The Consort (Tellaran Series)

by Ariel MacArran

  Clearly Kinara and Aidar of the Az’anti, as well as Kyndan, already knew the story but Alari could scare believe it.

  “Were you not even a little . . .?” She could not think of a word that would encompass the act of a clan heiress sneaking off to take a slave as a mate.

  “Insane?” Tedah asked over his wine cup, drawing laughter from Lianna.

  “Did you not fear the clan leader would cast you out?” she asked Lianna.

  Lianna smiled but there was an echo of pain in her eyes. “To be parted from him would have been a worse fate.”

  “Still,” Aidar said. “Her Highness does well to think you mad for such.”

  “You married Kinara,” Tedah reminded.

  “I was clan leader then,” Aidar returned. “And faced no punishment.”

  “Beyond having me for a mate,” Kinara said, smiling.

  He took her hand, his dark eyes shining. “I would have no other.”

  “But was your mother not angry?” Alari asked.

  “Furious,” Lianna confided with a laugh. “She took me to Lashima’s temple and demanded the High Priestess unbind us.”

  “But no one is ever unbound!” Alari had heard of perhaps a handful of such happenings in the history of the Empire. “You cannot tell me High Priestess Celara considered it?”

  Lianna shook her head. “I cannot think it was ever a possibility but Her Eminence intervenes kindly when she can, I think. She took me into the inner sanctuary and asked me what I wished. I said that it did not matter if I were unbound or not. I would still be Tedah’s mate and he mine. She went to my mother and said that while she might have the power to undo our mating only Lashima could truly unbind a pair and clearly She had not made it so in my heart.” Lianna giggled. “I think it the only time my mother was ever left speechless.”

  “So her Eminence outright refused?” asked Alari. “What did your mother do?”

  Lianna shrugged. “What could my mother do then but welcome Tedah to our clan?”

  “And as graciously as you can imagine,” Tedah put in dryly.

  “My mother is very fond of you,” Lianna protested.

  “Your mother is fond of my engineering skills. I overhauled half her cargo vessels and upgraded the other half.”

  “And made her very fond of you.”

  “She even addresses me by name now.”

  “What did she call you before?” Kyndan asked then grinned. “Or don’t I want to know?”

  “‘My daughter’s mate,’” Tedah supplied.

  Kyndan raised an eyebrow. “That’s not so bad.”

  “Yeah, right. ‘Good morning, my daughter’s mate,’ ‘Will you take tea, my daughter’s mate’—really, try it for an hour.”

  Kyndan laughed. “Father tried to convince Fleet Security to drag Aidar away in tarasteel cuffs when he came to bring Kinara home.”

  “He did?” Tedah exclaimed. “Why?”

  “Because I wouldn’t let Father have the pulse rifle back,” Kyndan said. “Speaking of warm welcomes, Alari and I are going to the palace tomorrow. I’m probably not any more welcome there now but you won’t have to get permission for me to go this time,” he said to Kinara.

  One of the house guards came to the doorway, and Aidar gave the man a nod. “I must see to the patrols.” He put down his wine cup and stood. “Do you wish, Kyndan, I will find you a sword to carry tomorrow.”

  Kyndan gave him a thoughtful look. “I think I’ll stick with my blaster and be a Tellaran protector.”

  “Sechon will be there,” Alari said as Aidar left. “She has offered her support.”

  “I like her. The elder always been very kind to me.” Kinara took a sip of the spice tea Sechon had sent that afternoon for the princess’ stay. “And she sends thoughtful gifts.”

  “She has been my mother’s chief advisor as long as I can remember,” Alari said. “She offered to intervene on my behalf if ever I had need of it.”

  “Perhaps in the spirit of the festival Her Imperial Majesty will welcome you home,” Lianna said. Alari imagined that she often looked for the brightest of outcomes; the heiress of the Otan reminded her very much of Saria. “What do you think of the festival?” she asked Kyndan. “Tedah says Tellarans have a similar celebration.”

  “It is a bit like carnival on Rusco but this one hasn’t required me to do any dancing yet. You know?” Kyndan said at Alari’s questioning look. “Dancing?”

  “You are a dancer, Kyndan?” She had seen many performances by the Imperial dancers but they were reared to that art from childhood and devoted their lives to it. A First Daughter would never make a public dance performance but as a young girl she had lessons intended to make her appreciative of the Imperial dancers’ skill.

  “Actually I don’t think I’ve ever seen Az-kye couples dancing together like Tellarans do.” He stood suddenly. “I bet there’s enough room in here if we move some of this stuff out of the way. Help me out, Tedah.”

  The women stood and the two men lifted chairs and tables and pushed the couches aside.

  “Come on.” Kyndan offered his hand to her when they had cleared a large space in the room. “It’s all right,” he said, smiling at her hesitation. “I’m not that bad at it. Oh, wait a sec, I forgot to ask.” Kyndan looked to the Az’anti clan leader. “Do you have any music for this, Kinna?”

  “For slow dancing, I’m guessing?” Kinara asked.

  Alari looked between them. “Tellarans do fast dancing?”

  “Yeah, but we’re not going to be doing that,” Kyndan said. “This is easier for me to teach.”

  She gave a hasty nod. “I, too, think it best for us to start slowly.”

  He took her hand and her cheeks warmed when he drew her closer. “Slowly it is.”

  He placed her hand on his shoulder, put his hand on her waist and held her other hand with their elbows bent.

  “This is how we will dance?” Alari’s brow creased. “There is not room for us both to move do we stand so close.”

  “We move together and mostly you’ll go backwards. No,” he said when she turned her head. “You look at me.”

  “Do I look at you, Kyndan, I cannot see behind me.” She would not care to attempt this blindly. “I will not know where to step.”

  “No, I’ll be looking behind you.”

  “But I will not know where to step.”

  Kyndan gave a short laugh. “I’m really not explaining this very well, am I?”

  She tried not to let her disappointment show when he let her go.

  “Come here, Kinna,” he said as the music started playing. “Help me show her.”

  Kinara gave him a disbelieving look. “I’m not exactly at my most graceful,” she said resting a hand on her rounded belly for emphasis. “And it’s been a long while since I danced.”

  “You don’t have to win the carnival ball dance competition here. We just need to give Alari an idea of what it looks like. Come on,” he said, waving her forward. “You’re the only other one here who can dance.”

  “Hey, I can dance,” Tedah protested.

  “Tedah,” Kyndan threw over his shoulder, “for the last time, I’m not dancing with you.”

  Alari and Lianna gave a startled giggles but Kinna blew her breath out.

  “He might be a better choice,” she warned. “I’m going to have to stand so far away we might as well have a boloball between us.”

  “Does your mate dance so?” Alari asked curiously.

  “Yeah, we’re still working on that,” Kinara grumbled good-naturedly as she took up position with Kyndan. “It’s not something I want to try again without clearing all the breakables from the area.”

  Alari moved back to watch and to her surprise the two moved in tandem, Kyndan stepping forward while Kinara stepped back. They moved in time with the music and despite the clan leader’s concern she seemed, to Alari’s eyes, to glide effortlessly about the room.

  Alari had never seen anything like it. It looked strange. It l
ooked exotic.

  It looked fun.

  “You can do such, Tedah?” Lianna asked, surprised. “Why did you not tell me?”

  “Hey, I’m an Az-kye warrior now. Warriors aren’t big on dancing.”

  Kyndan stopped and Kinara’s face was flushed, tendrils of her hair sticking to her temples.

  “What to you think?” Kyndan asked Alari as he released Kinara. “Ready to try?”

  Nervous and excited, Alari took up her position with Kyndan.

  “Dancing,” Aidar said, stopping short in the doorway and looking very much as if he wished to flee the room. He sent a guarded glance at Kinara. “Are we to dance as well, my mate?”

  “I’d say you’re off the hook till after the baby comes.” Kinara sat then took up her jaha fan to wave at her face and lifted her fiery hair to cool her neck. “Five minutes and I feel like I’m sitting on top of a crystal manifold with a busted coolant unit.”

  “Okay, now,” Kyndan placed Alari’s hand on his broad shoulder and her hand held in his, his other at the curve of her waist again. “On the beat I step forward with my left foot and you step back with your right. We’ll just do that a couple times so you can get used to it and then we’ll add on, all right?”

  Alari wet her lips. “All right.”

  He got her to move her feet the right way till they were able to move together, their steps forming a square. It was unnerving at first to move backward without looking where she was going but Kyndan directed her so effortlessly, so confidently, she soon relaxed in his arms. Over the next hour he progressed to moving her around the room and then turns.

  As she got better he held her even closer. The two of them moving in rhythm together like this, while not lewd in the least, echoed the act of joining and she wondered if he would move with such smooth confidence inside her. The sudden longing for it made her face hot and embarrassed she cast about something to say.

  “Do all Tellarans do this?” she asked a little breathlessly as they swayed and turned to the music.

  “I don’t know about all but you’d be surprised how many formal dances, official functions, and such that a Fleet officer is expected to attend. My father sent me for lessons at the base social club so I wouldn’t embarrass myself. Gods, I hated it—a clumsy kid tripping over my big feet with a dance teacher four times my age. I can still hear my friends snickering.”

  “Were they not also clumsy?”

  “Oh, no danger,” he said cheerfully. “I snickered when it was their turn.”

  She suddenly worried that he thought her so inept. “I am grateful for your patience in teaching me.”

  “No, you’re good at this.” He smiled down at her. “You must be a natural.”

  She found herself looking at the full curve of his lip. She glanced away, startled to see that the others had left the room and she hadn’t even noticed them going.

  Kyndan followed her gaze. “I guess we scared them off,” he said with a laugh and stopped. “I thought we were doing pretty well.”

  “It was well done,” Alari agreed. “I very much like to dance with you, Kyndan.”

  His hand was still at her waist and hers on his shoulder, their hands still clasped. His smile faded, his hold softened, became warmer now.

  Her heart sped up, her gaze on his mouth again.

  But suddenly something changed between them. Kyndan let go and took a step back.

  “Well,” he said with a brightness that seemed forced. “That’s a starter lesson anyway.”

  She swallowed back her disappointment. “Thank you.”

  “Sure.” He glanced toward the garden doors; the moons had long since risen. “It’s actually getting pretty late. We should probably turn in if you want to make an early visit to the palace.”

  Alari waited in their bed for him, plucking at the bedclothes with her fingers. When Kyndan finally came from the bathing chamber, he wore only loose sleeping trousers. He took the time to extinguish the lights as he came and he avoided her gaze.

  Drawing the covers down he climbed in to bed. She could feel the warmth of him beside her, remembered how it felt to have him pull her against him in the temple district, remembered the tremble of hunger in his body as his mouth hovered over hers.

  After a long moment he met her eyes. “We should probably get some sleep.”

  Her throat tightened against disappointed tears.

  Kyndan hesitated then caught her chin to press a kiss so light and soft he barely brushed her mouth. “Good night, Alari.”

  Suddenly the frustration, the unfairness of it, was too much and her hands curled into fists.

  “Do not do such,” she said hoarsely.

  He pulled away instantly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

  “Do not treat me as if I am broken!” she said, her voice low and fierce. “Think you I am so despoiled by him?”

  “What?” He reared back. “Alari, I don’t think that at all. I just—”

  “I want to be like your other girls, Kyndan!” she cried, gripping the sheets. “I want you to see me the same! I want you to treat me the same as you did them—not as if I am damaged!”

  He shook his head. “That’s not what I was—”

  “I know you are thinking of that—of what he did!”

  “No! Actually I’ve been thinking of—well, Lashima.”

  She stopped short. “What?”

  “You know, how Ren’thar won over Lashima. Because he was so gentle and, uh—” His face colored. “Patient.”

  Alari’s brow furrowed. “I do not understand.”

  “The Thousand Nights of Tenderness.” He gave a frustrated gesture. “Well, gods, you’re Az-kye, Alari! I thought—I mean, I figured that’s what you’d want.”

  “You read The Thousand Nights?” She blinked at him. “To learn how to rouse me?”

  “Well, not all of it. It’s pretty long. After the Circle I asked Tedah to get me a copy but I didn’t have a lot of time so I kind of skimmed till”—he gave a sheepish half shrug—“I got to the good parts.”

  She searched his reddened face. “That is why you have not—?”

  Surprised, touched, and giddy with relief, Alari burst out laughing.

  He slumped back against the carved headboard, his color high. “Not exactly the ecstatic response I was going for.”

  “Oh, Kyndan,” she said, smiling and shaking her head. “You are so pleasing to me I cannot even speak to it!”

  Alari moved so she was on her knees facing him. She nipped her lip and studied him for a moment. His face was flushed, his blue eyes chagrined, his warm brown hair charmingly rumpled.

  Alari drew a deep breath and seized her courage, lightly brushing his full lower lip with her fingers. He blinked and she traced the scar he had earned for her then the line of his jaw, feeling the roughness of tiny stubble. She rested her fingers at the hollow of his throat for a moment before skimming the warm lightly furred skin of his chest.

  His eyes widened when her touch trailed lower still, the muscles of his stomach tightening under her fingers. She watched his breath quicken; he was fully roused now, tenting the soft fabric of his sleeping trousers. His mouth parted in a shaking breath as her hand ran over his hardened length.

  Her fingers went to either side of his waist, edging the waistband lower. He held her gaze searchingly and after a moment lifted his hips so she could pull the fabric down. She watched as his shaft sprang free and found that he was different from men she had seen only in how beautifully he was formed. He made a soft strangled sound as she closed her hand around him, marveling in the velvety smoothness of his skin. Her fingers, wrapped around his staff, didn’t quite meet as she caressed him.

  “Gods . . .” His mouth parted, his breath ragged, his eyes half-shut as he watched her stroke him and pressed his hips toward her. His large shaft grew still more taut in her hand. A bead of moisture appeared at the tip and she rubbed over the slickness with the pad of her thumb.

  “This is what I want,
Kyndan,” she said huskily. “I want you so roused you are wild for me.”

  His hand came up swiftly to cup her cheek then, his blue gaze fevered.

  “If you want me to stop,” he said hoarsely, “any time you tell me to stop, I will. You just tell me. All right?”

  She nodded and in the next moment his mouth was on hers, hot and demanding, his palm at the back of her neck to press her closer.

  Alari caught her breath at the heat of it and if she thought his earlier hesitation due to inexperience or reluctance she was completely mistaken. Kyndan was confident and skilled, his tongue just tracing the inside so her upper lip for a moment before he deepened the kiss.

  Her center tightened at the heat in his eyes as his fingers traced along the sides of her neck, to her shoulders to slide down the straps of her nightdress. The linen fell away easily and she swallowed at the anxiety at being so exposed to him.

  His gaze went to her breasts, his eyes softening. “You’re so beautiful . . .”

  He wet his lips, his hand warm and gentle as he cupped the fullness of her breasts. The lightest touch of his thumb over her nipples sent a shock of tightening pleasure through her. In a quick, startling movement he caught her by the waist. He swung her around and she thrilled at the forcefulness, rejoicing at how unafraid she was of his eagerness. Then the softness of the bed was against her back and he was kneeling between her legs.

  His fingers trembled a little as they hooked the edges of her underwear and Alari felt a cool rush of air over her center as he pulled away the last of her garments. She was naked now, his eyes hot and hungry as his palms against the inside of her thighs eased her wider. His shaft jerked a bit as his gaze went to her folds and it roused her more to be so open and exposed to him.

  “Gods,” he said raggedly. “I’ve wanted this so much.”

  Alari wanted to ask if he was as pleased by what he saw as she was but the light caress of his fingers starting at her knee and sliding up her inner thigh took her breath from her.

  “Just to be able to touch you . . .”

  Her center tightened sharply as his fingers brushed there and she closed her eyes briefly, lifting her hips toward him slightly. His smile was almost feral as he took in her reaction.