Her kiss-induced, shell-shocked behavior had probably been downright hilarious to the seasoned warrior. He’d likely never seen a drooling, horny, middle-aged, sex-starved fem stuck to a bulkhead, making goo-goo eyes at his ruler.
Damn. I’m going to have to apologize.
She exhaled a long, self-pitying sigh. Politeness, respect and personal honor were the three things Poppi Brewster had always taken the strap down for. Having had the principles ingrained in her by numerous spankings, she had no trouble seeing her error. There was no getting around it. She had to say “sorry”.
While she was ruminating over how to phrase her apology—it had to be sincere, yet not abject—they came to a halt before a closed metal door.
In continued silent obedience, GanR’dari indicated a lit panel. “If I may break my ordered silence to instruct you, Chyya’va?”
At her nod, he continued. “This door has been programmed to grant you entrance in two ways. First, you may speak into the voice sensor while placing your hand, palm down upon the recessed area, here. Alternatively, you may undergo a retinal scan. That sensor is over here.” He pointed to another panel at the side of the door.
He paused, raising his eyebrows in a wordless questioning.
“I see. Go on…”
“You may be assured of your total privacy since the Chyya, whose voice code overrides all others, is the only other person who can activate your door. It will open for no one else.
Guilt ate at her as she listened to his stiff phrases. She’d obviously ruined any chance at friendship with this guy and she really hated that. Other than wanting to die for her, GanR’dari seemed to be a sensible character.
Might as well get this over with… Gathering her resolve, she quickly began her apology, wanting the distasteful chore over with. “Look, I screwed up, okay? I was wrong to jump your crap like I did, and I am…uh…abjectly sorry. There was no excuse for my behavior and—” She broke off her convoluted apology, stunned to see the large man had gone down on his knees before her.
When he attempted to touch his forehead to her feet, she jumped back in alarm. “What are you doing?”
Now what? She warily watched the man kneeling before her. Good grief, all she needed was some upset, suicidal male deciding his best apology would be his death.
“I am awed by your greatness,” he proclaimed. “Truly, our Chyya is blessed in his selection of a mate.”
“Sheesh!” Placing her hands under the hulk’s shoulders, she tried to heave him off the floor. He didn’t budge. “What brought this on, my apology?”
“The fact that you didn’t have to make one.” GanR’dari rose easily from his bowed position. “Not to me, anyway.”
She felt a momentary touch of jealousy at how he maneuvered all that bulk. For a big person—and a man, at that—he sure had her beat in the grace department.
“I angered you with my nonsense. Even though the prince and I have been friends all our lives, you had but to speak the word to have me executed and the prince would have upheld your command.”
“That’s sick!” The thought of having so much power repulsed her. She swallowed thickly, fighting the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Bile rose up to burn at the back of her throat at the thought of what could have occurred if she had jokingly cried, “Off with his head!” in front of witnesses.
Surely, Dev would never enforce such a command. She couldn’t believe it of him, though the look on GanR’dari’s face told her the warrior had no doubts.
“Is that why you were so silent? You thought I would have you killed?”
“I was contemplating my stupidity.” The warrior chuckled wryly. “You are the Chyya’va. The only voice higher then your own is that of my Chyya’s.
“I have grown accustomed to the loose discipline our Prince allows his cadre and I overstepped my bounds. Making mock of you, no matter it was only a gentle teasing, could have cost me my life. Worse yet, it could have cost my Prince the loss of a seasoned battle commander.
“In these times of turmoil, Glendevtorvas relies upon the expertise of every loyal man, and I let him down. It is a humbling thing to find I am no better at discipline than our young Conlan.”
“Any idiot could see how close you and Dev are to each other, GanR’dari. There is no way I would ever order your death as it would hurt him too much—”
“Do you hear yourself?” GanR’dari smiled, almost sly. “I think you are beginning to love our Prince. You are already concerned with his emotional well-being.”
Striving to maintain a straight face, she gave the smiling warrior an evil look, then quickly dissolved into laughter. “I’ve changed my mind. I think I’m gonna have to kill you for the crime of providing unsolicited information.”
Looking about the empty corridor, she pretended to see a contingent of soldiers. “Come, men. Take him. Off with his head!”
The hardened soldier choked on barely suppressed laughter. She snickered.
“That’s better!” She straightened to her fullest height and raised her head to meet the brilliant glowing green eyes of the man she wanted to befriend. “I got off on the wrong foot with you. If you are willing, I would like to start over…to be friends.”
Executing another of those disgustingly graceful bows, GanR’dari said, “I would be honored, Chyya’va.”
Holding out her hand, she smiled. “Hello. My name is Glennora Brewster ‘abret Glenbrevchanka. And you are…?”
Taking her hand, he bestowed a kiss upon it. “GanR’dari ‘abri GlenglanR’on at your service, Chyya’va.”
Nnora turned her hand so it gripped GanR’dari’s and vigorously shook it, grinning from ear to ear. “Glad to meet you. Okay, here’s the deal—I will only have you killed off in private if you will only tease me in private.”
* * * * *
One pleasant conversation later, in which Nnora learned little but enjoyed herself greatly, the door to her quarters swooshed open. “Wow, talk about shades of Star Trek! Beam me up, Scotty! No, wait, I’ve already been beamed up.”
She laughed as GanR’dari shook his head at her antics. “You are obviously not a Trekkie, my friend.” Chortling, she pressed her hand to the panel so she could see the door retract once more. “Cool! But why doesn’t it open when I approach? How come I have to put my palm on the panel every time?”
“The door is locked, Chyya’va. It would be best to leave it so, for now. Until your mating—”
“Off with his head!” She playfully shook her finger at ‘Dari. “No mentioning my future mating or my future mate. The man drives me crazy. When I’m not salivating over him, I am angry with him.”
He canted his head to the side, watching her with a twinkle in his eyes. “I do not believe there is a man among the Cadre who would accost you. Beside the matter of their proven loyalty, every one of them knows I, or the Chyya, would kill them for the offense.
“However, there are others aboard this ship—men we have not had the time to test, to train. When it comes to your honor, I am not willing to take a chance on those unknowns. If you want your door unlocked, you will have to ask the Chyya to show you. I have no desire to be killed in public for failing in my duty to protect you.”
She stuck her tongue out at him, feeling totally relaxed and at ease with the gentle giant, able to enjoy their mutual teasing. “‘Dari, you are a coward.”
Her new friend produced an exaggerated sigh. “Chyya’va, more and more I am finding that to be true.”
“I didn’t mean it literally, friend. I know you are no coward. I guess my joke fell sorta flat, huh?”
“Not at all, milady.” He bowed. “I need to go check the duty roster. Press this button here, to contact me if you need anything. Lock the door behind me, Chyya’va.”
Fascinated as she was by her quarters and the high-tech items it held, she waved absently as he took his leave. Like a child let loose in a toyshop, she pushed every gadget, opened every compartment and pulled every knob.
/> During her search she found the insta-bed and then lost it again, discovered the toilet in—to her way of thinking—a very strange place. She accidentally started the shower while she was standing in the cubicle, trying to puzzle out what the heck it was. It turned out all right, since when the system finished cycling through, both she and her clothes had been thoroughly washed, rinsed, and dried.
She stepped out of the stall with a thoughtful backwards glance. Those gusts of sultry air had been a mighty interesting and enlightening experience, one she couldn’t wait to try again, preferably with a partner…sans clothes.
Chapter Eleven
The blaring of a shrill-toned siren shattered the clinical silence of the ship, interrupting Nnora’s single-minded explorations. Frantic steps sounded outside her quarters, anxious voices shouted through her door speakers and a pale, hard-breathing Dev burst through her portal before she could find the intercom and inform everyone she was totally fine.
“Nippa! Are you all right? Where is the danger?”
He flung his frantic questions at her as his head twisted left and right, scanning the cabin with narrowed, deadly eyes.
“I’m fine. Honestly. I guess this is just a false alarm. I didn’t mean to set anything off. I was just messing around—”
His head swung back to her, gaze grilling her. His shoulders relaxed but his frown grew. “False alarm? You were messing around?”
She fidgeted, shifting from foot to foot. Her heart dropped down to her knees under his condemning glare.
“Have you any idea the chaos you have set off? How many men have been mobilized on your behalf, because you were messing around?”
Her mouth tightened, jaw firming. Her glance flicked over to the men crowded in the open doorway of her cabin, avidly listening while their Captain chewed her out. She did not like being reprimanded in front of all those weapons-bristling strangers. Still, all these people were here because they were concerned for her. She couldn’t find too much fault with the Prince for overreacting, all things considered.
“I apologize, Your Highness. Perhaps I used the wrong word… While I familiarized myself with my quarters, I inadvertently set off some sort of alarm. It was not done maliciously, I assure you.”
He took a deep breath, looked hard at her. He must have seen her mutinous expression and guessed its cause, for he went to the door and quietly spoke with his warriors before sending them all away.
He turned around and studied her, saying nothing.
In turn, she searched his face, wondering how angry he was, wondering how he handled his anger…wondering if she needed to fear his temper.
His silent treatment unnerved her. She stood before him, hands clasping each other in a nonverbal display of her inner anxiousness, butterflies beating a whirlwind in her tummy.
He finally moved toward her, still silent. She quickly began speaking, “Please! I didn’t know…I…didn’t mean to…” Her shoulders slumped. “I apologize abjectly.”
His hands bit into her shoulders as he yanked her up against his tense body. “You frightened a hundred Faels off my life! Show me how abject you are.” He groaned heavily before burying his tongue in her mouth. He consumed her, took her with strong hands that swept down her back, pressing her close.
When they broke apart to restore their oxygen supply she gasped, “Oh! I am very abject, indeed! I’d better apologize again…”
This time, her apology took the form of intense one-to-one interpersonal interaction at the highest level of lip diplomacy. She licked at his lips, worried his full bottom lip with her teeth. She could taste the frenzy of his desire for her, his concern transmuted into boiling lust. Her hands clutched at his waist, slid down and back to grasp his tight buttocks.
A heavy groan tore its way out of his throat. “Nippa, you will be the death of me!” He moaned again, went back to showering kisses over every inch of her face.
She tightened her fingers on the firm flesh of his ass cheeks, snuggling closer in a rare moment of mutual understanding. “I’m okay,” she assured him gently. This close, she could feel the racing thud of his heart. His arms—those strong pillars—shook even while holding her in an unbreakable grip.
“When I heard the alarm, I was in the middle of a vidcom. I have never felt such fear! I broke my own rule of not translating within the ship and made them drop me right outside your door.”
She felt so bad about causing his scare that she let him to devour her mouth once more. She even helped him, opening her lips to take him in, to suck on the bold, spicy tongue that surged and retreated. She enticed him, encouraging him to thrust deeply into her mouth, nurturing his need to affirm her safety.
When he finally lifted his head, allowing her to snatch a few breaths, she explained. “I was just familiarizing myself with the items and gadgets in here, trying to see how everything worked—”
“Nippa.” He shook her a little. “Didn’t you see the notice under that toggle? You couldn’t have missed it—”
“Hello! Is anybody home?” She tapped her knuckles gently against his forehead. “That injection you slipped me lets my brain understand spoken Rb’qarmli which is all well and good. However, I still can’t read a lick! So…yes, I saw the toggle and writing. I thought the toggle might be a hat rack or something. The writing I thought a little boring for room decoration. A nice landscape would have been more to my taste.”
Dev laughed, laying his forehead against hers. “Now I am the one who must say I am sorry, my Nnora. I did not think of that. We communicate so well I forgot you did not, in truth, know our language. I will arrange for a tutor.”
His face sobered. He sighed, sounding weary. “I shouldn’t be here. I am stealing this time from my meeting. If all goes well, I will be able to spend longer with you tomorrow.”
“I understand you have more important things occupying you.”
“Nothing is more important to me than you. That’s why I am here. But there are urgent matters coming to a head that I must deal with now. Why don’t you take this reprieve to accustom yourself to your new authority?” He pulled back, a smile widening his mobile lips and creasing his cheeks. “By the way, GanR’dari informed me of what transpired between the two of you. Thank you for making the effort to befriend him. He is like a brother to me.”
She stepped out of his arms and pouted, planting her fists on her hips. “Why, that rotten traitor! He promised not to tell tales—”
“Draw in your claws, Chyya’va. He is, first and foremost, my man, bound by oaths…though you have certainly made a conquest there.”
“I didn’t want a conquest, I wanted a friend.” Feeling betrayed, she swallowed hard, battling tears. “I thought I could trust him, but the minute you two get together, he spills all my beans.”
“You have a friend, a good one. And you can trust him in all things—even to keep secrets from me, now that I have given you his service. Unless we go to war and I need to call him to my side, he will be head of your personal bodyguard. There is no better person I could trust with your safety. Use him well. He will be a good source of information for you. Now before I head back to that conference—”
He released her to stride over to the door. Then, he swiped his hand down a panel at the side of it, speaking a rhythmic sentence into the voice grid and the light on the panel turned from amber to black. A heavy metallic thunk reverberated through the room.
Why was he locking the door?
He unzipped his uniform top and peeled it off his arms as he turned back to face her, leaving his chest and torso exposed. “It has been several hours since your last orgasm, Nippa. I would not have you suffering from pava pains.”
Nnora licked suddenly dry lips as confusion turned to consternation. “I wish you would stop that!” she wailed, feeling like a neon light, her arousal flashing for all to see.
“Stop what, Nippa?”
“Stop smelling me! It’s so humiliating. Do you have any idea what it is like for me, knowing all the
men on this ship can smell my lust?”
Lips quirking in a half smile, he reached out a hand to her. “I cannot help smelling and reacting to your needs. In fact, I relish the fact that I am able to respond to your sweet siren song. I am your mate and there should be no embarrassment between us, Nippa. Moreover, you need not endure the pangs of unrelieved arousal while I am here to care for your needs. Such is not necessary.”
She ignored his outstretched hand.
“Uh, I’m okay.” She instinctively denied her rising need. She didn’t want his pity. “It isn’t anything like it was before.”
Her hands curled into fists at her side, nails biting into the flesh of her palms. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on beating down the pulse of lust throbbing in her pussy. Off-kilter, needing him, she couldn’t move. Couldn’t think—
“And I will not allow it to become what it once was, my Nippa. Bare your breasts to me.” His voice sounded as matter-of-fact as if he were informing her that the sky was blue.
Her hands flew up, splayed across the expanse of her round curves. Her nipples stabbed into the palms of her hands. “Excuse me?”
“In fact, remove all your clothing and lie on the bed, legs spread. I am hungry for your fresh cream and we might as well fulfill both our needs at once.”
Swallowing thickly, she watched him as he sauntered toward her, his masculine form a study in primal grace and power. She felt herself responding to his allure. The first swirling wash of liquid yearning flashed in the bowl of her belly. Her inner muscles contracted, releasing a heated flow of juices. Her labia throbbed. Her clit filled with blood.
“Uuhhmmm.” She gulped, eyes drawn to the bulge between his muscled thighs. Lust swamped her. She didn’t even know what drivel she stammered out almost incoherently. “I…there’s no…you don’t have to…put yourself out. I mean—”
“I am not sure what you mean, but I know what you need. There is no time for me to…put myself out, Nippa. And if you continue to waste what little we have, it is you who will be doing without. I have no intention of seating you until I have had my fill of your sweet-tasting pussy.”
Swept Off Her Feet Page 12
