by Isabel Wroth
“I’m not going to live in fear of something that could happen. If I did that, I’d never leave our room. I have proven capable now, several times, of controlling any Sarazen cat, save you. Granted, I haven’t actually tried. So I feel comfortable leaving this fortress for a few days. You will either join me on the private transport, or I join them. Please note that if you choose the latter, I hold a grudge and will not forget it any time soon.”
“I can forbid any outbound transport from leaving the citadel.”
“Forbid away, I’ll just overpower their beasts and keep walking.”
Just like she was doing now, walking right out of his office while he seethed and hissed and threw a rather adorable tantrum. The warriors who stood guard in the hallways winced at a particularly loud bang, glanced at her and softly asked her if she was alright, “Of course,” She was almost giggling by the time she got back to the suite, and Ne’tare looked up from where he was finishing up packing a few of Tarek’s things, “So?” She shrugged not certain, actually. “He threatened to forbid any outgoing transports. So we’ll see.” Ne’tare chuckled, but came towards her and stopped a respectful distance away, his eyes dancing with amusement, “He was a stubborn one growing up, does things his own way, in his own time. But he would never deny his Asho’na when she desires something. Especially something that he already desires to give her.”
“We’ll see.”
Thirty Five
He stomped up the ramp and glared at the two young males preparing the shuttle for flight, his two best pilots in fact, the younger of the two lifting his chin in answer to that glare, wordlessly directing him down the hall. He didn’t see or smell the others, and in fact came up short to see only Clary in the rear lounge, laying propped up on her side, one arm curled around her belly, her other hand holding a tablet, reading whatever it was displayed there. His annoyance and his decision to haul her boldly back up to their quarters and make her stay there, faded away when she looked up at him and blinked as she smiled, her fingers absently circling around on that subtle bump. “This is not a good idea, my one.” He rasped, and she set her tablet aside, shaking her hair back over her shoulder. “There is no safer place for me to be, than with you.” She had him there, and her expression told him she was fully aware she had just rendered any further argument invalid. “Where are the others?” He sighed, and her shoulder rolled, “Already gone.”
“What if I hadn’t come?”
“You would have had an extremely displeased mate, who likely wouldn’t have spoken to you for the remainder of this pregnancy.”
She shifted her legs to make room for him, still smiling when he threw himself down beside her and pulled her little feet into his lap. Despite the fury of the fruitless hunt, those times when he returned to her, he had discovered several important things about his mate. She was ruthless when she needed to be, cunning, endearing, tender, fierce, and absolutely adored having her feet rubbed. “My two best pilots are manning the controls. How did you manage that?” He dug his thumbs into the tender pads of her feet, rubbing until her lashes lowered and a sweet little purr feathered out of her lips. “I have my ways,” Her teeth tugged at her lip, her dainty fangs peeking out at him while she shifted to allow him a better angle. Or rather, to put herself in the position she wanted and give him more room to rub. “Do you now?” She flung one arm up over her head, settling in with a sigh, the scent of her enjoyment and relaxation easing around him like a warm hug. “Mm hm. Brennaugh and Falken are taking advantage of your absence, they will be continuing with the work you keep trying to do all by yourself. Ne’tare packed three days worth of food and water, he assured me the game on the planet is plentiful, so we won’t starve. He also packed you a bag,” His mate had caught him in a finely crafted trap, and he’d walked right into it. He couldn’t help but be impressed.
And later, when the pilots set down in the secluded stronghold that used to house his mother’s pride, he also couldn’t help the squeezing sensation he felt in the region of his heart. She walked with him along the vine choked hallways, through the great hall, through what had once been a thriving, prosperous pride, now was a ghost town. “Why doesn’t anyone live here anymore?” Clary asked him, her hands curled around his arm, snuggled close to his side while they walked. He remembered chasing T’mai down that hallway there, hearing his mother laughing as she chased after them. “It was not protected well enough. A rival clan attacked, this was before we became unified as one race under my sire, and we learned that this place we thought was so defensible, was in fact quite vulnerable. I was born here.”
He led her through familiar rooms, now abandoned, but its beauty remained. She seemed to like the openness of the spaces, the windows that looked out over the beautiful, craggy mountain landscape. If the soft smile on her face was anything to go by, she liked it very much. The wind blew and she turned her face into it, the crimson tendrils of her hair licking across her body like fire. The citadel had state of the art filtration systems, but few windows to look out at the world. Less vulnerabilities, but the happiness on her face made him wonder if she might have preferred the ambassador’s manor in the forest to the solid stone of the citadel. “The only people who know we’re here are Brennaugh, who I swore to secrecy, and the pilots, so if anyone shows up unexpectedly, we know who to blame.” In effect, they were completely alone, with no distractions, no one plotting, no secrets or duties…he was loathe to admit it, but his mate had been correct in insisting that he needed a reprieve.
The first day they wandered around the abandoned fortress, talking low, sometimes not talking at all, other times she asked him questions, speaking softly, reverently almost. When he asked her why, she just shrugged and looked around what remained of the great hall and absently rubbed her belly. He’d noticed her doing that more and more as the days wore on, and every time, it made his heart flop hard, and his cat want to seek forward to rub up against her too. “It feels like it did in the temple on board your warship. I don’t know how to describe it, like I should be quiet. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve seen yet, but it feels…sad.”
“I was very young when we moved from here to the citadel, so long ago that I hardly remember. What I do remember, is that feeling of sadness. My mother was killed during the first raid, it’s what prompted my sire to unite the clans.”
He led her up to the suite of rooms he remembered being his when he was a cub, and watched Clary while she moved around, touching the stone walls with a soft smile on her face. Looking out the windows at the forest beyond, happy, content, leaning back into his arms when he came to stand behind her. “Thank you for coming with me,” She said, tilting her head back to look up at him, hugging his arms to her. “I was worried about you.” He blinked, unaccustomed to so many strange sensations that seemed to originate in his chest area. Maybe he ought to have Ga’rae examine him upon their return. First the twisting of his heart, the flop that followed, now the unsettling roll of his belly. Or maybe it was just the amazing feelings that Clary evoked in what he had thought was his dead heart.
It took him a moment to identify it, recalling a moment before when he’d sensed Clary’s emotions while still aboard his warship. She’d claimed then that it was awe she was feeling, but now he recognized it, felt it burning through him and heard the words she’d murmured to him in her sleep. “Love, is this what it feels like?” He pushed the sensation he felt down along their bond and watched her lashes flutter with surprise. “When I asked you before, and you claimed it was awe, was it love you felt?” She frowned slightly, thoughtfully, and then she sighed and totally let him take her weight, lacing her fingers with his and licked her lips, making the pale red curves glisten with moisture for a moment. “Yes,” He rubbed his nose up along her cheek, touching his lips to the corner of her eye, feeling the soft flutter of her lashes against his face, like a whisper. “Why did you not tell me then, at the time?”
“I um, didn’t think you’d say it back.”
; He bent over her, shifting to make it more comfortable for her to look up and meet his eyes. He licked the sting of where she’d bitten into her lip away, grinning with no small amount of smugness when she leaned forward with a tiny little sound of need. “You have all of my heart, my one. All of me, all of my love,” Moisture filled her eyes, a swelling of emotion rolling like thunder down along their bond, “So glad I got you away from the citadel.” He snorted out a little laugh, took a hard kiss from her soft mouth and held her tight, “One question,” He murmured into her mouth, “Mm?”
“Where are we sleeping?”
“Ne’tare packed us something called a, field kit.”
Thirty Six
Learning to swim hadn’t been as scary or as difficult as she’d thought it would be, and the crystalline green lake that she paddled around in was so beautiful, she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to leave. The banks were made up of smooth little pebbles, the water was cool on her skin, the sun warm, the escape needed for both of them. Tarek was a patient teacher, but as she’d asked Ne’tare to exclude any sort of attire for swimming, they did it in the nude. So most of her swimming lesson was taken up by her trying, not very hard, to discourage Tarek from running his hands over her breasts, her belly, between her legs. It had been exciting, erotic, feeling the caress of his hands on her hot skin and the cool slide of the water to soothe the burn.
They hiked around the abandoned fortress, Tarek would shift and hunt for them, they’d made love out under the trees, sky and sun, then napped, went for a swim and discovered a little waterfall. Ne’tare was a psychic, because the initial three dresses she’d packed, he’d packed three extra, and two tunics and trousers, as though he’d known Tarek would be unable to help himself from ripping her clothes off in an effort to get her naked. Three days had seemed like a good place to start, but at the end of it, she was loathe to go back. She didn’t ask what the pilots had been doing, all she cared about was that they hadn’t seen them the entire time they’d been enjoying themselves.
They arrived back at the citadel, much to her disappointment, and she forced a smile when the door to the transport opened and both Falken and Brennaugh waited, looking frankly triumphant. Tarek kissed her hair, his expression tight, and his focus no longer on her. “Go, I’ll see you for dinner.” He kissed her again and she sighed as she made her way towards their suite. She barely made it a hundred yards before Tarek was there with her, sliding his arm around her waist, his big palm settled on the curve of her belly. “They can wait a little longer.” Love, she looked up at him and that’s all she felt. Burning, curl her toes, belly flopping, all consuming love for the giant alien at her side.
The End…
For now…
Thank you so much for reading! I hoped you enjoyed it!
The story continues on, in the second installment of the Sarazen Saga, Ohlen and Andi’s chapter!
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