Cali & Drake (The Alliance Book 1) (13 page)

“She’s not from Titus?” Nallan eyed her with confused interest, his brow
was furrowed. Lathan had the identical look on his face and Cali barely held
onto her laughter.

“Atheon then.” Lathan snapped his fingers like he’d figured it out. “One
of their ships found you.”

“Didn’t you talk with father at all?”

“We were in a hurry to speak with Drake. Father only told us it was true
that he was back, we didn’t get any details.” Nallan defended himself.

“You should’ve let father explain.”

“What should I have explained?”

Cali was so focused on the banter between the brothers, she hadn’t
realized they had entered the main room. The dining table had been cleared off
and cleaned. Its sparkling sheen was reflecting the light from above, as well
as from different sized candles scattered on the surface. Drake maneuvered her
to a chair, pulled it out for her and waited for her to sit down. Once she was
settled he helped her push closer, his fingers brushing against her shoulders.
Since the food had already been placed
on
the table, everyone started passing different items around.

“Nallan and Lathan need to be brought up to speed.” Varian sat next to
her. Across from her were Nallan, Lathan, and Nevir. Drake’s parents sat at
opposite ends, at the heads of the table.

“Give them the short version, if you don’t mind.” Essdey requested.

“Drake stasis pod was found by the spaceship
The Reliant
. Cali was the captain of the craft and Drake has
claimed her as his chosen mate.” Virrel wrapped it up for the two younger men.

“Is that all?” Nallan didn’t look convinced that there wasn’t more to the
story.

“I don’t recognize the name of the
ship,
”
Lathan added. “Where does it hail from?”

“Cestori,
” Drake told them. “Cali
is short for Calinae Edal.”

“Obviously not the crazy one.” Nallan laughed.

“What we were told isn’t entirely true.” Essdey eyed her sons, “Cali is
Aicen Edal’s daughter.”

“Ohh.” Both men looked back
at
her
with wide eyes.

Cali had taken a plate full of food and started picking at the items.

“Cali was told in her Academy classes that we are a planet of barbarians.
With no technology, art, or culture. So there is a lot of
misinformation
out there about all of us.
Cestori,
Atheon,
and Titus. We’re going
to have our hands full getting everyone current on each other.”

“I’m glad I only have to deal with mining
trianium,
”
Nallan smiled and dug into this food.

“Agreed.” Lathan started eating as well. “Interstellar diplomacy sounds
like a bit much for me too.”

“I’m glad I’m studying diplomacy at school.” Nevir looked at her with a
warm smile, “I think we’re going to need it with relations between Atheon and
now Cestori in the balance.”

“Yes.” Virrel agreed with his daughter. “Further changes are sure to
come. How much is yet to be seen.”

The talk tapered off as everyone ate their food. Cali had to admit it was
very tasty. She wasn’t sure what she was eating, and in her classes at the
Academy,
it was taught that you might not want
to know. The bolvian chocolate crème cake that Alda presented for dessert was a
masterpiece. Cali couldn’t believe how exceptionally good it tasted. She would
be sure to get the recipe so she could make it.

After dessert was finished Drake stood, “I hate to eat and run, but it’s
been a long day. I think it’s time for Cali and
me
to get home.” Drawing her into his side he continued, “I’m very happy to see everyone,
and the food was superb. Would you thank Alda for
me,
mother?”

“Of course.” His mother stood as well as the rest of his family. “Your house
has been kept clean, and I had Alda stock it while you were showing Cali around
the estate.”

There were a few titters around the table and Cali blushed hotly.
Everyone knew Drake hadn’t been showing her the estate.

“Thank you.” Drake urged her from the room with a hand on her back.
“Father, I’ll see you tomorrow at the Council meeting.”

“You can use our pod. Just send it back when you get home.” His father
and the rest of the family were walking with them to the door.

Drake stopped to embrace his mother, father, sister and brothers. Cali
was drawn into the group and went the rounds as well.

“It’s nice to meet
you,
Cali
if you need anything just send a message
via the telecom.” His mother stepped back so the others could get to her.

“I’ll be at school for another month.” Nevir gave her a warm hug, “I’ll
send you tons of telecoms and visit when I can.”

“Nice to meet you.” Nallan and Lathan said almost at once.

“Cali.” Varian bowed to her and moved back.

“Good-night. It’s been so nice to meet all of you.” Cali thanked Essdey
and moved with Drake out the front doors. The entrance
to the home looked as she pictured it would
. A sweeping driveway,
with grass and plants along the front of the building. In front of her was
obviously the pod his father had mentioned. It was tear-drop shaped and very
sleek looking. The material looked identical to the material used in the stasis
pods and
The Maxon.
Cali couldn’t
make out any form of tires, or rolling apparatus on the bottom, it was
perfectly smooth.

“How does it move?” she asked as they stepped up to the vehicle.

“The road system and driveways of all the clans are built with a magnetic
strip in the ground. The pods not only use that strip for
navigation
but to build up speed. Since all of
the vehicles are interconnected by an advanced communication system, no two
pods can collide.”

“That is very ingenious.” Cali had to admit that it beat the mode of
transportation on Cestori even.

“Do these pods travel all the way to the other clans?” Cali stepped up as
Drake gestured her to. Inside the pod was very luxurious. There were four
captain’s chairs upholstered in some type of soft cream colored leather material.

“This is a short range pod for travel within clan boundaries. They come
with two, four and six seats. As you can see my parents have the four-seater. There
are even larger transport pods if you are looking for a longer, leisurely trip
through the countryside. Those have sleeping quarters and small bathrooms. Most
clan members use the teleportation system to get to their destinations faster
and use the complimentary pod system at the other end.”

“So there are pods just sitting around for people to use while in a new
clan area?”

“Yes.”

Cali sat down in one of the chairs and adjusted the restraint. “Why the
need for protective restraints if the pods don’t crash?”

“You can never be too
safe,
” Drake
smiled and adjusted his strap. “Computer. Take us to the residence of Chan’
Drake.”

“Confirmed.”

Cali recognized the male voice from
The
Maxon
.

“With current traffic arrival time will be ten minutes.”

Cali watched in awe as the door she had come through slid shut. There was
a slight humming from the pod and then they were moving. Outside the window on
her side of the pod, Cali could see landscaping and homes had dotted the area.

In less time than she would have thought, they were slowing down in
another driveway. The landscaping was similar to his parent’s home. The only
difference Cali could detect so far were the additional trees closer to the
main house. The one story home looked similar to his parents’.

“Welcome home.” Drake took her hand and she stepped carefully out of the
pod. “All of the homes built here in Renari use similar floor plans. It’s
easier to fabricate the walls and interiors that way.”

“Is that what you call this community? Renari?” Cali had been wondering
about that.

“Yes, all of the communities are named after their clan. It made it
easier when programming the computer systems for transportation and telecom.”
Drake explained. Upon making it to the doorway he stopped at a console
on
the wall. “Computer, allow access to Chan’
Drake.”

“Voice authorization confirmed. Access granted.” There
was
a chirping sound and Drake opened the door.

“If there is anything you don’t like we can change it.” Drake walked in
behind her.

The interior of their home was the same as his parents. An archway on the
left, a large fireplace with mantel, couches, chairs and end tables. The only
difference was the table in the middle of the great room was smaller, and more variety
of colors. Where his parent’s had been purple exclusively in the materials,
Drake mixed his up with reds, green, and blue cushions. Along with some very
ornate and colorful wall decorations.

Cali’s eyes flared wide…and a totally naked woman lounging provocatively
on one of the couches.

“Drake!” The black-haired woman was exceptionally pretty. Tall and slim
with legs that went on forever. “Darling—” she sat up where she was laying and
spotted Cali first. Her brow furrowed and her eyes looked over questioningly.

“Uh…ahem.” Cali cleared her throat and turned toward Drake. Seeing the
shocked look on his face made her burst into laughter. “A few ideas on what to
change are coming to me.”

“Angeline,” Drake couldn’t be
clearer
that he wasn’t amused. His stiff frame moved protectively closer and his arms
drew her into his chest. “What are you doing here?!”

“I heard you were found.”

Cali couldn’t see the woman with her face buried in Drake’s chest, but
her voice was coming nearer.

“I wanted to welcome you home.”

“You must leave,” Drake was furious and Cali could only laugh harder.

“Why are you protecting that child?” Angeline was right behind her.

“This is not a child,” Drake snapped. “She is my chosen mate.” At those
words,
the air
started
to crackle with energy.

“Impossible. You can’t mean to have this small creature for your mate.”
The formerly seductive note to Angeline’s voice shifted to anger. “We were—”

“Both aware of my intentions towards you.” Drake interrupted her rant. “I
never led you to believe that we would be anything more.”

“Not in so many words.”

Angeline wasn’t giving up and Cali was getting irritated.

“You didn’t have to say anything when we fit so well together.”

Cali had stopped laughing. She didn’t want to be rude, but this was her
home with Drake now, and Angeline had overstayed her welcome. Stiffening in
Drake’s
arms Cali turned to look up into the
flashing eyes of his former lover.

“I don’t want to be rude, but I think it’s time for you to leave.”

With a scream of
rage,
Angeline
lifted her arm to strike out. Cali knew from seeing how strong the people of
Titus were that she wouldn’t survive a hit from one of them. Even if it was a
woman doing the striking.

Drake spun her away just in time, the blow landing
on
his back. Twisting her away from him, and
drawing Angeline toward the door at the same time, they ended up in reverse
position. Drake was now holding a flailing Angeline, and she was closer to the
middle of the room.

“You would dare strike my chosen?” Drake was enraged. “Why Angeline? It
could mean banishment?”

Angeline was raging and screaming. Drake didn’t look like he was
expending very much energy, but she knew it wasn’t because Angeline wasn’t
strong…Drake was simply stronger.

 
“You’re mine, I won’t let that
shriveled, child-woman have you. Remember what we had together.”

Drake had maneuvered Angeline to the doorway. Pressing his hand against a
console the door opened. “Computer restrict access to my home to only Chan’
Drake or Chan’ Cali.”

“Confirmed. Access restricted.”

“No Drake. Don’t—”

Cali couldn’t hear what she said as Drake moved out of the doorway and the
closing doors silenced her yells. It was amazing really how much the house
insulated the noise from outside. She knew Angeline must still be screaming,
but she couldn’t hear any of it.

Standing in the middle of the room, she waited. Whatever Drake had done it
didn’t take long. Moments later he returned.

“Cali, I’m sorry.” Drake’s long legs ate the distance between them. His
worried blue eyes swept over her. “Are you harmed?” His hands moved along her
arms and torso in a quick inspection for damage.

“No, she didn’t hit me. You took the force of her punch to your back.”
Cali moved her hands along his sides.

“I worried in my haste to move you that I had damaged you.” Drake
inspected her arms and groaned, “You are bruised.”

Cali looked at her upper arms. There were very faint red marks where
Drake had grabbed her. Smiling over his exaggeration she assured him. “You
didn’t hurt me. Those marks are barely there. Why are you
overreacting
so badly? We’ve marked each other
much worse during sex.”

“I never considered you would be in danger here on Titus,” Drake shook
his head, his expression guarded.

“It won’t happen again.” Cali wrapped her arms around his waist and
hugged him tightly. “Angeline was surprised by the news of you taking me for
your chosen mate. The news will have spread soon enough, and won’t be such a
shock to your other…uh…women.” Cali started giggling again as the experience
played out in her mind. The look on Drake’s face, Angeline getting tossed out,
in her birthday suit. Wait, her birthday suit?

“Won’t Angeline be needing her clothes?” Cali looked around and spotted a
dress draped on a chair.

“I put her in my parents’
pod
. It
is taking her to a detention center where she will be dressed. She has tonight
to think about her actions, and then she will be transported to Jataci in the
morning.”

“She has to go to the Justice Center?” Cali was shocked. Angeline hadn’t
even touched her.

“Yes, she attempted to strike you, knowing you were my chosen mate.
Fighting is allowed, it is one way to showcase your abilities to a potential
mate. Fighting once a chosen has been
declared
is
prohibited,
however.”

“So if Angeline had tried to fight with me before knowing I was your
chosen it would have been allowed. Since you told her I was your chosen mate,
that’s why she’s in trouble?”

“Yes,” Drake sighed.

“I’m sorry Drake.” She rubbed her hands along his arms. “If I’d been from
Titus you wouldn’t have this problem.”

“If you were anyone but Cali from Cestori, I wouldn’t be happily mated.” Drake
insisted and Cali’s heart swelled with love for her mate. She knew he meant
what he said. He was happy with her just as she was, even if it meant added
concerns over her safety. Cali didn’t delude herself, if a woman of Titus
wanted to hurt her, it wouldn’t take much. They had the abilities of their men
and she knew what that meant. She had to hope that their sense of honor would
keep them in line.

“Why don’t you give me a tour of
our
home,” Cali turned the topic.

Drake kissed the top of her head and then pulled her in front of him.
“The archway on the left leads to the kitchen, just as in my parents’ home. I
don’t have a chef since I like to do the cooking for myself.
Denary
has the best
cooks
if you want to hire one. I also have a garden off the kitchen.
It’s not on the same scale as what you saw
with
my parents, but it is similar. The grounds of our home is more wooded, less
grassy. Our bedroom is this way.” Drake pulled her through an archway on the
right, and down a hallway. After passing three other doorways, at the end of
the hall, there were two giant doors. Drake pushed them open and drew her
inside.

The first thing Cali couldn’t help but notice was the giant bed. It was
against one wall, flanked by end tables and windows. She hadn’t seen anything
that large before. The color of his bedding surprised her. It was pale ivory,
with a small band of embellishment at the bottom. She had envisioned him with
bold colors in the bedroom. She might have to add a splash of sexy red to the
room. Perhaps some pillows and a throw. Against the opposite wall there was another
fireplace, with a smaller, but just as intricate mantel.

“
Throu
gh here is the bathroom.”
Drake had stopped to watch her looking the room over. “As you can see there is
a shower, bathtub, and separate toilet area.”

The bathroom was exactly as he described. Walking through the double
doors, on her right was an open door showing the toilet. On her left were a set
of tall cabinets, broken in the middle by a double sink and mirrors. Straight
ahead was a giant bathtub that appeared as if it could hold two or three
people. Next to the tub was a walk-in shower, complete with a number of strange
pipes coming out of the wall. Cali wasn’t sure what the whole purpose of those
might be. A solar shower usually didn’t have them hanging overhead. With a
shrug,
she figured the old saying, “to each
their own”, came into play here. There was a long seat against one wall and a
nice smell coming from the various bottles in a built in shelve system. Perhaps
his solar shower added a scent to its cycle? The idea was very interesting.

With the walls and flooring in a mix of green, blue, and
gray
, it seemed to drag the colors of the
outdoors, inside. The overall effect was very pleasing, and she knew she
wouldn’t be making any changes in here.

“This is very nice.” Cali was suddenly very sleepy. It had been a very
long day and she was exhausted. Without warning, just thinking of how tired she
was caused her to yawn hugely.

“Would you like a shower before bed?” Drake offered.

“That sounds
nice,
” Cali smiled.

“I’ll be right back, I want to check on Horace and Bella. I didn’t unlock
the canine door. They will be stuck outside until I open it.”

Drake hurried from the room and Cali laughed. She didn’t need help in
taking a solar shower. Turning and walking into the shower, she hit a few
buttons. The settings on this shower were unlike anything she had seen before.
Tapping a few more times, she was totally unprepared when water started soaking
her from all angles. Shrieking and flailing her arms, she tried to find the
controls to stop the spray.

“What happened?” Drake was suddenly in the water with her. Struggling to
hold back the two canines and help her at the same time.

“I was going to take a solar shower,” The water finally stopped and Cali
looked up to see Drake standing there looking soaking wet and sexy. Water beads
were hanging on his lashes, and his eyes were flashing with humor. His shirt was
stuck to his impressive chest, and she could see the outline of his nipples.
Trailing her eyes lower, she caught her breath. The material of his pants
was
clinging in an indecent way to his lower
body, and she could make out every line of his…growing arousal?!

Her eyes instantly returned to his. They were the now familiar glowing
blue and her body reacted instantly to the pleasure she knew was coming.

“Horace, Bella go to bed.”

The two canines moved away making complaining sounds as they went.

“Now. To put us to bed.”