Urden, God of Desire Read Online Free PDF Page B

Dockport.”
    Melia snickered. “Did he? Tell him I had other matters to attend to more worthy of my station than speaking with lowly Tarafian officers.”
    The secretary snorted. “Of course.” She appeared to be filing data-cards, the tick-click of plastic hitting plastic familiar.
    “Well, is he going to answer my com, or do I have to stare at you?”
    “The Shiemir will be with you shortly,” she sputtered without bothering to look up.
    Tapping her fingers against the edge of her data-sharer, Melia realized what the secretary was doing. “You can’t trace the com. It’s blocked. So stop trying, and stop wasting my time.”
    The secretary frowned and stepped out of the camera’s view.
    Moments later, the Shiemir’s face filled the screen. His hair appeared damp, and dark circles hung beneath his magnificent hazel eyes. His shirt wasn’t buttoned, the collar half open and revealing a nest of dark hairs across his skin.
    Heat ran through Melia’s body. Disheveled as Enrue was, he no longer seemed as unapproachable. She studied his chest. “Did I wake you?” she asked.
    He raked a hand through his hair and scowled. “It’s the middle of the night on this side of the planet. You know that well, I assume. Surely, they train you about time zones and etiquette when dealing with officials.”
    “Yes, Shiemir, they do. Perhaps you’ve forgotten the etiquette required when the Empire sends an emissary to meet with you. I don’t recall sending police being considered polite or a sign of fellowship.”
    “Fellowship? Is that what the Empire desires?” His mouth twisted in an angry frown. “Rest assured, little Cossia, that I intend no fellowship with the Empire.”
    “Our meeting—”
    “As I said before, tell the Empire to send someone of higher rank. I’ve no desire to meet with you.” He leaned forward and Melia thought he might disconnect. Instead, his eyes fluttered over the screen, and shought decide he was trying to glean a clue as to her whereabouts.
    “I will meet with you whether you desire it or not. You can count on that, Shiemir.” She forced a smile at him and reached to disconnect. Just before she did, he spoke.
    “Are you threatening me?”
    “I am merely doing my job. If you do not comply with the required meeting and agree to the proposition, I will be forced to report you to the authorities.”
    “I wish you would, little Cossia. That’s my point. I see no reason to meet with you or to agree to the meaningless promises of loyalty and peace to the Empire, which I’m certain, is all you have to offer me. In case you haven’t noticed, the Empire is corrupt. It’s run by corporations rather than people. They care nothing for rights, or freedom, or quality of life, only the furthering of the Empire by way of settlement, acquiring resources—legally or not. They don’t care who they destroy in the process.”
    His chest heaved, the dark hairs curled and enticing. She wished he was not so far away. He certainly spoke with conviction, but she’d seen many a politician and listened to the crap they liked to camouflage and dish up to the masses. “And you do care?”
    He raised his forefinger, wagging it at her. “I’m not the only one.”
    Melia gasped. She held the sharer closer to her face for emphasis. “Then you invite a quick death. You know that, don’t you, Enrue?”
    His hand fell away and his look of confusion flickered before being replaced by determination, the statuesque glare he wore in all the old photos. “We will see.” He punched at the screen, disconnecting their com.
    Melia snapped her sharer shut and tossed it to the other side of the bed. “Oh yes, we will see soon enough.” She curled up and pulled the blankets over her body, sighing at their clean scent. It would be a shame to leave Alga. Probably more difficult after the twin suns rose and she saw more of its natural beauty, but she knew what had to be done. “I wish you weren’t so stubborn,