Valan's Bondmate (25 page)

The three of them were driving him crazy. His only consolation was his warriors looked as tense and harassed as he felt. When he and Lia arrived at the training field earlier to begin her training they'd passed a group of giggling females at the entrance to the academy and another group as they’d walked to the training fields. The females were accompanied by several young warriors eagerly explaining the academy to them.

Now, he scanned the area around the training field and frowned when he saw it was encircled by a crowd of colorfully dressed chattering females. He and his warriors stood in the center. Sardonically, he wondered if they should surrender or try to fight their way to freedom!

Royce Garrikson wandered over to stand next to him. "Commander, I couldn't leave my bondmate at home. When I tried to leave she started, uh, well, you know. I couldn't just leave her like that, so I brought her with me. Just for this cycle."

"I know, Royce. I suppose the others had the same problem?" Valan asked.

"Yes," Royce said then hesitantly offered to send his bondmate home.

"Tor, no!" Valan said. "She'll start crying and then they'll all start, and we'll never get any training done. No, let them stay."

Royce breathed a sigh of relief. "Did you ever imagine it would be like this, Commander? Tor, if I'd known, I would've let a Zylian slug slime me during our last battle."

Valan laughed. The slime from of a Zylian was extremely acidic and dissolved anything it touched. The Council, led by his father, had planned this perfectly. They'd deliberately decided to let them discover on their own what having a bondmate was like—after it was too late to back out. He had to admire their cunning. He looked around and decided he would begin Lia's exercise program. If the exercise was good for her, it would be good for the other bondmates as well and it might get them out of his way so he and his warriors could train. "Find Angus Arlunson and bring him to me, Royce."

"Right away, Commander."

While he waited he watched Lia. She was with Minda, and they were surrounded by a group of females. All of them were chattering and laughing. Now, he thought, she'll settle down and be an obedient bondmate as he had planned.

"Commander?" Angus asked as he rushed up to him.

"Angus, I want you to choose three more trainers then take the females to the cadet gymnasium and begin training them."

"Training them? I don't understand, Commander."

"Doctor Veeson said they need exercise. I want you to give them some. Start them with something to build their muscles. Nothing too strenuous because of their condition. But, don't under any circumstances give them any weapons." No sense taking any chances or giving them any ideas, he decided.

Angus sent him a ‘why me’ grimace, and then a reluctant nod.

Valan introduced him to the females and told them where he was taking them and why. Slowly, the females followed Angus from the training field. Lia sent him a cheerful wave, then she and Minda followed them.

Cam strode up to him, grinning. "Very cleverly done, Valan. You're becoming as crafty as your father and Borg."

Valan grunted at the back-handed compliment. "I want you to gather the warriors and inform them of the new plan for Zhang. Then, I want them to practice hand-to-hand combat, just in case some of the Wrothians aren't drugged."

His warriors hadn’t laughed when they'd heard the plans for the raid on Zhang. Like him, they'd all recognized the danger in assuming everything would go according to plan. They wouldn’t drop their guard during the attack. Sooner or later they knew one of them would confront a fully aware Wrothian and they wanted to be prepared.

Valan separated them into ten groups of twenty warriors each, and put one of the more experienced warriors in charge of each group.

He and Cam strode from one group to the next and observed the fighting. When he saw a clumsy kick or punch, he corrected the warrior's technique, then moved to the next group. It was tiring and sweaty work. Without thinking, he pulled a cloth from his loincloth and mopped the sweat from his face. When he looked up, his warriors were staring at the pink cloth in his hand. Glaring, he told them to get back to work.

Royce Garrikson grinned at him, then held up a similar cloth. One by one all of the warriors in his group did the same. Valan looked from them to the other groups around them. Almost every one of the warriors was waving pink cloths in their hands. "I see my father and Borg have been busy."

Cam was the first of the warriors to laugh, followed by the other warriors as they related stories about their bondmates weepiness and how they were handling it. When their laughter finally died down, Valan ordered them back to work and the fighting improved.

***

Angus Arlunson had a major problem on his hands. None of the females could budge the weights in the gymnasium, much less lift them. Exasperated, he tried having them lift one of the weights as a group. They giggled, and gathered around it. Delicately, they wrapped their hands around the bar and rolled it across the floor.

Now, he stood with the other trainers and tried to decide what to do with the females. They argued back and forth, until he was ready to knock their heads together to shut them up. Commander Eirikson expected him to train these females, and by Tor, he would do it! He just needed to figure out a way.

"Uh, excuse me, Trainer Arlunson, could I speak to you for a moment?" Lia asked.

He turned, looked down, and nodded.

Lia smiled. "I thought you might be interested in how we exercised on Zhang. We danced."

"Danced?" Gruffly, he shook his head. "This exercise is intended to build your muscles and make you stronger."

"Oh, but it is really very hard, and it's good exercise. Dancing will make us stronger and we already know how to do it." He still looked doubtful, so she quickly offered to show him and he grunted his permission.

Lia moved to the center of the floor and signaled Minda and four other females she knew to join her. Quickly, she explained what she wanted them to do. They took their places on either side of her, forming a straight line and in unison began to move.

Trainer Arlunson watched and was stunned. He glanced at his assistant and said, "I’ve never seen anything like this. Their movements are perfectly in sync and they move so rapidly it’s hard to keep up with them. They don’t need training. They just need a place to practice." His assistant nodded as he watched the dancers move faster and faster until they came to an abrupt finish and laughed.

Lia and her friends panted with exertion while they waited for the trainer’s verdict. When he sent them a nod of approval, Lia formed the rest of the females into groups of six and they practiced the same dance. The dancing turned into a competition to see which group could move the fastest and still perform the steps in sync. Giggles filled the air when one of them missed a step and threw her partners out of line.

Trainer Arlunson and his assistant leaned against the wall and watched the different groups perform. The only time they interfered was when one of the females became fatigued and they had to order her to sit down and rest. Finally, he called for their attention and advised them to wear something looser the next cycle, as the gowns they were wearing were too tight to allow for easy movement. He also told them to bring an extra gown, so they could freshen up after the class. When they nodded their understanding he ordered them to form three lines and follow him. As he led them back to the training field the three neat lines rapidly disintegrated into a rag-tag bunch of giggling, chattering females. He just shook his head and ignored them.

The training warriors heard them before they saw them. One by one, they stopped fighting and watched the path for the females to appear. When the trainer appeared around the corner of the building, with his students following behind him, Valan dismissed his warriors. Eagerly each warrior reclaimed his bondmate and left. He and Cam waited for Lia and Minda but Angus Arlenson approached them first. 

"How did the session go, Angus?" Valan asked.

"It went well. At first, I wasn't sure what to do with them. None of them could lift the weights or punch a training form. I was at my wits end trying to figure out what to do when your bondmate suggested I let them dance."

"Dance?" Alarmed, Valan searched Angus' face. The only dancing he'd seen Lia do was not for the eyes of any other warrior.

Angus didn't notice his alarm. "It was the most amazing sight I've ever seen! You should have seen them Commander. Of course, their gowns were too ti…"

"They didn't take them off?" Cam asked, alarmed as well.

Angus laughed. "No. Of course not. I told them to wear something looser tomorrow."

Relieved, Valan sighed. "Excellent."

Angus Arlenson nodded then said, "It was very energetic. As hard as any training I've ever taught the cadets."

Lia and Minda joined them before he could ask Angus what he meant. Lia smiled at him, then hid a sleepy yawn behind her hand. "Can we go now, Valan?"

Grinning, he leaned down to her ear. "Are you tired, little cloud?" He received a punch in his belly from a tiny fist for his teasing. Grasping her waist, he gave her a gentle hug. "I'll see you after the sun's zenith."

Together the four walked home. They stopped at the gate to Valan’s home and he told Cam he and Lia would be at his home in sixty micro-units so they could go to the marketplace and purchase looser gowns for them. As soon as Cam and Minda walked away Valan lifted Lia into his arms and carried her towards the house. Her arms slid around his neck and she nuzzled his cheek. Sleepily, she told him she could walk.

"Don't go to sleep, Lia. I want you to eat something before you take a nap."

She shuddered in his arms. "If you try to force one more glass of that horrible milk down my throat, I'll throw up all over you!"

"It’s good for you."

"It’s disgusting and you know it. I have to hold my nose to drink it."

"Borg said it was good for you, and the babies."

"You know what I think? I think you are doing this to get back at me for the broc—."

"Don't say the word, Lia. I'm warning you." When he saw her rapidly blinking her eyes, he added, "If you start crying I'm going to beat your bottom."

"You, Valan Eirikson, are an unfeeling barbarian!"

"I know, little cloud. But, this is the last dry vest I have."

She giggled and sniffed him. "You know, we both need a shower."

His eyes darkened and he carried her into the house and up the stairs. She hid her grin. She wouldn't be drinking any stinkgoat milk. At least, not right away.

Valan lowered her to the floor. With one hand he activated the shower, with the other he grabbed the hem of her gown and lifted it over her head and tossed it to the floor behind him. Her hands pushed his vest from his shoulders, as he kicked off his boots. In seconds she had his pants unlaced and pushed from his hips. Her lips followed her hands. His body was hot.  

He lifted her and carried her into the shower beneath the warm spray. For a moment, he stood there holding her and let the water run over them. She felt so good in his arms. He set her down and poured some cleansing oil into his hands and began stroking it over her smooth body. Down her back to her buttocks, then up and over her shoulders, and down both arms. He gave special attention to each slender finger. Back up and down to her breasts and heard the deep breath she took when he slid his fingers over her nipples until they became hard little points. He played with them, stroking and gently squeezing until she moaned and pressed her breasts into his hands. He lowered himself to his knees then slid his slick hands over her slightly rounded belly. Thinking of the babies she carried, he planted two soft kisses on her honey-gold skin. Her fingers speared into his hair, holding him against her.

"Valan, I love you."

His arms closed around her hips and he hid his face against her belly to hide the tears in his eyes. A moment later he looked up and ordered her to say it again. She blushed, then obeyed and he smiled and massaged her ass cheeks.

Lia couldn't believe she'd told him she loved him. It just came out. She waited for him to tell her he loved her too but he didn’t speak. "Valan, isn't there something you want to say to me?"

"Yes. Spread your legs, little cat."

Although they weren't the words she wanted, they sent a tremor of desire through her belly. His hands slid between her thighs and urged them apart. Before she could get his attention, he got hers by laying a line of kisses across her belly and a path lower to her mound. She trembled and clenched her fingers in his hair when his tongue slid between her legs and stroked her clit. One of his hands slid up to her breasts and pressed her back against the shower wall.

For a moment, he held her there, then his hand moved down and wrapped around one of her thighs and lifted it over his shoulder. She was off-balance and completely at his mercy. She braced herself by gripping his head. A keening moan left her lips when he nibbled on her clit and licked it. She rocked her hips against his mouth as the fever grew quickly blazing out of control.

Valan gripped her thigh and held her wildly rocking hips as he slid a finger into her. When she tightened around it he added a second, and gently pumped them in and out, stretching and preparing her. Lia chanted his name and pressed her hips forward. "Oh, yes, yes." 

He stood and wrapped his arm around her waist, lifting her slightly, and thrust into her. He forced himself to remain still and felt her coming around him again as he lengthened and swelled, stretching her and increasing her pleasure. His breathing rasped in his throat and his heart beat out of control. "Wrap your legs around me."

"If I move, I'll fall."

"No, you won't. I'll hold you." He slid his hands beneath her buttocks and supported her as she raised her legs and wrapped them around his waist. He braced a hand against the shower wall and held her with the other.

Lia kissed him, tasting herself on his lips. Her tongue darted into his mouth, then lured his into hers. Gently, she sucked on it.