Yukihyo threw a pillow at his head to get him to close the door. Phillip just stood there grinning innocently. Then, Nico began hurling pillows at Phillip with great strength and rapidity until he got the message and left us alone. I kissed Yukihyo before I dismounted him and went to shower.
Phillip had planned an adult only excursion. I looked at pictures of the place where we were going while sipping my coffee in the back of the large travel transport that even had a small restroom. I wore a T-shirt and exercise shorts over my black two-piece. Fitz had suggested that we all wear exercise shoes. The day would consist of hiking, tubing through caves, and snorkeling. Terre was chatting excitedly about everything we would be doing. Phillip had booked the most expensive package available which included a private tour guide. My Papa paid Phillip a fortune, so I didn’t feel guilty about enjoying the treat. Anyway, his heart looked ready to burst because Terre was happy and talking to him. I relaxed and watched the scenery go by. When we arrived, Phillip helped Terre from the transport and took every opportunity to touch her. Through the window, I saw him resting his hand on the small of her back.
“He’s got it bad,” Yukihyo observed.
I nodded. The transport shifted as all of my husbands began to file out. They were making an effort to behave genially toward each other. I started wondering how much their combined weight was to make the transport shift.
Quaid looked at me like I was crazy from too much sun. “We aren’t cattle, Teagan.”
With a straight face, I said, “I have a herd of husbands. You each weigh about two-hundred pounds worth of pure muscle, and I have six of you.”
Quaid didn’t let me finish. Instead, he picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. Once we were out of the transport, he gave my butt a smack, so I started thinking of him as a pack animal. Laughing, he put me down. “A wild stallion, not a mule, Lady Bosh.”
“No, not a mule, but maybe a jackass,” Fitz said.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “If you’re still fighting, I’m going back home.”
“We aren’t fighting. It’s only banter,” Quaid assured me.
I made eye contact with each of my husbands.
“Teagan, relax,” Nico said.
I scowled at them, and then a diabolical grin covered my face. “I know exactly what I will do the next time any of you physically fight one another out of a ring or off a mat.”
“Oh, hell no,” Zared said.
“That’s disturbing, Teagan,” Quaid said in agreement.
“What is?” Fitz asked.
“I’ll make you have cock fights to determine the winner the next time you fight.” I pictured Quaid and Fitz dueling with their hard, upright manly appendages and got turned on.
“What is she talking about? With chickens? That seems cruel,” Yukihyo said. Quaid and Zared began speaking to him in rapid Laconian. Yukihyo paled. “Never again will I argue with a co-husband.”
“Never will I engage in such a display,” Zared swore.
Yukihyo explained my proposed punishment to the others. Nico’s laughter tore from him and frightened birds from the surrounding trees.
“Then, don’t fight. If any of you start punching each other again, I’ll insist on a cock fight before I touch your cocks again.” I smiled evilly at them.
Quaid said, “Let’s agree not to tell any additional husbands of this rule.”
Zared laughed. “To engage in such an activity would turn a man flaccid for weeks.”
A handsome and rather effeminate male approached our party. Zared swallowed his own words. I laughed and considered accepting the first bisexual male to my family who offered himself to me, no matter who he was just for fun.
“Welcome! My name is Ren, and I will be your guide….”
I didn’t listen to him but trailed along with the others and looked at brightly plumed birds and lizards that had tails as long as my arm and watched us with swiveling eyes. Up ahead, I could hear Terre chatting away with more cheer than she had ever before used. Phillip’s charm was beginning to work. Apparently, Phillip’s seduction memory was as embedded within him as muscle memory was within a soldier. Yukihyo slipped our fingers together as we walked.
I gave his fingers a squeeze. “I want us to start spending more time together. I miss you. What do you think of going away for a few nights just the two of us? We could go to Cephissus on Parvac or anywhere you would like.”
Yukihyo said, “What about a camping trip? We could take your barge out on the lake and sleep on it at night.”
My eyes lit up. “That would be perfect.”
The path ended with a deep pool of clear water tinged with dark-green. Inner tubes were being passed out. Each of them had a long flexible light attached to it. That could only mean one thing, dark and creepy caves. Phillip and Terre were laughing and floating off into the dark maw of death, oblivious to the danger lurking within. I shuddered.
“Phillip had better realize how much I love him to be doing this,” I quietly grumbled.
“Aren’t you enjoying yourself?” Fitz asked.
“Teagan is terrified of caves. Well, of any dark subterranean area,” Yukihyo supplied.
Drex lost all color. “I took you into a cave on our first date.”
I shivered at the memory. “Yes, but you tried so hard to make it look pretty with the rose petals and the lamps. Truthfully, my heart was too broken over Yukihyo to care.”
“Forgive me,” Drex asked.
“Oh, I did the day we had lunch with Dario.” I chuckled at him and shook my head.
Drex tried to recall that particular day while I stepped into the cool water with my exercise shoes still on, not particularly liking the feeling. Maybe, it wouldn’t be horrible. After we were all floating on our tubes, the cave entrance began to loom closer. That was when I felt something beneath the water touching my ass, but all of my husbands had their hands on their tubes and their feet where I could see them. I stuck my hand between my body and the float to scare whatever it was away. I sighed. The cave was wide but not very high. I couldn’t see the bottom or what might be hiding in the water. Quaid and Zared paddled with their hands until they were close enough to each grab a hold on my inner tube. Their closeness decreased my rising panic.
I projected my thoughts to them. “People think this is fun?”
“Yes, allow yourself to enjoy it. Try not to let your memories of Malta ruin the experience. You are on Thalassa where you are royalty. Men who would resort to cock fighting to touch you have you surrounded,” Zared said.
Laughter bubbled up and spilled out of me. “Alright. I’ll try.”
Our guide droned on about the different mineral deposits that had transformed the cave into a sparkling contained rainbow in the dark. Quaid, Yukihyo, and Zared found it to be fascinating and soon floated off leaving me with Drex, Fitz, and Nico.
“Teagan, why did you forgive me?” Drex asked. He was still trying to puzzle it out.
Gesturing toward the sound of Phillip’s voice far ahead, I said, “Some males instinctually know how to win females. Others find us so mysterious that they use their intellects to ascertain our desires. I realized that you were the latter.”
“Drex, you aren’t still spying on us in bed, are you?” Fitz asked.
“No, not in bed or in the bathroom. Teagan was insistent on the matter.”
By the pin lights of our floats, Fitz, Nico, and I exchanged glances in the dark silently wondering where else we may have been intimate. There was no telling.
“Oh,” I said somewhat worried.
The cave had begun to branch out in different directions, and the current had grown stronger. Fitz and Nico grinned at each other, slid from their floats, and started steering us to the right and away from the others. “It’s time for your royal guards to save you from the barbarous pirates, Princess,” Fitz said.
“They know what you’re doing,” I warned.
“Yes, but by the time they have managed to swim against the
current to find you, we will have already had our ways with you,” Nico said.
“When did you start planning this?”
“Oh, about a minute ago. With Zared and Quaid, we are better off being unpredictable. Even a general can adjust his strategy.”
I grinned and shook my head. Fitz led us into a wide, low tunnel that filled me with apprehension. It was silent save for the sounds we made and the stray trickle of water. “It’s kind of scary in here.”
“After you see where we end up, if you want to leave, we will go. I promise,” Fitz assured me. “As a boy with my friends, I’ve been all throughout these caves.”
In my mind, Zared and Quaid grumbled angrily making me laugh.
Drex said, “They have figured it out?”
“Yep.” I made a face at the finely crushed gravel and sand that provided a few feet for the weary to rest. I could only imagine what such a surface would do to my back or knees.
Nico laughed at my expression as he pulled our floats onto it. Then, he grabbed my shorts and swim bottoms off of me and made himself a bracelet of them. “Come share my inner tube, female.”
He had taken a seat on his tube, and the light on it wasn’t the only thing that lifted straight up toward the cave roof. Laughing, I crawled over my tube to his and straddled him. After playing with my Parvac soldiers until I was sore, Fitz led us back out into the main cave system, and we rejoined the others. Thankfully, my Laconian husbands weren’t angry. They were with the guide trying to assure him not to send a search party after Princess Probus. The poor man was terrified I might be injured on his watch.
“Not injured, but hopefully impregnated,” Fitz yelled out.
I splashed him repeatedly in the face for the comment. He, Nico, and Drex filled the cave with the gregarious echoes of their laughter. Relief filled me when I began to see faint traces of light. We floated from the cave and into a lagoon that was surrounded by lush jungle. On its small shore, each of us was provided with masks and breathing tubes.
My husbands made a game of seeing which of them could startle me the most by swimming far beneath me and then appearing out of the darkness like giant predatory fish. Fitz was the winner. Having had enough of their boyish torment, I got out of the water to rest. The next thing on our agenda was a hike. I followed after Phillip, Terre, and the guide. My husbands were still laughing at my expense while putting away our gear on the appropriate racks near the lagoon. A lizard decided to get in on the fun of tormenting me by scurrying across the toe of my shoe. I sighed. If only Terre had wanted to spend the day at an indoor market. Next, we had to climb a rocky path. I took my time, not a fan of falling. Yukihyo’s hand was suddenly on my rear end which made my apprehension vanish. Up ahead, I heard the sounds of someone skidding on sand and gravel.
“Ow,” Terre said.
Phillip said, “Are you alright? Here. Let me see.”
Quickly, my husbands took up positions around me. I wasn’t as graceful as Terre, and we all knew it. When we reached the top of the hill, I saw that Phillip now held Terre in his arms and was carrying her down the path with the guide in front of them. At the end of it, he placed her on a bench and kneeled before her. A change had overcome Phillip. Gone was the consummate flirt, and in his place, was Dr. Svenson. He had pulled a small emergency kit from a pocket and had begun cleaning Terre’s knee.
“Are you okay?” I asked when we caught up to them.
“Oh, yes. It’s nothing. I tripped….” Her words trailed off as she watched Phillip while he gently cared for her. His hands on her knee were professional and not flirtatious.
Once we had arrived at the building which housed a café, gift shop, and locker rooms, Terre and I went to freshen up. “Teagan, do you think Phillip genuinely cares for me? He didn’t use my accident as a means to grope me as another male might have done.”
I dried my hands and turned to her. “I have never seen a female affect Phillip as you do. He is serious. Also, we have spent enough time in the Empire for him to understand how marriages work here. It’s different in other sectors.”
Terre leaned her hip against the counter. “Yes, I have heard about alien marriage practices from Tracy. Our customs must seem as odd to Phillip as his seem to me.”
“I don’t think it is dissuading his interest in you, but know this. Phillip is doing his best to behave respectably toward you, but he wants to grope you. He wants to grope you in every way he knows how, and he has a reputation for knowing a lot.”
We stared at each other for a few seconds before dissolving into laughter. We purchased more T-shirts and several mineral based products before leaving. Terre limped slightly, which was entirely contrived and allowed Phillip to hold her feet on his lap on the way home. Through his bond with me and Yukihyo, Phillip had already known that Terre had softened toward him. Also, as a knowledgeable physician, he knew Terre was exaggerating her discomfort.
Into my thoughts, Quaid said, “Phillip is eager to play doctor all that Terre wishes.”
Under my breath, I said, “I bet he is.”
As soon as we got home, the children demanded all of our attention. Rather than showering and changing into dry clothing, we ended up in the ocean with energetic kids. I had seen glimpses of my parents’ naked flesh during our vacation but little else of them. I snorted to myself realizing from whom I had inherited my sex drive. Regardless of that, I was happy that they were reunited and were creating happy new memories. They deserved them. Uncle Kagan and Aunt Seyla had been almost as energetic in their romantic activities. When we finally tired the children and were able to get cleaned up and relax, we went to the porch to enjoy some dinner. I felt sorry for Gary who had spent a great deal of time blushing.
Eric laughed at him. “Well, Gary, you’re not the horny little bastard I thought you were.”
“Wait till you have a little girl, and men like you are chasing after her. It’s a good thing she has Xavier, or she might have as many husbands as that female down the beach the other day,” Gary said.
Xavier gave Gary a small salute.
“What female?” I asked Sparrow.
“Her name is Portia, and she has thirty husbands. They took up a good stretch of beach. They were all laying around on towels or swimming. I’ve never seen so many knee-length penises in all of my life.”
Coffee came out of my nose and mouth at the same time.
Sparrow handed me a napkin. “With thirty husbands, Portia probably has something other than coffee spewing out of her nose.” Sparrow had said it with such an inflectionless tone that I ended up on the floor dying with laughter. I couldn’t stop. My imagination wasn’t helping.
Thunderdrop put an end to my laughing fit when he jumped to my hip and started bombarding me with images of his adventures. “Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!”
Papa stepped over us and gave Sparrow a kiss on the cheek on his way into the kitchen.
The next day, we left Thalassa, tan, relaxed, and happy. However, Ember had decided to spend more time on Thalassa in the warm sunshine. House Jiri promised to treat her like royalty.
Chapter Ten
When we docked on Parvac, the Valens returned to their estate. Grandmother was eager to return to her schedule. I assumed her new man had worn her out. Unfortunately, Grandmother wasn’t the only one with a schedule to resume. The Hadrian was returning to Galaxic space. I didn’t even bother trying to hide my displeasure. Actually, I threw a fit, and Neema helped.
“See what you’ve done? You’ve spoiled her. She expects starship captains to forgo their duties for her amusement,” Eric said to Kane.
“Don’t blame me. Blame him.” Kane pointed at Papa. “I take orders the same as you do.”
Papa smiled at both of them and kissed my forehead before picking Neema up and tickling her. “Yes, my darling begins to behave as she should. I plan to spoil her even more in your absence.”
Neema giggled at her Gapa.
As always, saying goodbye to Quaid was torture and made me sad
for the remainder of the day. Knowing my heart, my husbands were sweet and attentive until they too abandoned me to see to their own responsibilities. Even Sparrow left to go to her lab. Fitz alone remained with me, so I decided to be extra sweet to him. I was sitting on the couch with his head on my lap, running my fingers through his hair when Rolf interrupted.
“Princess, Inquisitor Gordian wishes an audience.”
Concern made my brow wrinkle. Usually, when one of my butlers introduced a male in that particular manner, it meant an offer of marriage was about to be made. Fitz sat up and lowered his bare feet to the white carpeting. I glanced to the right through the patio windows and saw Pierce, Lorca, and Thunderdrop playing with the children. Fitz and I stood as Cormac entered. Giving him my sweetest smile, I curtsied since he was carrying a large dress box tied with a bow.
“Good morning, Cormac. May I offer you some refreshments?”
“Yes, thank you. Coffee to go. This is for you. Please, go change.” I raised an eyebrow and puckered my lips at him in question. Cormac raised an eyebrow right back at me. “That’s an order, Ensign Probus.”
My fancy artificial heart sped up, and I tore the bow off the box. My excited squeal almost made Rolf spill the coffee. I kissed Cormac’s cheek and ran down the hall to my room to change. Fitz followed and helped me into my cadet’s uniform. My hand kept creeping up to touch my rank insignia.
“Let me take a picture, Teagan.” Fitz grinned at me.
After posing for Fitz, this time for him and not in the nude for a hired artist, which had been incredibly embarrassing, I ran back to the sitting room, jumped on Cormac, and gave him kisses all over his face. His deep chuckles resonated throughout my sitting room. I released my legs from around his waist and hopped down.
“Are you ready for your first day?”
I smoothed down my jacket. “Yes, sir!”
Fitz laughed at my bubbly behavior. Rolf brought lidded coffees to us on a tray. I held mine in my left hand, so I could hold Cormac’s hand in my right as we walked through the Palace. When I started swinging our joined hands back and forth as we walked, Cormac’s laughter echoed along the halls. Captain Merick Carus and Vice Admiral Dario Galerius shook their heads at us and grinned as we walked past them. A few of Papa’s officers didn’t look amused. From them, I sensed thick disapproval.
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