Katieran Prime 4 - Kiljorn Prime (9 page)

AriELa sat beside Lindsey watching the image of Kiljor fade away in the distance. She knew something was going on between the KadEN and Lindsey. She suspected that they were bond mates. If they would declare themselves openly, AriELa would gladly release him from the mating plans that their people were planning on their behalf. Her heart was not involved, so that made things easier. But if they refused to act, AriELa was honor bound to keep her commitment and mate with KadEN, ensuring the alliance.

AriELa had come to care for Lindsey as a dear friend. She hadn’t had very many friends growing up. No one understood the pain she went through at the loss of her family. She didn’t even talk to her aunt or cousins about what happened. As for what would happen to her if KadEN and Lindsey finally admitted their feelings for one another, her heart had already been broken years ago. So she was safe from any new hurt.

“Are you looking forward to going back to Katiera?” AriELa asked Lindsey.

Lindsey nodded her head, “Yes, I miss my family.”

“As do I.”

Chapter Ten

It was late at night when they finally arrived at Katiera. AriELa offered for her to stay in her suite but Lindsey wanted to be in her own bed. Lindsey didn’t bother to call her father. She didn’t want to wake him or her sister. She would surprise them in the morning. She felt the exhaustion hit her. She entered the suite her family shared and headed directly to her own bedroom.

She put on her nightgown and lay down on her bed. Her thoughts immediately went to KadEN. For some strange reason she missed him. She touched her lips lightly, remembering their kiss. Never had a man’s kiss made her lose control like that. She wanted to be back in his arms, but that would not happen. She would probably never see him again.

She tossed and turned with her thoughts, the same thoughts that plagued her before she had left Kiljor. The man kissed her after he told her he planned to mate with AriELa. Was he trying to have a one-night stand with her? And she let him kiss her. Worse, she kissed him back. What kind of friend was she?

AriELa had been so kind to her. She didn’t want to hurt her. Well, now that she was back on Katiera, far away from KadEN, there was no chance there would be a repeat kiss. She was done with him. However, when she finally fell asleep, her dreams brought him back in full force.

*****

The next morning Lindsey was anxious to see her family. She got up and went to grab something to snack on from the kitchenette. Where was her sister and father? Usually those two were the early risers in the family.

She paused as she lifted a drink to her lips. She thought she heard a moan coming from her father’s room. There it was again. Was her father in pain? She put her drink down and ran to her father’s door. “Dad?”

She didn’t knock; she just slid the door open and ran in. She was not prepared for what she saw. “Dad!” She closed her eyes and turned around, hoping the images would go away. She hoped for temporary blindness.

Her father was naked as a jaybird and moving over top of a very naked woman. Not just any woman, it was Prima SandELa. What the hell happened while she was gone? Did the world turn upside down on her or something? She quickly walked out of the bedroom.
Oh my God. Oh my god.
“Oh my God!”

“Lindsey!” Her father had thrown on a pair of pajama bottoms and was running out of the bedroom. “I can explain.”

Lindsey held up her hand. What was there to explain? Her father was fucking the Prime Leader’s mother.
Shit, just shit!

“Lindsey dear, it’s not what it looks like.” SandELa came out wearing the top to her father’s pajamas. They were the silky red pair that Lindsey bought for him last Christmas.

Lindsey turned angry eyes to SandELa, “It looks like the two of you were fucking your brains out.”

“Lindsey Rose Carreli! I will not have you speaking that way to Sandy.” Her father puffed out his chest and gave her the look, the one that said she would get a spanking if she didn’t straighten out.

“Where is Lisa?” Lindsey demanded.

“She is spending the night with RendEL and Cassie,” her father answered.

Lindsey looked back and forth between SandELa and her father. They were both flushed. “How long has this been going on?”

Her father ran a hand through his still dark hair. “Sandy’s been a great help with Lisa while you were away. We spent a lot of time together. We hit it off and … one thing led to another.”

“I care for your father greatly,” SandELa told her with a blush rising to her cheeks.

“Does RendEL know about this?” She already knew what the answer to that would be. He didn’t know or her father would be in the Medic Wing being treated.

“Well … no. Not yet. This is still new to us. We couldn’t help ourselves.” Her father looked like a teenager caught necking with his high school sweetheart.

Her love life was non-existent but her father was obviously getting around. This was not going to go over well with the Primes at all. They were extremely protective of their women.

“This needs to end. You can’t see each other anymore.” Lindsey had to do damage control.

“Hell no!” her father’s face turned bright red with anger.

“Leo, calm down.” SandELa touched his arm and got his attention on her.

He took a deep breath. Then he smiled gently at SandELa. He leaned down and kissed her on her lips. “Go get dressed while I talk to my daughter.”

“You won’t yell?” SandELa looked worried. She obviously cared about Lindsey’s father. It made her feel a little guilty for overreacting.

“I will control my temper,” he promised. SandELa nodded her head and went back to Leo’s bedroom.

Lindsey and her father stood there staring each other down. Finally, her father broke the silence. “I won’t give her up.”

“Dad …”

“No, Lindsey. You listen to me. I have been alone for a long time—too long. I always thought I had plenty of time to find someone. When I got sick, I thought that was it. I would never get that second chance at love. Then my cancer went into remission and we came here. I felt an instant connection to Sandy. She is kind and loving. Lisa adores her. She makes me feel like a man again. But it’s more than physical. I feel … I’m in love Lindsey. For the first time in my life, I am in love. So,no, I won’t give her up.”

Lindsey plopped down on the sofa. The wind left her. She was seeing her father in a whole different light. He had always been her father, but now she realized that he was also a man. A man who found a woman he wanted to be with. He had always been there for her and Lisa. When their mother abandoned them, he was there. He supported Lindsey with everything she did. How could she deny him a chance at happiness.

“How does she feel about you?” she asked.

He sat down beside her. “She says I am her … bond mate. She is a wonderful woman. Please give her a chance, Lindsey girl.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” her father looked at her questioningly, not quite believing her. He turned to nod at SandELa who poked her head out of the door. She made her way over to him.

“If the two of you are serious about one another, then I won’t stand in your way.”

“Oh, baby girl, that is wonderful to hear.”

“Of course, you will need to let RendEL, KydEL, and SydEL know about your relationship,” Lindsey said.

Both Leo and SandELa paled. “We had planned to tell them … eventually.”

Lindsey smiled deviously, “Why not tell them now?”

“Well … SydEL and Kat’s mating ceremony is the priority right now. We were hoping to wait until things settle down,” SandELa explained quickly.

Lindsey stood and started heading for her room. “I have to meet with the Prime Leader and Prime Commander to discuss the alliance details. Let me know when you are ready to spread the good news.” Actually, Lindsey hoped to be nowhere near the Primes when they find out her father was
dating
their mother. She knew one thing for sure, the shit was going to hit the fan.

*****

Kat and Prime Medic SydEL had a small ceremony. It was held on a large balcony with just SydEL’s family and their friends. Lindsey and her family was invited as well.

It was a lovely ceremony. The torches that were lit made the atmosphere very romantic. Not that Lindsey had much romance in her life to go by. Her father, on the other hand, couldn’t take his eyes off SandELa. It was sickeningly sweet. Lindsey watched the mating ceremony wondering if she would ever meet someone that she would want to mate.

“I, SydEL Prime Medic of Katiera claim you, Katrina Lynn Morris, as my mate.”

“I, Katrina Lynn Morris claim you SydEL, Prime Medic of Katiera, as my mate.”

“I now rename you Prima Katrina, mate to SydEL, Prime Medic of Katiera,” the small group of people applauded.

Lindsey wondered if this would be the type of ceremony that AriELa and KadEN would have. No, it was going to be a much bigger event. The joining of the two nations was a big deal. Even now, arrangements were being made on Kiljor while AriELa was here on Katiera.

At least Lindsey didn’t have to deal with KadEN’s presence. She hadn’t spent any time with AriELa despite the younger woman’s offers. It was just too uncomfortable. Lindsey was keeping things from AriELa in an attempt to protect her, but it was actually causing a strain in their friendship.

She was lonely and feeling friendless. On top of all that, she had to witness the blooming romance between her father and SandELa,
Sandy
. She still couldn’t bring herself to call her that even when she insisted. It looked like it was getting serious. They didn’t have any more sleepovers at Lindsey’s suite, but her father did sleep over at SandELa’s suite, a lot. Her father was right though about how much Lisa loved the Prima. And SandELa was the mother that Lisa had always wished for. It was hard for Lindsey not to like the older woman when she tried so hard to gain her approval, and she obviously adored her father.

Lindsey needed to get away from the happy love fest going on. She decided to take a walk along the shoreline. She had to admit that she preferred Kiljor to Katiera. The air there seemed warmer to her there. She loved their blue waters that reminded her of Earth. All of that reminded her of KadEN with his dark eyes and sexy smile. She missed him and his kisses. She sighed.

“May I join you?” AriELa asked coming up to her from behind.

Lindsey nodded but didn’t say anything. She waited for the other woman to catch up and then began walking again.

“I feel like you’ve been avoiding me,” AriELa told her.

Lindsey stopped walking and looked at AriELa. She couldn’t take it anymore. “I didn’t mean to. It’s just that … I didn’t know how to tell you. I was afraid it would hurt our friendship.”

“Tell me what?” AriELa looked at her questioningly.

Lindsey was silent. She couldn’t look AriELa in the eyes. How do you tell your friend that you have ‘the hots’ for her guy?

AriELa smiled sadly, “You have feelings for KadEN?”

Lindsey nodded at her looking tortured.

“I suspected as much. Does he have feelings for you as well?”

“I don’t know if he does. He kissed me when we were on Kiljor, but he said he was going to mate you anyway.”

“The alliance between our nations is important. He is under a lot of pressure to make sure it happens.”

“I get that. I was just thrown off by the kiss. Nothing happened other than that one kiss.”

“Sometimes one kiss is all it takes.” AriELa looked off in the distance.

Lindsey looked over at the woman and saw her age right before her eyes. What the hell happened to AriELa to make her look that way?

“I would understand completely if you were angry with me and didn’t want to continue our friendship,” Lindsey told her with tears in her eyes.

“I’m not angry. You can’t help whom you have feelings for. It just happens sometimes. I just wished that you had told me sooner. I value our friendship.”

Why was every man that Lindsey fell for unavailable? First RendEL, now KadEN. Why couldn’t she have fallen for someone nice and available like MerIC?

“I am supposed to be going back to Kiljor soon. I haven’t officially accepted the offer of mating, and the Kiljorns would like me to spend time there. I would like for you to come back with me.”

“Even after I told you that KadEN and I kissed?”

AriELa nodded, “The two of you need to resolve whatever this is going on between the two of you.”

She was right. She needed to confront KadEN, get rid of these feelings once and for all. She couldn’t do that from Katiera.

“Of course, if I do accept the mating offer, you will probably want to come back to Katiera. It may be too uncomfortable for you to watch first hand and I would have to insist on it. Though I do not love KadEN, I only have kind feelings for him. We will be committing ourselves to one another and that is serious. We Katierans do not share our mates.”

Lindsey nodded sadly, “I understand and I would feel the same if I were in your shoes. When were you planning on going back?”

“Some time in the next few days. I want to spend time with my new little cousins. They are adorable and seem to grow bigger each day. I will miss them the most when I move to Kiljor.”

When? AriELa already sounded like she had made up her mind about the mating. Lindsey felt jealous and hated it. Maybe her going back to Kiljor wasn’t a good idea after all. She said her goodbyes and headed back to her suite. She would spend as much time with her family before she left again.

*****

“AriELa said that you agreed to travel with her back to Kiljor, Prime Leader RendEL asked her the next evening when he met with her and Prime Commander KydEL.

“Yes, if that is okay?” Lindsey realized that she should have asked the Prime Leader first before she agreed to anything.

“Of course. I know AriELa will appreciate having a friend with her. To be honest, I needed you to help finalize a few things with the alliance.”