Hers to Command

by Patricia A. Knight

  “Yes, pet…” Sari smiled softly and continued to pick out the tangles with greater care. “I never knew your tiny little finger was so strong.”

  Fleur made a questioning sound.

  “You have two very intense males thoroughly wrapped around it. They are yours to command, m’lady.”

  “Hmm. I don’t know about command, Sari. I think they just ‘suffer me gladly’.”

  “I had thought our visconte would be more resistant. The gossip about him is nothing short of terrifying. I feared for you in the beginning. But, he has fallen as hard as our conte,” Sari teased quietly.

  “You feared for me? Really? What is the gossip about him, Sari?”

  “Oh m’lady, I shouldn’t have said. Nothing good comes from repeating gossip.”

  “Sari, tell me. I want to know what you heard.”

  There was a long silence, ending with Sari’s sigh.

  “The word about the palace is he’s a stone cold killer, m’lady, incapable of any feeling and with very violent tastes in the bedroom. Lady Deidre L’ente says she served with the visconte and has seen with her own eyes.”

  Sari humphed. “Of course, I said he was no such thing. I have never seen as much as a bruise on your body and I am in a position to know.”

  “There, all set to rights, now, m’lady.” Sari finished coiling Fleur’s long braid into an intricate style wrapping the back of her head.

  “And incapable of feeling? The stupid hussy, anyone with eyes can see he is gone on you. As gentle as a lamb with you, that one. Our visconte would give his life for you and our High Lord.”

  “Thank you for your defense, Sari.” Doral stood just inside the chamber door, leaning relaxed against the framing, his arms crossed on his chest. Somehow, even totally at ease he gave off a tangible aura of incipient threat. His blue eyes quietly took in the two women, his strikingly handsome face devoid of expression.

  Sari and Fleur started in surprise.

  “My Lord! Ah, you are most welcome. See, my Lady. What did I tell you! No good ever comes from repeating gossip.” Sari pursed her lips, curtseyed to the visconte and marched out of the chamber.

  Fleur turned in her chair with a bright smile of welcome. “Sari never gets tired of saying, ‘I told you so.’”

  She grimaced. “I wish you had not heard that.”

  He shrugged dispassionately. “Lady Deidre spoke nothing less than the truth.”

  Doral crossed to Fleur and knelt putting himself at eye level with her. “You look well rested this morning.” The corner of his mouth quirked upward and his expression softened. “I am glad to see I didn’t tire you too much with my “violent tastes” last night.”

  A pained look fled across her face. Fleur let all the love she felt for him show in her eyes. “The truth as Deidre knew it. You never complain but I know the talk hurts you. I can banish her from Sylvan Mintoth. Should I?” She raised her hands and caressed his dear face.

  “No.” His lips twisted in a weary, bitter smile, his eyes bleak. “You would need to banish the entire 32nd Intel Unit.” He grasped her hands and returned them to her lap.

  “Allegra liked an audience,” he said levelly.

  “Oh, Doral.” Fleur freed her hands and hugged his neck tightly. “I love you, my gentle lord.”

  “Even if I tie your hair in knots,” he murmured.

  “Even so,” she replied, smiling against his neck, her head resting on his shoulder. “Just how much did you hear?”

  “Hmm, I wouldn’t dye it purple. I think, rather blue to match your eyes. There is nothing about you I suffer and I am very much yours to command.”

  Fleur straightened with a soft laugh, smiling up at him. “You were there the whole time. How awful of you to eavesdrop on our chatter.”

  Amusement softened his world-weary sadness and Doral smiled with genuine humor. As always, his rare smile left her devastated. “You forget what it is I do, sweetheart. I am a spy.”

  “And a superb one, at that. Will you do something else you are superb at?”

  Doral raised his eyebrows.

  “Take me back to bed.”

  “Ah, kitten, you needn’t ask twice.”

  * * * * *

  Ari pressed the mic to his throat. “Orbital Station 7475, this is private vessel 34Echo Charlie Tango requesting clearance for approach on orbital-vector 5579, over.”

  “Private vessel 34Echo Charlie Tango, this is Verdantian Orbital Station 7475. You are cleared for dock eight-alpha on vector 5579. Welcome home, Conte DeTano, over.”

  “Thank you, tower, glad to be back, over.”

  “We were not expecting you for another seventy-two hours, sir. The queen and the Segundo will be pleasantly surprised, over.”

  “Confirm last transmission, Her Majesty and Visconte DeLorion are present on orbital station, over.”

  “That’s a roger.”

  “Acknowledged. I carry two high-priority passengers. Please have Captain Tevon Rigo meet me at dock eight-alpha, over.”

  “Roger that. Captain Tevon Rigo will meet you at dock eight-alpha, over.”

  “Tower, please do not inform anyone else of our arrival, over.”

  “Affirmative, sir. Does this include the queen and Visconte DeLorion, over.”

  “Particularly the queen and Visconte DeLorion, over and out.”

  “Roger that, sir. Orbital Station 7475, out.”

  * * * * *

  After turning his passengers over to Captain Rigo, Ari continued to the station commander’s living quarters where Fleur and Doral would be temporarily housed. As it was the middle of the night on Verdantia, he suspected they were both in bed asleep. It was all he could do to keep his walk at a dignified rate. By Her Light, he had missed them. It had felt like part of his soul had been torn away. Now that he was minutes away, Ari could hardly contain his eagerness. Inwardly laughing, he wondered what would win—his need for sleep or his desire to make love to his partners. The last six months had been very long and celibate. Either way, a bed figured prominently in his plans for the next twelve hours.

  He had made a significant detour to pick up his two passengers. In spite of the Verdantians’ advantage in firepower, the Haarb had put up fierce resistance. He was physically and mentally exhausted. What he had discovered upon entering the Haarb’s battle cruiser was the stuff of nightmares.

  Silently entering the sleeping chamber, he crossed to the bed. In the shadowy room, he could detect two bodies, one large and one small, curled together in the center. A faint glint of steel shown in the dim light. “Goddess, Doral, it’s me. Put the stiletto away,” Ari whispered.

  “By Her light, Ari, stop trying to surprise me,” came a return masculine whisper. “One of these days I am going to do you bodily harm entirely by accident.”

  “It will never happen. You are a master of control.” Ari chuckled softly and started to strip off his clothing. “Move over, I’m exhausted. I think I could sleep for three days.”

  Doral cuddled closer to Fleur leaving some space for him. He slipped beneath the covers and pressed his entire length to Doral’s back. “Goddess you feel good. I am so touch deprived.”

  “I can tell you are happy to be back.” Doral rubbed his buttocks against Ari’s groin cradling his growing erection.

  “Very. But I am too tired to do anything about it.” He snorted softly. “A first for me. It has been a rigorous passage home. I’ll fill both of you in when I’ve slept some. Oh, and I have a surprise for you, Doral.”

  “You know how I feel about surprises.”

  Ari grinned in the darkness. “You will like this one, I assure you.”

  “Fleur will be over-joyed you are back. We have a surprise for you.”

  Ari felt himself surrendering to unconsciousness. I’m home.

  * * * * *

  Fleur roused from sleep by the feeling of her lover’s hand caressing the swell of her pregnancy. Unwilling to open her eyes, seduced by the pleasure of his caresses, she smiled
and whispered, “I thought I had worn you out yesterday, Doral.”

  “He is still sleeping soundly, so perhaps you did,” Ari whispered in return.

  “Ari!” Fleur’s eyes flew open and she made to rise, but he pushed her back into her bedding with an appreciative gleam in his eyes.

  “I missed you both so much I moved three planets from their orbits and burned out the Vestry’s port thruster to get back here.” He grinned broadly. “Had I known about Ruprecht, Jr., it would have been four planets and both thrusters.”

  Fleur made an inarticulate cry of joy and launched herself at Ari’s neck, hugging him furiously.

  “Sweetheart! You are strangling me! And that can’t be good for Ruprecht, Jr.”

  Her joyful laughter rang throughout the chamber. “You are back! You are back!” She drew away, wiping tears of joy from her cheeks, grinning. “Wretch. We agreed on Patricio.” Fleur cut her eyes at him slyly. “Besides, what makes you think he is yours? Doral could be his daddy.”

  He laughed. “Doesn’t matter. We will love him just the same.”

  “Obviously, I can’t sleep through this,” Doral interjected drowsily. “The genetic testing says Ruprecht, Jr. is yours, Ari, so don’t let the queen spin you in circles.” Doral propped up on his elbow and regarded them with a sleepy smile. “But you can love my Lilly, just the same.”

  Fleur and Doral both chuckled softly at Ari’s stunned silence.

  “By the Goddess, Doral, I think we silenced our good ambassador.”

  “Twins? A boy and a girl?”

  Doral flopped back into the pillows with a soft laugh. “Can you imagine our delicate Fleur carrying twins? But all the experts say it should not be a problem. Though we might need to widen a few doors for her at the end.”

  Fleur punched him gently in the arm. “Brute. Just for that I am going to make you carry me wherever I need to go.”

  Doral smiled softly. “I am yours to command, my queen.”

  “But how can, I mean, one yours, one mine? How is this possible?”

  Fleur smiled broadly. “Guess Verdantia threw some extra magick our direction. Really, Ari, it was the usual way. You know, two eggs, two sperm. It just so happened one was yours and one was Doral’s. So, hey presto! Twins.”

  Once again, Fleur and Doral laughed at his dumbstruck expression.

  “When are you due?”

  “Just before our winter solstice celebration.”

  His expression softened. “We will be quite the little family.”

  At Doral’s return smile, he continued. “I am sure Sari and Camilla have become little dictators. Are they making your life hell?”

  Fleur groaned, “Yes.”

  Doral shrugged. “They aren’t so bad. Sari has actually been quite reassuring.”

  Ari’s eyebrows lifted at Doral’s quiet comment. “There has been no end to the miracles while I was gone.”

  Fleur held Doral’s eyes and smiled sweetly. “Sari and Doral deal very well with each other, Ari. Actually, I think they both do better with Doral than with you.”

  Ari snorted, “That wouldn’t take much. I don’t want them to touch you.”

  “Sari is wise to you, but it would help if you didn’t terrorize Camilla all the time.”

  As Fleur spoke, the chamber door opened to admit the topic of discussion bearing a tray of steaming bowls. Ari grimaced. “Out. Now. We will call you when we need you. And don’t enter again without knocking.”

  “Sir! You are back!” Camilla’s eyes widened. She set the tray on the floor and fled.

  “Ari,” Fleur chastised. “Can you wonder she tiptoes around you?”

  “The immediate plans I have for the both of you do not lend themselves to an audience or interruptions.”

  With no warning and the speed of a striking viper, Doral had him flipped and pinned on his back beneath him. Doral’s mouth descended on his in a ferocious kiss, effectively silencing any protest he might voice. His Segundo cuffed Ari’s wrists behind his back. Both men were breathing heavily when Doral finally raised his head.

  “Just as I thought,” Doral said between nips and licks up and down his neck. “You’ve gotten soft and slow, Primo.”

  “Really?” Ari eyebrows lifted. He gasped in reaction to a bite on a particularly sensitive spot and ground his solid erection into the outside of Doral’s muscled thigh. “I think you are right where I want you, Segundo, and I don’t remember when I have been harder.”

  Laughter lit Doral’s eyes. “So says the rabbit in the jaws of the wolf,” as Doral easily held him trapped beneath him.

  Fleur added her laughter to Doral’s. “It does look like you have it backward, Ari.”

  “Backward, forward, who in the seven hells cares. One of you, kiss me,” Ari demanded.

  “Hold him, Doral.” Fleur laughed low and sultry. “This is going to be such fun.” She moved over to lie against his side and stroked up his rigid cock with a twist of her wrist then down firmly. At Ari’s gasping reaction, Fleur covered his mouth with her lips and stroked her tongue in and out mimicking the actions of her hand. He bucked and groaned beneath her in increasingly violent reaction but was unable to free himself from Doral’s grasp. Finally, tearing himself from Fleur’s mouth, Ari gasped, “Stop.” He shuddered heavily. “I’m on the edge here. Please, Fleur, stop.”

  Her breath heavy, her mouth glistening from his kisses, Fleur held his eyes for a moment with a half-lidded, languid gaze. She looked down at her thumb slicking over the swollen head of Ari’s cock. A generous amount of pre-come beaded on her knuckle. A teasing, sultry smile shaped her lips. She raised her thumb to her mouth and sucked it in. His cock jerked erratically. Another large drop dangled precipitously. “You missed some,” he croaked.

  “Hmm, yum. Finely aged Verdantian ambassador. A lusty bouquet of arousal with lingering notes of desperation. I missed this taste,” she purred, sliding away from him.

  Ari knew the sound he made was not very manly.

  Chuckling, Doral leaned over, placed a kiss on his mouth and released him. “Let us pleasure you, Ari. I suspect your need is greater than ours.” He looked at Ari in question. Ari closed his eyes briefly, uttering a quiet curse.

  “I want two dicks, one for your mouth and one for Fleur’s pussy.”

  He shuddered at the wicked look Doral gave him as he slid down between his legs.

  “You two are so lovely to watch. It makes me terribly wet.” Fleur’s sultry voice coaxed Ari, “Umm, how about we save me for later and let Doral work his magick with you now.”

  Doral made the decision for them.

  “Goddess save me, Doral, I am going to last all of three heartbeats if you keep that up.”

  Doral held Ari’s eyes as he worked up and down his rigidly hard shaft with his mouth and hands, pausing to lick rings around the flared head of his cock before plunging down again. He slithered up one more time before coming off with a hollow-cheeked pull that had Ari cursing quietly.

  “Ari, let go. Take your pleasure, then we’ll do this again.” Doral chuckled softly. “No endurance contests are necessary. Fast and hard suits me.”

  At his heavy shudder, Doral’s mouth engulfed him again in a strong, sucking, sliding pull. One hand pulled at Ari’s balls while the other wrapped his base to stabilize his heavy cock for the forceful slides of his mouth as he worked up and down its length.

  “Fuck! Good! So good. Yes, like that.” Ari gasped and thrust into Doral’s mouth. His hands fisted in Doral’s heavy blond hair as he released. Doral’s throat worked repeatedly, swallowing and sucking. The visconte’s hips worked his rigid length against the slippery serici sheets. Fleur lay back, twisting her nipples with half-shuttered eyes. She was almost panting.

  The sounds issuing from Ari’s mouth were more indicative of torture than pleasure. He collapsed limply. “I feel like the greenest of lovers,” he laughed helplessly. He shuddered as Doral took one long last pull, swallowed heavily and licked his lips looking up at him with
a broad grin.

  “I agree with our queen. Good vintage.”

  “I could probably be heard in the hall. I don’t remember when it has taken so little to get me off. Goddess, I missed the two of you.”

  “We had each other for comfort but don’t doubt for a minute we ached for you. If desire powered starships we could fuel an entire fleet,” Fleur murmured. “I begrudge every day the Augoust business kept you from us.”

  With an arched eyebrow, Ari held Doral with an expectant look and waited.

  A slight smile tipped the corners of the visconte’s delicious mouth. “Your ego knows no boundary. You are milking this for every ounce.” Sighing he gave him the words. “I missed you.”

  Doral shook his head at his frown and continued look of expectation. “It is what happens when you love someone. You miss them when they are gone,” Doral added. His eyes crinkled in humor at Ari’s resulting broad smile. “You and Fleur are the only family I’ve left. Of course I missed you.”

  Ari straightened with an enigmatic smile. “I have not even begun with the two of you but that reminds me. I have a surprise for you.” He left the bed and walked over to where he had abandoned his clothes the night before. “You will need to get dressed and meet me in the officers’ lounge at 1100 hours.” He grinned at Fleur, running his eyes up and down her nude form. “By the Goddess it is a crime to cover that, but put some clothes on Ruprecht, Jr. and you can come, too.”

  “He is being so mysterious. What could it possibly be?”

  “I don’t know, kitten. I suggest we indulge him. You know all those long days in space, the stress, impending fatherhood, devastating sex after prolonged chastity. It sent him a little,” Doral circled his temple with his forefinger.

  Fleur snorted. “He was always like that, Doral.”

  “Ah, ah, ahh, be nice to the man bearing surprises.” Ari smiled over his shoulder as he finished dressing and walked out the door. “See you in a bit.” Fleur has been good for him. That impervious stone wall of his is showing some cracks. Our emotionless assassin is becoming almost human. Ari could hardly contain his eager anticipation of Doral’s reaction to his surprise. He walked a little faster.