Chapter Thirteen
Taryn sat with Evaine and Kalahn in silence as they each focused on their tablets. She’d lost track of time, but it felt as if a day had passed since Kason had left. It took everything Taryn had not to tap her toes in impatience. She didn’t like being in the dark.
Kalahn never looked up from her screen as she said, “He’ll come when he’s ready. Remember, the plan you proposed challenges our way of thinking. It’s as if I asked you to make a law so only males could rule. Would you give it up so quickly?”
Taryn shook her head. “That’s not the same. The men can still be warriors. The women would just help.”
“Ah, you might think so,” Kalahn said. “But if it goes well, women might demand the right to become warriors as well.”
“Then why aren’t you jumping for joy? You could probably become a pilot after all.”
“Princesses don’t have professions. That is an entirely different issue I hope changes one day,” Kalahn answered.
Evaine finally looked up from her review lesson. “There’s no reason to make it happen someday. If you don’t take the first step, then it may never happen.”
Just as Kalahn opened her mouth to reply, a knock sounded from the wardrobe. Taryn’s heart rate kicked up. After taking a deep breath, she said, “Come in.”
Kason emerged from the wardrobe in his general’s attire, which meant tight pants and no shirt. She took a second to appreciate his toned abs before asking, “Well? What happened?”
Kason grunted and she met his eyes. “Just enough men agreed to the plan so we can go forward, if need be. It was a close call, though.”
Taryn clapped her hands. “See? I knew it was a good idea.”
“Perhaps. There is some dissent that I’ll deal with as soon as all of this is over. Besides, it may not be the Brevkan after all. We’ll know tomorrow morning.”
Kalahn said something in Kelderan and Kason replied. Once they fell silent, Taryn raised an eyebrow. “Care to tell me what you just said?”
“You need to study harder,” Kason replied.
Taryn raised her chin. “I’m sure even his mighty highness took more than a day to learn CEL.”
“Perhaps.”
With a sigh, Taryn looked to Kalahn. “I don’t have the patience to wheedle the information out of your brother. What did you talk about?”
Kalahn smiled. “I won’t always be here, you know. You’re going to have to work on getting Kason to elaborate. I’m sure you can think of ways.”
Taryn’s cheeks flushed, but she did her best to pretend nothing had changed. “Well, right now you’re here. Consider it your duty. After all, you need an agreement with me so that Kelderans may colonize the planet.”
Rolling her eyes, Kalahn replied, “Fine. Kason asked me to help him with the women.”
She whipped her head to Kason. “Really? I thought you were going to send her back to Keldera.”
He shrugged. “Having Kalahn here will help tame tempers among the males since many of the warriors will want to impress a princess. Females also look up to her, even if she doesn’t like it, and if they see her trying hard, they will too.”
Kalahn bobbed her head. “I think it’s a great idea. However, you’re forgetting Father. He’ll never agree.”
“Leave it to me,” Kason said. “But it’s only if we need to fight. If the threat is minor, such as pirates, then you’re going back to Keldera along with Taryn and Evaine.” Taryn opened her mouth, but Kason beat her to it. “No, I won’t negotiate on that. Consider it your duty as a diplomat.”
Evaine spoke up again. “Remember why we’re here, Taryn. Nova and all of the others back home are counting on you.”
Under normal circumstances, Taryn never would’ve forgotten her duty. However, Kason tended to make her forget everything else, which was both a good and bad thing. “Well, we won’t know until tomorrow, anyway. There’s no use arguing about something that might never happen.” She tilted her head. “How many hours until we know what’s out there, Kason?”
“We’ll hit instant communications range in about twelve hours from now, which is the only time my father can transmit a secure message without fear of someone else listening in. Soon after I know, I’ll tell you.” He paused and asked, “Are you done with your lessons for the day?”
“Yes, why?”
He put out a hand. “Then come with me. There’s much to discuss, and I’d like to do it in private.”
Kalahn snorted. “I’m not sure how much discussing will go on.”
Kason growled. “Mind your own business, sister.”
To prevent the pair from arguing, Taryn took Kason’s hand. “Do you want to argue or do you want to ‘discuss many things’ as you put it?”
He met her gaze, but it was unreadable. “Come.”
Kalahn asked, “Will you be back tonight, Taryn?”
But before she could answer, Kason had tugged her through the wardrobe and into his room. She expected him to release her hand, but instead, he guided her to a table and chairs on the other side of the room. “You’re going to have dinner with me and tell me about your ways.”
She blinked. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
He smiled at her. “Did you expect me to ravish you?”
“Er, yes.”
“Maybe later. For now, I want to get to know my bride. Who knows when I’ll have the chance again.”
“You’re serious about what you said before, about a future together, then?”
He raised his brows. “Why would I lie about that, especially given the consequences once I proclaim you mine?”
She slid into one of the seats. “About that, I don’t want you to give up your general status, Kason. As much as you may think you want to be with me, I have a feeling you’ll come to regret the decision eventually and blame me for ruining your life.”
“I don’t blame others for my decisions. You need not worry about that.”
She looked at him askance. “That’s easy to say now.”
“I swear on my sister’s life that I will bear sole responsibility for my decision to take you as a bride.” She opened her mouth to argue, but he spoke as he sat in the other chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “You wish to rule Jasvar on your own, without me.”
She blinked at his topic change. “I don’t know. There’s so much changing so quickly, and unlike you, I don’t have the chance to gauge my people’s opinions on the matter.”
“You like facts, so here it is: Without Keldera’s help, your people will be at the mercy of whoever comes to your planet. You don’t seem like a woman who likes that kind of uncertainty.”
Taryn hated that Kason knew her so well already and could use it to reason against her. “This conversation is moot until after tomorrow anyway, so how about you ask me what you want to know about Jasvar? That will distract us both.”
He studied her a second, and she wondered if Kason would ever open up to her. If he didn’t, their future would be a frustrating one.
Her prince finally spoke up. “While I know that males are scarcer on your planet, why did none of them help you with the capture? That seemed odd to me.”
Deciding she’d try to pry more information out of him later, she shrugged. “Unlike Keldera, men on Jasvar help in all aspects of marriage, including childrearing and chores. They were taking care of the others while we sprung the trap. The heart of my people is the ability to judge strengths and use them to our advantage. It’s not about whether a person has a certain set of genitals or not, but rather about how they can best contribute to our society.”
“And that will be part of your negotiations, to maintain that practice?”
“Of course. And judging by what happened with Kalahn, there are plenty of Kelderan women who would welcome the change. I’d suggest that people open to the idea of women doing nontraditional Kelderan roles should be the ones to join the colony. That will lessen the chance of revolt.”
Kason remained silent for a few seconds before he finally said, “If I’m honest, I never would’ve considered it before meeting you, Taryn. However, you have a way of convincing people to change their minds.”
She leaned forward. “At least I no longer need to use a dagger to get you to agree to anything.”
He chuckled. “I was shocked to the extent you probably could have bested me if you’d tried. You were like a warrior goddess.”
“I don’t have any special powers to merit the goddess aspect, but I’ll take the warrior one.” She lowered her voice. “I even brought my outfit with me, in case I need it.”
Heat flashed in his eyes. “You will save that for me.”
“Is that an order? Because we know how well I handle those.”
He growled. “Consider it a request, at least until everyone knows you’re mine.”
“Too bad you asked rather than dictated. It would have made quite the impression on Keldera during negotiations.”
“More like you would’ve given my father a heart attack. As much as he and I may disagree, no one is ready for him to step down yet.”
She searched his gaze. “You and Kalahn speak of your father, but I don’t know much about him except that he sounds like a traditionalist.”
“He is the king,” Kason answered. “When my mother was alive, he made a token effort to spend time with his children. However, once she was killed during one of the Brevkan attacks, he focused all of his energy on his people and left childrearing to the female servants.”
Taryn tilted her head. “Do you think it’s because you remind him of your late mother?”
“Perhaps. My father and I don’t have heart-to-heart conversations.”
She smiled. “I could try to fix that.”
Kason shook his head. “No, meddling with the royal family can be dangerous. Even though you’re not from Keldera, one wrong word or sentence could label you as a traitor. I’m not sure even I could save you if that happened.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Although I hope I don’t have to be so careful around your brother.”
Kason’s eyes shuttered. “Keltor and I aren’t very close. You’ll have to ask Kalahn about him.”
Okay, so it seemed Kason’s family problems ran deep. While she’d heed his advice about not meddling for the present, she’d have to see what she could do later. “At least your family is still alive. All I have is my grandmother and her memory is failing.”
“Family isn’t always because of blood. You seem to have friends who care about you. I will also become your family.”
“You seem pretty certain of that.”
“Yes.”
She snorted. “I must admit that your honesty is growing on me. Although, it is ultimately my say or not.”
“Then tell me what I must do to convince you and I will do it.”
The more determined Kason became, the fewer reasons Taryn could come up with as to why she should refuse him.
Maybe, just maybe, things would work out between them.
She reached out a hand, and Kason took it. “For now, focus on the negotiations and the possible threat. That’s all I ask.”
He stood and tugged her against his chest. “You are levelheaded, practical, and as stubborn as any male. I can’t wait to claim you as mine in front of everyone.”
Lowering his head, he kissed her.
~~~
It had been a long time since Kason had talked with a female about his family, let alone the troubles he had with them. If he had had any doubts about Taryn Demara being his bride before, they had vanished.
When she merely asked him to focus on what was important rather than try to impress her, his restraint snapped. He needed to taste his female.
The second her soft breasts crushed against his chest, he descended on her lips. Taryn didn’t hesitate in opening to him.
As he stroked her mouth, he ran a hand down her back to her rear and rocked her against him. She moaned, and his cock screamed to take her. However, he managed to linger a few seconds more before breaking the kiss and murmuring, “Tomorrow will be a long day. You should go.”
She blinked. “What?”
“It’s not what I want, but we both need to rest. The fate of your world and mine hangs in the balance over the next few days.”
Placing a hand on his chest, she said, “If I have to go back to the other room, I’ll lie awake thinking about you. We should share a bed.”
“I want that, but if I can only take you once more, then I want to do it without distractions.”
She traced some of the markings on his chest. “I’m starting to rethink the ‘once more and I’m done’ decision from before.” Her finger stilled. “As it is, I could already be carrying your child. I think the time for distance is over.”
“But I don’t have any sort of birth control to use since only the Barren are onboard the ship, and there’s no chance of pregnancy. If I take you, it could increase the chances of pregnancy.”
“Is that such a bad thing?”
He pulled her tighter against his body. “No.”
“Well, then let’s share a bed, Kason. Who knows, we may come up with our best ideas yet after a little sex and we don’t want to waste that opportunity, now, do we?”
He smiled. “That sounds like an excuse.”
“But it’s a good one, isn’t it?”
Lowering his head, he stopped when he was an inch from her lips. “Maybe I should reward you.”
“Maybe? I think you should.”
With a growl, he scooped up Taryn and carried her to his bed. “Just try not to scream too loudly or someone might hear you.”
“I would think the walls would be soundproofed.”
He laid her gently on the bed. “For the most part, but I plan to be very attentive.”
And for the next few hours, Kason was.