Acting Out

by Paulette Oakes

  After the scan, Ax’Sandre had proceeded with the corrective treatment that had balanced her hormones, alleviated her nausea, and cured the pounding headaches that had crippled her with pain. By the time she was done, Jessica felt like new money and was ready to face her altered reality head on. With a hug and kiss of gratitude for the motherly medical officer, Jessica, her faithful pet, and Mahoney had made their way back to her apartment in the city to have dinner and discuss what had transpired in the past few days that she had missed out on during her convalescence.

  “Did food taste this good before now? Because I swear to God, this tastes like manna from heaven,” Jessica said around a mouthful of succulent meat, gravy, and noodles. She paused to slip a juicy bit of meat to her pet that was happily burring on her lap while Mahoney looked on with disgust.

  “I’d think even chocolate-covered dog shit would taste good after four days of puking your guts up all over my bathroom,” her loving friend replied sardonically as she shoveled her own meal into her mouth. “Speaking of which, have I mentioned how much I enjoy the technological advances of this world? Thank God for self-sanitizing appliances and cleaning bots, because I’m not sure our friendship would have survived if I’d had to clean your vomit off of the floor and toilet for four days.”

  Jessica laughed for the first time in what felt like years. She was almost giddy with the relief of feeling mostly normal again, and she could see the echo of it reflected on Mahoney’s face. She had hated causing her friend so much worry, but she’d had nowhere else to turn. Even Mikael, who was a fearsome warrior himself, had hovered in her doorway with anxious offers of help and had willingly fetched anything Mahoney had barked at him to get. They were both wonderful friends, but over the last month of their ordeal, she and Mahoney had become closer than sisters. Jessica had a feeling that Mahoney was the one to thank for preventing the warrior challenge, too, and she meant to find out how she had managed it.

  Finally replete from her meal, Jessica lay her fork down and took a long draught from her container of zala berry-infused water. She rubbed her full belly absently and bent a serious look on her friend. “Okay, Mahoney. No more stalling. What did you do?”

  The tall, athletically-toned woman sitting across from her leaned back in her chair and shrugged lazily. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Lies!” Jessica accused, her finger pointing in Mahoney’s face. “I know you had to have done something in order to get Korian and Zandar in the same room without them killing each other. So, spill already.”

  Mahoney rolled her eyes in faux annoyance and huffed, “Fine. I may or may not have issued a Warrior Challenge to Korian to defend your honor.”

  “You what?!” the actress screeched, bolting to her feet in shock while barely catching her pet before it hit the floor. Cradling the bimbop to her chest, she continued, “What were you thinking, Mahoney? I told you not to interfere! You can’t keep fighting my battles for me. I appreciate you wanting to stand up for me, but I have to do it for myself or no one will ever respect me.”

  Mahoney scowled and pushed her plate away in order to leave room to brace her elbows on the table. “What was I supposed to do, Jess? The man accused you of sleeping around on him and broke your heart. You were in no condition to take care of it, so I did it for you.” She frowned as she paused for a moment. “Though, it wasn’t nearly as satisfying as I had hoped it would be. He agreed to talk to me if I promised to drop the challenge. I have to admit that I was disappointed that I didn’t get to kick his ass.”

  Jessica released the breath that she had been holding and felt the tension drain out of her body. “Thank God for small favors,” she mumbled. “I love that you want to protect me, but you’ve got to remember that you are a citizen of T’Kala now and you answer directly to Korian. I can’t believe you challenged him to a fight.” She paused, met Mahoney’s incredulous stare, and conceded, “Okay, I can believe it. I’m just glad he agreed to talk it out. What happened next?”

  Before her friend could answer, there was a chime indicating that the transmission server requested their attention. When Mahoney gave the command to speak, a male robotic voice intoned, “There is a delivery for Miss Jessica MacGregor at the front desk. Permission requested to allow admission.”

  Mahoney’s eyebrow arched and a knowing grin stretched across her lips. “Permission granted.”

  Both women made their way toward the door into the apartment, and Mahoney reached forward to press her palm to the sensor to open the panel. A few moments later, a parade of men and women marched through the door, their arms loaded down with packages and bouquets of flowers. The last person carried only a small tablet and indicated that there was a message recorded for her. They politely declined when Mahoney tried to offer them a tip, and ensured the women that all payment had already been received before they once again trooped through the doorway to leave.

  Jessica and Mahoney stared around them at the piles of boxes and packages and flowers taking up the entirety of her friend’s sitting room. Jessica ran a finger down the curve of a bell-shaped thalia flower that, along with several dozen others, perfumed the air with the heady scent of vanilla and sandalwood. Mahoney peeked into a random box and whooped with excitement when she discovered a selection of gourmet T’Kalan sweetbreads frosted with a colorful, fruity glaze, and Jessica opened a smaller box to find a new, beautifully jeweled collar for her companion.

  “What in the world is all of this stuff?” Jessica asked, her voice dripping with amazement as she liberated a glittering, teal-colored dress from another bag.

  “Why don’t you play the message and find out?” Mahoney mumbled around a mouthful of sweetbread while spraying crumbs everywhere.

  Jessica picked up the tablet from where she had lain it when she and Mahoney had explored some of the packages. Pressing a finger to the screen, a familiar voice that sent shivers up her spine began to speak. “Jessica, I know that I have allowed myself to behave worse than a feral vlarnek in rut and am completely undeserving of your forgiveness. However, I cannot help but ask for it anyway, and hope that you will find it within your heart to offer it. I treated you terribly when you have done nothing more than place your entire life on hold for me and my kingdom while working tirelessly to help me secure my throne. I cannot begin to describe how ashamed and small I feel after the things I said to you. You are a brilliant star that has shot across my sky, and when I tried to catch you, I crushed your spirit and extinguished your light. If you would consent to a face-to-face meeting with me, I would very much like to speak more on this matter, but I will concede to your wishes. Mikael has assured me that you are being well taken care of in his home, and my only wish is that you take whatever steps necessary to ensure your health and happiness from this moment forward. May the stars shine down upon you in blessing, my thalia. Your servant, King Korian Ak’Falin.”

  Jessica listened to the recording two more times before she broke the silence. Clearing her throat from where it had swelled with emotion, she conceded, “Man, these T’Kalan guys have a way with flowery language, don’t they?”

  Mahoney swallowed the last of her pastry and nodded her agreement. “You can say that again. He could’ve saved so much time if he had just admitted he fucked up. That’s what I told him he did, anyways.”

  Jessica clapped her hand to her mouth and giggled. “God, Mahoney! How is it that you’re not clapped in irons in his dungeon right now?” When her friend just shrugged and looked unconcerned about the prospect, Jessica’s smile faded and her gaze tracked over the piles of gifts from the remorseful king. “What did you say to him?”

  “You mean before or after I called him an asshole?” her friend riffed. When Jessica just pursed her lips and showed no signs of amusement, Mahoney huffed, “Fine! Basically, I told him the truth of what really happened that night. I think he had already reached the point in his pouting stage that he realized he had made a mistake, anyway, because he kept grasping at straws t
o try to justify his behavior. I shut his ass down quick, though, when I told him what Zandar had found while reviewing Rox’Ana’s deleted transmissions.”

  Jessica’s head jerked up and her eyes widened. “What the what? You didn’t tell me he found anything!”

  Mahoney opened another box to peek inside and curled her lip at the bottle of perfume nestled inside. “So sorry, princess. You were a little too busy worshiping the porcelain god to listen to anything I had to say.” When Jessica just rolled her hand theatrically to hurry her along, she continued, “Zandar and Officer Felonia found several transmissions from Rox’Ana to a private server located on Mamaxon, a ruling planet in the Great Alliance. After running them through several different encryption breakers, Zandar unearthed proof that she had hired an assassin to kill Korian during the big Council meeting at the end of the month.”

  Jessica felt as if her blood had turned to ice in her veins and the food in her stomach turned to lead. Her companion whined with distress against her neck and Jessica absently stroked and shushed her until they both calmed. “Well, that’s good news, isn’t it? I mean, they can arrest the noblewoman for treason and attempted murder and turn the assassin over to the Council, right? Korian will be safe, and Rox’Ana will be out of the picture.”

  Mahoney’s delicate features morphed into the mask she wore when she had bad news to deliver. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to be that easy, Jess. We weren’t able to trace who she sent the transmission to. There are at least five representatives, including the Council delegate, from Mamaxon scheduled to arrive at the conference, and that’s not counting any staff they bring with them. We weren’t able to follow a payment trail, either, because she deposited the credits to an account located on a planet outside the Alliance. We have no idea who it is that may be coming to kill the king.”

  Jessica’s hand moved down to rest on her abdomen instinctively at the news, and Mahoney gripped her elbow to lead her to a chair before she collapsed. She smiled her thanks and queried, “Then the answer is simple. All Korian has to do is arrest the noblewoman and cancel the convention, or question Rox’Ana until she gives up her contact.”

  Mahoney squatted in front of her friend and caught her gaze with her own. “We can’t do that, Jess. We have no way of knowing if the hitman will still find a way to kill him or not, and Korian refuses to negotiate with the woman. He wants her exiled from T’Kala under a cloud of scandal so large that her followers will think twice about following in her footsteps. We can’t cancel the conference, either. T’Kala is a newer member of the Alliance and if Korian wants to be taken seriously, especially when he is asking for their help, then he has to make a good showing while hosting the Council. If he cancels, T’Kala will be seen as weak and unworthy of Council attention. It was apparently a huge boon for Korian to be able to convince them to visit at all.”

  Jessica’s heart was pounding wildly and fear licked along her nerve endings like wildfire. The thought of him being stalked and killed made her frantic with worry, but she knew Mahoney was right. There was no way that Korian would give up the conference when his world was in potential danger from another attack. Grabbing her friend’s arm, she insisted, “You have to protect him, Mahoney. I’m sure that the other warriors are just as capable and deadly with a sword as you are, but they are not you. You and Mikael will guard him, won’t you? I can’t have a baby with no daddy, especially not one that will inherit the throne to an entire planet! Promise me, Mahoney.”

  The female warrior’s face was grim, but she nodded sharply. “You have my word, Jess. We won’t let anything happen to him. The whole compound will be swarming with warriors, and we’ll all be on the look-out and trailing the contingent from Mamaxon every step of the way. Don’t you worry, little mama. Auntie Mahoney is on the case.”

  Jessica laughed even as a tear slipped down her cheek, and she leaned forward to throw her arms around her friend’s neck. The bimbop growled a complaint between them, but kept her claws and fangs to herself while the two women embraced tightly. Finally, when Jessica sensed that her friend had reached her limit, she pulled back from the hug and darted in to land a quick kiss to her cheek.

  “What was that for, you little weirdo?” her crotchety friend griped while rubbing her cheek.

  Jessica beamed at her through her tears and announced, “Just because I love you, bestie. There’s no one in the universe that compares to you.”

  A faint pink stained the Asian beauty’s cheeks as she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, save the mushy stuff for your baby daddy.” Standing to her feet, she held her hand out to her friend and helped leverage her to her feet. “Now, I say we make like Christmas morning and see what Korian Claus sent his good little girl.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  The following day found Jessica nervously smoothing non-existent wrinkles out of a new dark purple dress that Korian had sent in one of the many boxes and bags to Mahoney’s home. She had spent at least an hour preparing herself for the coming meeting with the king, fussing over her hair, replicating makeup, and ensuring she looked her very best. Nervously, she adjusted the strap on the lavender sling where her pet was snoozing cozily. The fiercely loyal bimbop had refused to leave her side for the last week, and would howl and cry anytime Jessica closed her up in her crate or tried to leave the room without her. Jessica tried to be annoyed, but she couldn’t deny that it comforted her to have the mini panda cub with the long, black and white ringed tail curled up against her and sharing its warmth. The creature appeased the part of her that longed for affection, giving and receiving, that had been lacking in her life, and it pleased her to know that the animal would pass on its care and loyalty to her child.

  She still hadn’t quite come to grips with the fact of her pregnancy. The previous evening, as she lay in bed, she had placed her open palm across her still-flat abdomen and marveled at the thought of the new life growing inside of her. She thought she could already feel the difference in her body. She tried to imagine how she would look with her belly swollen and distended like Enahara’s, and wondered if Korian would still desire her when she looked like she was smuggling a basketball under her shirt. This led to her imagination running wild as it conjured images of the bronzed warrior cradling her from behind as he thrust deep inside her body until they were both breathless and satiated. Her body still burned for his touch, and she longed to go back to the nights they had shared when they had devoured each other followed by long hours of snuggling, laughing, and talking until they fell asleep in each other’s arms. The thought of him kissing her rounded belly, whispering to the unborn babe, and then holding their child in his arms made tears leak from her eyes with a combination of longing and hopelessness.

  The irony of the situation made her absolutely miserable. She hadn’t realized how much she had come to care for Korian until he broke her heart. Every time she flashed back to the cold contempt that had shown on his face, she lost her breath and her chest squeezed. It had absolutely destroyed her that he would believe that she could have played him for a fool and the fact that he hadn’t even allowed her to explain was proof enough that his feelings were not on par with hers. It took that crushing blow, him discarding her like so much trash, to make her realize that she had fallen in love with the young king somewhere along the way. But none of that mattered to her anymore. She could never be with someone who didn’t trust her, someone who allowed his petty jealousies and insecurities to cause him to lash out at her any time he didn’t like what he saw or heard. She would not live that way. She deserved so much more than that from the man she loved.

  The chime on Mahoney’s transmission server announced the arrival of the king, and Jessica blew out a shaky breath as she gave the command to allow her visitor. When she had agreed to meet with Korian, she had stipulated that he would have to come to her. She didn’t quite trust herself to be alone with him in his rooms for fear that she would be too weak to resist him if he touched her. Even though they would be alone in the
captain’s apartment for their conversation, she felt braver knowing that the king wouldn’t be on his home turf.

  Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, Jessica reached out to place her palm on the sensor to open the panels. Her knees almost gave way at the sight of Korian filling the doorway with his massive shoulders, trim waist, and piercing lavender eyes. His hair was roguishly long and swept away from the harsh planes of his face, and his skin shimmered from exposure to the heat of the twin suns. Jessica felt her body soften and her sex swell in response to his nearness and it was all she could do not to launch herself at him and wrap her legs around his waist.

  Instead, she took a measured step back and gestured him inside. The king wiped his palms along his pants and spoke. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Jessica. I have much to say, and it would be best to say it personally.”

  The devil on her shoulder poked her with his pitchfork and she replied caustically, “Of course. I would never deny you the opportunity to explain yourself.”

  He flinched as her barb struck home. “I deserved that, and so much more.” He watched her closely as she sat in a chair and situated her skirt. “You are looking exceptionally lovely, my thalia. It relieves me to see you in good health. I trust Officer Ax’Sandre was able to care for you properly?”

  She couldn’t tell if he was hinting at whether or not she was pregnant, but she decided to leave that subject alone for the time. Right now, this was about them. “Yes, thank you. She was wonderful to help me feel more like myself again.”