“You would heal me?”
“Yes. Why wouldn’t I?” He seemed so shocked she wondered if she had said something offensive. Eying them cautiously, she opened the drawer and searched for the salve while the two males held a conversation over her head. When she found the small jar and held it out, both males ignored it.
“I am Sub Commander T’chok V’randrr K’rlonlys. I am honored to guard you and your child.” The older warrior executed a formal bow. “This is Junior Officer T’renan V’randrr M’loktu.”
“Honor.” The younger one bowed as well.
“Oh. Well, that’s nice. I am honored to have you guard me.” Still stunned by the rapid sequence of events, Emily wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do. She looked between the two males, but they simply stood there, faces impassive. “Would you like some tea?”
T’chok raised an eyebrow and looked at the stove. Biting her lip, she fought down another set of giggles. “We’ll use the microwave this time. It will be much safer.”
Thirty minutes later, Emily was sitting at the kitchen table with her safely microwaved tea. Both warriors also had cups of tea, although she suspected neither of them had actually taken a drink. They had refused her offers of sugar with expressions of abject horror. T’renan had mopped the kitchen floor within an inch of its life while T’chok kept watch. T’chok also stood patiently while Emily spread burn salve on his arm, although she suspected he was only humoring her. She was trying, without much success, to get to know them better, when they all heard the front door open. Swords appeared as they both moved in front of her. Her heart rate sped up, but before she had time to feel truly afraid, the commander appeared in the passage.
The swords disappeared but he paid no attention to his men, all of his attention focused on Emily. Torn between an impulse to run away and an odd desire to run towards him, she froze. Expressionlessly, he knelt in front of her chair. He was so much taller that even kneeling, he was looking down on her. He reached for her hands and she let him take them. Hers shook a little and he squeezed them gently, his firm grip warm and reassuring.
“M’lee R’gers, I, Commander T’lan V’randrr K’rlonlys, claim you as my L’chka.” T’chok was too well trained to react but out of the corner of her eye, she saw T’renan take a half step forward before he remembered his position.
She blinked. The oddly formal words reminded her of Sam’s note. She had an uneasy suspicion that the word carried a significance that she didn’t understand. “What? Why would you do that?”
He paused for a fraction of a second before his eyes dropped to her stomach. “You carry a member of my House.”
“So it’s because I’m pregnant.” Her stomach sank. Why did that disappoint her? “And what does that mean anyway? L’chka?”
“It means you are mine.” He released her and rose to his feet. When she didn’t move, he held out a hand. For a brief second, she had completely forgotten that he was an alien but now all she saw was that hand. A three-fingered hand with long, black claws. Claws she hadn’t even noticed when he had been holding her.
“Come,” he said impatiently. “We will mate now and seal the claim.”
“We most certainly will not!” Terror sent Emily jerking back so quickly that her chair started to tip. She had the briefest sensation of falling before T’lan caught the chair and returned her gently to an upright position.
“It is expected,” he said calmly as he leaned over her. Caged between the chair and his massive body, her only desire was to escape.
“It is not expected by me.” She heard her voice shaking. A horrible thought crossed her mind. Is that what had happened with Sam? The male pronounced a claim, and the female was expected to submit? If he insisted, she had no hope of fighting him off. “Are—are you going to force me?”
A pair of growls sounded from behind T’lan even as he stepped back. The shock and anger on his face reassured her and her panic began to subside. “Of course not. No honorable Yehrin would ever force a female. Why would you think that?”
Knowing she was blushing again, she dropped her head. “It’s just that Sam called me L’chka, too. But I don’t remember anything about that night. I don’t know if I agreed…”
Now three growls echoed around the kitchen. She chanced a look up. T’lan towered over her, every muscle clenched, and eyes blazing. He had looked like that just before he left.
“Why are you so angry? I just don’t understand,” she pleaded.
“It’s bad enough to know that he touched you. To think that he might have forced you...” His accent had thickened to the point where she barely understood him. “If he were not already dead, I would kill him for this. Slowly.”
A small part of her was appalled, but the rest felt a warm glow at his anger on her behalf. Still cautious in the face of the menace he projected, she rose slowly to her feet. Taking a careful step forward, she placed her hand on one giant forearm. Beneath her fingers, warm skin with a fine dusting of dark hair created an unexpectedly silky covering for the corded muscles. Ignoring a sudden impulse to stroke his arm, she looked up, way up, into his stern face.
“Thank you. It means a lot that you would defend me.”
He was not looking at her. His gaze focused on where she touched him, and she followed it. Her fingers looked impossibly small and fragile resting on his broad arm. There was something strangely erotic about the contrast, and she felt an unexpected surge of warmth between her legs. A soft chuff interrupted her wayward thoughts and she looked back up in time to see his nostrils flaring. Embarrassment heated her face. Had he caught that hint of arousal? Apparently so, since he swept her up in his arms.
“We mate now.”
“No. No, we do not mate.” She pushed at his chest with absolutely no effect. He wasn’t hurting her, but she was incapable of moving. This time she didn’t feel threatened. Instead, she noticed all of those firm muscles beneath the warm skin. A delicious musky scent surrounded her, and her arousal hitched up another notch. Ignoring a ridiculous impulse to just give in, she pushed again, repeating more firmly. “No. We do not mate.”
His muscles tensed and she saw his eyes start to glow. “Now,” she added hastily. “We do not mate now.”
A flurry of Yehrin broke out over her head. She could feel the sounds reverberating against her swollen breasts where they were pressed to his chest and her nipples hardened. When he stopped speaking and looked down at her, she knew that he had felt her reaction. His mouth opened but before he could repeat his assertion, more Yehrin erupted. T’lan closed his eyes in a very human gesture of frustration.
“You do not wish to mate while you are with child?”
“Yes.” Emily seized the excuse, sternly suppressing the part of her that was not as disturbed by the idea of mating with him as she should be.
The back door rattled, and Emily had just enough time to yell, “Don’t hurt her!” before the door opened and her grandmother appeared. She looked around the kitchen, taking in the two Yehrin warriors with drawn swords, Emily cradled in another Yehrin warrior’s arms, and the decapitated tea kettle.
“Oh my.”
Chapter Five
“Put me down,” Emily ordered, but T’lan didn’t move. His eyes were fixed on Gran and the other two warriors still had their swords drawn. She sighed and tried another approach. “T’lan, this is my grandmother. If you want to claim me, you should talk to her first.”
That got his attention and he finally looked at down at her. “Grandmother?”
“The mother of my mother.”
“Ah. The Elder Female. You are correct. We should be introduced.”
“It would be easier if you put me down first.”
He frowned but reluctantly let her down, although he did so by sliding her down the length of his body. The full body contact made it quite clear that she wasn’t the only one aroused by their little encounter. Her cheeks flamed, but she attempted to ignore it and go to her grandmother. A firm hand drew her back
against his side. Somehow, she wasn’t surprised.
Gran watched all this with a fascinated stare. Tribs had been hiding behind her grandmother’s legs, but he suddenly bounced forward, chirping madly. T’chok whirled to face him, sword still drawn, but before Emily could squeak out a protest, the sword disappeared. The warrior nonchalantly reached down and picked up the squirming ball of fluff. Tribs chirped in delight and tried to lick every inch of skin he could reach. Emily blinked and tried to resume introductions.
“Gran, this is—”
“I am Commander T’lan V’randrr K’rlonlys. I have claimed M’lee as my L’chka,” T’lan interrupted, ignoring her glare.
“You have?” Her grandmother looked at Emily and dropped her eyes to her stomach before raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, Gran. He knows that I’m pregnant,” she sighed.
“I see. What do you intend to do about the baby, Commander?” Gran asked. Emily fought down her uneasiness at the blunt question. All three warriors had been nothing but protective so far. Surely she didn’t have anything to worry about.
“I have claimed the child as well,” T’lan announced. Emily’s heart began to pound.
“You have? What do you mean you’ve claimed her?” She tried unavailingly to pull her hand away. “You can’t claim my child.”
“He is of the House V’randrr,” he said calmly. All of her fears came rushing back. She struggled harder, tears starting to stream down her cheeks.
“No. She’s mine. I won’t let you take her away from me.” Blindly, she slapped at him with her free hand. Her blows had absolutely no effect.
“M’lee, be still. You will hurt yourself. I would never take our child away from you.” T’lan grabbed her flailing hand, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her closer.After a long moment, his words finally penetrated and she stopped fighting. “You won’t?”
The back of one long finger gently brushed her tears away. “Never.”
“But you said—our child?” Her initial instinct was to deny that he had any right to her baby, but she bit her tongue. If this meant that she could keep her child...
“Of course. You are my L’chka. Any child of yours is mine as well.”
“Is that what you meant when you said that you have claimed her?” she probed cautiously.
“Yes. He is a member of my House. He will carry my name. I will protect him, provide for him, and keep his honor.”
“And if I have a girl?” Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. He seemed so certain that the baby was a boy. She had never actually seen a Yehrin woman. Perhaps they didn’t value females.
“Of course.” He hesitated and she tensed. “But Yehrin children are more often born male.”
That certainly raised a number of other questions, but Emily let it drop for now. At least he didn’t seem prejudiced against female children. “She might surprise you.”
“It would be a delightful surprise.” T’lan smiled at her but it had the unfortunate effect of revealing a number of white pointed teeth. How did she keep forgetting that he was an alien? An alien who was part of the group of warriors that had the whole planet under their control. Despite that, her instinct was to trust him, even though her instincts had not served her well so far. Not only was she pregnant from a one night stand she couldn’t remember with one alien, now she was standing in her grandmother’s kitchen discussing the sex of her baby with yet another alien. A wave of dizziness swept over her.
“She’s going to faint.” Her grandmother’s voice sounded muffled and black spots began to appear in her vision. Once again, T’lan caught her before she hit the ground. Everything felt blurred and far away, but she didn’t completely lose consciousness this time. She had the briefest vision of the other two warriors behind him before he turned abruptly and headed for the living room. The sudden movement made her stomach churn and all she could do was hang on.
T’lan fought back a growl of frustration at the sight of his human once more, pale and barely conscious in his arms. He resumed his previous position on the uncomfortably soft furniture in the front room and gave her a worried stare. T’chok and T’renan assumed their defensive positions, although the former still had the small sekhmet in one arm. Possession of a forbidden pet hardly compared to the rest of his kinsman’s transgressions, but it was yet another reminder of how badly the youngster had behaved. Pushing his momentary annoyance aside, he focused on the more important matter of the fragile figure cradled against him.
“Why does she keep doing this?” he demanded of the Elder Female. “I knew that humans were weak, but this is not acceptable.”
“I’m not weak,” M’lee protested, her voice barely audible. “I’m just pregnant.”
“Is this true? Is the child the cause of her weakness?” He ignored M’lee and kept his attention focused on the other female.
“It’s not uncommon for a pregnant woman to faint,” she said slowly, but he detected worry in the way she watched his female.
“Does the medic agree?”
The female hesitated. After another glance at M’lee’s pale face, she admitted, “She hasn’t been to the doctor yet.”
“What? This is unacceptable. We will return to my ship at once so she can be examined.” Outrage filled his veins. His L’chka deserved the finest care.
“No, we won’t.” M’lee struggled to sit up and he allowed it but kept her confined on his lap. Despite his worry, he enjoyed the feel of her lush curves. She pushed against his arms for a minute before giving in and glaring up at him. “I only discovered I was pregnant last week. There’s no rush. When I’m ready for an exam, I will go to my doctor here.”
“There is every need for urgency. You are not well.” She started to protest, but he put a gentle finger over her mouth. He tried to ignore his body’s reaction to the feel of the moist warm flesh against his. Soon, he promised his cock before returning to the more urgent matter of her health. “And a human medic? Does she know anything about the Yehrin?” he asked skeptically.
“Well, no. But will your medic know anything about humans?”
Based on the studies they had made prior to their public appearance, they actually knew quite a lot about human anatomy but that wasn’t information he was allowed to reveal. Before he determined the best way to respond, she continued, “Or human pregnancy? Let alone half-human, half-Yehrin pregnancy?”
“No.” Not yet. They were required to wait one orbit of the sun before attempting interspecies mating on a conquered planet. Another subject he couldn’t discuss, and another infraction by his young relative. Perhaps it was fortunate that he had perished in the explosion.
“Then I might as well see my doctor here. Unless…” She hesitated and looked scared. “Will you, I mean, will the rest of the Yehrin know? Will I be in trouble?”
He left the first part of her concern unanswered but hurried to reassure her. “You have done nothing wrong.” It was his turn to hesitate. “The timing is perhaps, unfortunate.”
“Dr. Gaston is very discreet. And he has treated hundreds of pregnant women, so at least he could tell her more about the range of possibilities for a human pregnancy.” M’lee’s elder interjected.
“He?” Outrage filled him. “You would see a male medic?”
“Of course, I would.” She rolled her eyes at him in an oddly endearing gesture. “Women see male doctors all the time. Besides, he’s the only doctor in town.”
“Unacceptable. No male is allowed to see you.” The thought of another male in close contact with his female, let alone seeing her unclothed body, sent the battle rage roaring through his system. He forcibly stopped his claws from extending, afraid he would damage her.
“You know that’s ridiculous, don’t you?” she asked. He refused to respond, and she sighed. “I have never seen a female Yehrin. Do you have a female medic on the ship?”
Fuck. He had forgotten the timeline. “No, not yet.”
“Then what do you suggest we do?”
He had no doubt the Supreme Commander would arrange for a female medic to be sent to Earth but it would take time, and she needed assistance now. Although he might allow his female to talk to this male doctor, he would never allow him to physically examine her. The thought of another male touching her violated every instinct he possessed. He needed to know if she was ailing, but there had to be another way.
“Sir,” T’renan said diffidently.
“Yes?”
“Would our portable scanners work?”
He considered the suggestion. The scanners were set for Yehrin anatomy, but it would be a simple matter to download the information they had about humans. It wouldn’t be specific to pregnancy, but it should be able to evaluate her general state of health. Very well. He nodded decisively.
“Do not worry, M’lee, I will examine you.”
Chapter Six
“You are not going to examine me.” Emily tried to scramble away from him but as usual, her efforts had little effect. He bent down until his face was right in front of her, allowing her to read the utter lack of compromise in his strong features.
“I can examine you here, using my portable scanner, or I can take you back to the ship where I have a full medical bay and examine you there. Either way, we will make sure that you and the child are healthy.”
Sudden visions of being strapped to a table in some cold sterile alien environment made her shiver. The last thing she wanted was to go to his ship. Despite his assurances, she wondered if she would ever make it back. She sighed and gave in.
“Fine. We’ll do it your way.”
He nodded, as if her agreement had never been in doubt, and stood with her still in his arms.
“Wait.” She started to panic. “I didn’t mean right now.”
“I did. There is no reason to delay. Where is your sleeping place?”
Emily looked around for help. T’chok and T’renan avoided her gaze. Gran looked worried but eventually nodded.
Alien Conquest Page 4
