Brianna

by Judy Mays

  “He’s got a dragon,” she stammered. “Char. He’s got a dragon. Why…” Before any of the men could answer, understanding dawned. “His father was an Alalakan.”

  Char nodded. “Ban’s father was my uncle, my father’s older brother.”

  “And you didn’t tell me!”

  All three men exchanged sheepish glances.

  Brianna glared from Char to Ban and back to Char again. Turning her icy gaze to Findal’s grinning face, she snapped, “Well?”

  The king held up his hands. “Don’t blame me. I told them not to keep their relationship secret.”

  She turned her angry stare back on her husband and his cousin.

  Char looked down and shuffled his feet. Ban smiled sheepishly. Neither spoke.

  Findal grinned. “If you’re going to sew up that cut, Brianna, you’d better get to it. You can flay them both to ribbons with your tongue later. Ban will need all of his remaining blood to survive that encounter, I think.”

  Compressing her lips in a tight line, Brianna nodded.

  The first stab of the needle into his flesh caused Ban to yelp. After that first jab, he gritted his teeth and swallowed his groans.

  Char folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall while Brianna ministered to his cousin, his thoughts roiling around his head. Bakom had almost gotten Brianna. If it hadn’t been for Ban… Why did he ever allow her on that beach? What was wrong with him! Medirians have gills. Water abduction was the most logical. He couldn’t lose Brianna, not now.

  Char shifted his gaze to his cousin. What was he going to do with Bandalardrac? Why couldn’t someone else have saved her? Damn it, Findal was supposed to have assassins protecting her! But Ban! Char frowned. He owed Ban for Brianna’s life. Maybe he could use him. Yes, that was a good idea… But Ban wanted Brianna. She’d shrugged off his overtures at least half a dozen times already. What if he wore her down? What if she decided she wanted him? No woman had ever been able to resist Ban.

  Char was drawn from his chaotic thoughts by a small gasp from Ban. Brianna’s last jab had been less than delicate.

  After she finished with his shoulder, Ban relaxed visibly. “If that is gentle, dear Coz, I wouldn’t want to bear your ministrations when you’re not so careful,” he joked lightly.

  Brianna’s eyes flashed. “Do not speak to me now! I can’t believe that neither of you trusted me enough to tell me you were cousins!” Jaw clenched and head held high, she swept out of the stateroom.

  Both Nessian women grinned broadly at Brianna’s outburst. “She is truly the Flame of Mediria,” the elder said to the younger.

  Char grunted as he grabbed a sponge and wiped the blood from Ban’s shoulder. Brianna may not have been gentle, but the stitches were evenly spaced, tight enough to hold the skin together, but still loose enough not to pinch the flesh.

  “She’s even more magnificent when she’s angry,” Ban murmured in a thoughtful voice as Char bandaged the wound. “Does that temper manifest itself very often?”

  Char didn’t try to keep the curtness from his voice. “Often enough.”

  Ban’s devilish smile appeared. Brianna in a temper must be as prickly as a wet Gattan.

  Findal turned to the Nessians. “Both abductors are alive?”

  “We were able to save them,” was the elder woman’s enigmatic reply.

  “Good, I’ll take them back to the palace with me. Both the Patriarch and Matriarch are still there. Those two could make the water itself talk.”

  The Nessians bowed and left the cabin. In a moment, two splashes were heard.

  Findal followed them. Char and Ban could hear him issuing orders for the launch to return to the palace.

  Char locked eyes with his cousin and quietly said, “I owe you a debt I can never repay. Anything that is in my power to give you is yours.”

  Ban’s voice was mocking. “Don’t you mean the clan’s power?”

  Char crossed his arms over his chest and stared into Ban’s eyes. “No.”

  “Even that ring on your finger?”

  Without a second thought, Char slipped the Alalakan signet ring from his finger and held it out to Ban.

  Ban started—and stared. “Do you realize what it would mean if I took it?”

  Brianna’s worth it. “Alalakan don al’ Bandalardrac, my father and my brother will support your claim before the clan elders.”

  Ban stared at Char. “You’re serious,” he said with wonder in his voice. “You would actually do it.”

  Char said nothing. He just continued to hold the ring out.

  The emotions that played across the younger man’s face were easy to read. Ban was finally being presented with the acknowledgment he felt he deserved and had never received.

  Slowly he lifted the ring from Char’s palm.

  Brianna stomped in and fisted her hands on her hips. “Now what are you two doing? I simply won’t tolerate the snide remarks you throw at each other any longer.”

  With a smile Ban tossed the ring back to Char. “Just admiring the Alalakan signet, Coz.”

  Brianna’s eyes narrowed. “And if I believe that, you have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell me.”

  Ban looked to Char for an explanation, but his cousin just shrugged. “One of the strange things she says every now and then. You get used to it after a while. Now, Cousin, I find it necessary to cozen my wife out of a bad mood.”

  Then, to Ban’s great amusement and enjoyment, Char swept Brianna into his arms and kissed her—thoroughly.

  At first outraged, Brianna struggled against his tender onslaught. However, Char’s hungry lips and probing tongue eventually overcame her resistance. The tension caused by her abduction slowly dissolved and she lost herself in his embrace.

  Char’s hands roamed freely up and down her back, then finally cupped her buttocks and pulled her tight against his hardness. He’d just slipped the robe from her shoulders when Ban’s voice broke his concentration.

  “Would you like me to leave, Cousin?”

  “Now!” Char growled.

  Ban grinned. “I was talking to my other cousin.”

  “Oh, yes,” was her breathless reply.

  Laughing, Ban ducked into the companionway, pulling the door closed behind him.

  Findal met him at the top of the companionway. “Char and Brianna?”

  “Are occupied.”

  Findal smiled slightly, but then his frown returned. “You almost killed the kidnappers. We can’t get information from corpses.”

  Ban shrugged. “I wanted to make sure neither one ever touched her again.”

  Pursing his lips, Findal stared at his favorite nephew. “Admire her all you want, Ban. But she’s Char’s. You’d do well to remember that.”

  Ban leaned against the railing and stared at the churning waves. “Believe me, Uncle. That is the one thing I will never forget.”

  With a grunt, Findal turned away. “I’m going to see if those two will talk. Care to join me?”

  “No, I’ll just stay here.”

  Ban stood at the bow of the launch and let the breeze blow through his swirling thoughts. Char had offered him leadership of the clan. For the life of a woman. Did he realize just how important Brianna had become to him?

  Brianna’s bathing suit followed the robe onto the floor.

  His mouth never leaving hers, Char lifted her into his arms and laid her on the room’s only bunk. He stopped plundering her mouth only long enough to strip off his own clothing. Lowering himself onto her, he entered her with one hard thrust. Once his cock was gripped tightly by her moist softness, he growled, “I thought I’d lost you.”

  Shuddering, Brianna kissed his chest, his neck, his shoulders and finally his mouth. “I knew you would come. Love me, Char. Love me hard.”

  “As hard as I can.” He swiveled his hips then thrust as deeply as he could.

  Brianna wrapped her legs around his waist so he could slide deeper.

  Both moaned as their rhythms surged an
d melded as both gave and took comfort from each other. Their shared orgasm was quick and hard.

  “This will never happen again,” Char vowed when his breathing had slowed. “We’re lucky Ban was on the beach.”

  Brianna propped herself up on her husband’s chest. “That’s why he had your ring, isn’t it? You offered him all that the Alalakans represent, didn’t you? Can you do that?”

  An exasperated expression appeared on Char’s face. “You are too smart by half. There have been precedents.”

  Brianna smiled a superior smile. “And what would have you done if he had accepted?”

  “I fully expected him to,” Char answered seriously. “I was surprised when he returned the ring.”

  Brianna settled against his side. “You’d have given him everything? For me?”

  “Yes,” he answered tersely, uncomfortable with his own actions. His eyes slipped away from hers.

  Brianna didn’t badger him, but she wasn’t done talking. “I could have told you he wouldn’t accept the ring.”

  His eyes shifted back to her face as his fingers drew gentle whorls on her back. “Oh?” he answered in an amused tone. “More women’s intuition?”

  Her fingers traced his dragon. “No. I’m just a good judge of character. Does Ban impress you as being ready to accept the responsibility that goes with being Alalakan heir apparent?”

  Char sighed and shook his head. “But,” he added, “that thought never entered my mind when I offered him the ring.”

  Her fingers traced the scar on his chest. “And he knows that, Char. I think that for the first time in a long time, Ban is ready to stop running from himself.”

  “That’s what he’s been doing with half the women on the five known planets?”

  “Oh, you!” Hair streaming down about her body, she pushed herself up.

  Ban chose that moment to open the door and walk in—without knocking. “We’ll be docking in a few minutes,” he said with a devilish grin on his face.

  Brianna whirled to face the door and froze when she saw Ban standing there.

  Ban took a long minute to admire Brianna’s nude body—the full breasts with their darkening nipples, the fair skin that blushed a delicious pink, and the long legs with the fiery curls at the apex of her thighs, all surrounded by her streaming auburn locks.

  Brianna jerked her gaze from Ban. She grabbed a piece of pottery sitting on the table next to the bunk.

  Ban was quick enough to get out of the way of the jar that came flying through the air at him.

  Char’s laughter followed him back up the companionway.

  Once they were back in the palace, Char hustled Brianna to their suite and deposited her in a steaming tub. Over her weak protests, he reinstated Beti as her personal guard. Then, after changing into fresh clothing, he went in search of Findal.

  The Medirian monarch had quickly secreted Brianna’s abductors in a small windowless room on one of the castle’s underground floors. Char arrived shortly after the Patriarch finished questioning the men.

  “Well?”

  Both the Patriarch and Matriarch raised their eyebrows at Char’s tone, but Findal waved it off. He’d have been just as angry if his wife or one of his children had been abducted. “Does the name Zator don al’ Odam mean anything to you?”

  A satisfied smile appeared on Char’s face. “Bakom’s senior assistant.”

  Kahn and another Aradab appeared and led the two fugitives away. The Matriarch followed immediately after.

  “Bakom’s name was never mentioned, Dragon of the Alalakans,” the Patriarch said as he held up a restraining hand. “You have no proof he was involved. Any accusations leveled against him will be disproved.”

  Findal nodded. “He’s right. Bakom will only deny knowledge of Odam’s actions.”

  Char’s expression did not change. “This is only one of many incidents. Bakom is beginning to make mistakes, and it’s only a matter of time until he makes one mistake too many.”

  The Patriarch clasped Char’s forearm. “Don’t make Bakom’s mistake and become overconfident.”

  “There won’t be any mistakes when the time comes, Wise One. My family has been preparing Bakom’s downfall for years.”

  “Not mistakes,” the old man gently stated, “but miscalculations, perhaps. Brianna’s abduction could not have been part of your plan.”

  Rubbing the back of his neck, Char acknowledged the Patriarch’s gentle reprimand. “I was at fault. I knew that Bakom wanted her and had made arrangements for some type of abduction, but I made the mistake of thinking he’d use only Academy or Drakian allies. The possibility of Medirians using an underwater abduction never entered my mind.”

  Findal nodded. “We have our malcontents and criminals as do all of the planets. A submarine waited two miles offshore. Brianna would have been taken to it, and smuggled onto one of our smaller trading vessels and transported to Drakan. Her abductors knew nothing beyond that. We broadcast a scrambled transmission of the kidnappers’ interrogation to Drakan’s central police. They assured us that Zator don al’ Odam will be taken into custody immediately.”

  “Does my father know?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good, he’ll coordinate things there,” Char said in a satisfied tone of voice. Then he continued, his voice becoming flatter and harder, “What will happen to the two men who tried to kidnap my wife?”

  The Patriarch regarded Char through narrowed eyes. “Put them from your mind, Alalakan. Their punishment is in our hands. Be content to know they will reside with the Aradab for the rest of their lives.”

  “We’re finished here,” Findal interrupted. “How’s Brianna? She hasn’t suffered any ill effects?”

  “I left her soaking in a tub demanding that Beti ‘get the hell out of my face’ I think were the exact words,” Char stated with a wry smile.

  Findal shook his head as he led the two men out of the chamber and up the hallway. “More Earth idioms,” he sighed. “My daughters repeat things Brianna says to our linguists, and they become more and more puzzled. Do you know that there are times when the word bad means good?”

  Char shrugged. “One begins to get used to them.”

  Once they reached the castle’s main floor, the Patriarch excused himself. He’d been scheduled to return to his underwater city that afternoon, but his departure had been delayed by Brianna’s abduction. At this moment, one of the royal launches awaited him at the dock. It would transport him about thirty miles offshore where he would take to the water and swim the rest of the way.

  Findal and Char made their way towards the king’s office. “When will you leave for Drakan?”

  “Father informed me that Bakom made an official protest to the Ruling Council and demanded the return of his ‘specimen’. Now is the perfect time for you to inform your subjects that the dols and orcs have been found. We can’t keep Brianna’s adoption into your family secret, but everyone will be far more interested in the dols and orcs. With a bit of luck, her adoption won’t become common knowledge on Drakan.”

  Findal nodded. “We did not broadcast the adoption for that reason. Only those who follow the royal family closely will know about it. And even they will lose interest when we announce that we’ve found the dols and orcs.”

  “With a bit of luck, Bakom won’t find out Brianna is now a member of your family,” Char said. “The protest he’s made to our Ruling Council will prove more than embarrassing. Identifying a member of the Hardan royal family as a ‘specimen’ will be as politically unpopular on Drakan as it will here.”

  Findal opened the door to his office and waved Char in. He dismissed the servants telling them to admit no one except his wife and to fetch his nephew, Bandalardrac.

  If Char was surprised at Findal’s orders, he masked it very well. Once the servants were gone, he continued, “I know my father and Rodane filled you in on our plans, so I won’t go over them again.”

  Sitting down behind his desk and motioning Char to
a comfortable chair, Findal nodded. “I’m sorry Carilin and I can’t attend Sheala’s Solstice celebration, but it’s best that we remain here. Meri will be our official representative, and both Jami and Vani have manipulated invitations from Brianna.”

  Char smiled. Brianna had already told him she’d invited her “sisters” to visit. Both girls knew his sister Sheala well since she and Jami were the same age. And Brianna would feel more comfortable having some people she knew around her.

  “Brianna certainly puts people around her at ease. You’d think my girls had known her all their lives instead of only a few days. Even Carilin’s mother is enchanted,” Findal said rearranging the papers on his desk.

  Char leveled a stare at Findal. “What about the assassins?”

  Findal’s eyebrows rose. “What about them?”

  “I thought every member of the royal family had an assassin as a guard. Brianna should never have been taken.”

  A brooding look appeared on Findal’s face. “Alalakan don al’ Chardadon, even the close family ties you share with us will gain you no knowledge of the Brotherhood. Believe me when I say you were not the only one to miscalculate. It will not happen again.”

  Char stared at his father’s old friend. Finally he nodded, curtly. The Brotherhood was a subject off-limits.

  Char changed the subject. Doing some quick calculating he asked, “Did you have a specific departure date in mind for Jami and Vani?”

  Findal looked up. “No. What do you have in mind?”

  Char smiled. “Dear friend of my father, I would like to borrow the royal shuttle.”

  Findal’s swift mind had no trouble understanding Char’s scheme. Slowly at first, but then with pure joy, the king began to laugh. When he finally regained control, he looked into Char’s grinning face and said, “Alalakan don al’ Chardadon, remind me never to try and outfox you in any business dealings. The Alalakan fortunes are sure to increase under you wardship.”

  * * * * *

  Rodak don al’ Bakom was awakened by the incessant buzzing of his telecommunicator. Snarling, he slapped the receiving button. “What is it!”