by Y. M. Roger
Why then do you not just ask your Sadid, then? I am sure he would relish the opportunity to answer with his strong and over-powering presence.
Chiyoto huffed at Runa’s sarcasm and sighed in disbelief as she tried to hold herself tighter – but would she really want to hear Rafal’s answer?
No, not really – that was an easy one – no one would ever wish to be told they were unwanted or, worse yet, disgusting.
Chiyoto shook her head to clear some of the clouds of sadness that kept threatening to consume her.
Soon they would send Mamere and Junko to their eternal home, and she and Runa could get back to their Haven. She had lived through the heartbreak of being sent away all those years ago because she had Runa to cling to – she and Runa were closer now than ever before. Given that fact and with Runa having her rightful coronation – such as it would be without fanfare or celebration or even anyone in the entire Empire knowing – her dragoness would not let her wallow in this sadness for long. No, Runa would find some crazy adventures to lead her on – into the mountains, perhaps, for one of their violent hunting expeditions. Or beyond the desert lands to see if there were other inhabitants of which they were not aware. Perhaps they could even bring the lovely Maltina back to Haven with them where the Empress Runa – she felt Runa fidget almost uncomfortably at the title and had to smile – could release the vestigial sheltanock so that it could finally learn to fly.
I still believe you are mistaken about your Sadid, my Treasure. Give him time to …
Chiyoto let her gaze drift from the window to where Rafal had seated himself next to that contemptible Guard Captain, Jaylis – could it have been coincidence that they had been looking at her intently when she turned to look at them and they subsequently and simultaneously turned away?
The hairs at the base of her mane rose with her blood pressure as she quickly looked back toward the window.
Your Sadid never takes his eye off you, Chiyoto. Runa’s voice had lost its pleading indicating that she was tired of playing the nice one. And I believe him when he says he can feel you on his skin. Her dragoness huffed quite annoyedly in frustration. You are searching long and hard for things that are not there.
That was not the first time Runa had said those words to her this morning, and, perhaps, to some extent, the dragoness was right.
But something was still just not right here, and Chiyoto knew somewhere deep inside that she was correct about that fact – it was simply easier to face when her Rafal (hers? What a joke! She would need to work on losing that possessive moniker) walked away and gave her room to breathe. And whether that something had to do with Rafal this day or last night or with another being entirely. Sila? Jaylis? Perhaps. Chiyoto was just not quite sure.
But she knew it all the same.
Runa stirred with a simple growl at her cognate’s intuition as Chiyoto directed her attention out the transport’s window. Once again, the Heiress fiddled unknowingly with the Keeper, her entire being working hard at containing those tears as well as the uneasiness that accompanied them until the transport landed.
Worthless metal jewelry.
Chiyoto smiled wistfully and tried to chuckle at her powerful altre’s remark as she quickly swiped a stray tear from her cheek and shrugged to herself.
“Nothing really matters anyway,” she whispered, wishing with all of her being that they had never had to leave Haven.
And neither of them actually stopped to listen to the truth behind the other’s final words.
Chapter 25
Rafal stayed his hands that wanted to grab hold of his Chiyoto, throw her to the ground – gently, of course – and hold her there so that he could relieve his aching member – so hard and uncomfortable since last night that he would readily have her here in his lap in front of Dalis and the whole kahrolasi Detail, and decorum be damned! Gods! She smelled so damn good, too – his senses were over-whelmed with her! His skin tingled and practically sizzled so continuously that he barely knew it was there anymore – it was simply aflame with his complete and nearly all-consuming awareness of her.
His Chiyoto.
His mate.
Our mate. And just kahrolasi take her right here. Right now. Quit putting it off!
Rafal growled at his beast as his hand tightened in Chiyoto’s mane again. Simultaneously, his other hand fisted with the tension that ran through him – between his deep and unrelenting physical reactions to Chiyoto and the beast’s urgings it was surprising he was functioning at all. As he reminded his beast of Chiyoto’s innocence and their need to assure their bonding was a pleasurable experience for her, he had to again wonder where the beast ever got the idea that she would like it rough or that …
Needs it rough. She is a powerful female not some breakable statue. Recall her reaction to your violence against that herif, Jaylis, yesterday – we could both smell her arousal.
Both he and his beast growled in remembrance and continued desire as Rafal once again marveled at how she now permeated every pore of his being, but was his heightened awareness of her – his skin, his olfactory, even his never-easing hardness – simply his own or was she experiencing the same? When he had fought not to practically rape her with his needs last night as she fed and hurs afterward, he could not believe that she seemed so detached. There had been any number of times that Rafal had felt so consumed with the fires of desire that he had closed his eyes and actually banged his head against the wall as a painful distraction in his fight to completely block reality from the physical pull of his body toward hers.
And to drown out my kahrolasi voice.
Yes, and then there was that, too. Because all Rafal could think of at the time was how weak his Chiyoto looked and how he did not want to unleash his very potent, all-consuming desires on the innocent female with whom he intended to bond – scaring her on their mating bed was not something he would condone.
Fear was not what shone in their eyes before you closed yours, and it certainly was not what . …
His beast trailed off with a snipped growl instead of finishing the statement prompting an internal inquiry from Rafal, but his beast remained silent even though Rafal – who had not truly felt in sync with his beast until recently – could almost feel a “brooding” inside of him, as if it were his beast and not him.
Rafal shook his head – so many oddities this morning. His Chiyoto – even though she still looked at him with that longing that had always been there – that got to him every time their eyes met – did not seem herself this morning. She was hiding something even though his skin reading of her could tell nothing – it remained in sensitivity overload.
Because she probably needs you as badly as you need her!
No, it was simply the feeling as if she were walking away even though she remained right there at his side. Had his nourishment been unacceptable to her? Was that what the tears she had shed during that time an indication that he was not enough for her?
You really are kahrolasd, his beast growled in annoyance, You are the kahrolasi Crowned Prince – there is no male stronger than us – not even that kahrolasi sire of yours! And you are looking for things that are not there!
Was he? Rafal sighed as he leaned into her hair to inhale a deep cleansing breath of that peppermint and musk – let it fill him and surround him. And quell his desires a bit, perhaps, although his skin remained just this side of painful with the overload.
In the motion to pull himself as close to her as possible with the damnable armrest between them – those would need to be removed for future use – Rafal once again noticed one of the dissimilar blue and green smear marks that had appeared on the backs of his hands some time during the night – marks that, although they were all unique in their own way, matched ones on the tops of his feet near his toes.
As Rafal enjoyed her essence and his mind wandered slightly as to the appearance of the marks, his
beast continued.
Now bite! You know how to bring them along with us – know what your mouth did to her that first night! Make them ours before …
His beast clipped his own words and surged forward to push him, but Rafal was not so far gone in his lust as he had been that first night. And, as he held against his beast’s insistence and internally questioned for a reason behind the urgings, Rafal thought it better to put a little space between them to silence his beast.
In his efforts to control both the beast and his own body’s physical protests in leaving her side, Rafal’s simple phrase to Chiyoto that he would be right back by her side came out more as a strained and even growled command rather than the request he had intended it to be.
“Stay here, shioliah.”
He needed an outlet on which to vent some of the impassioned tension that ran through him both physically and emotionally – to buy him just a little more time of control until he could speak to Hondo intimately about his brother’s couplings with his Blood-borne mate, Shelvana.
Because he would take his Chiyoto tonight, of that there would be no question.
Where are you …
His beast growled angrily as he moved away from Chiyoto to take the seat next to Jaylis.
Oh, godsfall no! Not this stinking pich.
Rafal ignored his beast’s whining as he leaned toward his Guard Captain and spoke, allowing his beast to sound in the lower portion of his intonation, “How is the leg, Captain?”
Jaylis simply cut his eyes at Rafal, let out a low growl as Rafal smiled almost viciously before the guard cut those eyes back to glare at Chiyoto.
“That female should not be here – the Khedive would not …”
Jaylis’ words as he indicated Chiyoto were quite snarled before Rafal cut him off – the promise of violence embodied in every syllable the Crowned Prince uttered.
“That female is none of your concern, Jaylis,” Rafal let his restless beast growl for him as they both delighted in his next command, “In fact, when we get settled, you and the rest of your soldiers from Tristanin are relieved of your duties here in Capital City.”
Okay, so it was not a true physical outlet, but it felt really good to tell this kahrolasi son of a puta to get the godsfall out of his house and out of his demesne – his beast continued to growl low and long in agreement. After just the small bit of information Rafal had been able to glean from Hondo, the reasons for Jaylis’ presence were no longer valid – he would simply allow Sila to vet the remaining guards that were not originally sent by his sire such as Jaylis had been.
His beast rumbled in agreement – there was something they had both felt in their sighting of Sila – something almost familiar yet not ascertainable, but his loyalty to Rafal was unquestionable.
Jaylis’ head whipped to the side to face him – the distraction of Chiyoto’s presence not so much of one compared to the Prime Magistrate’s words, apparently. When the Guard Captain opened his mouth to object, it was an objection rooted in anger and something more that Rafal could not quite read at the moment.
“Our service to the House of Sadid has been without mar and is beyond reproach, Prime Magistrate,” Jaylis’ beast flared in his eyes and in his voice, “You have no …”
Rafal cut him off with a deep, almost silent chuckle in a voice lowered even further than his previous statement while his face remained as if hewn of stone, “Your loyal service has been to the House of Khedive Sadid,” Rafal felt his beast seethe with anger at the mention of his sire – an anger in which Rafal shared more than simply a small part, “And it is best that you all now return to where your loyalties lie – you have until dark to vacate my compound,” Rafal finished his orders as he stood, barely turning back to Jaylis to enjoy his face of complete shock and disbelief as the Guard Captain searched for words of protest to prolong the discussion.
“But you … your protection … the treaty …,” Jaylis struggled for any excuse not to have to face the unpredictable Khitam with this completely unexpected turn of events.
Siktir git, pich, the beast actually snapped its powerful jaws with the expletive, Hondo is safe then?
Rafal grunted in the positive to his beast – suddenly communicating far more than he would have liked – as he returned to sit beside his Chiyoto, his hand immediately returning to its firm grip on her nape and mane.
Rafal’s face still showed no emotion although his return to Chiyoto’s side certainly heralded a wave of warmth back through his arm to his entire being. He could even feel his beast begin to purr as they were engulfed in her peppermint and musk aroma and the over-sensitivity of his skin calmed for the first time today.
Y-e-e-e-e-es-s-s-s-s…
“Captain Didas will handle all that,” Rafal responded unexpectedly to Jaylis’ stumbled inquiries and nodded indicatively toward Sila.
Rafal thoroughly approved of Sila’s slow and deliberate ‘what in the godsfall …guess you will explain that one later’ reactionary expression paired with a barely audible chestryl hiss rather than a jerky ‘holy gods! did you just say that’ reaction paired with a screech – another justification they would add to their reasons for liking the mixed-breed, “You and your soldiers should concentrate solely on carrying out my orders, Captain Yulstantis.”
Rafal turned his attention from the face of Khitam’s contemptible spy for what he hoped to be the last time ever – choosing instead to face the most important being in the universe.
His Chiyoto.
She smiled timidly up at him as he leaned over toward her again.
“We are almost home, shioliah,” Rafal could barely contain his desires once again as he thought of her perfect body splayed for him in the middle of his large bed. Correction, their bed.
Tonight, they are ours.
But then he felt a shiver run over her body as she hugged herself tightly. Neither he nor his beast liked that reaction – it meant that she was once again clinging to Runa and not to him.
“Almost to your home, Rafal,” her voice had taken on that proper regal and composed air as it did that first night before she had stepped into the crowds away from them, and there was no “my” in front of his name that she had begun to place there – the realization sending a shockwave through both Rafal and his beast, “We do not reside on Bohrea Cardinal.”
Rafal tightened his grip on her nape when she forced a second small grin and almost resignedly turned her eyes back toward the window as Rafal searched for something to say. His chest began to ache from her pushing away from him even though it had simply been one of words and not an actual forcefulness.
Rafal took a deep breath as he leaned toward his Chiyoto – his desire undeterred by her actions – she had tried this once before in the hallway outside the suite on the shuttle.
And, perhaps, in her backing away from him the night before that.
“Look at me, shioliah.”
His voice was only somewhat gentle, and she quietly shook her head in refusal as she continued to stare out the window. His beast growled from within, but Rafal hid it deep inside as he reached across her and firmly placed his palm flat against her opposite cheek to turn her face toward him – his voice was still low, but certainly not nearly as gentle this time.
“Look. At. Me. Shioliah.”
In fact, it came out more as a growled command. But Rafal felt her resistance falter even before he managed to turn her face so that their eyes met. And with that falter, he scented the rise in her arousal.
He thought back to her real and physical reaction to his stabbing of Jaylis – perhaps his beast was right all along …
A smile spread across his face, and his skin began to fly into overload again as she raised those intoxicating eyes to meet his.
“We will talk when we are alone, yes?”
His Chiyoto bit her bottom lip and cocked her head in question, an
d, once again, Rafal felt part of himself tugged away and into her with an action that was so very uniquely his mate’s. Rafal watched her sigh heavily in comfort? in resignation? he was not quite sure at the moment. But with her answer, he was sure of one important thing.
“Yes, m-,” she caught herself mid-phrase and mid-smile and, trying to erase the smile, rephrased, “Yes, Rafal.”
He was still ‘her’ Rafal – they simply needed to have another of their ‘intimate’ conversations alone somewhere.
Preferably pressed tightly up against a wall.
With his firm insistence rubbing between her thighs.
Or, better yet, penetrating her there.
Rafal smiled inwardly to himself as well as to his beast.
Stubborn female.
It was as if they, Rafal and his beast, had both stated it mentally in unison.
“Okay, now remember, hediya,” Balstir patted his little sister reassuringly on the shoulder while she shot him a severe look of disapproval with his use of the term of endearment, “He will probably be a little unpleasant because he is quite unhappy with …”
Mysstree cut him off with her starshine smile, even reaching up to place three of her somewhat stubby little fingers that always carried just the barest hint of white fur along the knuckles over his lips.
“We work with troubled adolescents and criminals, kardesh,” she lifted his hand from her shoulder to nuzzle her soft cheek into its palm, “I am quite sure we can handle your grumpy captain.”
Balstir had to smile at those intense eyes even though he knew she could not actually see his face.
“There, now. You are much more handsome when you smile,” she giggled and laced her fingers with his – it was amazing the things she could ‘see’ with her emotional vision, “Lead the way, and do not forget to give me the touch tour before you leave us.”