"You don't think it's real," Lana replied, disbelief heavy in her voice.
"He is either pretending or it's a broken bond. Those happen."
"How can you possibly know that?"
"I don't," Corden said. "But what you just said made me realize it has to be a lie. The way he looked at her in the atrium, the way he spoke about her. The casual indifference he showed when he finally saw her. There was no light, no fire. He might have protected her, but he didn't do much else. It is not how a man feels about his gesha. Even if he's disappointed with her. A gesha is his world, his everything. He killed the Toron, but he should have torn him apart for daring to approach her. And if the bond were true, her life would be more important to him than his. I did not see that. I did not see what I see in us."
With every word he'd spoken, the anger in Lana's eyes had receded, until there was only love.
"Is that how you feel about me?" she asked very quietly, as if she didn't dare to believe it.
"It is how I will feel until the end of my days," Corden said, and it was Lana that pulled him in for a passionate, wild kiss, made of a true bond.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Lana
Despite everything, Lana slept peacefully that night.
It felt weird, even heartless. No one else aboard the Flora got a good night's sleep, she was pretty sure of that. Yarel had done his best to keep the incident in the atrium as hidden from the carrier's passengers as possible, but word got out. It always did.
They all knew what that would lead to. Fear creates rumors, suspicions, speculation. And despite the fact that what happened to those innocent women was horrible, it was even worse to surround it with secrecy. The dead deserved the truth because there was nothing else they could do for them anymore.
After Lana and Yarel had sat through a dizzying range of rumors, they decided it was better to admit to what had happened. This way, at least, they could control the facts. Lana had made a quick announcement, saying only what needed to be said.#p#分页标题#e#
They admitted there had been a gathering and that four enraged Torons had gotten in the atrium. As best she could, the captain emphasized that the Torons had been tampered with by Worgen. Then she recounted the dead, completely denying the exaggerated numbers that were already circling. Some were even saying that thousands had died, while in truth the number was fourteen.
Lana hated thinking that, but objectively she knew fourteen wasn't many. Yarel had revealed to her that Corden had lured the three other Torons away and it only solidified her growing affection for him. Lana was hesitant to call it love yet—she really felt like it was a strong word to use about someone she'd known for less than a week.
On the other hand, she was bonded to that man for all her life. If that wasn’t something worthy of big words, she wasn’t sure what would be.
Nonetheless, the fact he had been helping delighted her in a way nothing else could. Looking at Worgen, she knew how badly it could have gone. Corden was still a Brion, with all the faults and perks of belonging to that species, but he was nothing like the dark general.
It had hurt to hear she could do nothing to help the Worgen's gesha, but what Corden had said was true. She didn't believe a man like Worgen could ever really love. She had to hope Worgen cared so little he didn't even bother with hurting the girl.
After her announcement, tensions on the ship had eased a little, but everyone was still on edge. Lana had also revealed the change of course, fully aware that there was no way to misinterpret that action. It brought up images of war and battles, of huge Brion flagships shooting at each other with the fleet stuck in the middle of it, defenseless. Either they'd try to run and the mad general would shoot them as punishment before the warp drives managed to rev up – or they'd be destroyed in the course of the fighting. Lose-lose.
Yarel and Corden had both told her it wouldn't come to that, and Lana agreed. There was no way that could end well for the ships of the fleet. Many of them didn't even have shields strong enough to be worthy of the name, certainly not against Brion ships.
Despite all of that, Lana slept more peacefully than she had in ages. While she couldn't entirely shake off the doubts that plagued her about the bond, Lana no longer bothered to deny the effect it had on her.
It was more than attraction, much more than gratitude.
That night, she saw Corden's eyes undress her while she got ready for bed. His piercing gaze followed her hands, the fire in them burning hotly every time she revealed more of herself. But seeing that she wasn't in the mood to fuck while death was knocking on their door, he didn't approach her that way.
Instead, the general slowly removed his armor and got in the bed with her. Lana knew it was difficult for him to be so close to her without touching her, claiming her again. The bond was so fresh that it was also hard for her, but his closeness had a peculiar counter-effect to that.
Lana cuddled up against the safety of his powerful body, resting her head against his shoulder and let the general wrap an arm around her. Her fingers traced the muscles of his firm chest, feeling how Corden grinned at that. Like the day before, Lana felt at peace. Bad things were happening somewhere far from her, it seemed.
She'd thought Corden's Brion temperament would bother her, but it only served to give her courage. Lana didn't appreciate being lied to or worse, assured that everything was fine when it wasn't. Her duties as a captain required that information wasn't kept from her.
But Corden telling her everything would be okay made her believe him instead of calling it bullshit. A Brion didn't lie about things like that and unlike Worgen, Corden was a real Brion.
Lana almost purred when Corden slowly combed his fingers through her hair. He moved lower from there, tracing her bare arms and smoothly ending up on her breasts.
"Nice," Lana murmured against his chest. "Real subtle."
"I can't help it," the general said, grinning. "You are absolutely breathtaking."
Lana smiled. Another thing she could definitely get used to. Terran men dropped words like that all the time, but it was a tool, like flowers, chocolate, and the rest. No meaning, just a line they'd learned and which admittedly worked on most girls.
She had always thought saying things like that meant a man didn't really find anything specific to say, but Corden was different. The little girl who had thought the Brion bindings were romantic had returned in full force, now that she was a part of one. Rather than call Corden a liar, she accepted the compliment, confident he truly meant it.#p#分页标题#e#
She slid a hand down the general's body, right between his legs, feeling the hardness respond to her touch. Corden groaned appreciatively.
"So I see," she said.
The general chuckled, pulling her up for a soft kiss.
This is nice, Lana thought. I could get used to this. Who needs reason when you have a Brion?
"Tell me about Briolina," Lana heard herself say to her surprise as her hand slid back up along his body.
Maybe it was because they were on their way there. Maybe she just wanted to know more about the man she was sleeping with. It most certainly wasn't because she wanted to hear about the planet that might be her new home.
Or possibly it was simple curiosity. Lana had no emotional connection to Terra, never did. It was merely a world she was born on and when they offered her a position on a ship, the leaving wasn't very hard. No more than moving from one city to another. Clearly, Corden felt more strongly about his home world and it interested her.
"Briolina," Corden repeated, his hand still idly stroking her skin.
It felt nice, simply lying there with him. Lana wondered if it was the danger they were in that made her think so, but for the first time in her life, she considered her future. More than a few weeks ahead, that was. She'd never thought of herself as the settling down kind of girl. No person or job or world had made her think of staying. Only Corden.
In truth, he did more than that. Corden made her feel like the possibility of being without him was impossible.
With Worgen's arrival, Lana was more certain than ever that she wanted to keep living. Her gerion was certainly offering her that and more. Nothing was tying her down, so why couldn't she go with him if they were lucky enough to escape Worgen's clutches?
Logic, reason and all that, yes. Every piece of Terran wisdom in her memory, really. Don't wander off with strange men. Don't fall for a great body and an amazing smile. Don't believe men who use the word forever.
Especially if you've known the particular specimen for only a week.
Only all of those were Terran excuses, and Lana was beginning to see other species in the galaxy had their own wisdom. It felt right to be there with Corden. He felt right.
Of course, every woman that has ever lived has thought that about the man she is falling for.
Lana finally realized how long the silence had been when Corden spoke at last.
"Briolina is gorgeous," he said, the first time Lana had heard his deep voice soften like that, except for when he said her name.
"Every species says that, but my home world really is. I want to take you there. Not like this, of course. In my own ship, with no threat hanging over our heads. You would love it. The other Terrans, my brothers' geshas, they all do, especially the forests. I read that you like the greenery."