The delegates were silent as their eyes tracked back and forth from the elder warrior to the power-hungry noblewoman while they weighed their decision. Some of them voted without pause, while still others continued to contemplate the consequences of each vote. Just by looking from face to face, Jessica had no idea which way the vote would go. Her nerves were shot by the time the last person cast their vote and the vidscreen announced the decision.
Rojan’s face was lit up with fierce victory. “It is a decisive vote for allowing King Korian to take my place as delegate. You won’t be sorry to put your trust in your king. He is a good and honorable man.”
Rox’Ana was livid. Standing to her considerable height, she looked down upon the faces of each of her colleagues and spat, “Spineless, weak fools. You stink of fear and cowardice. When your actions today turn back upon you, remember who it was among you who was brave enough to speak the truth.” With a flick of her headscarf, she stalked from the room.
Jessica’s mind was reeling at the implications of everything that had occurred that day. She could tell that Rox’Ana’s sole goal in bringing her to the meeting was to show off her powerbase and impress upon the Earthling who was really in charge on T’Kala, but King Korian’s bombshell had ruined her plans. Not only had the king brazenly addressed the malicious discontent circulating about his rule, he had deftly outmaneuvered the greedy plans of his opposition by appealing to the delegation for their help and guidance. It was an inspired and clever bit of politics that took away the weapons from his enemy while empowering the rest of the delegates to embrace their king and their role in his reign. Her respect for Korian grew by bounds that day.
When Jessica finally joined the noblewoman in the dining hall after the meeting concluded, she was surprised to find the T’Kalan female acting as if nothing at all had occurred. Rox’Ana was in her element, introducing Jessica to delegates from the biggest and most powerful provinces, acting as her agent in setting up further parties and dinners, and using the alien actress to bolster her own fame. Jessica had seen this power play many times from Hollywood producers and directors, so she was unfazed by the usury, and took the opportunity to make her own connections. From what she had seen in that room, Korian would need all the help he could get in securing his throne, and she meant to do all she could to help him.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Korian stood before transmission screen in his rooms and studied the projected video feed of his captive. She was sleeping in her bed, one arm thrown over her head, with her bimbop companion nestled along the valley between her breasts. Her thalia-colored hair was a tangled halo around her pale face, and her lips and cheeks were flushed with warmth. Korian couldn’t tear his eyes away from her, though he knew it was wrong of him to look upon her in this manner. It had been four cycles of the sun since that night he had taken her against the window, and then several more times later that night in her bed. It had been four long, lonely days since he had smelled the floral musk of her skin, felt the silky strands of her hair between his fingers, and tasted the sweetness of her breasts on his tongue.
They had both been busy the past several days. She had been whisked away each morning by his enemy, and he had destroyed three new training bots in his frustration at seeing her walk away from his compound each day and out from under his protection. It helped that his network of spies were able to follow her everywhere she went and reported back to him on her movements, but it still made him crazy that she was knowingly placing herself in danger at his behest. The reports from his spies were encouraging, though. Jessica was the toast of the town, and requests for her presence were pouring into his secretary faster than she could schedule them. Gossip and intel reached him daily of how she laughed and flirted while deftly fishing for information on how the nobles viewed their king, and she had even managed to uncover fresh intelligence on Rox’Ana’s bid for power. The noblewoman herself had let slip that she had been in contact with a high-ranking ambassador from one of the powerful planets in the Great Alliance in order to secure a political match through her daughter’s hand in marriage, which she hoped would lead to the Alliance’s support in her quest to seize power over T’Kala. This information had been crucial in his communications with the Council governing the alliance, and had given him the leverage he needed to shore up his support. Bribery of any kind was strictly prohibited within the Alliance, and Korian had spent much of the past week in secret transmissions with Council members, giving evidence of her treachery and forging alliances with the ruling parties of the most powerful of the planets within the Alliance. By the time he had finished his meetings a few moments ago, he was exhausted, but elated, at the progress he had made in securing their agreement to meet with him here on T’Kala at month’s end.
His finger reached out to trace the outline of her cheek on the vidscreen surface. He owed this mysterious human so much already and in such a short time. Jessica MacGregor was a fascinating and complex woman that kept him on his toes. She was both affectionate and temperamental, compassionate yet fierce, capturing his gaze with her laugh and setting him on fire with her desire. Never had he met a female like her before, and he was at a loss for what to do about her when her time on T’Kala came to an end.
Putting thoughts of the future out of his mind, he closed the transmission and strode from his room. It only took him a few minutes to reach the door of her suite, and only a few moments more to be standing over her bed. The youngling companion stirred and began to growl, but Korian shushed the animal by placing his palm on its head and pressing down gently until it was burr-ing happily. With careful movements, he picked the animal up and deposited it inside its crate and returned back to Jessica’s side. She had stirred in her sleep until the strap of her silk chemise slipped off her shoulder and slid away from her chest to reveal one rosy-tipped breast. He couldn’t seem to stop himself from reaching out to brush his knuckles across the tip until it puckered and hardened under his touch. Jessica sighed and arched her back in her sleep, the movement pushing her soft flesh into his touch.
“Mmm…Korian…” she murmured, as her eyelids began to flicker. “I was dreaming about you, and here you are.” Her voice was thick with sleep, but her hands reached out toward him.
He was helpless to resist her. Stopping only long enough to shrug out of his dressing gown, he slid beneath her covers and pressed his bare flesh along the soft planes of her sleep-warmed body. The silk of her nightgown slid between them deliciously as he found his place between her legs and covered her body with his own. Even with her eyes still closed, she smiled and hummed her eagerness for his attention as she threaded her arms around his neck and hooked her feet behind his calves. Korian groaned with painful desire when she rolled her hips against his hardness.
He buried his nose in the sweet spot beneath her ear and whispered, “How did you know it was me? You have not yet opened your beautiful eyes to confirm it.”
Jessica chuckled seductively as her hands grew busy tracing the defined bulges of his back. “I smelled your cologne first, my king. And then, Little Mahoney did not rip you to shreds for approaching me, so all doubt was dispelled.”
Korian kissed his way up the column of her neck and nipped her earlobe. “I have thought of nothing else these past days except the desire to return to your bed.”
“You’re here now, Korian. Show me what’s on your mind,” she sighed as the warrior slid a big hand up her thigh, dragging her sheer nightgown along with it.
Korian thought he would unman himself at her words. She had no idea the kind of restraint he had to employ to keep from ravishing her as completely and totally as he wanted. Gripping her chin between his thumb and forefinger, he pulled her mouth open and plunged inside. Her lips still tasted of the minty concoction she used to clean her teeth since she had eschewed the laser treatments T’Kalans preferred, but he had found himself craving the flavor of it on her tongue. He loved the passion that she returned to him with her teeth worrying his bottom lip and t
he erotic way she sucked his tongue into her mouth.
His body was already strung tight by his need to have her, and she showed no mercy when she flipped him on his back and rose above him until her wet heat cradled his swollen shaft. Her hands trailed up and over the muscled mounds of his chest and her fingernails lightly brushed over the small, flat discs of his nipples until he hissed. She chuckled huskily at his reaction, and holding his gaze, she gripped the silk material of her gown in her hands and whipped it over her head until she was just as naked as he.
She shimmied atop him, setting her breasts to swaying enticingly, and said, “I thought I had better take that off before you got it in your head to tear it in half. I really like that nightie.”
Korian ran his hands up her sides until her breasts overflowed into his palms. He ran the calloused pad of his thumb over each peak and gave them a sharp pinch. “I confess that I like it, too, but I like it much better on the floor.”
Her laughter rolled over him like a benediction, lighting up all the dark places in his heart, and pulling his own happiness up to meet hers. He couldn’t recall ever laughing in bed with a woman before, but he had also never met anyone like his thalia, either. The past three years since his father had died in battle, Korian had felt numb and indifferent. He had spent his days reacting to one crisis after another, with little time left to embrace joy and happiness. When Jessica had appeared in his life, it was if a comet blazed through his sky, setting his world on fire and burning away the cobwebs and dust in his soul. She had unlocked his emotions, and helped him reclaim his drive and ambition.
Korian’s mouth watered at the sight of all that delicate, flushed, pale skin awaiting him. He had to taste her, drink from her, and he had no more patience left to achieve his goal. He gripped her around the waist and lifted her off of his tortured shaft. He ignored her squeals of surprise and situated her until her knees were braced on each side of his head and her sweet, slick center was exposed to his gaze. He inhaled her musky scent and swiped the flat of his tongue through her nether lips until her essence filled his mouth.
“Oh!” she cried out in shocked pleasure as she braced one arm against the wall and anchored the other in the thick waves of his hair.
Korian groaned into her moist heat and feasted on her sex while his hands palmed the plump mounds of her behind to hold her still. His tongue traced through her folds, darted inside to coax out more of her sweet nectar, and teased at her bud until he heard her cry out his name. That’s what he had been waiting for, the one thing he desired to hear from her lips. His name. Not Zandar Nic’Omar’s name, or any of the other warriors under his command. His thalia called out to him when her body flew apart to commune with the stars. The sound of it filled him with fierce pride and unreasonable lust and he couldn’t get enough of hearing her come apart by his hand or mouth.
The primal part of his nature rose to the surface and he growled, “I could drink from you for hours, Jessica. Your passion is delicious.”
A tremor chased down her spine and sent shockwaves through his body as she climaxed again against his tongue. She was so responsive to him, so open with her pleasure, that he craved her almost to the point of madness. He had barely been able to concentrate during the most important and crucial communications with the Great Alliance for thinking about what she was doing at the moment and who she was talking to and if Zandar would be there to press his suit. He and the male had sized each other up, but Korian had staked his claim.
“Korian, please!” his captive begged him, her voice ragged and broken.
He thought his shaft would burst if he didn’t sink inside her soon. Picking her back up, he saw that she was too wrung out to support herself astride him. She felt so delicate and fragile in his hands, and he was gentle when he rolled her to the bed and took his place between her thighs. He paused for a long moment above her, and drank in the sight of her flushed cheeks, sparkling eyes, and heaving breasts. His heart lurched in his chest at the sight of her, and his body followed suit by plunging inside her own.
The heat and the pressure of her sheath clinging to him almost made him lose his mind. His thalia was so soft and her curves so rounded that he felt as if he could sink into her over and over for all his days. The fact that her urgency matched his own only drove him higher. As he pulled back, only to sink back in hard and deep, Jessica would cry out and dig her heels into his ass to pull him in deeper. He tried to hold on and prove himself to be a worthy lover to her, but the days without her touch had brought him to the brink too soon.
Pulling away from where he was leaving stubble burn across her neck, he raised himself on his arm until there was some space between their sweat-slick bodies. He found her swollen and slippery pearl and swirled it with his fingers. “Come with me, Jessica. Do not send me to the stars alone.”
Her body arched beneath him and her slick walls clamped down on his shaft like a vice as she wailed her release to the stars. Korian freed himself to chase his own completion, burying himself as deep inside her as he could go, and released his seed with a groan of relief frosted with ecstasy. His nerve endings were on overload, and his senses became hyper-aware of the woman beneath him. His skin tingled everywhere they touched, her breaths were harsh in his ear, and the smell of her hair reminded him of home. Her eyes were closed once more, but this time, he did not demand that she open them for him.
“Rest, my thalia,” he whispered, before pulling back to run his finger across her cheek. “I will make you comfortable so you may sleep.”
As he made to pull away, her legs tightened around his waist and stopped his progress. Though her eyes remained shut, she swallowed thickly and whispered, “Stay the night?”
Korian felt a warmth bloom in his chest, and he assured her, “I would love to wake in the morning with you in my arms.”
Her limbs turned to liquid and flowed down into the mattress. He hated to pull out of the snug haven of her body, but he wanted her to rest comfortably and regain her strength for the coming day. He would not be the reason for her ill health; her well-being was his responsibility for the next few weeks, and he took that charge seriously. He would ensure she was eating the vitamin-rich food of T’Kala, that she was clothed in the finest gowns, and that her every need was met by him. He just hadn’t expected that she would fill his needs, too, and give him a reason to fight for what was most important to him.
Korian made quick work of cleansing them both and positioned Jessica with her head on the pillow and her body propped on her side. Before he could join her beneath the covers, however, the persistent whine of her companion youngling complaining from her cage brought him to a halt. He knew that the bimbop would not cease its cries until he released her to return to her mistress.
Scooping the wriggling mass of fur against his chest, he walked over to the bed where his thalia lay sleeping so peacefully. “Believe me, I understand your eagerness to return to her embrace, for I feel the same way.” Rubbing the animal under its chin, he added, “But just remember, Little Mahoney, I got here first.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The days were passing too quickly for Korian. For three years, his life had ground to halt at the death of his father, and each subsequent day as the premature king of T’Kala had seemed as if were a lifetime. A full two weeks of Jessica’s conscripted time with him was already gone, and it seemed to have lasted only a heartbeat’s worth of time. They were both so busy and pulled in so many different directions during the day that they barely had time to speak or even to review her findings about the general mood of the nobles. But at night, they more than made up for their time apart. Since that evening when he had awakened her from her slumber, they had not spent another night separate from each other. Either she was waiting for him, asleep or awake, in his bed, or he sought her out in hers.
Even though their passion for each other’s bodies burned hotly, he had come to enjoy her company afterward, as well. He thrilled at the feeling of having her in his arms, her head
tipped back to laugh, or to see her eyes narrow with righteous anger when recounting Rox’Ana’s actions from the day. He simply enjoyed her company. She was quick-tempered, to be sure, but it melted away as quickly as it came. Her whole body became animated with her moods whether she was teasing him into laughter with her suggestive wit as she pressed herself against him, or she was punching his arm with mock fury for suggesting she snored. He observed that she was a very tactile female, constantly seeking to touch or be touched, and he found it both endearing and addictive. If she wasn’t stroking, petting, and trailing her fingers over some part of him, then she was cuddling and lavishing attention on her besotted companion. Even the animals of T’Kala were not safe from falling under her spell.
Such were his thoughts that day as he met with Mikael to go over their battle strategy, review the repairs on The Ax’Sandre, and discuss the deployment of battleships to patrol their airspace. He couldn’t seem to concentrate as Mikael outlined the plans for their new squadron of battle bots, because he was replaying in his mind the night before when Jessica had sunk to her knees in front of him to take his shaft deep into her mouth until he had been forced to drag her to the bed and mount her from behind.
“Korian!” Mikael’s voice cracked like a whip across his ears. The young king startled and pinned the captain of fleet with a peeved glare. “You are not hearing anything I am saying to you today. I would ask you what has you so distracted from matters of planetary security, but I feel I must already know the cause.”
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