Solar Flare

by Autumn Dawn

  “Not ‘us’. You. I let Jean Luc blackmail me to protect your secrets.”

  Xera stood up swiftly. “I never needed you to do that! You should have let me take the consequences! As it was, we all suffered. I was leaving anyway—”

  “And conveniently missed the fallout.”

  “That’s not fair! I was there at the trial. It was my good name that got shredded. Leaving protected you and Gem. I’m sorry you suffered—”

  “Suffered!” She could hardly tolerate the understatement. She’d paid with years of agony. ‘Suffered’ just didn’t cover it. “You know what? Forget it. I was wrong to let Gem talk me into this. Obviously you’re happy with your cold nakinknaw—I’ll leave you to him.”

  Xera hissed at the derogatory word for alien. “Do not call my husband that. Hah! You want nakinknaw—what are you marrying? But that’s right, you like ‘em. You’ve had two!”

  Brandy cursed and threw a plate at her. Xera dodged and shouted obscenities. Brandy grabbed a half-full cup to toss at her next—only to have it suddenly yanked from her hand.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Ryven asked coldly. He placed the cup well out of her reach and stared at her, his eyes like glowing brimstone. Seen like that, he was the essence of intimidating.

  “What’s it to you, nakinknaw? You going to steal my sister twice?” Brandy asked belligerently.

  He looked at her fiercely and inspected his wife. “The security team reported raised voices.”

  Xera smoothed her clothes. “My sister and I were just having a chat. We got a little loud.”

  “And enthusiastic,” Azor said from the doorway. He strolled up to Brandy and put a supporting arm around her waist. “I’d promised Gem I’d help you behave, too.”

  She tried to move away, found she couldn’t budge him. She settled for a dirty look. “You’re not my keeper.”

  “Yet.” His eyes gleamed. “Once our wedding is official, however—“

  “I haven’t agreed to have one.” She couldn’t help the snarl. She was still in a simmering mood.

  Ryven smiled for the first time. It wasn’t pleasant. “In light of the circumstances, I have to agree with his argument that marriage would be a stabilizing influence over you. For that matter, we have the blessing of the elder in your family, Gem, to help you along that road. She insists, in fact, that the long journey alone has compromised you. She demands satisfaction from him.” He looked at Azor.

  Who seemed completely undisturbed. “Happy to oblige.”

  “Wait!” Her gaze went from face to face, but saw only determination, coupled with a certain smugness from Xera. “Oh, no! You have no authority to do that. I never slept with him, and I’ll be happy to shout out it out in a court of law. You’ve got no grounds!”

  Xera made a show of dusting off her sleeve. “You’ve not on Polaris, you know. New rules apply.”

  Brandy lunged for her, but Azor’s arm held her back. He picked her up in one arm as gently as possible, considering she was thrashing. “If you don’t stop, your new legs might fall off,” he said mildly.

  She froze, momentarily horrified, and then glared. “You’ll pay for that!”

  Azor smiled. He canted his head to the others. “If you’ll excuse us, we have some things to work out.” He hauled her out the door. She went, swearing all the way.

  Ryven stared after them incredulously. “I’ve never seen anything like it. She’s like a young animal.”

  Xera grinned. “Maybe there’s something to that calming influence thing. I had my career, then you. You’ve helped to temper me at bit. Not so long ago, I would have jumped on her, legs or no legs.” She raised one shoulder in a shrug. “You’ve got to remember, we grew up in a bar.”

  He ran a hand gently down her arm. His eyes searched her person carefully. “You’re all right?”

  She smiled, mellowed. “I’m fine. Didn’t I warn you there’d be fireworks? Don’t fuss over it. We’ll feel better now that we’ve gotten it out of our system.”

  He drew her close. “It’s my job to worry.”

  “And she thinks you’re cold,” she murmured, right before he kissed her.

  “Put me down! I can walk,” Brandy snapped, embarrassed to be carted out in the hall. Looking back, she was embarrassed by several things. She knew better than to lose her temper like that.

  Azor obliged, supporting her the few steps to her door. Once they were inside, he saw her settled on the bed, then stepped back. He had her batons hanging from his belt. He took the opportunity to take them off and set them aside. “You interrupted a good sparring match. I hope it was worth it.”

  “She’s besotted!” Brandy said angrily. “She’s got that disease where a person falls in love with her captor.”

  “It’s a physiological condition, not a disease,” he said calmly. “Why are you angry if she’s happy? He cares for her.”

  Her temper spiked because she has no good argument. “You think that’s all she needs? Marry her off and give her kids and she’ll be happy? Never mind that she’s stuck here, a trillion miles from her family!”

  He leaned against the wall and regarded her. “I don’t know. Let’s try it with you and see if it works. Then you’ll be in a position to judge.” He smiled devilishly.

  She shook a finger at him. “You know you’re not funny.” She exhaled sharply. “I suppose I’ll have to go and apologize. Maybe that’ll chase the maggot from their brain.”

  He just looked at her.

  She grew uneasy. That calm stare of his had never boded well for her.

  “I think you should talk with Gem,” he suggested. “I have a feeling we could rouse her on the pin beam pretty quickly. Xera probably has it warmed up for you.”

  She gave him a sour look, but took his suggestion. If anyone could be sensible, it was Gem.

  Gem looked sleepy and very, very pregnant. “Morning,” she murmured.

  “Yikes, sis! Are you feeling well? It looks like you swallowed an entire keg.” Brandy had seen her sister carrying twins before, but she’d forgotten how big they truly made her. It looked horribly awkward.

  Gem looked un-amused. “I’m so looking forward to your turn,” she said dryly. “In the meanwhile, what’s up?”

  There was no reason not to get down to business. “Did you really give my heathen sister and her ice pop husband permission to marry me off? Because if you did, that was really low. You’re supposed to be too far away to manage my life,” she added wryly.

  Gem smiled unrepentantly. “Did you really think I was going to let you travel all that way with him and not expect a wedding? You would have done the same thing.”

  “How very efficient of you.” Brandy studied her sister without rancor. There was a lot that should be said, but pin beam wasn’t one hundred percent reliable. If someone were determined, they could listen in.

  Not that they could affect the outcome. When it came down to it, it was her choice. It had been all along.

  Giving an irritable sigh for the inevitable, she decided to ignore whatever listening ears there might be. After all, her life had never been low profile. “I’m not good enough for him, sis.”

  Gem didn’t hurry to speak. After a moment, she smiled softly. “By now the man knows everything about you. He knows you’re obsessed with your job, a casual dresser, stubborn, and not necessarily law abiding. He’s probably got a dossier on you somewhere. Marry him anyway.” She grinned, but slowly it faded, became serious. “Sis, there’s something you should know. I’ve been meaning to tell you, but you were under so much stress before, and then you were gone….” She sighed. “I’ve got all kinds of excuses. I guess there’s never a good time for talking about things like this.”

  Brandy grew impatient with the long pause. “Just spit it out, Gem. I’ve got other things going on here, you know?”

  Gem grimaced. “You’re really my half-sister.”

  That didn’t make any sense, so she just stared, waiting for Gem to clear up the m
isunderstanding. Of course they were sisters.

  Gem sighed and shifted on the couch. “Look, Mom and Dad fought a lot after I was born. I guess there were money troubles, but I was just a kid. I don’t remember. I had to ask around about this stuff. It was tough, you know? Embarrassing.” She looked to the side again. At Blue? Probably. He would want to support her.

  Brandy suddenly wished she had someone to do that. She was lightheaded with shock. Was Gem implying…

  “Anyway, Mom left for a while, more than a year. When she came back, she was pregnant with you.” Gem’s voice got rough. “She wasn’t showing yet, and Dad never said a word. They settled down, she had you, and Dad claimed you as his own. You know there was never any difference between us in his eyes.”

  She studied Brandy’s still face, sympathetic. “I know it’s a shock. I wouldn’t even have known, but that doctor—the dead one—he told us why he chose you. It was your genes. You’ve already got most of what you need to make the changes.” She rubbed her eyes, surprising an inappropriate yawn. “Sorry. It’s late here.”

  Brandy couldn’t think what to say. “You’ve known this for weeks?”

  Gem bit her lip guiltily. “Um, longer, really. I saw the paperwork they did on you after you’d been attacked at the inn during Azor’s investigations all those years ago. They’d done a gene workup on you…I don’t remember why. I, uh, hid it.” She peeked at Brandy. “You really didn’t seem in any shape to see it. You were still depressed at the time, and in a lot of pain.”

  Calm seemed to be Brandy’s only response to that. Maybe she was in shock. Maybe she was getting used to scandals. “Why tell me now?”

  Very seriously, Gem said, “You told me you’re not good enough for Azor. Well, I’m telling you you’re exactly the same. Whoever he was, your father…was Kiuyian.”

  Brandy was speechless. She couldn’t take it in. Kiuyian?

  “I have…had red hair,” she said weakly, touching her pale locks. She didn’t mention the eyes.

  “Mom had dominant genes.”

  She put a hand to her head. “I can’t shift.”

  “You’re a half breed. You’re still our sister, though.”

  She looked sharply at Gem. “Does Xera know?”

  Gem shook her head. “You’ll tell her. She won’t care.”

  She took a shaky breath. Suddenly, she wanted to laugh. M’acht had been so stupid. She was Kiuyian! And Azor….

  She was part Kiuyian. It was a lot to take in, and she didn’t want to do it now. Instead she focused on the reason Gem had told her. “So you think I should marry him?” she asked, dazed. It was stupid; her genealogy wouldn’t be enough to hold him, hadn’t held M’acht. Still, part of her was delighted. She knew he’d like it. Maybe later she’d be upset, but for now, the relief sang through her head. I’m Kiuyian, I’m Kiuyian….

  Gem grinned. “If you don’t, who will? The man’s not getting any younger.”

  Brandy smiled faintly, a hint of dampness in her eyes. Gem had a way of speaking right to the heart of it. “We’d give you green haired nieces and nephews.”

  Gem rolled her eyes. “At least I’d have some. Why would I complain? Xera’s got children with orange eyes.”

  Brandy looked at her thoughtfully. She felt the strangest relief. “I’ve never been interested in a big zoo of a wedding. Are you going to fuss at me if I use his Jade Ceremony?” Our ceremony, she thought.

  Gem shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t care what tradition you use. Just get yourself wed and publicly acknowledged. I want this legal and binding.”

  Brandy exhaled a vague huff. She was still too confounded to be offended. Out of habit, she said, “You’re pushing it, bossy.”

  “With you, I have to,” Gem retorted. “By the way, quit throwing things at your sister. You’re going to give the relatives a bad picture of us.”

  “All right, that’s it,” Brandy said, reaching for the button to end the transmission. Gem could tease her another time. “Goodbye, mom.”

  Gem grinned. “Love you, too.” She closed the connection before Brandy could.

  Brandy sat back, smiling for no reason. It faded, though, and she became thoughtful. She sat for quite a while, and finally came to some conclusions, One, she loved her sisters. Two, she wanted to marry Azor. There was no reason to wait. Gem was right. The man knew all her scandals—well, almost all—and didn’t care. It was time she stopped being timid.

  She smiled as she rolled toward the door. Family really was the best.

  Azor, along with Xera and her husband, were casually loitering outside the communications room when she exited. Brandy looked at their expectant faces, then steered her chair toward Azor. Though she was making progress with her new legs, the chair was still expedient, more dignified if she had to go any distance.

  She took his hand and just stared at him for a moment. Then she gave him a certain look. She started for the door.

  Azor smiled, secretive and pleased. He followed silently.

  Xera couldn’t stand the suspense. “So?” She hurried to catch up to them. Ryven followed at a more sedate pace. “Are you going to marry him or what?”

  Brandy made her wait for the answer. “Save your fussing for your daughter. You may not manage my wedding.”

  Xera darted a look at Azor. “But this means there’ll be one, won’t there?”

  “There will be a Jade Ceremony,” Brandy said, ignoring Xera’s undignified stumble as she tried to look at Brandy and walk forward at the same time. “You’re not invited.”

  Xera stopped dead. First she blanched, and then her face bloomed with color. “You can’t be serious. That…that’s scandalous!”

  Brandy exchanged a heated glance with Azor and smiled slyly at her sister. “You were so eager for me to marry a Kiuyian. You can just accept his customs.”

  Xera looked disgruntled. “I’m going to make sure it’s recorded, though.” Her color deepened. “Your m-marriage, of course.”

  They’d reached the door to Azor’s room. Ryven placed a hand on the small of Xera’s back. “We’ll leave you then.” He glanced inquiringly at Xera, perhaps not quite certain what was about to happen. He had no way of knowing what a Jade Ceremony was, though undoubtedly he caught the gist. “I’m not sure what the proper sentiment is. “Good luck” doesn’t seem to apply.”

  Xera blushed harder and stared at the floor.

  Enjoying her discomfort, Brandy supplied, “Zie bahair. Loosely translated, it means ‘happy bedding’.”

  Ryven’s brows raised in amusement, the first she’d seen from him. “Well then. Zie bahair, Azor, sister.” He gently guided Xera toward their room. As they were leaving, he could be heard to say, “You can tell me about this ceremony in private. I have to admit, I’m curious now.”

  Now that her sister was no longer around to tease, Brandy lowered her head shyly as she entered the room. “This might be tricky. My legs are still tender sometimes.”

  He gently ran a hand through her hair. There was a smile in his voice. “I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

  He stripped the blankets to the end of the bed and moved around the room, preparing. He took a small wooden box, intricately carved with animals and flowers, from the clothes cupboard and set it in the center of the bed. He took several dot lights from the box and stuck them to the wall, lighting the room in delicate shades of pastel.

  He had the look of a man content in his work.

  Once he was satisfied, he knelt down beside her chair and touched her cheek. “There are no rules for how we proceed. The only important one is that we enjoy ourselves. The ceremony is meant to be pleasurable. Erotic.” His touch trailed down, caressed her neck. His voice deepened. “You’ll enjoy this.”

  She smiled, shy but trusting him. “Then you’ll have to show me how fun it can be. I don’t know everything about it.”

  Instead of answering, he kissed her sweetly. The caress was like the first notes of a wild love song, heavy, staccato. He mov
ed away with a growl and backed off. A small smile played at his mouth as he activated a music program. “I want to dance for you.”

  She sat up straight, surprised. An image strobed through her head, that of him on stage, disrobing. She felt like panting. “Um, you don’t have to.”

  His smile grew wicked as he began to move. “I’ve never worn my own face for a woman before. You’re the first one to see me dance.” His voice lowered an octave. “I expect you to pay close attention.”

  Her throat was too constricted to answer as his body rode the beat. He was like a different creature when he danced; wild, uninhibited. And he wanted her to look.

  His shirt came off by slow degrees as he watched her with slumberous eyes. Each inch he bared drew her deeper into his seduction, caused her to glow a little hotter. He was so beautiful, so intensely sexy. Her hand twitched with the urge to touch.

  It was harder to look as opened his pants, slowly spread the fly. Years of training said it was wrong, but this was her man, and it was okay. She was supposed to watch.

  The breath hitched in her throat as he rotated his hips, the pants sliding down to reveal a raging erection. She swallowed. He had a lot to be proud of.

  He smiled as he stepped out of his jeans and sauntered her way. “Look all you like, love. Touch. Taste. Tonight I’m yours.”

  She shivered as he drew her out of the chair and into a molten kiss. It was difficult to stand as he stripped her clothes off, touching and tasting as he went. He was a man who followed his own advice, pleasuring her breasts, leaving suction marks on the sides and whisker burn in valley. He raised her nipples with his teeth, plied them with lashes of tongue as he gripped her butt, rubbing her against his body in maddening rhythm.

  It was all she could do not to scream.

  He drew back with a shaky sigh. “Ah. Yes. But not until I’ve marked you.” He helped her onto the mattress, guided her to lie back against the pillows.

  “I…I though I was supposed to kneel,” she said breathlessly.

  He smiled. “I don’t think anyone will dare come in to police us.” They shared a grin, and he reached into the box for a tiny vial. He gave her a drop of the medicine laced liquor and placed a drop on her left nipple. He rubbed it around with his finger, absorbed in his work as the tiny drop slicked her pebbled skin. He took a piece of jewelry from the box and laid it against her nipple. “What do you think?”