“You happy, Killian,” Shiloh told him. “I want to marry you, too. I was just afraid you wouldn’t consider it since…”
“Since I would catch shit for even thinking of marrying you. It’s one thing to make a divorced male my companion, but to marry him? In my position? Is that what you’re getting at?” Shiloh nodded. Then another thought struck Killian. “So you thought this would just be an affair, or at best a formal companionship?”
“I don’t know. I just fell in love with you and was willing to take whatever you would give me.” Shiloh looked down, then up into Killian’s eyes. “It’s not that I don’t know you love me.” He touched Killian’s lips softly. “I can’t help but know how much you love me, and I know you know how much I love you, but I didn’t think you would want me forever.” He looked down again as he dropped his hands.
Killian tipped Shiloh’s face back up and kissed him gently. “I want you forever, Shiloh Zahirris. No one else, just you. If someone doesn’t like it, then fuck’ em. They aren’t marrying you, I am.” He paused. “Unless you don’t want to?”
Shiloh kissed him. “I always wanted that, Killian Larrestes.”
“Good, it’s settled. Now, about the blue balls we’re both about to have?” Killian asked, teasing.
Shiloh laughed, well aware of the oddity of the Rimalian definition of “virgin.” “Well, we already know how to have fun without intercourse.” He turned serious again. “I want you to have the dream wedding you deserve, Killian.”
“You deserve the same, Shiloh.” Killian replied with a kiss.
“That’s as may be, but my divorce precludes that. But it doesn’t for you. Please, can we just let that be enough?”
Killian studied him for a few minutes, then nodded.
Shiloh breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, love.”
“I just want you happy, Sprite.” Killian grasped both their erections, beginning a firm, fast stroke, smiling as Shiloh moaned for him. He could feel Shiloh’s pleasure and relief and love.
Shiloh kissed him hungrily, hips thrusting in Killian’s hold again. He began to play with Killian’s nipples, grinning as he moaned at the touch. Then he leaned down a little and bit Killian’s shoulder as they thrust against each other.
Killian swore, moving faster. “Come on, Sprite, come for me, now.”
That was it; Shiloh came hard, crying out Killian’s name, feeling the hot liquid splash of first his own cum then Killian’s as he followed Shiloh over that edge, gasping Shiloh’s name. Killian collapsed back on the bed, bringing Shiloh down with him. Shiloh nestled in, loving the buzz he got, not only from his own orgasm, but also the feeling of Killian’s and knowing Killian was sharing his pleasure, too. It flowed back and forth, leaving them wired and looped at the same time. Killian knew he should get them cleaned up but he didn’t want to move. This was perfect, right here. They needed to talk more but it could wait. He had only two goals this second: telling Shiloh he loved him one more time, and sleep.
I love you. They both said it as they fell asleep, not noticing they had communicated psionically instead of vocally. They just smiled and dropped off, content and loved, wrapped in each other’s arms.
Chapter 20
When Killian woke up the next morning, it was to an empty bed with a note from Shiloh, telling him that he, Keith, and the boys had gone to town for a little shopping. It was signed, “Love, Sprite.” He smiled as he crawled out of bed and headed for a shower, thinking about the reappearance of his Sprite early that morning. He’d been happy to see Shiloh’s playfulness again.
It was almost nine-thirty in the morning, a little later than he normally got up, but he didn’t really care. Shiloh was going to marry him; that was the important thing.
Showered and having found a snack in the kitchen, and having romped with the pups for a few minutes, he went to Shiloh’s study and sat down, pulling his cell phone out to call in to his estates. For a couple hours, he worked, checking and making arrangements as needed. Then he went outside to take a break while his managers and Mary at home faxed him copies of the estate books so he could check and balance them.
Killian was sitting on one of the benches outside when the shopping expedition returned. Many of the tenants had joined him, since it was lunchtime, and they were chatting amiably. Shiloh got out of the car and came over to him and, much to his surprise, knelt in front of him.
Shiloh blushed as he pulled a jeweler’s box out of his pocket and handed it to Killian. “Killian, will you marry me?”
Killian stared at him, then smiled as Shiloh’s blush deepened, even as he felt his own cheeks heat up. He nodded as he smiled more widely, feeling happy. “Of course I will, Shiloh.”
Shiloh’s answering grin was ecstatic and he nudged Killian’s knee “Open it already.”
Killian laughed, along with several others, and then opened the ring box. Inside were two matched rings, men’s wedding bands. They were Black Hills Gold, the tri-color gold and leaf pattern beautiful. “They’re gorgeous, Shiloh.”
Shiloh plucked the rings out of the box, looked at them, then put one back and reached for Killian’s hand. He showed Killian the inscription. Always your Sprite. Shiloh placed the ring on Killian’s finger. Then Killian took the other one out and placed it on Shiloh’s hand.
Everyone around them began to laugh and clap, with calls of “It’s about time,” ringing out.
Shiloh and Killian both blushed a little as they were congratulated. Jaden and Jimmy both hugged them, with the first truly happy smiles Killian had seen on their faces in months. Slowly everyone drifted off, and the boys wandered over to their favorite place to sit—a gazebo sitting in the small garden off to one side of the House—and Shiloh and Killian were left alone. Shiloh and Killian took each other’s hands and cut through the House to the back garden, which was larger and had a several gazebos scattered through it. The one that had become their favorite sat along the far edge and was the largest—it not only contained a few benches to sit on, but it sheltered a tiny little pool surrounded by ferns. Indeed, the whole structure was scattered with ferns. It was beautiful and, Shiloh had discovered, expensive to maintain, but there wasn’t anyone on the estate that wanted to lose it, including him. Some of the most peaceful moments of his life had been experienced in this gazebo during the last three months while holding hands with Killian.
They made their way to it, grinning when the gardeners congratulated them. Sitting down on their bench, Killian wrapped his arm around Shiloh’s shoulders, and Shiloh leaned into him, sighing quietly as he settled. Killian kissed Shiloh’s forehead—a sense of contentment emanated from Shiloh—and smiled. He hoped Shiloh got the same off him.
“Um, Killian?”
“Hmm?”
“I, uh, called Natalya this morning, after I talked to Celie.” Shiloh sat up straight and looked Killian in the eyes. “I asked her if she would act as your mother…”
Mothers usually gave their sons away and made the arrangements for the weddings, such as securing venues and catering if needed, whatever their sons wanted. Everyone went all-out for a wedding, and it wasn’t unheard of for a Clan’s Artris to lend a hand for arrangements if needed. Even peace arrangements were treated as a joyous, wanted marriage in the hopes that a happy beginning would become a happy life together. Technically, Araminta should be the one going to the Council asking the use of the grounds and requesting the Council’s blessing for Killian, as well as making sure everyone who was invited got there. Getting everyone from both Shiloh’s estate and Killian’s would require the help of several Sennrojai at least, Killian thought vaguely as he considered what Shiloh had said.
“So why haven’t I heard from her?” he asked with a smile.
Shiloh grinned. “Because I asked her to wait for you to call her and tell her we’re getting married. And she said she’d be honored if that was what you wanted.”
Killian immediately pulled out his phone and called Natalya. When she answered, he la
ughed. “So I hear you’ve already talked to my fiancé this morning.”
She chuckled. “Yes, I have, and did he tell you what he asked me?”
Killian nodded, even though she couldn’t see. “Yes he did, and I would be honored if you did act as Senki for me.”
“Thank you, Killian. That means a great deal to me. Ignacio and I have come to love you three like our own…”
Killian swallowed hard. “We love you, too, Natalya.”
She gave an oddly shaky laugh. “This gives me an excuse to make off with Araminta again, too. Someone needs to teach her how to do it for when she has her own sons after all. Now, I assume we’re doing the whole traditional bit on the island?”
“That’s what Shiloh wants for me,” he said with a smile for Shiloh.
She sounded a little puzzled. “Isn’t that what you still want, Kil?”
“I just want him any way I can get him. He knows how much I wanted the whole traditional shebang and I’m not going to argue with him. It’s not like it’s too much of a hardship for me—” He waited a beat. “—other than blue balls.”
There was a shocked silence on the other end, even as Shiloh burst out laughing, falling off the bench as he cackled hysterically. “I can’t believe you said that to her!”
“Killian Larrestes! I do not believe you just said that!” Natalya burst out. “Great stars, I should never have introduced you to Internet porn. This is my fault.”
“But it’s been so helpful, Nat,” Killian teased, watching as Shiloh turned bright red but kept laughing. “We’ve learned all kinds of things…”
“I don’t even want to know,” Natalya said hurriedly with a small giggle.
Killian watched, amused as the two gardeners working today stuck their heads in to look at Shiloh, who was still on the ground, on his back, laughing uproariously. Killian grinned at them as he shook his head, indicating that they should leave it be. They grinned back and wandered off.
“Are you sure you don’t want to know? Because—”
“No, don’t tell me, boy, please.” Natalya laughed at him. “I do take it from that rather bald statement you and Shiloh haven’t explored each other too much?”
Killian found himself blushing. “Uh, no. I mean we’re sleeping together but…”
“Well, most of that has been with the boys, so no one will question that, but what about lately?” Natalya asked bluntly.
“Let’s just say we had a long talk about it last night, when I told him I wanted him forever.” Killian smiled at Shiloh as he quieted and tried to get up by himself. He had issues, though, because he’d start to giggle, which would make him clutch at his stomach, which was apparently hurting from laughing so hard. Killian got off the bench and sat on the ground, helping Shiloh to lay his head on his leg. “That led to the discussion about what kind of wedding….”
“And that led to his insistence you get what you wanted for a wedding, which means no intercourse?” Natalya finished.
“Exactly.” He poked Shiloh gently. “Good thing he’s so sweet and cute or I wouldn’t let him push me around so much.”
Shiloh poked back. “You love me.”
“Yes, I do. Natalya, Shiloh bought me a ring,” Killian told her. “Matching rings, actually, and they’re gorgeous.”
Natalya laughed. “He told me. You know, Killian, your claim of virginity and its privileges is almost certainly going to be challenged, are you both prepared for that?”
“Yeah, I know. I’ve never done anything to be ashamed of and neither has Shiloh. As far as I’m concerned, he deserves the whole special rigmarole as much as I do—he’s just as much a virgin as I am,” Killian said, with an edge in his voice. Everyone on the Council knew Shiloh’s marriage to Anan hadn’t been consummated; it had been the whole point of keeping them in full view of the Council and the Assembly. But there were those who wouldn’t pay attention to that fact.
“Alright, Killian, we’ll deal with it as it happens, and I agree with you about Shiloh. We’ll have to see what can be done. You two figure out exactly what you want and call me later, alright?”
They hung up. Killian looked down at Shiloh, who was now playing with Killian’s braid. He smiled as he caught the glint of gold on his ring finger.
“What do you want for our wedding?” he asked Shiloh as he stroked his face.
“Me?” Shiloh looked confused.
“Yes, you. It’s your day, too, love. Your real wedding day, regardless of anything else. What do you want?” Killian rolled his neck. He’d been sitting still too long that morning.
“I don’t suppose we could get away with a long honeymoon?” Shiloh asked hopefully.
“We’re Artris, love, we don’t get such a luxury. We could combine things, though, touring about our estates and take a few days in each place just to play—see the sights and all.” Killian smiled. “Although, we would have the first three days all to ourselves, with nobody bothering us.”
“On the Island? Or could we go somewhere else?”
“Where do you want to go?”
“I actually want to just wander, where no one knows us or cares. Could we do that? For just a week or so?” Shiloh asked, sitting up and looking at Killian hopefully.
Leaning forward, Killian was met by Shiloh’s kiss, and he sank his fingers into Shiloh’s silky black hair.
Killian pulled Shiloh into his lap. He understood exactly where that request was coming from. For nearly six months, Shiloh had been living under close scrutiny, on top of the unrelenting pressure from Ewan and Anan before that. He could certainly see why Shiloh would not only want a break but need one as well. “We can do that. We’ll arrange things so we can just disappear for a few days.” Killian was surprised at the level of relief he felt coming off of Shiloh at Killian’s agreement. He promised himself he would find ways to whisk Shiloh away on a regular basis.
“Thank you,” Shiloh breathed. He kissed Killian, and then tucked his head under Killian’s chin, nestling close. “Killian, do you want children?”
“Yes.”
“I always have, too, although I admit that the Council’s orders kind of make me want to get sterilized… but…” Shiloh shrugged awkwardly.
Killian chuckled. “Well, I can understand the whole knee-jerk thing, but please don’t, I would love to have a little you running around.”
“But what about a little you?” Shiloh asked.
“My love, both of us individually have wealth enough to raise as many children as we want. I don’t think there’s any reason we can’t secure the services of more than one surrogate. Additionally, there’s no reason we can’t adopt. We’ll sort it out, love. We both want children, so we can leave the ‘how and how many’ for later, okay?” He kissed Shiloh again, then nuzzled him.
Both their phones rang, informing them that Anan was being brought before the Council—again— the next day. They were told to be ready at seven in the morning their time, as Catan would bring them to Rimalia, since he was still in the area. Shiloh was also told that Cheryl was on the Island.
When they both got off the phone, they looked at each other and sighed.
“Time to get back at it, okay?” Killian said. “Practice time. I want you to inspect the estate from top to bottom. Then we’ll go over what you find.”
“Only if you give me another kiss,” Shiloh said, pretending to pout.
“Gladly.”
Chapter 21
The next day, they, including Jaden and Jimmy, all met in the Council Chambers about the attempted kidnapping. While they would need weeks to recover, Amalie and her friends were wheeled in on their gurneys. Anan, Cheryl, and Arnold were also in attendance.
Milossa Jarvai, as Head of the Council, began the proceedings. “Again, we are here because of the actions of Mistress Anan Nyirej, although admittedly she merely instigated recent events this time, as opposed to actually participating. However, it is patently clear that these events would never have happened if not for her enc
ouragement.” Milossa sighed. “In my years as Artris, I have met very, very few who are as unrepentant and recalcitrant as you, Mistress Anan. The last one we hanged, as you might remember.
“You have been punished for your transgressions and been given numerous chances to show that you have learned your lesson, but every time we turn around, we find that you are causing trouble yet again, bringing great harm to your victims. This time it is two young males who have already been greatly harmed by your friend, Cheryl. The Council meets to consider the Magistrate’s recommendation that Anan Nyirej be banished for the rest of her life.”
Anan gasped. Banishment didn’t just mean she would be shunned by Rimalians. She would also forfeit her remaining property and wealth and no longer be her mother’s heir. She would lose everything that gave her rank and status. Since she didn’t work, she would be penniless. She would receive no assistance from any Rimalian, although conceivably a Tii-su might act to save her life if need be, but that was a matter of their own conscience. She would no longer have the right to food, shelter, clothing, and medical care, as all Rimalian citizens did. She would be forced to support herself completely, if she could, rather than have the normal communal support they all depended on.
“Lady Larrestes, Lady Zahirris, first, I and the rest of the Council would like to extend our congratulations on your recent engagement. We all hope you have a long and happy life together. Second, I must ask who will bear your Proxy for this vote?” Milossa asked, ignoring Anan’s angry stare.
Killian and Shiloh stood up. Killian indicated for Shiloh to go first. “Lady Xeltrai has agreed to be my Proxy, Lady Jarvai,” Shiloh replied.
“Lady Nedai has agreed to be my Proxy, Lady Jarvai,” Killian added.
“I accept your choices, my Ladies,” Milossa said, indicating they should sit down. Now that they didn’t have a vote in the matter, they were able to just sit and listen.
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