by Judy Mays
The object of the two men’s speculation sighed as she sank back down onto the sofa. Well, maybe this assassin thing isn’t so bad, especially if it’ll keep other women away from Char.
She groaned and shifted her weight.
The baby was kicking up a storm.
Meri’s tone was worried. “Are you all right, Brianna?”
Char immediately turned to his wife. “Brianna?”
Brianna waved him away. “Oh, stop worrying. I simply need to sit down. The baby is break dancing again,”
“Break dancing?” asked more than one voice.
“You’ll get used to it,” Char said in a more relaxed tone.
Brianna turned her attention to Rodane. Quietly she said, “Rodane, I’m sorry.”
He quickly smiled, bent, and took her hand in his. “Don’t apologize to me, Brianna. You did nothing a true Alalakan wife wouldn’t do. You defended yourself and your clan. Crystas and I had been growing farther apart each day. What happened tonight would have taken place even if you hadn’t married Char.”
“But I feel responsible…”
“You are responsible for nothing, except, perhaps, the opportunity to eventually become a father myself…if I can find a woman to love me as you love Char. Now, if you will excuse me, I would like some time alone.”
Everyone in the room watched as he walked proudly from the room.
“Well,” Jenneta said dryly, “I always said you knew how to throw a party, Xdana. This one will certainly go down as unique in the annals of the Alalakan clan.”
From where she sat on the sofa, Brianna was aware of various groups of people still watching and listening. Taking the initiative, she motioned Jenneta and Xdana to stand off to the side so that she had an unrestricted view of the gathering. Raising her chin, she said in a clear voice, “Okay, the show is over. Go back about your business gossiping and eating the wonderful food provided by Xdana. I’m sure you’ll have to rehash tonight’s event a number of times.”
At first absolute silence reigned.
Then Jenneta’s hearty laugh cut through the silence. “You are right, Char. I find your wife to be extremely charming.”
Char stared at the door through which his brother had disappeared. Why did Rodane say Brianna loves me? She barely knows me.
Chapter Thirteen
Ban tugged the arm of the woman at his side. “Come on, Brianna’s back. I’ll introduce you now.”
As Ban approached, Brianna looked up.
“Brianna, this is Gerlindenpen dem al’ Fionilina. She’d like to speak with you.”
Brianna smiled and patted the sofa next to her. “Sit down.”
Her eyes downcast, Fionilina said, “I apologize for my sister’s behavior. Ever since the Gerlindenpen clan lost much of its fortune, Crystas has felt that life has been unfair. Even after Rodane and she married, she was dissatisfied with her life. She saw the increasing pressure to bear the Alalakan heir as her way of controlling the entire clan. Then word reached us that Char had married a woman from a newly discovered planet. A few months later, we heard that you were carrying the Alalakan heir.”
Fionilina raised her eyes to Brianna’s and continued, her voice bitter. “Crystas hates you, Alalakan dem al’ Brianna, more than she has ever hated anyone. She’ll seek revenge.”
Her new family members no longer flocked around Brianna. However, one of them was always by her side in case anyone chose to continue Crystas’ harassment. So it was Jamiros who answered Fionilina’s warning. “Don’t worry about Brianna. Crystas no longer has any power here, and Brianna will be well protected.”
Brianna pursed her lips. What had Crystas done to Fionilina to make her sound so bitter? Rodane maybe? I bet he married the wrong sister. “Don’t worry too much about me, Fionilina.” Patting her stomach, she continued, “I won’t be going anywhere for a few months. And I have two Aradabs who observe every breath into and out of my mouth.”
Ban winked at Brianna and extended his hand to Fionilina. Taking it, she rose to her feet.
Before they could leave, Brianna said, “Would you excuse Ban a minute, Fionilina? I’d like to talk to him.”
She nodded and wandered across the room. Ban’s gaze followed her. “I hope this is important, Coz,” he murmured. “That is one lady who definitely is in need of comfort.”
Jamiros snorted and mumbled something about needing a drink. Catching Char’s eye, he made his way to the buffet table. Char began a meandering course back to his wife.
“You’d think I was made of fine china,” Brianna muttered to herself. “What in the world could happen to me while I’m surrounded by Alalakans?”
“You can always pretend we’re worried about the fortune in Gattan red diamonds you wear,” Ban teased.
“You’re just as bad as the rest of them.”
He shrugged eloquently. “What do you want to talk about, Coz? Has one of these beautiful ladies told you that she finds me irresistible?”
She mumbled a curse. “I’m trying to be serious, Ban.”
He grinned and sat down. “Well?”
“I don’t want you to charm Fionilina into your bed.”
Ban sighed, but he didn’t even pretend to argue. “You saw it, too.”
She nodded. “She wouldn’t be content, Ban. Oh, I’m sure she would enjoy herself. But, you know you’re not serious. She may read too much into any relationship she has with you.”
Ban ran his hand through his hair. “The thought had entered my mind. I’ve always been totally honest with the women I love.”
Brianna smiled. Char always ran his hand threw his hair when he was thinking, too. Lacing her fingers through his, she said, “You don’t know what it is to truly love a woman, you rascal.”
He squeezed her hand. “But I so enjoy trying, Coz.”
Shaking her head, Brianna added, “Rodane is still in the library. I’m sure Fionilina would like to talk with him.”
“And, I’m sure,” Ban added with a wicked grin, “that Rodane would like to talk with Fionilina, too.”
Char joined Brianna on the sofa after Ban rose. “What was that conversation about?” he asked as he laced his fingers through hers. And why were you holding his hand?
“Fionilina wanted to apologize for Crystas,” she answered a bit absentmindedly, concentrating on Ban and Fionilina as they walked towards the library.
“Not Fionilina,” Char said following his wife’s gaze. Why are you watching Ban? “What was so important that you had to take Ban away from a woman he’s spent the entire evening wooing to his bed?”
Still watching the object of their conversation, Brianna answered, “Fionilina isn’t right for Ban. Her feelings run too deep, and he couldn’t give her what she needs.”
Pay attention to me, Brianna. “And what’s that?” He leaned closer and nibbled her bare shoulder.
That got her attention.
A seductive smile played across her lips. Her fingers began a delicate dance on his thigh. “She wants to be loved and have a husband and a family. She wants Rodane.”
Stretching his arm along the back of the sofa behind her, he pulled his wife closer. Caressing her bare arm, he placed a wet kiss on her neck.
Her breathing quickened and her nipples tightened, straining against the soft material of her bodice.
Char’s low, sexy laughter sent shivers up and down her spine.
She felt her cheeks flush. She could feel eyes darting to and away from them.
“Another of your ‘feelings’, love?” he whispered in her ear after he ran his tongue down the length of her neck.
Char didn’t give a damn who was watching them.
“Oh, yes,” she purred, her fingers dancing closer to his groin, brushing her knuckles against his erection. As long as he didn’t start making love to her right here on the sofa, two could play this game.
“Aren’t you tired yet?” Char whispered as he nuzzled her ear. “It’s been a long day.”
Brianna’s v
oice was low and seductive. “I’m not tired at all.”
“Well, I am.” Rising, Char swept her into his arms.
Jenneta appeared beside them. “Char! I haven’t had a chance to talk with Brianna.”
“Talk to her tomorrow. We’re going to bed.”
Jenneta’s merry laughter followed them up the stairs.
Brianna awoke cradled in Char’s arms. Grimacing as the baby kicked her bladder, she eased away and waddled into the bathroom. After relieving herself, she grasped the headband of her bridal net, tried to remove it, and yelped. During the night, the gold and diamond chains had become impossibly tangled in her hair. Stomping out of the bathroom, she cast a baleful glare at her husband. He was stretched out on his stomach, his arms wrapped around her pillow. Stopping at the side of the bed, she reached down and jerked his tail.
He awoke with a snarl on his lips. “What the hell!”
“‘Leave the diamonds, love,’ you said. ‘Our passion will make the fires in them blaze.’ Well now they’re all tangled up! And I refuse to cut my hair!”
Char rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
Brianna’s hands were fisted on her hips, and her eyes flashed with a different kind of fire.
“Sit,” he growled.
Leaning over, he pushed a button on the console of the nightstand. “Send breakfast up,” he snapped. He’d planned on a long morning in bed making love. Obviously, that plan would not bear fruit.
Brianna turned and flopped—as much as a pregnant woman can flop—onto the edge of the bed and presented her back to Char.
Staring at the tangle of hair, diamonds, and red-gold chains, he realized that she had a point. “I hope you didn’t have anything important to do this morning,” he grumbled.
She cursed under her breath. It was her hair that was about to be pulled.
Twenty minutes later, Char threw up his hands in frustration. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know what to do. The strands of gold and diamonds are so fine, I can’t get them untangled.”
“What am I supposed to do now!”
Char was saved from a reply by a knock on the bedroom door. Jumping from the bed, he opened the door to admit Beti and Verna, Brianna’s new maid.
“Char, go put some clothes on,” Brianna snapped.
He ignored her. “Beti, how do I get that bridal net off without cutting her hair?”
Beti looked at Brianna, assessed the situation at a glance, and said, “I’ll fetch Princess Merilinlalissa.”
“Char,” Brianna said with her eyes flashing, “you will not walk around here naked when Meri arrives.”
Grumbling, he stomped into the bathroom.
“You’ve certainly got a tangle here,” Verna said cheerfully.
Brianna was scowling at her maid when Char walked out of the bathroom wearing a pair of lounging trousers.
Before he could comment, Beti returned followed by Meri who was wearing a tightly belted robe, her dark hair flowing loosely about her.
“I’d stay away from Ademis for a few hours if I were you, Char,” she said as she set down a small container.
His voice was indignant. “What did I do?”
All four women looked at him with astonished expressions.
Brianna’s reply was icy. “Need you ask?”
“Sleeping in a bridal net had to be your idea, Char. Only a man would have so little sense,” Meri grumbled.
“I didn’t hear any complaints at the time.”
“Probably because you had kissed her senseless,” Verna interjected.
Char glared at Beti. “Aren’t you going to say something?”
Directing a level stare at him, she answered, “Men lack common sense. It will do no good to berate you for the lack.”
Brianna flashed a smile of triumph.
Char was too intelligent a man to stay in a room where he was obviously outnumbered by hostile women. “I’ll be having breakfast with my brother,” he said as he stomped out of the room.
Meri fingered Brianna’s hair. “What a mess.”
“You can get it out, can’t you, Meri? It’s taken my entire life to grow my hair this long.”
Meri patted her shoulder. “We can get it out, but it is probably going to take all morning. Verna, fill the tub with water, as hot as Brianna can stand it, and dump that entire container of manis oil into the tub as it fills. Don’t forget to add another bath oil, preferably one of a very aromatic musk oil base. We want to kill the fish odor.”
“Fish odor!”
Meri ignored Brianna’s outburst. “Beti, go back to my room and tell Ademis he may as well get out of bed. I won’t be back for a while.”
“What about Celene?”
“After she’s had her breakfast, tell Feni to give her to my sisters and Sheala. That will keep all of them out of trouble. Celene’s still too small to do anything totally outlandish.”
“Judging by the numbers of breakfasts that were ordered to be delivered to rooms this morning, Char’s urge to wrap himself in your hair while it was strung with gold and diamonds is ruining many a plan for a morning in bed,” Verna said with a chuckle.
Meri followed Brianna into the bathroom. “Ademis and I are the only ones put out.”
Verna trailed after them. “Char goes to his brother, Rodane, who planned to keep Fionilina in his bed all day. She will insist in offering her help to Brianna, the woman who made it possible for Rodane to become hers. When she leaves, the brothers will decide that it’s been too long since they breakfasted with their parents. Therefore, Jamiros and Xdana will be disturbed.”
Brianna gasped in amazement. While the idea of Jamiros and Xdana being intimate was not surprising, the nonchalance with which Verna spoke of it did. Will I ever get used to this casual attitude about sex?
Brianna dropped her robe and eased into the hot water. “Is there anyone in this house who didn’t plan on an uninterrupted morning in bed?”
“Only me, Coz,” answered Ban from where he leaned against the doorway dressed as Char was in a simple pair of lounging pants.
Water slopped out of the tub as Brianna submerged herself to her neck. “What are you doing here?”
“The door was open. So many women’s voices were too much of a temptation,” he said as he strolled over and examined her tangled hair. “You certainly have made a mess out of your hair and the bridal net. Do you need any more help?”
He was completely serious.
“No!” she shouted as Meri and Verna laughed. “Get out of here. Go bother the maids or something.”
Ban grinned and looked pointedly at the bubbles that completely covered her to her neck. “It’s not as if I can see anything,” he teased.
“Out!”
Meri grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door. “Oh, go away, Ban. You don’t have any unattached women here to admire that gorgeous body.”
“Speak for yourself, Princess,” Verna muttered. “I may be old, but I’m not dead.”
Grinning from ear to ear, Ban bowed gracefully and walked out of the room.
Placing her hand on Brianna’s head, Verna said, “Hold your breath.” She dunked Brianna under the oily water, effectively cutting off her grumbling about men in general.
* * * * *
Char never paused. When he reached the door to Fionilina’s room, he simply turned the knob, walked in, and threw himself into a comfortable chair.
The scowl on his face brought a grin to Rodane’s. He nudged Fionilina. “Char looks rather disgruntled this morning, doesn’t he, love?” They had just finished their first bout of lovemaking for the day, so Char’s interruption didn’t irritate him as much as it would have half an hour earlier. Fio was snuggled contentedly at his side, her fingers softly caressing his chest and her tail wrapped around his calf.
Pulling her along as he pushed himself into a sitting position, Rodane smiled even more broadly when Char growled something unintelligible at them. “Unlike me, Fio,” he said devilishly, “Char is the perfect e
xample of sexual frustration.”
Fio chuckled deliciously, not in the least bit embarrassed to be found in bed with Rodane or to sit before Char with the sheets about her waist.
Shooting her a quick glance, Char mumbled something about full breasts, but then his eyes snapped back to her naked torso. Above her right breast rode an Alalakan dragon. When his eyes met hers, Rodane answered his question before he could ask. “I put it there last night. I won’t allow this woman to get away from me.”
Pushing himself out of the chair, Char walked over to the bed for a closer look. A green and gold dragon hovered with half-extended wings over a nest containing baby dragons. The dragon’s tail, rather than wrapping itself around Fionilina’s upper arm, dipped down around the outside of her right breast. Hugging her chest all the way underneath her breast, the dragon’s tail reached back up her cleavage to have its tip rest casually above her left nipple.
“I didn’t realize you were such a good artist, Brother,” Char said as he gently traced the design.
“One of many hidden talents,” Rodane answered. “Now, what brings you here to interrupt one of the best mornings of my life?” Then worry crossed his face. “Brianna?”
Char scowled again. “Damn bridal net.”
Rodane was confused, but Fio immediately understood. “You don’t mean to say that Brianna slept in her bridal net! How could you let her do that?”
Char shot a very disgruntled look at his new sister-in-law. The official ceremony may not have been performed yet, but the dragon declared his brother’s intentions and Fio’s acceptance quite emphatically.
Practically knocking Char over, she jumped from Rodane’s side. “All that hair!” she exclaimed and headed for the door.
Rodane reached for her but missed. “Wait a minute.”
“Fio,” Char said before she could get to the door, “you better put on a robe.”
Puzzled, she turned. “Whatever for?”
“Brianna will be embarrassed for you if she thinks you walked all the way to our suite completely naked.”