No Words Alone (17 page)

Her new husband made a low humming noise as
he gathered her close. “
Azie hiri’ami
.” My sweetheart. “I
was a boor with you.”

Xera shook her head against his chest. The
insignia on his chest scratched. “We were both stupid. Maybe there
is no best time.”

He sighed and picked her up in his arms so
that her feet dangled in the air. “Whenever these things go wrong,
it is the man’s fault.” His eyes crinkled. “My sisters say it is
so.”

She laughed, surprised at his humor. He took
her to the couch and sat down, arranging her with her head in his
lap. He stroked her hair. “Rest, if you will,
azie ami
. I
will listen and keep you safe.”

She blinked, faintly astonished. From what
she’d seen, human men just didn’t act like this, being so concerned
and kind. She’d expected demands and pressure, and perhaps some
egocentric questions. Weren’t the Scorpio a warlike race? Was this
some kind of underhanded psychological trick? But after a moment
she decided she trusted and liked it. She’d expected to kick Ryven
out and indulge in a fit of tears. She’d gotten something much
better.

Still, her previous thoughts were enough to
dampen her eyes. “I’m never going to see my sisters again.” He
stroked the hair from her face and she felt the bite of rage. She
wanted to hurt him. “It’s your fault!”

“Yes,” he said simply.

A little of her anger slid away, undermined
by his continued calm. Her throat got tight. “I hate you.”

“Yes,” he agreed softly.

That made her cry. It was long minutes before
she could admit, “I don’t. I just hate...everything that’s going
on.”

“So would I.”

That loosened the mortar that held together
her fortress of sorrow. She poured out her anger, her heartbreak.
She even told him how she’d felt during their time on the desert
planet where they’d crashed. There was no one else to tell, and she
needed it out so badly. “I was as scared of my crew as I was of
yours. I thought we’d be stuck there for years, that it would
become a prison. I thought being the only woman there would make
me…you know. Vulnerable. A commodity. I think Khan’s attitude might
have been part of what made me so scared.”

He curled a lock of her hair around his
finger. “I would not let you be hurt.”

“I didn’t know that. You seemed scary
yourself,” she admitted.

He smiled. “Even then I wanted you for our
ambassador.”

“That was all?”

His eyes were hooded as he looked down at
her. He traced her cheek. “No. That wasn’t all.”

“Why? Because I was the only woman there?”
She laughed wryly.

His smile held secrets. “I knew a ship was
coming for us. It would only be weeks before I was home again.”

“Surrounded by women,” she said, a bit
sourly.

“They had lost appeal. I’d found what I’d
been looking for.”

“What was that?” she asked softly. She stared
at him. His eyes had that certain glow.

He brushed a finger over her lips. “A fierce
heart. You thought I would kill you and you faced death with
courage. You didn’t complain as we marched through killing sands
and men fell around us. You’re a survivor, a fighter. All that and
gemstone eyes, flame-red lips... I could not believe such beauty
was allowed to serve in such a dangerous position. I wanted to kill
your captain just for allowing it.”

“Our cultures are different,” she mused, even
as he brushed her lips with his.

“I will never understand it,” he replied, his
voice a murmur against her temple.

He straightened, even though she could
clearly feel his arousal with her head in his lap. His hands
remained soothing, stroking her arm. After a moment he said, “Tell
me about your family.” He seemed genuinely interested, and she was
quietly pleased by his questions.

“My sisters?” She thought about it. “Moody,
headstrong, infamous...and that’s just my younger sister, Brandy.
Gem is the oldest and...motherish.” She made a face.

He laughed. “Motherish?”

“You know, always trying to steer us in the
right direction. Bossy, though she tries to rein it in. At least
having kids has given her someone to unleash the instinct on
besides us. She’s married to a cop. He gets bossed around by her,
too.” Not that Blue seemed to mind. He’d once said there were
compensations, then had given his wife such a hot look that Xera
blushed. She’d stopped teasing him. Truth be known, he could hold
his own when he needed.

“Do you fight much?”

She shifted to get more comfortable. “Not
really, not anymore. At least, not with Gem. Brandy drives me
crazy. She’s so stinking moody. She’ll snarl at you for nothing
when she gets in one of her snits. It doesn’t help that she’s
always holed up in the brewery, tinkering with formulas.”

“Brewery?”

“We make the finest beer on Polaris. Make a
mint, too, now that offworld exports have gotten more affordable.
We own a bunch of inns,” she confided. “My dad started the first
when he homesteaded the place.”

“He sounds enterprising.”

“Yes.” She abruptly clammed up.

When she said nothing more, he asked, “What
was your home like?”

“Clean, busy, happy mostly. Business was
always good, but it’s taken off during the last few years. Gem
really came into her own. She knows how to manage people,
resources. I swear, all she did for years was breathe through the
business; it was like a second lung. Nobody did it better. I think
she’d have had an aneurysm or something if Blue hadn’t found her
and dragged her away from the office. She kicked and screamed then,
but she doesn’t seem to mind now. She’s in love.” She ducked her
head slightly, the mention of love making her self-conscience.

Ryven smiled. “You must have had some lonely
years in space, judging from the quality of men who were in your
crew. What did you dream of doing when your time was your own
again?”

She blinked, a little surprised. How had he
known she was lonely? For that matter, it was a little arrogant of
him to assume that she’d never fraternized with anyone in a
romantic capacity, even if that was true. “Actually, I served with
a couple of decent guys. No keepers, though.” Let him chew on that.
It might keep him from taking her for granted. “What did I dream of
though? Little things, mostly. I dreamed about eating at home
again; we always had the best cooks.”

“Space rations are not always enough,” he
agreed. “What else?”

“Sunlight. A garden to snooze in. I was never
much for weeding, but my sister always grew the best flowers.
Windows open to the breeze, good beer, good neighbors.”

“The home you knew,” he said.

“Yes. I’d gotten my fill of exploring by the
time we crashed. The GE soured it for me.”

“You don’t like them,” he remarked
carefully.

She was silent for a moment, held in check by
old company loyalty, then admitted with irritation, “No. No, I
don’t. They’re greedy, corrupt and have really lousy benefits. It’s
a wonder they haven’t started a war yet instead of skirted around
it. Even then, if they had more money and better leadership...but
they don’t. They’re a bunch of land-grabbing investors ruled by a
board of nincompoops. I’m glad I’m out of that mess.”

“So I rescued you, did I?”

She huffed at him, trying not to laugh.
“Please! My ego can’t take much more.”

He kissed her. “Take a transfusion from mine.
I have enough to share, according to my sisters.”

“They would know,” Xera retorted, but his
kiss distracted her. He really had a talent for it.

The mood was light-years different than
before, but still he only teased her and retreated. The mischievous
smile he gave her only made Xera want to chase him. “Come here,”
she demanded at last.

Mock regretful, he shook his head. “I don’t
think I should.”

She frowned and sat up, wincing as she did.
“Another kiss won’t hurt.”

He obliged, and then said breathlessly,
“Anything else will hurt. I’d rather not cause you pain.”

“Then don’t.” She pulled his head back down,
still hungry from his clever, enticing kisses. At this point,
not
having them would be worse.

“Such a lot of work you are,” he complained
huskily. “You’ll have me start all over. I’m exhausted from your
demands, wife.”

“Tough luck.” She grabbed his head in both
hands and shut his mouth with hers. It felt good, powerful to be in
charge. She wanted to control him; but oddly enough, the feelings
brought back the anger. She became more aggressive, almost hurting
him.

His head snapped back and he gave her a
warning look. His old command surfaced. “No! Not again. We will not
follow that pattern. This time, we will be soft because it is best.
You will be soft for me.” His lashes swept down and screened those
volcanic eyes as he kissed the corner of her mouth.

She turned her head, sulking. “You don’t
always know what’s best.”

“This time I do,” he said softly, and cupped
her breast. She didn’t have time to object before he palmed it,
delivering a jolt of pleasure. “Be soft for me, wife, soft where a
woman should be soft, and I will be your rock.”

He was asking for trust, for openness, though
he remained dominant.

It was difficult. She didn’t want to let go,
but he had ways of persuading her. In the end it was his gentle yet
commanding patience that won her over. Somehow his touch was
soothing yet exciting, light and fiery, like ghostly flames licking
over her skin. He made her thoughts spin away in her head, her
vision dulled with passion. Even the clothing sliding from her skin
was an unbearably welcome caress; the hands that followed, nirvana.
It was, “Oh!” and
“Jai tai, kdi ahn,”
as she moved against
his fingers.
“Tomou,”
he murmured breathlessly, his mouth
open and hot over her nipple. And “Yes!” and “
Xeinxi
.”

Each forgot any but their native language as
the passion swept them, but Ryven did not change his plan. This
time he took her gently, slid with utter care into her slick core.
This time she shuddered with passion before he slowly rocked her,
deaf to the urging of her nails, her hot anxiety. He knew better,
knew to guide their bodies slowly. He rode out her impatience, took
her past the first burst of light and guided her into a second,
even more powerful.

Her scream almost deafened him. He clamped
his teeth gently on her neck and growled his own release.

It was a while before she recovered enough to
see their surroundings. They were on the carpet next the couch. Her
backside was raw from the carpet. Ryven was heavy on top of her and
deep within. She shuddered with lingering pleasure. Hot seed
trickled between her thighs.

“Mm.” He suckled her neck. “We should move to
the bed, little one. This carpet looked softer than it is.”

She laughed. “My backside is raw.”

“I’ll put balm on it. You can attend to my
knees...and other parts that ache.” He brushed a kiss over her lips
and reluctantly withdrew his fullness.

She blinked and sat up. “I thought...” She
gestured at him, averting her eyes.

He smiled rakishly. “Yes?”

“Shouldn’t that be...ah, taken care of?”

“Meaning?” He sounded like he was enjoying
himself.

She couldn’t bring herself to look, so she
gestured. “You know. Down.”

He grinned. “Wife. You’re naked at my feet.
Your thighs are still wet with my essence, and you think I should
be ‘
down
?’ We have much to teach you, little one.”

Ignoring her hot blush, he scooped her up and
carried her to the bed, then fetched the balm. He wasn’t shy about
rubbing it all over her body, even deep between her legs. She
gasped as his fingers slid deep with a generous dose of cream.

“S-should you...be....” She ended on a
moan.

“This is what it’s for,” he murmured,
enjoying himself. He spread the cream all over the inside of her
thighs, held them wide with his forearms as he teased the petals of
her femininity. It was necessary; she would have twisted out of his
hold with pleasure otherwise. At last, when she was far gone to
passion, he eased her up and handed her the jar. “Your turn.”

She blinked at him before obediently
smoothing it over his knees and thighs, forgetting to cover herself
as she worked. Her hands grasped him, sweetly stroked as her
generous breasts squeezed between her arms, the nipples tight
little peaks. She cast him a heated, hungry look.

He smiled and leaned back. “Come here.” He
turned her when she would have lain down so that her back met his
front. He used his own legs to spread her thighs wide, then sent
his fingers sneaking, seeking. One hand toyed in her curls as the
other played with her breast then slid up and between her lips. She
moaned as she suckled him, and climaxed.

It was as if sudden fever ignited his body.
He flipped her over, facedown on the mattress, and slid into her,
though careful, ever careful. She responded with a deep groan.
Baring his teeth in triumph, he rode her to their reward.

Chapter 14

Midmorning of the next day found Xera seated
at her desk, perusing a report on the wallscreen while Namae
silently dressed her hair. Their meeting with the GE and
Interplanetary Council representatives had opened up talks, and she
had to be ready to participate if called upon. She was also doing
research to see why relations between the races had failed; from a
Scorpio perspective. Apparently the Scorpio had taken a dim view of
a GE captain’s aggression when he was discovered nosing around a
section of space they claimed. The captain had pushed, tried to
bluff, only to discover that Scorpio didn’t bluff. The GE vessel
limped home minus its captain and delivered the terse message,
“Stay away from Scorpio space.” The GE hadn’t listened.