“Kian is easy. All you have to do is tug at his heartstrings, and he will give you what you want.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
Rufsur rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Tell him that you love me and can’t live without me, and that a federation is the only way we can be together.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “That wasn’t what you wanted to say.”
“Did you probe me?”
“I wouldn’t do that without asking your permission. But I don’t need to do that to figure out when you are being evasive. I don’t think you’ve ever lied to me, but you don’t always say what’s really on your mind.”
“I do most of the time.”
She waved a hand. “And that’s why it’s so obvious to me when you don’t.”
“I didn’t say what I’ve been thinking because you’re not going to like it.”
“Try me.”
“Remember our last conversation from two weeks ago?”
Edna swallowed. “You said that you wanted to have a child with me. I thought that you’d changed your mind about that.”
“Did you?”
“Don’t answer my question with one of your own.”
“Fine.” He let out a breath. “I did, and I didn’t. I realized that I don’t want to be a long-distance father. The two-week separation from you proved that it’s too difficult. I thought that twice-a-month visits could sustain me, but I was wrong. I want to have a life with you, and I want us to raise our child or children together. But it occurred to me that pregnancy could put pressure on Kian to give the federation serious thought. He wouldn’t dismiss it out of hand.”
What Rufsur hadn’t said in his emotional speech was that he loved her. Not that it would have made a difference, but shouldn’t that come before talking about raising children together?
Except, she hadn’t told him that she loved him either, and the same kind of thoughts had been swirling through her head as well.
In a way, it made sense. She would have welcomed a pregnancy even from a random hookup with a human, and Rufsur had never even dreamt about the possibility of fathering an immortal child before the clan and his people had sat down to the negotiation table.
For her and Rufsur, the decision to have a kid together seemed easier than falling in love or admitting that they already had.
Their relationship was too new, too fresh for that, and yet she felt as if she knew Rufsur better than any of her clan family, and she’d known many of them all of her life.
Nevertheless, Edna wasn’t ready to say the words.
She wasn’t a teenager who acted on impulse and rushed head on into things that would impact the rest of her life. She needed time for her feelings to stop running all over the place and settle down.
Rufsur sighed. “I told you that you wouldn’t like it.”
“It’s not that I dismiss the idea, but I would never employ a tactic like that just to put pressure on Kian. Besides, you are talking as if we are a forgone conclusion.” She smiled, trying to lighten the mood. “I don’t remember hearing a marriage proposal.”
“We are immortals, and human customs don’t apply to us. But I would gladly go down on one knee and ask you to marry me, except I don’t have a ring.”
She huffed. “That was the suckiest proposal I have ever heard.”
He looked confused. “Are you being serious? Or are you teasing? A moment ago, you said that you weren’t ready to acknowledge your feelings for me because we don’t have a plan yet.”
The truth was that she’d gotten carried away, but it wasn’t Rufsur’s fault that her heart and her mind weren’t in alignment, and it wasn’t fair to give him confusing messages. It would be better if he believed that she’d been teasing.
“True, but then you started talking about children, and it all sounded so heavy, so I decided to tease you a little. I apologize if I hurt your feelings.”
47
Eleanor
After landing in Atlanta, Eleanor collected the suitcase from the baggage claim and reentered the terminal.
There was nothing for her in the city. She’d purchased a ticket on the first outgoing flight she could find a seat on, and her plan had been to check into a hotel and get some sleep. But after reading the journals, she knew where she needed to be.
The Bay Area.
Fortunately, she’d found a business class seat on a direct flight to San Francisco, which meant that she could spend the five hours semi-comfortably, and perhaps even get some sleep.
Not that it was likely. She was exhausted, but too hyped up to fall asleep.
With excitement coursing through her veins, she was ready to embark on a new adventure. It might be dangerous, and Eleanor wasn’t a big risk-taker, but she had a solid lead, and she was determined to pursue it.
Besides, just being who she was put her in danger, so she’d better ovary-up and do what she needed to do.
The government program had been a good place to discover more about others like her and learn what made them different, but since Roberts had kicked her out before she had learned anything valuable, Eleanor had no choice but to expand her search.
That mansion was home to paranormal talents, other people like her. Perhaps she could join them?
She wasn’t after membership in their exclusive club. Eleanor was a loner who didn’t trust people, normal or paranormal, but if they were after new members, that would be the easiest way in, and she could learn what she could from them.
The question was whether they would want a compeller on board. Her talent was the most feared, and for a good reason. Could she pretend to be only an immune? Would that be enough to grant her membership?
If she was subtle with her compulsion and used it sparingly, she might be able to get away with it. Once she’d exhausted that source of information, she could sell it to the Chinese, and maybe get into their program and learn what they knew.
She had the contact information of Simmons’s mole, and from the director’s notes, she’d learned that the guy’s only loyalty was to money. Basically, he was selling his government’s secrets to get rich, and not for any ideological reasons. Which meant that he would have no problem switching sides and buying information for them.
He was Eleanor’s type of guy, and she knew precisely how to handle him. A cut of the profits should do it.
The question was whether she would sell information only or follow Simmons’s idea and capture a few talents. If she had live samples, it would be easier to convince the buyer that she could deliver what she promised.
Simmons had been an idiot for keeping the information from her and not taking her along on the mission. She could have saved him the trouble and compelled the talents to come out without a fight. All she needed was to get in hearing distance of them. Hell, she could compel them to accompany her on a field trip, straight into the arms of the Chinese program.
At the thought, a vague memory tried to push itself into her conscious mind, something about a potential snag in her plan. But the threads were too elusive, and after a few moments of intense concentration, Eleanor gave up. She needed a clear mind for that, and right now she was running on adrenaline fumes. Perhaps it would be better to take a nap and wake up refreshed.