“Tell me something I don’t know,” Gwen said, tilting her head at his knowing smile.
“Okay I will. Despite what you may think, I am not perfect,” Dorian said, smiling more.
“There has never been a more profound truth,” Gwen said sharply, then heard her name called over the intercom. It was Synar wanting to see her.
“It’s nice to meet you, I guess,” she said to Sarinnea, not happy when Dorian’s mother just laughed again. “Zade, I guess I will see you later, or tomorrow, or—sometime.”
Feeling like an idiot and starting to think sexy thoughts about Zade again, Gwen shook her head and turned to walk away.
Dorian wanted to laugh at the idea that Gwen had been sincerely jealous of Sarinnea hugging him, but it pleased him too much. Knowing she would have actually fought another female for him if necessary was an unexpected gift.
“Thank you for guarding my virtue,” Dorian called out to her retreating back.
The laughter his statement caused to those listening rippled unchecked through the dock, embarrassing her and making her even angrier. The infuriating Siren seemed to push her buttons faster than any male she’d ever known.
“Bite me, Zade,” she yelled over her shoulder, walking away.
Dorian grinned at the derogatory Earth phrase. “Later I would be happy to do so. I need to get my mother settled in first.”
When she climbed the stairs out of the dock, unrestrained male laughter followed her, as did the curses Gwen let fly in every language she knew.
Back on the dock floor, Sarinnea sighed. “I forgot to tell your mate that I brought all kinds of wonderful things for her. And water. She could have taken that with her. It would offer immediate ease.”
“It’s alright Sarinnea. Let Gwen suffer a bit longer. It will bring her back to me sooner. Gwen and I have just recently reached an understanding about our mutual need of each other,” Dorian said.
“So she has agreed to be your mate?” Sarinnea asked, clapping her hands in excitement.
“No,” Dorian said with a sigh. “Just the opposite in fact. Gwen is very resistant to the idea.”
“That’s understandable given what she has obviously dedicated her life to doing. You will have to woo that one and win her loyalty,” Sarinnea said sincerely. “She has a warrior’s spirit. You can feel it radiating off her.”
“Yes, Sarinnea. You sound just like Ania,” Dorian said, taking the levitating transport handle of Sarinnea’s belongings.
“Ambassador Looren is here? How wonderful. I shall enjoy seeing her again,” Sarinnea said, walking along with Dorian to the open lift.
“She is onboard. It is a long story, and we can’t discuss it in the open hallways. Let’s find you a dwelling space and talk there. How long are you staying?” Dorian asked.
Sarinnea shrugged. “I’m not sure. Something said I needed to come to see you personally—so I did. I’m sure I’ll get homesick in a bit and have to hop the next supply ship back to Rylen.”
She looked up at her very attractive offspring, feeling the same pride she always felt when she looked at him. “I miss you Dorian. I am happy you are where you choose to work, but I miss you. I enjoyed the retreat time you took after your last mate passed on. I find myself praying that you will find some happier reason to come back to Rylen for an extended visit soon.”
“I am still considering taking some time to teach again at the academy. I would train others as Ania trained me. So many—Gwen included—do not have any spiritual training anymore. Her birth parents separated her energies, and she shuns her spiritual gifts,” Dorian said sadly. “It is grievous to me and I hope to change it.”
Sarinnea reached for his hand, linking their fingers. “Her goodness is strong. I bet if you looked inside her, you would see the mark of the creators.”
“I would never do that without her permission. In all the time I’ve known her, Gwen has never sought that kind of help from anyone,” Dorian said.
“What else could happen with her background? She is too young yet—and mostly an Earth human,” Sarinnea said with a shrug.
“Ania swears she sees her Thelorian father in her,” Dorian said snidely.
Sarinnea snorted. “Earthlings visit Rylen all the time. That was a jealous human female I just met who wanted to hurt me for hugging you.”
“Thank you for validating my opinion, Sarinnea,” Dorian said, sighing to have at least one person agree with him. “I’m glad you came to visit.”
“So am I, Eli’oh. So am I,” Sarinnea said.
Chapter 13
“The water will ease the aching need. Drink it, and I’ll fill a canteen for you to take on your trip,” Dorian said.
“With what you do for a living, I should have known you were going to be one of those domestic types,” Gwen observed flatly, staring at the water and hating that she needed it.
It was first time she remembered ever wishing she could pass on a mission.
“Why do you hesitate? Sarinnea can be trusted. I would never let her give you anything that would harm you,” Dorian said, searching through his closet for his travel container. Very few beings weren’t reliant on some sort of fluid. “I know it’s in here somewhere—yes, and here it is.”
He paused in front of her. “Gwen, your shuttle is scheduled to leave shortly. I’d feel better if I could see it was working before you left.”
“Worry, worry. Stop hovering over me,” Gwen ordered. “How much is this going to change what we feel for each other?”
Dorian stopped, shocked at the abrupt question, but more because of what her asking it meant. “It will not change the claiming, not really. It will just take the edge off and give you back the control you don’t have over it now.”
Gwen frowned and sipped a little, trying to imagine what it would be like not to have a raging need for Zade driving her to seek him out all the time. Now that she’d seen the potential benefit of a bonding relationship with Zade, Gwen wondered how badly she was going to miss not wanting it.
Dorian’s emotional response to her reluctance to affect the claiming was swift, cleaving like a laser knife through his pretense of not caring about her view of their mating.
“No matter how many thousands of years the creators let me live, it will never cease to amaze me how a mate’s worst characteristics can end up being the thing you most appreciate later in that being. You resisted our joining and now you resist our separation. I am more enthralled with you now. How is that even possible?” Dorian mused, not expecting an answer. He just had to stay it out loud.
Gwen took a long drink of water, draining half the bottle when she saw the possessive way he was looking at her. “You’re crazy, Zade.”
“If you’re referring to mental instability, you might be right. I think any male would have to be to choose such a contrary creature for a mate,” Dorian said.
Gwen pushed on his chest with a restraining hand when Zade invaded her personal space, draining the rest of the bottle while he watched. She handed him back the empty bottle and wondered how long it would be before it took effect.
“Kiss me now,” Dorian ordered.
“No,” Gwen said, laughing when his eyes flashed at her refusal. “If I kiss you, I’m going to be really late for my shuttle. I still didn’t get all I wanted of you.”
“Good to know, but there is no water that works for me. Kiss me so I can manage to focus while you are gone and I can only dream of your return,” Dorian said.
Her sigh was great as his mouth softly met hers. When his tongue slipped inside, Gwen offered no resistance at all. It was her first real surrender to him without a fight, and they both realized it.
“Don’t get too used to me just giving it up to you this easy,” Gwen warned when her mouth was free of his for a few seconds.
Then laughing, Gwen went back for another round, this time taking the lead and diving into his mouth with her tongue. She felt Zade tremble and had a difficult time making herself let go of him.
“I find your aggression very appealing,” Dorian said huskily, touching his forehead to hers. “You are the first female to express such a drive with me.”
Gwen snorted. “Blame it on my father. He taught me to go after what I wanted.”
“I will thank him when we meet,” Dorian replied. “But there is an advantage to my aggression over yours.”
“What would that be?” Gwen asked, snorting at his arrogance.
When his mouth came hotly to find hers again, Gwen felt herself being lifted to her toes. Between his tongue sliding and his body quivering against hers, Gwen didn’t feel the vibration from him coming into her until her legs went. Dorian continued to kiss her, his tongue making love to hers, until her climax ebbed away. Then it still took a moment for her toes to acknowledge they were back on the floor.
“That’s the advantage,” Dorian said, breathing hard as he made himself set her back down.
“So your aggression is the generator for the bonding vibrations you send into me?” Gwen asked, her voice breaking with a satisfied sigh.
“That’s oversimplifying it, but close enough to the main fact. In most species, it is the male that creates the vibrations,” he said, stepping away from her, but not letting her go completely. “Are you—recovered?”
Laughing at his concern for her weakened legs, Gwen nodded, sighing again when Zade finally dropped his hands away. “Yes, thanks. Am I supposed to ask if it was good for you as well?”
Dorian laughed.
“A Siren derives pleasure two ways. One is from the person he or she is pleasing. The other is from his or her own release. The first is necessary for the second. Over eons of time, Sirens became highly motivated to please. It was a natural development,” Dorian explained. “Am I your first Siren?”
“Yes. Why do you need to kiss me?” Gwen asked. “You didn’t even touch me the first time.”
“What I did was the way Sirens pleasure those creatures they serve but who will never be their mates. It is pleasurable, but—impersonal. It’s not that I need to kiss you. I just like touching and kissing. I like the physical as much as the rest. Without the physical intimacy, pleasure is not very meaningful to me,” Dorian said, filling the water container and the empty bottle. “And perhaps I like the physical because my father was a Greggor, not a Siren.”
“A Greggor? Like Chiang?” Gwen asked, totally surprised by that factoid. Zade looked all Siren.
Dorian sighed at the other male’s given name falling so easily off his mate’s tongue. “Yes. Like Chiang.”
When he brought back the bottle and container, she took them automatically.
“Show me your tongue,” Gwen demanded.
“No,” Dorian said, wanting to avoid the discussion. “I don’t know you that well yet.”
Gwen snorted and then laughed. “You’re kidding me.”
Dorian just stared at her, lips firmly pressed together. “There is no time to discuss our mixed species ancestries until you return from your political mission.”
“I think a forked tongue is creepy. You don’t have one, do you? I can’t tell when we’re kissing. What you do is nice, and I—anyway, just tell me,” she demanded.
“There is no time to discuss our biological differences now,” Dorian said. “We’ll discuss it when you get back from your mission. If this relationship goes further, I intend to show you all of my body parts. That should satisfy your curiosity.”
“I don’t think I trust you,” Gwen said.
“Good to see you using your intuition. Do you want me to walk you to your shuttle and kiss you good-bye in front of the dock crew?” Dorian asked. “They would probably enjoy laughing at us again.”
“No—I’m going. It’s just a simple diplomacy run to pick up an ambassador who is ready to go home. The Lotharians have been talking to Synar for several days. They said Ambassador Onin asked for a female escort if one was available. I have no idea why, but she’s the politician. So I’m going to some final negotiation dinner tonight and taking the supplies they requested down with me. Ensign Whun and I should be back early tomorrow,” she said, going to his door.
“I will miss you, Gwen,” Dorian said. “Please take care of yourself. It has been my experience that attending political dinners and other such celebrations can sometimes turn out to be the most dangerous missions. If my mother was not here, I would ask to accompany you.”
“I don’t need full support, and it would probably look bad to take another high ranking officer along. Synar assured me all the details are ironed out and Fener Sel is being benevolent in his gratitude,” Gwen said. “I’m not concerned at all, which means I’m not going to have much to think about. So I’ll probably miss you too—some.”
Dorian laughed. “Tomorrow you can ride me until we both pass out. You can think about that when you’re listening to boring speeches at dinner.”
“Get some good rest tonight, Zade. You won’t be getting much tomorrow night,” Gwen said, smiling as she closed the door.
***
“Do you want to have dinner first? Or find someone to hold your hand? This is not going to be easy. It’s still early in the evening,” Malachi asked.
“Quit stalling. I’ve made the decision and now I just want to get the change over with so I can move on with other things,” Ania said.
“You should probably remove your clothes then,” Malachi said, laughing at the look of surprise on Ania’s face. “When your body starts to change, it’s going to need some expansion and contraction room. Especially get rid of those blasted hygiene straps. Those things are true torture devices. Anyone who can survive wearing those all the time ought to be able to survive a demon host healing.”
“You’re only making me more apprehensive,” Ania said.
Malachi looked away from her gaze. “I’m excited. Do you recall our initial conversation where you compared me to a djinn?”
“To a genie in a bottle—yes I remember,” Ania answered cautiously.
“Well I feel compelled to tell you that after this, I’m going to be able to come and go out of you at will. And I’m hoping we’ll be able to communicate without speaking. If it works, you will be able to send me to do things and I will return. It’s really is a pretty good deal for you—if you don’t mind looking like my child for the rest of your life,” Malachi said.
“Child? I would have thought sibling since next to you I’m the oldest creature on the ship, but fine—child it is. Not often that a nine-hundred-year-old gets thought of as anyone’s child,” Ania said.
“Perhaps in my weakness, I have grown slightly attached to you as a host,” Malachi said. “Instead of relishing it, I find I am dreading the pain I must cause you. But if you are ready, we will begin.”
“Malachi, I intend to use what you give me to do good,” Ania said softly. “If you get some pleasure out of hurting me, I will punish you by making you do good deeds until it sickens you.”
“Yes, I know all about your intentions. Don’t remind me,” Malachi said. “I have to go back into you now. See you when it’s all over.”
He disappeared from the mirrors. Ania stood then and started taking off her clothes. She had gotten all but one hygiene strap undone when the demon fire consumed her and she fell burning to the floor.
“Solra Kokum Ynati,” she chanted in her native tongue, repeating the sacred names of the creators of all over and over. If she was going to meet them, Ania wanted their names on her breath.
The burning continued and she thrashed on the floor, but no matter how badly her body hurt or how tempted she was to call out, Ania just kept chanting.
Then her mind went dark and she saw herself walking through the void inside her to the other side where there was light.
Then there was a brilliant flash and the burning started again, only this time worse, and she forgot the chant, remembering it only when she felt herself crying and pleading for it to stop. Gritting her teeth against the agony, she rolled from side to si
de until her skin glowed in the dark.
Slowly she picked up the chant again and felt the burning start to recede at last.
Then she heard Malachi calling to her, speaking in her mind.
We are almost done, he sent.
Thanks to the creators of all for that, Ania replied, not sure how she answered, but pleased that she could do so.
It was even more surprising when she was aware of his laughter.
How is this level of communicating possible? She opened her eyes to see the ceiling of her room and had the realization she was lying naked on the floor. Well, mostly naked. She touched the last hygiene strap, went to pull it off only to rip it off instead.
I am stronger, she thought.
Of course you are. I do good work, Malachi answered matter-of-factly.
Ania groaned and rolled to her side. “Is the change over?” she asked the question out loud.
Well, we are aligned. You are healed now. I’m coming out into the room to check how you handle us being separated. Do not be worried about my presence as mist, he sent.
Ania rose to her knees and used the desk chair to pull her aching body up. In the bottom mirror, she saw a dark-haired female with azure eyes. Not too bad, she thought, noting the sleek texture of her hair remained. Could have been worse, she decided.
Then she noticed above her floated a dark black cloud.
“My appearance is not such a shock to me, Malachi. I used to look like this, you know,” she said, looking up at the cloud above her head.
“Yes, but I improved on it. Those eyes really work with that hair color,” Malachi teased, his voice quivering but distinguishable from the mist. “You were never meant to be blonde and fair. I was glad to undo those terrible enhancements. What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking I wanted to look soft and kind,” Ania said, dropping to her knees to crawl to the bed because she doubted she could stand. “I’m really tired now.”
“Yes, but you’re not dying. Not even close. Looks like it worked,” Malachi said. “Did you feel me leaving you?”
The Demon Master's Wife (Fantasy, Space Opera, Science Fiction Romance) (FORCED TO SERVE) Page 12