A Warrior's Heart: Marastin Dow Warriors Book 1

Chapter 11

Ben paled a little at the idea of children before he shook his head in amazement. He never thought of becoming a father. Hell, he never even thought of becoming a husband. Warmth flared deep inside him as he gazed down at Evetta's hopeful look.

"Let's get the home first, then we'll talk children," he suggested. He turned his gaze down to the still figure. "Something tells me she is about to wake up. Go check on Hanine. I'm worried about her."

"Thank you, Ben," Evetta said, reluctantly pulling away from him. "For giving me something to dream about."

Ben watched as Evetta walked quietly out of the room. His eyes lingered on the gentle swell of her hips. He felt his body's reaction to the thought of having a family with her. Dreams... He hoped there really was a Goddess somewhere looking down on them. Hopefully, she would see something in them worth saving.

He turned when he felt an unusual stillness in the figure lying on the bed. It looked like their guest was waking up. He just hoped she was willing to listen to him before she demanded they return her to her friends.

*.*.*

Carmen Walker frowned as she lay still. Her mind flashed through the events. She had been enjoying her first trip to an alien Spaceport. She was used to the idea of aliens. Hell, she better be as she was one herself now.

She might be human, but her mating with a Valdier dragon shifter had unexpected consequences. As the true mate of a Valdier male, she was accepted by his three elements: the man, the dragon and his symbiot. The other unexpected consequence was the change to her own body once he claimed her.

Carmen heard the faint sounds of feminine voices in the background, but they were not in the same room. She cautiously opened her eyes, blinking rapidly to clear her vision. She jerked in surprise when she saw a pair of dark brown eyes looking back at her. Worry clouded them as they gazed down at her.

"Can you understand me?" The male asked in a voice that sounded like it had been a while since he spoke English.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Carmen asked in confusion.

The man smiled nervously down at her. "My name is Ben Cooper. Are you okay? I'm sorry about what happened. I didn't know that Evetta and Hanine would do this," he replied quietly.

Carmen's eyes followed him as he pulled a chair up near the bed. Her eyes flew to the two purple-skinned women that came into the room to stand quietly behind him. One of them was biting her lip while the other looked at Ben with worry. One of the women said something to Ben before she turned and disappeared into the other room again.

"Why... why did they kidnap me?" Carmen asked, staring at the strange woman standing behind him.

Ben carefully watched the woman as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. He didn't say anything as she looked around the room. He knew what she would see. The room was dim, with only a couple of small lights on. The walls were dark and worn, but it was clean even if the furniture and fixtures were shabby.

He studied the room as well, trying to see it through her eyes. The walls and floor were a dull gray. The furniture was sparse with only the single bed, a small table, and a chair. The outer room did not look much better. She would see that it contained another beat-up table and four chairs.

"Where am I?" Carmen asked, turning her gaze back to him.

"In the apartment we are temporarily renting," Ben replied quietly. He turned slightly and held his hand out. "This is Evetta. She is my wife," he said gently as his fingers closed over the slender purple ones. "My brother and I were kidnapped from Earth almost fifteen years ago. We were sold as slaves several times before the freighter we served on was raided five years ago by the warship Evetta and her sister were eventually transferred to. We convinced every species, since we were taken, that my brother, Aaron, and I couldn't be separated or we would die. Evetta and her sister worked as engineering and programming specialists on the warship that hijacked ours."