by Viola Grace
She blushed.
“There you go again. I don’t even need to see it; I can feel it.”
He pressed a kiss to her temple. “I have to talk to Lord Akutan and Lady Ageka tomorrow. Things need to be arranged.”
“Am I one of those things?”
“You are to go about your daily activities as normal. Whatever you normally do, please do it.”
She twisted her lips. “If you insist.”
He leaned back and lifted her chin. “What are you planning?”
“Just an ordinary day at the retreat. Nothing more.”
He sighed and kissed her. They left the tub, dried off, and walked back to the bed that had been tidied while they bathed. He tucked her in, crawled in with her, and spent an hour of slow caresses learning every inch of her. When she cried out softly, he pulled her against him and slid into her, remaining inside her while he soothed her into sleep.
She woke when the stars were out, and he started moving slowly inside her. She arched and rocked her hips against him. He rolled her to her belly and kissed her neck and shoulders while he stroked into her. She flexed her hands against the sheets, and he covered her hands with his. She couldn’t reach herself to tip her over, so she breathed fast, focused, and moved her fingertip, signing the glyph.
She bucked and lifted him as her muscles stiffened, and she gripped him tightly. He wrapped her in shadow and held her as he thrust into her rapidly before groaning against her neck.
He shuddered and pressed into her repeatedly before slumping against her, his head next to hers. He turned his head and licked at the tip of her ear. She spasmed around him, and he grunted. “So, those work.”
She chuckled, and he withdrew. She turned and cuddled in his arms. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and got up and left her for a moment. He returned and used a warm, wet cloth to remove some of the sticky residue from her thighs. She bit her lip as he tossed the cloth aside and crawled into bed with her again. He held her against him and the blanket tucked over them. She was full of energy and wanted to charge out to make some custard buns, but he was holding her tight, and she was very relaxed.
She would get some tea at dawn.
Chapter Thirteen
Kyna blinked and sat up in bed, alone. The sunlight streaming in the open door was what had woken her. “What the hell?”
Larada chuckled and came in through the door with a breakfast tray, and one of the other maids carried folded fabric over her arms. “Well, I am happy to see that he delivers what his body promises—what did you do to your hair?”
Kyna winced and was put in her binder, the hip wrap, and the base layer. She was sat on the stool, and her hair was unknotted and unfurled. She was groomed, and her hair was prepared for a day at the retreat. That meant combat training and riding effu across the countryside.
Her hair was bound neatly and tucked so that a long tail emerged from the swirls. She wasn’t wearing the pretty pins today; they were too hard to land on.
Larada spoke to the maid and started to dress Kyna in the wide-legged trousers and the two layers of the wrapped top. The maid returned with a small pot, and Kyna had to sit again. “It seems that Lord Daku is a bit of a biter.”
Kyna blushed as Larada covered the marks with a little bit of makeup that had been blended to match Kyna’s skin. Larada had had to hide a lot of bruises over the years. Kyna smiled. She didn’t mind getting bruised in combat, and not every injury was worth going to a healer, so anything surface was fine to wear for a few days.
She was finally released, and as she had finished her breakfast during the hair torture, she smiled, bowed to Larada, thanked her, and scampered out, her feet thudding on the walkway.
It was time to head down to the exercise yard and learn how to defend herself a little more.
* * * *
Daku was having tea with the other guardians, and he listened to the thumping. “What is that?”
Ageka smiled indulgently. “Kyna. It sounds like she is headed for the exercise yard.”
Akutan frowned. “What is she doing there?”
Ageka chuckled. “Combat training, Akutan. One of the things that she wanted to learn, but she is learning from different guardians each time, so she hasn’t really gotten any competency. I think she does it so that the clients here have the chance to slow their minds and think about the steps that they learned in the beginning.”
Daku had to ask, “Does she do that a lot?”
Ageka nodded. “Every day that she is here and not flitting about on recruitments. Today, I think she might be fighting with Siila.”
Amethyst smiled. “That sounds like fun. Perhaps I could join in?”
Akutan snorted. “Did you pack... never mind. You have your riding gear. Go and enjoy yourself.”
She leaned over and kissed him before sprinting to their quarters.
Ageka shook her head. “What is it about those Terrans that they run everywhere?”
Daku sipped at his tea. “I think they know how short a time they have and want to do everything they can. So, in that vein, Lady Ageka, Lord Akutan, I would like permission to marry Kyna.”
His two friends grinned and nodded. Akutan smiled. “We already have the painting of Destiny, so that is enough authorization for me.”
Daku held up his hand. “But. I would like permission to build a home near here.”
Akutan paused and looked at Ageka and frowned. “Why? You have the family estates.”
“She is at home here. My parents have my siblings to take care of them, and I want Kyna to continue to have the folks she is familiar with around her. I want her to have a place that is hers when she comes in with a recruit.”
“There is always room for her.” Ageka frowned. “We always make room.”
“She has not asked for this, but she doesn’t want space that is used for someone else; she wants to come back from a recruitment and know that she earned the bed she is lying in, not that she is being moved from one part of the building to the next.”
Ageka frowned. “We don’t move her often.”
“Where are her normal quarters.”
“Well, she doesn’t... oh.” Ageka blinked. “This is my family’s home, and I have never thought of making a place for her.”
“You treat her as a daughter of the house, but you do not give her a place to keep any keepsakes. My sister had rooms full of her laces and robes and sashes. Fans were given by admirers, hairpins. Kyna has nothing.”
Akutan stifled a smile. “If it is a matter of dowry, I am sure that we could arrange something.”
Daku sighed and calmed down. “Sorry. But her lack of a tether to Rai is her only concern. She is terrified that she will be recalled and returned to existing in a body wracked with pain.”
Ageka covered her mouth. “She hasn’t said anything.”
“You could work around the globe knowing that you had your own bed to return to, Sacred Flame. What does she have?” He shuddered. “She dreams about being sent back.”
Ageka frowned. “She is always making sounds at night. She has since she arrived.”
Akutan frowned. “Amethyst mentioned it once, but I thought it would ease.”
Daku sighed. “It is like the situation that Corress had. He went mad because he had been cut off from his world for leaving. His nightmares were constant, and they were always the same thing.”
Akutan nodded. “He had to be forcibly retired, and his world petitioned to take him back.”
“They took him back, but he was shunned. He didn’t care. He was home and happy. He had his place that he had earned.” Daku looked to Ageka. “How does she get paid?”
Ageka snorted. “What are you accusing me of?”
“How does she get paid?”
“There is a deposit into an account for every recruit that she gets and a percentage for every guardian who shows an increase in contentment and effectiveness when they leave here.”
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“Does she have access to it?”
“Of course.”
Daku pinched the bridge of his nose. “Is the information written in Rai?”
Tears filled the older woman’s eyes. “She didn’t say anything!”
Akutan frowned. “She still can’t read or write?”
“No. We are working on it, and I think I have come up with a technique that will work, but it will take quite a while.” He didn’t tell Akutan that she had to fuse her learning with sensual input.
Ageka sniffled and pulled out a tablet, turning it and showing Daku. “This is her account.”
His eyes widened. “Really?”
She sniffed again. “She is very good at recruitment and even better at helping people find what moves them forward.”
He remembered the impassioned speech of her nephew. “Yes, I think she has always been that way. What are these payments?” Large lump sums were deposited.
“Those are payments from the events she has performed at. The first sum is the payment, and the second sum is the gratuity.”
“What are these deductions?”
“Healer fees. She trips a lot.”
He made a face. “Any injury that has happened while Heela was in the retreat should be refunded to Kyna and billed to my sister. She has been using her focused malice to injure Kyna.”
Akutan blinked. “Why?”
“She thought that Kyna was seducing me due to that painting. She saw it and assumed that Kyna was some kind of predator that I had a longstanding relationship with.” He grimaced. “As she is an alien, she decided that she would drive her away. No, Ageka, this one no one knew. You are not to blame here, nor is Kyna for her clumsiness. My sister has caused broken ankles before. She has apologized, and she will bear the financial responsibility for her actions.”
He sighed and ran a hand over his hair. “I was not expecting her, but now, I want her to be happy, and that is going to take effort because she will try and make everyone around her happy first.”
Akutan chuckled. “Did I ever tell you how I found Amethyst in the stationery shop? I was going to seduce her right there and then, but when I saw the maid from my household, I realized that this was the guest Jinu had asked me to watch for her. I could court her at my leisure, but in that one moment, I knew she was mine. I had no idea if I could keep her or not, so I took the pains to make that happen.” He smiled. “Your mate has been here waiting. So, make an effort to keep her with you. Show me where you would like a house, and if Lady Ageka would not mind, we can connect it with a covered walkway so that she can come and go as she needs to.”
Daku asked the important question. “Lady Ageka, would you like Kyna nearby?”
Her lip wobbled again. “Of course, I would. She is just... it is like she is invulnerable. She charges through the world, and I forget how frail she is. I want her happy, and I want her safe. If a house nearby must be built, it must match her station.” Ageka straightened her back. “I will design it.”
Daku chuckled and reached to finish his tea when a woman’s scream reached his ears. He dropped the cup and went running toward the practice area. His heart was in his throat when he saw Kyna on the ground.
Her torso was covered with blood.
* * * *
Kyna sat up with a grunt and put her stained practice blades aside. She grinned. “Nice follow through, Emric. Bolun, you are a little timid.” She plucked the blue mark on her shirt and looked at her opponent.
“My lady. I am sorry that I dealt you a deadly blow.” Guardian Emric bowed.
She smirked. “Check your shirt before you gloat and apologize. You were dead before you hit me. You too, Bolun.”
They looked down, and the bright yellow of her dual swords was thick and dark across their abdomens.
They laughed, and she handed her swords to the attendant for cleaning and storage.
“Well, you are both dead, so how about you take in a pottery class or feed the fish in the gardens?” She wrinkled her nose, and they laughed. She was smiling until she saw the literal dark cloud behind them, and she stepped toward Daku. She murmured, “It was just practice.”
He grabbed her, and the kiss he gave her was enough to melt part of her soul if her soul was near her crotch. She kept her arm between them so that her painted clothing wouldn’t stain him, but he grabbed her arms and pulled them behind her back, holding them there while he cupped her cheek as he kissed her.
He was breathing heavily when he raised his head. “I died and lived again in the last minute.”
She blinked in surprise. His thumb was stroking her cheek. “I am fine. I like sword sparring. It was the thing I got the most training in.”
“I saw you down and covered in red, and I thought you were dead.”
“I keep telling Ageka that we should use purple, but it is more expensive, and she wants to save—” He kissed her again, and she had to wait it out.
The darkness that surrounded them began to fade as Daku calmed down. They were out of the shadow and back in the courtyard with two stunned guardians and a whole lot of staff watching them.
Amethyst must have seen the hostility in Daku’s eyes because she grabbed the guardians and hauled them off, expounding on the meditational benefits of feeding fish and not being around Obscure in a mood.
The men started murmuring and staring back at them, but Amethyst pulled them along without letting them stop to ask for an autograph.
“What else is on your agenda for today?”
“An effu ride, picking up supplies for the retreat in the village, and then maybe lunch with you?” She wiggled her hands. “If you let me go.”
“I am thinking about it. Get a little closer and wiggle like that again.” He smiled.
“I don’t want to ruin your clothing. I am covered with stain.” She murmured it as he pulled her in close in full view of everyone who cared to look, and a lot were looking with delighted smiles.
“I am not worried about it. Black is a very forgiving colour.” He nuzzled at her neck and nibbled at her shoulder. “I will come with you when you go riding.”
“No.” She put her foot down. “I like riding, and I like the speed and the feeling of control. I don’t want you putting a halt to my racing around, and I certainly don’t want to lose that feeling of freedom.”
He sighed. “If you are not back by noon, I am coming to find you.”
She smiled. “Good. I would hate to think that you wouldn’t even look for me.”
“I would not have to look if I just keep you with me.” He continued to stroke her cheek with his thumb.
She made a face. “Well, I would consider it if you make me an offer. What can I do instead that can only be done during daylight hours and that I will enjoy?”
He smiled and whispered in her ear. Her eyes went wide, and she blinked. “Really? You would do that?”
“Spell my name.” He released her wrists and pressed her right hand to his chest.
She blushed. “Can I start with the other charm words?”
He was perplexed, but he nodded. She spelled her name on his chest, then the other three words. She smiled brightly.
“One more. Spell my name.”
She made a face but nodded, muttering, “You had better be prepared to catch me.”
She moved her finger over his chest, and on the last stroke, a ripple of release ran through her, causing her to twitch a little, and her knees did buckle. He caught her, and his eyes were shocked. “What was that?”
“I appear to have developed a peculiar association with your name. When I spell it. As long as I don’t have to sign it anywhere, I should be able to keep from cumming on the boardwalk.”
His brows shot up. “What?”
“I told you. I write your name, and I get hit with an orgasm.”
“Do it again.”
She gritted her teeth, and she did it again, going limp in his arms. “This is
not a party trick I want to repeat.”
Delight was burning in his dark eyes. “Oh, I beg to differ. This is wonderful.”
“What?”
“Well, it seems that your understanding of the written language or Rai is stored near the pleasure centre of your brain. We just need to work on that to see if you can retain memories.”
She licked her lips. “It is no stupider than any of the other methods I have tried.”
He grinned. “Good, then, we will spend the rest of the morning doing that.” He swung her into his arms and carried her into the building and up to their quarters.
He left her for a moment and returned with a block of paper and a brush and ink. He pulled the first of what looked like five hundred pages, and he wrote the first word.
She cocked her head and tried to figure it out. He held her hand, and she traced next to the glyph as he slid his other hand to cup her breast. She swallowed. “What is this word?”
He licked the curve of her ear to the point. “Foreplay.”
She smiled and leaned against him, murmuring, “If this does what you think it will, don’t think that you can use it to speed things along when you are in a hurry.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I think you being able to use this glyph when I press you up against the wall, lift your skirt, and slam into you would be a good thing.”
She shivered and squirmed, tracing the glyph again until she could do it automatically.
Daku leaned forward and wrote another one. “Aroused.”
She shivered, and she worked to mimic the shape of it. “If this works, you are going to have to tell anyone who asks that we were working on fruit.”
“Oh, you don’t even want to know what I have planned for fruit.” His tongue teased her ear again.
Two hours later, they were naked, tangled, and sweaty, but she had twenty words that she could spell even if she couldn’t use them in polite company. It was a start.