She wanted him to stay.

Like so many before her, Zeke could see it in her eyes. She wanted him to stay.

But he wasn’t the staying kind. He hadn’t been built for a committed relationship. No, his job was to spread his genetic material far and wide to help repopulate all the human worlds. Not just hers. And not just with her offspring.

Still, he felt a pang each time he left a new lover. He knew these women weren’t bred to the idea they would never have a permanent—or even semi-permanent—mate. That fate had been thrust upon them by the alien bio-weapon as it decimated humanity, selectively killing all the males and not a few females as well.

Zeke and his brothers, by contrast, had been created after the cataclysm, in a laboratory. He’d known since his first moments of consciousness what his life’s goal would be. He didn’t complain. He didn’t rail against fate the way some of the women he’d been with over the years did. He accepted what came his way, and up until just recently, he’d been content.

But the look in her eyes—like so many before—started to weigh on his soul.

“Do you have to go today? Stay just one more day, Ezekiel.” Her luminous blue eyes tempted him, and made him inexplicably sad.

“You know I can’t stay.”

Her sigh could have shifted mountains. “I know. It’s just—”

Zeke reached down to where she sat on the side of the rumpled bed, kissing the crown of her head affectionately. “It can’t be any different, though we all wish it were.”

Strong little hands reached around his waist, tugging him in for a fierce hug as her cheek rubbed against his abdomen, but oddly, he felt no sexual stir. Only a vague sense of longing and a warm sort of affection touched him. He dropped down and pulled her into a full-out hug, feeling the wetness of tears against his neck as she clung to him.

Sometimes all he could do was hold them. If he had a heart, it would have broken at her tiny, stifled sobs. After some time, she quieted as he rocked her in his arms, letting her regain her balance little by little.

“Will I ever see you again?” she asked as she finally pulled back from his embrace.

Zeke shrugged. He had to be honest, but he wasn’t a cruel man.

“That’s in the hands of fate, sweetheart.” He tucked a stray strand of wheat gold hair behind her ear. She really was the prettiest little thing. Their son would be a handsome man. Zeke wondered if he’d have his mother’s blonde hair or her cute, upturned nose.

Slowly his hand shifted to her abdomen, where he knew their baby was just starting to grow. Zeke had fathered hundreds, maybe thousands of children in his years of service to humanity, but just lately, he was beginning to feel... things. He was starting to yearn for something his early training didn’t prepare him for. He wanted to be a father, not just in the biological sense, but in the way of the old storycubes he’d seen from beforetimes. He wanted to watch his children grow and mature and influence their path.

Though what influence a Risker could be, he had no idea. Chances are it was better he didn’t know any of his children. With his nature, he wasn’t sure he’d be alive long enough to make a difference in their lives. He’d been programmed on the genetic level to take risks—calculated risks, but still risks any normal person would find too outlandish to even try. So far, it had served him well, but Zeke knew the odds. He’d been extremely lucky. Perhaps someday, his luck would run out.

“Zeke, I want you to know,” she hiccupped a little, but firmed her spine and faced him with serious blue eyes. “You’re very special to me. Not just because of this.” Her little hand covered his over her tummy. “If things were different...”

“If things were different,” he picked up the thread, knowing instinctively what she needed to hear, “wild horses couldn’t tear me away. You’re a beautiful woman, inside and out, sweetheart.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead, glad when she smiled. Rubbing her belly, he smiled down at her. “Raise our boy to be strong, and respect his mama.”

She laughed, the wonder of her pregnancy filling her eyes. He knew it would be all right then. She had a new focus. She would forget about him easily enough now that she had his baby to worry over. It had happened before. Many times.

“If he’s anything like you, he’ll be a blessing.”

“Or maybe a curse,” he couldn’t help but add with a chuckle. He winked, liking the answering laughter in her expression. “Some of my Risker traits will undoubtedly pass on. You’ll have your hands full in the beginning while he’s learning his way in the world.”

She surprised him by reaching up to peck his cheek. “I’ll enjoy every moment of it. I know I will.”

“You’ll be a good mother.”

He patted her once more and stepped away, reaching for the duffle at the foot of her bed. He had a mission to start for his brother Michael. Mapping uncharted space wasn’t the most exciting thing in the universe, but it needed to be done. Jit pirates were a concern, and Zeke almost relished the idea of running into a few while he tooled around by himself out in the void of space.

Once again that strange longing filled him. He wanted... something. A woman, a family, a place to call home. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was he craved, but it had to be out there. Somewhere.

“I’ll miss you, Ezekiel.”

Zeke looked back at the beautiful girl as he opened the door to her quarters. She really was the prettiest little thing.

Too bad he couldn’t even remember her name.