TICEES (37 page)

Ticees closed his eyes, expecting his execution at any moment. “I covered her with my body to warm her, an act I am sure you would do for my mate in the same circumstance.”

Ticees felt Korba’s body shift off of him slightly, and he dared to open his eyes. “I held her for a long time, my intentions honorable.”

“And then?” fumed Korba, his voice low and restrained.

Ticees hesitated. “And then when she warmed, she fell asleep …” He hesitated, remembering vividly her warm and alluring sensuality, the feel of her breasts on his skin, and her sweet scent. Ticees closed his eyes again. “I could not help myself, and I tasted her lips, while praying that she would allow me to taste more.”

A low growl emitted from deep in Korba’s chest, and he bared his teeth.

Ticees faltered as he looked up at Korba. “I admit to my guilt of aggression, my friend, but I did not force her. I released her immediately upon her outcry. I intended no malice to you, and no harm to her.”

“You tried to take her in her sleep!” Korba accused with renewed vehemence.

“No! She fell asleep, but then she woke.” Ticees halted, realizing he was on thin ice. “I kissed her while she was asleep. Then she woke and halted all,” he clarified quickly. He swallowed hard, realizing he had just lied to his best friend for the first time in his life. But death was his only other option.

Korba began to relax his grip on Ticees’s hair, and Ticees spoke again. “I do not have to tell you what a feminine beauty she is. Could you lay pressed next to her softness for so long and not respond? And when she said no, I broke my advance instantly.” Ticees felt a small reprieve at the utterance of that truth.

Korba dropped his blade and slid off Ticees’ body. He hung his head, his chest and heart heavy. He knew all too well the temptation his cherished goddess innocently offered, and he hunched forward wearily. He had not witnessed the event, so he had no further grounds to pursue his present course of action. And most importantly, Chelan had begged him not to confront Ticees, and so he would back off. His point had be made poignantly clear anyway. “Please forgive me, my Lord.”

Ticees pushed to his feet, his glistening skin in sharp contrast to the dim room. “I need no apologies from you. You acted as I would have if Chelan were mine. I gave her my word that I would not touch her again, and now I give that word to you, as a friend, and as a warrior.”

Ticees stooped and picked up Korba’s knife, holding the shimmering blade up in the dim light.

Chelan entered through the open door silently, and her face instantly drained of all color. She saw Ticees standing over Korba’s hunched body, knife drawn, and her knees gave way.

“No!” shouted Ticees as he dropped the blade, his voice startling Korba to his feet. Ticees lunged, and he caught Chelan just before she was about to crack her head on the side table. “It is not as it seems!”

Korba leapt to her side, grabbing her face and turning her clouded eyes to him. “All is well, my Lady. I am not injured.”

Chelan finally took a breath as she reached for him. “Oh god,” she blurted. “I asked you not to confront him.”

“I know,” soothed Korba as he took her from Ticees’ arms and hugged her close. “Words of honor and intention needed to be spoken between warriors. And now, all is well.” Korba looked up at Ticees, his cool eyes piercing the Emperor to his very soul. “You are safe here now, Chelan. My friend the Emperor will not touch you again. He has given me his word.”

Ticees slumped back against the wall, realizing at last what he had done by giving his word, and just what he had forfeited. He watched as Korba buried his face in her slender neck, the Warlord’s hands stroking her long, golden-brown mane and her soft skin.

Ticees swallowed hard as his thoughts swirled about him. Then the sobering revelation hit him. He was falling in love with the beautiful alien, his best friend’s Letted mate, and he truly did desire her, not simply as a bed mate, but as much, much more.

Ticees let his head fall back against the wall as he clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut. Everything in the Realm was about to change, the future of all those around him instantly thrown into the chaos of uncertainty. For the moment, he honestly knew not what to do about his feelings. But one thing was clear. Despite his word to the galaxy’s most powerful Warlord, the young alien was going to be his and his alone, one way or another.

It had taken Chelan a while to fully recover from the events surrounding Ticees’ forceful advance, and even longer to recover from the shock of her perceived loss of Korba at Ticees’ hand. But Korba had not pushed her recovery, for he realized that the biggest hurdle she had to clear was his apparent lack of support. He had severed her trust and jeopardized her security by not listening completely to her fears regarding Ticees. As a result Chelan never wanted to let him out of her sight, while at the same time she withdrew from him. She required his presence out of the need for protection, yet Ticees’ attack forced her to recede into her shell, all her insecurities once again fully fledged. Korba understood that at times she partially blamed him for her encounter with the Emperor, which Korba accepted, but inevitably she placed the blame squarely on herself. Korba was distraught over her new and fallacious analysis of the situation and was even more concerned over her self-destructive tendencies. Now he sought to remedy the problem.

During the few days of rest for Toran before the military discussions were to commence, Korba spent every moment with Chelan, talking through her past and her experience with Ticees in an attempt to stop her downward spiraling. Her obsession with the fact that she had brought the whole episode on herself went so far as to resurrect her shyness with him. She went to great lengths to keep her body covered at all times, and she withdrew from open and aggressive sex play, sometimes rebuffing even the gentlest of his advances.

Korba had decided it was prudent to respect her wishes of never being left alone, and had spent much time with Fremma working through timetables and making arrangements to accommodate her. One way or another, one of them would always be with her. Fremma was eager to comply; he’d been incensed when he’d first heard of the incident.

In addition, Korba withdrew from most social interactions outside of his chambers, even refusing to eat with Ticees and the rest of the men. Not that any of this was a sacrifice to him, as he loved spending every moment he could by Chelan’s side. And it was not all idle time. He spent hours taking her throughout the Palace, orienting her to its vast layout and familiarizing her intimately with its innermost workings.

His diligence and patience eventually began to pay off. She appreciated his attention and, ecstatic just to be away from Ticees, she began to feel a little more at ease as the days went on. Her feelings of guilt soon began to fade under Korba’s attentive and loving care, but he did not push her. He allowed her to come to him, and finally, to his relief, all appeared back to normal.

The morning came a little too early on this day, but Korba prodded her gently. “Come on, pretty woman. I’ve had my shower, now it’s your turn.”

“Where are we going?” Chelan asked sleepily.

Korba stood, donning his jacket. “It’s time for the military meetings to begin, and since both Fremma and I have to attend, so do you.”

Chelan pushed herself up, her muscles protesting. Right now, she never wanted to leave the giant bed. “Who will be there?” she yawned.

“Just Ticees, Dar, Toran, Fremma, and myself.”

Chelan nodded weakly. “Sounds like the top brass.”

Korba smiled. “For now. Solis, Tarn, and another man, Toran’s acting Second-in-Command, Roden, will join us about an hour late, as they have been out in the training fields.”

Chelan’s eyes suddenly opened wide and her face illuminated. “So if it’s just Ticees and the ever-great Warlords and their First Officers, what’s Fremma doing there?”

Korba grinned as he pulled her to her feet. “Because, my nosy and very perceptive woman, he is being promoted to Second-in-Command. He will work under me alongside Tarn for a number of years, and if he is worthy he may also join the elite ranks of the Warlords.”

Chelan was stunned, and Korba had to drag her to the shower. “He’s that good?” she whispered.

Korba chuckled. “Yes, he’s that good. Why do you think I left you in his care and not in Lazen’s or anyone else’s?”

Chelan shivered as Korba pushed her into the tepid water. She began to clean herself quickly. “Does he know about this yet?”

“Yes. It’s not something that just happens overnight. He’s known about it for a long time.”

Chelan stepped out and Korba rubbed some warmth back into her briskly. “Will they mind me being there?” she asked uneasily.

“No, but I don’t doubt that you will be bored stiff.”

Chelan watched him as he knelt before her and tended to her long, slender legs. “Oh, I doubt that,” she quipped. “I get to watch Fremma bask in the glory of his new position. I get to watch my mate in action, in all his military splendor and might. And of course, I will at long last get to meet the equally handsome and debonair Warlord Toran. And that all goes without mentioning the fact that I get to make Ticees squirm for what he put me through, and you get to watch me squirm as Solis decides whether or not he should have completed the job on my throat.”

Korba chuckled at her. “And what of Dar and Tarn?”

Chelan’s smiled receded slightly. “I guess Dar and I will continue as normal. I will look at him with the love for him that I’ve always felt, and he will avoid my gaze.” Chelan took a deep breath, and she shrugged. “And as for Tarn, who knows. I doubt he will be made comfortable by my presence. In a way, I owe him a lot. But I know not how to repay him.”

Korba smiled. “You have repaid him with your existence and your fortitude. He is content to know you are well, and he will be honored by your presence.”

Chelan smiled back. “You’re a hopeless optimist, you know that? Anyway, I assure you that I will be far from bored. It will just be like attending an eight-ring circus. I’ll just have to see what trouble I can stir up with Toran and Roden, and the whole affair will be complete.”

Korba laughed at her as he watched her dress. “And I am sure you are more than capable of stirring up something where they are concerned. You have not failed with the men of the Empire so far.”

Chelan straightened. “So, any instructions?”

“Well, undoubtedly you will worry about everyone and everything. I’ll just remind you that diplomacy is of the essence, and that goes as far as Dar is concerned also.”

Chelan nodded. “I know. I can’t think of anywhere I could be where sticking my foot in my mouth would be any more embarrassing than at this meeting.”

Korba nodded at her and then led her out into the bedroom. He presented her with her white cloak and the pink one given to her by Ticees. “Choose,” he offered. “It will be cold in the meeting area.”

Chelan hesitated, and then she pointed to the pink cloak. “Where did you get that?”

“Ticees gave it to me. He wanted you to have it, but you left it when you fled his chambers last week.”

Chelan shifted her weight somewhat uneasily and smirked. “Well, since I know you will always love and accept me unconditionally, I suppose I should start in the diplomacy department and wear the pink one.”

Korba handed it to her. “Good choice, my Lady. I couldn’t have said it better.”

Korba donned his shroud as Chelan placed the cloak over her shoulders and slipped into her high heels. “How long will the meeting last?”

“I’m not sure.”

Chelan looked up at him as he turned to her. “Will I be able to touch you?”

Korba’s eyes widened and a grin crossed his face. “In what manner, my Lady?”

Chelan shrugged. “What I’m asking is, how formal is this thing, and how far in the background am I supposed to remain?”

“Follow your heart, Chelan. I know all too well your acute perceptiveness of people and situations. I know you will not do anything inappropriate. You have not so far.” Korba smiled warmly at her, suddenly struck by her radiant beauty, and he took a deep breath. He reached for her cloak, drawing it back over her shoulders and exposing her full breasts barely concealed by the hugging white fabric. His eyes flowed over her as his hands moved to cup them, his thumbs caressing her hard nipples.

Chelan closed her eyes to his touch, her knees feeling weak. Korba kissed her passionately. Then he withdrew from her and buried his face in her succulent neck. “As for me,” he breathed, “I may not be responsible for my actions in there, especially if the meeting goes too long.”

Chelan swallowed hard. “If we don’t leave now, my Lord,” she stammered, “we too will be late.”

Korba knelt before her, pulling her straps off her shoulders and stripping her of her gown in one swift motion. He looked up at her, his voice deep and strained. “Then we will be late, my Lady,” and his lips took her breast.

Chelan entangled her fingers in his thick hair, and she shuddered. Then he stood and took a couple of steps back to look at her shapely body, her long slender legs made just that much more enticing in the high heels that adorned her delicate feet. A rumble arose from his chest, and she squeaked as he grabbed her swiftly and laid her warm, naked body on his bed.