TICEES (46 page)

Chelan sat dumbstruck as he pulled the fighter out of the bank, and again she was pressed into her seat. She swallowed hard. “How fast?”

Ticees thought momentarily. “In your atmosphere and at your sea level, right now we are doing about Mach thirty.”

Chelan’s mouth fell agape, and she watched as the distant mountain peaks passed by her like flashes of fence posts along a highway. Suddenly, she felt the odd sensation afforded by the IDF, and the ship began a rapid deceleration. Chelan looked up as they approached the awaiting fighters, and they once again resumed their positions about Ticees.

“Okay, now we are going to complete a standard flyby of the southern border of the Dead Zone. The total scan of the area will take about an hour, barring any problems, then we will be on our way home.”

Although the rest of the trip was devoid of aerobatics, the scenery was spectacular and the tour breathtaking. Chelan lost all sense of time, and, way too soon, they were approaching the fortress walls. But she was not disappointed. The trip had been beyond her wildest dreams, and she was simply thankful for the experience.

The ship docked in its own secure hangar, and all systems were shut down. The cockpit enclosures slid back soundlessly. Ticees removed his flight helmet and headgear and threw his head back, his long, light-brown hair cascading down his back. He extracted himself effortlessly from the cockpit and then moved along the fuselage to her. He released the five-point restraint system and reached for her, pulling her from her seat and pressing her to him as he descended to the ground.

Ticees put her down and removed her flight helmet and protective headgear. He smiled at her as her face emerged, her eyes wide and sparkling, her skin pink and her smile broad. He placed the helmets down next to the ship and then turned to her.

Chelan immediately lunged at him and threw her arms around his powerful neck, hugging him tightly. “Thank you,” she expressed breathlessly.

Ticees hugged her firmly and buried his face in her slender neck. “You’re most welcome, my Lady,” he whispered.

Chelan pushed back from him slightly, her heart pounding. “Will I be able to go up again sometime?”

Ticees stared down at her, her beauty mesmerizing him. “Yes,” he finally replied. “And the next time I take you, we’ll go the North region, where you can get out and look at some of our native flora and fauna. There is very little snow there this time of year, and it is a lovely place to walk.”

Chelan’s eyes glistened. “Oh, thank you,” she whispered, and she hugged him again, her shroud melding to his.

Ticees closed his eyes as Chelan rose to her toes and unexpectedly kissed him on the cheek. He looked down at her, his smile gone, his breath held. “You need only to ask, Chelan.” His voice faltered. “I will arrange for a flight for you at any time.”

Chelan’s eyes searched his, and his extreme handsomeness, his all-consuming power and strength, and his gentle warmth suddenly struck her. Before she knew what she was doing, she stretched up once again and tasted his lips.

Ticees’ muscles tensed. His desperate desire to consume her was pounded down into submission by his overpowering need not to lose or frighten her. But he returned her kiss, his touch tentative, his breathing restrained.

The kiss lingered, and finally, Chelan pulled back, surprised at herself for her forwardness and even more surprised that she had initiated any contact with him at all. But he remained still, not a single sign of aggression revealed, and though he had returned her kiss, he made no further attempt to touch her.

She was both relieved and concurrently perplexed by his total lack of any type of retaliation, and suddenly, curiosity consumed her. Still high on the rush of the flight, she sought to learn more about the man she had hated so strongly up until recently. She tentatively ran her fingers through his thick hair and was struck by its extreme softness. It was not coarse like the Iceanean men’s, and she liked its silky feel.

Chelan’s hands moved to his face and her fingers brushed along his cheek to his jaw. He had shaved, and unexpectedly, she smiled inwardly, his body suddenly familiar to her as if he was of Earth. Slowly, she assessed him, her fingers tracing over his skin, his deep brown eyes on her in silent, restrained invitation.

Chelan bit her lip, knowing that if he was Iceanean she could thank him once again, passionately, for what he had just shared with her, but a wariness persisted in dogging her.

Ticees’s eyes remained fixed on her, every muscle taught, his loins on fire, his determination to remain cool straining him to the brink of his tolerance.

He finally closed his eyes, her light touch upon his flesh forcing all his body heat to pool in his groin. He was well aware that she was testing him, whether she realized it or not, and it was a test he simply had to pass or all would be lost. But as her fingers dared to touch his lips, a deep moan escaped his chest, and he reached for her delicate hand, pressing her fingertips to his mouth, kissing them reverently.

Chelan watched as his sculpted lips savored her wholly, partially mesmerized by the fact that a man as great as he would appear to pay homage to her, even through such a tiny gesture, and especially in front of his men. And in fact, she almost felt honored.

Finally she retracted her hand, and he opened his eyes to her. “If I had known that you would have thanked me thus for such a simple act, I would have taken you up on the first day of your arrival.”

Chelan grinned. “Oh no, you wouldn’t have, for if I had thanked you thus on the first day, Korba would have killed you.” Chelan was kidding with him, but suddenly a deep pit of longing formed. It was the first time she had mentioned Korba’s name to Ticees since Korba’s departure, and she looked down as she involuntarily reached for her long-healed cheek.

Ticees watched her carefully, forcibly suppressing a growl at her sudden change in demeanor. She needed to forget the black-haired Warlord, but he was all too aware of her damnable and stubborn allegiance. Her kiss and her touch were a test, a momentary lapse in judgment, a curiosity, and Ticees knew that she had no intention of going further. On the one hand his heart ached, and on the other, his temper flared.

Chelan finally looked back up at him and managed a small smile. “I’d like to return to my chambers, and then I would like some lunch.”

Ticees nodded in resignation. “Me, too,” and he ushered her out of the hangar.

*****

Chelan stepped into the shower, cursing herself for her move, yet thankful that nothing had come from it. She really did not know Ticees, and he was not Iceanean. She knew nothing of his desires, his body, his control or lack thereof. And right then and there, she promised herself never to be the least bit intimate with him again.

Ticees had ordered lunch and was pacing in his room. His desire to possess the beautiful alien was escalating to an all-time high, and now he embraced the fact that the missions had been delayed. But at the same time, he was thrown into confusion and turmoil. He wanted to stick to his good intentions of keeping her for Korba, yet his insatiable craving for her was clouding his senses. He knew that despite the Iceanean values he lived by, he should be content to have her as a friend, but the fact that she could so easily deny him her physical favors gnawed at him. The day RIBUS 8 left, he could smell Dar’s scent on her, a strong, sexual scent that left no doubt about how their last few hours had been spent together.

Images of her with Fremma surged into his mind, and he instantly hardened, his erection so extreme it hurt. He ran his hands down his face and fought for control, pacing circles in his chambers. His eyes blazed, and his jaw clenched. He tore his shroud off and cast it across the room. He thought of ordering some willing women to him, but he knew his relief would only be temporary, the solution unsatisfactory.

He arched back and roared in frustration. Three men! She was fucking three men, yet after all this time she could barely manage to kiss him. He sank to his knees in the middle of the room and released himself from his uniform. He grabbed his penis, fisting himself with such violence that it nearly caused him to cry out. Yet the pain he felt between his legs was nothing like that within his heart.

What was happening to him? Why was this one little alien so deep in his soul that he was willing to risk all? He was used to making rational and reasonable decisions pertaining to all manner of galactic issues, yet he could not deal with the woman just down the corridor, her mere presence drugging him senseless to the core.

He hunched over himself as his release neared. Fuck! Here he was, taking care of himself, an act he could not remember doing since his adolescence. And as he came explosively, visions of her beneath Fremma were replaced with ones of her beneath him, and his world tilted.

The coming months would be crucial for both of them, and he knew it. He would not, and indeed could not, let her slip away. She was going to be his, only his … one way or another.

*****

As time went by, Chelan’s mood soared, her thoughts of Korba’s approaching return elating her. Ticees had noticed her heightened happiness, but had also noticed her determination not to approach him affectionately again. His agitation was increasing, for he knew that her bubbly personality was due to the fact that she expected Korba back in less than a month, and he still had not informed her of the delay. He knew that she would blame him, and he wanted no part of her wrath.

On this morning he awoke early and dressed quickly. He knew there would be more incoming data from the RIBUSes, and he entered his Command Center to watch the information. All the missions were going well: both Korba and Dar were mounting their usual devastation against the ROPE colonies, and the Empire’s losses were low. Ticees smiled. His Warlords were indeed great, and they served him well.

Ticees lingered a while longer, checking over some data from Iceanea, and then he entered the morning room. He was disappointed to note Chelan’s absence despite the fact that Ticees knew she had slept and was due up. Out of curiosity, he went to her chambers and knocked, but he received no response. Slipping inside, he noticed that she was up but had obviously left. Ticees looked at the still rumpled bed, registering that the maids had already been through the main chambers, so Chelan had just arisen and could not have gone far. He decided to check out the workout area to inform her of his plans for the day.

He started across the room and then spied two bottles of medication on the nightstand. He walked over and picked them up, peering at the contents, but he was unfamiliar with the white pills. His mind mulled over the possibilities concerning their use, but he reached no conclusion. If she was ill, which she certainly didn’t appear to be, Ticees was sure Korba or Fremma would have alerted him so that he could keep an eye on her. Ticees sat down and opened the bottles, taking one of each of the pills. Stose was on leave from RIBUS 7, and the doctor had undoubtedly prescribed them to her. But for now, Ticees hid the two pills in his shroud and returned the bottles to their precise position on the stand. He just hoped that they had not been counted.

He entered the training area and smiled, the missing beauty located. He remained very still as he watched her. Her body was liquid grace, and his eyes followed her every move as she took herself through a series of stretching exercises.

Finally she noticed him. “My Lord,” she acknowledged.

“My Lady,” he greeted. “You were not at breakfast.”

Chelan shook her head as she grabbed a towel and dabbed her face. “I didn’t want to eat before I trained. I’m sorry that I didn’t inform you.”

Ticees nodded. “There is no problem, my Lady. I understand fully. I believe that you are working with Salizar today, is that right?”

Chelan approached him. “Yes, my Lord, if that is okay?”

Ticees hesitated momentarily as his eyes traced over her full curves. “Yes, that is fine,” he finally responded. “I will be out for the entire day in the training fields. I have arranged for your meals to be served in the morning room, if that is acceptable, and I guess I won’t see you again until sometime tomorrow.”

Chelan smiled and nodded to him. “Yes, my Lord,” she acknowledged warmly, and Ticees left her.

He was going to the training fields, but first he would stop and see Stose. Ticees walked in on the doctor as he sifted through some medical files.

“My Lord,” beamed Stose. “What an unexpected surprise.”

Ticees nodded to him, smiling. He had always liked Stose and had used him himself when Korba was not dominating his time on RIBUS 7. Ticees knew that Korba had arranged Stose’s leave to coincide with his departure so that Chelan could access him if she needed him. But right now, it was he who needed him. “It’s good to see you, Stose. I would like you to identify some pills for me if you would.”

“Certainly,” said Stose as he walked over to the Emperor.

Ticees produced the two pills and Stose smiled. “This one is a nerve block for the abdominal and pelvic region and this one is a very specific muscle contractor. They are used by our women during their menses, my Lord.”

Ticees looked at him intently. “These are Chelan’s. Why does she have so many?”

Stose chuckled. “I’ve been through this before. Maybe you should ask our Lady.”

Ticees suddenly stiffened. “Don’t toy with me, my good doctor. Why does she have so many?”

Stose lost his smile as he looked into Ticees’ stern face. “Because she cycles every twenty-one of our days, my Lord.”

The air left Ticees’ lungs as sure as he had been punched, and he turned from Stose as the implications of the revelation slammed into his head. Suddenly, he saw his opportunity. He turned back to Stose. “Did Korba ever order any genetic testing on her?”

Ticees received his answer immediately as Stose’s face blanched. Ticees smiled as he turned to leave. “I’d like to see the report. Have it delivered to me tomorrow, personally.”

Stose stammered. “There is no report, my Lord.”

Ticees reeled around, his anger spilling. “What are you talking about?”