Chapter Nineteen
WHEN THE Endekians had sneaked out of the blizzard to attack their traveling party, Kahn had dived from the masdon, and with a psi push, he’d sent the animal and Tessa on their way. Since the Endekians hadn’t known she was there, they hadn’t pursued her. A stunner dart struck him, paralyzing him before he’d hit the ground, but he’d hoped Tessa would be safe. Unfortunately, he couldn’t adjust her suit for warmth at this distance, and he prayed the canvas protection would be enough to ensure her survival. If she’d stayed on the masdon’s back as he’d expected, the beast would have taken her to Rian.
Despite his efforts to keep her safe, somehow without the use of null-grav she’d become separated from the masdon and had found the Endekian camp. And his wife seemed determined to put herself in danger by attempting to rescue him when saving herself for the Challenge was more important. Unable to move, see, or hear what was happening, he simmered silently with escalating rage that she was putting her life in danger. Yes, she might rescue Xander, but one life could not compare to the survival of all his people. She needed to stay alive to win the Challenge, and she should have left all of them behind, him included, to saved herself. Instead, she’d entered an enemy camp, alone.
Every moment of not knowing if she lived or died seemed a year, but finally, she and Xander returned. Xander looked pale from his ordeal, but steady, his eyes older and wiser than a few hours ago. Tessa’s black pantsuit revealed too much of her shape for propriety, but he didn’t give a damn. She was safe. Relief broke over him, washing away the long moments of fretting over her safety.
Tessa clasped his hand. Although Kahn attempted to squeeze back, he couldn’t move, couldn’t talk, and if she didn’t answer some of his questions soon, he thought he might burst.
“All ten Endekians are dead,” she told him, answering question number one. “Xander killed the last one, and he says that we don’t have to worry about reinforcements—at least not anytime soon.”
Kahn noted that she didn’t mention who had killed the others, but he knew. She had reacted like a warrior, and while he could imagine how much trouble his friends would have dealing with her escapade, they all owed their lives to her. Stars, he hoped they realized how lucky they were.
However, as a leader, he well knew that for a Rystani man to owe his life to a woman would rub like an ill-fitting saddle. The backlash might be ugly. And while he wouldn’t condone her action since she’d put her own life in jeopardy, he would defend her to the fullest extent of his authority. She was brave, courageous, and he was lucky to be married to her.
She leaned over Xander’s father. “You should be proud to know that your son never talked.” Then Tessa looked to Xander. “I would like to have a private discussion with my husband. Could you please bring him to another tent for me?”
Kahn had no objections. In fact he was delighted that Tessa didn’t intend to say more in front of his men. With his people so close to starvation, tensions and tempers were high. The less said about her encounter with the Endekians, the better.
Xander used null-grav and left Tessa alone with Kahn in an empty structure. “I’ll tend the others,” he told them before departing.
When Tessa next came within view, she’d changed her black suit to a sexy dress that lifted her breasts and revealed her long lean legs from her toes to just an inch below where her legs parted. And she had a look in her eyes that Kahn had seen before, a mischievous, playful look.
Kneeling beside him, she leaned over and kissed his mouth. He couldn’t respond, but he could appreciate her soft skin, her tender caress, her delicate scent. “You know, husband, it occurred to me that there’s no reason not to use this time together to our best advantage.”
She leaned over him so far her breasts almost tipped out of the top of her suit. Her eyes bright with mirth, she peered straight into his with a brazen heat that made his mouth go dry.
“And now, husband dear, you will find out what it is like to be on the other end of your Rystani customs.” She placed her hand on his tavis so there could be no mistaking her meaning. Her psi infiltrated his marriage band, penetrated his shield as she took her wifely privilege. And since he couldn’t so much as flex one muscle, she had him at her mercy.
He stared at her in shock. Now he understood why she’d demanded privacy. He wished he’d paid more attention to how far away Xander had moved him from the others. While he could not yet utter a sound, his voice would return long before control of major muscle groups.
His tavis already stretched tight. She laughed a low, musical laugh that told him her threat was not idle. And if his arousal could have been measured by heat, it would have been an inferno. If his tavis had been a warrior, it couldn’t have stood up any straighter at attention.
She peered into his eyes and licked her bottom lip. “Ah Kahn, did you know when your eyes dilate and the amber yields to blackness, it makes me very glad I’m female. Glad that I am your wife.”
At her admission that she actually didn’t mind that he’d forced her to wed him, a barrier around his heart dissolved. And he realized how much it mattered to him how she felt. Gladdened that she would say such a thing, he was determined to enjoy this encounter.
As she spoke, she pushed with her psi, drawing every drop of his blood to his straining tavis. When he moaned softly at the heat coursing through him, at his heart pounding his chest with need as bright and pure as the stars, his roaring ears barely caught the sound.
However, his vocal chords were slowly returning to normal. Not fast enough. A man could only take so much pleasure. But spilling his seed outside the body of a woman was against custom.
Is that what she wanted? He groaned, determined to hold back. To take what she offered and give her no more power over him. But he failed. She did have power over him. Closing his eyes, he fought down the weakness of being unable to resist her.
About to explode, he gave up the fight. Gave in to the pleasure. Waited with bated breath for the ultimate release—but it never came.
Pressure at the base of his tavis saved him or tortured him, stopped him from spilling his seed. Pressure his wife had applied by pressing her fingers down hard kept him right where she wanted him.
By the stars! She would do to him what he had done to her, and he could not stop her.
Sweat broke out on his brow, his lip, his scalp. No man should have to bear so much.
She winked at him. “Ah, if only I could read your mind. I suspect you don’t like this role reversal.”
He found his voice. “The experience is . . . interesting, but not one I would partake in by choice.”
“I don’t remember you giving me a choice.”
Through her psi she sensed his passion had ebbed enough for her to release her pressure hold.
“Just remember, woman. I will soon fully recover from the stun.”
She angled her chin up and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I’m counting on your full recovery, only perhaps it won’t be as soon as you might like.” The sexy lilt in her tone combined with the naughty heat in her grin made his heart charge up his throat. “By my estimate we have at least an hour.”
An endless amount of time.
She used her psi to tug on his nipples, stroke his ass and balls and the inside of his thighs. Letting the psi continue to caress him, she turned her attention to his face, threaded her hands through his hair, swiped her mouth over his for a kiss, her tongue tangling with his until once more he reached the point of explosion.
Again she applied pressure to hold him back.
Enticed by the scent of her, the taste of her, the silky feel of her hair tickling his chest, he gasped and moaned. Caught in her pleasure trap, he ached for release, burned so hot, he couldn’t think of more than what her psi was doing to him.
“You know what I want?” she asked, her nipples hard and pointy as they peeked through her dress, teasing him, taunting him.
“You want . . . to . . . remember . . . ah . . . that you promised to . . . obey . . . Rystani ah, ah. No!”
As he spoke the word obey, she leaned over and took his tavis into her mouth! The shocking act was so incredibly pleasurable that his head spun with the scandalous wonder of it.
“If you don’t . . . stop . . . I might . . . um . . . ah . . . ah stars.”
She circled her tongue around his sensitive tavis ridge. When she sucked, he thought the roof of his head might blow off. His fingers clenched. He needed her to stop. He needed her to continue.
His fingers had clenched! He could move.
And yet with his tavis captured between her exquisite lips, he couldn’t bear to do more than let her swallow him so tight in bliss that he never wanted it to end. But he must . . . stop or he would overflow in her mouth.
With a fierce roar of need, he sat up, gripped her waist, changed her suit to transparent and lifted her over him. Without hesitation she spread her legs and grinned. In one heated swoop she took him inside her, purring with satisfaction.
When he used null-grav to lift them, he forgot finesse, he forgot control, he simply let the gathering storm coalesce until thunder roared in his heart and lightning zinged in his head. As ready for him as he was for her, she spasmed around him, her thighs clenching his hips, her arms wrapping around his neck, their psi melding into one.
And as his tingling senses eased, he realized that Tessa may have taken advantage of him, but she’d let him keep his dignity when she could have so easily pushed him over his limit. That consideration showed him that her heart might beat with Earthling blood, but her precious spirit was with her Rystani husband.
He might not always understand her. He sure as stars didn’t always approve of her ways. Yet, she was his, and he would not have traded her in for an obedient Rystani wife, even if he’d had the power to do so. It was an odd thought, but true, and the power of his feelings stunned him. He wanted to keep his Earthling wife. She would cause him trouble—yes, but that no longer seemed so important. What they had between them was growing stronger, each time they linked, their psi melded tighter. Each time they made love, she pleased him more. And if she broke a few customs, so what?
SINCE THE MASDONS had all gone on ahead to Rian, Kahn suggested they use the motorized sleds the Endekians had brought to their world. His men obeyed, but Tessa noted that they gave her a wide berth and scowled at her untraditional black pantsuit. Only Xander seemed to accept her as one of them.
She approached her husband, who stood outside the tent where the snow scooters were lined up ready for their riders. Speaking quietly to avoid others from overhearing, she straddled her scooter. “Kahn, I’m sorry, but I can hardly wear the traditional travel dress and ride one of these snow scooters.”
“I know.” He placed an arm over her shoulder, but raised his voice, no doubt so the others could hear his logic. “And since there is only room for one rider on each machine, there is no choice but to allow you to ride alone.”
Once she’d climbed onto her own snow scooter and revved the engine, the roar of the motor allowed her a private conversation with Dora whom Tessa quickly brought up to date. Dora in turn, linked with her mainframe hardware that had been dropped in Rian with the food and shared her own news.
“Rob One has unloaded my hardware and installed me in a secret chamber he and Rob Two dug out behind Kahn’s quarters.”
“Rob One and Two?” Tessa asked, pleased that Dora seemed happy again. Her friend might be adapting to life outside of a spaceship, but Dora didn’t seem to handle physical danger that well.
“I gave the work robots that you purchased names. They’ve already dug out a cozy and protected spot for my mainframe, stored the food processors and installed the satellite equipment.”
“Great.”
“Security is in place. Without knowing your password, no one can open the secret door and find me.”
“I’m impressed you’ve gotten so much done.”
“Seems to me you’re the one who has worked wonders. You saved many lives, and in discussions with his men, your husband has taken your side three times already.”
Dora’s listening sensors were more sensitive than Tessa’s ears, and she loved to gossip. With the ride to Rian just a few hours long, they had a bunch of planning to do. Still, Dora’s words intrigued Tessa. “What do you mean?”
“Kahn’s letting you drive and wear pants. In addition, he told the men you need to have more grit than the average female to win the Challenge.”
Kahn’s verbal defense of her warmed her. Making concessions wasn’t easy for him, and it gave her hope that eventually their marriage might be one where she could be herself.
“Any messages from Osari?”
“Work is on schedule.”
“And the hydroponics equipment?”
“Your co-wives weren’t happy—”
“What!” Her heart slammed into her ribs with thundering force. “Co-wives?”
“Miri and Shaloma.”
“Co-wives?” She could barely get her stunned and tumbling thoughts to settle into less than furious words.
“Apparently once a Rystani man marries, he takes other wives.”
Other wives. Tessa’s grip loosened on the handholds, and when the scooter slid sideways, she almost tumbled off. If Kahn expected her to accept this degenerate arrangement, he’d thought wrong.
“Miri and Shaloma are wonderful,” Dora cooed enthusiastically. “You’ll adore them.”
“Dora, slow down. Are you telling me these wives are already—”
“—living in the family compound? Yes.”
Not about to accept harem living conditions or any variation of the theme, Tessa’s tone turned bitter. “Kahn didn’t waste any time. He made these arrangements from space?”
“Only for Shaloma,” Dora chattered as if she hadn’t just imparted the most devastating of news. Maybe she did need a circuit overhaul. “Miri has been installed in the household since before Lael died. The exciting news is that Miri’s expecting a baby.”
Tessa’s gut twisted. What in hell had Kahn been thinking? He’d left a pregnant woman behind? Then lied to Tessa when he’d told her there was no one special waiting for him at home. For God sake, Miri was having his baby!
Going from almost contented to fuming outrage in less time than a shuttle’s liftoff, Tessa took deep breaths that did nothing to calm her. “I’m going to kill him.”
“Why?”
“I don’t share.”
“That’s not a very progressive attitude. In fact it’s—”
“Dora. Shut up.”
“You sound upset.”
“Of course I’m upset.” Jealousy had never bit her before. “Is Kahn going to flip a coin to see which one of us he takes to bed? Or maybe sleeping with him will be our reward for following his rules. Or maybe—”
“Kahn doesn’t have sex with his other wives.”
“What?” Tessa drew in quick breaths, but the air didn’t have enough oxygen to keep away the retching dizziness. “You just told me Miri is having a baby.”
“Etru’s baby.”
“Dora, you aren’t making sense. You said Miri is Kahn’s wife.”
“Miri is also Etru’s wife, and she’s pregnant with Etru’s child. She sleeps with Etru. Only him. Shaloma is too young for sex, and you are supposed to teach her how to run a household.”
“I don’t know how to run a . . . Kahn only has private relations with me?”
“Yes. You’re the only one he gets naked with. Feel better?”
Much. Air inflated her lungs again. Her temper subsided as Dora explained the family grouping.
Still, the revelation had thrown her because she’d reacted like a jealous lover. She shouldn’t have cared this much. It was one thing to like and respect Kahn but her reaction revealed to Tessa just how deep her feelings went. Feelings she didn’t want to admit, not even to herself. “So why are all the women called wives?”
“Because if Etru dies, it’s Kahn’s responsibility to help raise the child. And Shaloma would be the baby’s big sister.”
Now that Tessa had calmed down, and her thoughts had stopped spinning useless cartwheels, she supposed the system made sense. Children on Rystan wouldn’t grow up without family, even if one set of parents died like hers had. She wasn’t sure about the living arrangements, or how she’d feel about having so many people around, but she would try to adapt. Glad that Dora had warned her of the unusual living arrangements before they arrived in Rian, Tessa told herself not to jump to conclusions.
“Dora, thanks so much for explaining. I shouldn’t have told you to shut up. I apologize.”
“No problem.”
Tessa grinned at Dora’s love for slang. “If Kahn had told me he had a co-wife, I would have jumped all over him—”
“Is jumping all over him different from jumping his bones?”
“I have never used that expression.”
“But during our stay in Earth’s orbit, I monitored North American television channels. Some phrases were difficult to learn from the context. For example—”
“Tell me about Miri and Shaloma.” Tessa needed to distract Dora before the computer went off on a language tangent.
“Shaloma is sixteen-years-old, pretty with long blond hair and amber eyes. Miri is voluptuous, and her belly is rounded from the child in her womb. Both women are taller than you, with less delicate bone structures.”
“But what are they like?”
“Can you be more specific?”
“What makes them tick? What makes them happy?”
“Right now both of them are pleased that Kahn has taken a wife. Miri because she worried over him ever finding the right woman, and Shaloma because now she has moved out of her childhood home and is one step closer to adulthood.”
“What makes Miri think that I’m the right woman for Kahn?”
“Etru told her on the talkie—”
“Talkie?”
“Like your radio but without towers,” Dora explained. “Anyway, Etru told Miri this morning that Kahn seems less severe since his return. The women are preparing a feast in honor of your wedding.”
“But are they happy to welcome me? Or are they happy because they think I’m the right woman for Kahn?”
“I’m not sure I understand the difference.”
“Sure you do.” Tessa took several fortifying breaths. “We were friends before Kahn married me. Right?”
“Yes.”
“And if Kahn threw me out of his family—”
“Rystani men do not divorce.”
“—but if he got mad and threw me out, you’d still be my friend, correct?”
“Of course.”
“But are Miri and Shaloma capable of making such distinctions?”
“Perhaps after exposure to your radical way of thinking, they will come to love you as I do,” Dora spoke gently.
Tessa frowned. “Dora, I’m not that fragile. You needn’t use psycho babble on me.”
Dora’s laughter trilled in her ears. “Sometimes you are too smart for your own good. Why don’t you just relax and enjoy the welcome party?”
“I hate parties.”
“So fake it. I happen to adore them. All those simultaneous conversations to monitor. All those delicious men to watch. My sensors are in every room of the living quarters except the bedrooms. I don’t intrude there unless invited.”
“Thanks. But didn’t you mean that you like to overhear all the gossip?”
“That, too, dear. Human relationships are fascinating. Now, it would be wonderful if you’d find something other than a backpack for me to wear. Something nice. Maybe something pink and sexy.”
Tessa groaned. At least Dora’s patter helped keep her nerves in line. She didn’t like social gatherings which required lots of small talk. Invariably she was bored or managed to offend someone. What she really wanted to do was see how far Rob One and Two had gotten with the hydroponics equipment. The manufacturer had assured her they could have a good crop to harvest in less than six weeks after planting the seeds.
Tessa didn’t know squat about farming, but Dora did. While Tessa should be concentrating on her Challenge skills, she couldn’t use her psi all the time without resting between her training. And during those periods of rest, she might as well as be useful and help with the food growing. If she didn’t return from the Challenge, she’d like to leave something good behind. And what could be better than helping these people to survive? Dora’s expert programs and the computer would guide the work of the robots. Meanwhile, Tessa still hadn’t told Kahn about any of her purchases except the food. While she suspected the women in her family would enjoy the food preparation and cleaning machines, Kahn might consider her purchases wasteful. The million credits she’d spent were still a sore subject between them, one she was reluctant to mention. But soon she would have no choice about telling him.
In fact, once she reached Rian, she suspected a lot of her freedoms might be curtailed. She tried to prepare herself, tried to tell herself to assess before she reacted, reminded herself that whatever freedoms she might win for herself would take time, that she had to be patient.
As the snow sled slowed, she hoped curiosity would outweigh her sense of dread. It didn’t. Nothing could repress her quiet anxiety over coming to a new world, meeting a new family. And once again being the stranger.