He grinned and stripped away his tight uniform trousers. “I go where I am needed, we all do.”
“All?”
“I have six brothers. The eldest seems able to take my father’s place as High Commander of the Asku, but the rest of us will make do with serving our people’s interests when we can.”
His cock was erect and proportional to his body. Avvel looked at the arch and the head with its pearl of fluid and smiled. Male anatomy was not nearly as mysterious as hers was.
Druin casually asked her, “Do you know what your race is called?”
He approached her slowly and knelt between her knees, spreading them wide before he settled against her, the blunt head of his cock pressing into her as he let his weight take him inside. Oddly enough, lubrication was not a problem.
“No. I don’t know what my race is called. Why are you asking now?” She bit her lip and arched into him, inviting him to slip into her a little deeper.
“I will explain it later.” He supported his weight on his forearms, and his hips continued to press toward her, thrusting his cock to the base with a slow motion.
She looked up at him and watched the stars in his eyes glow brighter. He started to thrust, and her body welcomed his, meeting him in echoing movements that resulted in disconcerting sounds.
Avvel reached out and clutched his shoulders, sighing and whimpering as he moved harder and faster, sliding in and pulling back in a heavy beat. The stars in his eyes glowed brighter and brighter until sparks flew behind Avvel’s own eyes and a third wave of pleasure broke inside her.
He groaned and shoved into her, holding tight to her hips as his cock jerked and spilled in steady jets.
Avvel sighed and welcomed his weight as he relaxed on top of her.
The smell of sex was in the air, and she felt his cock moving within her, swelling to fill her again.
Druin lifted his head and kissed her, moving slowly inside her in a relaxed and comforting beat, bringing her body to life once again.
She leaned up and whispered in his ear. “Phase three?”
He chuckled. “Who cares?”
Avvel sighed and wrapped her arms and legs around him as he slowly continued to ride her until they both shivered in orgasm. She could finally understand Wester’s fascination with sex. The funny thing was that she could not imagine sex with any man other than Druin, but now that he was inside her mind, she wanted to experience everything she had ever read about and several things that she had imagined. She hoped he was up for a challenge and that he enjoyed minimal sleep, she had a wish list to complete.
* * * *
Druin woke when Avvel sat up and left the bed. “Where are you going, Avvel?”
Avvel slowly turned to him and bright silvery moonlight was coming out of her normally brilliant blue eyes.
Nude, she crossed the room and lifted the gauzy veil from the table, wrapping it around her as she walked to the balcony.
Druin quickly stepped into his trousers as she left the bedroom. She found a discreet set of stairs, and he followed as quickly as he could. Something was controlling her, and he was not going to let his curiosity wreck the possibility of discovering what a clone was doing on Whichan.
Her lack of a hymen had given him pause, but when he combined it with the fact that she had no navel, the clone option was the only one left on the table.
He had no idea what she was cloned from, but with her skills, it explained her lack of knowledge when she was found. She didn’t know anything, because she hadn’t done anything.
Avvel walked confidently across the grounds and into the foothills. He followed, wishing idly that he had worn boots. His mate didn’t seem to mind the stones, so he decided he had better toughen up.
They walked for close to an hour in the moonlight until finally she paused and turned sharply left. A pile of rubble was her target, and she bent to move a few stones out of the way before she disappeared.
Druin followed quickly, moving some of the stones aside to expose more of the doorway hidden in the tumble of rock.
The spacecraft was now visible, but he had two questions—who was Avvel, and why was she drawn to this craft?
Chapter Eight
Druin looked around the interior of the vessel as he searched for his mate. A flash of white up ahead told him she was nearby. A strange voice started speaking, and he moved quickly to come to the aid of his naked wife.
Avvel was facing a hologram with a blank expression on her face.
A woman in a long gown accented with a silvery breastplate smiled down at Avvel. “Hello, warrior. We have been waiting for a response to our hails for fifteen years. Please place your palm on the beacon, and we will come to collect you.”
Avvel raised her hand, and Druin moved forward, grabbing her arm. He was unprepared for the battle that followed.
Avvel twisted, kicked, struck at nerve points and was about to strike him in the throat with one stiffened hand when the hologram spoke. “Warrior, cease.”
Druin looked at what he thought was a recording, and he blinked as the woman stared at him. She had the same brilliant blue eyes as Avvel and that gaze was fixed on him. “Who are you?”
“Avvel’s husband. She is not going with you.” He was worried that he had hurt her while defending himself. He had tried to be careful, but she was under no such restriction.
“Her husband? Our kind does not mate, Asku.”
“She did. Ask her.”
The hologram sighed. “I cannot ask her unless I release her, and I need her to signal us so we can retrieve the wreck.”
“What is the wreck?”
“A teaching vessel. There were three tanks and one pilot on board. Based on our scans for Niikin life, she was the only survivor. We have waited for her to get close enough for the signal to reach her, but now, she is here, and if she triggers the beacon, we can get a firm fix.”
“Niikins are legend.” Druin was confused. There was no way that Avvel could be one of the legendary battle gods of the systems.
“A naked woman half your size just kicked your ass. I beg to differ on our reality.” The woman was amused.
Since this woman had the answers, he had to ask. “What is Avvel, why doesn’t she remember her life before she was ten?”
“She is a clone of the first. There were three of them. Avvel means one in our ancient tongue, so she probably chose it as her name. She didn’t have a life before she was ten. We grow our young in tanks until they are fifteen. If she was ten, she had finished battle training and would have soon gone on to language.”
The woman sighed. “This is useless. We need that ship. We can’t have Niikin tech lying around on primitive worlds.”
“Fine. She can send the signal, but she needs to know what she is.”
“You can tell her. We will give you the information you need.” The woman smiled as a thought occurred to her. “You mean to tell me than an Asku took a woman without a hymen to his bed? You must have seen something in her that you would risk your life for.”
Druin looked over at Avvel, her hair wild from his fingers and the veil slipping to expose one breast. “She is mine. I do not know why, how or when this happened, but the moment I saw her, I knew she was my true mate, my soul’s mate.”
“Let her press the beacon.”
Druin nodded.
“Warrior. Press the beacon and resume your mind.”
Two things happened. Avvel pressed the beacon, and Druin was struck with a bolt of light that emanated from the hologram and burned into his mind. He opened his mouth to scream, but it was done. He had knowledge of the Niikin and their history.
“Why did you give that to me?”
“If you know more about her than she does, it might bind you even closer. Our warriors do not usually find mates, but if you have a child, we may come to harvest some cells for the next generation. Good day, Asku. You have three hours to leave that vessel.”
Avvel was holding the veil around her. “Dr
uin? Why am I here, and why do my feet hurt?”
He rubbed his forehead and lifted her in his arms. “It is a long story.”
* * * *
Avvel felt strange. Her body ached in the most delightful of ways, but her feet were throbbing.
“We are in the vessel you arrived in. It is a Niikin ship.”
She laughed. That was hilarious. “Right. Niikin. I am a war god.”
His tone was low and very amused. “I would say goddess, but yes. We have three hours before the Niikins either destroy or remove this vessel. Do you want me to explore?”
“Turn to the left. I remember something important in the left.”
He followed her order, and she closed her eyes as flickers of memory came to her. Shattered glass, liquid everywhere. Some of the liquid was clear and some was red.
She blinked and looked at the skeletons covered in shattered glass. One young body was pierced by a shard, the other was lying on the floor. An adult form was slumped near an empty tube. “She let me out. The oxygen was off, and she let me out.”
The base of the tube had a number glyph on it. “Avvel.” Avvel looked at the next one, “Biku, Cadda. We were numbered.”
He held her tight. “Do you want to stay here?”
She shook her head. “No. We need to get back to the estate. The Niikins will do what they are going to do, and right now, I am too tired to care.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead and left the ship.
Druin walked back to the estate with her, and she had to ask, “Did I really hike out here naked?”
“You did. I followed but did not want to stop whatever was so important that you would leave your new husband and your nuptial bed.” He was smiling.
“Well, it was important. I landed in a ship. That is why I don’t remember what happened. I was traumatized.”
He sighed and held her tight. “That and you are a Niikin. One of the war gods of legend.”
“That is impossible.” Avvel was getting irritated. His insistence was annoying.
“It is more than possible. It is the only explanation.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “This is a discussion for another day. Tonight, a hot bath and a good night’s sleep will keep you with me. The Niikins will take care of their own vessels.”
“Fine. Tomorrow, we can go back and take another look at the crash.”
“If you insist, but I don’t think there will be anything left to look at.”
It was an absolute statement. She could see that he believed it in his heart. It was sweet that he thought she was a god of legend, but the reality was that she had simply crashed as a child…wasn’t it?
Chapter Nine
A thunderous explosion shook the house three hours later. Avvel was lying next to Druin with his arms around her, and she saw the burst of light from the heavens that burned a hole in the foothills.
She sat up, and Druin came with her. “What the hell was that?”
He yawned and pulled her back down. “The Niikins destroyed the vessel and anything it touched.”
“How do you know that?” Avvel turned in his arms and stared into his dark eyes.
“They gave me information to answer your questions. I don’t know how long I will be able to retain it, but I can answer most things you need to know about what you are.”
He was so calm about it that she had to ask, “How can you be so relaxed? I am not supposed to exist according to mythology.”
Druin grinned and placed a kiss on her neck. “You are here for me. I know it and you know it. Whatever whim of fate helped you escape fifteen years ago kept you safe for me.”
She scowled. “You are so sure of yourself?”
“My family has good luck when it comes to finding mates. We always find what we need, even if it isn’t what we expected.”
He stroked her hair, and she relaxed again.
Avvel wrapped an arm around him, and she snuggled against his chest, seeking a restful sleep. Not having to get up to attend to Wester was going to take some getting used to, but she was sure she was up to the task.
A knock on the door woke her. Druin lifted the sheets and covered her. “Remain here.”
She pulled the sheets to her chest and sat up. “What is going on?”
“Irrad is here to put my tattoo on.”
She blinked and ran a hand through her hair. “So early?”
He chuckled as he got a wrap from his luggage and put it around his hips. “It is nearly noon.”
“Oh.” Her stomach rumbled and confirmed his statement.
He opened the door, and Irrad came in with his kit. “Commander, there was some activity in the area last night. A meteor strike left a huge crater in the foothills.”
“I am aware of it. Were there any ships reported in the area?”
Avvel listened closely.
“Nothing was detected, Commander. Should there have been?”
Druin shrugged and took a seat at the table. “Apparently not. Here are the designs.”
Irrad nodded. “High Asku and what else?”
“Niikin. In honour of our wedding in the temple of war.”
Irrad nodded. “Very good.”
As Avvel watched, Irrad cleansed Druin’s skin and then set to work. Her name in High Asku was taking shape as Irrad plied his trade.
Avvel wrapped herself in the sheet and went into the bathroom. After she brushed her hair and teeth, she returned to the bedroom and watched the progress while she picked over the fruit to find her favourites.
“If you are hungry, ring for Simsar.” Druin moved only his head to look at her.
Avvel shrugged and followed the suggestion. She pressed the call button, and when Simsar’s voice answered, Avvel placed her request for brunch for two.
It took half an hour for food and forty-five minutes for Irrad to finish the Niikin icon. Avvel ate quietly while Irrad packed up his kit and nodded politely to her as he left.
“So, what is the purpose of that tattoo again?” She tried to flirt and waited to see what happened next.
“It marks me as yours. A simple touch of your hand on it will bring me to instant arousal.”
She chuckled. “It is too bad that there isn’t a similar switch for me.”
He grinned, “Arousing you is my pleasure.”
Druin took the covered platter from her and ate his own brunch. “So, do you have any questions for me about the Niikin?”
She looked around and made sure that the com was off. “Yes. Why was I in a tank?”
He closed his eyes, and she could almost see him pulling out a file in his brain. “Niikins are all female and reproduce by cloning their best and brightest warriors. They grow their next generation in tanks until they are fifteen, giving them rudimentary education via the computer link. You had gotten battle training and nothing else. Your language skills were only starting when the crash occurred.”
She blinked. “That explains a lot. Almost everything. How did you know that I wasn’t what I thought I was.”
He frowned, “I noticed two very distinct things about you. The first was that you don’t have a navel. The second is that you had no hymen. Since the last is a feature given by nature to most females on inhabited worlds, that meant that you had design in your development, just as the Asku did.”
“So, all women are supposed to have navels? I thought it was just a man thing, like a penis.” She bit her lip.
“No. It is the trace to the umbilical cord of our mothers. No navel, no mother. I believe that you do have a small scar on you somewhere but not on your abdomen.” He winked. “It will be my pleasure to look for it.”
“Why are the Niikin thought to be dead?”
“They prefer it. Many races have a prejudice against cloned beings. Their skills are still needed throughout the known universe, and so, they continue to follow their original motivation.”
He cocked his head in surprise as if the information entering his mind was shocking him.
“What?”
“They were a designed race to help with peacekeeping and evolution on worlds that needed their help. They designed Whichan society without a second thought.”
She smiled. “That surprised you.”
Druin nodded. “It did. We have a few more days here, but I want to look into any information or research on Niikin society. Do you mind?”
She snickered. “This is my first time off in my lifetime. You take your time, and I will be in the gardens.”
She got to her feet, and she suddenly had his complete attention. Avvel walked to her luggage and opened the first bag with a tag that had her name.
A lighter version of her uniform was in the bag. She opened the second bag and found a gown that rippled downward in even waves.
“Get dressed later.”
Druin was behind her, and she turned to place her hands on his chest, carefully avoiding the new marks. “When will they be safe to touch?”
“Now is fine. The ink will more firmly link to my nervous system by the evening.”
She started to move her hand over the marks, and a low groan came from his throat. Avvel smiled. “This is going to be fun.”
He groaned again at her words. “In all the worlds I have visited, why did I have to get the one woman that I can’t defeat in combat?”
She laughed. “I suppose it is simply your good luck. I am the deadliest woman on Whichan, after all. If not the commander of the Asku, who else would have the confidence to take me on?”
“You call it confidence? I was given no choice from the moment that you did the chant. Do you think you will be available to help train the men on my ship?” Druin pressed soft kisses down her neck, nipping occasionally to send a curl of arousal through her.
“If I can train Whichans, the Asku will be a walk in the park.” She leaned her head back to allow him better access, but he lifted her, sat in the chair and spread her legs over his thighs so that she was straddling him, facing him.
He shifted their wraps and joined their bodies, lifting and dropping her in a slow motion that rocked her hips against him on the down stroke.
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