The Inquisitors (The Space Merchants Book 6)

by Wendie Nordgren

  “That’s a beautiful smile on your face,” Fitz said as his arms came around me.

  “The narwhal tusk I found while here on my first trip did bring me luck. I’ve never been happier or more content than I am right now.”

  “Be patient. Tomorrow may be even better,” he said.

  I held Peter’s small foot and kissed his forehead while he trilled. “I don’t know how.”

  Nearby, Farowyn and his men wore shorts and hesitantly waded out to us. Fitz said, “If they were to see you riding the waves on your board in the morning, I might be able to convince them to try.”

  I laughed at Fitz. “You just want to see if they will use their patagium as sails.”

  “Wind surfing, Teagan. It would be brilliant.”

  As the Eloneave approached, Farowyn announced, “This is most pleasant.” He trilled at Peter as did his men.

  Fitz said, “It is refreshing, and there are many amusements to be enjoyed. Teagan and I were just speaking of one.”

  Farowyn made note of my parents and said, “Indeed.” His brown eyes focused on me and my tiny swimsuit.

  I said, “Perhaps, you might teach Farowyn and his men to swim and fish while we are here.”

  “It would be my pleasure.” He started giving lessons.

  We all played until the children became hungry. Then, after they had full bellies, they went down for their naps. Thunderdrop hopped to my lap, blinked at me a few times, and showed me images of the large lizards in the jungle that he wanted to stalk.

  “The jungle is dangerous.”

  He blinked at me as though I had insulted him.

  “You know how important you are to me. I love you. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

  “Teagan, should Thunderdrop require assistance, he knows how to call to us for help,” Zared said.

  “Alright.”

  Thunderdrop nuzzled me under my chin before disappearing out of one of the opened windows.

  Chapter Eight

  Early the next morning, Sparrow, Tracy, and I were playing in the ocean while the children slept. Grandmother had come home in a frightfully relaxed mood. She, Pierce, and Lorca had insisted that I take the day off and allow them to keep the children.

  “It’s what I pay them to do, dear. Go have breakfast under the pavilion and play,” Grandmother ordered. She had kissed each of our cheeks and shooed us outside. The sun was just rising, and the moons hadn’t completely disappeared.

  “This planet is more beautiful than Epopeus. I was worried it would be too bright, but it’s perfect,” Tracy said as she spun in lazy circles in her float.

  My float made a squeaking sound as I got more comfortable. I sat in it with my head tilted back. My hair was wet and floating behind me, and my toes were in the water. “Yes, I wouldn’t mind waking up to this every day.”

  “Well, we can. All you have to do is say the word. Jazon says that we go where you go,” Tracy said.

  Sighing, I said, “I like being near Momma and Papa. However, soon, I want to visit Arachne. I miss my family there.”

  “I have important projects to begin once my lab is completed on Parvac,” Sparrow said. She was putting down permanent roots on Parvac in the form of stone, metal, and high-tech equipment.

  “By the way, I really want to thank the two of you again for helping me on that mission.”

  “I was glad to help,” Sparrow said.

  Tracy said, “I just wanted to wipe that look off Drex’s face.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Do you sense something?” Tracy asked while swiveling around.

  I felt it, too. It was as though we were being hunted. “Shit! It could be Felix! Get back to the shore. Zared!” I called out both verbally and silently.

  I knew Tracy and Sparrow called out to their mates as well. We began kicking our way back to shore.

  “Ha ha!” a loud male voice called out. “There, in the distance and unprotected, I see island princesses who will make us a fortune at the market.”

  “Aye. The small female with the dark curls will sell for enough to buy my own ship.”

  Another male said, “I say we keep them hidden. Their father will send his fleet to search for them, and his cannons have sunk many a ship.”

  Tracy, Sparrow, and I had stopped trying to return to shore and grinned at each other. Our husbands were teasing us. Their words were an all too recognizable premise from a Laconian romance novel we had shared. However, they had adapted the plot to include more pirates.

  Sparrow’s eyes sparkled with delight. “Oh, no, sisters! Whatever will we do? We’re helpless and alone.”

  I giggled. The pirate ship had come into view. It was a pontoon boat, decorated to look like a pirate ship, and it was overrun by shirtless males with oiled chests. Bandanas covered their hair. Xavier wore a black patch over his white eye. Sparrow had started clapping. As the three of us watched from our floats, the pontoon boat shimmered and transformed into a wooden ship of ancient Epopeus with a white sail. Xavier, Jazon, and Zared were making it real in our minds. They dove into the water, swam to us, captured us, and towed us back to their pirate ship. They placed us on the deck and tied us together with a length of soft white cord.

  “Hard to port! A ship comes to rescue them!” Yukihyo yelled.

  I bit my lip to keep from gawking at Yukihyo’s tight, torn, knee-length pants and oiled chest. It was a good thing my swimsuit was already wet. Otherwise, it would have become soaked after looking at Quaid. He looked dangerous and bloodthirsty. The oil made his chest hair glint in the morning sun, and he had smudges of dirt on his arms and chest. He had a cutlass sheathed on his leather belt.

  “Oh, my stars,” I said slowly.

  “You will not speak, female. Obey me, or find yourself gagged,” Zared said as he glared down at me. He took aim at an approaching vessel and fired. I knew exactly what I’d like for him to gag me with.

  Tracy giggled.

  Jazon said menacingly, “Stay quiet, prisoner.”

  “You can’t talk to her like that, sea rat. My sister is a princess. One day, she will be queen. I will see you flogged by my father’s soldiers. They come for us even now.”

  “Shut your royal mouth before I fill it with something,” Zared said as he rubbed his crotch.

  “Oh!” I said in mock horror as I laughed.

  “Prepare to be boarded, pirates!” Nico yelled.

  Then, he, Fitz, and Drex jumped onto the deck and fought for us with wooden swords that were made to look real in our imaginations. They even appeared to be dressed as Laconian soldiers from ancient times.

  “Oh, save us from the scary pirates!” Sparrow cried.

  Tracy and I giggled. I didn’t want to be saved. The pirates drove the soldiers back to their ship.

  “Full speed ahead,” Yukihyo ordered.

  “Why aren’t they following us?” Tracy asked.

  “They will have to fix their ship first,” Quaid said as he held up a part.

  They sailed us out to the resort that Fitz had rented for me after we had married, and docked. Jazon bent down and untied us. Then, he gazed into each of our eyes before settling on Tracy. He said, “There is no escape. You belong to me.”

  “Never!” Tracy said. “I’ll fight you with my last breath.”

  “Female, you’ll be gasping for breath once I’m through with you.” He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. Then, he stepped from the boat and onto the pier.

  “Oh! You, uncivilized barbarian! Let me go!” Sparrow said.

  “The only thing I intend to free you of are those scraps of cloth, female.” Xavier lifted Sparrow into his arms and carried her away.

  I was excited to get thrown over a dirty pirate shoulder and carted off, too, but Yukihyo pulled the boat away from the dock. “Hey! Aren’t I getting ravaged?” I frowned at them in disappointment.

  “You will be ravaged repeatedly, but not where your father’s fleet of sailors can ever find you,” Quaid said.

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nbsp; Yukihyo steered the pontoon boat around to the other side of the island and to a floating bungalow in a small private cove. Quaid tied off the boat to the dock beside it, careful of the decorative garland of fresh tropical flowers adorning it. Into my mind, Zared interposed an image of a floating pirate fortress complete with cannons. I laughed and clapped.

  “Our captured princess makes light of the danger in which she finds herself,” Yukihyo said. He picked me up into his big strong arms, stepped onto the dock, and carried me inside of the flower-filled bungalow.

  “Oh!” Small butterflies flitted amongst the blooms. Their colorful wings were more delicate than the flower petals.

  A wide smile spread across Yukihyo’s face. “I thought you would like that.”

  Then, his lips found mine as he laid me on the low bed which took up most of the room. Yukihyo’s strong hands slid up my hips. He hooked his fingers around my bottoms and pulled them down my legs. His pants joined them on the floorboards. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he entered me. Our game had excited him as much as it had excited me. The push and pull between us along with the swiveling thrusts of his hips were my undoing, and he joined me in my release. Yukihyo rolled to his back and held me to his chest.

  About to fall asleep to the beating of his heart, I was roused by Quaid. “Would you care for some refreshments, Princess?”

  Since I was thirsty, I agreed. Capturing my hand, Quaid pulled me from the bed and started for the door. “Wait! Let me grab the other half of my swimsuit.”

  “Allow me to help.” Quaid’s idea of helping was to take my top and drop it on Yukihyo’s pants. Then, on the dock, he dove into the water with a sleek elegance. When his head surfaced, he held his hand out to me. “Jump in.”

  “How deep is it?”

  “About twelve feet.” His answer made my eyes bulge. “Trust me. I’ve got you.”

  Quaid had grown up with a beach for a backyard on Epopeus, so I squeezed my eyes shut, held my nose, and jumped in. Once I resurfaced, aside from being proud of myself for jumping into deep water for the first time, I discovered that Quaid had hidden a large float under the bungalow. I swam behind him to it. He hoisted himself onto it without any trouble and then helped me. Each of the float’s corners had a pole attached to support a grass roof. From a built-in cup holder, Quaid handed me a frozen pineapple drink and pushed the float away from the bungalow’s pilings to drift around the cove.

  “Umm… that’s good,” I said as I closed my eyes and enjoyed my beverage. I jumped as something cold touched the bottom of my foot. “Quaid!”

  Grinning, he ran a cube of ice up my leg and watched with interest as it melted on my flesh. He trailed it up to my breasts, circling my nipples until they were hard pebbles. Then, he warmed them in his mouth. Once I was panting for breath and aching with need, he annoyed me by moving from me to lie on his back. He grinned at me again. His cock stood as tall and rigid as one of the poles that held the roof aloft. I pounced and lowered myself onto him. I began to ride him, but the float moved beneath my knees. The water’s surface provided minimal support for my movements. It created a new experience, and my lower lips quivered around Quaid’s hard shaft. The torturously slow pleasure transitioned into exquisite pleasure when Quaid expertly stimulated my endorphins with his Eriopis abilities. My movements became frantic making the water tickle and slap against the raft. It wasn’t long before I was satiated and drowsing against Quaid’s chest with a smile on my lips.

  Then, I heard Nico yelling. “The three of you can’t keep her all to yourselves. Did you think we wouldn’t find you?”

  The raft was no longer moving. It was at rest on the shore. However, Quaid’s arms were still around me, and we were both naked. I lifted my head and wiped at Quaid’s chest where I had drooled on him in my sleep. From our vantage point, I could see swimsuits and legs.

  “You and Drex didn’t seem to have a problem with keeping her to yourselves on the ship. We deserve to have some privacy with her the same as you,” Yukihyo said.

  “She wanted to spend time with us,” Nico said.

  “How is it that I have been placed in the midst of this amorous war?” Fitz asked. “Why strand my boat?”

  Zared asked, “Did you have a problem getting someone to come out and repair it?”

  “No, but that is beside the point.”

  “The Princess may spend time with whomever she chooses,” Drex said.

  My six husbands were beginning to argue in earnest, and I had to pee. Sighing, I disentangled my limbs from Quaid’s and crawled naked from the raft. Zared gave my mind a nudge as to how I could see to my current needs. Spotting a small beach house, I made my way to it alone. The main room was lit by natural light and cooled by the breeze flowing through the open windows whose horizontal shutters were made of woven leaves and kept open by bars braced against the outside sills. A romantic dinner waited on the table and was, I assumed, meant as a surprise for me to share with Zared, who was arguing down on the beach. Pink flower petals were sprinkled over the bed. Finding the bathroom, I made use of the amenities. In the shower, I washed the salt from my hair and skin. Once I was dry, I found a pink two-piece and a matching kaftan and flip-flops. I looked out of the front door.

  Now, my husbands were punching each other. Knowing it was pointless to interfere, I sat down and ate my fill of fruits and breads. I checked on the men in my life to find them still fighting, so I decided to go for a walk. A path led from the beach house and into the jungle. I started down it. Zared and Quaid were actively discouraging my interest in the argument. I wondered how long the animosity had been simmering between them, and if there was anything I could do to about it. I had been under the false impression that my family was happy and content. Realizing how wrong I had been had my happiness eroding. While trying to find my answers on my walk, I had gone far enough along the path that their voices no longer reached me. The cool shade of the jungle trees was a balm to my heated skin. Ahead, the trees rustled, and I froze but relaxed as Farowyn stepped out of the jungle and onto the path ahead of me.

  “Farowyn, what are you doing out here?”

  He walked toward me with his clawed hands hanging non-threateningly at his sides. “I follow my queen always. It is good that I do. Your chosen mates neglect you to squabble like boys.”

  “I can’t argue with that.”

  Farowyn stepped closer and then looked up at the trees and sky. “This world is lovely, wild but tamed by a long and prosperous civilization. Thalassa is nurtured and unsullied, left a pristine paradise to be enjoyed by a race unlike anything I ever imagined while searching for life through the vast reaches of space. Come,” he said as he held his hand out to me. “I long to feel the freedom of the wind once more with you at my side.”

  I looked back along the path the way I had come. “I don’t know. It might upset them even more.”

  He trilled softly. “You are here to enjoy yourself. Are you not? Instead of seeing to your needs, what do they do? Allow me the opportunity to please and amuse you. There are no tusk bugs here for you to fear.” A huff of laughter followed his words.

  Hesitantly, I placed my hand on his. Farowyn smiled, showing off his sharp teeth in his V-shaped mouth. “I’ll go with you, but just for a little while.”

  “My Queen, will you place your arms around my neck?”

  After I had done as he asked, Farowyn began climbing a nearby tree. Then, he leapt to another making it appear as simple as walking along a sidewalk. Muscle corded his arms, chest, and thighs, but he held me gently. “You’ve become stronger.”

  “The Eloneave are a hardy race. Were we not so adaptable, we might not have survived.” Carefully, he kept the leaves and branches from touching me as he climbed ever upward. The trees around us rustled. “My men are with us. We will take no risks with your security. You mean much to me, your family, and your people, all of them.”

  “Speaking of people, how are yours?” I held my face close to his to make it easier for
him to protect me from the vines.

  “They do well on Talpa. The organic challenges are great. We learn to protect our people from danger and barter for that which we need. Our females rejoice that they may have all of the offspring their males can support. Extinction of our race has remained a prevalent fear amongst us for decades.”

  “Then, shouldn’t you be on Talpa working toward adding to your numbers?” I asked playfully.

  He kept silent on the issue. Once we had gained the utmost branches of a tall tree, Farowyn jumped using his patagium to glide on an air current. Now that I was no longer terrified of him, it was an exhilarating experience. We continued to climb and glide until the resort came back into view. Telepathically, I felt both Xavier and Jazon as they entered my mind and saw through my eyes while scanning my recent memories. Then, I felt their anger as they began berating Zared before hiding their conversation from me.

  Farowyn bent and placed an arm under my knees. He carried me from the jungle, across the hot sand, and to a gazebo that had been decorated with fresh tropical flowers. Seeing our arrival, resort attendants began bringing out refreshments.

  “The fare here is much better than the first meal we shared,” Farowyn said.

  I laughed, remembering the skewers of roasted bugs. “True, but when you’re hungry enough, anything will do.”

  “The company made it more palatable.” I bowed my head to him in agreement. “I continue to study your culture that I may better understand you. Likewise, I do my best to show courtesy to Commander Bosh and Lieutenant Adair.” My questioning glance prompted him to continue. “I have not forgotten that night at my encampment nor his treatment of you. However, I have learned much in the Palace simply by listening.” He tapped at one of his pointed ears. “Commander Bosh publicly admonished you for protecting my people and adopting Peter. This I have learned.”

  Spearing a seared scallop with my fork, I said, “He changed his mind.”