TICEES (33 page)

*****

It was getting late, and Chelan was becoming tired. She did not wish to sleep, however, just in case Korba returned with Toran. She was also feeling a bit uneasy about the fact that Fremma had not been sent to her. She knew that Korba would not have neglected to send him for even the briefest period of time, just to tell her of his plans. Chelan hugged herself. She guessed that they had just gotten too busy, or distracted, and had lost track of time.

She walked out into the dim bedroom and looked about aimlessly. She was bored with the computer and too weary to work out. So, with very little deliberation she decided that a nice long soak in the swirl pool was in order.

Suddenly, the main doors swung open, and a shrouded figure strode in. Chelan jumped, startled by the abrupt entry. Then she smiled, assuming Fremma had finally come to her. But her smile quickly waned as she registered the size difference. She took a reflexive step backward. The man withdrew his hood, and she looked into the face of the Emperor. “My Lord,” she acknowledged in a strained whisper.

“My Lady,” Ticees returned, his voice soft and low. “I’m sorry that it has taken so long for word to reach you, but all, including Korba, were detained, and they are now engaged in idle prattle in my quarters. I believe Fremma was to attend you, but I’m afraid I had to send him on a little side errand. So I took it upon myself to inform you of our schedule.”

Chelan smiled uneasily as he stepped toward her, raising the room lights slightly as he passed the switch. He stopped and studied her closely. “I think that your Lordship will be busy for some time to come, as we all have a lot to talk about. It would be wise not to expect him back until tomorrow night, so may I suggest that you get some sleep?”

Chelan hesitated. “Thank you for taking the time to tell me,” she stated quietly.

Ticees remained silent. Then he stepped even closer to her. He looked down into her deep brown eyes and lowered his voice further. “I haven’t seen much of you over the past week, my Lady. I hope that in the future, that will change.”

His tone was commanding, and Chelan felt her skin grow clammy. She remained steadfast despite feeling vulnerable and horribly exposed.

“I wished to apologize for my behavior last week, but it seems that I have not been afforded an opportunity. I only catch fleeting glimpses of you in passing at some of our meals.” He took another step toward her, and she instinctively stepped back, her retreat causing his muscles to bunch.

Chelan realized immediately that her backstep had been a poor move. “There is no apology necessary, my Lord,” she assured. “I have been busy with Korba, adapting to my new surroundings. I meant no slight to you by my absences.”

Ticees finally smiled. “But I enjoy your presence, my Lady. Although I will not demand it, it would please me immensely if you would attend a few more of our meals. And if you ever see fit, I would also enjoy speaking with you in the comfort and privacy of my chambers. I’m sure that there is still a lot I do not know about my good friend’s mate, a lot that I’m sure would interest me.”

Chelan smiled, but a sense of panic was snaking over her, constricting her chest. “Yes, my Lord,” she answered, her voice quavering despite her resolve.

Ticees’s face became serious. He watched her muscles betraying her fear of him, and he drew a deep breath, her scent causing his nostrils to flare. She was so fragile and so weak. Heat instantly pooled in his loins. She was so beautifully vulnerable. He reached for her chin and raised her face, his fingers feeling her tension and her velvet softness.

Chelan’s eyes remained riveted to his, and she could see clearly the lust that clouded them. She remained very still, unsure of what to say or what to do, but knowing full well retreat was not an option.

Ticees’ hand slipped down her slender neck to the scar on her throat, and his fingers traced it as a pronounced shiver coursed through her body at his touch. He looked into her fearful eyes. “What happened?” he whispered.

Chelan attempted to swallow, but her throat was barren of any moisture. “An accident, my Lord,” she croaked, her voice nearly inaudible.

His gloved hand traced back over the thin, pale line, along her collarbone, and toward the scar on her shoulder. His fingers caught the strap to her gown on their journey, and he watched her closely as he slid it over her shoulder, her trembling now consuming her despite all her effort. She was such a timid creature, and he marveled at how petite she was, his mere hand dwarfing her slender frame.

Chelan glanced down and bit her lip.

Ticees looked briefly at her long-healed wound and then returned his attention to her. The scent of fear about her triggered a surge of desire that erupted throughout his body, his feelings of protectiveness battling with urges of predation, both eliciting the same response from him, that of full, unchecked arousal.

He was stunned by the intensity of his feelings, and he could only watch in silence as his fingers methodically returned to the center of her throat. His eyes lowered over her satiny skin to her heaving breasts, and he lost what fragments of control he had maintained. He hardened beneath his shroud, the sight of her large breasts elevating his ardor to a dangerous level. His fingers traced down to where her gown demurely concealed her feminine softness, and his eyes gorged on what he could so easily devour. Her firm nipples protruded sharply and seductively through the white gown, fueling his cresting hunger, and his hand twitched.

Chelan could hear his heavy respiration competing with her booming heartbeat, both assaulting her ears simultaneously. It was as if the entire room had been infused with thunder, and she could only stand there and wait for the lightning to strike. His fingers pressed against her flesh, so close to her breasts that her dread crystallized. She choked on a whimper and then dared to peer up into his glazed eyes, pleading with him silently and urgently for mercy.

A sharp breath left Ticees’ lungs, and he withdrew his hand from her flesh with a snap. He stepped back, his engorged organ straining for release while his brain fought for containment. His breathing was ragged. “You are indeed a beauty,” he uttered, his voice gruff and strained. “I hope I will see more of you, my Lady,” and he turned away abruptly and left.

Chelan immediately slumped to her knees in a trembling heap, every emotion she possessed detonating around her. Safety as she knew it was but a distant echo. Though he had barely touched her, he had violated her as surely as the demon from her nightmare. She felt helpless, and she hugged herself fiercely. From this point on she would attend Korba to all the meals, for now she was terrified to be alone within the walls of her very own room, the very bedroom of the Empire’s most powerful Warlord. The only place she was safe was by Korba’s side, and that was where she was going to remain.

Korba hustled down the darkened corridors toward his chambers. It had been nearly forty-eight Earth hours since he had left Chelan, and he was once again both worried about and her and anxious to be with her. The meeting with Ticees had been long and intense. After a brief and lighthearted reunion with Toran, Ticees had plunged right into his concerns about ROPE and had discussed his long-term plans and goals with them. And, at long last, he had revealed to them the reason he had brought his three greatest men home.

It seemed that one of the outlying Breeders’ Guild colonies had produced a line of fighters like none that had gone before. These men were now old enough to begin their training toward being recruited into the ranks of the Warlords. They had arrived on Iceanea a year ago and were deep within the induction program and doing phenomenally well. Ticees wanted them to be trained early by the best. With his Overlord, Toran, and Dar on home soil, Ticees could rotate his three best warriors through small side-missions while always having one available to train the new recruits. Though Korba usually trained the Warlords exclusively, Ticees felt the new men could benefit from the experience of all of them, and so he had ordered his primary men home.

As Ticees would allow Toran a few days to settle in before getting down to the actual crux of the ROPE situation and before immersing his Warlords within the training schedules, Korba had some additional free time. With that, he wanted to be with Chelan … exclusively.

He stepped quietly into his darkened chambers, aware that she might be asleep, but the bed was empty. He moved to the en suite and peered in. There he found her soaking in the large tub, her head back, her eyes closed. He stepped into the light, his shadow startling her with his silent entrance.

Chelan’s reaction was astounding. She jumped from the water, grabbing a towel to herself, her eyes full of terror as she sought escape from the shrouded figure.

Korba gasped, whipping back the hood. “Chelan!” he called, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Chelan stopped and turned, her motions frenzied. “Korba,” she whimpered, tears flooding her eyes. She ran across the cool floor and leapt into his arms, digging her nails painfully into his back as she clutched at him desperately.

“Chelan,” he whispered in stunned confusion. “What’s happened?”

Chelan buried her face in his neck and cried.

Korba dropped to the floor, pulling her down with him. He drew his shroud about her trembling body. “Chelan,” he soothed, stroking her hair and back. Finally, he took her by the arms and pulled her away from him. She continued to sob as he removed the towel from her and scanned her body for injury.

“Chelan,” he called, his voice gentle but commanding. “What has happened? You need to talk to me.”

Chelan wiped away her tears. “You were gone so long,” she whispered, her voice shaking.

Korba stood, raising her before him. “I know. It was unavoidable. But I told Fremma to stop and tell you the situation on his way to train. He should have told you that I would be back tonight.”

Chelan reached for the towel and bound herself tightly. Korba tore his shroud from himself and wrapped it about her moist, frigid body. Holding her steady, he looked deep into her eyes.

She squinted at him as if disoriented, and then shook her head slowly. “Fremma?” she repeated.

Korba’s temper instantly flared. “Damn!” he shouted. “Didn’t Fremma tell you?” Korba released her, whirled around in a flurry of black, and charged out of the en suite.

“No!” she shouted as she lunged after him, catching his arm. “No,” she pleaded. “I was told, but …”

Korba turned to her, his eyes piercing her. “But what, Chelan?” His voice was strained as he tried to control his rage over Fremma’s incompetence.

Chelan hugged herself in a death grip. “But it was Ticees who came,” she whispered. “He told me that he had sent Fremma to do something.”

Korba grabbed her shoulders firmly. “What did he do, Chelan?” he growled.

She tried to collect herself. “Nothing … really, but …” she uttered weakly.

Korba was at a loss as to what to make of the whole situation, but her frightful reaction to him when he had entered the en suite spurred him on to seek an explanation. “Did he touch you?”

She shook violently. “Only my scars …” she mumbled helplessly, her voice barely audible.

Korba lowered his voice as his eyes searched her face. “What did he say to you?”

“Only that he wants to see more of me, and that he wished that I would attend the meals with you.”

“Did he order that?”

Chelan looked down, realizing how hopeless her case against the Emperor would seem to him. “No, not exactly,” she whispered.

Korba stood in silence, sorting through his thoughts and her words. He would have shrugged the whole incident off as her fears having gotten the best of her once again, but the fact that Ticees had come to see her rather than Fremma, as planned, disturbed him. “Chelan,” he began firmly. “What did he do to you that was so upsetting? I can’t help you if you don’t come up with more.”

Chelan looked up at him, knowing he was right. She took a deep breath. “It wasn’t what he said, or that he touched me, it was how he spoke, and how he touched me.” Chelan looked down. “It was the way he looked at me. It was what I saw in his eyes … and heard in his voice …” her words trailed off as her emotions caught in her throat. “He … he just kept staring at me.”

Korba finally gave her a small smile. “Chelan, all men stare at you. Ticees is bound to be no exception.”

Chelan swallowed hard. “I know I am not entirely making sense.” Finally, she looked back up at him as she gathered herself together. “One day, if you leave me here, he’s going to hurt me.”

Korba shook his head in disbelief. “Chelan, I know Ticees. He’s been a lifelong friend. He would not hurt you, especially since he knows that you are mine.”

Chelan shuddered. “I understand your relationship and your deep friendship. But you know him as a man and as a warrior, and you know him from a position of power. You do not see him as I do, from a woman’s point of view.”

“He doesn’t hurt women, Chelan. He accepts our Iceanean values. He respects women as the equals they are. I have never seen or heard him ever espouse values to the contrary. He has always been an honorable man.”