by M. A. Church
"Um, boy, this is way off the fucking ground." I stared up at the tops of the trees. "Good thing I'm not afraid of heights. I hope."
"Come on, I'm dying to show you the inside of our home." Keyno pulled me onto an enclosed glass-like platform that would take us to the top.
"Up there? Way, way, way the hell up there?" I squeaked. The platform ran up the side of the tree, and had rails to hold on to. It was the size of an elevator on Earth.
"Hold on, chosen." Keyno grinned evilly at me.
"Oh, shit... wait!"
He hit a button and up the tree we shot. A swirling mass of nature zoomed past me before I squeezed my eyes shut. My heart pounded in my chest as warm lips closed over mine. His tongue pushed at my sealed lips until I opened, yielding to his kiss. Finally, as the platform jerked to a stop that had my knees buckling, Keyno, roaring with laughter, released my lips. I clung to him as my head spun, both from the insane trip up the tree and the desire caused by his kiss.
"You... you... you—lunatic! That was lowdown, underhanded, and dirty." I pulled out of his arms and clutched at the rail. "And just as soon as I can pry my cold, numb hands off this rail, I'm going to tie your fucking tail in knots."
"By the gods—the look on your face." Keyno's eyes were teary as he laughed. "I couldn't resist. Now, isn't there an Earth tradition about carrying a loved one over the threshold?"
"Yeah, there is." I sighed happily as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
Keyno carried me in and eased me down onto my feet. The house, which was built using local wood, had all the necessities, yet the amount of open floor space was amazing. We entered through the kitchen and he hurried me to an open patio that had a covered deck that I had seen from the air. A large electric fire pit sat in the middle and had large wooden chairs set around it. They reminded me of the Adirondack chairs my parents had on their back patio, immediately giving me a warm, homey feeling.
Flowering plants of every size, shape, and color were set around in planters, and small trees were potted all around the deck. But the inside of the house was what blew my mind. The trunk of the tree, which was right in the middle of our home, acted like a room divider. Large floor-to-ceiling windows opened to the outside, showing the beauty of the surrounding forest.
The kitchen opened up to the patio, which made sense. It had all of the modern fixtures that I had seen on the ship, though the countertops were made of wood with a striped pattern. The kitchen floor gleamed from open skylights in the ceiling. And good God, the ceiling. It was built cathedral-style and stretched high above us.
The living area was across from the kitchen and arrangements of comfortable chairs and small tables nestled around the plants, which seemed to be the dominant feature of the room. Plants sat on tabletops or in corners. Everywhere I looked, there was some form of plant life.
The walls—what walls there were—were made of a light-colored wood, like pine. A huge area rug covered the floor in shades of browns and creams with black shot through. A huge spiral staircase led up to a completely open second story that had a railing running all the way around it.
Keyno urged me upstairs to show me our bedroom, which was separated from the rest of the house by a wall. A huge bed sat in the middle of the room, covered in a dark fur spread. The walls were done in a deeper color that reminded me of mahogany. The furniture was heavy and done in tones of something close to cherry. There were several windows in the bedroom, and a connecting bathroom. Everything was open, keeping to the natural theme of a rainforest.
"It's beautiful," I whispered. "Beautiful and high off the ground. It's safe, right?"
"Do you believe I'd bring you somewhere that wasn't safe?"
"No, I know you wouldn't. This is going to take some getting used to." I edged a little closer to a floor-to-ceiling window. "That's a long drop to the ground."
"There's a force field around the house, Dale. You can't fall out, the tree can't fall over, and the house can't drop. It will let a breeze through, but it keeps animals out. You're perfectly safe."
"Thank you, God."
The rest of the house was a huge open area. The living area and kitchen all flowed together. Walkways connected all the houses that had force fields around them. I found out then that both Chad and John lived close to us.
"You have a great home, Keyno," I said as I walked around. "It fits you."
"It's our home, Dale. Feel free to change anything you want. Do whatever you need to do to make this feel like your home. This is where we'll spend the majority of our time, unless I have to attend family functions or return to space."
"Oh, yeah, the royal family thing. Guess I'll just hang out here while you take care of all that pesky royal family stuff, right?"
"Nice try. You'll be with me, brat. In fact, both John and you need clothes for such a gathering. My uncle is having a celebration at the end of the week, and then a small family gathering later that night. And yes, it's elaborate, and no, I don't want to hear about what you'll have to wear."
"Good thing a lot of my studies centered on protocol for such events, huh?" I smirked. "Which, by the way, wasn't very subtle, Keyno."
"I know." Keyno shrugged. "How do you feel about meeting some of our neighbors?"
"You mean right now? As in 'walk across those small boards that are pretending to be walkways'? That kind of right now?"
Keyno motioned to the entrance to the walkway "Yes, I mean right now. There are some new people you haven't met."
"You're sure I can't fall off the walkways, right?" I hesitated at the entrance.
"No falling off the walkways, I promise." Keyno's hand rested at the small of my back, encouraging me to step out on the walkway.
"Okay, but just stay near. If I fall off this damn stupid thing, you're coming with me."
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
Almost all of Keyno's crew lived close to us. I met new people who were crew on other starships. It didn't take long to figure out that this was a tightly knit community of people who traveled the galaxy. As far as I could tell, everyone who lived here had been on a starship in some fashion.
The next day Keyno, Doc, John, and I flew into their capital to shop for the clothes that John and I needed for the celebration coming up at the end of the week. We had to go to a special shop that handled the elaborate clothing we required. The pants were like the ones I'd been wearing, but longer. They came down past my calves, and the material had a black sheen to it with white lacy scrollwork near the bottom of the pants. The hem had sparkly crystals that hung nearly to my ankles. The pants sat low and fit tightly through my waist and hips, showing off my package more so than usual.
The shirt was loose and ended right at my hips. It fluttered around my waist when I moved. The material was a deep maroon with black scrollwork all through the material. It had long sleeves that belled out above my wrists. The bottom of the shirt and the end of the sleeves had crystals that hung down from the hem, and its V-neck was low enough to show my necklace. Beautiful, even if it was a little clingy.
The sandals were black and covered in the same crystals. Vaguely, I remembered Keyno saying something about the costume I was to wear, and wondered why he said he didn't want to hear any complaints. The costume was sexy, and I didn't mind dressing up on occasion.
When I was finally dressed, the shop owner braided the white streak in my hair, attaching crystals to the braid. Then he dusted my hair with something that made my hair shimmer, like glitter. Finally, he placed bracelets that matched my necklace on my wrists; Keyno had given them to him earlier.
Once the owner had left, I called out, "Keyno, I'm ready."
Keyno ducked into the dressing room, freezing when he saw me. He had the same look on his face as the night I'd worn the sexy nightshirt.
"You look..." Keyno trailed off, his eyes hot and possessive.
"Sexy. That's how I look, Keyno." The look on his face had me laughing quietly. "You sure that you're okay with me going out in
public this way?"
Keyno stepped farther into the dressing room, slowly walking around me. "It's the standard dress for functions like this. This is how all the mates will be dressed, not just you." Keyno tugged my braid, purring. "Nothing is showing, and I'm used to seeing everyone dressed like this. But seeing you this way..."
The slight scent of cloves and that swishing tail clearly told me how he was affected. I grinned and shook my finger at him.
"No, you don't!" I backed away. I knew that look. Keyno was getting ready to pounce. "You are not gonna nail me in the dressing room, so settle down there, big boy."
Keyno took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. "Chad and John will be dressed much as you are. Your attire will be a little fancier, since I am of the royal family."
"I won't be able to wear my normal underwear with these pants, and I didn't see anything else."
Keyno grinned at me as I turned and twisted, trying to smooth the lines out. "I think you overlooked these." Keyno held up a black thong.
"What do you know, that looks familiar." I held my hand out. "Give it here."
I stripped the pants off, holding Keyno at arm's length. Laughing as I took my underwear off, I changed into the thong, and put the pants back on. The pants fell smoothly now, and the string rubbed against my hole, leaving no doubt that by the end of that night, I'd be nuts with desire.
"Huh, sure won't forget what kind of underwear I have on."
"By all the gods, Dale," Keyno muttered. "I'm going to be hard all night seeing you dressed this way."
"Hmm, wonder if John's dressed yet. I want to see his costume." A small smile hovered around my lips.
John was indeed dressed like me, but he didn't have the crystals all over his costume and its colors were different. We talked about the celebration as Keyno changed into his clothing.
Keyno's costume was just as elaborate as mine. His pants had the same scrollwork running up both sides of his legs, and they tucked into killer boots. A thick maroon sash buckled around his waist to hold a ceremonial dagger covered in those same crystals. The pants and shirt were the same color as mine, and had the same design. His shirt had the V-neck mine did and showed off his muscular chest. He had a braid with crystals woven into it, just like I did, and crystals hung from his ears. When he turned around to say something to Doc, I nearly fell to the floor. At the base of his tail was a ring fashioned with those crystals. Holy hell, I had the insane urge to nibble up his tail until I reached that ring.
Our clothes were wrapped in delicate paper and packed up. We stopped at a restaurant and had a meal outside. Their cities reminded me of ours, just much cleaner, with traffic buzzing around in the sky instead of on the ground and with plant life incorporated into the scheme of things.
"Wow, I'm full. That was good. So, what's next?"
Keyno helped me in the flyer. "Next stop is the Royal Office. That's where your tattoos will be inked to match mine."
I didn't say much as we flew to the Royal Office, but I was nervous. Keyno said it wouldn't hurt, but how did he know that for sure? He dropped me and Doc off and left to park the flyer. I followed Doc to a private room.
"Lie on the couch so I can inject you, Dale." Doc motioned to a couch. "This will block any pain."
"Okay." I moved to the couch and lay down. "When Keyno said it wouldn't hurt, I just assumed that the procedure was painless. I didn't know he planned to have me injected with something."
"Actually, it's a very painful process. It's an honor to be tattooed. Our traditions only allow the best warriors and royalty this privilege. Keyno didn't want you to endure the pain."
"Okay, Doc, I'm ready whenever you are," I said gamely, wondering where the hell Keyno had disappeared to.
"I won't be doing the tattooing." Doc turned to look at the door. "A royal tattoo artist does it."
Keyno and the tattoo artist entered the room just as Doc finished the injection. Keyno moved around on the other side of me and took my hand. The artist mumbled something under his breath about my being weak as he gathered up everything he needed. Between one breath and the next, Keyno was around the couch and had the artist by the throat. Slamming him against the wall, Keyno snarled loudly. The poor artist's eyes were bugging out of his head and the sounds he made as he gasped for air were horrible. His feet dangled a good foot off the ground and he frantically clawed at the hand Keyno wrapped around his throat.
"Would you care to repeat that?" Keyno hissed as he slammed the artist up against the wall again. "Would you care to insult my mate—a royal family member—a little louder so that all may hear you? I insisted he be given pain relief. Would you like to call me weak?"
I stood, and hurried over to Keyno. "Um, if you strangle him, who will do the markings? Why don't you release him and come back over to the couch with me—far away from him—and maybe get someone else to do this?"
Keyno held the other Tah'Narian a few seconds longer, staring at him. Finally, he released the artist, allowing him to slide down the wall into a puddle on the floor. Already the imprints of Keyno's fingers showed up against the male's skin.
"I... I am—am sorry, Captain Shou." The artist coughed, his distress obvious. "Please, forgive me for insulting you and your mate."
"Apologize to my chosen, and maybe I won't report you." Keyno glared at the artist, who was huddled on the floor, still purple in the face. "And know that Dale is the reason you still breathe."
Jeez, these guys give new meaning to "machismo."
The artist turned to me. "Please accept my apologies. Your mate acted accordingly to my insults."
"Right. No problem," I answered. "Keyno, can we get on with this before the damn drug wears off?"
Once the artist stopped shaking like a leaf, he did the tattoos. I didn't feel a thing, and the work was beautiful. The symbols matched the ones on Keyno's neck perfectly. Keyno wrapped his arms and his tail around me. A contentment unlike anything I'd ever known filled me, overflowing in the form of several happy tears.
"Dale," Keyno purred lightly. "I love you."
I turned in his arms and, because it seemed the right thing to do, kissed first one line of symbols on his neck, and then the other. He sucked in a harsh breath, and his purring grew louder.
"I love you, too. Take me home, Keyno."
We'd never flown so fast.
Chapter Fourteen
"Dale? Are you ready? We need to go."
"Coming." I met Keyno in the kitchen and we rode down together. "So, I'm meeting your uncle tonight, right? The one who's king?"
"Would you stop worrying? He'll love you just as I do."
Keyno helped me into the flyer. The celebration was tonight, so I was relieved to find out that we would all be going together. Keyno had the largest flyer, so he was navigating. We picked up Gibor and Chad first, and then Doc and John. Once we were all together, the teasing started.
Chad elbowed John. "Don't know about you, but I plan to stay two steps behind Dale tonight. He's loaded."
"Don't start, Chad. I'm already uptight about meeting the king. The last thing I need is to be reminded of the damn mint plastered all over me." Come to find out, the crystals were the most expensive gems produced on their planet. I was a little overwhelmed to be so covered in them.
John winked at Chad. "Maybe we should've brought a dust pan so we could just sweep up the crystals as they fall off."
"Maybe I should see if I can toss the both of you on your asses."
Since we had arrived, any further conversation ended. Guards parked the flyer in a secure section at the palace. Gibor, Chad, Doc, and John were shown to the Ceremonies Room while Keyno and I were escorted by guard to King Duran's private chambers. Since this was family only, we'd meet up with the rest of our group after I was introduced to the king and his mate.
Keyno stopped outside the king's chamber, his hand on the long, gilded door handles. "Ready?"
"If I say no, can we skip this part?"
Keyno raised
an eyebrow at me.
I pursed my lips. "No?"
Keyno shook his head. "No. I do wish you'd stop worrying though."
"Easy for you to say, you're not meeting the king of a whole race." I huffed out a breath, straightened my shoulders, and slapped some steel into my backbone. "Okay, let's do this."
"Why does it sound like you're going into battle?" Keyno opened the floor-to-ceiling door to the king's chamber.
"You wouldn't happen to have a white flag on you, would you?"
"What?"
"Nothing."
Minutes later, I was standing in King Duran's private chambers. With his height and muscular build, he looked a lot like Keyno. Even his eyes and hair matched Keyno's; it had to be a family trait.
"Oh, hell, do I bow or something, Keyno?" I whispered to my mate. It hit me that I didn't know if I should be formal or not in such a setting. I knew what protocol was for meeting the king, but this was a private setting with family. I clutched my mate's hand. The last thing I wanted to do was mess up and offend his uncle... who just also happened to be king.
"No, love. In his private quarters, he's just my uncle. Greet him just like you'd greet family." Keyno squeezed my hand. "Uncle!"
"Ah, Keyno! Good to have you here." King Duran left a small circle of males and strode across the room to us.
"Uncle, may I present my mate, Dale?"
I didn't know what else to do, so I held out my hand. Handshakes were safe, surely; I couldn't go wrong there. "Sire, it is an honor to meet you."
"So formal," King Duran chuckled, grabbed my hand, and pulled me into a hug. "I've waited a long time to meet you, Dale. Welcome to my family. Please call me Duran when we are private."
Okay, wow, I wasn't expecting that. "Thank you. It's... a pleasure to be welcomed so warmly. I've never met a king before."
Keyno and a few others smiled at my painfully obvious answer. Of course, I didn't add that if I hadn't been taken in the Harvest—and under the age limit—I wouldn't be standing here on another planet being introduced to a king. Why bring that up, right?