Alien Hostage (50 page)

The emperors had not been so quick to welcome their new in-laws. Only little Noelle’s testimony of being rescued and her ardent adoration of Falinset, Nur, and Wekniz alleviated her fathers’ wariness. Yet even her story had barely been enough to convince them not to pursue criminal charges. Bevau in particular had put Falinset, Nur, and Wekniz through the mill when it came to questioning them. He watched the trio with suspicion any time they were in his sight. Clajak barely spoke to them. Of the three men, Egilka had been the sole emperor to treat them with politeness, though his typically reserved demeanor didn’t come off as warm. Tasha’s clan had yet to set foot in the quarters of the Imperial Clan or the apartments shared by Imperial Father Yuder and Imperial Mother Tara. Yet the word ‘de-clan’ had not come up in any conversations, at least not within Tasha’s hearing.

Settling the emperors’ minds at rest had been another reason to agree to move into the Royal House, where guards and Global Security officers patrolled nonstop. Tasha didn’t say anything about the extra manpower assigned to their floor in the cliff complex. If it made everyone happy to keep an eye on Clan Falinset, she was willing to go along with it. As for her clanmates, they were eager to prove themselves and regain the honor their parents had lost. They accepted that many would continue to regard them with suspicion for some time and dealt with the situation with equanimity.

Jessica turned thoughtful about the strange twists that had come about. “Maf, of all people. I never would have considered him to be the Basma. And Feyom in cahoots with him the whole time. What a surprise.”

Narpok’s brow rose. “Not really, not for me. I remember my mother telling me that if I ever saw Feyom around my fathers, to let her know right away. She had a reputation even back then.”

Tasha looked at Noelle still playing with her animals on the floor. She’d given up teaching them to juggle. Now they played leap frog under her direction. Tasha wondered what kind of Empire the princess, her brother, and so many other hybrid children would inherit. If Maf had his way, the half-Earthers wouldn’t have a world to call home. It made her stomach twist.

“Jess, will the Empire be okay?”

She shrugged nonchalantly, but her lips tightened. “It’s too early to tell. With all these revelations and we still don’t know who to count as enemies and who to count as friends – I just don’t know.”

The façade crumbled for a moment, leaving Jessica looking overwhelmed. Narpok gave her an encouraging smile. “As long as we have you as our empress, I’ll put my money on the Empire.”

Jessica smiled at the woman she’d invested years into – the woman who’d repaid that investment by saving her daughter. Tasha agreed with Narpok’s assessment with one slight change: as long as there were such women as these protecting Kalquor and Kalquorians, she too would bet on the Empire.

The warm moment was interrupted by a knock on the door. “It’s us,” came Falinset’s voice.

Normally he and the other two would have walked in without fanfare. However, Jessica and Noelle were in the room, and the reinstated Royal Guards who had passed stringent inspection were outside. Even in their own home, Clan Falinset could not enter a room where an immediate member of the Imperial Clan or their children were unless given express permission.

“Come in,” Jessica called, rolling her eyes in apology to Tasha.

Falinset led the other two in, with four members of the red-uniformed Royal Guard glowering in the background. Their captain entered with the men and glared more threateningly than ever when Noelle jumped up with a happy cry and ran to Nur for a hug. The Imdiko kept his movements careful for the captain’s sake as he lifted the little girl in his arms.

Noelle made a face at the guard, realizing why she wasn’t being fawned over in the usual manner. Her attitude was pure Jessica as she ordered the captain in her piping child’s voice, “You stop looking mean. This is my Nur. He fixes my hair and hides me from bad men. Go away.”

“Noelle,” Jessica said in a vaguely reproving way. Her eyes danced with humor.

The guard’s lips twitched. At Jessica’s nod, he stepped back out of the room. The door stayed open, but the squad didn’t look quite as fierce.

Noelle smiled at Nur as if she’d won a war for him. He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Be nice to the guards, my princess. They will keep you far safer than I can.”

“Sorry about that,” Falinset said uncertainly. “We didn’t realize you’d decided to come back here, my empress. Hello, Narpok. Congratulations again on your well-earned award.”

“Thank you, Falinset. You and your clan might have had a little part in that.” She grinned at him. She’d become like a sister to the entire clan.

“Stuff the ‘my empress’ for the millionth time,” Jessica grouched at Falinset. “If you can’t call me Jessica, at least call me cousin.”

“What held you up?” Tasha asked the men, sidling close. She always felt the urge to stand near her clanmates.

“Dramok Diltan. He wanted to know if I had any leads on which company was winning the government contract for the new anti-shockwave technology. Since Maf already has that, the fight is on to see who can get the Empire a version the fastest.”

“Diltan is such a rogue,” Jessica muttered. “He shouldn’t invest in anything to do with the Empire’s business since he’s up for re-election. It doesn’t look good.”

Nur piped up. “He also wanted me to do something with Cissy’s hair. He said he’s tired of it looking like a snerg’s pelt. He asked me to make her as respectable looking as her twin.”

Jessica laughed. “And right in front of her, no doubt. I bet that went over well. Those two never quit digging at each other. So did you have any information about that contract, Falinset? I haven’t even heard from the war council on that matter yet.”

As Falinset related the hints he’d gotten through his financial contacts, Nur leaned over to whisper in Tasha’s ear. “Actually, I had to agree with Dramok Diltan on the state of your sister’s hair. Please do make up with her soon so I can help her.”

Tasha barely contained the bray of laughter that wanted to escape. “You have no idea the trauma you are setting yourself up for, my Imdiko.”

My Imdiko
. How she loved to say those words. She smiled at him and at Wekniz who watched her over Nur’s shoulder, not caring that she probably looked as sappy as she felt. Nur beamed back, just as sentimental. Wekniz winked.

Jessica noted the exchange and jumped to her feet. “Come on, Narpok. We have things to do. Save and store your pets, Noelle. I don’t want a meltdown like last time. You know how crying sets off your brother’s rages.”

“How’s Wayne’s private training going?” Tasha asked.

Jessica sighed. “Good, but he misses the friends he made at camp. He keeps asking when he can go back.”

Wekniz said, “I remember how much I enjoyed training camp at his age. With any luck this war will be won sooner rather than later.”

Narpok got to her feet with a grace that made her look as if she floated upright. She arched a brow at Tasha as she readied to leave. “You shouldn’t have bothered to change, dear. Taking off the gown would have been enough. Now you’ll have to get undressed all over again.”

She snickered as she walked past the men. Falinset and Nur’s faces reddened. Wekniz wouldn’t consent to blush, but he suddenly found the ceiling interesting to look at.

Nur set Noelle down. The little girl grabbed her handheld, tapped it to save her pets for the next time she played with them, and then ran to Tasha for a kiss. “‘Bye Tasha. See you later.”

“I love you, sweetie.”

Tasha got a hug from Jessica. The men bowed to her as she walked by. She patted their shoulders with easy affection and murmured smiling goodbyes. Nur dared to tease her by grabbing a lock of hair and clucking over it. Tasha noticed the guards watched him, but they didn’t get riled, especially when Jessica laughed out loud.

“You know the emperors get feisty when you mess with my hair.”

“Well, you do make suspicious happy noises when I work on it.” He reddened again as he realized how suggestive his statement sounded.

Jessica chortled at the look he wore. “I’ll drop by tomorrow. I promise to be quiet.”

Nur couldn’t look her in the face. “Afternoon?”

“Perfect.”

Narpok’s voice drifted in from the hallway. “Jessica, the newly clanned need their
alone
time.”

It was amazing how filthy the woman made the word sound. Jessica waggled her brows at them. Nur looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. Falinset covered his face with his hands. Wekniz kept staring at the ceiling.

Jessica ushered Noelle out, trailing laughter as they left with their guards surrounding them. As their footsteps faded down the corridor, Nur sighed and gave Tasha a long-suffering look.

“I don’t know which is worse – Narpok and Jessica’s innuendos or Cissy’s outright crude comments. You should have heard her offering pointers on what it takes to get you in the mood.”

Tasha could well imagine, but her heart felt bright. If Cissy was giving her clan notes on sex, then the sisters would be having lunch together within the week. She offered an apologetic smile. “And you guys thought your families were hard to take.”

The men relaxed and chuckled. Wekniz said, “I guess none of us has a decent idea on how normal families work.”

Falinset rolled his eyes. “We’ve been isolated for so long, we don’t know how society works anymore. If we’re ever accepted on the basis of who we are instead of who we’re related to, I’m not sure we’ll be able to fit in.”

“I think you’re perfect,” Tasha told him. “All three of you.”

Falinset pulled her close for a kiss that curled her toes. When he’d finished taking her breath away, he looked her over. His purple eyes smoldered. “Narpok mentioned you were recently naked.”

“Not quite. I had underwear on. But it’s new underwear.” Tasha smirked naughtily. “Want to see what it looks like?”

“By all means, my Matara. But I’d like you to model it in our sleeping room.”

Tasha’s guts tightened. The sleeping room was where all the sex toys were.

They wandered down the corridor that was wide enough to accommodate a mini shuttle. The place had come furnished, which had been a blessing at first considering all the men’s belongings had burned up in the fire. However, the opulent pieces had none of the shabby charm of Nur’s rescued furniture. Plus the huge vid portraits of emperors and empresses past that hung the length of the hall made Tasha feel spied upon. Their eyes seemed to follow her everywhere.

She felt relief when they reached the sleeping room. They’d chosen one of the smallest suites in the quarters for its coziness. It was still a large room, but not unbearably so.

Nur had begun collecting his treasures again, concentrating his efforts on their sleeping … and playing … space. He had replaced almost all the room’s appointments already. The sleeping mat lay within a hand carved blackwood frame. Draperies of hand embroidered pastoral scenes hung from the ceiling. When pulled, they enveloped the bed, making it feel even more intimate.

The Imdiko had created a sumptuous but comfortable space for their games. Simply walking in made Tasha feel warm all over as the sensual surroundings inspired ideas and memories of desires already realized.

The men followed her into the room. She stopped in the middle of the widest expanse of floor, between the door and the foot of the sleeping mat. She waited as they found comfortable places to relax and enjoy the coming show.

Nur lounged across the end of the mat, propped on his elbow, his jaw resting in the palm of his hand. He settled in, smiling. Falinset took the Earther-sized settee in the reading corner Nur had made for Tasha. The Dramok sat back, his arms spread across the back of the midnight blue velvet divan with an expectant air.  Wekniz stood on Tasha’s left, his arms folded over his chest, head held high as he looked down his nose at her. To Tasha he looked like a mighty lion looking over his kingdom, proud and scarred from numerous battles.

“All right, my Matara,” Falinset said, his tone relishing the words he spoke. “Show us the beauty that we have won.”

She started by unbuckling her belt. She let it slide from around her waist, savoring the anticipation of when they would eventually touch her. Already her nipples were stiff points within her bra, feeling sensitive with arousal.

“Blouse,” Wekniz growled as soon as her belt hit the floor.

Tasha turned to him, her hands gripping the hem of the tunic. A floor-to-ceiling mirror hung on the wall behind him, letting her see Falinset in its reflection. He’d see her too.

She raised the bottom of the shirt up, thinking what a shame it was that they’d have to look at her rounded belly first. Not that they ever complained. In fact, Wekniz had been known to sleep with his head pillowed on her softness. Kalquorians knew how to appreciate a cuddly figure.

She felt more confident when her lace-clad breasts came into view. Those, cupped prettily in baby blue lace, jiggled invitingly as the blouse cleared her head.

“Come here, my lovely one,” Wekniz said.

Tasha went to him, trying not to seem too eager. Only seconds into stripping, still mostly clothed, and she was ready to crawl right out of her skin in her excitement to be with her clan.