No Words Alone (13 page)

But he didn’t.

She slept naked with him that night, curled with her
back to his front. She slept through the night undisturbed and woke
to the feel of his mouth on all the places he’d taught her to love,
but he did not take her. They even bathed together at his
insistence and she got an eyeful of unabashed, aroused male, but he
didn’t take her virginity. His hands didn’t even stray past her
thighs.

She felt...resentful.

It was crazy. He’d made her climax; that’s what those
bursts of light were; so many times she was exhausted. She ought to
have been satisfied, even grateful that he’d kept his promise, but
she could only watch him with hungry eyes and dream.

He noticed. That he said nothing, only watched her
with those brimstone eyes, made it worse.

She deserted him for her own room only to discover it
was no longer hers. Her clothes had been moved to his chamber
before she’d returned last night. How had she not noticed that? She
still felt the need to be alone, however. Sharing a room with him
only made her affliction worse.

She shouldn’t have gone so far, but they were
married...almost. The qualification didn’t settle right in the
light of morning. She was confused, afraid that the source of her
confusion would do what he had promised; guard her sense of honor.
Even if she went to him and asked for him to finish what he’d
started, she knew he would refuse. It was a lowering thought, that
she couldn’t even guard her own honor anymore.

He shouldn’t have seduced her. Her mind was mass of
confusion now and she blamed it on his carefully planned trap.
She’d been loved all night, enough to ensure her devotion, but she
wasn’t a wife. Why had she promised her sister anything? Why
couldn’t he have left her alone?

Chapter 10

She wasn’t left alone long. Namae soon came for her
and conducted her to a small reception of Ryven’s family and
friends. She met Ryven’s other two sisters there and their
families. Toosun and Shiza were present, along with the LG and the
Lady Tessla. Namae only stayed because Xera collared her as she
tried to slink away. “I don’t think so.”

“Mistress….”

“Sister, you mean. Whatever else you are, you are
also my aide. That means you stay by my side and try to keep me
from embarrassing myself unnecessarily. It’s your job, Namae.”

Oddly enough, defining the action of staying with her
family as a job seemed to relax Namae. She stood up straight and
made no further protests, though she did move a respectful distance
away.

“Cleverly done,” Toosun said in her ear. “I never
would have thought to use that approach.” Ryven was talking to one
of his sisters an arm’s length away and didn’t comment, but he
glanced their direction.

“Too much sympathy is like eating too much candy; it
sours the stomach,” she told Toosun. “How would you like to break
your arm and then have the world treat you like you were made of
glass?”

He blinked. “Interesting thought.”

Xera shrugged. “I was a younger sister, too, and
probably overindulged.”

“You think we spoil her?”

She frowned at him. “You’re letting your sister
pretend to be a servant and hug the wall.”

He stared at her. A reluctant smile tugged up his
mouth. “You have a way with a rebuke. I think I’ll go and talk to
her.” He shook his head as he turned, either at her or himself, but
the smile remained. He leaned on the wall by his sister, a
determinedly casual expression on his face as he chatted.

“What mischief are you up to?” Shiza asked her. His
eyes lingered on Namae as he sent a curious glance her way. There
was something guarded, pensive there. He handed Xera a drink. “You
may want this; these family gatherings can be hard on the
nerves.”

She accepted the glass but didn’t smile. She still
didn’t like him. “But you’re not family, are you?”

“I grew up with Ryven. We are old friends.”

“Hm.” She looked around for someone else to talk
to.

He wasn’t disturbed by her cool attitude. “How are
you finding married life?”

That caught her attention. “We aren’t married yet. I
haven’t informed my sister about it.”

“Ah. This is some custom of your people?”

“I made her a promise. Ryven is letting me keep
it.”

Shiza looked at Ryven and smiled enigmatically. “How
like him. He has far more patience than the rest of us. Or does
he?”

Was he baiting her? The innuendo sparked her
temper. She didn’t have to raise her voice to make it vibrate with
fury. “You’re lucky I wasn’t your captive; I’d have slit your
throat in your sleep.”

He leaned closer, amused as only one who
loved to bait others could be. “You assume I would use force.”

“You’d have to,” she retorted.

He smiled. “I know my friend very well.
You’ve had something of a wedding night. Was it so bitter?” He
waited until the color in her cheeks betrayed her. “We’re brothers
in that, sweetheart.” He sauntered away.

Xera was left feeling stupid and a little
breathless. She glowered at his retreating back and went in search
of a distraction. Since Shiza was heading toward Ryven, she went
the other way.

Ryven looked meaningfully at his friend as
Shiza joined him. “You’ve tormented my wife.”

“She is unaware I helped you move the table
into your chambers,” Shiza said blithely. “She insists you are not
married yet.”

Ryven’s expression was bland. “We reached a
compromise.”

“I thought so.” Shiza looked at him
curiously. “What’s it like, being married? Any regrets?”

“No. I doubt I’ll ever be bored with a woman
like her.”

“Hm. How do you think she’ll hold up to her
ambassadorial duties? It’s rare to have a woman in that
office.”

“She’ll have help. Speaking of which, it
looks as if my sister is haranguing her. Excuse me.”

As her husband extricated her from his
sister’s clutches and moved her to a more private space, he asked
Xera, “Tired yet?”

She gave him a look. “Your sisters are very
like mine.” They were giving her qualified approval, but she sensed
she was on probation. They hadn’t accepted her yet. Nobody said it,
but maybe they wished he’d married one of his own kind.

Part of her was glad. She hadn’t given up on
going home. Ryven might be working hard on changing her mind, but
this wasn’t where she belonged.

“Headstrong, bossy and full of unsolicited
advice?” he suggested. “I can see why you left home.”

She laughed, but the mood didn’t stay. “Tell
me the truth, are we married?”

He looked thoughtful. “If I were to die this
moment, yes, you would retain your status as my wife. This is to
your benefit, of course. There is no requirement of pregnancy, for
instance.”

She frowned. “Is that even possible? Our
species may not be capable of reproduction together.” She was
surprised she hadn’t thought of that before this, but all of the
main bits of their anatomy were the same.

His brows lifted. “It won’t be for lack of
effort.”

She exhaled in reluctant amusement and looked
aside. After last night, she had no doubts he would go above and
beyond the call of duty in that regard. Lucky her. However she felt
about being stuck here, she had no doubts she would enjoy his
tender ministrations.

“We won’t have the official reception until after you
speak with your sister,” Ryven told her softly, breaking into her
reminiscence. “We will use pressing business as an excuse for the
delay.”

She looked at him in question.

“We leave tomorrow for the border. A fleet of
warships is coming to parlay with us. You’ll step into your
ambassador role very soon.”

She drew a breath. She’d be close to her people soon,
as close to a ride home as she would be for a long time. She knew
that all the while, he’d be watching her like a spy satellite.

“How many days is it to the rendezvous point?” she
asked.

“Three. It’s another eight months travel to reach
your world, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” They had never discussed it, but she knew he’d
salvaged information from her wrecked ship. The distance depressed
her. What had she been thinking, to travel so far from home? Her
sisters were literally billions of miles away. Even if she could
steal a ship and head home, she’d have a hard time reaching them.
Traveling alone for such long distances could be deadly.

“We will be able to receive a message, though it is a
vast distance to cover. Fortunately, communications are far swifter
than ships, and while the communications relay won’t be done for a
while yet, I think we can persuade the GE to pass on a message
using their relays, this once.” Wormhole technology made possible
for messages what was deadly for a man. No one knew how to send a
live body through a wormhole yet. Somehow, it was harder to be
hopeful when they were so close.

He seemed to realize that. “Come. My aunt looks
lonely.”

Xera snorted at that bold lie, but she let him
distract her anyway. Brooding wasn’t helping anyway. She did offer
a word of warning, though. “The GE are not to be trusted.”

He raised a brow in inquiry.

“They don’t always keep their word.” She didn’t know
how caution him further without betraying old loyalties, so she
said no more.

He seemed content to drop the subject, for he said no
more about it. He did look at her thoughtfully from time to time,
though.

If she had been nervous or excited about the night to
come, Xera never had a chance to explore it. A courier met them at
the entrance to their room with an urgent message for Ryven.

“What is it?” Ryven asked grimly. He must have known
what was coming.

The courier looked at Xera.

Ryven glanced at her, too. “Would you excuse us, Lady
Xera? I won’t be long.”

“Sure,” she said in her own language, forgetting to
translate. Deciding it would be explanation enough just to exit,
she entered their quarters alone.

Ryven came in shortly afterward. “I’m sorry,
hiri’ami.
There is something I must attend. There is no need
to wait up for me.”

“Trouble?” she asked, following him into the bedroom.
“It’s nothing to do with our upcoming trip, is it?”

“No, the other border,” he said as he rapidly changed
out of his civilian clothes and donned his military uniform.

“What’s on the other border?” she asked curiously. It
had never occurred to her to wonder what the Scorpio boundaries
were, or what lay beyond them; her world had been a smaller bubble
for the last week, and an absorbing one at that. Did they have more
enemies, then?

He noticed her disturbed expression and gave her a
comforting kiss as he took her hand and towed her into the living
room. He picked up a remote and turned the viewing wall on, then
thumbed through the programs. “Here. There are some shows about our
northern border, and plenty of entertainment videos to take your
mind off it after that. We’ll talk about things when I get back.”
He really did look imposing. Putting on his uniform was like
donning a mantle of war for him; his whole demeanor changed. It
would have to, wouldn’t it? He was a leader and a warrior, and he’d
only been a husband a short while.

She felt a twinge of intimidation, reminded of how
they first met.

His eyes softened and he gave her another lingering
kiss. “There will be another evening for us,
hiri’ami.”
He
strode from the room.

A twinge of loneliness struck her. Surely she wasn’t
becoming emotionally attached to him already? After all he’d done,
all he’d forced upon her; albeit pleasantly, and in her best
interests? Shaking her head at herself, she settled down on the
couch to learn about her new world and what Ryven faced.

Hours later, she was feeling decidedly chilled. The
Khun’tat were a predatory race of flesh eaters who lived beyond the
Scorpio frontier. Seven feet tall, leather-skinned and fanged, the
aliens dressed in metal body armor and slit-eyed masks only a
little less hideous than their faces. They had hose-like tails at
the back of their skulls tipped with sharp spines that could stun
prey, making it easier to devour them at leisure. The females laid
eggs. Their hatchlings required fresh, warm blood to thrive, and
the Khun’tat were not farmers. They seized whatever beast or person
they could lay talons on to feed their monstrous appetites.

They had moved into Scorpio territory over a hundred
years ago. Only the ferociousness of the Scorpio had kept them at
bay, plus the Scorpio’s slight technological edge. It was scary to
know this race was what the human race would have been facing if
the GE had succeeded in pushing back the Scorpio borders. Humans
had yet encountered nothing like it, and Xera hoped they never
would.

Namae had told her once that her brothers were
skilled pilots, some of her people’s best. Xera wondered how many
battles they must have fought to develop those skills, and how
often Ryven would fly into battle now. Would he be called away
often, as he’d been tonight? Did he lead the missions in person, or
did he call the shots from a battle cruiser? Not that a cruiser
couldn’t be shot down: The Khun’tat reportedly swarmed around those
ships often, knowing the big score of blood that could be had
inside. It was more economical than taking pilots ship by ship,
especially when a pilot could trigger a suicide explosion rather
than be taken as food.

Xera felt a hollow ball of fear settle in her gut.
She’d seen Ryven in the field, knew what he could do, but his ship
had been shot down along with her own. He was vulnerable. She could
lose him.

She laughed at herself, at her misty eyes. She’d
known him for so little time! How could she be feeling like this?
Love had to grow, didn’t it? Didn’t she want to go home? What about
her sisters? Her world?