Courting Kel (11 page)

“I think so. Aren is easy to live with because I like him.
And I think he likes me too.”

“He loves you, Drew, as if you are truly his daughter. And
sooner or later both he and Tage will realize you’re growing up.”

* * * * *

Aren heard them first. Kel and Drew laughing in much the
same way Laurette and Drew did. Wondering if this new closeness would create a
rift between the young girls, several minutes passed before he realized Drew’s
head was level with Kel’s shoulder. His gaze sharpening, he noticed her slender
waist and curving hips. Gulping, he risked looking up her body. Guanshit! Drew
had breasts. When?

“H-how?”

Jocelyn laughed.

Caton said, “’Bout time you noticed. Both our girls have
matured.”

“Wh-when?”

“About a year now.”

Gape-mouthed, Aren stared at Drew as she, Kel and Laurette
approached. In the moonlight Drew’s hair looked silver, Kel’s shiny rust with
copper streaks. Afraid to look too closely at Drew, he kept his gaze on Kel’s
hair.

“Shortly before Jocelyn told me she was pregnant with
Laurette, I thought she’d woven magic into her clothes. Then, after she told me
about our baby, I thought she glowed because she was pregnant.” Caton took his
wife’s hand. She leaned against him. Glowing. “I finally realize she glowed
because she loves me,” he muttered before kissing her hand.

“Silly man. I glow because
you
love
me
.”

Aren kept staring. Laurette did not seem so bright to him.
Maybe because he was simply fond of her. Drew, on the other hand shone like a
candle in a dark room. Kel… By all the gods, Kel appeared luminescent. Had
Jocelyn the right of it? Did Kel shine brighter than a sun about to go nova
because he loved her?

He drew a deep breath and willed his heart to a slower pace.
He knew he desired her.
I claimed her for myself because
…he wanted her
to fuck only him. He coveted her. But love her? Guanshit! Except for Caton, he
knew no man who claimed to love his wife.

“Aren?” Drew’s soft voice forced his gaze from Kel.

Given Drew’s new status in his mind “Yes?” was all he could
manage.

“May I stay here a few days longer?”

Aren glanced at Kel. Would she feel more comfortable with
Drew underfoot? Or would she prefer they continue in solitude? He could read
nothing in her expression.

“Please, Aren,” Laurette begged, bouncing on her toes.

“Ask your parents.”

Jocelyn nodded. Caton said, “Drew is welcome to stay with us
for the duration of your visit.”

Aren thought Kel whispered a protest, but the girls’
delighted squeals made him unsure. In truth, those shrieks pleased him, proving
Drew had not grown up completely. He needed more time to adjust.

Standing, he gave Drew a brief hug. She clung for a moment
then rushed away. Aren cleared the lump in his throat. “If you tire of her,
send her home.”

Jocelyn laughed. “We’re accustomed to squabbles. Besides,
Drew is becoming a skilled weaver.”

“And a talented chef,” Caton added, standing and helping
Jocelyn to her feet.

Aren held out his hand. Kel came to him without a word but
stopped short of his reach.

Turning to Jocelyn and Caton, she said, “Tak. I’m glad to
have met you and your family.”

“Tak for sharing our meal,” Caton said with a courtly bow.

“Come back anytime,” Jocelyn added.

Erland and Storrtwo appeared at the edge of the stone floor,
Erland holding the reins of Aren’s horse.

“I think we’re being invited to leave, Kel.” He mounted,
reaching down and pulling Kel up before him.

“Oh!” Kel said. “Please thank Laurette and Drew for the
beautiful cloth.”

“Put it under your pillow tonight,” Jocelyn called as Aren
urged his horse away. “’Twill help you sleep.”

* * * * *

Too many thoughts crowded Kel’s mind. Most centered around
Drew, Tage and Aren. Others decried King Storr’s ignoring his sons and made Kel
wonder how many other unacknowledged sons were fostered with other families.

Aren also seemed lost in his own thoughts. Accustomed to her
own company, Kel kept quiet. The flutter of wings drew her attention upward.
Two shadows flew across the quarter moon, continuing on to cross the half moon.

Aren’s chuckle vibrated against her back. “Peg is teaching
Gryph to fly.”

“I wish… Never mind.”

“Would you like to fly, Kel? I can summon Peg if you wish.”

“Our clothes,” she protested without much conviction.

“Horse will carry them home.”

“Our skin.”

“The hot spring awaits our return.”

Kel looked back at him. Satisfied he intended bathing only,
she nodded. “I would like to fly tonight.”

Granting her wish, Aren whistled the larger pegagryph to the
ground. They mounted and Peg surged airborne.

A soft breeze ruffled Kel’s hair. Laughing, she pulled it
back and felt air flow over her neck. Aren pushed her hair under her gown. The
padding shielded her somewhat from the warmth of his chest, but it failed to
protect her from her own reactions.

One more day. Just one more
until they could resume
courting. She wiggled her bottom and grinned at the moons. Aren’s willpower
might be strong, but he was a man. Kel would win his cock to her side. Not that
she would allow him to mate with her but if she’d learned anything over the
weeks they’d spent together, she’d learned pleasure took many forms. While Aren
preferred mating, Kel noticed his gaze sharpened when the princesses sucked or
stroked their men to completion. Tomorrow Kel intended to explore those
pleasures, pay closer attention to how Aren responded when she sucked him and
swallowed his cum.

Just the thought pearled her nipples and moistened her
nether lips. By the gods, she must stop thinking about mating! But Aren’s
warmth surrounding her, his skin pressing against hers, his hands cupping her
breasts…

“Aren.”

“Tell me something, Flame. When may I court you again?”

Wretched mind-reading man!
Groaning, she said,
“T-tomorrow.”

He said nothing. And yet she felt him smile.

* * * * *

Standing in Storr’s throne room, hundreds of men
surrounded her. Kel reached for her dagger but couldn’t find it. Invaders, she
thought, knowing they would rape her before putting her to death.

It had to happen sooner or later. Death was a familiar
companion to Amazonian women. Kel just hadn’t expected it to visit her so soon.
And where in this horde of men was Aren?

Risking a glance at the man nearest her, she shrank back.
Each man wore Aren’s face, but their bodies were not his. Their cocks looked
like his but weren’t. By the gods, Aren had abandoned her! Given her to this
mass of men because she had refused to acknowledge their marriage.

This is what happened when men ruled. Women had no
choice. They took men’s punishments, survived or died according to men’s
wishes.

“We only want to love you, Keleos,” the men chanted,
stroking their cocks as they circled her, coming closer and closer.

She backed away but bumped against yet another man with
Aren’s face and cock. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears, drowning out all other
sounds—even her screams.

And yet the men seemed to hear her whisper, “Leave me
alone! I am a married woman!”

Kel woke from the nightmare drenched in cold sweat and
stinking of fear. Her entire body shook. Her muscles ached as if she’d run a
thousand miles only to return to the same place—Storr’s palace—and the same
danger.

Recognizing her room in Aren’s country lodge eased her fear
somewhat. Her muscles protesting, Kel crept from the bed. She desperately
needed to bathe the fear off her skin. When she was clean and composed she
would find Aren and demand they returned to Storr City. Once there she would
find a way to escape him. A way to escape her dreams. Making her bed, she
discovered the cloth from last night. Her sleep had been far from pleasant, and
she vowed not to put the cloth under her pillow again, then she went to search
for Aren.

He wasn’t in his sleep room. Nor was he in the cook room
where he’d left out bread and butter. The bitter brew he called feefac sent up
wisps of steam from the cup he’d left on the table. So, wherever he was, he’d
left only a short time ago.

Too anxious to eat, she strode outside. Calling his name,
hearing him call hers, she took a gravel path to her right then followed the
sound of his voice. She realized the plants were different here, thicker and
steamy from the humidity. That sticky heat reminded her of parts of Amazonia
but the foliage here seemed very different.

Bushes the size of Peg’s wings dwarfed those with fronds as
delicate as lace. Bird-shaped flowers of blue and orange rose on slender stalks
too high above her head to smell. Small drops of water dripped from the canopy
of leaves even higher up. Oddly, none fell on her as she continued down the
narrowing path.

“Aren,” she shouted.

“Keep coming,” he shouted back.

Pushing through a tangle of bright green vines, she found Aren
standing in a small clearing. A glass enclosure filled with flowers was behind
him. The scent of petegboa tickled her nose and she sneezed.

“Stay there,” he commanded.

Startled, she obeyed. Was there some unseen creature
slithering along the ground between them? Did Ondrican shelter some strange
mutation of graackocrto that lived in trees? She glanced up but could only see
various shades of green. Maybe on Ondrican, graackocrtos were some greenish
tone so they could hide more effectively in their environment. Her skin grew
clammy, inviting an attack of swarming skeetmosques. Even knowing Ondrican had
eliminated the beasties couldn’t keep her from imagining them attacking her and
rushing to Aren’s side. Striving for an air of nonchalance, she slipped her arm
around his waist.

“Feeling horny this morning, Flame?” When she stepped back
he held out a thimble-sized orb that projected an image of her standing in the
midst of myriad greens.

“What is that?”

“A hologram. A picture of you.” She frowned at it then at
him. “A portrait,” Aren added.

“Oh! Like the painting of Storr in his throne room.”

“Yes.”

She poked the orb and watched the image waver. “Did I hurt
it?”

“No.” Aren laughed. “It is almost the same as running your
fingers through water. You make a ripple but the water is unharmed.”

“How did you make this hologram? Why did you?”

For a long moment Aren simply stared at her. She felt as if
he was trying to memorize her features. But why, when she stood within his
reach? Did he mean to send her away?

Once again she felt as if a fist tightened around her heart.
Make up your mind, Kel. Either you want him or you want to go home.

“I am hybridizing a flower. The hologram will remind me of
the wondrous shades of red in your hair. The creams in your skin. The changing
colors in your eyes.”

“I’m right here, Aren,” she said, watching his dark eyes
lightened.

“So you are.” Taking her hand, he led her inside the glass
shelter.

While the humidity remained high, the air felt cooler inside
the structure. Kel looked around for fans but found none. One day Aren would
show her all the technical wonders of his homeworld. She pushed aside the
niggling thought he would send her home before he revealed his world’s secrets.

“What are these?” She leaned over a shelf of fragrant blossoms
that resembled his garden seros. But these delicate petals with a spicy scent felt
waxy.

“They are called chiordseross, a hybrid of seros and chiords.
Do you like them?”

“They are…breathtaking.”

“Look around, Flame. Do you like the seros or caills better?”

“Why does it matter which I prefer?”

“Because the flower I’m creating is for you. I’ll call it
Flame
.”

She couldn’t breathe, the tenderness in his eyes touched her
heart so deeply. “Oh. That’s… Your description was so poetic I thought you
meant the flower.”

“I did. I also described you.”

“Oh,” she said again, uncomfortable with the emotions his
words evoked.
You never told me about this…wondrous gift. That you can
create something so beautifully different yet the same. So comfortably familiar
as the flowers in your gardens.
“I’ll leave you to your work. See you
later.”

“No. I promised you an outing and we’ll have one. Besides, I
want to show you something.”

The twinkle in his eyes made her suspicious. Knowing he
expected her to demand to know what that something was, she said, “All right.
But only if you have time today. If you would rather work—”

“I’d rather be with you, Flame.”

He stood so close she felt as if his soul surrounded her.
His arms were at his sides and yet…that feeling of being held was so
overwhelming she had to step away. She couldn’t move.

“Release your spell, Aren.”

“Release yours.” Grinning, he laced his fingers through
hers. That simple contact freed her to move.

“Come on. The plant I want you to see grows near the house.”

He led her up a path they had not traveled before. When he
stopped she looked around and saw nothing very unusual. The air still smelled
like a boa. It still dripped with humidity. All the plants retained their green
colors. The plant he seemed intent on had notched leaves of large proportion
not so very different from other plants. It did differ in one aspect however.
From its base several pods protruded. They seemed like enormous green bananas.
Aren tugged her a step closer then pointed down at a pod that had opened,
revealing a thick white…

“Penis?” Kel managed.

“It is called the penis plant,” Aren said, laughter in his
voice. “Tomorrow the pod will close. In a week or two it will fall off, its penis
having ripened to kernels that taste like fruits and grains.”