Reluctantly, he lifted his face from hers. Here, on the cold flagstones of the temple floor, was not where he wanted that pairing to take place. It would have to be Ghyakulla’s Shrine. A least it had grass and bushes: there they could be more private. He sent a mute appeal to Lijou, praying he’d be awake and receive him.
“No way!” she said, trying to fight him off as he pulled her toward the dim glow that marked the entrance to the Shrine. “I told you, I’ll scream!”
“Then do it,” he said grimly, stopping to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder. As his hand clasped her bare thighs and her scent enveloped him, he felt the muscles in his belly and groin start to clench.
I don’t want this! I didn’t intend this to happen! she sent, squirming in his grasp and battering her fists against his back as she tried to sit up.
He felt the familiar faint tingle as he stepped through the weak force field. “Believe me, neither did I,” he said, stopping and setting her down. “You wanted to tease an adult male, get him aroused. Well, congratulations, Alex, you’ve succeeded beyond your wildest hopes. Remember this for the future. Never start something with me that you’re not prepared to finish. We pair now, or we die. That’s the only choice we have.” He began to pull her close but she held him off.
“Wait,” she said, looking round the dimly lit cavern. “Ghyakulla. She’s your earth Goddess, isn’t she?”
“Yes,” he said impatiently, then realized he was seeing the Shrine as if for the first time through her eyes.
It was dusk here, and the grass beneath their bare feet was still warm. They stood in a small hollow beyond a clump of bushes that partially screened them from the entrance. Insects chirred, and the gentle sound of running water filled the cavern. A movement of air brought with it the scent of nung flowers from the tree nearby. It was easy to forget one was in the heart of the mountain.
“Lights in the ceiling simulate the rhythm of day and night,” he said.
“It’s beautiful.”
He touched her shoulder, making her jump and turn back to face him. “We have to pair,” he reminded her. “I don’t want to force you, but I will if I have to.”
“No one could ever accuse you of being romantic,” she said tartly.
“You put me through a week of hell and you expect romance?” He was taken aback by her insolence.
She shrugged and reached for the hem of her tunic, beginning to lift it up.
“No!” Shocked, he reached out to stop her. “That’s not what I meant,” he said lamely.
Giving him a curious look, she let her tunic go. “You don’t know what you want, do you?”
He remembered Vartra saying exactly the same and shivered slightly as he pulled her into his arms. Where they touched, once again he felt the flow of energy between them. Suddenly, he felt more alive than he’d ever felt before.
“I want you,” he said, aware that for all her bravado she’d never paired before. “There’s no need to be afraid. I’m no striped youngling with his first female, Alex. I am experienced. Many of your people have chosen Sholan males as lovers.”
She touched his face, stroking the soft pelt there before moving her hand down his neck to the longer hair that grew there. “It’s soft,” she said. “I thought it would be coarser, like an animal’s.”
For the first time, he felt her look at him as a desirable male, and like what she saw. “You said you weren’t interested.”
She grinned and shrugged, moving her hand to where his robe overlapped across his chest, slipping her fingers beneath the edges. “So I lied.”
He reached for his belt, unfastening it and letting his robe fall loose. Wrapping his arms around her, he buried his head against her neck, content for the moment to smell her scent and taste her skin. He could feel that she lagged behind him, not yet caught up by their Link’s compulsion to pair. The fire in his belly burned so fiercely that it took all his self-control to wait for her. Then he felt his robe move as her cool fingertips tentatively touched his sides.
“I can feel how much you want me,” she whispered, resting her hands on his hips. “You like me touching you.” She pushed her hands up through the longer pelt of his chest, her fingers searching through his fur till they found his nipples. “You like this, don’t you?” she said, rubbing her palms across them.
He began to purr, impressed that she’d learned so quickly how to access his memories. With one hand, he clasped the bare thighs that had been maddening him since she’d appeared in the temple, letting his fingers explore their shape, touch the soft inner surfaces. His licks turned to nips which he tried to keep gentle. He sensed an echoing fire begin in her, starting low in her belly and flooding suddenly outward till it touched him.
He slid his hand under her tunic, pushing it upward, shocked when he realized she was naked beneath it. She helped him, eyes as heavy-lidded as his own. As she discarded her tunic, he slipped out of his robe and dropped it to the ground, never taking his eyes off her.
“You’re certainly enthusiastic,” she observed as he pulled her into his arms again, covering her face with tiny licks until she took hold of his head and held it still. “No. Like this,” she said, kissing him deeply.
He’d heard of Human kisses, but wasn’t prepared for their reality. “Self-control be damned,” he muttered against her lips as he hoisted her off the ground, wrapping her legs round him before carefully lowering them both onto his robe.
He couldn’t touch her enough, the sight and feel and smell of her was intoxicating him just as the touch of his pelt on her bare skin drove her wild. Every sensation was doubled, experienced by the giver as well as the receiver. The intensity of the sensations they were sharing was so great that within minutes, unable to wait any longer, they’d joined. As bodies became one, so did their minds, Linking them irrevocably together for life.
*
“You knew I was in the temple,” he said lazily, his hand stroking one breast, his head pillowed on the other as they lay there still entwined. “You came here to torment me.”
She ruffled the hair between his ears. “Only a little.”
“That was foolish, and dangerous. If it hadn’t been me…”
“I knew it was you,” she interrupted. “Was it worth the teasing?”
He lifted his head, pushing himself up on one arm and fastened his mouth over her breast, nipping her, making her shriek in mock pain.
“All right! All right! I won’t do it again!” she said, squirming and trying to cover her breasts with her hands to protect herself.
“Only for me,” he said, then froze. Groaning, he let his head fall down on his arm. “Hello, Lijou.”
“You called me,” said the priest, coming into the Shrine. “I switched the dampers on and set a guard on the temple doors for you, but it took me a couple of minutes. Only you would bring her here, Rhyaz.” He stopped just inside the entrance.
“You might have taken the poor child somewhere comfortable, Rhyaz,” said Kha’Qwa. “And you might have given her something to cover herself up with!”
As Rhyaz raised his head to look up at them, Alex began to laugh. A blanket, thrown by Lijou, came sailing through the air to land beside him, closely followed by a second.
“Take her up to your room, Rhyaz,” said Lijou. “I really don’t recommend a night on the grass.” There was a rueful tone to his voice that suggested he’d tried and regretted it.
He reached for the blanket, trying vainly to open and spread it over them as Kha’Qwa came closer. With his new sensitivity, he could feel Lijou’s amusement at his acute embarrassment. He thanked Vartra that the artificial day was over and it was almost dark.
Bastard, he sent. Lijou laughed.
“You’ll need these,” Kha’Qwa said, crouching down to pass him a pair of wrist comms. “Ruth brought them over from the estate for you. They’ve got psi dampers set into them. Put them on now, they’re already set to full. Your room isn’t damped but we can get it done once this fir
st Link day of yours is over.”
He saw her mouth open in a slight smile as her eyes traveled the length of his exposed body. She reached out and ran a fingertip down his spine, stopping at the root of his tail, making him squirm, and Alex laugh even louder.
“Kha’Qwa,” he said warningly. “Lijou, make her stop!”
“You know Kha’Qwa has a mind that’s very much her own,” said the priest.
“I’d forgotten just how trim a body you have,” she purred, patting his rear before getting up. “Goodnight, Alex. Ruth knows where you are so don’t worry about her. I’d say sleep well, but knowing Rhyaz, I don’t expect he’ll let you get any!”
“Stop laughing,” Rhyaz said to her as he watched his friends leave. “You should be dying of embarrassment like any decent person.”
“Like you?” Alex sniggered as he struggled some more with the blanket then gave up and collapsed against her with a sigh. “They’re all right, you know. Not at all what I expected them to be.”
“You’ve ruined my reputation. This is going to be all round Stronghold tomorrow.”
“How? They’re not going to tell anyone,” she said, stroking his chest.
“We were broadcasting raw sex until Lijou put the dampers on. It’s strong enough to affect anyone with any sensitivity, which is anyone who was awake.”
“Never mind,” she said, trying to reach down to kiss him.
“No,” he said firmly, shifting her leg and easing himself off her before passing her the other blanket. “We’re going up to my room. Lijou’s right, this grass is too damned damp.” He groaned again. “There’s a guard on the door, dammit! We’ll be seen leaving!”
Alex sat up, fumbling for her tunic, trying to stop laughing.
“Maybe they’ll have gossiped it out by the day after tomorrow,” he said, handing her a wrist comm before taking off his own and exchanging it for the new one. Getting to his feet, he wrapped the blanket round himself. “You might have brought us robes instead of blankets, Lijou!” he muttered, picking his damp and crumpled robe up from the grass.
Let them have their day of gossip, sent Lijou privately, making him start with shock at the contact. Upstairs with Alex, you’ll be oblivious to it. It’ll be old news by the time you join us again.
Bastard, he sent again as he helped his Leska with her blanket. I want her sworn in now, Lijou.
At this time of night? I know you’ve got better things to do!
He grinned, pleased to be getting his revenge so quickly. The Creed won’t wait. Brotherhood business first.
Prime world, training barracks, Zhal-Oeshi, 20th day (August)
Kezule looked up as the young officer entered and saluted. “At ease, M’kou,” he said.
“All units have reported in, General. Units One and Two identified their targets at their workplaces and proceeded to follow them to their domiciles.”
“And units Three to Eight?”
“All twenty targets were located either at the given domicile or at their workplace. Those units then familiarized themselves with the locations as ordered.”
He nodded. “Tell them to stand down and prepare their reports. I want all problem areas identified so alternative measures can be explored. Have the reports on my desk by 08.00. Remind the group leaders we have a meeting at 09.00.” He got to his feet, picking up his reader. “Who’s Officer of the Watch?”
“Kho’ikk, sir.”
“Tell him I’m going home now. He’s not to bother me till 06.00.”
“Yes, sir,” said M’kou, saluting as Kezule passed him on his way out.
*
As D’haalmu steered the small grav flitter back to his apartment on the edge of the Palace, Kezule’s thoughts were elsewhere. Despite his rage over his tank-grown offspring, he had to admit that events had turned out far better than he’d expected.
He’d first seen them eight days ago, after they’d been examined and processed by the medical department. It was with relief that he discovered they had all inherited a knowledge of their family relationship to each other, and to him.
His first task had been to explain the Prime situation, and the reason for their genesis. His next had been to lay down his basic rules. He was their Commanding Officer and they would follow his orders before any other consideration. Their primary objective was to protect the Emperor, God-King of the Primes, and his family, with their lives if necessary. Their secondary objective was to protect the people of the City of Light. He’d told them that during the next few days, he would choose leaders from among their number on the basis of merit and ability. Then he’d started training them.
The changes induced by the TeLaxaudin at his request had worked, and his offspring had all his memories and experience as well as the extra two years of maturity he’d asked for. Training was merely a matter of reminding them, not teaching them from scratch. And the aggressiveness of the fifteen M’zullians was more than contained by the presence of so many of their obvious superiors.
Each of his eighty sons was different, an individual in his own right, as were his twenty daughters. More importantly, he discovered their loyalty to him was total. After two days, he’d identified the twenty most able. Dividing the remainder into eight groups, he placed two of his chosen ones in command of each unit and set the remaining four to act in rotation as bodyguards to himself and Zayshul, who was now too near her time to leave their apartment.
He’d also forced the issue with Medical Director Zsoyshuu over meeting his twenty daughters. With them, too, there had been the instant recognition of family. Playing a hunch, he’d asked that they be allowed to live at the barracks and train with his sons.
“We want them for breeding, Kezule,” the Medical Director had said. “Not fighting.”
“You want them all for breeding eventually, Zsoyshuu. Unless you want my sons facing the same problems I faced when I woke in this time, they need to get used to company of the opposite gender. What better way than by living next to their sisters?”
*
Later that day, his daughters had arrived at the newly refurbished barracks and had been installed in quarters next to their brothers. Slowly, piece by piece, his plan was coming together.
Kezule roused himself as the flitter came to a stop. He’d taken to using the vehicle for several reasons, one of them being a means of getting his wife quickly to medical attention if necessary. As he was getting out, his communicator buzzed.
“Q’almo here, sir,” said the young officer. “It’s your wife, sir. She’s…I think you should get here as soon as possible, sir,” he said, a note of panic in his voice.
“Make your report, soldier!” he snapped, gesturing D’haalmu to follow him as he leaped out of the flitter and began running for the building entrance, communicator held to his ear. The two doormen flanking the entrance sprang to life, opening the heavy ornamental doors for him.
The youth’s gulp was audible. “Your wife’s in great pain, sir. Says it’s the egg and you should get back now.”
“I’m downstairs.” He stuffed the communicator into his pocket, slowing down just enough to call to his bodyguard. “D’haalmu, fetch those TeLaxaudin doctors I told you about!”
“Already on their way up, General,” interrupted the doorman. “May the God-Kings smile on your wife,” he added.
“General?” asked D’haalmu as he caught up with him.
“Never mind,” Kezule said, speeding up as he ran across the wide marble reception area to the elevators.
*
Chaos reigned in his apartment. A heated argument was in progress between the Prime doctor who had been attending Zayshul, his female assistant, and one of the TeLaxaudins. Q’almo stood beside the TeLaxaudin, the two of them blocking any entry into the bedroom beyond. The spectacle of the young officer and the small stick-thin alien with his staff holding off the two officials would have been ludicrous had he not been so concerned for Zayshul. Unaware of his arrival, they continued arguing loudly.
The doctor turned on him. “We must have access to your wife immediately,” he said. “This birth is a royal one and we must ensure there is no medical interference! I must attend her, not one of these TeLaxaudin! And my colleague, as the recorder of Royal births, must witness it! You jeopardize your child’s rank in the succession if we’re kept out!”
“You only need to see there’s no interference, is that right?” he demanded, looking from one to the other.
“I must deliver…”
“Answer my question! Observing is the important thing, yes?”
“Yes,” said the female, hastily stepping behind the doctor for protection.
Kezule grabbed hold of her arm. “You come with me,” he said, hauling her with him past Q’almo and the TeLaxaudin. “Q’almo, D’haalmu, keep everyone else out.” He opened the door and thrust her inside first.
The bedroom smelled of blood and fear and other scents he didn’t want to identify. Zayshul was crouching on the floor at the far side of the bed. All he could see of her was her face and arms as she clutched the bedding. Her skin was chalk-white with pain, the rainbow markings looking obscenely bright against her pallor. At the foot of the bed, another TeLaxaudin sat folded up in a compact arrangement of limbs, watching her calmly.
“Get out!” she hissed, seeing him. “Get out of here!”
Letting the female recorder go, he backed off a few steps. “Are you all right? Can I do anything?”
“You’ve done enough! Just get out of here, right now!”
Kouansishus stirred, turning his oval face toward Kezule, eyes swirling as he adjusted his sight for longer range. “Leave. With me she safe.”
“General, you must remove this alien,” the recorder began.
His hand snaked out, grasping her round the neck, then he stopped, remembering who she was. Slowly, he released her.
She backed off, rubbing her throat, making a small whimpering noise of fear.
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