G’baena’s gasp of surprise and Kam’s knowing eyes.
Chapter Nine
“G’baena?” Kam could feel her bewildered pain, but what surprised him was how clearly he could feel Devlin’s. The human was seriously confused and so deeply in love with G’baena, he couldn’t think straight. “He loves you.”
“I know,” she said quietly, “but I’m not sure it’s enough.”
“In what way?”
She turned, deliberately making eye contact with him before lowering her gaze and slowly dropping to her knees at his feet. “In a way that I can’t explain,” she said brokenly. The words seemed wrenched from her, the emotional toll of the last few days breaking the fragile spirit of a young woman who had so much more to offer than she realized. Kam touched her hair, caressing her like he’d done so many times before. He sensed her need for this formality, for her to be able to behave the way she was raised without worrying she might upset someone unfamiliar with their ways.
After a few moments of quiet, he sat down on the bed and pulled her small frame onto his lap. He cradled her while she cried, desperately trying to shield his own emotions from the confused woman in his arms.
* * * *
“I don’t fucking get it.” He’d come to the medical bay in the hope of speaking to Tee-ani. He hadn’t actually decided what he wanted to ask her. After all, it appeared Kam would be the man taking care of G’baena, but when Devlin had found Sarah waiting for a patient to arrive, his emotions had basically exploded.
He didn’t miss the slightly amused expression on Sarah’s face as all his fears poured out of his mouth. Great, the captain’s wife was going to label him as fucking nuts.
She let him rant for a while longer before asking quietly, “Do you love her?”
“Of course I fucking love her. Do you think I’d be this upset if I didn’t?”
She snickered as he realized what he’d just admitted out loud.
“Smart-ass,” he said as the anger drained from him. Sarah was one of the most independent, sassy, kick-ass females he’d ever met, and he was suddenly very glad that she’d been the one on duty. Tee-ani would have used all of her doctor’s bedside manner and tact. Sarah, on the other hand, would give it to him straight and possibly kick him in the balls to make certain she hammered home the facts.
“Well, then, the answer is quite simple. You can choose to love her as she is or walk away and regret such a dumbass, idiotic mistake for the next fifty years.”
He was nodding in agreement before he realized he really didn’t have any damn answers. Maybe Sarah wasn’t exactly the best person to talk to after all.
“Just tell me one thing. Why would a woman choose subservience over freedom?”
“Dev, I don’t think she is,” Sarah said quietly, seriously. “I think if G’baena felt that Kam was disrespecting her in any way, she wouldn’t kneel at his feet, no matter what her upbringing taught her. She’s much stronger than even she realizes.”
“So why does she do it then?”
“Maybe that’s something you should ask her.”
A noise at the doorway alerted them to the arrival of a patient. Sarah moved toward the heavily pregnant woman and smiled happily as she shooed him out the door.
* * * *
G’baena hadn’t felt this comfortable in a long while. She’d felt safe in Devlin’s arms, but the moments had been underlined with a large amount of uncertainty. Humans, it seemed, had very definite ideas on how a free woman should act, and it seemed G’baena didn’t quite fit the mold. Curled in Kam’s lap, she felt at ease, almost like she’d come home, but again the feeling was underscored with an undesired emotion—this time, guilt.
She knew humans mated in pairs, and until a few days ago, she’d been happy to love Devlin and live on board in a human way. Even seeing Tee-ani happily mated to Ben and Trey hadn’t really changed her mind about accepting Devlin as her only love, but
Chapter Nine
“G’baena?” Kam could feel her bewildered pain, but what surprised him was how clearly he could feel Devlin’s. The human was seriously confused and so deeply in love with G’baena, he couldn’t think straight. “He loves you.”
“I know,” she said quietly, “but I’m not sure it’s enough.”
“In what way?”
She turned, deliberately making eye contact with him before lowering her gaze and slowly dropping to her knees at his feet. “In a way that I can’t explain,” she said brokenly. The words seemed wrenched from her, the emotional toll of the last few days breaking the fragile spirit of a young woman who had so much more to offer than she realized. Kam touched her hair, caressing her like he’d done so many times before. He sensed her need for this formality, for her to be able to behave the way she was raised without worrying she might upset someone unfamiliar with their ways.
After a few moments of quiet, he sat down on the bed and pulled her small frame onto his lap. He cradled her while she cried, desperately trying to shield his own emotions from the confused woman in his arms.
* * * *
“I don’t fucking get it.” He’d come to the medical bay in the hope of speaking to Tee-ani. He hadn’t actually decided what he wanted to ask her. After all, it appeared Kam would be the man taking care of G’baena, but when Devlin had found Sarah waiting for a patient to arrive, his emotions had basically exploded.
He didn’t miss the slightly amused expression on Sarah’s face as all his fears poured out of his mouth. Great, the captain’s wife was going to label him as fucking nuts.
She let him rant for a while longer before asking quietly, “Do you love her?”
“Of course I fucking love her. Do you think I’d be this upset if I didn’t?”
She snickered as he realized what he’d just admitted out loud.
“Smart-ass,” he said as the anger drained from him. Sarah was one of the most independent, sassy, kick-ass females he’d ever met, and he was suddenly very glad that she’d been the one on duty. Tee-ani would have used all of her doctor’s bedside manner and tact. Sarah, on the other hand, would give it to him straight and possibly kick him in the balls to make certain she hammered home the facts.
“Well, then, the answer is quite simple. You can choose to love her as she is or walk away and regret such a dumbass, idiotic mistake for the next fifty years.”
He was nodding in agreement before he realized he really didn’t have any damn answers. Maybe Sarah wasn’t exactly the best person to talk to after all.
“Just tell me one thing. Why would a woman choose subservience over freedom?”
“Dev, I don’t think she is,” Sarah said quietly, seriously. “I think if G’baena felt that Kam was disrespecting her in any way, she wouldn’t kneel at his feet, no matter what her upbringing taught her. She’s much stronger than even she realizes.”
“So why does she do it then?”
“Maybe that’s something you should ask her.”
A noise at the doorway alerted them to the arrival of a patient. Sarah moved toward the heavily pregnant woman and smiled happily as she shooed him out the door.
* * * *
G’baena hadn’t felt this comfortable in a long while. She’d felt safe in Devlin’s arms, but the moments had been underlined with a large amount of uncertainty. Humans, it seemed, had very definite ideas on how a free woman should act, and it seemed G’baena didn’t quite fit the mold. Curled in Kam’s lap, she felt at ease, almost like she’d come home, but again the feeling was underscored with an undesired emotion—this time, guilt.
She knew humans mated in pairs, and until a few days ago, she’d been happy to love Devlin and live on board in a human way. Even seeing Tee-ani happily mated to Ben and Trey hadn’t really changed her mind about accepting Devlin as her only love, but
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