe you.” Sadie cocked her head to the side. “What are you? Some weird magician with a picture of outer space taped to the outside of this window.” She rubbed her hands over her thighs left bare by the shorts she wore. “Your skin’s pink and,” she stuttered, “and you have a patch of hair growing on one shoulder, and I’m supposed to accept everything you say as gospel.”
    “Gospel?” he repeated, confused.
    “Truth, fact,” she told him with a wave of her hand, her fingers spread wide. “You know…