Consort (Beyond Ontariese 6) (14 page)

“
Not yet, and I’m not sure
how he’ll react. On one hand, it could be devastating if anyone
learned that his lover was a Rodyte. On the other hand, Rodyte
physiology is even more compatible with Bilarrian than
Ontarian.”

That snapped Krysta back to attention
and speculation narrowed her gaze. “Which is only important if you
and Indric intend to have children. Just how serious is this
not-yet-intimate-relationship?”

“
He said he wanted to court
me. Which is the process Bilarrians use to determine the
compatibility of a possible life mate.
But
he’s been joined three times
before and was never able to father a child. He’s understandably
less than anxious to rush down that road again.”

“
The chances of him getting
his Ontarian lover pregnant were slim, but this might give him
hope?”

“
It’s not just his
disappointment either. Indric has a half-brother whom his father
delegitimized on his deathbed. Until Indric produces an heir, Eagin
is a real danger. We all think it was Eagin who was responsible for
the attack on the boys. It makes more sense than the NRS springing
back into action after so many years.”

“
Damn. And I thought my
life was complicated.”

Cinarra released her breath and rolled
her shoulders. It felt wonderful to share the secret. She still
wasn’t sure if it would make a difference, but it might give Indric
an option he wasn’t anticipating. “His first three consorts were
Bilarrian. Maybe, just maybe, my Rodyte physiology—combined with my
healing gift—will be a new enough combination to spark a
miracle.”

* * * * *

What are your intentions
toward my mother?

Once again seated behind
his desk, Indric couldn’t rid his mind of Krysta’s question. He
rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. What
were
his intentions toward Cinarra?
Knowing what she’d suffered back on Earth and the extraordinary
lengths it had taken to bring her back from the dead hadn’t
diminished his attraction to her. If anything he found her more
amazing, more precious.

So what role should she play in his
life?

He wanted to be her lover. That much
was absolute. But mistress seemed inadequate for the intensity of
his feelings for her. A king shared pleasure with his mistress. He
enjoyed her body and her company, but little else. While a consort
was his lifelong companion—and when the gods smiled upon him—became
the mother of his children and his queen.

A knot formed in the pit of
his stomach, tight and heavy. That’s what he really wanted for
Cinarra. A partner, a lover, a
queen
.

He shoved the thought out of his mind.
He could make Cinarra his consort, but it was unlikely she’d ever
be his queen regardless of how badly he desired it. Only a royal
heir could promote a consort to queen, and he was incapable of
creating children. He’d failed with three Bilarrian women. How
could he overcome the additional challenge of Cinarra being
Ontarian? Bilarrian physiology was compatible with Ontarian, but
medical treatment was required before the couple could hope to
produce offspring. And that was when both sides of the equation
were performing normally.

So why allow hope to build? Why set
himself up for failure. No, he’d continue along the path they’d
agreed upon. She would be his cherished mistress and nothing
more.

“
Access security grid.” His
tone was terse and impatient. Good thing computers didn’t have
feelings because he was suddenly in the mood for an
argument.

“
Designate sector,” the
computer prompted and the panel recessed in his desktop began to
glow.

“
Conference room C,
real-time audio and visual.” A holographic image of the room he’d
requested rose from the desktop, detailed yet
translucent.

He didn’t routinely spy on his
councilors, but this situation with Bakar and Huko was tricky. Not
only had Ambassador Huko agreed to meet Bakar in person, but
“another matter” just happened to have brought the crafty Rodyte to
Bilarri, so he was able to accommodate Bakar within a couple of
hours of the request. As Indric had thought, Huko was clearly
testing the much younger man.

They sat across from each other at one
end of the rectangular table. Indric had missed the beginning of
the conversation, and judging from Bakar’s tight expression, it was
quickly growing heated.

“
Let’s both cut the shit.
How’s that sound?” There was a steely edge to Bakar’s voice that
Indric had never heard before and yet he appeared calm and in
control. “We’re haggling over the bottom line and something tells
me we aren’t even on the same page yet.”

Huko laughed, leaning back slightly in
his chair. “Very good, puppy. I was wondering how long it would
take you to figure out that this is not about money.” The
ambassador was a rotund man with short black hair and a florid
complexion. Though his pupils were ringed in blue, the color had a
purplish cast indicating a bit of Bilarrian blood. The rings in a
highborn Rodyte’s eyes were so vivid a blue they were
incandescent.

“
So enlighten me,” Bakar
placed his palms on the tabletop and leaned forward. “What do
you
really
want?”

It was the perfect opportunity for
Indric to flash into the conference room, but he hesitated. Bakar
was acting on behalf of the crown, but ultimately it was Bakar’s
authority to which Huko needed to respond. Assisting Bakar at this
point would be counterproductive to the rapport he was attempting
to establish.

“
There’s a Rodyte saying,
‘If you give a hungry man food, before long he’ll ask for more. But
if you teach him to farm, he’ll never go hungry again.’”

“
We have a similar
saying.”

Indric narrowed his gaze. Palani was a
super grain, specifically engineered to grow in the shallow, sandy
soil of the San Adrin. It had taken decades to perfect the
process.

“
We aren’t interested in
importing massive quantities of palani or even converting our
fields to a Bilarrian grain,” Huko explained. “We want you to teach
us how to increase the viability and output of our own grains.
Retrofitting our harvesting equipment and mills isn’t an
option.”

“
I’m not sure the procedure
can be done with other grains. I know they’ve tried with a number
of produce items and have been far less successful.” It was obvious
that Bakar hadn’t anticipated this turn of events. He rubbed his
chin, distraction clouding his gaze.

“
Well, investigate the
options and let me know.”

Having seen what he needed to see,
Indric turned off the holocom. There was no way he was going to
give such valuable information to the Rodytes. Helping them feed
themselves was one thing. He could see the benefit of having the
enemy dependent upon a Bilarrian resource. Helping make them
self-sufficient would be foolish.

It didn’t take long for Bakar to
request an audience. Indric had a few minutes before his next
appointment, so he agreed to the impromptu meeting.

After a quick bow, Bakar cut straight
to the heart of the matter. “Huko doesn’t want palani he wants the
process we use to make the grain.”

“
I suspected that might be
the case.” Bakar didn’t need to know that he’d watched the majority
of the conversation. The lad had handled himself well and Indric
wanted to reinforce his confidence. “I honestly thought he’d screw
with you a bit longer before admitting the fact.”

“
Sorry to disappoint
you.”

Indric smiled and folded his hands on
his desktop. “I’m not disappointed. Huko is challenging, but I
wouldn’t have appointed you to your position if I didn’t think you
could handle him.”

“
Is the process for
sale?”

“
Absolutely
not.”

Bakar nodded. “That’s what I figured.
What about using the process on a Rodyte grain? Would it be
possible to create similar results?”

“
There is only one way to
find out. Ask Huko to give you samples of the three most popular
grains on Rodymia and see what the palani team can do with
them.”

“
I’ll do so,
Sire.”

Bakar left and Indric
smiled. If only all the other conflicts in his life could be
resolved so easily
.

“
Oh gods that feels
good.”

The throaty purr in Cinarra’s voice
brought Indric up short in the doorway connecting his suite with
hers. Desire flooded his senses with tingles and sent half the
blood in his body surging to the juncture of his thighs. He had
never wanted a woman as much as he wanted Cinarra, never realized
his bones would literally ache with his need to join with
her.

Cinarra lay facedown on a massage
table, obviously naked, a white cloth draped across her hips. The
masseuse, who was working her calf, spotted him so Indric signaled
for the young man to remain silent.

Indric kicked off his shoes then
crossed the room as quietly as possible.

“
Is this too hard, Madam
Mazodie?” the masseuse asked with a broad smile.

Yeah, no one with sight could have
missed his body’s reaction to the situation.

“
No. That feels
wonderful.”

Easily guessing Indric’s intention,
the masseuse moved one hand and then the other, allowing Indric to
take his place. He offered Indric a silent bow then retreated
through the connecting door.

Indric kept his touch professional for
a few moments, having been massaged often enough to adequately
mimic the movements. A bottle of scented oil rested in a warmer on
a nearby cart. He retrieved the bottle and drew warm lines down the
back of her thighs.

“
If I fall asleep, just
leave me here.” Her laugh sounded muffled and sleepy.

Time to wake her up.

He spread the oil over her thighs,
intentionally dipping between and pushing a bit higher with each
circular stroke. She pressed her thighs together and he fought back
a laugh.

“
Could you work a little
lower, please? I’m not comfortable being touched like
that.”

“
And if your comfort is not
my primary goal?”

She gasped and pushed up with her
arms, twisting around to look at him. “How long have you been
here?”

“
Since, ‘Oh gods that feels
good.’” He rubbed his hands together and stared into her eyes. “Lie
back down. It’s my turn to touch you.”

“
But I…”

“
Now.” He made the order
firm yet gentle.

She returned to her earlier position,
but her body was noticeably tenser now. “Did your meetings go
well?”

The mundane question made him smile.
She was obviously nervous, so he dimmed the lights with a voice
command and began to talk as he continued her massage. “The morning
session went well, but there were some complications this
afternoon. Nothing overly challenging, but it took a bit longer
than I’d hoped.” He eased her legs apart and gradually worked his
way up one firm thigh. “Did you have dinner with
Krysta?”

“
Krysta, Betaul and Prince
Dravon,” she listed. “I think we drove the staff crazy with our
silliness. They seem to be used to a more serious
crowd.”

“
Why do you think I ate at
your house so often?” He eased beneath the cloth and stroked her
hip, his thumb teasing the lower curve of her ass. She tensed, the
muscle flexing beneath his hand. “Relax.” He cupped one firm cheek
and then the other, barely able to suppress a sensual moan. She fit
so perfectly in the palm of his hand. He imagined grasping her
here, anchoring her body as he thrust between her
thighs.

He wanted to flip back the cloth and
see what he was touching, but he knew she’d protest, might even
climb down from the table and lock herself in the bathroom. It was
more important that she grow accustomed to his touch and realize he
would never harm her, never force anything upon her.

His balls tightened and the pressure
in his cock was nearly unbearable, so he pulled his hands out from
under the cloth and moved to her back. Not that the elegant line of
her spine and her soft skin were any less tempting.

She remained silent and still until he
reached her shoulders then a soft groan escaped and she said, “If
the king thing doesn’t work out you can always do this for a
living. That feels amazing.”

He chuckled, glad she was comfortable
enough to joke with him, but the purpose of this massage was not to
put her to sleep.

Dragging his fingers down the backs of
her arms, he skimmed along her sides, paused to explore the outer
swell of her breasts, then returned to her legs. The restless
movement of her body assured him she was as affected by his touch
as he was by touching her.

He stroked up and down one thigh then
eased his hand between her legs. His fingertips brushed against her
folds and she gasped. But he didn’t linger. Switching sides, he
started at her ankle and repeated the gradual climb up her other
leg.