Fencer

by Viola Grace

  “I am glad you did. Was it because of the Yinshin?”

  “Sort of. Being near him made me want to be next to something clean. That would be you. You have never pressed your advantage.” She stroked his cheek, noticing the pink line that marked the mating scar.

  “No, I have not, because I am not an idiot. You can’t base a relationship on force. But, my lovely mate, I now can claim something I could not before. The right to your body.” She blinked. “Here?”

  There were plenty of couples going at it, but Kebril didn’t seem the type.

  He grinned. “No. On the field of honour. Makadan is going to get his ass kicked, and you need only watch. I don’t want you having to get his slime on you.”

  She held his hand as they returned to the party.

  Makadan cut them off, “Have you had your lovely last time together? Be a good boy and hand her to me now.”

  “Hand over my wife? Give a Genaran to a Yinshin? I don’t think so.”

  “That bitch isn’t your wife. You had just met.” He was furious, and his scent gland started to produce a noxious odour.

  “This princess is a Genaran by our rites. There were twenty witnesses to our nuptials just a moment ago. I wear my mating scar just as she wears hers.”

  Kebril held his hand out and showed the mark that all mated Genarans wore. Even Drehl and Rhoda had marks like theirs.

  “I challenge you for possession of the female.” Kebril shook his head. “You cannot. By Nyal charter, all Genarans are free.” Makadan grew sly. “Perhaps I could purchase her before the paperwork is processed.” Kebril lashed out and struck the Yinshin right in his smarmy face.

  Meena held back a cheer and noticed the deeply interested audience they were getting.

  Makadan rose from the portion of floor he had landed on and spit some of his dark green blood on the floor. “I challenge you to a duel.” Kebril smiled. “I accept. Now?” Makadan looked around at the milling crowd.

  “In the gardens. Can we get blades?”

  “Of course.” He signalled a servant, and the grinning female scuttled off to find the necessary duelling implements.

  “Shall we?”

  Meena took Kebril’s arm, her knees still weak from whatever the nanites were doing in her bloodstream.

  They walked to the gardens with their audience. In the centre, there was a fountain with a projected image playing against the wall of water. The servant walked in with two sabres in her arms and the governor was on her heels.

  “What is going on, Prince Kebril?” Kebril addressed Governor Orthian. “The ambassador is laying claim to my mate. When denied, he became insulting, and this is the only way to answer matters.”

  The governor looked at her with surprise. “She was not your mate when she arrived.”

  “We keep the Genaran altar at this event for just that reason, Orthian.” He lifted Meena’s hand to his lips, and the kiss warmed her.

  “Well, if that is the case, Lord Makadan, you had better offer apology.” The governor shrugged.

  The offended party was indignant that he was being ignored. “I am owed an apology for an assault. I will have it in his blood.” The governor looked around. “First blood?” Makadan shook his head. “To the loss of one limb.”

  Kebril shrugged and selected a sabre. “Which one do you prefer?”

  “What?”

  “Which limb do you prefer to lose? I would like to abide by your wishes.” Kebril looked magnificent. His black hair was held from his face with two narrow braids that confined it and joined to run the length of his back.

  The gold and black he was wearing in the form of a fitted vest and matching leggings with gold lace marching down the outside of his leg was a clear indicator to anyone who wasn’t blind that they were a matched set.

  With a howl, Makadan attacked. No polite civility, just raw ferocity.

  Kebril moved lazily, counterattacking only when necessary, deflecting the rest of the inbound blows into harmless sweeps. There was no chance that this was a fair fight. Makadan had definitely picked the wrong man to insult.

  When he got bored, Kebril moved forward and overpowered Makadan with the fury of his blows.

  He nicked the Yinshin’s face, carving a pattern with lightning-like flickers.

  Dark blood flowed down Makadan’s face, and he was filled with terror as he lost his footing and hit the ground with a thud.

  In the fountain, a vid began to play. The image of her facing off and agreeing to first blood with Makadan’s confirmation of first blood was playing.

  It was Noree’s video. She had been hidden in the shrubs and recording the duel. Everything was there, including Makadan’s refusal to accept his loss.

  The governor looked from Meena to the ambassador. “I don’t think that you will be useful for your people, Lord Makadan. Either leave right now or lose the limb you have forfeited.” He spluttered, glaring at her. “This is your fault, bitch.”

  Kebril lashed out with the blade and slapped him on either cheek. There was a faint glow left behind that told Meena Lord Makadan was going to be wearing those marks for the rest of his life.

  “Do not call her that. Do not speak to her again unless the words are apology. You owe me a limb, Makadan. I will remember, and if you set foot on Yacaro again, I will collect.” His lordship scrambled to his feet, looked for assistance in the crowd, but as most of the higher-ranking Yacaro were there and had seen everything, he had no one to stand with him. He ran from the party without looking back.

  Orthian sighed. “I am sorry for the distress caused you, Miss. Yacaro is usually much more civilized.”

  She inclined her head and took the blade from Kebril’s hand, planting it in the ground. “The most civilized of societies tend to have very violent impulses just below the surface. Some subvert those impulses into sex, but I am not sure how that works.”

  Kebril wrapped his arms around her, and he whispered, “I will explain it to you later.”

  Chapter Nine

  The rest of the party was surreal. Kebril lay back on a couch with Meena draped over him, and they made out like teenagers for hours.

  Agheda had found her own likely candidate, and she blew Meena a kiss while she walked out on the arm of a charming Nyal earl.

  Meena propped her head on her chin and sighed. “When do you have to go home?”

  “Whenever you like. We are now a we by the way. It was not just for show.” He muttered, “Though my mother is going to kill me.” She chuckled. “I am ready to leave now.” She bent her knee, and it slid free of the fabric, exposing her gold-wrapped limb to his gaze.

  He lifted her so suddenly, she yelped. While he carried her out, she asked, “Do you think he is gone?”

  “I think he will have to change targets. He is known now to have no honour, and I am going to force the recording through the courts. He had no right to demand your person, and they had less right to agree to it.”

  She huffed. “Yeah, that much I know. The fact that the Nyal court system is so corrupt makes me worry for other Terrans in this section of the universe.”

  “You should be worried. You are a very desirable woman, and if the others of your kind are found to be as rare and lovely as yourself, they will be hunted here.”

  She scowled and looked around as he settled in the pilot’s seat of his skimmer. With a single push of a button, they were off and on their way back to his home. She wondered, as she kissed his jawline, when she would think of it as her home.

  He held her close as they left the capital and cruised over meadows and fields before they passed over the foothills that led to the mountains.

  “Why do the Genarans live in the mountains?”

  “We don’t need the land to live, so we leave it to those who do.”

  She nodded but then had a thought. “Where does the food come from?”

  “We trade our skills for the basic necessities of life. Food, clothing, the miscellany of life.”

  “Do all
the Genarans live so far from the cities?”

  He shook his head. “When my parents pass on, the village will move to surround my home. The Genaran villagers stay near their leaders at all times. They draw strength from them, literally and figuratively.”

  Her skin was tingling, and she could feel changes taking shape inside her. “What do you mean literally?”

  “When we live in a community, the leader gives some of his nanites to his villagers. This increases their immune response as well as their creativity.”

  “So, the one with the greatest power is given the place at the head of the community?”

  “It does seem to come through along genetic lineage. The power that gives Charm the ability to save lives is also apparent in our father and myself, though far less public. Speaking of parents, mine will not be pleased that I rushed things.”

  She chuckled and pushed away the fleeting ache that the mention of family caused her. It was better to concentrate on the moment.

  Meena curled against him and relaxed, secure in the knowledge that something had started at that party.

  When they landed at the palace, Kebril stopped her from going inside. He inhaled and then exhaled, blowing a stream of air toward his home.

  “Watch.”

  She watched, and a light went on inside the crystal. Inch by inch, the palace lit up, a thousand colours and a million points of light came alive as she watched. She stepped forward as a piece of light came and floated ahead of her.

  Meena giggled and extended her hands, cupping the mote of light in her palms. She lifted it high, and it flitted away once again. “What is this?”

  Kebril wrapped his arms around her from behind—one arm across her collarbone and the other around her waist. “This is me and how you make me feel every time you laugh or smile at me, when we fight or just speak. This one day I will show you and anyone who cares to look exactly how you make me feel.”

  She smiled and watched the lights twirl and pulse in twisting strands that formed patterns as they snaked through the crystal walls. “It is wonderful. I wish I could show you something similar.”

  He pressed a kiss to her neck. “It isn’t necessary. Your agreement to join with me is all the proof of affection I need.” She smiled and placed her hands over his, stroking his arms slowly. “Is it?” A soft groan in her ear made her smile.

  “Perhaps not. What did you have in mind?”

  Meena turned in his arms and looked up at him, stroking his cheek, neck and caressing his chest. She moved her hands over him as slowly as she could manage when a set of instincts she didn’t know she had kicked in. Each hidden muscle group flexed as she ran her hands over him, enjoying the feel of the jerking and twitching beneath her hands.

  Her fingers tried to find their way under the fabric, but he was wearing one of his own creations, and it was bonded to his skin. “This is frustrating.”

  He smiled. “You want it off, make it go.” Kebril leaned down and pressed soft kisses against her neck before working his way back to her mouth.

  She concentrated on her hands, and while she was kissing him, an image of her hands covered with a pale glow came to her thoughts. She moved her hands over him, and the clothing disappeared wherever she touched him. She was surprised that flesh appeared under her touch, but she kept kissing and concentrating as she swept every piece of his form-fitting vest away.

  She moved closer to him and cleared the fabric from his back before she cupped his buttocks, smiling as skin suddenly pressed against her hands in the form of his firm, tight ass.

  Meena kept kissing him as she stripped him of every bit of fabric she could reach, and with his cock pressing against her, she simply had to kneel to remove the last of his trousers and his boots.

  Slipping to her knees put her eye to erection, and she tasted him with a quick flick of her tongue. In her mind’s eye, she saw the same glow on her hands, running over every inch of his silvery flesh. Whatever she had inside her, it had come from him.

  She sucked the head of his cock into her mouth after she finished destroying the last of his clothing. He groaned, and his hands caressed the sides of her head as she moved back and forth before abandoning him and standing up to press kisses across his chest, neck and, finally, his lips.

  “Well? Shall we retire to a more comfortable venue?” She nibbled at his jawline and laughed when he gripped her tightly and walked into the glowing palace.

  Instead of his quarters, he headed for two huge double doors. “Put your hand on the door.” He pressed his palm next to hers and the doors swung open.

  Meena stared as Kebril carried her to the huge, canopied bed. “What is this place?”

  “This is the place I created to live in with my mate. Until now, only the maintenance bots have ever been in here since the moment it was created.”

  Wardrobes were standing empty, waiting for new clothing. A pair of desks faced each other, and it was only the beginning of the anticipation of a couple occupying the space.

  Meena pushed the extravagance out of her mind and concentrated on the man who was slowly lowering her to the bedding.

  She smiled and welcomed him with her arms extended. He slid the black swath of her skirt aside and pressed into her.

  She winced at the discomfort of his initial entry, but she smiled as she angled her hips and he slipped into her. The lock-and-key metaphor was pushed aside in her mind as she rose to meet his thrusts, her fingers tangling in the long strands of his hair.

  Meena groaned and wrapped her legs around him as he pressed into her, sliding and pumping against her, driving her to the edge of orgasm.

  He stroked his fingers across her clit with a hard, fast stroke, and she shrieked as her body clenched around him, gripping him tight and milking the length still moving inside her.

  He groaned and shoved into her, his eyes wide and his back arched as his hips locked against her and his cock bucked inside.

  Kebril slumped against her, and he kissed her softly. “I have been thinking about doing that all day.”

  “Funny, I was thinking about the same thing.” He rolled to his back, taking her with him, still connected. He sat up, and she pressed her feet, sole to sole, behind his back.

  He leaned her back and pressed his lips to her collarbone, slowly working his way across her breast. The lace disappeared, and his lips burned as he nipped, caressed and licked her free of her clothing.

  Her body was on fire, her skin was hypersensitive, and she yelped as he took one nipple between his teeth to tug it gently.

  His hands cleared her back, but his mouth destroyed every minute fleck of black lace facing him.

  She looked at his face, and with a jolt, she saw his mask still in place. Hers was as well. Just the idea of it caused a moan to issue from her lips.

  His cock thickened inside her, filling her as he bent her back and stroked his hands endlessly down her back and sides. He caressed her belly before he cupped her buttocks, lifting and dropping her on his cock while he sucked and bit at her breasts.

  She held onto his shoulders and arched against him while he slowly took her back to the edge of release and gently tipped her over.

  Stars shattered behind her eyes, and she shuddered endlessly in his arms as her body glowed with the energy of her climax. She opened her eyes, and he smiled, tipping her back to the bed and driving into her until she felt the jets of heat inside.

  He groaned and left her, curling on his side against her and sweeping the blanket over them with a wave of his hand. “You are going to kill me yet.”

  She chuckled and squirmed against him. “That is not my intent.”

  Dawn flirted with them through the crystal walls. They were positioned to watch the sunrise through the mountains.

  She exhaled on a deep breath. “Beautiful.” He nuzzled her hair sleepily. “Yes, it is.”

  “I meant the new day.”

  “Any day next to you is a beautiful day.” She blinked back the tears at his sincerity.
“Any day next to you is a test to my self-control.”

  “I will take it.” He pressed another kiss to her neck, and he fell asleep.

  Meena was exhausted as well from the few minutes using the new nanites in her system. He had created not only her clothing but his own as well as the beautiful light in the palace. He deserved a rest.

  She snuggled down under the covers and grinned. She needed her rest too if she was going to keep up with him. Meena had always enjoyed a challenge, and she was now mated to the biggest one she had ever found.

  Chapter Ten

  “Come on, wife. Wake up.” A hand stroked down her spine, and she batted him away.

  “I don’t wanna.” She pulled the covers over her head only to find that the covers were gone.

  “Hey!”

  She turned and frowned at him. “What gives?”

  “We have to complete the filing of our mating contract, and you are late for fencing practice.” Kebril was fully dressed in his fencing clothing and waiting for her.

  She groaned and flipped over, looking around through tangled hair in confusion. The wardrobe on the right was open, and it contained all the clothing that she had had at the base and a few more pieces that looked like the ones on the dressmaker’s dummies.

  Meena got to her feet and asked, “Lavatory?” He pointed, and she stomped into the bathroom with a stiff stride. After her morning necessities, she scowled at herself in the mirror and tried fixing her hair. To her surprise, it started to move in the manner she wanted, and when she left the lav, she had a clean, shiny face and tidy hair that still contained pearls and braids.

  She felt a little more awake as she tried to pick out an outfit for the day. Her favourite came to hand as did a silky set of underwear.

  Once she was dressed, she turned to him and smiled. “Ready.”

  He was sitting at his desk and doing some work on a data pad. “You really are not a morning person, are you?”

  She shook her head. “I was engaged in a stressful situation yesterday, and my unfortunate reaction to stress is to take a nap.” Kebril got to his feet and walked toward her.