Vallon moved a bit to the king's right, and she was staring at his mother. He looked a lot like her. "Mother, this is my wife, Princess Cika ."
She again dropped to her knees and was again encouraged to rise; their gazes met and the other woman was smiling broadly. She, too, named her as her daughter, kissed her on the forehead then hugged as if she was their missing daughter instead of him their missing son .
"Come, come, we will take care of the formal statement," his father said, and they all began walking. Cika tried to keep up with Vallon, to stay at his side, but his mother tugged gently at her dress, pulling her into step with her, instead, which was about a step or two behind the men. They could still hear what was being said by his father, though. "You two must be exhausted. There will be a family dinner tonight, but if you cannot attend, we understand. We have had your old rooms at the palace made ready for you, son ."
"Thank you, Father." Vallon glanced over his shoulder at Cika, who was walking with her head down and didn't even seem to notice that he was looking at her .
His rooms were magnificent, of course, much nicer, frankly, than even her mother's quarters in the palace on Aristol .
Their things from the plane followed them almost immediately. Many hands made light work and the place seemed to swarm with servants, all wanting to welcome him back home, although they were much less effusive with her, for which she was eternally grateful. She thought the hairstyle put most of them off. Too bad she wasn't going to be allowed to keep it .
"Where should I have them put my things?" she asked no one in particular .
"Right in here," he said, taking her hand and guiding her to a truly enormous bedroom. She had thought that hers was big, but this was three or four times the size, done in a lot of gilt, reds and blues, with the occasional greens and creams, in mostly geometric patterns .
Vallon didn't usually find himself fishing for compliments, but the trip had been very unsettling for all three of them, and he just wanted establish a more normal relationship with her when they hadn't really ever had one. "Do you like it? I redecorated it about five years ago ."
"This is your room?" Cika asked, refusing to allow her eyes to light on his .
He stepped closer to her, tipping her chin up. "What are you forgetting, my Princess?" he reminded gently .
A blush consumed her, and the enchantment he had always felt about her surged to the forefront, now that he no longer had to worry about getting them all home safely. "This is your room, sir?" she asked, very tentatively .
"It is our room," he corrected. "Although just temporarily. We don't live at the palace. We live quite a bit more simply, in a much smaller house that I built on a lake ."
"Our room?" she repeated, looking perplexed .
"Yes. We will share the room. That is was husbands and wives do. They share a room ."
She looked as if she'd swallowed a butterfly. "You mean I don't have my own chamber elsewhere, sir ?"
He gave her one of those looks that set that butterfly to fluttering in her stomach. "You most certainly do not , Princess. You will be sleeping with me, every night for the rest of your life." He hugged her gently. "I don't want you to be too far away from me at any given time, certainly when I might awaken in the night and want to ease myself with you ."
There were many things that Cika wanted to say but she decided it might be smarter, until she'd acclimated a bit, to keep them to herself. In fact, she tried to remember to do that no matter what they were doing or who they were with. She kept her eyes and ears open but her mouth shut .
The "family dinner" was an incredibly overwhelming experience. He had never mentioned that he had siblings, probably because they were girls. He had two sisters and a hoard of both nieces and nephews .
She was surprised—and glad—to see that both the boys and the girls were treated pretty much the same, whereas, in her culture, the boys would really never be seen .
His sisters were as open and affectionate as his parents were, and they were very curious about her—especially her hair .
Cika thought it was about the cut, but it was actually—at least in their case—more about the color. "It is so beautiful! May I touch it?" his youngest sister, Lahanna, who was about the age of her own youngest sister, asked .
She wasn't sure what to say—she wasn't used to being touched by people she knew, much less those she didn't .
Vallon came to the rescue, though, saying, with an impish smile she'd never seen him sport before, "Back off, pest. Give my wife a moment to breathe before you ask her to start braiding your hair ."
His sister was much like her own—completely unimpressed by his position. Lahanna rolled her eyes and pinched his arm. He made a pretend lunge at her but, even seven months pregnant, she easily avoided being caught, although she did see her husband giving her the same type of warning expression she'd gotten from Vallon on more than one occasion. He even patted her bottom less than gently, right in front of everyone else !
"Please don't let them overwhelm you," Vallon said, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. "I know what they can be like ."
To her surprise, Hawl was included in the "family" dinner. Although she smiled at him in welcome, she very carefully didn't spend any time around him. She didn't get the chance to, anyway, because Vallon kept her clamped to his side the entire evening. She even sat next to him at dinner. His father occupied the place of honor at the head of the table, he was at his father's right hand, and she surprised to see that his wife was at his left .
Things were more equal here in some ways than she had thought they were going to be .
Instead of being served, as she had expected, they ate family style, which meant passing bowls and platters of various things around to whoever wanted them—or not, if one was teasing. And it seemed that, more often than not, someone was. She was at a loss as to what to eat, but Vallon, who was paying very close attention to her this evening, as always, noticed she was beginning to sink and began to add things to her plate that he thought she might like .
Once everyone had their food, his father rose to say a toast .
"We are very thankful and grateful to have our son, Vallon, back with us, and we are especially thankful and grateful that he has brought back with him such a beautiful and gracious wife." Everyone drank to them and their health .
"It's about time he found himself a wife!" someone called from the end of the table. It was his middle sister, at whom he flung some kind of food, for which his father reprimanded him, only to be hit right between the eyes when Prique decided to send it back .
Cika's eyes grew wide and she waited for the king to rage at his daughter—after all, females here were submissive, weren't they? Wouldn't he want to teach her a lesson ?
Instead, he went on talking to Vallon as if it hadn't happened, and later in the meal, when Prique had obviously forgotten all about it, he whipped it back at her, smacking her right in the middle of her forehead and literally roaring with laughter at his successful hit .
"This is why women are not allowed to be archers," Vallon teased .
"I'm an archer!" Lahanna countered loudly .
"You are?" Cika was glad to hear that .
"Yes, I am ."
Their mother nodded. "She's quite good at it, too ."
"Best in the family with a bow," her father agreed proudly, smiling lovingly at his daughter .
"I-I didn't think you'd be allowed to do that," Cika said .
"Well, I'm not allowed to do it in the military, but it's something I do for fun ."
"Oh."
"I'd be glad to teach you, if you like ."
She nodded. "I would like that
, thank you ."
The king tapped his son's shoulder, winking at Cika. "I think you'd better learn how to duck, young man, before she gets any good at it ."
Although it was supposed to be a relatively early night, it didn't end up being that way, and Cika was beyond exhausted by the time they were walking down the miles long, maze-like corridors of the palace towards his—their—rooms .
He had his arm around her, as usual, and this time, she actually needed it. She began to lean against him more and more, until he finally swung her up into his arms and carried her the rest of the way .
"No, sir, I'm too heavy—you'll hurt yourself. You should put me down." Cika protested, but, in truth, she didn't know if she could make it all the rest of the way on her own .
"Quiet, my Princess," he hushed. "You weigh no more than a mite, and I don't want to hear any more about that ."
She must've been tired, because she replied immediately, and without a bit of attitude, "Yes, sir ."
Vallon chuckled softly, letting them in the door, but never letting her down. Instead, he carried her into the bedroom, depositing her gently onto the bed .
Cika immediately rose, knowing she needed to undress herself .
But he brushed her hands away. "Don't bother, little one. I'll do it for you. You just rest. I'll take care of you ."
And he did, too, completely, head to toe, even putting her clothes away neatly for her as he undressed her. She was mostly awake as he did it, moving to help him when he asked. His voice and hands were soft and cajoling, praising her lavishly when she did as he asked, touching her with such tender care she nearly wept .
She'd never felt so looked after in her life, and that was kind of sad, she realized. But at least, he seemed quite interested in doing it .
When she was nude—as he preferred she sleep—he tucked her under the covers, stepping away from her just slightly, and she saw him adjust the heat up a bit so that she would be comfortable—even at his own expense. Then he joined her there, and even though she could feel his insistent presence against her, he simply curled them onto their sides, curved himself entirely around her and kissed her ear. "Sleep, Princess-mine. You are worn out. You stay in bed tomorrow and rest and recover ."
She didn't say anything, so he prompted, squeezing her a bit, "Did you hear me ?"
"Yes, sir," she answered, but he could tell that she was already more than half asleep .
"Good girl," he whispered, and he thought he saw her smile at that .
* * *
A lthough they stayed for a while in the palace, so that his parents could get to know her a bit and she could recover before assuming her duties as his wife, within a few weeks or so, they moved out of the palace—out of the city entirely—to a very quiet area, well away from anywhere else, on some land that he had inherited from his grandfather. There was a small town with amenities several miles away, but there were no other properties anywhere near their house, because he owned all of the land around the lake and beyond .
She was frankly amazed when they got there. He had said that he had built the place by hand and that it was much smaller. She was picturing something like a rough cabin, but she couldn't have been more wrong. For a private residence, it was enormous! When he said much smaller, he must've meant than the palace itself !
It was three floors, with lots of windows and several decks, and the decking system led right down and out into the water. There was even a big deck towards the middle of the lake, complete with umbrellas and lounge chairs, a slide and a diving board .
He gave her a tour of the place, which ended at their bedroom, which took up the entire middle floor and had its own private deck. Their things were already there, courtesy of his father .
Cika found herself drawn to the deck off the bedroom, and that was where Vallon found her when he went looking for her after taking care of a few small assignments his father had given him to help him ease back into the swing of things .
She was so entranced by the scenery that she didn't hear him come up behind her, and he caught her there easily, putting a hand on the railing on either side of her. "So, what do you think ?"
"It's amazing, sir! Much more elaborate than I was picturing ."
He looked surprised. "Really ?"
"Yes. When you said you'd built it, I was picturing a rough camp, you know? A one room cabin or something like that. Not—this! This is gorgeous !"
Vallon smiled down at her, cupping her cheek. "Well, I'm glad you like it. I think you Aristolians have the same tradition—that the reigning members of the family must learn a trade of some sort ."
Cika nodded. "I'm a professional librarian ."
"And I learned carpentry and how to build things—from my grandfather, actually, who helped me learn how to draw up plans and gave me several of the dreams for this place that I actually incorporated into the design. Unfortunately, he died before I began to build it ."
Since they were kind of discussing the subject, Cika decided to ask a question that she had been wondering about. "Sir ?"
"Yes, my Princess?" he replied immediately. She had been unusually withdrawn since they had come here, and he had felt as if she was shying away from him in certain ways. He was doing his best to make sure she was happy, not bowled over by his family or the differences between where she'd ended up and where she'd begun and that she wanted for nothing, even though she never asked him for anything. But now that he was back, he was going to have less and less time to do that. His father was keen to get him involved in the running of the planet, and he had been told in no uncertain terms that his time as a breeding stock procurer was over. Although no one wanted to think about it, least of all himself, the king was getting on in years, and he intended to transfer as much responsibility into his lap as he could so that he could enjoy his last years .
"I-I…" She couldn't quite bring herself to say it .
Vallon turned her around, enveloping her in his arms. "You know that you can ask me anything, little Princess, anything at all, as long as you are respectful when you do it, don't you ?"
"Yes, sir ."
"Good. Go ahead ."
"I would like…I would like to go back to working as a librarian, please." She couldn't see a reason why he would say no. What did it matter to him what she did during the day, especially when, as he had explained to her, he was going to be busier and busier taking on the affairs of state ?
And she didn't know why, but asking him about this, which emphasized her submission to him, had her practically wanting to rub her hand over herself, she was aching so badly .
"You do? Why ?"
Cika was caught off guard by his question and was unprepared to defend her request. "Uh, because it's what I trained for and was educated for and I enjoy it enormously. Books have always been my constant, unfailing friends since I learned to read, about the time I learned to hold one in my hands. It gives me a lot of satisfaction and happiness to work in a library ."
It had been a good while since he had heard her be so enthusiastic about anything, and he was loathe to tell her no, although a woman of their rank working would be somewhat unusual. "I tell you what, let me put out some feelers for you—I don't really know where the nearest library is to us. If we can find you a part time position that's not too far away then, yes, you may ."
"Part time, sir ?"
Vallon raised his eyebrow and answered firmly, "Yes. The rest of your time will be spent taking care of me and performing whatever state functions might be required of you. When you become pregnant, however, you will quit and become a full-time wife and mother ."
That was no more than she had really expected from him. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir ."
"
;You are welcome." Vallon caught her eyes. "I know this has to be very hard for you, and I think you're incredibly brave and you're doing so well at adapting ."
"You do?" She flushed with pleasure .
"Most definitely. I am honored to call you my wife. I will be the envy of every man on the planet ."
"Once my hair grows back, you mean," she teased, loving the sound of his laugh .
And he could call her wife officially now, as his father had officiated at their small, private wedding ceremony. When it was over and she wore an elaborate necklace of Juqarian gold, the king came over to congratulate them .
"This isn't necessarily what I would have chosen for you, my son," he said, right in front of Cika, which she thought was a bit rude. But then, he turned to his new daughter-in-law. "But I cannot fault your choice of wife. She is smart and beautiful, warm and kind. I cannot wait to see the amazing children you will get on her ."
It had sounded like a very crude comment to Cika's ears, but when she'd asked Vallon about it later, he had said that it was actually quite a compliment .
Thinking about that and about how submitting to him within the context of this society, which expected it of their women, was a bit easier than it had been. She turned around within his arms and returned to gazing dreamily out at the lake again .
Her husband began to tug at the laces that held her dress together, growing easily frustrated and simply using his strength to rip them—and the fabric—entirely .
"No—sir—we're outside!" she whispered, as if the trees had ears .
Vallon chuckled throatily into her ear. "Yes, we are, and that makes me want you even more, wife ."
He had her stripped down to nothing in no time, and she earned herself her first spanking in their house by trying to cover herself, bent over that railing, her cries of anguish lost in the wind as he punished her thoroughly, then brought her to her knees and filled her mouth with himself .
He was trying to teach her to relax and allow him to use both her mouth and her throat, but she wasn't quite there yet. Vallon was almost glad of that, because he didn't want to waste his seed in her stomach. He wanted to get her pregnant. He wanted to keep her pregnant for as long as he could .
A Most Unsuitable Mate Page 10
