The Genesis Project Read online

  “Miss Blackmore,” he acknowledged her as she bent to get inside the car.

  Xander followed her inside and Gen shifted closer to the other side to allow him room. He closed the distance between them leaving no space.

  “Help me understand something Xander.”

  “What’s there to understand?”

  His face was serious as he stared back at her. Their bodies close together, inside the car, making things more intimate. Blue eyes pierced hers and Gen found herself slowly swaying closer. It was dreamlike and surreal as she realized her lips were only a word away from touching his. All she had to do was speak and her bottom lip would stroke his. They stayed that way for what felt like forever. When she moved, Xander followed. She placed her hand on his chest to stay him and he froze. She needed to get her wits about her in order to get the words out. If he kissed her. She would be lost in his arms. Unable to recover from his form of persuasion.

  “After,” she swallowed, because it felt like her throat was closing. “After that day …um…the day that you kissed me, why did you stay away?” He had become distant, throwing her into a state of confusion that caused her chest to hurt.

  Xander smiled, the blue in his eyes darkened as he removed her hand from his chest and brought it to his lips. He looked up from beneath his lashes and smiled wider, showing his fangs.

  “I felt I’d rushed things,” he said sincerely. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable around me.”

  Too late, Gen thought to herself. Xander did make her feel uncomfortable, but not in a bad way.

  “Were you looking for my attentions Miss Blackmore?”

  How to answer that question and not sound needy?

  “I only…” she faltered. Her thoughts were muddled and the unmistakable scent that rose from Xander only clouded her mind further. She was unable to string a few words together and damn if his mouth wasn’t now close to hers once again. Somewhere between his question and her trying to find an adequate answer, he’d moved closer. One lift of her head and one nod from him would have them locked in heated bliss.

  “Miss Blackmore,” Xander whispered. His words caressed her lips, coaxed them open. Her entire body was plugged into the energy he was giving off. “We’re here.”

  Here, where? Her thoughts were so lost, she hadn’t realized the car had moved or that they arrived at her home. Ashamed, she backed away and reached for the door handle to the car. Xander’s hand was there. He intertwined their fingers and pressed a lingering kiss on the back of her neck just below her collar. She felt his fangs drag across her skin before she could pull away.

  “I’ll see you at the tasting. Don’t disappoint me.” He whispered against her skin.

  “Okay,” Gen pulled the latch to the door and this time he let her. She really didn’t want to go to the private tasting. What she truly wanted was to be tasted and Goddess help her she wanted to be tasted by Xander.

  Chapter 8

  Gen was relieved to see her father. He welcomed her with a huge bear hug, lifting her off her feet and half spinning her around. It made her laugh when he finally sat her on down. Her father was never over emotional.

  “My precious, it’s been too long.” Her father stood back and she knew he was inspecting her for any changes in appearance.

  “I’m fine father. I promise.”

  “I was worried. Adam came by and said you jumped with that philandering Xander Treegold.”

  “Adam came by?” That was a shock. Did he have to keep up the appearance of being cordial? It wasn’t like he wanted to jump with her anyway. He’d made no attempts to talk to her at academy, unless of course they were alone. Whatever game he was playing at, she didn’t want to play a part in it.

  “Yes, of course, he’s still here. Come and get settled.”

  Why would Adam be here? He didn’t have to stay and wait for her. Delivering the message to her father was more than enough.

  “Do we have enough water for a shower father?” Water was another rationed commodity on New Earth, and most times she used her stasis bed to take care of her biological needs. But as of late, things were out of the norm for her, and she felt a shower was warranted.

  “Yes, of course. Since you started the Academy, Chancellor Reynard has given us extra. Go and wash up. We’ll be here when you’re finished.”

  Gen went straight to her quarters and stripped out of her travelling clothes. She was happy to be home. Looked forward to the time her and her father would spend in the lab. She noticed her father looked vibrant. Stronger than when she left him. Maybe he was getting enough nourishment. Normally she would have to remind her father about his feeding times. Vaggo Blackmore never had time to eat unless Gen made sure of it.

  After her shower, Gen walked into her father’s sitting area where her father and Adam both stood at her arrival and sat back down, turning their attention to the vid screen. The feed had to do with the launch of Project Harvest. It was a project her father spearheaded for the Genetics Council.

  “I’m sure this made my father very happy, Dr. Blackmore.” Her father nodded without voicing his answer. He seemed quite happy with his accomplishments and Gen was happy too. Her father had worked real hard on helping find an answer to their races problems.

  “Father, I’m glad to see Project Harvest is ready for deployment. This will make for an excellent Luna celebration.

  “Yes, my dear it will. Come and sit, tell me about the Academy.” Vaggo reached out a hand and Gen reluctantly grabbed it. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk about the Academy. It was because Adam was there, staring at her, expectantly. As if he too wanted to know how she was getting on at the Academy. His eyes were glued to her the entire time. It made her feel jumpy, off center.

  “Why are you here?”

  Her father raised an eyebrow at her tone with Adam and Gen ignored it. She wanted to know why Adam had even bothered showing up to her home in the first place. She watched as he cleared his throat and prepared to answer her question.

  “I only wanted to make sure you got home safely,” was his reply. Home? Safely? As if she had anything to fear from Xander Treegold. He was dangerous to her body, but not in the way Adam obviously thought.

  “Why was my safety even an issue? I was with Xander. No harm would have come to me.”

  “I promised your father I would bring you home and I felt it was my responsibility to make sure that you made it home. Even if that meant coming here to see it for myself.” The words were laced with a scent she was becoming quite familiar with. At the Academy people lied to Gen all the time. Told her things that were simply not true. Adam was doing it now. There was another reason he was here.

  “I noticed you aren’t wearing you’re collar Gen.” Adam cleared his throat.

  She hadn’t put her collar back on after the shower. She was home and her father never made her wear them. Out of necessity she reached up and collared her throat with her hand. Adam followed the movement with his eyes. They were dilated and focused in on her fingers. Why was he acting so strange? The entire situation was making her nervous. His actions made him more predator than male. Almost animal like as his eyes tracked her.

  “A formality Adam. Gen has no need for a collar while at home. She has no need of such things. Period.” Vaggo squeezed Gens arm and she offered her father a smile.

  “Understood, sir.” Adam adjusted himself in the seat by shifting until he seemed comfortable. He appeared relaxed, but she could hear the rapid beating of his heart and accelerated breathing. Something was happening to him.

  “Genesis, my father extends an invitation to dinner.”

  “Why? I’m sure the Chancellor has other guests he’d like to entertain. Gen has work in the lab.” Her father interrupted.

  Gen relaxed when her father took charge of the conversation. There was no reason for her to go the Chancellor’s for dinner. But she also didn’t want to openly have her father reject the Chancellor’s request either. So she tried to make amends.<
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  “Maybe another time Adam,” Gen said by way of ending the conversation. She really wasn’t having dinner with Adam’s family. That would be too weird for even a person like her. Not many people got invited to dine with Chancellor Reynard. He was always entertaining other political figures from other verses. He wouldn’t have time for someone like her. Adam had to be making small talk, using filler words in order to fill the time he was there with her and her father. After long moments of silence, he stood and politely excused himself, promising to come by and call on her again. He was making his escape. He had no intention of stopping by. Her father stood with Adam and saw him to the door. Gen let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Now that she was home, she’d expected things to be less complicated. Not more so.

  Her father returned and they both agreed there was work that needed to be done in the lab. She greeted A.I when she entered and was greeted with a cheery, “Welcome back Genesis.” Gen smiled to herself and responded in kind. She washed her hands and walked over to where the subjects slumbered. Encased in clear liquid bubbles made out of acrylic, reinforced by an impenetrable barrier of cellophane. They were special tubes that were outside of the incubators that administered growth hormones as well as the cells needed to produce the subject’s blood and blood plasma. They were all in permanent stasis. No brain activity to give them life. Each subject had distinct characteristics. Some were males, others females. Biologically grown in her father’s laboratory then transferred to incubators where later, their blood could be farmed and then packaged to be given to Pars. The harvest room was dark and a nice mist cascaded over the incubators to keep the temperature at top condition for each subject. The amniotic fluid her father had perfected had to be at a constant twenty degrees, otherwise the bodies would deteriorate.

  She’d been grown as well, and although her outcome was different for the others, Gen felt a pain behind her chest. What if they could be given life and some sort of an agreement could be formed. If she were like them, she wouldn’t mind donating her blood once a month. That had been how it started in the beginning, before humans had become extinct. They’d donated their blood. Why couldn’t it be like that again? There were even some humans who enjoyed being fed from, and would go into a seclusion contract with a Par. She was sure there would be others. In her studies and from her father’s own mouth, he told her that some humans found it euphoric to be fed from. There had even been some matched unions out of the deal. Her father had been in such a union. But those questions had all been shot down by her father. The Federated Council would not allow humans to live among Pars on New Earth. Not now, not ever.

  As the hour drew late, Gen threw herself into her work in her father’s lab. Her previous questions forgotten, she began logging in the information that her father would need to present to the council. Project Harvest was being unveiled in only a day and tomorrow was Xander’s private tasting. She shouldn’t go, but wanted to for the curiosity of it all. She knew the rituals and the traditions of the tasting, knew that everyone wouldn’t participate, and she’d even seen a reenactment in a vid feed. But to see it in person would better suit her curiosity. Tastings had a way of being erotic. That much she knew from the books she’d read on the subject. Males and females would gather around, conversations would ensure they were a least a little compatible prior to the tasting. The males would present themselves to the females or other males if that was their particular liking. It was all very formal. Everyone would be in their finest suits and gowns. Spiced blood and mating induced drugs would be used in order to ensure the tastings success. What scared her most was the open showing of flesh. If you went to a tasting and you revealed your throat or a male revealed his wrists, it was an open invitation for all to taste. Everyone. There were private ceremonies, but those only happened with the elitist of their society. She’d once read somewhere there were mixings. These happened with the South and North joined together in order to keep from diluting the bloodline. Inbreeding wasn’t unheard of, but it was best to avoid. There were hundreds of families that lived on New Earth, but back when times had been particularly rough, matches were made regardless of a Pars lineage in order to ensure survival.

  A tasting would let the other know the complete lineage of their chosen partner. Their line of heritage was told through the blood. Not only their lineage but it would also let another know whether or not they were compatible. She wouldn’t be compatible with any of them. Her blood didn’t display a lineage, nor would it be a match for any male there in the room. Especially Xander. Her thoughts were colliding with her feelings and she knew what she should do. She shouldn’t go to the tasting. Two parts of her brain warred with the other. Something that never happened. Gen knew the rules, followed them closely, but she also knew this was her one and only chance to see a tasting live and in person. She wasn’t going to invite any male to taste her flesh. Xander promised that she could observe and nothing more if that was what she wanted.

  “Dr. Blackmore, I’ve ran the figures and I am now sure, Project Harvest will have a success rate of one hundred percent.” A.I. said releasing Gen from her thoughts.

  The lab was dark, with the exception of the recessed lighting overhead. Both Gen and her father turned and murmured their approvals to the computer. After she’d turned in her numbers to her father, she’d started working on an idea that had sprung to life while at the Academy. She wanted her nutrients to be less obvious. She didn’t want the others to know she had to inject herself. It made her stand out, and she was already hindered by her physical abnormalities. She wanted to be more socially acceptable to her classmates, even if it meant taking her nutrients another way.

  Maybe if she could inject herself with the proper enzymes her body could act as a filter breaking down the blood her body ingested and insured she only got the nutrients. She could at least feed in her feeding classes. If she could actually partake in feedings she’d fit in, have a chance at a semi-normal life.

  “Genesis, you’ve been quiet.”

  “Sorry father, is there something you need?”

  Gen turned from her work to stare at her father. Vaggo Blackmore was tall and looked as young as she did now. But her father didn’t always look so healthy. Once, his skin was pasty and paper thin, she’d seen pictures of him and his mate. But after her birth and his research, he didn’t look a day over thirty. His fangs were pearly white and rested against his bottom lip. There was a gleam in his eye now. He was more predator than man, and today she’d noticed more changes from him when he’d first greeted her on her return home. Apprehension coursed through her veins. He was staring at her and not just at her, but at her throat.

  “Nothing I can’t get for myself,” he hesitated and she could hear the frantic beats of his heart. “I need to eat. When I come back, we’ll talk some more, yes?”

  “Yes, father.”

  But he never returned.

  # # #

  The next morning, Gen woke to the sound of her vid screen alerting her to an incoming call. Who would be calling her and how did they get her site address? She flipped the vid screen to open to receive the call. It was Xander and he looked different, more relaxed and calm. His hair was unbraided and behind him was a woman was massaging his shoulders. He’s posture as usual was arrogant and Gen swore she could smell his fire through the screen.

  “Genesis Blackmore, do you know how hard it was to find your site address?”

  Yeah, she knew how hard it was because her father was unlisted. How Xander got the address she could only assume his father’s rank in the genetics council allowed for such information to be acquired so easily. The fingers massaging Xander’s shoulder stilled as the face of said hand came into view on the screen. It was Yasira and she was smiling as she came into view. Surprised didn’t begin to describe what Genesis was feeling. Raw, unchecked anger boiled beneath her skin. Heat rose to her cheeks and her eyes misted over with unshed tears. She wasn’t going to cry and she wasn’t going to show her
agitation. She knew Xander took advantage of females. Knew he had a reputation for being outlandish and crude. In your face one moment and out of it the next. Xander kissing her was another form of coercion. He was goading her into these emotions and she wasn’t going to let it get the best of her.

  “Yes I’m aware. Why are you calling?” Her voice felt blocked by the rage clogged in her throat. But she managed the words easy enough.

  “That’s easy. I’m making sure you show up tonight. Scion will be there promptly at sun down to escort you.”

  Well, Scion would be waiting for the rest of his life if she had anything to say about it. Did he really think she’d come now? When he has Yasira there,massaging his damn shoulders!

  “That’s not possible. I have other things I need to do here in my father’s lab. You have plenty of,” she eyed Yasira who was now caressing Xander’s shoulder. “Toys to keep you interested.”

  Gen could hear the hurt in her voice and hoped Xander was not able to detect her distress. A small part of her burned with envy at the familiarity that he and Yasira shared. He didn’t seem too interested in what Yasira was doing, nor did he seem annoyed. He was calm and unemotional about the entire ordeal. Was this all some game to him? Just because she was different didn’t mean she didn’t have feelings. She felt more than the average Par and not because she was more than the average, but because she took the time to identify each new feeling that burned through her. She knew she was emotionally immature for her age. That couldn’t be helped, but now that she’d experienced what these new feelings meant. She didn’t take them for granted. Even the ones she didn’t want to feel she cherished. Each feeling gave her knowledge, gave her strength, and reminded her on a daily basis that she was truly alive. How could Xander be so callous as to think he could kiss her one day and then have Yasira tend to him the next?