A Forgotten Kitten (Sea-anan Saga Book 2) (26 page)

“Are any ambassadors still here?”

“I believe so.”

“Then call them in for a meeting. If it’s a royal Seacat they want, then it’s a royal Seacat they’ll get.”

“Areo, you can’t,” the others put in, minus Sev, who understood her thinking and agreed.

“You know that by making yourself publicly known, Daehog will find out his disciples haven’t killed you,” said Arnold. “Mike and I can handle this. We’re members of the royal clan, too.”

“I agree with Arnold. Someone else will try to kill you,” added Bill. “Remember, we still don’t know who can be trusted.”

“Let them try.” Sev’s lip curled. “I will make certain they regret hearing the name Daehog if they come near her.”

Mike stopped in front of Sev. “What if you fail and they manage

to kill her?”

“I won’t fail.”

“How do you know that? The last time they almost succeeded, and she was with three of us.”

Sev’s eyes ignited. “Because as long as I live, so will my wife.”

“I want a meeting within the hour.” Areo rose from her seat. “That should give me enough time to change and prepare a speech.”

“Are you sure you should, Your Highness? I now agree with the others. Perhaps it would be best if you remained dead for now and allowed your cousins to take charge,” suggested Rider.

“Within the hour, Captain.” Areo pulled the hood low over her head and exited the room. Sev and Jugar followed her out.

“Blast it! She never listens,” hissed Mike.

“No, she never has,” conceded Bill, hooking his thumbs in his pockets.

Sev entered Areo’s chambers behind her. Without a word to him, she headed to her bedroom to prepare for the meeting. She had been silent since leaving the captain’s office. Sev worried about what was going through her curly head since she did not deny him entry to her chambers. From her bedroom door, he watched her search through drawers, pull out some clothes, and enter the bathroom on the opposite side from where he stood.

He shook his head at how complex she was. “Did you lock the front door?” he asked Jugar.

Jugar nodded. “What now?”

Sev removed his robe and threw it on the back of the sofa. “We meet with the ambassadors and convince them that we can only defeat Daehog by working together.” He unstrapped the sword belt from around his waist.

“You heard the captain.” Jugar searched the room for anything that seemed out of place or dangerous. “Without a royal Seacat to lead them, they won’t listen.”

Sev placed the sheathed sword on the coffee table and started performing his own sweep. He was not about to take any chances with Areo’s life. “And now they have four.”

“Including you.”

“I’m now the king of these Seacats.” Sev chuckled. “An emperor, get that.” He scratched his head. “I’m still not used to the idea that my little princess is actually an empress.”

“Well, that eliminates Serena’s theory,” mumbled Jugar while he examined a desk lamp.

“What theory is that?” Sev made himself comfortable on the long sofa.

“I overheard Serena telling Uma that the sole reason Areo was interested in you was because she wanted to become queen.”

Sev felt his blood begin to simmer. “When did she say that?”

“After you renounced your throne.”

“Now you know the truth.”

Both cats turned toward the bedroom door where Areo stood.

“The last thing I ever wanted from Sev was his blast-it title. I couldn’t care less about being queen over a bunch of treacherous cats.” Her eyes landed on Sev. “I don’t want you accompanying me to the meeting.”

“What?”

“I don’t want them, or anyone else, to know that you exist.”

“Why not?”

“Because they want me dead, Sev. I can handle that, but I won’t be able to handle it if anything happens to you. What I want is for you and Jugar to return to Oceanica this instant.”

Sev turned around, placed his big feet on the coffee table, and got into a more comfortable position. Areo’s growl sailed over to him. “Growl all you want, you are not getting your way.”

Jugar watched the exchange with mirth. Their behavior brought back memories of when they were kittens. He made himself comfortable in the opposite chair, already knowing who would win.

“Blast you!” yelled Areo. The bedroom door closed with a
swoosh.

Twenty minutes later, the door reopened. On noiseless feet, Areo headed to the kitchenette. While she prepared a cup of coffee, she ignored the feline who sat on the sofa reading a magazine.

Sev’s heart tripped over itself at seeing her. It was the first time he had seen Areo dressed in their native garments. She was stunning. On Oceanica, Areo had refused Sev’s offer to have a seamstress alter Oceanan clothes for her small stature. Therefore, he’d had no choice but to get her clothes from the nearby Amgarean nation, where many of the women were Areo’s size.

His gaze followed the elegant sway of the sheer, flowing skirt down to her sandaled feet. Areo wore the skirt low on her hips. Sev swallowed his moan. Areo made for the refrigerator. Her revealing bodice came into view. She fit snuggly inside. Sev suppressed another groan.

With a heart full of longing, he rose from his seat and stealthily positioned himself behind Areo while she waited for the water to boil. Sev buried his nose in her curls and inhaled her fresh, clean scent. A sultry purr formed in his throat. Areo’s scent alone could unleash the wild beast inside him.

“You are breathtaking in Oceanan garb,” he huskily said.

Areo leaned forward on the counter. “It’s an imitation,” she clipped. “Where’s Jugar?”

“Mike is showing him to his quarters.” He noticed her fingers were curved into fists.

“I hope there are two beds, because you’re not staying here.”

Sev glared at the back of her head. “I’m your husband, kitten. I have given you enough time to accept that. I’m tired of sleeping away from you. Your bed is now mine.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.”

Sev twirled her in his arms. “Oh, but I do.” He cut off her protest with the needy kiss he had kept in check for over seven months. His hands quickly searched for his handiwork. At contact with her bottom, a soothing peace Sev only felt when he was with Areo flooded his essence.

“Release me,” Areo murmured against his lips.

“No.” Sev drew her tongue into his mouth to silence her. Pressing her against his arousal, he raised Areo’s skirt and traced her soulscar. He loved knowing that he, not some other man, had placed his mark on her beautiful body. He had dreamt of doing so for so long. His soul purred with happiness.

Areo pushed at his chest. Sev grew more possessive. Pinning her to the counter, he grabbed Areo’s wrists and held them behind her back. After hearing her fourth moan, he knew he had her. His lips lowered to her full breasts, where he began to feast. Areo released a small yelp, then enticed him further by arching her back.

Sev eagerly opened her blouse and took a perfectly shaped mound into his mouth. Moaning and groaning, he indulged in the priceless gift given to him. Inhaling Areo’s arousal fueled his desire to feel her shapely legs wrapped around him. Sev reached for her thighs. Lifting her onto the counter, he parted Areo’s legs and quickly positioned his need at her entrance. Areo tightened her legs about his hips and rubbed her heat against his. Sev flung his head back and roared.

“The intensity of my love for you makes me feel like I’m about to explode,” he said, lovingly caressing Areo’s forehead and cheek. He reached for her right scar. “I love to feel my mark on your body.” His nose leisurely passed over her face. “You are the most beautiful feline I have ever seen…the most sensual…the most delectable…the sweetest-smelling kitten in all of creation.”

Sev untied the drawstrings to his pants and lowered his pants to his thighs. “You have no idea how much you mean to me.” He pulled Areo’s underwear to the side. His knuckles brushed her readiness. He thought of the control room, and shivers ran along his spine. This time, he would finish what he had intended that day. “I want you so much.” One swift movement had him inserted to the hilt.

Areo gasped at his rapid possession. Her fingers snaked into his long, thick hair as she brought his mouth to hers. “I love you, husband.” She squeezed her legs around him in encouragement.

Her feverish attack on his mouth and her acknowledgement of their marriage sent Sev’s essence ascending to the heavens. His mouth responded with an untamed urgency. His hands tweaked and molded with purpose. His hips claimed her in a fast and devastating manner. All the love he possessed for Areo was revealed on top of that small counter.

Neither heard the whistler blowing.

Sev sat beside Jugar on a bench located to one side of the main entrance to the assembly hall. His hooded wife sat on the stage with her two cousins, the captain, and Sea Ranger Superior Bill Stevens.

Sev had gotten Areo to agree to him accompanying her by promising that he and Jugar would remain silent and covered. He regretted doing so. Many of the aliens looked more like assassins and cutthroat types than ambassadors of peace-loving races. Sev was as jumpy as a june bug. His mind would not cease displaying images of Areo coming under attack. And if the worst should happen, he was so far away from her that he feared he would not reach her in time.

“I never should have agreed to this.” He coldly regarded his wife. “I was a fool to allow her to convince me to sit here quietly. I swear, never again.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.” Jugar sat back and crossed his arms.

“What do you mean by that, old friend?”

“Areo has always had you wrapped around her little finger. You’ve never had the power to deny her anything.”

“I will now. When it involves her safety, I will never again give in to her. I will not let anything happen to her, Jugar.” His mind drifted back to the most incredible climax he had shared with his beloved wife on the countertop, then to when he had first found her covered with blood and clinging to life. “Never again.”

The captain of Sea Base Five took the handle of the gavel and banged it on its matching block. “All right, everyone, settle down. I now call this meeting to order.”

None of the ambassadors sat down.

“Captain, why have you gathered us here? You know very well we were about to return to our individual homeworlds. Delaying us like this is endangering our lives,” one of the ambassadors yelled into the small microphone by his mouth.

Most of the ambassadors had some form of a translator hooked around either their hearing appendages or head so they could communicate by using the growing, popular space language, Earthlish.

As he ended, another joined in. “You have heard the rumors. Sea Base Five will be infiltrated and attacked at any minute.”

Sev and Jugar sat taller. Sev’s hand instinctively went for the hilt of his sword. His sights landed on his wife.

“If it has not been breached already,” added another. “You did hear what happened an hour ago at Dock Twelve.”

Captain Rider tried to calm everyone down. “I did hear what happened at Dock Twelve. It was confirmed a false alarm. And yes, I’ve heard the rumors. Haven’t I assured you that the necessary precautions have been taken?”

A very angry reptilian humanoid shouted, “Like they did on Sea Base Ten?”

“Sea Base Ten was a tragedy,” Rider replied, as calmly as possible. “It never would have occurred if money and power were not considered more valuable than life.”

The reptilian pointed at him and shouted, “It was treachery by your own kind!”

The hooded individual who sat to the captain’s left swiftly stood at the remark, toppling his seat. Everyone noticed his Seacat insignia and decided to quiet down. The Seacat made no move to remove his dark hood. Some ambassadors became fidgety, wondering who he could be. When a pin could finally be heard dropping, the hood slowly came off. Gasps were heard all around the room.

The reptilian ambassador sharply inhaled. “Dragon, you are alive! We had heard that you were killed.”

Arnold’s voice was steady as he spoke. “As you can see, you should not believe everything you hear from strangers.”

“I agree.” Mike stood and removed his hood. “They can be misleading most of the time.” More gasps. “You don’t seem to know that the one responsible for the treacherous behavior on Sea Base Ten was none other than a member of your own race, Ambassador Ljeio. Not ours. Not a cat!”