He chuckled and caressed her cheek. “No you don’t. Not yet. But you will.”
Harcor cleared his throat. “I believe that you can resume your normal schedule, Delyth. We will be in touch when things are final.”
“So, I am free to go?” She wanted to make sure.
Harcor waved her out, and she bolted. It seemed the day for running from men who had an unwholesome interest in her personally. She had some questions to ask of the Dance Troupe and her Rep.
Four hours and nine calls later, Delyth determined that she was completely hosed. While she already had her genetic heir, she was still the Alliance’s to do with as they pleased.
Empress Amy had been helpful, and she had been quite frank. “Out of the two men who are bidding for you, which would you prefer?”
Del had answered right away. “The High Prefect. Baiss just skeeves me out. I don’t know why.”
It was a choice of two evils, and she chose the one least likely to make her physically sick.
“Then, I will accept his suit and settlement. Don’t worry about it. It will be settled by the end of tomorrow.” Amy smiled and winked.
When they disconnected the call, Del turned to her schedule. The system had updated with a series of solo dance classes. All partner dances were cancelled.
Shrugging, she confirmed her next class and got dressed in the appropriate clothing for a Tynurian battle dance. If Tynurians found a woman with weapons sexy, who was Del to try to sway them?
Kisha helped her after class and rubbed cream into the bruises that Del had earned when she pitched to the floor during a particularly complicated step. “I have to say that I have never seen anyone taking such a variety of erotic dances.”
Del laughed. “To understand a people, you have to understand how they come into the living world. If sex is a hidden thing, it shows in the people, in paranoia and violence. If sex is an open thing, tensions are eased. Those are very broad assessments, but basically, sex is a great stress reliever and learning how to turn on other races is a worthwhile pursuit if it relieves anyone, be it dancer or audience.”
Kisha nodded and kept rubbing. “Interesting. I had considered it an entertainment branch.”
“It is, but it also provides exercise, undetectable martial arts training and something to do when you are standing in line. If you move your body, you can free your mind.” Del grunted as Kisha worked out the knots.
“It seems that your body is far less than free right now.”
“Pain is the price we occasionally pay for knowledge. Pleasure is the easier teacher by far.” Del waved Kisha off. “Good enough. I have to go to dinner with Wissla. Want the evening off?”
“No, miss. I will accompany you if you do not mind. It is always amusing when you and your companion get together.” Kisha grinned, her lovely lilac features moved in a wicked grin.
“Fine. Pick me out something pretty but dignified.”
Kisha chortled and ran to the wardrobe, pulling out a breast band, mini skirt and a transparent black belted caftan. “It is a little short on the dignified, but it is certainly pretty.”
A quick run of a brush through her hair took care of the knots from her early hair flipping, and she tucked it up in a loose chignon. The breast band and miniskirt were tight and in a glittering black material that formed to her skin the moment it was in place. The caftan slid over her shoulders in a whisper of silk and cast her curves into shadows. If someone knew what they were looking at, it would be titillating, but for the casual observer, it would be nothing more than a flowing gown. The belt slid around her back and anchored the caftan through the holes in the front.
“Shoes, Kisha.”
Kisha selected some heeled pumps and helped Del get them on the correct feet without tipping over.
“Any makeup miss?”
“No, Kisha. Wissla knows what I look like.”
A quick check at the chronometer and Del was on her way to the formal dining room. She had made the reservations herself.
Delyth gave her name to the dining room attendant, and he smiled and led her through the dining room and to a private space in the back. “I didn’t order the private room.”
The attendant smiled. “It was ordered for you. Your party is waiting.”
As Delyth entered the room, she stopped short. “Oh. It’s you.”
Wissla was sitting next to High Prefect Kurat, and the coordinator was nowhere to be seen.
Kurat got to his feet and came to greet her, pressing a kiss to the hand she extended in reflex. His tongue was rough against the back of her knuckles, and her nipples hardened in reaction.
“Lovely greeting to you, Delyth.” His voice was gravel over silk.
“Thank you, High Prefect.”
“Just Kurat. Always Kurat. Leave the honorifics to those who care. Please, join us. You friend Wissla was just telling a story about you being naked and hanging by your ankles above a crowd of onlookers.”
Del sat in the chair he held out for her and corrected him. “It was not hanging by my ankles, I was hanging by my wrists. A bracelet caught as I was turning during the dance, and it caught on the moving scaffolding. My clothing caught on the stage, and soon, I was hanging by nothing more than the clasp on my bracelet. It took me a few minutes to get the hang of it, but I managed to climb back up the scaffolding and then flopped on the stage like a landed fish.”
Wissla finished the story. “She stood up, bowed to the crowd without a stitch on her, and when she finished she said,
Ta-da.
”
Kurat was scowling. “Why did you put yourself in that position, lady?”
She chuckled. “I didn’t. Fate did, and fate can be a complete and utter bitch.”
Chapter Three
“So, Kurat, how did you become High Prefect?” Del propped her head on her fist and smiled loosely at him.
He was holding his wine glass in his hand and twirling it absently by the stem. The wine he had ordered for them did not seem to be affecting him, but Wissla was passed out cold. Kisha had been dismissed by the entrée, so Kurat and Del were practically alone.
Kurat grinned as he looked at her companion. “She doesn’t have much resistance to Fala wine, does she?”
“I am guessing not. Why did you order something so heavy?” Despite her comments, she sipped at her glass.
“It isn’t heavy. It is a standard Na-Lanvin wine.” His grin told her that despite the fact she felt in control, her body was showing the level of her intoxication.
“How did you become High Prefect?” She tried to straighten up, but her neck felt loose.
He sighed. “I do not know if you are prepared to learn about the keys to prosperity of my world.”
“With this in my system, I doubt I will remember it. So, go on, tell me.”
He chuckled. “Come closer.”
She pressed her hands to the table and levered herself upright. He reached out and pulled her toward him, onto his lap. He made room for her between his body and the table. His burly torso provided enough support for her to lean against him, and the hard muscle under her was both stimulating and soothing.
Kurat wrapped one arm around her and held her close. “My story begins during the call of the gods. Of course, we know that they are not gods, merely the remains of previous inhabitants of Na-Lanvin. Once every two centuries, they take a host, and in return for the body, they grant health and prosperity in the form of new mineral deposits and amazing harvests.
“With other boys ages nine to eleven, I marched to the selecting grounds, and we waited. We did not know which of the gods had called us or who would be selected. We stood and we waited.
“Two gods came roaring out of the selecting grounds in wicked balls of light and power. They passed over all of us before retreating for a moment to take aim. They both struck my body and burned along my nerve endings, making themselves at home.”
“Why so young?” She ran her fingers along the arm that wrapped around her, noting for the first time the rich fabric he wore and the minute gemstones embroidered into the trim.
He twitched his lips slightly. “The gods make changes to the body of their host. These changes are more easily accomplished in a younger form, before puberty sets in.”
“That made you High Prefect?”
“The gods within me took over control of the world from Yasur, the god of lightning, when I was thirty. With Rothu and Horik within me, I have wisdom beyond my life experience.”
“There are other beings inside you?” Her voice was a squeak of surprise.
“Yes. The god of war and patience…and Rothu.” His lips were quirked in amusement.
“What is Rothu the god of?” She tilted her head back and met his leaf-green gaze.
“Well, it starts like this.” He cupped the back of her skull and took her lips in a wild kiss. She moaned as his grip on her waist strayed up her torso to cup her breast, pinching the nipple with firm pressure.
His thumb along her jaw kept her mouth open, and as his tongue slipped into her mouth and retreated, the taste of him sent her head swimming in a way that made the heady wine feel like water.
Del twisted on his lap, raising her arm to caress his shoulder, and she surrendered to the intoxication of his kiss. His tongue was rough like a cat’s and his taste was chocolate, wine and a spice she couldn’t name.
Her sex throbbed and her thighs shifted restlessly. She was about to shift in Kurat’s arms and straddle him when Wissla started to snore.
The sound brought her out of her sensual haze like a dash of cold water. She jerked back and watched as Kurat licked his lips slowly, taking every bit of her taste within.
He smiled and stroked a tendril of hair from her face. “What distracted you?”
“Wissla. We are in a restaurant and my friend is three feet away and I almost straddled you and asked you to take me here and now.” She bit her lip as his hands tightened on her.
His voice was a gravelly rumble. “You are a direct creature, are you not?”
She shivered. “Generally. It makes things much easier if I don’t have to remember a lie or deception.”
“Your Representative is quite a negotiator. She has extorted a phenomenal arrangement on your behalf.” He continued to cuddle her, idly stroking her leg through the light fabric.
“I have no doubt. She is excellent at what she does.” She laughed lightly. “What no one is telling me is how long this assignment will last?”
His hand cupped her thigh, seeping warmth into her skin. “That is a matter that depends on you and the goddess who will dwell within you. Many who are taken as host find it difficult to adapt to one aspect or another of life as a Na-Lanvin goddess.”
She frowned. “How many goddesses are there?”
“Nine at last count. Some disappear for eons and then resurface. It is the same with the gods. There is no way to know what will come to those in the selection ground.” His hand moved slowly on her thigh, down to her knee and back up again.
His touch and the spicy scent coming off him were driving her to dangerous thoughts. “I believe I should get back to my quarters.”
“The finalizations will occur tomorrow, but for tonight, may I escort you back to your quarters?” He smiled, and there was a distinct eagerness in his gaze.
“What about Wissla?”
“The restaurant will see her home. I will make sure of it.” He pressed a discreet button on the side of the table and a servant appeared in seconds.
He gave the instruction to take Wissla home, and the attendant nodded, taking her address down when Del gave it to him.
He left for a moment and brought another attendant. He lifted the unconscious acrobat in his arms and carried her out of the private room. Del stifled a laugh when Wissla opened one eye to wink at her before the young, handsome men took her out of Del’s view.
“She was faking it.” Del shook her head.
“I believe she was attempting to gain the illusion of privacy for us. You would not have come if I had requested you alone.”
Del couldn’t deny it. She moved to get to her feet, but Kurat held her back, holding her chin and staring into her eyes. His smile of delight was obvious, but there was something more, something that literally darkened the green of his eyes from leaf into dark pine.
“Yes, you are perfect.” His voice had that dark vibration to it again, and she could almost swear that there was a glow to his skin.
“It is pleasant that you think so, but isn’t it up to the goddess to determine if she wants me?” She had to squelch the disappointment that flickered in her while she spoke the obvious.
“You are more suited to carry a goddess than any of the last nine hosts. One will undoubtedly find you to be their ideal and shift you into your final form.”
This was news to her. “Final form?”
“There are some changes that the goddess will make in your body to shift you into a being more like their bodies were originally. You will be taller, stronger and have more of a tolerance for pain.”
She blinked and leaned away from him. “Will pain be a daily thing?”
He shook his head. “No, but sex is an integral part of the relationship that you are about to enter. It may be a bit more…energetic than you are used to.”
She pressed a shaking hand to her forehead. “That sounds ominous. I think I need to return to my room now.”
His lips tightened, and he nodded tersely. “As you wish, but I do warn you, when you are on Na-Lanvin, there will be nowhere to hide.”
Del swallowed. “I understand. I hate to say it, but you are the better option.”
He raised his eyebrows as he got to his feet with her in his arms. “What was the other?”
“Aren’t you going to put me down?”
“No. Not until you tell me what the other option was, or rather, who it was.”
The urge to tell him was there, but so was the idea that Baiss might not enjoy or survive the confrontation.
She leaned her head against his chest and directed him through the halls to her quarters. Her palm opened the door lock, and he gently eased her to the bed.
“It is a very small room.” He sat at the edge of her bed and looked around. “How can you live in such a small place?”
She sat up on her elbows. “It is easy. Once you have travelled in tubes with a troupe, anywhere you can turn around is a definite palace.”