Early the next morning, Sparrow, Tracy, and I were playing in the ocean while the children slept. Grandmother had come home in a frightfully relaxed mood. She, Pierce, and Lorca had insisted that I take the day off and allow them to keep the children.
“It’s what I pay them to do, dear. Go have breakfast under the pavilion and play,” Grandmother ordered. She had kissed each of our cheeks and shooed us outside. The sun was just rising, and the moons hadn’t completely disappeared.
“This planet is more beautiful than Epopeus. I was worried it would be too bright, but it’s perfect,” Tracy said as she spun in lazy circles in her float.
My float made a squeaking sound as I got more comfortable. I sat in it with my head tilted back. My hair was wet and floating behind me, and my toes were in the water. “Yes, I wouldn’t mind waking up to this every day.”
“Well, we can. All you have to do is say the word. Jazon says that we go where you go,” Tracy said.
Sighing, I said, “I like being near Momma and Papa. However, soon, I want to visit Arachne. I miss my family there.”
“I have important projects to begin once my lab is completed on Parvac,” Sparrow said. She was putting down permanent roots on Parvac in the form of stone, metal, and high-tech equipment.
“By the way, I really want to thank the two of you again for helping me on that mission.”
“I was glad to help,” Sparrow said.
Tracy said, “I just wanted to wipe that look off Drex’s face.”
“Me, too.”
“Do you sense something?” Tracy asked while swiveling around.
I felt it, too. It was as though we were being hunted. “Shit! It could be Felix! Get back to the shore. Zared!” I called out both verbally and silently.
I knew Tracy and Sparrow called out to their mates as well. We began kicking our way back to shore.
“Ha ha!” a loud male voice called out. “There, in the distance and unprotected, I see island princesses who will make us a fortune at the market.”
“Aye. The small female with the dark curls will sell for enough to buy my own ship.”
Another male said, “I say we keep them hidden. Their father will send his fleet to search for them, and his cannons have sunk many a ship.”
Tracy, Sparrow, and I had stopped trying to return to shore and grinned at each other. Our husbands were teasing us. Their words were an all too recognizable premise from a Laconian romance novel we had shared. However, they had adapted the plot to include more pirates.
Sparrow’s eyes sparkled with delight. “Oh, no, sisters! Whatever will we do? We’re helpless and alone.”
I giggled. The pirate ship had come into view. It was a pontoon boat, decorated to look like a pirate ship, and it was overrun by shirtless males with oiled chests. Bandanas covered their hair. Xavier wore a black patch over his white eye. Sparrow had started clapping. As the three of us watched from our floats, the pontoon boat shimmered and transformed into a wooden ship of ancient Epopeus with a white sail. Xavier, Jazon, and Zared were making it real in our minds. They dove into the water, swam to us, captured us, and towed us back to their pirate ship. They placed us on the deck and tied us together with a length of soft white cord.
“Hard to port! A ship comes to rescue them!” Yukihyo yelled.
I bit my lip to keep from gawking at Yukihyo’s tight, torn, knee-length pants and oiled chest. It was a good thing my swimsuit was already wet. Otherwise, it would have become soaked after looking at Quaid. He looked dangerous and bloodthirsty. The oil made his chest hair glint in the morning sun, and he had smudges of dirt on his arms and chest. He had a cutlass sheathed on his leather belt.
“Oh, my stars,” I said slowly.
“You will not speak, female. Obey me, or find yourself gagged,” Zared said as he glared down at me. He took aim at an approaching vessel and fired. I knew exactly what I’d like for him to gag me with.
Tracy giggled.
Jazon said menacingly, “Stay quiet, prisoner.”
“You can’t talk to her like that, sea rat. My sister is a princess. One day, she will be queen. I will see you flogged by my father’s soldiers. They come for us even now.”
“Shut your royal mouth before I fill it with something,” Zared said as he rubbed his crotch.
“Oh!” I said in mock horror as I laughed.
“Prepare to be boarded, pirates!” Nico yelled.
Then, he, Fitz, and Drex jumped onto the deck and fought for us with wooden swords that were made to look real in our imaginations. They even appeared to be dressed as Laconian soldiers from ancient times.
“Oh, save us from the scary pirates!” Sparrow cried.
Tracy and I giggled. I didn’t want to be saved. The pirates drove the soldiers back to their ship.
“Full speed ahead,” Yukihyo ordered.
“Why aren’t they following us?” Tracy asked.
“They will have to fix their ship first,” Quaid said as he held up a part.
They sailed us out to the resort that Fitz had rented for me after we had married, and docked. Jazon bent down and untied us. Then, he gazed into each of our eyes before settling on Tracy. He said, “There is no escape. You belong to me.”
“Never!” Tracy said. “I’ll fight you with my last breath.”
“Female, you’ll be gasping for breath once I’m through with you.” He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. Then, he stepped from the boat and onto the pier.
“Oh! You, uncivilized barbarian! Let me go!” Sparrow said.
“The only thing I intend to free you of are those scraps of cloth, female.” Xavier lifted Sparrow into his arms and carried her away.
I was excited to get thrown over a dirty pirate shoulder and carted off, too, but Yukihyo pulled the boat away from the dock. “Hey! Aren’t I getting ravaged?” I frowned at them in disappointment.
“You will be ravaged repeatedly, but not where your father’s fleet of sailors can ever find you,” Quaid said.
Yukihyo steered the pontoon boat around to the other side of the island and to a floating bungalow in a small private cove. Quaid tied off the boat to the dock beside it, careful of the decorative garland of fresh tropical flowers adorning it. Into my mind, Zared interposed an image of a floating pirate fortress complete with cannons. I laughed and clapped.
“Our captured princess makes light of the danger in which she finds herself,” Yukihyo said. He picked me up into his big strong arms, stepped onto the dock, and carried me inside of the flower-filled bungalow.
“Oh!” Small butterflies flitted amongst the blooms. Their colorful wings were more delicate than the flower petals.
A wide smile spread across Yukihyo’s face. “I thought you would like that.”
Then, his lips found mine as he laid me on the low bed which took up most of the room. Yukihyo’s strong hands slid up my hips. He hooked his fingers around my bottoms and pulled them down my legs. His pants joined them on the floorboards. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he entered me. Our game had excited him as much as it had excited me. The push and pull between us along with the swiveling thrusts of his hips were my undoing, and he joined me in my release. Yukihyo rolled to his back and held me to his chest.
About to fall asleep to the beating of his heart, I was roused by Quaid. “Would you care for some refreshments, Princess?”
Since I was thirsty, I agreed. Capturing my hand, Quaid pulled me from the bed and started for the door. “Wait! Let me grab the other half of my swimsuit.”
“Allow me to help.” Quaid’s idea of helping was to take my top and drop it on Yukihyo’s pants. Then, on the dock, he dove into the water with a sleek elegance. When his head surfaced, he held his hand out to me. “Jump in.”
“How deep is it?”
“About twelve feet.” His answer made my eyes bulge. “Trust me. I’ve got you.”
Quaid had grown up with a beach for a backyard on Epopeus, so I squeezed my eyes shut, held my nose, and jumped in. Once I resurfaced, aside from being proud of myself for jumping into deep water for the first time, I discovered that Quaid had hidden a large float under the bungalow. I swam behind him to it. He hoisted himself onto it without any trouble and then helped me. Each of the float’s corners had a pole attached to support a grass roof. From a built-in cup holder, Quaid handed me a frozen pineapple drink and pushed the float away from the bungalow’s pilings to drift around the cove.
“Umm… that’s good,” I said as I closed my eyes and enjoyed my beverage. I jumped as something cold touched the bottom of my foot. “Quaid!”
Grinning, he ran a cube of ice up my leg and watched with interest as it melted on my flesh. He trailed it up to my breasts, circling my nipples until they were hard pebbles. Then, he warmed them in his mouth. Once I was panting for breath and aching with need, he annoyed me by moving from me to lie on his back. He grinned at me again. His cock stood as tall and rigid as one of the poles that held the roof aloft. I pounced and lowered myself onto him. I began to ride him, but the float moved beneath my knees. The water’s surface provided minimal support for my movements. It created a new experience, and my lower lips quivered around Quaid’s hard shaft. The torturously slow pleasure transitioned into exquisite pleasure when Quaid expertly stimulated my endorphins with his Eriopis abilities. My movements became frantic making the water tickle and slap against the raft. It wasn’t long before I was satiated and drowsing against Quaid’s chest with a smile on my lips.
Then, I heard Nico yelling. “The three of you can’t keep her all to yourselves. Did you think we wouldn’t find you?”
The raft was no longer moving. It was at rest on the shore. However, Quaid’s arms were still around me, and we were both naked. I lifted my head and wiped at Quaid’s chest where I had drooled on him in my sleep. From our vantage point, I could see swimsuits and legs.
“You and Drex didn’t seem to have a problem with keeping her to yourselves on the ship. We deserve to have some privacy with her the same as you,” Yukihyo said.
“She wanted to spend time with us,” Nico said.
“How is it that I have been placed in the midst of this amorous war?” Fitz asked. “Why strand my boat?”
Zared asked, “Did you have a problem getting someone to come out and repair it?”
“No, but that is beside the point.”
“The Princess may spend time with whomever she chooses,” Drex said.
My six husbands were beginning to argue in earnest, and I had to pee. Sighing, I disentangled my limbs from Quaid’s and crawled naked from the raft. Zared gave my mind a nudge as to how I could see to my current needs. Spotting a small beach house, I made my way to it alone. The main room was lit by natural light and cooled by the breeze flowing through the open windows whose horizontal shutters were made of woven leaves and kept open by bars braced against the outside sills. A romantic dinner waited on the table and was, I assumed, meant as a surprise for me to share with Zared, who was arguing down on the beach. Pink flower petals were sprinkled over the bed. Finding the bathroom, I made use of the amenities. In the shower, I washed the salt from my hair and skin. Once I was dry, I found a pink two-piece and a matching kaftan and flip-flops. I looked out of the front door.
Now, my husbands were punching each other. Knowing it was pointless to interfere, I sat down and ate my fill of fruits and breads. I checked on the men in my life to find them still fighting, so I decided to go for a walk. A path led from the beach house and into the jungle. I started down it. Zared and Quaid were actively discouraging my interest in the argument. I wondered how long the animosity had been simmering between them, and if there was anything I could do to about it. I had been under the false impression that my family was happy and content. Realizing how wrong I had been had my happiness eroding. While trying to find my answers on my walk, I had gone far enough along the path that their voices no longer reached me. The cool shade of the jungle trees was a balm to my heated skin. Ahead, the trees rustled, and I froze but relaxed as Farowyn stepped out of the jungle and onto the path ahead of me.
“Farowyn, what are you doing out here?”
He walked toward me with his clawed hands hanging non-threateningly at his sides. “I follow my queen always. It is good that I do. Your chosen mates neglect you to squabble like boys.”
“I can’t argue with that.”
Farowyn stepped closer and then looked up at the trees and sky. “This world is lovely, wild but tamed by a long and prosperous civilization. Thalassa is nurtured and unsullied, left a pristine paradise to be enjoyed by a race unlike anything I ever imagined while searching for life through the vast reaches of space. Come,” he said as he held his hand out to me. “I long to feel the freedom of the wind once more with you at my side.”
I looked back along the path the way I had come. “I don’t know. It might upset them even more.”
He trilled softly. “You are here to enjoy yourself. Are you not? Instead of seeing to your needs, what do they do? Allow me the opportunity to please and amuse you. There are no tusk bugs here for you to fear.” A huff of laughter followed his words.
Hesitantly, I placed my hand on his. Farowyn smiled, showing off his sharp teeth in his V-shaped mouth. “I’ll go with you, but just for a little while.”
“My Queen, will you place your arms around my neck?”
After I had done as he asked, Farowyn began climbing a nearby tree. Then, he leapt to another making it appear as simple as walking along a sidewalk. Muscle corded his arms, chest, and thighs, but he held me gently. “You’ve become stronger.”
“The Eloneave are a hardy race. Were we not so adaptable, we might not have survived.” Carefully, he kept the leaves and branches from touching me as he climbed ever upward. The trees around us rustled. “My men are with us. We will take no risks with your security. You mean much to me, your family, and your people, all of them.”
“Speaking of people, how are yours?” I held my face close to his to make it easier for him to protect me from the vines.
“They do well on Talpa. The organic challenges are great. We learn to protect our people from danger and barter for that which we need. Our females rejoice that they may have all of the offspring their males can support. Extinction of our race has remained a prevalent fear amongst us for decades.”
“Then, shouldn’t you be on Talpa working toward adding to your numbers?” I asked playfully.
He kept silent on the issue. Once we had gained the utmost branches of a tall tree, Farowyn jumped using his patagium to glide on an air current. Now that I was no longer terrified of him, it was an exhilarating experience. We continued to climb and glide until the resort came back into view. Telepathically, I felt both Xavier and Jazon as they entered my mind and saw through my eyes while scanning my recent memories. Then, I felt their anger as they began berating Zared before hiding their conversation from me.
Farowyn bent and placed an arm under my knees. He carried me from the jungle, across the hot sand, and to a gazebo that had been decorated with fresh tropical flowers. Seeing our arrival, resort attendants began bringing out refreshments.
“The fare here is much better than the first meal we shared,” Farowyn said.
I laughed, remembering the skewers of roasted bugs. “True, but when you’re hungry enough, anything will do.”
“The company made it more palatable.” I bowed my head to him in agreement. “I continue to study your culture that I may better understand you. Likewise, I do my best to show courtesy to Commander Bosh and Lieutenant Adair.” My questioning glance prompted him to continue. “I have not forgotten that night at my encampment nor his treatment of you. However, I have learned much in the Palace simply by listening.” He tapped at one of his pointed ears. “Commander Bosh publicly admonished you for protecting my people and adopting Peter. This I have learned.”
Spearing a seared scallop with my fork, I said, “He changed his mind.”
Heatedly, Farowyn said, “After you threatened divorce. Is he the reason you pay me no heed as a worthy male?”
I stared at him in shock. I didn’t know what to say and could find no way to answer without giving insult. If I were to answer negatively, it would still sound as though I thought less of him. “Farowyn, I have six husbands and three children. Sharing my time between them as I do, I still feel neglectful of them.” My thoughts turned to Yukihyo who had been keeping himself busy with Ponidi Propulsions, and I feared it might be my fault.
“Your marriage to Commander Bosh was a political arrangement, one to broker peace between your peoples.” He stared at me waiting for a response.
“Yes, it started out that way.”
He moved closer taking my hand in his. “Already, my people work with the Talpa shipbuilders. We will create a fleet of ships capable of defending our sector of space and of providing a first line of defense for the Empire should the need ever arise. A union between the two of us would create a dissoluble cohesion between the Parvacs and Eloneave.”
“Aside from the aid of a nonexistent fleet protecting our flank, what would you gain from such an arrangement?”
With surprising speed, Farowyn closed the space between us, cradled my head in the palm of his hand, and kissed me. It wasn’t the kind of kissing to which I had become accustomed, and there was nothing chaste or sweet about it. He used my surprised intake of breath to thrust his long tongue into my mouth. Farowyn’s tongue wound around mine like a coiling snake around its prey. With the tip of his tongue, he felt my mouth, its roof, gums, teeth, everything. Once he had thoroughly explored me and likely committed me to memory, he withdrew and fiercely stared into my eyes.
“I have not forgotten the night you laid in my arms. I cannot ignore the gentleness and love with which you care for Peter. You have lain in my arms, and I would have you do so again. I am not some untried boy attempting to win your affections. I have seen much, survived fleeing through unknown space, and led my people in a mass exodus to a new planet. I am a prince amongst my people. Many females have tried to attract my interest and failed, until you. I would have you place this delicate hand to a contract between us. As my gift to you, the Eloneave would owe fealty to Parvac alone, not the Galaxics.” His brown eyes delved into mine as the magnitude of his pledge became clear to me.
Should the day ever come when the Galaxic or Laconian governments became weary of our peace, the Eloneave would stand with us. Farowyn moved his palm up my arm to my shoulder.
“Give me your answer, my Queen.”
Centering my emotions, I said, “You may speak of your proposal to my Papa after we return to the Palace and not before. He and Momma are supposed to be relaxing and enjoying themselves, not thinking about anything serious. This vacation on Thalassa is for rest and enjoyment.”
Farowyn huffed at me. “I can give you enjoyment.”
“I’ve had more than enough enjoyment for today.”
“Hey! Cupcake, is that you? What are you doing here? I thought you were being whisked away for sexcapades.” Phillip seemed mopey, which was unlike him.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
Phillip shrugged.
I saw Quaid striding toward us. His thigh muscle definition was insane, and his shorts did little to hide it from me. “There you are. I came for you in the boat to take you back. I didn’t expect you would be going on such a long walk.”
“I did not make my Queen walk,” Farowyn said. “Had you guarded her properly, you would know that.”
I sat up and watched as Quaid’s jaw began to clench. “Teagan is under constant guard. I am not the one taking risks with her safety by swinging with her through the trees like some hairless ape.”
“Quaid!” I admonished. The Eloneave were not hairless and didn’t resemble apes. Was my husband still holding to his prejudices, the ones that had almost ended our marriage in the Talpa Sector?
Quaid turned to me and sighed. “No, I’m not. I just don’t like Farowyn. He intruded on a private date we have planned for days. Be glad I was the one who came for you and not Zared.”
“Is that so? You seemed more intent on fighting with your soft little hands than in being attentive to my Queen,” Farowyn retorted.
“I can use my hands to incur considerable damage.”
“With a weapon, but in hand-to-hand combat against me, you would be like a dust cloud against a meteor.”
I took note of the red, fist-like shape under Quaid’s right eye that would probably turn into a bruise by morning. Quaid said, “That sounds like a challenge.”
Farowyn huffed. “It wouldn’t be a challenge, Commander Bosh.”
“Teagan, come here,” Quaid ordered as he held his hand down to help me up.
Placing my hand in his, I said, “Ambassador Farowyn, please show my husband the same courtesy which you show to me.”
“I would ask that the commander show appropriate deference to my rank. After all, I hold the rank of admiral, and he is not yet a captain.”
I snorted. “Wow. I’m only an ensign.” That got their attention. “Let’s put rank aside and just try not to be assholes. How about that?” My anger sparked and ignited. “I didn’t come to Thalassa to play referee to grown males who insist on fighting over my attention. Your animosity toward each other has dried up my desire, like these.” I pulled down several shriveled fruits from a nearby tree and started pelting both Quaid and Farowyn with them. “All of the fighting and arguing amongst yourselves pisses me off! Come on, Phillip.” I trudged through the sand to Phillip, avoiding Quaid when he made a grab for me. “Oh, no you don’t! Phillip, will you take me home? I’d rather spend the day with you and my babies.”
Phillip chuckled all of the way to the resort’s dock where he helped me into a small speedboat. “So, they’re at it again?”
“They are. If you marry Terre, I hope you won’t aggravate her by arguing with your co-husbands. I was having one of the best days of my life before they started punching each other.”
“Nico, Fitz, and Drex were jealous that they weren’t included in the plans.”
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the seat, enjoying the wind and ocean spray.
“Has she said anything about me?” Phillip asked.
“We haven’t spent much time together. I can tell you that the reason Terre became my Imperial attendant was to get away from her relentless pursuers on Naxa and her mother’s constant nagging to marry. Neither Terre or I like being treated like a prize to be won. Why do you want her? Is it to prove your masculinity like Quaid and Farowyn? Is it to show how irresistible you are to the ladies? Is it a political maneuver like Drex? Is it to create an heir like Nico and Fitz?”
“You didn’t list Yukihyo or Zared.”
“No, I know they love me, just for me. They don’t care about my place in society. They don’t simply lust for my body. They care about my soul. Why do you want Terre?”
Phillip slowed the boat to an idle and gazed into my eyes with his blue ones that looked naked. “I need her.”
“Oh, Phillip.”
Slowly, Phillip pulled the boat up to the beach. Eli Beck rose from his lounger under the shade of an umbrella and jogged to us. He ran out through the waves and held his arms out to me. He said, “I thought your entertainment for the day was planned.”
“They started fighting. They don’t need me around to do that.” I put my hands first on Eli’s shoulders and then around his neck. He put an arm under my knees and carried me through the water to the beach.
A soldier ran through the surf toward the speedboat. “I’ll take that back for you, sir.”
“Thanks,” Phillip said. He jumped from the boat into the surf. The soldier boarded the boat and drove it away. “Now, that’s what I call service. So, Cupcake, what should I do?”
“Stop hitting on her. She’s not an opponent in the ring to wear down and defeat. She’s tired of men flattering her. Talk to her. Listen to her. Ask her if there is anything she wants to do while we are here.”
“Good advice. But, fuck. Look at that.” Phillip’s gaze had telescoped in on Terre. She was laying naked on a towel, enjoying the sun. “Her skin looks like warm chocolate. I want to lick every inch of her and see if she tastes as good as she looks.”
“Phillip, no.” I gave him a flat expression and shook my head at him. Eli placed me on my feet.
Phillip adjusted the huge bulge in his shorts and walked toward Terre. He kept a respectful distance before trying to get her attention.
“Is there anything you would like to do while on Thalassa?”
Surprised, I looked up into Eli’s brown eyes. “Well, yes. There is something I want to do, but it’s not exciting or anything.”
“What is it?” Eli asked as we walked toward our house. Izaac and Rozz watched over us from the second-floor balcony.
“Well, the Ocean Center on the other side of Thalassa has educational activities for children. I thought it would be fun for Neema, Niklos, and Peter to get to interact with aquatic life. It even has a safe submarine tour in its park. It looks really cute.” I remembered a similar excursion during a trip to Epopeus that had been a great deal of fun.
“I suggest changing our attire and taking them.”
“Right now? Really?”
“Yes. I can make the arrangements and have a guard detail in place by the time you are ready.”
I laughed and clapped my hands. I kissed Eli’s cheek before running inside to tell Pierce and Lorca. When Terre and Phillip came inside and heard our plan, they decided to come with us. Just as we were about to load everyone into the transport, all of my husbands came home. They were perceptive. I didn’t have to tell them that I was mad at them. They cleaned up and dressed faster than I believed possible, determined to come with us. However, I rode in the transport with the children, their nurses, Eli, Phillip, and Terre. We had a relaxing drive without any fighting.
“Mommy, what that over there?” Neema asked as she stretched in her seat to see out of the window.
“That is where we are going to have fun.”
“Where’s Drop?”
“Thunderdrop wanted to do spider things in the jungle today.”
Neema scowled. “I want Drop. Drop loves Neema.”
“Yes, he does. How about we buy Thunderdrop a present before we leave?”
Neema tilted her head at me and considered me with her jade-green eyes. “Okay, Mommy. I pick out.”
I grinned at her. “At least my daughter and best friend are finally getting along.”
When the driver parked our transport, Neema held her hands out to me to be picked up. “No, Neema. Nik wants Mommy!” Niklos yelled.
She put her arms down and considered her brother. Her left eyebrow went up. I could feel it as she empathically soothed his emotions. “Okay, Nik. Don’t cry.”
His fierce scowl disappeared, and he held his hands up to me. I took him with a small smile on my face and gave him a gentle squeeze. “Imagine that. Using words to communicate feelings rather than fists.” I gave my words a telepathic push.
“Understood, Teagan. It won’t happen again,” Zared clearly stated in my mind.
Eli’s guard detail had taken up positions around us before dispersing around the facility. Eli, my husbands, Phillip, Pierce, and Lorca would have no trouble defending us if necessary.
“Are you always surrounded by such attractive males?” Terre whispered.
“Yes, and this is just a small batch, not even a dozen.”
Terre laughed. “Oh, but it is if we count these two,” she said as she kissed Peter’s cheek.
I laughed. Niklos had his arms tight around my neck. Neema had decided on her independence and walked while holding Phillip’s hand. Cool air washed over us as we entered the building. When the visitors inside began to curtsy and bow, I began to think we should have worn disguises.
Reading my expression, Fitz said, “It’s good for our people to see us in public, Teagan. They will respect our privacy.”
Soon, Neema wanted her freedom to run and look at the fish in their tanks. Then, her little head of dove-grey hair was bobbing around in a sea of other small children, all eager to press themselves to the plasti-glass. Niklos wanted down, too. Soon, we were swarmed. Neema started posing for pictures with random children. I rolled my eyes at her.
“Mommy! Smile with Neema!”
Niklos and I got trapped posing with hordes of kids while their parents took pictures. Once the parents were satisfied, we got our freedom.
“See? That wasn’t so bad. Was it?” Fitz, the consummate politician, asked.
“No, darling. In fact, I think my husbands should arrange with the gift shop to provide a free toy or memento to each child in attendance here today.”
“Excellent idea, Teagan.” He walked back through the aquarium to find the gift shop.
The throng finally left us behind, and I sighed in relief. In their pool, pink dolphins were racing around in circles. We sat together and watched.
“Fast!” Niklos said.
“Really fast,” Neema agreed.
When we got to the sensory pools, even Zared had fun. “What are you doing?” I asked.
He was trailing his fingers along the back of a small seal. “With the barest use of my abilities, I can interpret this creature’s feelings, its needs, and curiosity. I will share my experience with you. Come.”
Standing at his side, I let the wild consciousness suffuse me, and became lost in pure existence. When Zared broke contact, I marveled at his strength. I didn’t think I would have been able to end the connection had I been him. It was too addictive, too feral. Zared gave me a gentle kiss before leading me away. Then, the children and I held our palms out as the aquarist instructed, and let the seal tickle our hands with its whiskers.
When Peter got hungry, I nursed him in a private alcove and watched a red octopus as its tentacles gracefully moved. The suction cups on its tentacles’ undersides grabbed and released as it made its way across the plasti-glass, exploring its tank as Farowyn had explored my mouth with his kiss. I shook my head. Farowyn was as bad with me as Phillip was with Terre. I did think it was wise to share what he had suggested with Papa. The Empire must remain safe for the sake of my children as well as all of the others.
“You seem deep in thought. Usually, when you nurse, your mind relaxes,” Yukihyo said as he stroked Peter’s leg and foot. I told him about my lunch with Farowyn. “What will you do?”
I shrugged.
“What of your other suitors?” Yukihyo asked in his deep monotone that soothed me like no other sound.
“Which ones?”
“Cormac and Dario for two.”
“Cormac?”
Yukihyo raised an eyebrow at me which reminded me of Neema. “He earned a few enemies when he allowed your team’s participation.”
“What do you suggest, husband?” I asked. Peter had fallen asleep at my breast. I adjusted my clothing and stood.
Yukihyo kissed my forehead. “I suggest a massage on the beach this evening.”
“My husband is wise.”
A little while later in the gift shop, Neema picked out a toy for Thunderdrop. It was a toy sea snake on wheels that wiggled as it rolled. She and Niklos got pails and shovels. Peter got a seahorse-shaped rattle that glowed orange. Terre and I got matching T-shirts.
“Well, that sure was fun. Right, Creampuff, Nik, and Nanite?” The children giggled at Phillip, and he flashed his sexy smile at Terre, the one that made most women melt. She sat primly and appeared unaffected. “Did you have fun, Lady Terre?”
“I did. Thank you.”
Neema and I scrutinized them.
Phillip asked, “Is there anything you would like to do tomorrow?”
“Actually, I’m quite interested in exploring the mineral caves at Rofesia. I know it is rather touristy but with good reason.”
Phillip’s blue eyes sparkled, and he flashed her a smile that would have made any other woman’s panties damp. It put any grin that I had ever seen Eric make to shame. “Let me take you there tomorrow. It will be fun.”
Terre raised a delicate brow at him and held her hands demurely on her lap. “Alone? I couldn’t possibly.”
“Yes, your mother would never approve,” I said blandly and snorted.
Terre narrowed her eyes at me, making me laugh.
In my mind, Zared said, “It sounds like fun. We should go with them to help Phillip. My brothers are desperate to get him married.”
“How about if we tag along?” I asked Terre.
She smiled. “Well, in that case, alright then.”
Phillip’s smile showed off his white teeth. He pulled out his vid-screen and began making preparations.
That evening, Yukihyo gave me a massage under the pavilion to the glorious sound of waves crashing on the shore. The sound almost drowned out my groans of pleasure. I yawned. “We haven’t seen much of Neema and Tavere,” he said. He was kneading my shoulders with his powerful fingers which made concentrating on his words a challenge.
“Nope. I may get a little brother or sister out of this trip.”
“You know that isn’t likely,” Nico said. He sat on a chair beside us and gazed out over the water at the stars. “Tavere was lucky to impregnate Neema with you. Reports have concluded a negative effect on the female reproductive system from long term stasis. It may be possible for her to conceive, but the child would not be of the Probus line.”
Yukihyo worked his way down my spine to my hips.
The next morning, I woke up with something incredibly hard poking me in the back. Coming to my senses, I smiled and stretched against Nico, who needed no further encouragement. An hour or so later, I had just finished having my way with Yukihyo when someone cracked open our bedroom door and peeked inside.
“Hey, you awake? Oh, come on, Cupcake. Haven’t you been boned enough the past couple of days? Throw on a swimsuit and let’s go. You can eat breakfast in the transport on the way there,” Phillip said.
Yukihyo threw a pillow at his head to get him to close the door. Phillip just stood there grinning innocently. Then, Nico began hurling pillows at Phillip with great strength and rapidity until he got the message and left us alone. I kissed Yukihyo before I dismounted him and went to shower.
Phillip had planned an adult only excursion. I looked at pictures of the place where we were going while sipping my coffee in the back of the large travel transport that even had a small restroom. I wore a T-shirt and exercise shorts over my black two-piece. Fitz had suggested that we all wear exercise shoes. The day would consist of hiking, tubing through caves, and snorkeling. Terre was chatting excitedly about everything we would be doing. Phillip had booked the most expensive package available which included a private tour guide. My Papa paid Phillip a fortune, so I didn’t feel guilty about enjoying the treat. Anyway, his heart looked ready to burst because Terre was happy and talking to him. I relaxed and watched the scenery go by. When we arrived, Phillip helped Terre from the transport and took every opportunity to touch her. Through the window, I saw him resting his hand on the small of her back.
“He’s got it bad,” Yukihyo observed.
I nodded. The transport shifted as all of my husbands began to file out. They were making an effort to behave genially toward each other. I started wondering how much their combined weight was to make the transport shift.
Quaid looked at me like I was crazy from too much sun. “We aren’t cattle, Teagan.”
With a straight face, I said, “I have a herd of husbands. You each weigh about two-hundred pounds worth of pure muscle, and I have six of you.”
Quaid didn’t let me finish. Instead, he picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. Once we were out of the transport, he gave my butt a smack, so I started thinking of him as a pack animal. Laughing, he put me down. “A wild stallion, not a mule, Lady Bosh.”
“No, not a mule, but maybe a jackass,” Fitz said.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “If you’re still fighting, I’m going back home.”
“We aren’t fighting. It’s only banter,” Quaid assured me.
I made eye contact with each of my husbands.
“Teagan, relax,” Nico said.
I scowled at them, and then a diabolical grin covered my face. “I know exactly what I will do the next time any of you physically fight one another out of a ring or off a mat.”
“Oh, hell no,” Zared said.
“That’s disturbing, Teagan,” Quaid said in agreement.
“What is?” Fitz asked.
“I’ll make you have cock fights to determine the winner the next time you fight.” I pictured Quaid and Fitz dueling with their hard, upright manly appendages and got turned on.
“What is she talking about? With chickens? That seems cruel,” Yukihyo said. Quaid and Zared began speaking to him in rapid Laconian. Yukihyo paled. “Never again will I argue with a co-husband.”
“Never will I engage in such a display,” Zared swore.
Yukihyo explained my proposed punishment to the others. Nico’s laughter tore from him and frightened birds from the surrounding trees.
“Then, don’t fight. If any of you start punching each other again, I’ll insist on a cock fight before I touch your cocks again.” I smiled evilly at them.
Quaid said, “Let’s agree not to tell any additional husbands of this rule.”
Zared laughed. “To engage in such an activity would turn a man flaccid for weeks.”
A handsome and rather effeminate male approached our party. Zared swallowed his own words. I laughed and considered accepting the first bisexual male to my family who offered himself to me, no matter who he was just for fun.
“Welcome! My name is Ren, and I will be your guide….”
I didn’t listen to him but trailed along with the others and looked at brightly plumed birds and lizards that had tails as long as my arm and watched us with swiveling eyes. Up ahead, I could hear Terre chatting away with more cheer than she had ever before used. Phillip’s charm was beginning to work. Apparently, Phillip’s seduction memory was as embedded within him as muscle memory was within a soldier. Yukihyo slipped our fingers together as we walked.
I gave his fingers a squeeze. “I want us to start spending more time together. I miss you. What do you think of going away for a few nights just the two of us? We could go to Cephissus on Parvac or anywhere you would like.”
Yukihyo said, “What about a camping trip? We could take your barge out on the lake and sleep on it at night.”
My eyes lit up. “That would be perfect.”
The path ended with a deep pool of clear water tinged with dark-green. Inner tubes were being passed out. Each of them had a long flexible light attached to it. That could only mean one thing, dark and creepy caves. Phillip and Terre were laughing and floating off into the dark maw of death, oblivious to the danger lurking within. I shuddered.
“Phillip had better realize how much I love him to be doing this,” I quietly grumbled.
“Aren’t you enjoying yourself?” Fitz asked.
“Teagan is terrified of caves. Well, of any dark subterranean area,” Yukihyo supplied.
Drex lost all color. “I took you into a cave on our first date.”
I shivered at the memory. “Yes, but you tried so hard to make it look pretty with the rose petals and the lamps. Truthfully, my heart was too broken over Yukihyo to care.”
“Forgive me,” Drex asked.
“Oh, I did the day we had lunch with Dario.” I chuckled at him and shook my head.
Drex tried to recall that particular day while I stepped into the cool water with my exercise shoes still on, not particularly liking the feeling. Maybe, it wouldn’t be horrible. After we were all floating on our tubes, the cave entrance began to loom closer. That was when I felt something beneath the water touching my ass, but all of my husbands had their hands on their tubes and their feet where I could see them. I stuck my hand between my body and the float to scare whatever it was away. I sighed. The cave was wide but not very high. I couldn’t see the bottom or what might be hiding in the water. Quaid and Zared paddled with their hands until they were close enough to each grab a hold on my inner tube. Their closeness decreased my rising panic.
I projected my thoughts to them. “People think this is fun?”
“Yes, allow yourself to enjoy it. Try not to let your memories of Malta ruin the experience. You are on Thalassa where you are royalty. Men who would resort to cock fighting to touch you have you surrounded,” Zared said.
Laughter bubbled up and spilled out of me. “Alright. I’ll try.”
Our guide droned on about the different mineral deposits that had transformed the cave into a sparkling contained rainbow in the dark. Quaid, Yukihyo, and Zared found it to be fascinating and soon floated off leaving me with Drex, Fitz, and Nico.
“Teagan, why did you forgive me?” Drex asked. He was still trying to puzzle it out.
Gesturing toward the sound of Phillip’s voice far ahead, I said, “Some males instinctually know how to win females. Others find us so mysterious that they use their intellects to ascertain our desires. I realized that you were the latter.”
“Drex, you aren’t still spying on us in bed, are you?” Fitz asked.
“No, not in bed or in the bathroom. Teagan was insistent on the matter.”
By the pin lights of our floats, Fitz, Nico, and I exchanged glances in the dark silently wondering where else we may have been intimate. There was no telling.
“Oh,” I said somewhat worried.
The cave had begun to branch out in different directions, and the current had grown stronger. Fitz and Nico grinned at each other, slid from their floats, and started steering us to the right and away from the others. “It’s time for your royal guards to save you from the barbarous pirates, Princess,” Fitz said.
“They know what you’re doing,” I warned.
“Yes, but by the time they have managed to swim against the current to find you, we will have already had our ways with you,” Nico said.
“When did you start planning this?”
“Oh, about a minute ago. With Zared and Quaid, we are better off being unpredictable. Even a general can adjust his strategy.”
I grinned and shook my head. Fitz led us into a wide, low tunnel that filled me with apprehension. It was silent save for the sounds we made and the stray trickle of water. “It’s kind of scary in here.”
“After you see where we end up, if you want to leave, we will go. I promise,” Fitz assured me. “As a boy with my friends, I’ve been all throughout these caves.”
In my mind, Zared and Quaid grumbled angrily making me laugh.
Drex said, “They have figured it out?”
“Yep.” I made a face at the finely crushed gravel and sand that provided a few feet for the weary to rest. I could only imagine what such a surface would do to my back or knees.
Nico laughed at my expression as he pulled our floats onto it. Then, he grabbed my shorts and swim bottoms off of me and made himself a bracelet of them. “Come share my inner tube, female.”
He had taken a seat on his tube, and the light on it wasn’t the only thing that lifted straight up toward the cave roof. Laughing, I crawled over my tube to his and straddled him. After playing with my Parvac soldiers until I was sore, Fitz led us back out into the main cave system, and we rejoined the others. Thankfully, my Laconian husbands weren’t angry. They were with the guide trying to assure him not to send a search party after Princess Probus. The poor man was terrified I might be injured on his watch.
“Not injured, but hopefully impregnated,” Fitz yelled out.
I splashed him repeatedly in the face for the comment. He, Nico, and Drex filled the cave with the gregarious echoes of their laughter. Relief filled me when I began to see faint traces of light. We floated from the cave and into a lagoon that was surrounded by lush jungle. On its small shore, each of us was provided with masks and breathing tubes.
My husbands made a game of seeing which of them could startle me the most by swimming far beneath me and then appearing out of the darkness like giant predatory fish. Fitz was the winner. Having had enough of their boyish torment, I got out of the water to rest. The next thing on our agenda was a hike. I followed after Phillip, Terre, and the guide. My husbands were still laughing at my expense while putting away our gear on the appropriate racks near the lagoon. A lizard decided to get in on the fun of tormenting me by scurrying across the toe of my shoe. I sighed. If only Terre had wanted to spend the day at an indoor market. Next, we had to climb a rocky path. I took my time, not a fan of falling. Yukihyo’s hand was suddenly on my rear end which made my apprehension vanish. Up ahead, I heard the sounds of someone skidding on sand and gravel.
“Ow,” Terre said.
Phillip said, “Are you alright? Here. Let me see.”
Quickly, my husbands took up positions around me. I wasn’t as graceful as Terre, and we all knew it. When we reached the top of the hill, I saw that Phillip now held Terre in his arms and was carrying her down the path with the guide in front of them. At the end of it, he placed her on a bench and kneeled before her. A change had overcome Phillip. Gone was the consummate flirt, and in his place, was Dr. Svenson. He had pulled a small emergency kit from a pocket and had begun cleaning Terre’s knee.
“Are you okay?” I asked when we caught up to them.
“Oh, yes. It’s nothing. I tripped….” Her words trailed off as she watched Phillip while he gently cared for her. His hands on her knee were professional and not flirtatious.
Once we had arrived at the building which housed a café, gift shop, and locker rooms, Terre and I went to freshen up. “Teagan, do you think Phillip genuinely cares for me? He didn’t use my accident as a means to grope me as another male might have done.”
I dried my hands and turned to her. “I have never seen a female affect Phillip as you do. He is serious. Also, we have spent enough time in the Empire for him to understand how marriages work here. It’s different in other sectors.”
Terre leaned her hip against the counter. “Yes, I have heard about alien marriage practices from Tracy. Our customs must seem as odd to Phillip as his seem to me.”
“I don’t think it is dissuading his interest in you, but know this. Phillip is doing his best to behave respectably toward you, but he wants to grope you. He wants to grope you in every way he knows how, and he has a reputation for knowing a lot.”
We stared at each other for a few seconds before dissolving into laughter. We purchased more T-shirts and several mineral based products before leaving. Terre limped slightly, which was entirely contrived and allowed Phillip to hold her feet on his lap on the way home. Through his bond with me and Yukihyo, Phillip had already known that Terre had softened toward him. Also, as a knowledgeable physician, he knew Terre was exaggerating her discomfort.
Into my thoughts, Quaid said, “Phillip is eager to play doctor all that Terre wishes.”
Under my breath, I said, “I bet he is.”
As soon as we got home, the children demanded all of our attention. Rather than showering and changing into dry clothing, we ended up in the ocean with energetic kids. I had seen glimpses of my parents’ naked flesh during our vacation but little else of them. I snorted to myself realizing from whom I had inherited my sex drive. Regardless of that, I was happy that they were reunited and were creating happy new memories. They deserved them. Uncle Kagan and Aunt Seyla had been almost as energetic in their romantic activities. When we finally tired the children and were able to get cleaned up and relax, we went to the porch to enjoy some dinner. I felt sorry for Gary who had spent a great deal of time blushing.
Eric laughed at him. “Well, Gary, you’re not the horny little bastard I thought you were.”
“Wait till you have a little girl, and men like you are chasing after her. It’s a good thing she has Xavier, or she might have as many husbands as that female down the beach the other day,” Gary said.
Xavier gave Gary a small salute.
“What female?” I asked Sparrow.
“Her name is Portia, and she has thirty husbands. They took up a good stretch of beach. They were all laying around on towels or swimming. I’ve never seen so many knee-length penises in all of my life.”
Coffee came out of my nose and mouth at the same time.
Sparrow handed me a napkin. “With thirty husbands, Portia probably has something other than coffee spewing out of her nose.” Sparrow had said it with such an inflectionless tone that I ended up on the floor dying with laughter. I couldn’t stop. My imagination wasn’t helping.
Thunderdrop put an end to my laughing fit when he jumped to my hip and started bombarding me with images of his adventures. “Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!”
Papa stepped over us and gave Sparrow a kiss on the cheek on his way into the kitchen.
The next day, we left Thalassa, tan, relaxed, and happy. However, Ember had decided to spend more time on Thalassa in the warm sunshine. House Jiri promised to treat her like royalty.