Materfamilias

by Wendie Nordgren

  “Teagan, hurry. We don’t have much time,” Quaid said quietly.

  “Hurry? Quaid, what’s going on? How are you here?” I ran to his arms and kissed him with everything I had in me while our bond took away my worry and doubt and destroyed them.

  “War encroaches upon us. Come with us, Lady Bosh. I fear if you do not, this will be the last time I will ever hold you in my arms or hear your voice. We must move, now.”

  Releasing my hold on him, I backed up, briefly catching Eric’s pale blue eyes. “He’s right, Teagan. We’ve taken a risk in coming here but had to rescue you before it’s too late. Communications are closed.”

  “It wasn’t the Empire that closed them!”

  “Let’s discuss it once we’re out of Parvac space. Hurry. I can’t shield our thoughts from Jazon much longer,” Quaid said.

  On the floor in the other room, I saw someone on the floor who was wearing a pair of black boots. It was Kaoti. “Oh, stars! What have you done?”

  “He’s not dead. Teagan, come with us.” Quaid took my hand, and I snatched it back.

  “I can’t go with you. I can’t leave my babies, Momma, Papa, my husbands, and friends.”

  Quaid said, “With you under my protection, this war can end before it ever begins.”

  “No, Quaid.”

  He reached for my hand again.

  I covered my stomach. “No, I’m staying here. If you want this mess to end, discover to whom the probe belongs.”

  “You know it is a Parvac device!”

  “No, it isn’t.”

  “Why? Because that is what they have told you? They’ve lied to you before. Your Inquisitors don’t tell you the truth or make you a part of their plans. They use you. That’s what they did to catch Jiri, and your precious Eli was calling the shots. Wasn’t he? I’ll make them pay for what they did to you.” Anger seethed within his black eyes.

  “Did you have a better plan for capturing that bastard? Eli loves me. He would never hurt me. He did what he had to do because he sees the bigger picture. Maybe, you should try it. Papa ordered his Inquisitors to do what the Militia and my own Omnes Videntes couldn’t do. Now, I’m safe. Both of you should go. Hurry. I can only wish that they will let you go. I’m sorry. I love you so much, but I don’t want to leave.”

  “I will get the children for you, Teagan. They won’t keep them from you.”

  “I would never leave my babies behind for you or anyone else, not even Yukihyo. If Kaoti suffers permanent injury, I will not forgive you. Go.” I pushed passed his mental block and cried out to Jazon.

  The boots on the floor moved, and Kaoti stood. I covered my stomach, fearful of being struck by blaster fire. Then, before my eyes, Quaid transformed into Inquisitor Cormac Gordian, and Eric became Inquisitor Rovek. Kaoti stood at attention.

  “What the hell?” I choked out. “What kind of fucked up shit is this?” I backed away from him.

  “Every cadet’s loyalty must be tested. You passed,” Rovek stated. “You have access to sensitive information as well as our future emperor. Our superiors will be relieved to learn that you are above reproach.”

  I was furious, but I needed answers. “How did you make me feel the bonds I share with Quaid and Eric?” I was so pissed that I was calm.

  Jezzie, the youngest of my Omnes Videntes, stepped forward. His face was red, and I could feel his shame. He had been ordered by Papa to comply with the Inquisitors’ orders. Papa and his Military Advisory Committee were certain that we were going to war. Quaid and Eric made me a security risk.

  I said, “I’m not mad at you, Jezzie. However, if you want me to forgive you, you will obey me.” I took out my vid-screen and started recording. “Make Rovek and Gordian believe ants are biting them all over and the only way to relieve the pain is to go for a cold ocean swim in the nude.”

  “Yes, Princess Probus.” With a wicked grin, he got to work. He was just as angry at being used as I was at having been tricked.

  Sweat beaded on Cormac’s forehead. Rovek turned red in the face. The two of them went out onto the porch, and even though they knew it was all in their heads, they slapped at themselves. Then, Rovek growled and tore at his clothing as he ran. Cormac darted after him. I watched as their pale, white asses jumped into the cold water.

  “Take that, you fucking assholes!” I yelled from the porch. “Will they retaliate?”

  Jezzie said, “No, Princess. They didn’t want to do it, but for your own legal protection, you had to be tested. Cadets who fail to pass the loyalty test are banned from service, lose Warrior Caste status, and are ostracized.”

  “Damn.”

  “So, had I been injured, you wouldn’t have forgiven them?” Kaoti asked smugly.

  “No, I wouldn’t have. Don’t be a dick. You know that you are family to me. Let’s go make fun of their manly apparatus when they come out of the cold water and see if Tracy has found her stupid fish.”

  Jezzie paused to release Cormac and Rovek from their mental torment. I kept walking along the shore toward Jazon and Tracy. Kaoti and Jezzie were helping the Inquisitors up onto dry land. I gave the shivering men angry looks that were hot enough to warm them.

  “Oh, this is perfect,” Tracy said. The fish on her scanner had rows of sharp teeth, a brown, marbled pattern along its back, and was about forty inches long. It was some sort of shark. “I’ll do an analysis of its ability to track bioluminescent prey with its electroreceptive systems,” she said excitedly.

  The looks Jazon and I exchanged made it clear that she was speaking gibberish.

  “Great. Let’s go home. I could use a warm bath and some comfortable clothes,” I said. I started walking back to the shuttle while they finished collecting her data.

  Drex’s caretaker approached me. He had at least fifty pink roses wrapped in paper and tied with a bow. “Princess Probus, it is my hope that these flowers will add cheer to your surroundings.”

  “Oh, thank you! Momma will love these!” I gave him my sweetest smile.

  He bowed low.

  Jazon and Tracy pulled up on their borrowed roller. She said, “I wish I had time to scan the fish in the caves, but I need to get to work.”

  “We can come back,” I said. I activated my vid-screen and sent my recording of Cormac and Rovek’s punishment to Cedrenus, Binder, and Ross. Then, I flipped the Inquisitors off as Jezzie helped me into the shuttle.

  “Why are they wet?” Tracy asked.

  “Loyalty test,” I answered.

  Absently, she asked, “Did they pass?”

  “Sure.”

  I wasn’t certain she had even heard my reply. She had already immersed herself in her assignment for her doctoral program and had very little attention to spare for anything else.

  Jezzie had joined us for the trip home. He said, loudly enough so all of us could hear, “Cormac and Rovek tested you themselves because had you failed, they would have covered it up and simply flunked you out of the program.”

  “They must hold low opinions of me to think I would abandon my children, Thunderdrop, and husbands.” Angrily, I pushed back my cuticles. I was so furious that I didn’t know what to do.

  Kaoti said, “My loyalty test made it look as though my mother was a spy.”

  Jazon laughed. “Your mother? That sweet little lady?”

  “Yes, I reported her activities.”

  “Your own momma? That’s harsh. I’m really pissed that the Inquisitors keep using my Laconian husbands against me. Flavian used Yukihyo, and Cormac just used Quaid. When Quaid comes to visit me, I’m telling him what Cormac did. He’s going to kick his ass.” Leaving my cuticles alone, I crossed my arms over my chest.

  What if the facsimile of Quaid, who I had just kissed, was my last chance to see him in this life? What if our governments soon went to war? What if the Hadrian and her crew were destroyed in battle? What if Eric and Kane were forced to fight each other, cousins forced to attack each other’s ships? Jezzie took my hand and calmed all of my fears, keep
ing my panic at bay during our trip to the Palace.

  The children were having their lessons in their school room when we got home. Neema and Niklos were learning about numbers.

  Lorca asked, “What’s this?”

  “One,” Neema said.

  “Good. Who can show me how many toys are one?”

  Niklos pointed at the stuffed bear example.

  “Good job!”

  Kaoti moved close to Violet. Poppy was trying to say her colors, but blue sounded like boo. To avoid becoming a distraction, I went to my bathroom, filled my tub, and soaked until Yukihyo stripped and joined me.

  “What happened?”

  I told him everything.

  He said, “All of this over a probe, an ancient or alien one? Wouldn’t it be wiser to strengthen our ties in the face of an unknown threat?”

  Moving behind him, I stretched my legs out to each side of his own and started soaping his back. “Maybe, they thought our treaty was a ruse so we could closely study them and then strike.”

  Yukihyo shook his head. “It would be economically disastrous for the Empire to conquer the Galaxic Expanse and Laconian Sectors.”

  “It would indeed,” Fitz said as he entered the bathroom. He leaned his hip against the wall. “My opinion of their governments has dropped considerably. Their leaders must be prone to hysteria or else are too trusting of unfounded speculation. They have done much in a short span of time to lose our confidence.”

  I nodded. “Oh, Fitz, let me tell you what Cormac and Rovek did to me today.” I gazed up at him with eyes as sad as I could make them.

  Yukihyo said, “She’s already had Jezzie punish them. Now, she’s attempting to emotionally manipulate you into extracting further revenge.”

  Fitz said, “Teagan, my love, you don’t need a reason. If ever you want someone beaten or worse, all I need is a name.” He wasn’t joking. Need pooled between my thighs. Fitz was sexy when he was acting dangerous.

  “Oh, now you’ve done it,” Yukihyo chuckled as he rinsed his back.

  Fitz asked, “What is it that I have done?”

  “You will see.”

  Rising from the tub, I wrapped a towel around myself and took Fitz’s hand as he helped me step from it. “Perhaps, my husbands would be kind enough to join me for a nap.”

  Yukihyo chuckled. He knew I wasn’t in the mood for a nap. Fitz realized it the moment I slid my hand down the front of his shirt and into his pants, cupping him. He was hot beneath my palm, growing and hardening. Removing my hand from his pants, I walked to our bed. Catching me from behind, Fitz tore off my towel and kissed my neck. His hands roamed all over my body. His strong hands caressed my breasts, making my sensitive nipples ache. Moving lower, he rested a hand over my abdomen while with his other, he parted my folds and stroked my growing ache.

  Turning in his arms, I unfastened his shirt, but he still managed to tear it in his hurry to remove it. His pants followed. He was all hot skin and hard muscles under my palms and thrummed with eagerness. Fitz guided me backwards to the mattress. Grinning up at him, I pulled back the covers and slipped between them. His eyes focused on my breasts and then lower, stopping on my abdomen. Getting into bed, he lowered his lips to my stomach and placed gentle kisses there.

  “Teagan Probus, you are my world.”

  “Have you stopped thinking of me as Lady Jiri?” I asked playfully.

  Big brown eyes stared into mine. “I never stop thinking about you.”

  Yukihyo’s weight made the mattress shift just enough to cause my breasts to jiggle almost imperceptibly, but it was enough to capture the attention of both of my husbands. I sighed in pleasure as each of their gentle mouths closed over my breasts at the same moment. I cradled their heads to my chest. Their soft, clean hair slid between my fingers, and their warm bodies pressed against my sides. Then, while their tongues lathed at my nipples, their fingers sought to caress me elsewhere.

  I gasped as Yukihyo began a slow, sensual circling of my clit and moaned as Fitz pushed a finger within me, moving it slowly in and out. My breathing sped up until all I could do was pant for air. Overwhelmed by the sensations, I cried out as pleasure zinged and burst through me. Then, Yukihyo was above me, filling me and moving in and out at a languid pace.

  “Spiral pleasure through me,” he whispered.

  Floating as I was on waves of ecstasy, it took me several of his thrusts before I was able to concentrate enough to spike his pleasure endorphins. Puzzled by his eagerness to come to completion, I was about to ask when Fitz claimed my lips and covered me with his warm, large form.

  Sometime later, I woke in Fitz’s arms to the growling of my stomach. It made him chuckle. I ran my fingers through the soft, dark hair covering his chest and then let him help me from bed and into the bathroom. Our elaborate bed was the only one in the large room. The children had been moved into one of the rooms in my wing after having outgrown their baby beds, and Peter’s crib eventually had been added to their room. I frowned at the area where they had been on our way to the shower. A slow smile lifted the corners of Fitz’s mouth. He knew what I was thinking.

  “Should we get matching baby beds or let them share one? Do twins prefer to sleep together, or do they prefer their own space?”

  He said, “I’ll do some reading on the subject.”

  Bending my head, I asked my belly, “What do the two of you want your mommy and daddies to do?”

  Fitz chuckled. “I am unable to describe the happiness you have given me.”

  Lifting up onto my toes, I blew a raspberry on his neck and ran.

  Loud laughter echoed after me. After getting cleaned up and dressed, we went in search of food. However, our search was postponed by the sight of Yukihyo and Kaoti on their hands and knees giving pony rides to Neema and Poppy.

  Yukihyo winked at me. “You needed your rest, and she was looking for us. Hence, the reason for my haste….”

  “I see. You make an excellent pony.”

  Peter lifted his hands to me. His blocks surrounded him. I lifted him from his toppled toys. Niklos was playing a matching game with Lorca. I noticed Rolf and Otto outside setting the patio table. Violet noticed it, too. Maneuvering our way around discarded playthings, we made our way to the table. Zared opened the door for us. He had an annoyed expression.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Enjoy your dinner. You will find out soon enough.”

  “Great.” My sarcasm was as hefty as my hunger. However, my mood brightened considerably when Terre and Phillip came out to join us. “Hey!”

  “Hello. I’m famished,” Terre said as Phillip held out her chair.

  “Does that mean you’re feeling better?”

  “Oh, yes. Phillip assures me that I am past the dreadful aspects of morning sickness.” Phillip’s blue eyes were twinkling happily as he listened to his wife. “Now, if only I could convince Mother to return to Naxa,” she said under her breath.

  “We need to give our mothers a mission to keep them busy.”

  “Yes. Yes, to anything of such a nature,” Terre said miserably.

  Conversation ceased when food was placed before us. Fitz and Phillip wisely kept their fingers out of the way. Peter was well-behaved enough to remain on my lap and didn’t make too much of a mess with what I shared with him. We had moved onto dessert and dreadful decaffeinated coffee when Rolf announced visitors. Zared’s earlier annoyance made perfect sense to me when Cormac joined us on the patio. He had with him a large, decorative basket filled with what appeared to be a wide assortment of handcrafted confections.

  I glared at him. “What do you want?”

  “Princess Probus, might you join me for a stroll in the gardens? I feel that I owe you an explanation.”

  “Fine.” Zared pulled out my chair, and as I stood, I took his arm. My action gave Cormac pause. I said, “You don’t mind if my husband accompanies us, do you?”

  “Of course not,” Cormac said, but a shadow fell over
his eyes, and I silently cheered at having done something to annoy him.

  Fitz winked at me. I kept Peter on my hip. He kept such a firm grip on me as to not require much more than my arm supporting his bottom. My hair seemed to be permanently fisted in his small hands.

  Once we had reached the garden path, he looked from me to Zared. “Have I made you afraid of me?”

  So, that was what worried him. “No, if I weren’t pregnant, I would kick your ass.”

  Peter trilled and said, “Az.”

  “Oh, Peter,” I sighed. “Peter eater my baby repeater,” I said as I tickled under his chin.

  Zared laughed. “Teagan, perhaps I should return our son to the Palace so that you may speak freely.” He held his hands out to Peter who reached for him and then took fistfuls of his long, dove-grey hair to hold. Zared kissed my cheek and walked toward the patio.

  Telepathically, I said, “Damn, you’ve got a nice ass.”

  Soft laughter filled my mind.

  Cormac offered me his arm. I refused it and continued walking along the path. He said, “The loyalty of every cadet must be tested.”

  “Oh, I understand. Also, I understand the reasonable fear that I could be a security risk. Papa considered Quaid’s Eriopis abilities to read my mind before he approved the marriage contract he offered, a contract Papa asked me to accept as a favor to him. He wanted to ease tensions between Parvac and the Laconian Sector.”

  “Then, why are you angry?”

  Stopping and turning to him so that he could get the full effect of my incredulousness, I asked, “You don’t know why I’m pissed at you? Is this a fucking joke? What the hell, Cormac?” I could practically see the ideas running through his head as he tried to figure out why I was angry.

  “Is there a problem?” Captain Merick Carus asked as he strode over to us on his long legs.

  “Yes, there is! Cormac, the brilliant fucking spy, doesn’t understand what he did to piss me off. Either that, or he’s playing dumb because he knows exactly what he did.” I poked at Cormac’s uniformed chest with my finger.