Lucy nods, not looking up. Her face is still hidden from my sight.
I take a cautious step inside, and when she doesn't panic, I remember that she rode in the much-smaller air-sled with me with no apparent issues, so perhaps there is some trust between us. I pull out the chair opposite her and sit at the small, rickety table. It's not made for a male of my size, and I might break the chair if I sit in it for too long, but she seems to need company. I watch her, trying to think. What would comfort an upset human?
I get to my feet and find a cup, fill it with water, and then return to her side. Her gorgeous dark hair has fallen forward, obscuring her face and shoulder, and I itch to touch it. And her.
When I set the cup down, Lucy straightens, and her eyes are reddened and wet with tears. She takes a deep, steadying breath and wipes the dampness off her cheeks. "All right. That was unexpected, but I guess I deserve it."
"Unexpected?" I ask. "I thought you wished for me to establish—"
She waves a hand in the air, breaking in. "I just mean that I wasn't really sure. I thought I'd be safe this close to town. And the farm next to me is Tessa's. It's empty all the time." Lucy looks up at me. "You met her. She's the one with the cyborg husband. They spend most of their time on Three Nebulas."
"I know of them. I married them." As one of the custodians of Risda III (and Port especially), it's my duty to assist with civil matters. I remember the day particularly because Lucy had worn flowers in her hair and she'd been utterly beautiful. I think I fell in love with her that day, because she'd smiled and smiled, and it made me happy just to look at her.
Not that I could ever admit such a thing. I clear my throat. "Has Tessa complained of strangers trespassing?"
"No?" Lucy shrugs, her expression a bit lost. "I haven't talked to her about any of it. I run her farm for her and we split the proceeds."
"And what of the perimeter alarms? Are those working properly?"
"You mean like a security fence? I don't have one." She looks dazed. I push the water toward her and she takes it, wetting her lips and then just holding the cup in her hands. "I thought I was safe this close to town. No one would bother me if I'm right under your noses, you know? And I've been here for over two years with no issues…"
"Why do you not have a security fence?" It seems like a basic need to me, given how dangerous this galaxy can be for humans. And Lucy is not stupid. She is well aware of the danger.
"I thought I was safe enough, close to town. And…" She gives me a wry, hesitant look. "I was saving up."
"For?" I prompt. Surely a security fence would be the thing someone in her position would need the most.
Lucy hesitates, running a slim finger along the edge of her mug. Human fingers are so delicate compared to mesakkah, and I find myself staring at those five slender digits, comparing them to my four. "You're going to think I'm stupid."
"I won't."
She pauses for a moment longer and then gives me a small smile. "A baby." Her tone is reverent. "It's lonely out here, you know? My closest neighbor only shows up twice a year, and even going into town doesn't do that much when no one else goes in very often." She shrugs and looks down at her mug again. "I've always wanted a family, and I'd love to not be so…alone. I would love someone to take care of. I thought a baby might solve some of those needs, you know?" She shrugs her shoulders. "Lord va'Rin's wife has a doctor that can help human women get pregnant. Just shoots them up with fertility hormones and then they can have half-alien babies. So I was saving up for that."
Hot, hungry need sweeps over me. Lucy wants a baby?
I want to be the one to give her that baby. My possessive mesakkah instincts kick in and I clench my fists, trying to remain in control. Every bit of me wants to grab her and throw her down on the bed. Rip her clothes off of her and sink deep, filling her with my seed. Possessing her. Claiming her as mine.
I want that so badly, and yet I cannot have her. The universe is cruel.
5
LUCY
Today is not going like I planned. I thought I'd get Rektar to come out to my house and seduce him, but I'm too rattled to do any kind of seduction at the moment. Someone really is stalking me, trying to sink their dirty mitts into my farm…or me. I'm a woman that always has a plan, but right now, I honestly do not know what to do. Nothing in my plan involved getting stalked.