Between Darkness and Light (81 page)

When his hands cupped her breasts, her kiss grew wilder, deeper, threatening to break his self-imposed control. Her hands moved down, reaching for his belt, unfastening it and letting it thud to the floor behind him before returning to push his tunic aside. When she reached lower, he stopped her, sweeping her up into his arms.

“Not yet,” he whispered, licking her ear as he took the few steps up to the bedroom level in one stride. “I promised to make you warm.”

“I am,” she murmured, insistently trying to edge his robe off one shoulder.

He stopped only long enough to flick the covers back before laying her down gently. Then, stripping off his tunic, he joined her, pulling the covers back over them both.

“But I'm still dressed,” she objected, looking up at him with heavy lidded eyes.

“Not for long, Dzinae,” he promised, his whole body vibrating with the depth of his purr. “Not for long.”

He had it down to a fine art now. Her belt went first, then the boots, followed by her trousers, an inch at a time as he gently used his tongue and claw tips on each bit of newly-exposed flesh. By the time they were off, she was in a frenzy, trying to reach him. So was he as his groin muscles contracted suddenly and his genitals descended.

Matching his body to hers, his tongue worked its way upward till he reached her breasts. There he began licking and nipping her until she began to climax, her mind reaching out for his as she whimpered his name in an agony of still-unfulfilled pleasure.

Rearing up on his knees, he flipped her over onto her belly, lifting her hips and pulling her toward him. Matching his movements to hers, he entered her slowly, swelling almost instantly as their minds met as fully as their bodies.

Leaning forward, he ran his hands up her sides, catching hold of her ear gently between his teeth for an instant.

“I love you, Dzinae,” he whispered as all feeling of being
Kaid
dissolved into the unity of
them,
and their bodies, pulsing with wave after wave of shared pleasure, climbed to dizzy heights.

The intensity was almost too much to bear and he collapsed on his side, pulling her with him, his arms welding her to his body as his tail snaked round her legs. Finally, with a long drawn out moan that echoed hers, they exploded within each other.

Afterward, held fast in each other's arms, their minds still joined and closer than they had been in the weeks since Kusac's departure, all arguments between them were forgiven and forgotten. Nestled amid the warmth of each other and the covers, sleep claimed them.

“I hear you're one of the Brothers now,” said Noni, sitting down opposite him at the dining table in the Seniors' common room.

He accorded her the briefest of glances before returning to the book he was reading. “Word gets around.”

“Haven't you lot got somewhere else to be?” she demanded, looking at the other half dozen occupants in the room.

He sighed and moved to close his book and get up.

“Not you,” she snapped. “You and I need to talk.”

“I'm used to being asked, not told, Noni,” he said quietly as the door shut behind the last Brother.

“If you think that becoming a Brother will make me treat you any different, you got a ...”

“Now why would I think that?” he interrupted pleasantly. “You'll treat me as you do nearly everyone around here, because you like to be seen as an overbearing, grumpy old female. Life is short, Noni, and I don't have time for your games. I've better things to do.”

Since she'd entered the room, she'd been trying to find his mental wavelength, but his shields were too strong. In fact, she was having the devil of a time trying to find her way through his shields; every time she thought she'd got it, he changed them and she had to start again.

“You think you're someone now, think you can insult old Noni ...”

He got to his feet, picking up the book, and inclined his head to her. “No, I just realized last night that I'm still the same person I was on my own world,” he said. “I am still the equivalent of a Guild Master. The College I ran at Old Sarum was as large as this one here. I am still a Guardian, and there is still work for me to do, not only for my people, but for yours. I'll talk to you when you accord me the basic courtesies of an equal instead of treating me like a geriatric new recruit.”

He began to walk to the door. “And you can stop trying to read me,” he said, finally repulsing her efforts with a mental side-swipe of his own. “You won't succeed.”

“Master Conner,” she said, fending it off without a second thought. “Please, sit down. You found your feet quicker than I expected.”

Slowly he turned to look at her, an air of puzzlement on his face.

She nodded, setting the end of her long white plait bobbing slightly. “We've been expecting someone like you since the first Human came to Shola. I thought it was you the first time I saw you, but I needed to see your metal to be sure. You have to admit that until last night you kept your true nature to yourself. I wondered how much longer I was going to have to keep thinking up exercises for you to do!” she chuckled.

With the air of a sleepwalker, he resumed his seat.

She leaned forward to pat his hand, a slight frown of apprehension briefly creasing her features as she sat back. “There's few who can withstand me when I'm determined to get them to reveal themselves. You lasted longer than most. I knew if you were what we hoped, and used your Gifts, it would attract Him.”

“Him being Vartra,” he said, finding his voice.

She nodded again. “Right,” she said briskly. “There's work for us to do. I take it you were at the morning briefing, and likely Lijou gave you a comp pad full of background information.”

“Yes, he did. Apparently we're close to war with a species of Valtegans called M'zullians.”

“Yes, but that can wait for the time being. I need your help with another matter. How much do you know about Leska pairs and Triads?”

 

“Morning, sir, Liegena,” said Chaddo as they entered the main hallway. “Father Lijou is waiting for you in Master Rhyaz' office.”

“Thanks, Chaddo,” said Kaid.

“It's very quiet,” said Carrie as their footsteps echoed on the stairs.

“It will be, with nearly everyone at the Outposts except the younglings and a couple of units of Sleepers undergoing processing and retraining,” he replied.

Rhyaz got up from his desk to greet them as they opened the door into his office.

“Well come. It's been quite a while since we saw each other,” he said, gesturing them over to the less formal seats where Lijou sat by the fire. “Can I offer you refreshments since you've traveled such a long way?”

“No, thanks,” said Kaid, letting Carrie take her seat on the sofa before he sat down. “I'd rather get down to business.”

“What can we do for you?”

“Which one of you sent Kusac on a mission, and when?” he asked without preamble.

“What made you ask that?” asked Rhyaz with a slight frown.

Kaid reached inside his coat and drew out a photograph which he tossed down onto the low table between them and the two Guild Masters. “This,” he said. “Before you deny it, you'll notice the command mark is on the inside of the handle—it wouldn't show when he's wearing the knife.”

Lijou glanced at Rhyaz then reached out to pick up the photograph. He looked at it before passing it to him.

“Where did you get this?” asked Rhyaz, glancing at it then holding it back out to him. “Obviously it's a fake.” When Kaid didn't take it, he put it back on the table.

“I took it off the message crystal,” said Kaid, leaving the photo lying there between them. “We all know what a command mark on the inside face of our knives means, Rhyaz. It means the mission is classified. I'm asking you again, when did you send Kusac on a classified mission?” There was a rumble of anger in his voice now.

“Classified means just that, Kaid,” said Rhyaz quietly. “I'm sorry, I can't tell you anything more.”

“Then perhaps we can tell you,” said Carrie, her voice deceptively quiet as she put a piece of paper on the table by the photo. “About six hybrid cubs, ten years old, that General Kezule had, or has.”

Neither of them missed Lijou's ears tilting fractionally back then righting themselves with an effort.

“In the message?” asked Rhyaz, his voice betraying nothing. “You must be mistaken.”

“It's all there,” said Carrie, pushing the paper closer to him. “I've underlined the relevant sections. Read it.”

He shook his head, making no move to pick it up. “You're mistaken,” he began.

“Read it!” Carrie almost spat at him.

“I'll read it,” said Lijou, hurriedly picking it up and scanning through it. This time his ears tilted back to half height and remained there. He held it out to Rhyaz. “You should read it,” he said tonelessly.

Rhyaz snatched the document from him and began to read.

“It was there, in front of our noses all along,” Lijou murmured. “We were looking for something sophisticated, not something as simple as this.”

Rhyaz handed the paper to Carrie. “I still can't confirm or deny anything, Carrie,” he said, his tone genuinely regretful. “You know I can't.”

Raised voices in the corridor outside drew everyone's attention to the door, which suddenly burst open to admit Konis Aldatan.

“This has gone on long enough, Rhyaz,” the Clan Lord said angrily, striding over to them. “You will tell them everything. Now!”

“I'm sorry, Master Rhyaz,” murmured Chaddo from the doorway. “I said you were busy but ...”

“It's all right, Chaddo,” said Lijou, gesturing to him to leave. “We'll see to it now.”

The pieces were beginning to fall into place now for Kaid as Lijou urged the Clan Lord to sit down, and Rhyaz swore volubly under his breath.

“AlRel requested the mission,” said Kaid quietly. “But you sent him, Rhyaz, didn't you?”

“This is highly classified,” began Rhyaz angrily.

“Since when were you worried about my security clearance, or Carrie's?” Kaid snapped back.

“Dammit, Kaid! We were protecting you and Carrie!” the Warrior Master said angrily, sitting forward in his seat. “Have you forgotten how pregnant she was?”

“One of you had better start telling us about this mission,” said Carrie, raising her voice. “Before I get really angry!” The snarl in her tone was only too apparent and made the three Masters look at her in shock.

“I didn't know she could do that,” murmured Lijou.

“Get on with it!” roared Kaid, clenching his fists till his claws came out.

“Haven received a message from Kezule for Kusac,” began Konis.

“I'll tell it,” interrupted Rhyaz. “Mine is the responsibility. We opened the message for security reasons, fearing it was trapped,” he continued. “It was a request from Kezule for Kusac to meet with him because he had something of interest to him. Kezule wanted Kusac specifically and said to bring no telepaths.”

“I'd been asked by the Prime Ambassador to let them know if we heard anything about Kezule as the Emperor wanted him back,” said Konis. “Rhyaz knew this and called me here to see the message. Our government wanted information on Kezule and what he was doing so it was decided my son must keep the rendezvous.”

“So you sent him,” said Kaid, his voice deathly quiet, looking at Konis and Rhyaz. “Between you, you sent an unstable Brother out on a mission to meet with a known personal enemy.”

“He wasn't deemed unstable enough not to send, considering the situation,” said Rhyaz. “I said mine was the responsibility for sending him, and it was. We needed the information, Kaid, and we needed to know how stable Kusac was.”

“And if I know you, you sent a Special Operative along, too!” Kaid snarled, his hair beginning to stir around his shoulders.

“Kaid, calm down. Two were sent,” interrupted Lijou. “I sent Banner to protect Kusac from himself, and from Dzaou.”

Kaid looked at Rhyaz in disbelief and contempt.

“You sent Dzaou?” exclaimed Carrie. “You know he hates Kusac! Vartra's bones, Rhyaz, what possessed you to send that xenophobe on such a sensitive mission?”

“To test Kusac by putting him under pressure,” snarled Kaid. “As if the mission itself wasn't enough!”

“So the whole story of stealing the
Couana
was bullshit,” said Carrie, using the English word as she glared at the three males.