Karik arched, his grip becoming excruciating—a lot of deceptive strength in this man, Romi thought with a wince—as he gasped out something incoherent. Could have been a plea, could have been a curse, but Romi didn’t get the impression Karik wanted him to stop. Gods, he loved doing this to a responsive lover—nothing worse than a lover just lying there like it was their right—and Karik was very, very responsive. Any more responsive and Romi would have been thrown clear across the room.
This had to be perfect. It had to be the best thing Romi had ever done for a lover—it had to fry Karik’s brain. Concentrate, he told himself. Forget everything, even forget him—just think about this beautiful erection, the taste, the velvety feel, the warm heavy weight of Karik’s balls in one hand, and the firm, silky length of his cock in the other, the clean smell of Karik’s freshly bathed body, the heat of his lust rising, flushing the pale skin of his stomach and under the astonishing golden curls. Ignore the way Karik bucked, the soft stream of moans, the insistent grip on Romi’s shoulders, the way Karik’s strongly muscled thigh ground hard against Romi’s groin, arousing, demanding, insistent.
As deprived and needy as Romi himself, it was hardly any time at all before Karik came with a strangled cry, quickly muffled, and he released Romi’s shoulders. As Romi licked the softening cock a little longer, he looked up, and saw Karik had his wrist over his mouth as if he was distressed and trying to hide it. He quickly sat up, and brought Karik into his arms. “You all right?” Karik nodded, but continued to hide his mouth. Not sure what was going on, Romi held him and stroked him, feeling the hot flush fade slowly from the lean, gently trembling body.
“Gods,” Karik whispered, still muffling his mouth.
“Is that a good ‘gods’ or a bad ‘gods’?”
Karik looked at him, eyes bright, and once he moved his arm, Romi was relieved more than he could say to see he was smiling. “That was a very good ‘gods’. Kei was right.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to contradict such an impressive authority.” Romi grinned and kissed him, and was amused to find his little scientist couldn’t resist finding out if he could taste himself in Romi’s mouth. Karik looked completely relaxed and happy, so much better than Romi would have predicted. Was that because he hadn’t triggered any unhappy memories or because the experience had just overwhelmed them? Romi didn’t know and wouldn’t ask. Whatever worked, was his motto when it came to sex.
Karik was boneless and smiling, and lay back without any complaint when Romi urged him to. A little bit of manoeuvring under the covers, and then they were comfortable and warm, as free from tension as Romi had been since Daiso still wanted him. Romi wished he could stop comparing this situation with then, but Karik wasn’t suffering for it—not in the least. Now Romi had had a taste of him, he didn’t know how he would ever let him go—but this wasn’t the time to think about that.
They kissed some more, and snuggled close. Romi would have been happy to go for it all over again, but his stamina was always an uncertain thing these days, and Karik’s easy mood couldn’t be guaranteed to last, so he decided it was best to savour what they had. And it was good, it really was, to have a warm, cuddly lover who liked everything they’d tried and who was still smiling happily. Gods, it was marvellous to see him smiling without any trace of the lurking shadows.
At last, reluctantly, he doused the fire sprites and plunged them into darkness. “Feeling all right?” he whispered against Karik’s neck.
“Is it always that wonderful?”
“Oh no. Sometimes it’s even better.”
“Oh!” Romi grinned in the dark, as Karik snuggled closer, then lay quietly against him. Romi felt himself starting to drift. It had been a long, trying day, and he was really tired now. Karik’s breathing was still a little fast, but he had a lot to absorb, Romi guessed.
He was on the verge of unconsciousness when he heard his name whispered. “Uh?”
“I’m going to tell Arman.”
“Tell him...?” His foggy brain put the pieces together. “Oh.”
“I’ll probably puke or something,” Karik added, sounding much less happy than he had a few minutes before. “But you’re right, he needs to know.”
Romi sighed and kissed his cheek. “I’ve a better idea. Let me do it. I know as much about it as you, and it’s my job to report crimes. If he needs to know more, then he can ask you. But I doubt he will.”
“But—”
“Please? This is hard enough for you. Let me do this much, at least.”
“I’m so pathetic.”
“No, love, you’re not. You’re my beautiful man, and you’re as brave as they come.”
Karik was silent for a few moments. Then—“‘Love’?”
“Do you mind?”
“No...it’s just Pa calls Ma that. I guess this is real, then.”
“As real as I can make it. Don’t fret any more tonight. Please? Just sleep, and we can deal with the rest of it tomorrow.”
“All right. Love you, Romi.”
“Me too. Night, love.” He felt Karik smile against his cheek. Such a small thing to make him happy. If only the rest of it was so easy.
~~~~~~~~
They slept so long that bright sunlight was streaming into the bedroom when they woke, and as they stumbled, yawning, into the kitchen, Pira told them they had missed both their hosts—Arman to the House, Kei to visit some friends whose daughter was ill.
“He’ll be back this afternoon,” she said, putting hot cakes in front of them—Romi had really missed hot cakes on the long march and these smelled wonderful. “But he said for you to do as you wish, and not to worry about him.” Karik glanced at Romi then and he didn’t need to be a mind-speaker to know what he was thinking—Karik not worrying about his beloved uncle was as likely as him forgetting how to breathe. The new day had not brought any obvious answers, unfortunately.
To Pira’s delight, they both ate an enormous breakfast, but Romi was mindful of Kei’s words about not allowing himself to run to fat. It was too easily done, and when Karik suggested they hitch a lift to the academy, Romi insisted instead that they walk. “We can take it slow, but I need to get fit.”
Karik looked at him sternly. “All right, but I’ll be cross if you wear yourself out,” he said, wagging his finger at him.
“I see he has you well in hand,” Pira said, beaming at them both. Romi resisted the temptation to scowl at her. Karik was just being Karik.
“I have to go to the barracks. Do you want to visit your friends while I’m busy with Arman and doing that?”
“I’d love them to meet you—but it’s better if I go alone,” Karik said. “They need to be the ones to invite you.”
“I understand, and they’ll want time with you, no doubt.” Karik’s unhappy frown told him he would rather be spending time with him but they each had their own affairs to take care of. They couldn’t be joined at the hip forever if their relationship was to be a healthy one.
It was a very easy, pleasant stroll along Darshek’s graceful harbour path, and after months of freezing his balls off, it was pure relief to be unburdened by heavy clothing and the painful shortness of breath which had plagued him for weeks but which had finally gone. He wasn’t up to anything arduous, but this gentle pace wouldn’t tax an eighty-year-old. He felt the warm sea breeze doing him good and he just knew he was on his way to a full recovery. It had been so long since he’d done something like this, and it was sweet, only—what then? Karik was obviously wondering something along those lines himself, because he was very quiet as they walked together, hand in hand.
Karik’s arrival at the academy caused quite a stir, and it was a good half hour before he managed to extract himself from astonished friends and well-wishers to ask for the senior healer to whom Kei had entrusted Romi’s care. He remembered the man now—the Prijian healer who’d helped Karik explain the intricacies of medicine creation in the academy garden what seemed a lifetime ago. Master Pitis also had to spend sev
eral minutes exclaiming over the miracle of Karik’s reappearance, but once they were alone in his office, he was completely professional.
He didn’t spend as much time examining Romi as Kei had, but he read Kei’s note, and closely questioned the pair of them about the symptoms of the marsh bug bite, as well as Karik’s treatment. He became tremendously excited about Karik’s gezin root samples. “My word—this could be a marvellous drug for people with heart problems. You roasted it, you say?”
“Yes. I have no idea whether that was necessary, but I had to go with what we knew. I was pretty desperate by that point,” he said, squeezing Romi’s hand.
“Of course, of course. Well, I concur with Master Kei that the damage is most likely not permanent, but a careful regime will need to be set out. I will put my assistants on it immediately, and prepare instructions. Gradual increases in activity and arduousness rather than sudden bursts, yes, lieutenant?” Romi nodded. “Good—and we will want to monitor you, of course. Karik, I’ve been working hard on your collected material, though without Master Kei to guide us, I fear we are very much behind.”
“Master Pitis, can he come back if he changes his mind?”
Pitis looked suddenly shifty, and lowered his voice. “You mustn’t tell him,” he said quietly. “But the Rulers haven’t declared the position vacant. So far as anyone knows, he’s on leave. He could come back tomorrow, and by all the gods, I wish he would.”
“So do I,” Karik said with feeling. “I’ll try and talk him into it. It’s just wrong that someone like him should stop. He’s a genius.”
“He’s our heart and soul,” Pitis declared. “People here are lost without him, and I miss him terribly.”
“We have to get him back. Darshian needs him.”
“So it does,” Pitis said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “Ah—one thing. I had so hoped we would have material from Mount Arzha but it seems other arrangements were made?”
“No, they weren’t,” Karik snapped, anger glinting in his eyes as he glanced at Romi. “You’ll have that material, I promise.”
Pitis looked a little taken aback at Karik’s fierceness. “Ah...then, I look forward to it. Now, I think we’re done, lieutenant. I’ll make sure you have instructions by tomorrow—please come to collect them or have them collected. I will wish to see you every week to judge your improvement, but while you’re at Master Kei’s house, he’ll ensure you don’t overdo things. Please, Karik, do give your uncle my kind regards and tell him he is much missed.”
They shook hands with him, and then went downstairs to the foyer. “Now you’re not to walk to the barracks,” Karik said sternly. “And Tiko will make sure you know the way back.”
“Yes, Ma. Stop nagging me—I’m not at death’s door, you know.”
“Not for want of trying.” But then he smiled and leaned in for a kiss. “See you back at the house later? If you need anything, ‘call’ for Neka or Seiki. They’ll hear you.”
“Er...all right.” Romi had never used the services of a Gifted mindspeaker before, but Karik seemed to think it was all very simple and he wouldn’t admit his ignorance. “Take your time—they’ll want to hear all your news.”
“Next time, I want you to come with me. And I’ll find out when we can visit Mila and Seiki so I can introduce you to Jes.”
“Of course.” He kissed Karik again, won a sweet smile, and then waved him off. He straightened his shirt, made sure his braid wasn’t fraying, then set off across the square to the House of the Rulers.
Staying Power: 46
He was directed to Arman’s office immediately, and a tea tray brought just moments after Romi was asked to sit. The Ruler himself served the drinks, which made Romi very uncomfortable—he’d had no contact with a Ruler before this, and he had no idea what they were supposed to be like, but he suspected they weren’t usually this informal. But once they had tea and pastries before them, Arman was all business. “Interesting report, lieutenant. Very precise. I’ll come to the personal aspects in a moment, but I take it your opinion is that such a mission needs to be handled differently in future?”
“Yes, my lord. We tried to accomplish too much, and it took too long. Andon needs systematic surveying by dedicated teams with bases in the country, not people trying to do it from Darshek.”
“But the Andonese don’t have the personnel.”
“No, my lord, nor the funds, according to Lep Wepizi. However, that’s the only way this is sustainable.”
Arman grunted and checked something in his notes. “And how would you assess your performance, lieutenant? Do you feel you carried out your task satisfactorily?”
“No, my lord. There were many failures, and I would say most of them were mine.”
Arman lifted one fine eyebrow at him. “Really? Care to elaborate?”
“The worst was that there was a failure of discipline from the start. I didn’t impose my authority quickly enough upon our civilian members, and that led to severe problems later on.”
“You mean on Soza? Or Karik as well?”
Romi did the man the compliment of not playing to his sensibilities. “On both. Karik accepted my authority when I requested it and behaved as a good team member should, but that was pure luck. Soza would not accept my command and I didn’t force the issue when I should have done. I should really have left him behind in Tsikiugui—that’s how serious it was.”
“I see. So mixing civilian and military personnel was a failure on my part?”
“No, my lord, that’s not what I’m saying—I’m saying that I failed. I ended up with injured people and injuries myself because of this.”
“I see. Interesting that your soldiers had nothing but the highest praise for you, and would, each of them I spoke to, work under you again at the first request.”
“That’s kind, my lord. It doesn’t negate my report.”
“Hmmm. And the landslide? You’re sure this was deliberate? What was Kizinke’s motive? You don’t say in this,” he said, tapping the notebook.
“As for the motive, it could be several things—wounded pride, perhaps jealousy. I really have no idea, so I didn’t speculate,” he said with a shrug. “Kizinke also represents a failure of authority.”
“I think,” Arman said dryly, “you give yourself too much credit. If this man was determined to be homicidal, I fail to see how you could have stopped him.”
“Perhaps not, my lord. I just felt responsible.”
“It’s unbecoming to assume unreasonable guilt, you know.” But then Arman winced, and Romi guessed what he was thinking about. “I ought to have you on a charge, though—you’ve deliberately falsified your report.” The man was frowning at him now with all the severity his cold, aristocratic features could produce.
“My lord?”
“Karik—the attack. No mention of it in any of your notes. Why?”
Romi looked at him steadily. “You know perfectly well why, my lord.”
Arman let out a brief laugh. “Not easily intimidated, are you? Very well—to protect Karik’s privacy. But damn it, Romi—an attack on any team member is something you should have mentioned. It was a serious matter.”
“I am aware of that, my lord, but there were other considerations which made it imperative that I present the information in person, not in writing. Karik wasn’t just attacked.” Arman went very still. “He was sexually assaulted—raped. By Soza.”
“By all the gods!” Unable to contain his feelings, the Ruler got up, paced over to the window and stared out at it, then turned back to Romi. “Are you sure?”
“That he was raped, certainly. That it was Soza, there seems little doubt.” He described the known facts of the attack and set out their reasoning as Arman’s expression grew ever colder. When he was done, the Ruler resumed his stare out of the window, his thoughts unguessable. Romi could only wait for him to finish his deliberations.
At last Arman turned. “Karik knows you’re telling me this?” Romi nodded. “Thoughts abo
ut pursuing it? Because I will and, I imagine, so will you.”
“Yes, I will. The problem is two fold—Karik’s amnesia, and his reluctance for this to come to court. Though I believe now he will give evidence, for what it’s worth.”
“Not a lot,” Arman said curtly. “A lawyer would not be able to place much weight on his testimony.”
“Not of the attack itself, no. But Soza can’t get away with this.”
“He damn well won’t. Leave it with me for now—I need to speak to my counterparts in Urshek, and to Kei. This will need some delicate footwork.”
“As you wish, my lord. Karik, uh, is still very distraught about the whole thing, so he finds it very hard to talk about.”
“I’m sure. I won’t mention it to him just yet.” He gave Romi a shrewd look. “But Kei knows, doesn’t he?”
Romi wondered how he’d guessed that—he could imagine Kei could be very discreet when he wanted to be. “Yes, my lord. He was trying to preserve Karik’s privacy too.”
Arman shook his head. “So damn careful of everyone else, but not a care for himself. It’s been the most bloody time, I can tell you, though it’s not been a stroll along the harbour for you, I know.”
You don’t know the half of it. “The false report is something we both regret.”
“Yes, I know—no one blames any of you. Now—you’re fit in three months. Then what? Back to Temshek?”
“Yes, my lord. That’s my barracks.”
Arman grunted. “As if they know what to do with someone like you. Do you really mean to bury yourself in that provincial backwater forever?”
“Unless I want to move to Urshek, which I don’t, provincial is pretty much all that’s on offer.”
Staying Power (Darshian Tales #3) Page 57