strongholdrising (21 page)

* * *

The temperature in the pool area was hot, with just enough humidity to make it pleasant. A tiled path, meandering its way through beds of various small trees and shrubs native to K'oish'ik, led from the stripping area toward the actual poolside. A genuine effort had been made to re-create one of the lush hot springs from their homeworld. It was a custom followed, not usually so successfully, by every planetary governor, no matter how small the outpost world. Racial memory of these pools was embedded deep in the Valtegan psyche and it was a balm, not only to his eyes, but to his body and soul. He could already feel himself relaxing as his pores opened and began to absorb the nutrients from the airborne moisture.
Faint wisps of steam drifted up from the heated mineral water. Islets and landing stages had been cunningly constructed among the greenery, breaking up the geometry of the pool, making it appear more natural and larger than it was.
The sound of voices drew his attention to the fact there were others present. Pulling his toweling robe more tightly round himself, he frowned and glanced back to see where the doctor had gotten to. As they'd arrived, she'd recognized a friend about to leave and knowing his capacity to be embarrassed, had suggested he go on ahead of her. He should have realized they wouldn't be alone here either.
That the females would use the same stripping area had never occurred to him, accustomed as he was to a single sex society. Thankfully, he'd found a locker and somewhere to undress out of their line of sight.
Wrapped in a bright blue robe and carrying a couple of large towels, she emerged to join him. With a sinking feeling, he remembered that there was a larger hurdle still to cross.
"Impressive, isn't it?" she said, mouth widening in a grin. "There's a separate aerated pool behind the main island, if you'd prefer to try that."
He shook his head slowly. "Perhaps later," he said, hearing for himself how strained his voice sounded.
Zayshul took him by the arm, drawing him toward a pile of soft cushions lying near the edge of the pool. "We'll leave our towels and robes here while we swim."
Before he could answer, she'd tossed the towels down and unfastened her robe. Letting it drop to the floor, stark naked she walked to the edge of the pool and dived in.
The brief glimpse he got of the rainbow-hued markings across her lower belly and upper thighs, and the bright speckling across her lower back, etched themselves instantly and indelibly on his mind. He blinked in disbelief, then saw her looking up at him from the water, her nakedness now partially concealed.
"Do you intend to stand there all afternoon, General?" she asked, putting her head to one side and looking up at him as she treaded water to keep afloat. "You really should come in. It'll do you good."
All hope of making a quick, dignified entrance into the water vanished. He clenched his jaw in annoyance. If this was what it took to catch her, then he could be equally brazen. It wasn't as if he was unused to communal nude bathing, they'd done it in his time— only there had been no females present then. After all, she'd seen him naked before, he remembered with an embarrassed wince.
Deliberately, he walked toward her, untying his robe. Pulling it off, he threw it on top of the towels. As he dived into the water, he reminded himself that at least his body could stand up to her scrutiny after his weeks spent walking across the Sholan plains to reach the Aldatans' home.
The water was warm, enveloping and supporting him as he rose back to the surface. He emerged only a few feet from Zayshul. She let herself float to the surface and, once again, he had a tantalizing glimpse of the markings on her back before she began to swim slowly toward the island in the center.
Irritation flickered through him as he struck out after her. As he gained on her, she caught sight of him and began to increase her pace. Why wasn't she waiting for him? By now, she had to be aware of his interest in her. Why else invite him to the pool when its whole atmosphere was one of sexual provocation? He'd played her game long enough, allowed himself to be wrong-footed by her past behavior, embarrassed by the communal stripping room, and having to enter the pool naked in front of her. He'd had enough: time to close in for the kill.
Increasing his adrenaline level slightly, he used his powerful leg muscles to kick himself forward under the surface as he dived for her. Moments later, his hands closed round her waist. Before he could get a firm grasp, however, she'd twisted free and was gone, her body lost to him amid those of several other swimmers.
He surfaced, wiping the water from his eyes, his ears ringing with laughter and greetings. A large ball landed beside him with a flat thwack, splashing more water into his face. He gave a hiss of annoyance, both at the ball and the interruption of his plans.
"Zayshul! We haven't seen you in weeks. I thought you'd given up our swimming sessions," said a cheery female voice. "Who's your friend?" The tone had changed, now sounding sly as if the owner was probing for information.
"He's just a friend," said Zayshul. "His name's Kezule."

* * *

For half an hour, they played a lighthearted game of water tag with the ball. He had no option but to join in or look churlish. By the time her friends were ready to leave, Kezule had gone beyond irritation into anger tinged with frustration. This was no different from the other meetings.
Zayshul would have followed them had he not grasped her arm. Pulling her toward him, he anchored himself to the railing on the island's submerged steps.
"No," he said. "I wish to be alone with you."
"It's time we left, General," she said quietly, not resisting him. "We've been in the water long enough for today."
"I agree," he said, shifting his arm to her waist and lifting her bodily out of the water as he began to pull himself up the two shallow steps. "Definitely time for dry land." He ignored her protests and held her more tightly as she tried to squirm free.
Her struggles only served to fuel his interest. He set her down, still holding her close. Now that they were on dry land, the ambient warmth of the pool room and her body heat had begun to evaporate the odor-masking chemicals from the water. He breathed deeply, savoring her natural scent. He'd never been this close to her before.
"Let me go, General," she said, becoming still in his grasp. "I thought you knew by now what was and wasn't acceptable behavior toward a female officer."
"I've watched how you free females play this game, Doctor," he said, pulling her with him toward the interior of the small bush-covered island. "And I've done everything I've seen the other successful males do. You can't be ignorant of my interest, so why are you refusing me?"
He reached up to touch her face, tracing the iridescent markings around her eyes with a careful fingertip. She was altogether different from the females of his own time— even excluding her sentience and lack of ferocity. Smaller, lighter in build, she was pleasing to all his senses.
She stiffened, jerking her face away from him, eyes narrowing to angry slits. "You can't just follow a formula of behavior and expect me to be interested in you!" she exclaimed. "You've got to
feel
it!"
Confusion was dampening the remains of his anger. "Feel what?"
She gave a low hiss of exasperation. "Being attentive, saying the right things, wanting me even, isn't enough. You have to want
me,
the whole person, not just my body!"
As she tried again to pull away from him, he tightened his grip, taking care to prevent his claws from hurting her. "I just said I wanted you! What more can I say?" he demanded, frustrated at the need to gain her approval before mating with her.
This close, her scent was sending his heart rate soaring. The extra adrenaline in his system wasn't helping either. He could take her, it was what he'd have done back in his time, but he knew if he did, it would be the last time he'd have her. In his time, though, he'd never have been having this conversation.
Realizing it was futile, she stopped struggling. "I won't be like the three females the Commander sent you," she said coldly. "You have them for sex, why should you have me as well?"
"Those females?" he said, relieved it was nothing more serious. "They're nothing to me. They were merely a means to understanding your mating practices so I made no mistakes with you. Besides, the Commander only sent them to me so I'd impregnate them. He wants my genetic material for Warriors. He won't get it, though."
"What?" Her eyes widened in surprise.
"I can control the fertility of my seed," he said, aware by the changes in her muscle tension that she was beginning to relax. Blood was pounding in his ears as instinct took over and he felt his body responding to hers. Over the last two weeks he'd learned to trust those newly awakened instincts as fully as he did his Warrior skills.
Carefully, with his free hand, he began to draw his claws tips across the markings on her lower back. At least that much about these modern females was still the same.
"Not that, the other part," she said as, unwittingly, she began to respond to his touch.
"They were merely a means to understanding your mating practices so I made no mistakes with you," he repeated, lowering his voice as he switched his attention to gently stroking the curve of her spine. Where their bodies touched at belly and thighs, he could feel the heat radiating from her.
"You noticed me that quickly?"
He let his glance drop lower, seeing the darker colorations of skin on her flank. "From the first. I enjoy the combination of your independence, authority and femaleness."
Growing bolder, his hand traveled slowly across her side till it was resting on her hip. Stretching out his fingers, he let his claws move gently against the curve of her belly.
"You're the only female I've seen fit for me to mate with." He leaned closer, touching his lips to her neck just below her ear. He could feel the pulse throbbing in her vein, see her flesh tone darken. Flicking his bifurcated tongue against her skin, he tasted her for the first time. She couldn't deny her interest any longer: her color and the sudden change in her scent betrayed her. "I've no desire to breed yet, but if I had, I'd choose you," he said softly before closing his teeth on her shoulder.
Suddenly, he had an armful of supine and willing female. He grabbed hold of her before she could fall, looking around hastily for some suitable surface on which they could lie. A few steps away, hidden among the island's bushes, he found several of the ubiquitous soft cushions. Laying her down among them, he knelt at her side.
Instantly, his eyes were drawn to the markings that he'd glimpsed earlier. Where her belly curved down to meet hip and groin, the skin darkened, taking on a rainbow-hued iridescence that continued a short way down the insides of her thighs. It outlined and defined her femininity— and he'd never seen its like before. The visual stimulation, coupled with the scent she was now releasing, made her irresistible.
He clenched his hand on her hip and leaned over her, forcing himself to remember she was no harem female, and his life did not depend on how quick their mating was. He wanted to enjoy her— she was his trophy of a successful hunt. Crest raised to its fullest, his victory roar was muted as her hand closed suddenly over his erection. Shuddering, he grasped her hand, forcing it away.
Always thorough in everything he did, he roused her to a frenzy before they finally joined. He discovered that giving her pleasure pleased him as much as the frenzied coupling that followed. Experience had prepared him for some ferocity from her, otherwise he'd have thought she was turning as feral as the females from his own time. Even so, for a few anxious seconds, he'd feared the worst— and enjoyed it.
In the brief, quiet aftermath that followed, she admitted that she'd also wanted him from the first, when the Sholans had handed him over to her at the hostage exchange.
Kezule laughed quietly as he stroked the iridescent markings on her belly. "Perhaps we've found our match in each other," he said, wincing slightly as the bites she'd inflicted on him at the height of her passion pulled when he leaned over her again.
Valsgarth Estate on Shola, the same day
Taizia ushered T'Chebbi, Zashou and Jo into the den, leading them down the steps from the work area to the lounging level where her younger sister sat.
Kitra got up as they entered. "I always thought Kusac and you took more after Father's family," she said to her sister, surveying Zashou's pale beauty. "In the names of my brother and bond-sister, well come to Valsgarth estate. So you're my bond-grandmother."
Startled, Zashou looked from T'Chebbi to Taizia.
"You got it, kitling," said T'Chebbi, going over to the hot plate to help herself to a mug of c'shar. "Except Zashou's not Kaid's mother. Keep their real relationship to yourself, though. They're calling themselves brothers, so that makes her your bond-aunt. Anyone else want a drink?" she asked as she stirred hers. "I've waited a long time for fresh c'shar!"
"Are all the females in your family like us?" asked Zashou faintly as she took the nearest seat.
"Taizia's not," said Kitra, pointing to her dark-pelted sister. "There's always at least one of us this color, but not necessarily a female. Our grandfather was the last one, but he and Grandmother live on the Western Isles now. He's a tutor at the Telepath guildhouse there, and she's a priestess at the Shrine of Ghyakulla."
T'Chebbi took a quick swig of her drink before helping Taizia pour mugs for their guests.
"They've taken Kusac to the med unit, haven't they?" Kitra asked. "How is he?"
"Physically, he'll be fine," reassured T'Chebbi, passing a cup of coffee to Jo.
"But he tried to commit suicide, didn't he?"
T'Chebbi frowned and glanced at Taizia as she took the seat next to Kitra. "You shouldn't know that," she said. "Who told you?"
"I was with Taizia and Vanna when Kaid called. Besides, I'm Dzaka's Leska, T'Chebbi," she said quietly. "I know what he knows."
T'Chebbi shook her head as she sat down in the nearest chair. "I forgot, kitling. My congratulations. The Gods have smiled on you. He'll make you a good life-mate, that one."
"I know," she said with a gentle smile. "Zhala's got a meal ready for you in the dining room, or you can eat in the kitchen if you prefer."
"In a few minutes, Kitra," said Taizia. "They'll want to feel the earth solid beneath their feet for a while first."
"Tell me why he tried to kill himself," requested Kitra. "I don't understand."
T'Chebbi sighed and pushed herself up from her chair. "C'mon, kitling. You and I'll go see to this food and I'll tell you."
"T'Chebbi," began Taizia warningly. "I don't think..."
"She's adult, got a Leska, and it's going to be discussed by everyone on both estates. Better she knows the truth than rumors," interrupted T'Chebbi, taking her mug with her as she shepherded Kitra out of the den.