CHAPTER 20
The next eight hours were a whirlwind of activity. Camlan, Gloria, and Manda had to be debriefed, and Lianndra and Eemon questioned. The real trincaar decided it was time to tell the entire ship their true identities and lift whatever psy-ability he had used to keep it a secret; closed door meetings and apologies commenced, with Nicholen sitting uncomfortably by his side. He had no time to even acknowledge Xaviara beyond a wink and a smile, and anyway, Manda put her aide to work almost immediately upon stepping foot out of the mattrans room.
Lianndra was her typical stubborn self, refusing to give any useful information in the initial interview, but Nicholen was much less exasperated with her than he’d been for years. He was finally vindicated. He’d proved she was up to no good. Although it saddened him on Camlan’s behalf, the trincaar’s big heart and forgiving nature had almost cost him his life. Nicholen didn’t go easy on the woman.
“Tell me,” he stood in front of the cell with his arms crossed and his feet shoulder-width apart, “why did you do it?”
“Do what?” she answered sweetly.
“Don’t give me that shit, Lianndra. We caught you red-handed.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
I’m getting a confession out of her, one way or another. “You think you’re clever, but I’ve been onto you since the beginning, haven’t I?”
She looked to be struggling not to answer, but she finally responded, “Yeah, but you didn’t catch me. Your little lover did, huh?”
Nicholen replayed the past few days’ events in his head. They’d both figured it out at the same time. But— “It doesn’t matter. In the end, you got caught. You GK are all the same. Too blinded by your own ideals to pull something like this off.”
“Oh, really?” She smirked up at him.
Willex’s death hung in the air between them. He scowled. “You were too young when that happened, my dear. You had nothing to do with it.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, you do. You definitely do. What made you run to the GK anyway? I didn’t think you were a supremacist.”
“I wasn’t,” she said.
“Until?”
She didn’t answer.
“I’ll just have to assume that you’re easily susceptible to brainwashing.”
That got her. “It doesn’t take brainwashing to realize that Camlan’s too dumb to be trincaarit!”
“What? He is not!” Nicholen reined in his temper. “He’ll make a fine trincaarit.”
She leaned forward, face twisted in rage. “First of all, he wouldn’t listen to what I had to say. If I were to be his wife, we needed to rule equally.”
“That’s true, but he had to have a reason for not listening.”
“He said my ideas weren’t ‘in line with the forebears’ teachings.’ Like we should listen to some crackly old audvids over someone in the here and now! A lot of it’s not relevant anymore. The Geshhina Kadyyza get that. We needed to remove the trincaar to make way for a new order.”
“You’re rambling.” Even though he now had the upper hand, he couldn’t help but needle this woman who had pissed him off for so long.
“I’m not— Fine.” She sat back, dropping her eyes to her pant leg again. “Anyway. The other reason was that when I cheated on him, he forgave me. I was mad at him for that. A trincaarit should be ruthless. Have no mercy. We can’t have a ruler who’s unwilling to do what it takes.”
Nicholen shook his head. “You’re sad, Lianndra, and your reasoning is absurd. I feel no pity for you. And the courts will make sure you get what you deserve.”
“We’ll see about that,” she muttered, but the threat was empty, and her look of resignation told him she knew it.
Nicholen turned on his heel and marched out of the brig.
Three hours later, they were docking at the Imdali Intersolar Space Station. Waiting on the landing pad was none other than the trincaarit, Travid Valkkh, surrounded by attendees and with his wife at his shoulder. Now there’s a woman who’s the equal of her mate. Lianndra truly didn’t understand it. A trin was much more than a ruler. She was a diplomat, a hub of information, and the backbone of the royal family. Ophenia Valkkh was all that and more, a true match for her man.
It made his thoughts drift to Xaviara.
“Camlan, glad to see you’re safe.” Travid embraced his son in what looked to be a rib-cracking hug. Nicholen had given Travid’s Captain a short debrief via link while they were en route.
Travid, like Nicholen’s long-time friend, had a large heart. He could be cold and calculating when he wanted to, but the desire for warmth and love was bred into the royal line by the forebears. Travid embodied all those characteristics, and it made him a fair and capable ruler over the kadyyza.
“Nicholen,” said Travid, “thank you for keeping my son safe.”
Nicholen inclined his head deeply toward the trincaarit, who laughed and pulled him into an embrace. Yep, rib-cracking. As soon as the large man let him go, Nicholen sucked in a quiet breath.
“The two of you, come with me,” said Travid. “We need to have a discussion about what went on.”
Camlan caught Nicholen’s eye. His usual goofy demeanor was replaced by something serious. Despite his calm resolution, Nicholen’s stomach dropped. Would he be blamed for the crash and near fatal extraction? I should have protested the swap more. I should never have agreed to this. What was I thinking? I should have…
Travid’s deep indigo cape whirled behind him as he headed toward a private meeting room off the docking bay. He stopped to kiss Ophenia, who muttered something that sounded like, “Don’t go too hard on him,” in his ear.
Once they were alone, Nicholen steeled himself for a tongue lashing.
“Nicholen, my boy, I want to commend you on an excellent rescue mission and on uncovering one of the key rogue operatives for our biggest terrorist organization,” said Travid. “You’ve grown into a fine Captain of the Trincaar’s Royal Guard, and I’m certain we’ve chosen well for the future. You’ll make an excellent Captain of the Trincaarit’s Guard when Camlan takes over from me. I’m recommending you for a Tri-Color Medal and a fifteen percent raise.”
Nicholen’s mouth dropped open.
“Furthermore, I understand you’ve found a girlfriend.”
Nicholen’s stomach dropped. Now would there be a reprimand? He could have jeopardized the treaty. “I can explain.”
Travid shook his head. “She’s cute, son. I’ve been briefed on her background, and I approve. She makes an excellent match for you. I hope you can make it work.” He guffawed. “And here Camlan and I thought you’d never pick a mate.”
Camlan, who had looked somewhat stunned up to this point, laughed along with his father.
“The two of you talk about me?” asked Nicholen weakly.
That only made them laugh harder.
“I’m not to be reprimanded, then?” He had to ask.
“The rules are there to ensure nothing untoward happens during the negotiations. I think we can cite extenuating circumstances. You’re being granted special dispensation. Just don’t try to influence the terms of the accord.” Travid’s look was stern.
“Why would I… ?” Oh, it was a joke. “I won’t, sir.”
“That’s all I had to say to you.” Travid clapped him on the back of the shoulder. “Camlan and I have other things to discuss. Go to her. Make her as happy as she makes you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re glowing,” said Camlan. “And you’re much less uptight than usual.”
Nicholen wanted to punch his friend in the arm, but he restrained himself in front of the trincaarit. “Oh, like you’re one to talk. I saw that kiss in the mattrans room.”
Camlan’s blush said it all.
* * *
Xaviara was in her opulent guest suite when the door chime sounded. Heart in her throat, she leapt up. Don’t seem too eager. It might not even be him.
Manda had her running in circles, and Xaviara was only now relaxing in quarters four times the size of the ones on Sol Alliance Space Station 47. It could be her boss again, finding some chore to do, a spreadsheet to build, an analysis to run, or an impromptu meeting to attend.
The longest break Xaviara had taken that day was to check her birth control nano-bots: still in place and running at peak capacity. The act of opening her medical interface in her link made her face heat. She had no idea if they were necessary with an alien of another species, but she wanted to be ready.
So when the door chimed, she couldn’t keep the excitement from her voice when she said, “Come in!”
Nicholen stepped inside, and the door slid shut behind him. Without the cape and in the uniform of the Captain of the Guard, he made a sexy, imposing figure. Xaviara allowed herself the indulgence of running her eyes across his defined pecs and down his torso, where she knew the washboard abs that awaited.
In two strides, he was across the room, kissing her. Unrestrained this time by the stresses of finding a saboteur, she threw a leg around his waist to find him hard already. Desire surged inside her, and she clenched her inner muscles as she ran a hand through his hair. His tongue found hers and their lust battled.
He pulled away, leaving her breathless. “How are the negotiations?”
“Everything is going smoothly. It looks like the spaceway is happening sooner than we thought.” Xaviara ran a hand down his chest, reconfirming the rock hard muscles underneath. This man is breathtaking. She felt buzzing, alive—nervous and excited at the same time.
Without another word, he kissed her again and then lifted her other leg to pick her up. Carefully, still kissing her, he walked to the bed and laid her down. He gathered her long hair and pulled it to the side to nuzzle her neck.
“There’s something else,” said Xaviara.
He paused his exploration at her ear, nibbled it once, and whispered, “Tell me.”
She shivered. “Manda has requested being stationed with the ambassadorial team here in Imdali. Gloria has granted her request. She asked me if I wanted to come with. I’ve been thinking about it since this afternoon.”
He pulled back. “What are you going to tell her?”
She let a mischievous grin spread across her face. “It depends on how good the rest of the payback is.”
He licked his lips. “Then I’d better get to work.”
Nicholen ran his hands down her body. He stopped to massage her breasts and then pulled her shirt up over her head. Quickly, he unfastened her bra and tossed it to the side. Once she was free of the garments, he nuzzled his way down to her uniform pants and hooked a finger in each side. “You are gorgeous.”
Warmth flooded her. As he pulled down her pants to reveal pink cotton panties, she thought about all that had happened in such a short amount of time. Three days ago, she was bemoaning her prospects, and today, she’d found a well-traveled, sexy captain of a guard who was running his hands across her body like he’d found a prize jewel.
Nicholen leaned back to lift his shirt over his head. His blue skin made her shiver—so exotic, so sexy, so gorgeous. His pants were off in another instant, and his manhood sprang free of his boxers.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“More than sure.” The wetness in her panties was testament to her words.
Gently, he pulled them down, suckling at the base of her thigh, teasing and tormenting her until she moaned. He spread her lips, looking down at her. “Pink is a good color.” He flicked a tongue over her bundle of nerves and then over it again.
“I want you inside me,” she gasped.
“Happy to oblige.” He pulled her panties off the rest of the way and climbed onto the bed. Positioning himself at her entrance, he smiled down at her. But then his look melted.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re going to tell them yes, aren’t you?” His voice was anxious.
She smiled. “Yes, of course. Your psy-sense hasn’t told you that?”
“Well… I…”
His hesitance was cute, and she found it even more endearing with the feel of his manhood against her. She reached down to caress his hard length, swirling it around her entrance. “I love that I can get you flustered.” One hand crept to his ass, and the other held him in position. With a gentle tug, she pulled him inside her, gasping as he filled her to the brim.
“Fuck,” he groaned. “You feel so good.”
Relaxing her grip, she let him pull out and push back in. The rhythm built up, so perfect, so right. She ran a hand over his face as he thrust inside her, and then she kissed his lips, tasting him and feeling him and wanting more, more…
“More,” she moaned.
He was happy to oblige, increasing his rhythm and running his hands across her breasts. “You are my match, my little viaar,” he whispered in her ear. “I’m glad you’re staying here.”
“Me, too,” she gasped, letting the pleasure build inside her.
She was tensing, writhing, so close, so close… With her cry, the orgasm crashed over her, and she was moaning, and he was moaning, and they were clutching each other and crying out.
As he relaxed and lowered himself gently onto her in the wake of their lovemaking, she said, “I’m so glad I found you.”
“And I’m glad I found you,” he answered.