“I would like to see you eat like this more often,
Laharra
,” He said, watching as she took a third slice of pizza. “You are growing far too thin. Even now, when you should be gaining weight and getting thicker around the middle, you are too thin. I have been growing worried about you.” He watched her eat, his elbow resting on the table, his chin in his hand. He’d been even more worried since he found out she was carrying their children. She should be gaining weight by leaps and bounds, not losing it to the point of emaciation.
He observed her closely, troubled. When had those dark crescents appeared beneath her eyes? He noticed for the first time how her clothing hung from her like poorly fashioned sacks. She’d lost so much weight. Why hadn’t he noticed it before? Had he been so self-centered, worrying only about himself and his people?
Niklas berated himself. She was in his care, and he was failing her. She had gifted him with her heart, soul and body, and he had abused her trust by neglecting her health. He had been ignoring her needs for his own base desires. Never again would he fail her. Never again would he make the mistake of placing his own needs above that of his beloved Brianna.
“Thank you for the pizza, Niklas. It was delicious,” Brianna said, licking her fingers.
Niklas, distracted, watched as she stuck the tips of her fingers into her mouth. He swallowed repeatedly trying to keep his mind on mundane things. Not what that tongue would feel like sliding over his body. What it would feel like if she took him into her hot, wet mouth. He shook his head and looked away. “Excuse me?”
Brianna smiled. “What were you thinking? You looked like you were a million miles away.”
He stood up, gathering the dishes. “I was just thinking that I have never seen you enjoy a meal more.”
“And you probably won’t see me enjoy a meal more. Pizza is my all-time favorite.” She stood and helped him remove the dishes. They took them to the replicator counter and set them down. “You know, I’ll never tire of seeing the dirty dishes disappear before my eyes. No more dishpan hands or food particles stuck to the clean dishes in the dishwasher. Woo hoo!”
Niklas grinned, “It is fast becoming one of my favorites as well.” He found, to his surprise, that he would gladly consume dirt if she would only keep eating like she did tonight. “What other kinds of foods do you like? I had Shona program the replicator with hundreds of Earth dishes I thought you might enjoy.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that before?” Brianna asked. “Do you mean to tell me that while all of this time that I’ve been trying to choke down that other stuff you call food, you were capable of feeding me something I like?” She shot him a dirty look.
Niklas shrugged. “I honestly didn’t think of it before. Besides, you do have to get used to eating
Terrnan
food. It will be served at State dinners and other formal events. It wouldn’t do to have our Queen gagging on the food at a bureaucratic dinner.”
* * * *
Brianna sighed. “I suppose you’re right. Let’s make a deal of one day on, one day off.”
Niklas looked at her, his head tilted to one side. “Let me see if I understand you correctly. One day you eat Earth dishes, the next you eat
Terrnan
?”
She nodded, “Yes, except for cravings.” She shook her finger at him. “Cravings don’t count. If I’m craving Earth food, you have to give it to me, even if it’s not the right day.” She shuddered. “The same goes for
Terrnan
food. Although I don’t see
that
happening.” She looked at him and grinned. “Especially if it’s in the middle of the night.”
Niklas raised his brow.
She loved that about him. He looked so darn sexy it made her shiver.
“Do you plan on having many of these midnight cravings?”
She shook her head. “Oh, I hope not. I plan on keeping you busy in other ways,” she skimmed her hand lightly up his arm to cup his cheek. “Just look at the bright side.”
He looked skeptical. “There is a bright side to getting up in the middle of the night to replicate food for these cravings you expect to get?”
“Sure there is. At least you won’t have to run to a twenty-four hour grocery store. All you’re going to have to do is hotfoot it to the replicator.”
Niklas leaned down and nuzzled her neck. “Hmmm…hotfoot it to the replicator, huh? What’s in it for me?”
Brianna put her hands on his broad shoulders and swallowed thickly. “Um…” She licked her lips and tried again. “I um…think we could arrange something.”
“A trade of some sort?” He nibbled her ear, suckling the lobe softly.
“Um hmm.”
He slid his tongue around her ear, holding her as her knees gave way. “We may have a deal, Your Highness.”
“Oh, yes,” she breathed. “I believe we do.”
Niklas straightened, keeping one hand on Brianna, holding her steady. He reached behind him and pulled a case from the shelf behind him. “First, you have to listen to this. You only have one more month left,” Niklas said as he opened the case. He pulled out a flat orange piece of plastic. At least it looked like plastic.
Brianna frowned. “What’s this?” She took it and turned it over in her hands, examining it.
“It’s the language disc I’ve told you about.” He took the disc from her and placed it into a slot on the wall. He then opened a small drawer and took out two very small items, which resembled ball bearings. He placed them in her ears. Soon she could hear soft strains of music. Oh! They were headphones, well, sort of. “Wait, this must be the wrong disc. I only hear music.”
“That is all you will hear,
Laharra
. It is a subliminal disc.”
“Oh, I guess I wasn’t paying attention when you mentioned it before. Sorry.” She bit her lip and shrugged.
“No need for apologies, my love. You have had much on your mind of late.”
“You’re not kidding. That’s the understatement of the year.” She smiled crookedly. “How does this work? Do I have to be listening or does it work whether I’m paying attention to it or not?”
“It works best when you are quiet or sleeping, but it is working now as well.”
Brianna nodded. “Cool, I don’t suppose you have any of these on math or science do you?” Her look was so hopeful it made Niklas grin.
“Sorry, all of the educational discs are on
Terrna
. We only have the language discs with us,” he apologized.
Brianna frowned. “Bummer.”
“Why don’t you lie down and listen to the disc while I take your mind off talking for a while.” Niklas leered at her.
She gave him a scorching look. “Sounds promising. Just what did you have planned?”
Niklas stepped closer, the leer remaining on his handsome face.
She grinned and backed up. It was a dance, one of seduction. He took one step forward, then Brianna took one step back, until she backed into the edge of the bed. Brianna knew that look. She struggled to keep her breathing slow and even. Heat already pooled in her stomach. It was a slow burn that began as soon as he looked at her with need in his eyes.
He took her in his arms, gently laid her on the bed, and covered her body with his own, careful not to put too much weight on her. Desire burned in his eyes. His mind was a smoldering sensual haze, filled with hunger and love for her, combined with the yearning he felt for her body. Their minds melded, and, as before, their link grew stronger. Every melding brought their hearts, minds, and souls closer.
Brianna felt the clothing separating them. The whisper of her silk camisole slipping over her skin, the rough material of the jeans he’d come to love wearing scraped sensuously against her sensitive flesh.
He removed her clothing slowly, reverently. Indulging himself, he kissed every inch of her newly exposed body. When he finally removed her panties, revealing the golden hair at the apex of her thighs, Brianna was writhing on the bed. Her mind, unable to focus on anything but the ache deep in her belly, she barely kept herself from crying out for release.
He kissed her lower abdomen, licking his way from one hip to the other. He lapped at her skin, tonguing the crease of her thigh. Brianna’s breath hitched with anticipation. Part of her wanted this, the other wanted him to enter her, to feel him thrusting against her with abandon.
He dipped his head to her moistened center, and she moaned her pleasure. She fisted her hands in the sheets. Then they moved to bury themselves in his ebony hair of their own volition.
He suckled and laved, bringing her to a fevered pitch. Brianna screamed her release, grinding her hips upward, her thighs closing, holding him against her.
Niklas crawled his way back up her trembling body. He kissed her briefly, allowing her to taste her own essence. Then pulled away slowly to stand and remove his clothing.
He towered over her, his bronzed skin glistening with a fine sheen of perspiration. Brianna let her gaze wander lower, giving him a seductive smile. He
was
tan all over.
He slowly lowered himself to the bed. His warm skin brushed against hers, the downy hair on his chest teased her erect nipples. He kissed her deeply, and suddenly she couldn’t think. She only knew she wanted Niklas beyond the sex, beyond his good looks. She loved him more than life itself. In that moment, she realized she would gladly die for him.
As I would die for you,
Laharra
. You are my love, my life. I worship you.
Brianna moaned. His mouth did such wonderful things. No man should be without a mouth like his. He knew exactly where to nibble and lick to drive her crazy. She tossed her head back and forth on the pillow, panting, unable to catch her breath.
Niklas suckled her breast, and she moaned his name, her arms wrapping around his shoulders, her fingers burying themselves deep in his ebony hair. His fingers parted the folds of skin between her legs, felt the moisture, and pushed his fingers deep within her.
He pushed his fingers further inside her tight channel, his thumb rubbing her hard nub. Brianna’s hips arched off the bed.
The scream started deep within her. It began as a small groan. His fingers pushed upward, toward her belly, increasing her pleasure yet again. “Niklas!” She screamed. Her body stiffened, jerking with small spasms, until she collapsed under him, her muscles, once tightened reaching for her climax, now spent. She touched him with a trembling hand. She wanted to give him pleasure. She reached downward.
Niklas captured her hand and kissed it. “Next time,
Laharra
. This time is for you.” His dark eyes gazed into hers. “I wish to worship your body.” He looked down the length of her, then back to her eyes. “The body that carries my children.” He kissed her again.
If Brianna had been about to say something, she’d forgotten what it was as she wrapped her arms around him, kissing him deeply.
Niklas placed his hand over her still flat stomach. His large hand nearly spanning from hip to hip. “It is hard to believe the evidence of our love grows right here.” He looked down at his hand, flexing it, wondering at the miracle concealed in her womb.
She spread her legs wider, giving him better access to the warm cradle of her hips as he eased into her slowly, moving cautiously back and forth, he rocked gently. He didn’t want to hurt her or the babes she carried deep within her.
Brianna moaned. The thought was endearing, but she needed more. So much more. She looked up at him. His lips were pressed together in a near grimace. The muscles of his neck and shoulders bulged from the effort he expended. She could see his pulse in the protruding vein in his neck. “Harder, Niklas.” She urged, knowing he was holding back.
“I don’t…want to hurt you,
Laharra
.” His breathing was labored, more of a pant. The beads of sweat on his brow confirmed that it was a struggle for him to hold back, to keep moving as slowly as he was.
She chuckled, opened her mind further to him. “Now, if you hurt me, you will know. You can hear my thoughts, can’t you? Now you know what I want, what I need.”
With a groan, Niklas plunged into her. He felt her pleasure as well as his own. His deep thrusts bringing them both closer to the edge.
Brianna wrapped her legs around his waist, giving him better access, making it possible for him to thrust still deeper into her. Their pleasure increased, magnified by the mind sharing between them.
They moved together, each of them giving pleasure, each taking until they reached their climax at the same time. Alone, yet together, crying out their release. Afterward, they lay in each other’s arms, spent, their legs entwined, a fine layer of perspiration covering them both.
“I didn’t know sex could feel like that,” Brianna sighed, sated. Her hand sifted through the soft hairs on his chest. “Had I known it could feel like that before, I may not have held out for Mr. Right.” She grinned impishly.
Niklas pinched her bottom.
She yelped. “Hey!”
He smiled and soothed it with a caress. “Sex doesn’t feel like that,” he groused. “
That
was making love.”