Joanna Wylde: Serendipity

Sarai grew quiet, allowing his words to sink in. She hadn't realized until that second that somewhere, deep inside her heart, she had allowed herself to hope things could work out between them. His words cut through her like a knife, severing that hope. It hurt. She kept her face impassive, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of knowing he fooled her.

She was about as far from being Saurellian as a woman could be.

"I see," she said casually. "So what happens to all of you who don't have a lifemate?"

"Well," he said. "Most of us become soldiers. During peacetime, we tended to hire ourselves out as mercenaries to different nobles throughout the empire. Of course, now that the Saurellian Federation is at war with the empire, we've all come back. None of us would consider fighting against our own people."

"Wait a second," Sarai asked, holding up a hand. "Seth took Calla away from here claiming they were going to be married on Saurellia. How is that possible? Was the bastard lying to her?"

"Oh, no," Jax said quickly. "You didn't let me finish. Just in the past year or so, we've discovered that more and more Saurellian men are finding lifemates outside of Saurellia.

They've discovered that a large group of people within the empire actually have Saurellian DNA. Nobody knows quite why, but it's happening. Perhaps the Goddess has a new plan for us, but that's something for the priestesses to figure out. All I care about is that I've found you. You're my life mate, Sarai."

"How can you say that?" she asked, gaping at him in surprise. "You hardly know me!

We only met two weeks ago. That's ridiculous."

"Sarai, a Saurellian man knows his lifemate when he meets her," Jax said, smiling gently. "They don't always know right away, but usually pretty quickly. I knew the instant I saw you. You're mine, Sarai, and I'm yours. The Goddess created us for each other."

"I don't believe that for one second," she said, anger welling up in her. He was lying to her. "I don't know what you're up to, but I don't want to play your twisted little game, Jax.

You have no right to just come in here and play with our emotions like this. You saw my daughter—she's afraid that you're going to die because you're a soldier. You can't tell me you plan to just give up your whole life and stay here with us, because I know that's not true."

"Sarai, it is true," Jax said. "You are my lifemate. No Saurellian man would leave his lifemate to serve as a soldier, not unless her life was in danger. And your life is not in danger; you and your family are safe. I'll protect you."

"Okay, suppose what you say is true," Sarai said, thinking desperately. "Why would I be your lifemate? I'm a Pilgrim; we don't mix with people from the empire. How would I have this 'DNA' stuff that you're talking about?"

"Well, everyone has DNA," Jax replied quietly. Sarai blushed, realizing this was probably another piece of common knowledge she'd never learned. Her lack of education was so embarrassing some times…

"But not everyone has Saurellian DNA, right?" she asked quickly, trying to cover her ignorance. "How would I have Saurellian DNA?"

"I have no idea," Jax said. She looked at him, startled. "No one has any idea. As far as we knew, our gene pool had never been mixed. But they've found it in imperial slaves. Why not Pilgrims?"

"None of this makes sense to me," she said finally. "I don't understand all these thing you're telling me. But I do understand one thing. You don't have the right to come in here and tell me what to do. I don't have to be your lifemate if I don't want to."

"There's nothing you can do to stop it, Sarai," Jax said. "The Goddess made us for each other. We can't help that. By Saurellian law, we're already married."

"What?" Sarai stood abruptly, sliding the bench back across the floor with a screeching sound. "I'm not married to you! I'm not married to anyone, never again. Being married was the worst thing that ever happened to me. I won't go back to that."

Jax stood too, and leaned his face down close to hers.

"All I meant was that according to Saurellian law, a mated pair is considered married as soon as they first have sex," he said in low tones. "The marriage is usually confirmed at the temple after the birth of their first child."

"Child?" Sarai replied, her voice growing louder. "What the hell are you talking about?

I already have two children, there's no way I'm going to have another one. It's all I can to do take care of Mali and Able. I may be ignorant, but I'm not stupid. One of the first things I did after I got away from Calvin was get a birth control implant. I'm not taking any chances, and I don't owe you a damn thing. Like I'm going to go through another pregnancy? I don't think so."

"Why the hell would you do that?" Jax asked harshly. "Do you have any idea how hard it is for a man of my people to find a woman he can mate with? I've been praying to the Goddess this entire time that you were already pregnant. Are you telling me this is just about sex to you?"

"Of course it's just about sex!" she screeched. "We had a deal. You were going to stay three weeks, and then you're leaving. I realized we could have some fun during that time, but nothing more. Do you understand me, Jax? This is only about sex. I don't need or want a husband, and I never will. You might as well get used to the idea, because I'm not changing my mind. We have no future together. Nothing. I don't even like you. I just like fucking you."

Jax just looked at her, saying nothing. Then he stood so quickly the bench tipped over behind him as he stomped out of the room. The door slammed behind him, and Sarai sat down heavily. Her heart was racing, and she felt hot. She couldn't believe she'd yelled at him like that. What would Calvin have done to her if she'd raised her voice to him? She couldn't even begin to imagine…

I don't even like you. I just like fucking you.

Jax took a long pull on his drink, trying not to let the words play themselves over and over in his head. He couldn't believe she'd said that; couldn't believe she meant it. She cared about him. He knew it—it was in every caress she gave him, all the little things she did for him.

If she was just using him for sex, why did she take the time to cook his favorite meals?

Why did she wait up for him at night, take him into her arms and hold him even when they didn't fuck as she so crudely put it? Just holding her, standing next to her was the most beautiful thing he'd ever experienced in his life. She made him happy, content, for the first time. There was no way he believed what she'd said.

I just like fucking you.

Bitch. She was trying to hurt him; he realized that. And she had done a damn good job of it. What had he done to deserve this kind of treatment? He'd been kind and caring, he adored her children. He would give anything to make her happy, and all she seemed to want to give in return was her body. And even that was on a limited basis. He couldn't kiss her in public; touch her where the children could see them.

She wouldn't even let him move into her room, insisting that he keep his own even though he'd told her to rent it out a hundred times. A clanking noise caught his attention.

The bartender, a pretty woman in her early twenties, stood before him, polishing a glass.

"Want another drink, handsome?" she said, giving him a broad smile. Her look was appraising, an open invitation. He squinted at her, trying to focus on her face. But all he could see were her large, impressive breasts. Something was on them, a nametag. Giselle.

She gave a throaty laugh and leaned forward on her elbows, giving him a better view. He realized he could have her if he wanted her, and she'd probably be a hell of a lot more open to him than Sarai.