The Space Merchants of Arachne

by Wendie Nordgren

  “Princess Teagan, I am an excellent soldier and tactician. However, I am an incompetent with romance.”

  “I’m not romantic either. I really liked the steaks, though.”

  He laughed softly and glanced at me. “I really liked the cake.”

  “Thank you.”

  He grew still and his nervous agitation soothed my own nerves. “Rather than dragging this out, Princess Teagan, will you agree to be my wife?”

  My pulse hammered in my throat. I looked into the dark eyes of the blonde Parvac giant next to me. All of the time I had had to think, and the rational discussions to which I had listened, hadn’t fully prepared me for this moment. Marrying Nico would please my father, the Valens, and the Cassians, along with just about everyone else in the Parvac Empire. Whether or not I had accepted it, I was Parvac. “Yes, Nico.”

  “May I show you my marriage offer?” He asked nervously.

  “Yes.” Nico handed me a small vid-screen. I began scrolling through it. I looked up at him. “How many chapters is this?” He smiled. “Did Papa and Yukihyo approve of this?” Nico scrolled to the end of the contract and showed me their palm scans attesting to their approval of the agreement. I scrolled to the place reserved for my palm and pressed my hand against the screen. Nico seemed completely shocked.

  “You didn’t read it.”

  “Papa and Yukihyo approved your contract. Papa rules an empire and Yukihyo is a skilled merchant. I trust them and their opinions.” Nico pressed his palm down as well. His expression was both disbelieving and exuberant.

  “You are my wife. Mine. I can’t believe my good fortune. Thank you. I will not disappoint you.” Nico tapped at the vid-screen. Nervously, I held out my hand to him and slowly stood. “Princess, where do you wish to go?”

  “I thought your bedroom would be best.”

  Nico put my hand on his arm and walked with me to the lift. His room was on the second floor and in the suite that connected to mine and Yukihyo’s. It was decorated in much the same way. I looked around. Nico hadn’t closed the door. He looked confused. “Nico, I would prefer for the door to be closed.” He closed it. He stood with his hands behind his back. Now, I was confused. “We are married, right?”

  “Yes, Princess.”

  “So, like Yukihyo, you are my husband?”

  “Yes, Princess.”

  “Um, aren’t we supposed to consummate our marriage?” Nico stared at me. I blushed and put my hands over my stomach. “If you want to wait, I understand.” Nico lowered his head and kissed me with a passion that had been suppressed in our other kisses. He picked me up and carried me to his bed. I slipped out of my shoes. Nico tore out of his shirt and pants. Muscles rippled throughout his arms and torso. He helped me out of my dress and pulled back his blankets for me. Then, he removed the rest of my garments. Nico felt my breasts and covered my lips with his. His hand came around my back and gently lowered me to the pillows. His mouth moved to my breasts. Then, he placed gentle kisses on my stomach. Nico spread my legs and began kissing me there. “Nico! What are you doing?” I gasped. He moved his tongue against me. I moaned and squirmed. I was unable to escape. I felt his tongue go inside of me, and I whimpered. He moved his tongue against me in spirals, and I shattered. I cried out. Nico moved back up my body. My legs trembled. I felt him begin to push himself inside of me. He groaned. He held himself up from me with his arms. His eyes were dark, and I watched his face as he slowly filled me.

  “I’m afraid to enter you completely because of the baby. Tell me if you feel any discomfort, and I will stop.” His voice was thick.

  “Okay,” I responded in a soft whisper. He moved deeper. I shuddered. He froze.

  “Did I hurt you?”

  “No, touch me there again, please.” He did at least thirty times. I moaned and arched from the bed. I cried out his name as I shattered over and over. Nico seemed mesmerized by my breasts as he moved inside of me. Eventually, he found his release. He squeezed his eyes shut. I could feel him as he emptied himself inside of me. He moved himself deeper, groaned, and shuddered. Nico kissed my breasts and held himself still until his body took itself from mine. He laid on his side next to me and covered me with the blankets.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Yes, I am very well. Thank you.” Nico caressed my breasts with his fingers.

  “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, and you are mine.” Nico’s hands roamed all over me from my ears to my toes. He grew hard again. “Forgive me, Princess.” I laughed and pushed him to his back. I lowered myself onto him and rode him slowly. I could tell he wanted to throw me to my back and find his release. However, he wouldn’t risk hurting me. The blonde giant was at my mercy. He strained and struggled, but kept himself still. I concentrated on finding my own release. I cried out and slumped against him. Nico braced a hand against my back and lowered me to the mattress. He moved in fast shallow strokes that caused the placed where he had kissed me to begin to tingle. An amazing sensation moved through me that made my toes curl and pulled a deep moan from me. My muscles clamped around him as he emptied himself again. He laid next to me on his side and rested his hand over the baby. I slept.

  When I woke several hours later, Nico still watched me. Neema began to kick. Nico watched the little movements of my stomach. “Is it okay if we bathe and get something to eat?”

  “Yes, anything you want.” He got up and walked to his bathroom. I heard water begin to fill the tub. I worried about Yukihyo and how to balance two husbands. Nico returned and held his hand out to help me from the bed. He kept a hold on me until I was sitting in the warm water. He placed towels near me and bowed. I giggled.

  “Seriously, you’re still going to be formal with me after everything we just did with each other?” He grinned. “Aren’t you getting in?”

  “You will allow it?” I shrugged. The water level rose as he sat. I washed my hair and wrapped it in a towel. He washed my back and arms with his hands. Water droplets trickled from his hands, and the logs in the fireplace crackled.

  Feeling self-conscious, I asked, “Are you done?”

  “Yes, Teagan.” He helped me out and wrapped a towel around me. I dried my hair and braided it. “I hoped one day you would allow me to make love to you, but I thought it would be years from now.”

  “I don’t wish to mistreat you or be a wife to you in name only, Nico. I don’t know how, but I hope we can find a way to be a family. After what I had heard of Parvac’s expectations for my behavior, I’m grateful you are allowing me my freedom. It would have been cruel of me to marry you and then leave you for three months to have Neema. Now, I hope you will understand that I intend to show to you the same kindness and respect that you have shown to me. Also, it pleases me that you are cordial to Yukihyo. How you treat him is how you treat me, and how he treats you is how he treats me from now on.” I went to my room for clean clothes and added a sweater.

  Downstairs, Nico sat me on a couch and covered me with a blanket. He brought me a cup of coffee and fed Thunderdrop. After he ate, Thunderdrop cuddled with me. I sipped at the coffee. Mrs. Cassian nervously entered the room. Nico bestowed a magnificent smile upon her. “Mother, the Princess Teagan has become my wife.”

  “Nico, congratulations! Princess, I am honored to welcome you into our family.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Cassian. I am honored that Nico desired to have me as his wife. I will do my best to make him happy.”

  The men who worked in Nico’s home began to return from hiding, and his chef cooked for us. I tried to eat like a princess, but felt like I hadn’t eaten in days. Phillip ventured into the living room. I was terrified to look at him. Even though Yukihyo had sanctioned this marriage, I still felt guilty. I was on the couch with my feet up, a pillow under my knees, and a blanket covering me. I knew I blushed furiously. “How are you feeling, Cupcake?”

  I cleared my throat. “Fine.”

  “Any discomfort or cramping?”

  “No.”

&nbs
p; “Okay, I’m here if you need me.” I nodded. Thunderdrop had sprawled over my belly. Mrs. Cassian had darted off to call Grandmother and all of her friends. I began to relax and watched the trees through the windows to either side of the fireplace.

  “Do you enjoy the view, Teagan?”

  “Yes, it’s almost like my favorite view at Simon’s house. I love the stillness, the trees, and the fire.”

  “I gave this house and property to you as a gift in our marriage agreement.” I looked at him in shock. “If you decide to live here, I will move my things out if you wish.”

  “No, I don’t want you to leave.”

  “You don’t?”

  “No, why would I want you to leave your home?”

  “Well, it is your home now.”

  “How about we share it, and you continue to have your mother and brothers over whenever they like? So, I can use your kitchen anytime I want?”

  “Yes, it is yours.”

  “In that case, when you are on Parvac, please feel welcome to stay in my wing at the Palace whenever you wish.”

  “Princess, I am deeply honored.” Nico crouched down beside me. I looked into his dark eyes. He caressed my face with his fingertips and kissed me. I moved my hand across his shoulder to the back of his neck. I traced my fingers along the precise line of his military haircut. I had married a Parvac general. Nico had been a Parvac soldier since he was a teenager. At nineteen I was still technically a teenager. I blushed.

  “How old are you?”

  “I am thirty-nine.”

  “Oh.”

  “I have a gift for you.” Nico stood and walked to his office. He returned with a leather box, crouched back down beside me, and removed the lid. The necklace inside dripped with diamonds. They formed a circle, but increased down to a point in the front. The lowest point held a teardrop shaped diamond that fell between my breasts. The other diamonds that comprised the necklace were square, round, and rectangular.

  “Nico, it’s stunning. This is too much.”

  “Nothing is good enough for you. Feeling you around me was the single most spectacular event of my existence.” Nico seemed as though he were consumed by need. He looked at me as though he worshipped me.

  “Do you want to go upstairs and do it again?”

  “Yes. Are you serious?”

  “I find the way you are looking at me to be stimulating.” Nico waited while Thunderdrop climbed to the back of the couch, picked me up, and carried me back to his bedroom. I kept the necklace on.

  All of the tension had left Nico Cassian. He laid beside me and seemed made of putty. I felt his long strong arms and chest. I moved my fingers through the thick dark hair on his lower stomach. I ran a finger down the length of his manly appendage. “You didn’t completely enter me. Did you?”

  “No, I won’t risk hurting you or your child.” My attention made him rigid, and I continued to touch him. I wrapped my hand around him and squeezed. I could see his veins and traced them. Nico pushed me carefully to my side, lifted me leg, and entered me. I gasped. Nico found me with his fingers while he moved within me.

  “Nico!” Pleasure like I had never felt slammed through me. He moved easily through my slickness. It took longer for him to find his release. I felt deliciously sore. He pulled himself from me and pressed his chest to my back. I could feel the hairs of his stomach against my lower back. Nico kissed my shoulder and neck.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Guilty.”

  “Why?” He cupped my breast in his hand.

  “I didn’t expect to enjoy being with you so much. I very much like the way you feel.”

  “Why should that make you feel guilty?”

  “I’m married to Yukihyo.”

  “You are married to me.”

  “Yukihyo picked up the last man who thought about kissing me and threw him into a wall breaking his skull. I’ve made love to you four times today.”

  “You fear his reaction?”

  “No, I fear hurting him.” Nico moved his thumb over my nipple.

  “You don’t worry he will break my skull?”

  “No, you are a giant and have been a soldier for what twenty years?”

  “A little longer than that. I attended a military secondary school.”

  “You’ve been a soldier longer than I’ve been alive. I’m sure you can take care of yourself in a fight. I detest fighting, arguments, and yelling. I got enough of that on Earth. I want a peaceful family.”

  “I will do my best to provide you with everything you want. I would like to give you a gift. Name anything and it is yours.”

  “Already today you have given me this house and this gorgeous necklace. That’s plenty.”

  “No, Princess. You have even admitted that you have made love to me four times today. That is more than I expected for the next five years.”

  “That’s your fault, Nico. If you weren’t so very talented at it, I wouldn’t keep craving you. However, I can’t possibly crave you anymore today. I am far too tired. Please, don’t tempt me.” We cleaned up again, and he carried me through the different rooms of his house. Sadly, there was no pool.

  Nico returned me to the couch with a cup of coffee and my vid-screen. I had three missed calls from my Grandmother. I blushed and called her. Uncle Kagan answered. “Niece, I hear congratulations are in order! We are all pleased to welcome the Cassians to our family. Are you satisfied with your new husband?”

  I felt my face turning bright red. “Uncle Kagan!”

  He laughed and laughed. “That was not what I meant, but your expression answers more than one question. I will tell mother you are well. They went to buy you wedding gifts.” He ended the call. I played with the simulation program. That night I slept with Nico in his bed on my side with him wrapped around me.

  Chapter Twenty

  The next morning Mrs. Cassian did my hair and dressed me in a white beaded dress and a long white coat. Nico, Phillip, Kaoti, Thunderdrop, and I were driven to Kane’s ship. I was more than relieved to find Yukihyo and Hiroshi in the Imperial quarters. I rushed to Yukihyo and pressed my face into his chest, terrified I had ruined his feelings for me. He held me and breathed in my hair. “Do not fear, lady wife. All is well between us,” he said in his deep monotone. I held tightly to him.

  “I love you, Yukihyo. I’m sorry.” I made his shirt damp with my tears. I breathed him in, and my throat ached. I knew if he left me, I would die of heartache.

  “I will never leave you. After we have time to adjust to this change, you will feel safe once again. However, I do wish to have a rather intense sparring match with my new co-husband which I hope you will not attend.”

  I rested my chin on his chest and looked up at him. “Okay.” He wiped at my tears.

  “First, I have gifts for my wife.” I followed Yukihyo into our quarters. Yukihyo presented me with three new rugs made from his kills.

  “These will be beautiful in the home daddy builds for us on our land. Won’t they, Neema?” Yukihyo had commissioned a pair of boots made for me from another of his kills. I sat on the bed, and he slipped them onto my feet. They felt like silk. “I love these. I could sleep in them. They feel so good.”

  “Yes, you should remember when you wear them that I am a strong, fierce hunter, and will provide for you and our child.” I wondered what our baby’s tiny little feet would look like in a pair of baby-sized boots and giggled. Yukihyo’s eyes turned pink and gold. He got onto the bed and pulled me against his chest. I wept again in relief. I couldn’t bear the thought of living without this man and hated anyone or anything that might destroy what we had. We held each other through lunch and only left each other’s arms when I had to visit the waste unit. Kane had taken us from Apellan’s surface. Yukihyo knew from my thoughts everything that had happened privately between Nico and me. When my stomach growled, Yukihyo walked me out to the dining room table and asked the chef to feed me. Yukihyo kissed my nose. “Nico, would you care to get some exercise?�
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  I looked down at my cup of tea and had a sip. Thunderdrop chirped and chittered to himself while he played with a transport.

  “Excellent idea, Yukihyo,” Nico said. Papa went with them. Thunderdrop and I were left with Kaoti.

  “At least Phillip took his medical bag along.”

  “Chirp.”

  It would take three days and two nights to complete the journey to Naxa. It took three hours for the men to return. Yukihyo and Nico each had nanite patches near their eyes and lips. They had gel bandages around their knuckles. I cried when I saw the damage they had done to each other. I ate half a jar of olives and a bowl of lemon ice cream. Hiroshi sat beside me on the couch and lifted my feet to his lap. I had removed my boots and coat earlier. He rubbed my feet and ankles. Yukihyo and Nico had gone to shower. “How bad was it?”

  “They were evenly matched. Nico is much more skilled than Gideon.” I cringed. “Yukihyo had no time to toy with him. They fought brutally until the referee ended the match as a tie. They bruised each other, but did nothing worse than make each other bleed. They have a rematch scheduled for tomorrow.” Papa chuckled.

  “What time is the fight tomorrow?”

  “After lunch,” Hiroshi answered.

  “I will attend.”

  “No, that is not wise,” Papa said.

  “Why?”

  “It will disturb you.”

  “No, it won’t.”

  “Seeing your husbands beating the blood out of each other will frighten you,” Papa said.

  “Watching Yukihyo fight has a different effect on me, Papa.” I winked at him and patted Neema. “Don’t tell them I plan to attend.”

  “Won’t Yukihyo know?” Papa asked. I shrugged.

  The next day I waited a few minutes and then had Kaoti escort me to my husbands’ match. The exercise deck was packed with officers and soldiers. They seemed surprised by my attendance. Two officers moved from the bench closest to the ring and offered it to me. I sat with my hand over Neema and a bored expression on my face. A nap would be so much more fun than this. I watched them punch, knee, and kick each other for an hour before the bell rang. They were both bleeding, and I had a miserable ache in my back from the bench. Yukihyo and Nico walked over to the rope nearest me.