“He most certainly does. I’m his adopted son. His and King Janos.”
“There is no ‘King’Janos, and I’ve never heard of you.”
“There are probably whole libraries of books just full of things you’ve never heard of.”
I snarled down at him. “I’m busy. What is it you want?”
“I told you. I-I want your promise that you won’t tell my parents about-about last night. About my being in your room. And about what we did after you found me.”
“Why should I promise that?”
“Because…because I’m asking you to do me this favor. Please.”
I opened my mouth to give him a scathing answer, but it suddenly occurred to me how young he looked and probably was. I still couldn’t help teasing him a little though.
“And what will you give me to keep my silence?”
“You’ll have my thanks, sir,” he replied, tipping up his stubborn little chin to meet my eyes. “And perhaps later on, if the Tygerian soldiers ever do come to Laltana, I can find a way to help you somehow.”
‘And how would you do that?”
“In my capacity as an officer in the Laltanan Royal Guard.”
I had to admit that surprised me. Maybe he wasn’t quite as young as he looked after all. And why did that make me feel better?
“You don’t say? Qualified men must be scarce on the ground in Laltana, then, but good for you, I guess. I’ll think about your request and let you know later. Come by and see me tonight. Now run along and let me get to work.” I turned to go and he grabbed my arm and pulled me back around to face him.
I looked down at his hand, and he had the grace to blush, but he didn’t let go.
“I mention it because I want you to know I’m not some insignificant whatever it is you call me—a-a chibby. I asked what it meant and my father told me. It’s insulting, and I don’t like for you to think that you can treat me just any old way you please. I’m an officer and the adopted son of Prince Larz. You need tostop ignoring me. And-and an apology would be appropriate, I think.”
I smiled at his audacity, but he bothered me—a great deal. And he made me angry. I leaned in close and got within an inch of his face. The sweet smell of him was so pungent up close that it filled my nostrils and made my knees go a little weak as the memories from the night before flooded back in.
“Let’s see, what should I say in this apology? I’m sorry you broke into my room last night and rummaged through my personal belongings,” I said, making no effort to keep my voice down. “I’m sorry that you intended to read my orders if you could have found any or perhaps steal them. I’ll try very hard not to let you do it again. How does that sound?” I took a moment to enjoy the look of embarrassment and outrage on his face, and then I straightened back up and stared down at him. “Now please go away and stop bothering me.”
I took him by the shoulders to turn him around and gave him a little push—the tiniest of pushes. I didn’t think it was my fault at all that he was so clumsy that he stumbled and almost fell on his little dumb face. I still felt bad about it—a little—but I had things to do, damn it. Everyone had turned to stare at us and Janos jumped to his feet in alarm.
I bent down and extended my hand to the boy, but he angrily knocked it away and scrambled back up, his face flushing. I had no idea what to do at that point, so I turned around and walked rapidly toward the conference room before I did something else that we’d both regret.
Chapter Five
The Consort Ryan
Mikos and I arrived on Moravia in mid-morning, under blue-gray, rainy skies and big thunder bumper clouds that were alarmingly high and moving fast, swirling around over the palace and the mountains beyond. There was a threat of impending sleet and heavy rain, not to mention high winds, according to the surface weather report. Mikos had told me a bad storm was moving in, and it would be affecting the weather over this part of Moravia. The rain here could be intense, and in this case, even freezing. I didn’t like to fly through air turbulence storms caused by unstable air currents, even though I knew that it wasn’t necessarily a sign of danger, and aircraft weren’t downed by turbulence alone.
I knew all of that intellectually. And yet, I hated it like I hated the old roller coasters on Earth that I used to ride as a child. The experience had been so unpleasant that the actual amount of danger was irrelevant. I only wanted it to stop. I used to visit my grandparents on Earth as a child, and my grandmother had lived in the state called Texas back then, which was in a region prone to tornado formation due to the collision of cold, dry air currents from Canada and the warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. Combined with the flat terrain and the strong wind shear, it created intense and frightening supercell thunderstorms with thunder, lightning, hail and sometimes tornadoes.
I still remember my grandmother herding all of us into the bathroom in the hallway to wait for the all-clear warnings. I hated every second of it, and I guess I’d been traumatized by it,because I feared bad storms to this day. Mikos, knowing how I felt, reached over and took my hand in his, thankfully not saying a word as we traveled down to Stefan and Vannos’s palace.
Mikos had made love to me fiercely the night before, though I think I gave as good as I got. Even after all the years I’d been with my handsome prince, the passion between us still burned hotly, and I didn’t see that ever ending. Last night’s lovemaking was all about him staking his claim and a little about me staking mine right back.
After we’d eaten dinner and had our after-dinner drink with the handsome, sexy general, we’d gone to our quarters. I was tired, I told him and needed to lie down. I don’t think I fooled him, but since he needed to be with me as much as I needed to be with him, we closed the door, locked it behind us and then he wrapped his arms around me.
I wanted him so desperately. We had always bickered back and forth, but I think it was like a steam valve that opened occasionally to let off the pressure. Otherwise, our passion for each other might have torn us apart. I told Mikos that once and he’d laughed and said he would never let me get away or leave him. The facts said differently. We had separated once long ago when we had first married. It had been the worst time in my life, and in his.
I kissed him as he pressed himself against me, but I ignored the kissing for a moment, focusing instead on pushing up his tunic and running my hands over his muscular chest. I never got tired of the feel of his tight little nipples as I ran my thumb and then my tongue over them. His entire body stiffened and flushed, and I kissed his throat and licked and bit his nipples until he shuddered with pleasure.
I couldn’t hold off any longer when I wanted him so badly. “Make love to me,” I whispered to him, and he lifted me and tumbled me back onto the bed, despite my protestations thatI wasn’t a doll to be carried and thrown around. He muttered something in his impossible language, mocking me even as he tore his clothes and mine off quickly. But we needed lubricant, and I was afraid he’d forgotten to bring any. I should have known better as he laughed at my look of desperation and said we had everything we might need. He said he wouldn’t have let anything like that stop him anyway, when he had a perfectly good tongue. That embarrassed me, though I should have been used to his outrageous comments by now. He tossed his bag on the bed and rifled through it, finding the oil and holding it up with a triumphant little cry. I laughed at him and he tackled me back down to the mattress.
