“Well, why haven’t you had him arrested and flogged?” I asked angrily.
“Stealing and seducing Imperial princesses is an ancient tradition. I can only make it as difficult as possible in an attempt to thwart them. It is yet another reason why you are expected to have strong husbands to protect you.”
“They begin to sound like a bunch of mountain goats,” I said.
“I do not wish for my Princess to feel trapped, but I am certain that should an ignorant male attempt to win you by stealing you and waiting for your hormones to drive you to him, you would be furious.”
My face began to burn. “Oh, no. That’s why they are so suddenly interested in me. They know.”
“Teagan, I want your choices to be your own and not choices made of desperation.” Papa hugged me a little more tightly.
Once things were good again between the three of us, we exited the cabin. All of the men from the shuttle waited. Yukihyo gave me his arm. Aunt Seyla, Grandmother, and Gram waited in my sitting room. Aunt Seyla gave me a sympathetic look and a hug.
“Teagan, the next time Kagan does something to upset you, just tell me. I know the absolute worst punishment for him,” she whispered.
“What?” I asked.
Phillip whispered in my other ear, “Not petting his lizard.”
“What was that, Phillip Svenson? Your father gave me your mother’s contact information,” Gram said with compressed lips.
I thought about tattling on him for calling me a titty baby, as if I could control when eighteen years of abuse sucker punched me.
Contritely, Phillip said, “I’ll behave, ma’am.”
“See that you do,” Gram admonished him.
“Teagan, Niklos wants you. Then, will you come sit with us?” Grandmother asked.
I nodded. Kaoti and Violet watched me warily. I brought Niklos into the sitting room with me. I stared into Kaoti’s eyes. “Yukihyo, Izaac, and Zared are helping me. I’ll be fine.”
I noticed that my husbands and suitors had gone out to the patio.
Chapter Nine
The next morning after caring for my adorable children, I went to Papa’s office and called the Hadrian. Luckily, Quaid was on the bridge. I simply stared at him for a moment. “I miss you so much.” I blinked rapidly trying to keep from crying.
“You don’t appear to be doing well,” Quaid said as he leaned closed to the screen.
I shrugged. “Your face helps. I do wish we were together on Sinope. That was a perfect day. Thunderdrop is still madly in love with Sue. Neema can stand while holding onto our hands. Niklos cries louder than Nico snores.”
Quaid laughed.
“When will you be back?” I said unable to hide the ache from my words as I looked into his solid black eyes. Quaid had a fresh haircut that made him even more handsome. He held my eyes with his, and I wished it was with his arms that he held me.
“Ships from Ephors are almost here to relieve us and to continue our humanitarian efforts. As soon as they arrive, the captains will be introduced to the Talpa, and then we will be on our way. It will take us a few months to get there.” Something on the bridge began to beep and a bit of static momentarily obscured the screen.
“I know. I love you, Quaid.”
“I love you, Lady Bosh.”
I ended the call and felt more depressed. When I looked up from the screen, I noticed Director Sapor standing in the doorway. Captain Carus and three officers who I didn’t recall having seen before stood outside in the hall waiting for entrance.
“Good. There you are. I have a few matters requiring your attention,” Larkin said.
I shook my head. “No, you don’t. This is a joke. You have no use for me at all,” I whispered. Louder, I said, “I’m sure Admiral Valen would be willing to help if the Emperor is too busy.”
“Teagan, what is this about?” Larkin asked.
“This is about me realizing that Papa needing my help with social interactions is just a manipulative measure to give me a false, inflated sense of importance, and maybe the ridiculous notion that I have authority over Admirals, Generals, and Inquisitors. Come on. Really? I’m nothing. I’m just the mentally fragile daughter of Tavere Probus. Excuse me.”
I moved from behind the desk, past Director Sapor, and away from my audience of officers. Dr. Fotri sat with Nico, Fitz, Violet, and Kaoti in my sitting room. I looked outside and saw Pierce and Lorca pushing the children around in their strollers. Yukihyo and Phillip had gone to make purchases to replace our ruined merchandise. I wished they had taken me with them. I asked Nico and Fitz if they wanted to go to the pool with me. I wore a robe over my swimsuit.
“How do we sneak into the pool unnoticed?” I asked Kaoti.
“Use the passage near the infirmary,” he answered.
Nico led the way. He had lots of muscles and a nice indent down his spine. Nico Cassian was incredibly strong, a fierce fighter, and a military genius. I had been gullible and vain to play at ordering generals and inquisitors around. I felt like a complete idiot for the entire Uncle Kagan situation. Like these men didn’t have more important things to do than seeing to my petty attempts at revenge. Nico made sure no one was looking before stepping from the corridor and into the hall. I held onto Fitz’s hand and followed.
Much to my relief, the pool room was empty. Leaving my robe on a chair, I walked down the steps and into the cool water with a pool float under my arm. While Nico and Fitz swam laps, I floated. I wondered what my purpose was. On Tora with Yukihyo as an aspiring merchant, I felt proud that I could earn a much better living for myself than I had as a struggling reclamation worker. Now, I had plenty of credits. Being a wife and mother was important.
Officers like Nico had studied at military schools since they were boys. I had passed a few classes. The more I thought about my bogus Imperial responsibilities, the worse I felt. I moved my arms enough to float out of Nico’s way. I was wearing the blue swim dress that Yukihyo had given to me on Sinope. It was loose, but I didn’t care. I closed my eyes.
Over the rhythmic splashes of Nico and Fitz, I heard the approach of male laughter. I dropped my feet and inched closer to the shallow end on my tip-toes. I had just managed to get my feet down against the bottom and my chin out of the water when the door opened. Merick, Dario, Luca, and Dorian strode in with towels over their shoulders and nothing else. All of their dangly parts were showing. I closed my eyes and then covered them with my hand while awkwardly struggling to turn around.
Nico and Fitz didn’t notice the other men until they had begun a return lap. By that time, the naked men were in the pool. The pool’s cool water did nothing to soothe the fire in my cheeks. I did my best to avoid looking at the men and moved to the edge of the pool as I made my way to the steps.
“Good morning, Princess Probus. Thank you,” Dario said.
“For what?”
Water dripped from his chest flattening the smattering of dark hair that ran in a vertical line down below the water’s surface. “Director Sapor said you cancelled work for today.”
“Vice Admiral Galerius, none of you need me except for one thing, and General Braga has been the only one who has been honest about it.” I shook my head. “Ephors needs to replenish its small mammalian population, and all I’m good for is replenishing the Imperial line as long as my heart doesn’t stop.”
Nico came up behind me, tossed my pool float away, and picked me up. “Woman, that isn’t true. You’re good for baking cakes, puking all over potted plants, creating lifesaving fabric, you can sweet talk the most obstinate business men into doing whatever you want, and oh yes, you were able to save the lives of seventeen men who would have eventually gone mad without you.”
Fitz said, “Forging peaceful relations with the Laconians, who have hated our people for centuries, was impressive.”
“Yes, Teagan had both Consul Dano and Governor Chorgh eating out of her hand,” Nico said.
I wrapped my arms around Nico’s neck and looked into his
sweet brown eyes. I sent my love to him through our bond, but he also felt my pain and feelings of worthlessness. “I want to get out now.”
“Why? We just got in,” Nico said.
I whispered in his ear, “They aren’t wearing swim shorts.”
“Teagan, you are the only Parvac who insists on wearing clothing into the water.”
“You can stay. I’ll go practice my knitting.”
Nico shook his head. Then, he tossed me. I held my breath just in time as I went under water. When I surfaced, I couldn’t touch the bottom. I kicked and used one hand to push my wet hair from my face and wipe my eyes while using my other hand to feebly swim to where I could touch bottom. A hand took mine and pulled me into a pair of arms. Once I could see, I saw Nico waving to me from several feet away. I looked up at my rescuer expecting to see Fitz. However, I found myself in the arms of General Luca Braga.
Blushing, I asked, “Did you get in trouble with Uncle Kagan?”
“No, I can’t get into trouble for following the orders of a superior.” He held my right side closely against his hairy chest that was made even darker from the water. I forced myself not to pay attention to it. Anyway, running my fingers through wet chest hair just wasn’t as satisfying.
I looked at Nico and said, “You’re both generals.”
“Whether you wish to believe it or not, until our son comes of age, you hold the second highest rank in the Empire,” Nico said.
“Um, you can put me down.” Luca stared at my lips and smiled. I felt something brushing against my right thigh, but there were no fish in the pool, and no one was near us. I froze. “Luca, put me down.”
“Must I?” He whispered as he lowered his eyelids slightly.
“Yes, your jiggly parts are floating around and touching me.”
Luca threw his head back and laughed. I pushed against his chest. He released his hold on me only enough for me to slide from his arms down his chest, at which point I realized that I couldn’t touch. Luca gave me a small seductive grin. I grabbed his arm and kicked my feet trying to avoid the handhold that he really wanted for me to grab.
“Fitz!” I called.
Fitz could swim very quickly, and within two heartbeats he had me in his arms. I buried my embarrassed face in his neck. “Quit teasing my wife,” Fitz said quietly to Luca.
“Oh, I would never dream of teasing Princess Probus. I am her willing slave. However, if I were teasing her, what could you possible do to stop me, pineapple farmer?” Luca asked just as quietly.
I felt Fitz’s skin grow hot with his anger. “Darling, Luca and I need to have a few words privately. You understand, I hope.”
“What I understand is that Luca is an asshole, and if he doesn’t get along with you, there is no way I could ever consider him as a husband. Having a happy family means everything to me. Please, don’t let him tear you away from me. I’ve had such a bad day. Don’t abandon me to fight with him, please?” Fitz calmed under my palms while looking into my eyes. I sent tenderness to him through the pressure of my lips to his and held my hands gently to the sides of his face. “Please? I’ll make it up to you tonight.” Gently, I pulled his bottom lip between my teeth. Then, I kissed his jaw. Fitz had closed his eyes in bliss at the pleasure I began to roll through him. I turned my eyes to Luca and gave him an imitation of one of Papa’s cold angry looks.
Rather than intimidating Luca, I had turned his face into an unreadable mask. Fitz carried me from the pool and placed me on my feet. Then, he helped me dry off and put on my robe before he tied a towel around his hips. We walked back to my wing. “Do you doubt that I can defend myself against Braga?” Fitz asked quietly.
Looking up at him, I said, “No, I just don’t want you to. Spend time with me. Let’s take the children out on the lake, just us with Pierce and Lorca, so we can relax away from all of the Warrior Caste drama. I’m so sick of them all. What do you say?”
“I say that I am yours and can think of nothing I could want more than time alone in your company.”
In my wing, I asked Rolf to discretely order my barge brought around. Pierce and Lorca readied the children while Fitz and I changed into dry clothes. I threw on a long white sundress and some sandals not bothering with my hair. Minutes later, we had left the Palace and the machinations of the Warrior Caste behind. Once I had nursed Niklos, both he and Neema were soothed by the gentle waves of the lake and were soon napping. A gentle rain had begun once the mountains were within sight. The Captain lowered white canopies from the roof down to the plasti-glass railings which annoyed Thunderdrop but kept us dry.
I stepped close to Fitz and laced our fingers together. He turned his head to me and smiled. I led him over to my white circular couch and pushed him down before pulling the white curtain closed all around us. As I worked at the closure of his pants, he smiled and leaned back. Soon, I had taken all of his clothes from him. Then, I lifted my dress up to my knees and straddled him. I lowered myself to sit with my center pressed against his hard, rigid length.
“Princess, you neglected to wear undergarments. Is this a planned seduction?” Fitz asked.
I nodded and kissed him. I reached under the fabric of my skirt and wrapped my hand around his hard, hot shaft and squeezed. Then, slowly, I lowered myself onto him. His fullness made me ache. The breeze lifted the white curtains around us making them billow as I used my thighs to lift myself up and then lower myself along his shaft to his base. Fitz was so thick that my delicate folds were turned into me on my downwards thrusts. He became slick with my need. I pressed my palms to his shoulders, leaned forward, and changed my motions to more of a fast bounce until pleasure had me shuddering, and my eyelids squeezed shut with the force of it.
Through the satisfied haze of my pleasure, I sensed fury from Thunderdrop just as our privacy was stolen from us, and the curtain was parted. A man in a wet suit stood dripping upon my deck. All I could see of his face were his lips that opened as he observed us. He had a blaster pointed at Fitz’s head. The barge’s speed increased.
“Do as you’re told, and you won’t get hurt, Jiri,” the man said as he took Fitz’s small vid-screen from where I had tossed it on top of his shirt and threw it into the lake.
I didn’t recognize his voice.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“All I want is a chance to win you. Getting you away from the Emperor and the sons of the fortunate few is the only way that can happen.”
Thunderdrop showed me the positions of six other similarly clad males about my deck. My barge Captain was tied up, and one of them was steering us into a small inlet. I reached for Fitz’s pants and handed them to him before I lifted myself off of him.
“So, let me get this straight. Instead of enjoying privacy with my husband, you have decided to commandeer my pleasure barge on my lake, tie up my Captain, restrain my Arachnean Silk spider, and in general ruin my day?” I slid my hand along my thigh to my white blaster that I’d decided to keep on me after what Izaac and Papa had told me. There was no fucking way I was ever going to be kidnapped or abducted again. I drew and fired. I shot two more men before they took cover. “Fitz, be a darling and release Thunderdrop.”
Thunderdrop was in a mesh bag. A man had Lorca and Pierce at the back of the barge away from me and my children. I aimed at him.
“You’d better hand that blaster over to my men nice and slow,” I said.
“That’s not going to happen, Princess Probus. All of you are coming with us,” the wetsuit clad male declared.
I blasted him between the legs. He let out all of his air, doubled over, and fell to the deck. Pierce looked at me with horror etched across his features.
“I don’t think I’m making myself clear. None of us are going anywhere with you, assholes. You’ve pissed me off so thoroughly that the only way you could ever give me any pleasure is if I were to use you for target practice.”
Pierce bent down and took the blaster. After freeing Thunderdrop, Fitz released my barge Captain.
Thunderdrop began tying up our unwelcomed guests. The bastards hadn’t disabled our communications. The Captain called the Palace and reported the incident. Then, he took us at a quick clip back to the Palace. The commotion had woken my babies which really pissed me off. I gave Fitz my blaster and tried to soothe Niklos by nursing him. Lorca sat Neema beside me and then sat to her other side. Palace guards swarmed my barge before she had even docked. Zared and Izaac were furious, but had not perceived any threats to us.
Papa strode onto the deck with Nico and Braga behind him. Once the dive masks came off, I didn’t recognize any of our assailants.
“You thought you could steal an Imperial princess?” Papa rhetorically asked the men. “Now, perhaps you begin to understand the caliber of men I allow near her. What happened here?” Papa asked me.
“I was trying to enjoy some quality time with Fitz and my napping children when these assholes invaded.”
“What happened to this one?” Braga asked of the one who without his mask had a red face and was struggling for air as he laid huddled on his side.
“After asking him nicely didn’t get me what I wanted, I blasted him in his dangly parts,” I told Braga coldly.
Dr. Fotri had arrived with them and quickly injected my victim with heavy pain killers. I held open my palm to Fitz. He placed my blaster on it. While Braga watched, I lifted my hem and slid my blaster back into my thigh holster. Nico had Niklos in his arms and hummed to him. Neema held out her arms to Papa. He took her.
Neema angrily shook her hand at the men who had tried to take us and said, “A hose!”
With huge eyes, I froze and stared at Papa. “Oh, you’re in trouble now,” Papa said.
Pierce and Lorca both raised their eyebrows at me. It made me even angrier. Soon, I stomped into my wing. With everyone out at my barge, my wing was empty except for Violet, who was tucked in on the couch, and Rolf. I went to my room and grabbed my vid-screen. Then, I placed a call to the most vociferous of the news stations as I tromped back out to my barge.
Omnes Videntes (The Space Merchants Book 4) Page 15