Dark Abyss by Kaitlyn O'Connor (top fiction books of all time txt) 📗

The introduction caught her attention and Anna turned to meet a coldly assessing gaze. To say that Miles Cavendish wasn’t what she’d expected would’ve been an understatement. If she’d had time to consider it at all—which she hadn’t—she would’ve concluded that no one could attain such wealth without also attaining a great age. The man studying her with the coldest blue eyes she’d ever seen didn’t look to be much more than middle aged, if that.

She discovered it was hard to actually pinpoint his age. He was fair, his hair lighter even than her own ash blond, but it was definitely blond and not gray. His face, surprisingly handsome, looked mature but certainly not old.

His smile transformed his face from cold to intimate. “Doctor Blake. I’ve heard a great deal about you. What a pleasure to meet you at last!”

Anna felt her face reddening. “Nothing bad, I hope,” she muttered.

He threw back his head and laughed as if she’d said something extremely witty, drawing far more attention than she liked—which was none!

“Nothing bad at all, I assure you!” He glanced at Paul. “Do you mind if I steal her away for a bit?”

Paul bowed. “I’ll just help myself to the refreshments.”

Tucking her hand in the crook of his arm, Cavendish began to stroll through the room with her, pausing to introduce her to people as they progressed. It did nothing to calm Anna’s nerves. For someone accustomed to spending most of their time complaining to plants, the crowd seemed suffocating. She smiled and nodded until her face hurt, wishing she could escape. Eventually, they reached the refreshment table, however, and that diverted her.

Her stomach was tied into so many knots she wasn’t certain she could eat without choking, but the heavily laden table of food was beguiling. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen so much bounty. It was almost obscene considering half the world was on starvation!

Make that was obscene, not almost!

Cavendish released his grip on her hand and picked up a plate. “What tempts you?”

“Everything,” Anna said without thinking.

He laughed again and Anna felt her face redden. “A little of everything then?”

“Oh god no! I couldn’t possibly …. Some of that, though, and maybe a little of that.”

“You’ve a good appetite,” he commented after a few moments.

Anna shot a look at him and then the plate he was holding and blushed. “Uh … I missed lunch.”

Chuckling, he picked up a glass of wine and escorted her out onto the balcony, where she discovered to her relief, there were only a few guests sitting at the tables set up there. Excusing himself, he turned to the buffet to fix his own plate.

Anna stared at the mound of food in front of her, torn between embarrassment, hunger, and nausea. As wonderful as everything looked and smelled, there was something vaguely disgusting about the sheer abundance of it.

And she was still tempted to dig in and see how much she could manage to put away. It took an effort to sit politely and simply drool over the food while she waited for her host.

He settled across from her. “So … tell me … how goes the research?”

Anna felt her appetite take a nosedive. “It’s coming along very promisingly,” she lied and then frowned. “Paul mentioned my research?”

He seemed to hesitate. “Let’s just say I know a little about it—genetic enhancement of plants, correct?”

Anna struggled. It wasn’t a deep dark secret by any stretch of the imagination, but she didn’t particularly want to elaborate. “Something like that.”

He grimaced. “All things considered, it seems like the way to go.”

Inwardly, Anna shrugged. “Yes, all things considered. They’ve made great leaps in food production in a lot of areas, but not nearly enough to feed everyone.”

He frowned. “And yet, I got the impression that you didn’t approve of tampering with genetics?”

Anna blinked at him, trying to assimilate the comment.

“On people.”

“Oh! No, definitely not. I don’t see that as the answer at all! That’s playing god!

And, when all is said and done, if you alter the human race, we aren’t human anymore and we’ve already lost the battle for survival.”

“My sentiments exactly,” he murmured approvingly. “In fact, I can safely say that everyone here shares your view.”

“Really?” Anna asked disbelievingly. “Oh! That’s right. Paul said something about the organization you started—Humans for Humanity. That’s the goal of the organization? To preserve pure human genetics?”

“Ummm,” he said. “We’ve been lobbying against tampering with human genetics for years—not with a great deal of success.”

She could relate to that! “Well, I don’t see changing humans as the answer to the problems we’re facing! I mean, just because we can adapt humans to conditions they might not otherwise be able to tolerate doesn’t mean we should! What we need is enough food to feed everyone, not to turn people into … well, for lack of a less offensive term, freaks. People have enough trouble fitting in, socially, without setting them apart from everyone else physically.”

“Here! Here!” he agreed, smiling at her. “Research like yours is the answer we need.”

Anna felt the momentary lift her spirits had taken take a downturn. “Hopefully, it will eventually.”

“Tell me a little about yourself,” he invited.

“There’s not really much to tell, unfortunately,” Anna said wryly. She discovered that he was very good at drawing her out, however, leading her from one thing to another with intuitive questions and comments until she’d told him things about herself that she’d never told anyone else.

“I couldn’t help but notice you haven’t mentioned your