Chapter Twenty

Cam watched as Kievan fingered the controls. He looked stunning in white leather—tight pants, high boots, and a snug vest with the back cut low to show his tattoo. Gold bands circled his biceps. She was also dressed in white, a short gown that covered her front but clung to every curve and clearly revealed the nipple rings circling each peak. The back opened in two big circles—one that revealed her upper back and her clan mark, the other her lower back to just above the curve of her ass. A gold choker and soft gold leather sandals which laced up to her thighs completed the outfit. She knew they were dressed to make a statement but she wasn’t sure why.

The time on the ship had been wonderful. Kievan, both tender and masterful, never keeping himself from her. Now his face had settled into the expressionless mask she remembered so well.

The planet on the screen grew larger, one massive red continent extending from pole to pole and dominating the globe. The rest of the surface was covered with a jade green sea sprinkled with much smaller red land masses.

“State your business.” The harsh voice filled the cabin and she jumped.

“This is Kievan Rus. I wish to land and speak to Chief Dragar.”

Absolute silence.

“Kievan Rus?” the voice asked.

“Yes.”

“For Chief Dragar?”

“Yes. Is it really necessary to repeat everything I said? Has Sardoran training deteriorated that much?” Kievan drawled.

A growl this time before the silence. This one lasted much longer. Kievan appeared relaxed but she could see the muscle clenching in his jaw.

“Very well. Follow the landing beacon,” the voice finally said, reluctance obvious in every word.

The ship descended, Kievan expertly maneuvering the vessel between tall red rock pillars to land in what appeared to be empty desert. The sand and surrounding rocks were red, not too different from an Earth desert, but the sky overhead was a pale jade green and an odd sense of disorientation made her feel slightly dizzy.

“Ready, pet?”

Gulping nervously, she nodded and let him precede her to the entry ramp. As the door opened, she saw two Sardorans waiting for them. One step behind Kievan, she followed him down the ramp, eyeing the two men curiously from under her lashes. One of them was Kievan’s size. His skin was bronze and he was handsome in a rough way completely different from Kievan’s refined masculine beauty. The second man would have been as beautiful, but cruel scars covered one side of his face and ran down his neck and into his vest. He was huge, as bulky with muscle as Mikaroz, and Cam stepped a little closer to Kievan, trying not to feel intimidated.

Both men were dressed in plain brown leather vest and pants, knives at their waists, and she couldn’t miss the shoulder holsters.

“Dragar.” Kievan nodded at the large man, then the handsome one. “Jakkar.”

“Why are you here?” Jakkar growled, and Dragar put a hand on his arm.

“Kievan, you know I owe you, but I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Dragar said quietly. His eyes moved to Cam, perfectly positioned, her face—hopefully—calm. He sighed. “Do I even want to know why she is here?”

“I have news.”

Jakkar raised a skeptical brow. “Really? You’re not just looking for a place to hide because all of your games have blown up at once?”

Cam felt Kievan tense and his hand move toward his knife. She moved closer, nestling into his back and putting a hand on his arm. The two other Sardorans watched her with narrowed eyes and Jakkar’s brow went up again as Kievan’s hand dropped and his body relaxed.

“I have news about Dragar. And about Sardor and the events of the past six years,” Kievan said evenly.

“Go ahead,” Jakkar ordered.

“Is it really necessary to stand in the middle of the desert and talk?” Kievan asked, and the cool mockery was back.

To her surprise, Dragar laughed. The laugh twisted his scar but it was unexpectedly appealing and she smiled at him. He returned her smile and she felt Kievan tense again but before he could react, Dragar spoke. “We’ll go to my house.”

Jakkar started to protest but he cut him off.

“It’s close and it’s private,” Dragar said. Jakkar looked at him and something passed between the two men. “I’ll make sure it’s private,” Dragar repeated.

Without any additional words, Kievan and Cam were escorted to a small flying machine. It took off at an uncomfortably fast speed, Dragar talking into a communicator while Jakkar piloted. The craft flew to the edge of the desert and then up into the mountains that edged it. Cam stared, wide-eyed. Like the desert, most of the ground and rocks were red and so were the leaves on the trees but they had black trunks and were draped with silver vines and the disorientation hit her again.

They landed in a small clearing before a house that looked remarkably like an Earth cabin, complete with front porch. Biting her tongue to keep from asking the questions filling her head, she followed the men into a large living room. The room was bright, open to a vaulted ceiling filled with skylights and windows lined the outer walls. The inner walls were hung with paintings and her shocked gaze took in more canvases and painting equipment at one end of the space. The huge scarred warrior was a painter?

He met her startled look with a grin and once again she couldn’t resist smiling back. This time Kievan growled and Dragar’s grin broadened; however, he didn’t say anything but simply led the way to a comfortable seating area. The two men sat on the couch and Kievan took an armchair. She knelt at his feet, leaning a little closer to his legs than was absolutely correct, and looked up to find both men staring at her. She raised her chin and stared back.

“Is my slave distracting you?” Kievan asked and his voice was deadly. Jakkar scowled but Dragar was still studying the two of them.

“Give us your information,” Jakkar demanded.

“You remember that Prince Ustrod wanted to buy you?” Kievan asked Dragar. The sound of the Prince’s name made Cam shiver and she pressed tighter against Kievan’s legs. His hand immediately went to her head, stroking her hair soothingly, and she relaxed again. She looked back up to see Dragar still watching her, a dawning expression of amazement on his face before his attention turned to Kievan.

Kneeling quietly at Kievan’s feet, she only half listened as he explained the prince’s fixation on the Sardorans. Her attention drifted to the paintings filling the walls and the warm sun flooding through the windows. Jakkar and Dragar started asking questions but she was getting sleepy. Her head rested against Kievan’s knee and her body started to slide down. Without interrupting what he was saying, Kievan reached down and picked her up, settling her in his lap. Used to being in his arms, she simply turned her head into his neck and snuggled closer. Suddenly conscious that the room had turned silent, she raised her head and found both men staring at her again.

“What?” she demanded, forgetting protocol. She looked up at Kievan, “Why do they keep staring at me?”

“We seem to have abandoned our roles, sweetness,” he said.

“Oh.” She flushed. “I’m sorry, Master.”

“You’re not his slave,” Dragar said suddenly.

She straightened and faced him defiantly. “Yes, I am.”

“Really?” He arched a brow and studied her. “Turn around.”

She looked at Kievan. His lips quirked but he turned her gently in his lap so that the two men could see her back.

“You marked her?” Jakkar asked, voice unbelieving.

Kievan shrugged, the merest hint of a flush hitting his cheeks. “She is my mate. It seemed like the thing to do.”

She watched as the three men stared at each other. Then Dragar erupted in a roar of laughter. He turned to Jakkar. “I think the time for privacy is over. They will never forgive us.”

“Who won’t forgive you?” she asked.

“You’ll find out soon enough, little female,” Jakkar said, his lips twisting. He got up and went to a communication panel.

“Dragar,” said Kievan quietly. “I want a favor.”

“You know I owe you one.”

“I want a claiming ceremony.”

A shiver ran up Cam’s spine. She held her breath as the two men looked at each other.

“The full traditional ceremony?”

Kievan growled and Dragar smirked at him. “It’s a little different from that side, isn’t it?”

“I should not have done it,” Kievan admitted.

“No,” Dragar agreed. “But I can’t regret the end result. And my little one is quite...adaptive.” He gave a wicked and remarkably attractive smile, before leaning forward and inhaling. “But with regard to your request. It is quite clear that the mating bond is there. She already has your mark, your scent.” His eyes flicked to the gold bracelets. “And mating cuffs, although somewhat unusual ones. It doesn’t appear to be necessary.”

“I still want the ceremony. I know that I will never be allowed to return to Sardor but I want to know that it could be recorded.”

Tears flooded Cam’s eyes as Dragar nodded. “Then you shall have it. But I warn you, I don’t think you’ll have much say in planning it.” He grinned again. “And since all of the records are being transferred here, I will make sure that it is included in the records.”

“Really?” she whispered to Kievan.

“Yes, sweetness. You may be my slave but you are also my mate and I want everyone to know.”

She burst into tears but it was hard to keep crying when Kievan was kissing her so she eventually stopped and gave in to the wonder of his mouth on hers. About the time his hand was on her breast and her hips were pushing insistently at his erection, she remembered that they were not alone. She lifted her head and saw that the cabin was empty.

“Where did they go?”

“I think they decided to give us a little privacy.”

“Mmm. In that case…” She wiggled a little harder. He laughed but raised his head, tilting it to one side.

“I think our privacy is over,” he said and stood, drawing her up beside him. The door opened and Dragar entered, accompanied by a strikingly pretty human woman. She was smaller than Cam and slender, with creamy skin and long white gold hair, and she looked impossibly tiny next to Dragar’s massive bulk. Cam stared at her and suddenly remembered Kievan’s story. This was the human he had wanted. Her body stiffened but his hand tightened on her waist and he tucked her under his arm.

The woman watched them curiously and smiled when she met Cam’s eyes. She had a beautiful smile and Cam bit back a wave of jealousy.

“I’m Beth,” she said softly. “Dragar is my mate.”

“I’m Cam.”

Beth’s eyes went to Kievan and she smiled again. Cam gritted her teeth and Kievan pulled her closer.

“I’m glad you found your mate, Kievan,” Beth said. Then she looked at Cam and her eyes softened. “And you too, Cam. You have both been alone for too long.”

Before Cam could react, footsteps sounded on the porch and another human woman entered, dragging Jakkar behind her. This woman was also smaller than Cam but her body was ripe and lush, richly curved. She had shoulder length golden brown hair, golden brown eyes, and skin tanned gold. Jakkar was a step behind her, carrying a baby who obviously resulted from both human and Sardoran parents. Cam’s mouth opened and she tilted her head up to look at Kievan, eyes narrowed.

“Honey, is there something you forgot to tell me?”

Both women burst out laughing.

“What he forgot to tell you is that humans and Sardorans cross breed quite successfully. Maybe a little too successfully,” the golden woman said ruefully, and her hand dropped to her stomach. Jakkar frowned and her hand immediately went to his cheek with a soft smile. “I’m just teasing.” She turned back to Cam. “I’m Anna by the way. And Beth is pregnant, too.”

Cam’s mouth dropped open again. Before she could speak, Kievan covered it with a gentle hand. “We’ll discuss this later, sweetness.” She tried to speak again but he kept his hand in place. “When we’re alone,” he added. “In great detail.”

She shivered at the promise in his words. Liquid bronze swirled in his eyes and his thumb stroked her lower lip. Her body responded instantly, her nipples aching in their rings and a tremor running through her lower belly.

“Yes, Master,” she whispered, and he kissed her, short and hard, before lifting his head and smiling at her. She smiled back and turned to find the others staring at them. Dragar looked amused, Beth thoughtful. Anna had a soft smile on her face and Jakkar’s face relaxed for the first time since they had come down the ramp.

Anna and Beth started to prepare a meal and Cam knew that she should offer to help. Instead, she stayed close to Kievan. She felt more comfortable with him, but more than that, she thought that he needed her. He talked with the other men, his posture relaxed, but she could see the reserve behind his casual facade. She suspected that his conflicted feelings about his Sardoran heritage would never let him be fully comfortable with them.

When they sat down to eat, she started to kneel at his feet once more but he shook his head and patted the seat next to him. Over the meal, the other men told their mates about the prince’s plot.

“But I don’t understand,” Anna said. “You say the stones are valuable but surely there are other planets with valuable resources. Why was it so important to keep Trillium a secret?”

“It’s not really a natural resource if you have to kill animals to obtain it,” Kievan responded. “He seemed to think that would be an issue with the new Emperor.”

“Kill?” Beth whispered, her face turning sheet white.

“Yes. There’s some type of native animal—he called it a Trillite—and he said it took their blood to make the stones.”

Beth swayed and would have fallen if Dragar hadn’t caught her. “Little one, wake up.” His voice was frantic as he stroked her unresponsive face.

“I’ll get some water.” Anna jumped up but Beth’s eyes fluttered open.

“Dragar, do you realize?” Her voice trembled and he pulled her closer before looking grimly at the others.

“We suspect that the animals on Trillium are sentient. No one has noticed because they communicate through movement and pattern rather than verbally.”

Everyone looked sickened as his words sank in.

“That’s why he wanted you dead,” Kievan said grimly. “In case you realized.”

“We have to go to the Emperor,” Jakkar said.

Kievan stroked his chin. “Prince Rastrath may be our best bet.”

“You will communicate with him?” Dragar asked. “I have been pushing for an investigation but it’s slow going.”

“I will.”

“Do you trust him?”

“I think I do. He plays the fool quite well but I’ve always suspected there was more to him than he let anyone see.”

“Reminds me of someone else,” Jakkar said drily.

Before Kievan could respond, the baby cried and the party dissolved. Anna and Jakkar went to take care of the baby. Dragar took a still pale and shaken Beth to the back of the house and Kievan and Cam ended up on the porch. He sat down in one of the rocking chairs and pulled her onto his lap. Dusk had fallen while they were inside and she snuggled against him as they looked out at the quiet night.

“This could almost be Earth,” she said, then laughed as she took in the double moon and the silver sparkle of the vines. “Well, not quite.”

“Do you miss it?”

Stroking his arm absently, she stared absently at the forest. “In some ways I do, just like I suspect you will always miss Sardor.”

“Since it reminds you of Earth, would you prefer to stay here? You would have other humans for company. And I suspect they would let me stay now that I have killed the man responsible for the destruction of our home planet.” His tone was sardonic but she could hear the pleasure underlying it. And yet, she remembered the distance she had sensed earlier between Kievan and the other men.

“Is that what you want?”

“I don’t want to abandon Sigrast,” he admitted finally. “J’Ssett will try but he doesn’t have the strength to hold it indefinitely.” He lifted her chin and studied her face. “But I want you to be happy.”

Sudden tears filled her eyes. “I’ll be happy as long as we’re together. I’ve been adrift since my mother died but I don’t feel that way anymore. I feel as if I’m part of something again. Now it’s you and me against the world.”

“Always,” he promised, and kissed her. She lifted her arms around his neck, the bracelets warm against her skin, and knew she had found her place in the galaxy.