Killian

by T. N. Tarrant

  Shiloh nodded. “Thank you.” He looked down shyly. “I’m sorry, my Lady.”

  Killian tilted his head, confused. “Why?”

  “I insulted you, and yet you still gave me Sanctuary.”

  “By calling me ‘lord?’” Killian guessed.

  “Yes, my Lady. I didn’t realize you really were the Lady of the Estate. I thought you were like my father, widowed,” Shiloh explained, still looking at the floor.

  “It’s all right, Shiloh. I understood you meant no offense.” Killian reached out and lifted Shiloh’s chin to see his eyes. They really were the most stunning green Killian had ever seen, and he found himself drawing Shiloh into his arms again and tucking him close. There was something oddly peaceful about holding the young man. Shiloh slowly, tentatively, wound his arms around Killian’s waist. Killian could feel the small tremors in Shiloh’s body as he tried not to fall apart again.

  “It’s okay if you still need to cry, Shiloh. You’ve had a rough time of it the last few days.” As if he’d been waiting for permission, Shiloh began to sob again, burying his face against Killian’s chest.

  Jaden slipped into the room, carrying a pair of Killian’s sweatpants and a T-shirt. He put the clothes on the bed and then left, shutting the door quietly behind him.

  Eventually, Shiloh cried himself out.

  “Come on then, let’s put you to bed. You need to sleep a while.” Killian helped Shiloh back into the bed, reluctant to lose touch with the man, then helped him remove his jewelry, setting it on the nightstand. He pointed to the en suite. “That’s the bathroom. When you’re done sleeping, come down and join us. Don’t worry about dinner. If you sleep through it, I’ll fix you something when you do get up. My bedroom is across the hall from yours. When you get up, we’ll talk about whatever you may need besides clothes. This will be your room as long as you stay with us.” Tucking Shiloh in, clothes and all, he left Shiloh to sleep after a final pat on the shoulder.

  § § § §

  Shiloh watched Killian leave, feeling oddly bereft. Never had he felt so safe as when Killian had held him. Taller than him, Killian was really broad-shouldered, with thick, muscled arms, black hair that fell to his hips in a thick braid, and deep blue eyes like sapphires, they were so blue. He smelled wonderful, too, and Shiloh’s touch-sense said he was a kind man.

  He shuddered as he thought about touching Anan. The few times he had, he’d almost been sick. Thanks to his touch-sensitivity, he could feel how she felt about him, and she didn’t care about him at all. A possession to acquire for her comfort, he was just a means to an end, a way to raise enough money to buy her birthright estate back.

  Oh! That’s why Killian seemed so familiar! He’d gotten flashes of Killian’s face from Anan’s memories. Had he instinctively made his way to Killian’s house because of that? After all, the Jonai estate had been closer, and the Jonai had a reputation for helping out wherever needed. Then he remembered something else: how much Anan hated Killian. Killian had to know.

  Determined, he crawled back out of the warm, soft bed, even though he wanted nothing more than to sleep for three days.

  He stumbled down the stairs. “My Lady?” he called.

  Killian stepped out into the hall from another room, a concerned look on his face. “What’s the matter?”

  Shiloh grabbed Killian’s arm, careful out of habit not to touch skin. “Please, you must understand something important, my Lady.”

  “Come sit in the study and talk to me, then.” Killian led Shiloh to the study and helped him down into a seat. “What’s the matter?”

  “I’m a very strong touch-sensitive, my Lady.” Although the ability was almost universally common among Rimalians, in varying degrees, Shiloh was at the higher end of the spectrum.

  Killian nodded and gestured for him to continue.

  “I usually avoid touching anyone, I just don’t want to know what they’re thinking or feeling.” That, too, was normal among Rimalians. A psionic society, they learned ways to respect each other’s privacy early in life. “I’ve touched Anan a number of times, a few times by accident, and once deliberately. Sometimes I pick up things I don’t realize at the time; it’s like my mind just files it away unless something triggers the memory. Anyway, I just remembered why you seemed familiar when we’ve never met. I’ve seen your face in Anan’s memories. She hates you, my Lady. You have to watch yourself with her. I’m just a means to an end, of no importance, but she absolutely despises you.”

  “Firstly, Shiloh, you are important. Don’t ever let anyone make you feel any different. Do you understand me?” Killian waited until Shiloh nodded. “Secondly, I know Anan hates me, probably as much as I’ve hated her.” He sighed, apparently thinking. “Have you seen Anan’s scars?”

  “Scars?” What scars?

  “She was given seventy lashes, and fined seventy-five percent of her inheritance, for attempted rape.” Killian was quiet for a moment. “Of me.”

  Stunned, Shiloh sat there, unable to say a word. And his mother had arranged for him to marry such a woman?!

  Killian seemed to know what he was thinking. “Perhaps we should give your mother the benefit of the doubt? You grew up in the States, yes?”

  Shiloh nodded, still too shocked to speak.

  “Then it’s possible that your mother never knew of the incident. I understand Lady Zahirris was ill for several years. I don’t recall seeing her at the trial. And I’ll be the first to admit Anan can be quite charming when she wants to be. Until our first unchaperoned date, I had no qualms about marrying her upon reaching my majority.”

  Shiloh found his voice. “That’s when…?”

  Killian nodded.

  “How old?”

  “I was still a few months shy of adulthood. Jaden was five and Araminta, four.” Shiloh listened, rapt, as Killian quickly told him about his past. “How old are you, Shiloh?”

  “Seventeen Terran years, my Lady.”

  “There’s no need to be so formal all the time. You can call me Killian.” Killian grinned at him. “Besides, I’m not much older than you. It’s a little silly to answer to ‘my Lady’ all the time.” Killian’s smile was breathtaking.

  Shiloh smiled back shyly.

  Killian stood up. “You need to go back to bed; you’re almost out on your feet. Those adrenaline rushes can take it out of you.”

  Killian took his arm gently, respecting the tacit social rule of not touching a strong touch-sensitive’s bare skin, leading him back upstairs. Anan had never respected him like this. Shiloh relaxed a little more. Maybe coming here had been the right choice after all.

  “By the way, the Magistrate will be here tomorrow to speak with you.”

  “What about a Tii-su to Verify my story?”

  Killian chuckled. “Lady K’Arith’s name was drawn from the Magistrate hat this duty period. She’s a Tii-su already, as well as an Artris. No need for another Tii-su to come along. Have you ever met her?”

  Shiloh shook his head. When would he have come in contact with a Sennrojai so strong?

  “Well I’ll warn you, she is one scary female, but she’s a good woman, too. You really do have nothing to fear from her.”

  Exhausted, Shiloh sighed in relief when they got back to his room. Killian helped him back under the covers again, tucking him in and smoothing the covers down. Shiloh felt a little embarrassed when Killian gently tucked a lock of Shiloh’s hair back behind his ear. He must look a fright, his hair coming loose, and Deity only knew how puffy his face was from crying.

  “Don’t worry so much, Shiloh. It will all work out fine. Just sleep now, all right?” Killian brushed his knuckles lightly over Shiloh’s cheek, letting Shiloh feel the truth of his words.

  Since he didn’t seem to mind the connection, Shiloh held Killian’s hand to his face for a moment, enjoying the touch-sense of the man. Something peaceful about Killian eased Shiloh’s stressed mind.

  His eyes closed, sleep finally taking over. The last thing he fe
lt was Killian marveling at how soft his skin was.

  Chapter 5

  His girls were ready to go out, Shiloh thought as they jumped on the bed, licking his face. He’d take them out, then he’d come back to bed. He was so tired. Shiloh opened his eyes just as one of his girls slobbered all over his face again.

  Then he remembered the past few days and sat up, grabbing his girls, hugging them, looking each Boxer over carefully. He ignored the chuckles from the doorway in favor of hugging his babies. They walked around on the bed, sniffing and wiggling, and barking happily now that he was awake, licking his face and everything else in reach.

  He gave them a few more minutes of playtime, and then pointed to the floor. “Sit.” All three of his girls jumped off the bed and sat in a row, watching him intently. “Good girls,” he praised. They were well-behaved. They thumped their little stubby tails but didn’t move from their spots.

  “Impressive,” Killian said from the doorway. He grinned. “They didn’t obey me that well.”

  “How long?”

  “Have they been here? Natalya returned about midnight last night. It’s eleven in the morning. We brought them up, but you slept right through them sniffing you,” Killian said.

  Jaden and Araminta both came in and petted the dogs.

  “You should have seen them, though. They’re very smart dogs. They were quiet, no jumping on the bed, just checked you out, licked you a few times, and settled on the floor to sleep. It was like they knew you needed sleep more than you needed to be woken up by slobber-pusses.”

  Shiloh flushed at the approval he heard in Killian’s tone. He had worked hard to train his girls. First thing in the morning was when they got to play and mess around. They woke him up every morning when they needed to go out, jumping on his bed, licking him. After that first walk though, he expected them to behave, and they knew it. “I need to take them out.”

  “Oh, we already did that,” Jaden told him. “It was fun. They had to sniff everything.” Both children laughed. The dogs looked at them, thumping their tails some more, but they still didn’t move from their spots.

  “Killian figured we’d see if you were ready to get up yet,” Araminta told him.

  “They must have thought you were, because they zipped straight up the stairs and onto the bed,” Killian added, grinning.

  Well okay, since he didn’t need to get dressed without them underfoot—they’d already been out—he would let them up. He looked at his girls, who looked right back at him. “Visit.”

  The dogs stood, but with some dignity this time. They took turns sniffing everything and getting pets from the other three. He watched the Larrestes’ handle his Boxers. He had two browns and a brindle. Sweet-tempered dogs, they were all from the same litter of eight, their mother having abandoned them at just two weeks old. He and his friend Larry had taken charge of the pups, four each, but two hadn’t survived. The vet said that it was impressive they managed to save so many of the litter. The two they lost were small and not as healthy as the others were, so even if the litter hadn’t been abandoned, they probably still would have died.

  Killian eyed Shiloh for a minute, then straightened up from the crouch he’d taken to pet the brindle, Jenny. The other two were Fancy and Rosie.

  “We’ll let you get dressed. It’s just about time to eat,” Killian said softly. The two children got off the floor where they’d been playing and left the room. He indicated the dogs. “You want me to leave them here, or should I take them with me?”

  Shiloh shook his head. “No, I’d rather they stayed with me.”

  Killian nodded sympathetically. “I can understand that. They are quite protective of you, you know. All three met me at the door when I came to check on you before going back to bed.” Killian sounded pleased.

  Shiloh looked at him closely, checking for tooth marks. “They didn’t bite you, did they?”

  Killian shook his head, smiling. “Oh no, they just growled for a minute. They settled down once they figured out I wasn’t here to hurt you, or them. Same thing this morning when I got up at seven to take them outside, only a little quicker. Apparently holding leashes and ‘outside’ is the correct password.”

  Shiloh laughed. “I’m surprised you didn’t get dragged to death. The first walk of the day is part of their playtime. That’s when I let Fancy, Jenny and Rosie just do their thing: sniff, wrestle, run. Boxers are energetic dogs; they need structure and playtime.”

  “I believe it,” Killian said with a laugh. “Get cleaned up and dressed. When you are ready to leave the room, tell the dogs to find the kitchen, they’ve been there already. Natalya and I completely forgot to get dog food, so that is one of the things you and I need to do today.”

  “What did you feed them?” Shiloh asked, a little worried.

  “Some of her tenants have dogs. She brought over a couple of meals for them. When we go into the village to get you some clothes, we’ll get food for the dogs, as well. Do they need toys?”

  “Well, they are still puppies and like to chew on things, and they love to play tugga.”

  “Tugga?”

  “Tug-of-war,” Shiloh clarified.

  Killian grinned. “Got it, tugga. What works for that?”

  “Well, most stores that sell dog stuff have rope toys. That’s what I get them. I also give them rawhide bones to chew for clean teeth and treats for training and rewards.” Shiloh climbed out of bed, and then stretched to work out the kinks of a long sleep. His cheeks heated under Killian’s watchful gaze.

  Killian quickly looked away, a slight blush on his face, as well. “I’ll-I’ll let you—” He waved his hand vaguely towards the bathroom before he disappeared down the hall, supposedly toward the kitchen.

  Shiloh considered Killian as he stepped into the bathroom, carrying the borrowed clothes. He resisted the temptation to bury his face in them, to smell Killian’s scent. He’d just get dried dog slobber on them.

  He looked around the bathroom, noting it was decorated simply in creams and blues. The tub was large, plenty of room for a soak, and the showerhead had several settings. The water felt great as he stepped under the spray, and he lingered there to think some more about Killian. He wasn’t surprised when his cock decided to add its opinion about Killian, becoming hard and leaking. He had the feeling, though, that Killian was clueless about what to do about his attraction to Shiloh.

  After washing quickly, he took care of his arousal, letting his mind conjure all kinds of nice fantasies about what Killian would look like, naked and wet with him in the shower.

  But as he dried off, he sternly reminded himself that Killian was Regent Artris. The man could do better than some worthless male from the States. Especially one engaged to the same woman who had tried to rape Killian five years ago. Even though he’d been willing to offer Shiloh Sanctuary, Killian probably wouldn’t thank him for bringing Anan back into his life.

  Depressed by his thoughts, Shiloh sighed as he put on the borrowed clothing. Jaden had been right about Shiloh swimming in it, but he didn’t mind. There were worse problems in front of him.

  Giving his girls the command to lead him to the kitchen, he followed them.

  Araminta and Jaden were setting the table. They paused to pet the dogs, and giggle at Shiloh in his oversized clothing. Standing at the stove, Killian grinned when he saw Shiloh. “You look like a little boy playing in Daddy’s clothes.”

  “Want to be my Daddy?” Shiloh asked before he realized it. Shocked, he slapped his hand over his mouth.

  Killian blushed as he got the meaning of Shiloh’s question, while Araminta snorted.

  “Killian’s not old enough to adopt you, silly.”

  Shiloh smiled at her. “You’re exactly right. I’m not awake yet.”

  Turning back to the stove, Killian said nothing, and Shiloh didn’t ask for a response. He still couldn’t believe what he’d said. Killian turned from the stove, bringing a large pan of soup over to the table, carefully pouring it into th
e bowls as Shiloh held them, in turn. Once the soup had been poured and the empty pot placed in the sink to soak, Killian sat down at the table, as well. The dogs sat attentively at the children’s feet, sensing the children were more likely to sneak them a bite. Looking under the table at the trio, Shiloh raised an eyebrow and pointed to a spot over by the wall. All three dogs slunk over and lay down, giving all at the table wistful puppy eyes.

  Killian tried not to laugh. “They’re very good at begging without begging, aren’t they?”

  Shiloh nodded, rolling his eyes. “They’re spoiled rotten.”

  “Nah, they’re just sweet babies and they know it. What do you do with them at home?”

  “If they behave, most of the time I let them lick the dishes, if there’s enough for them to share.”

  Killian nodded. “Well, if you’re okay with it, I don’t have a problem with it.”

  In between bites of cream of chicken soup with soda crackers, the children asked all sorts of questions about the dogs. It was the most enjoyable meal Shiloh had eaten in a very long time.

  After lunch, Killian asked Araminta and Jaden to clean up the kitchen while he and Shiloh visited Lady Nedai’s. Assuring them he would be only a couple of hours and back in time to make meat loaf for dinner, he asked the pair to take the dogs for a walk, and then check in with the tenants and find out if there were any problems they needed taken care of. Both children assured him they would and asked if they could go into the village after that. Killian paused for a minute, and then nodded. “Since you’re going, find out if any of the tenants need you to pick up anything for them. Be home by six.”

  Killian hugged each of them, telling them he loved them, and getting the same in return. Shiloh’s throat got tight watching them. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten such affection; wasn’t even sure if he’d ever gotten such affection. He swallowed against the jealousy he felt. It wasn’t right to feel that way.

  Following Killian out to the garage, Shiloh got into the small car inside.

  “It’s a twenty-minute drive to Natalya’s. Kelia is staying there while she adjudicates this.” Killian peered at Shiloh, concern on his face. “You okay?”