Sedusing Xen

Xen called later, right after Vera stepped out of the shower covered only in a towel. Her wet hair hung loose around her shoulders, dripping slowly over her skin, and the towel sat low enough that her chest was almost fully exposed. When the hologram opened, Xen went still. His throat moved as he swallowed, and for a moment, all the controlled general energy he carried cracked right through the middle. He tried to keep his face calm, but his eyes betrayed him before his mouth could. Vera saw it immediately and almost smiled.

She was brushing her hair when she answered, moving slowly on purpose. Of course she did it on purpose. Their desire would flare, and the more they wanted her, the better for her. She was pregnant with their babies, and she had already done something shameless with three men at the same time, so being shy now was out of the question. If Xen wanted a chance, he could suffer a little while proving it. She tilted her head slightly as she dragged the brush through her wet hair, letting it fall over one shoulder, and watched his jaw tighten through the screen with quiet satisfaction. Men were so easy when they were trying to behave themselves.

Xen forced himself to look at her face, but it took effort. Real effort. The towel barely covered her, her skin was still damp from the shower, and with her belly round and full, she looked soft, warm, and far too tempting for a man who had spent the last week losing his mind over regret. Anger, desire, guilt, and need hit him all at once. He wanted to ask why she was answering him dressed like that. He wanted to demand she cover herself because he could barely think. He wanted to reach through the screen, pull her into his arms, and never let her stand alone again. Instead, he tightened his jaw and kept his voice steady because the last thing he wanted was to upset her and lose the small trust she had given him.

"The plan with Grandpa will happen tonight," Xen said, his voice almost cracking before he forced it under control. "Around four in the morning, we will arrive at the garbage sector. The live animals will only be available in two days, but I secured three chickens, a rooster, two goats, and a baby cow. I am still looking for more."

Vera's eyes lit up. "Can you maybe get couples, please?"

She could not slaughter the animals right away, not if she wanted eggs, milk, and future offspring. If they multiplied, that would solve more problems, and all the greens and scraps they discarded could be used for feed.

"Of course," Xen said. "I will keep looking. I also secured fresh meat for you, and I will bring it with me tomorrow."

"Babies, did you hear what your dad just said?" Vera said, her voice full of joy. "We are going to eat meat tomorrow."

"Thank you, Daddy," three tiny voices rang together.

Xen smiled despite himself. The children were amazing. He still could not see them, but their voices were so small, bright, and trusting that it made the guilt in his chest twist harder. They thanked him so easily. Vera did not. That difference hurt, and he knew he deserved it.

"How are you feeling?" Xen asked.

"I am a bit tired. The last two days were pretty busy," Vera said, giving him nothing else.

"What are you doing there?" Xen asked.

Vera kept her mouth shut, but the traitor babies cracked first because they heard her silence and apparently decided their father should know everything.

"Daddy, Mommy captured one hundred slaves, burned and froze a building on the spot, and killed at least sixty men who were lost to madness," one of the boys said proudly.

The more the child spoke, the more complicated Xen's face became. His woman was killing people, capturing bandits, burning buildings, freezing things, and doing all of it while pregnant. What the hell was Vera doing there? And who the hell was she really? The Vera he had dismissed for months had cried, begged, argued, and chased him.

For one second, Xen's anger flashed so hard his eyes went cold. Not anger at her, not exactly. Fear came first, sharp enough to become rage. She was pregnant. She was carrying his son. She was carrying three children. She should have been protected, fed, resting, and watched by doctors, not fighting bandits in a garbage sector with a machete and unborn children helping her burn enemies out of buildings. He wanted to snap. He wanted to order her to stop. He wanted to tear the law apart and go there right now. But then he saw her face on the hologram, calm and guarded, and swallowed every harsh word before it could leave his mouth.

"Vera," he said carefully, forcing his voice low instead of sharp. "I know I am in no position to ask you why, but are you hurt?"

He knew lecturing her would do him no good. The kids had powers, and when he heard about the freezing, he knew that was his son. The fire had to be Valerian's child. They could protect her, but that did not change the fact that Vera was pregnant and people fully lost to madness were seriously dangerous. Sixty dead in one day was not a small number. Even Xen was not sure he could do that alone without preparation.

"I am fine," Vera finally said, then walked farther from the hologram.

Her long bare legs came fully into view, and because of her belly the towel barely covered her from behind when she turned. She reached for the cream on the shelf with one arm stretched just far enough to make the towel shift, moving like she had genuinely forgotten the hologram was still open. She had not forgotten. Xen's eyes dropped before he could stop them and his whole body went tight. She was torturing him deliberately, and the worst part was how well it was working.

"Okay," Xen said after confirming she was not injured. His voice came out rougher than before. "Can you please not do that again?"

Vera sat down and started applying cream to her legs, dragging her hands over her skin in slow strokes that made Xen's jaw clench so hard a muscle jumped in his cheek. She looked up at him through her lashes once, just once, then went back to what she was doing like he was not fighting a losing battle on the other side of the screen.

"Can't do that," Vera said. "I want the garbage sector to belong to me. Plus, the bandits are pretty much free labor. I do not need to pay them."

Xen's face changed. She went to bandits. She was completely crazy. Not reckless in the simple way. Ambitious, dangerous, and willing to use whatever the land gave her. His mind started moving immediately. He needed the lawsuit recalled faster. He needed a legal route. He needed someone physically there with enough combat skill to keep her alive until he could reach her himself. His fingers moved off-screen, sending messages to his lawyers while he kept his eyes on Vera because if he looked away she might hang up, and if he looked too closely he might lose his mind for another reason entirely.