Noble (5 page)

Arbor-Dren shuddered in slow waves of muscle; he finally relaxed against her. With care, he withdrew and curled her to the side. He lifted her exposed thigh and moved behind her. He eased into her with a slow slide, and he moved gently while stroking her clit with slippery fingers.

She stared out the window while he moved inside her, smiling as he nibbled and kissed her shoulder. He shifted and curled his arm under her, cupping her breast and rolling her nipple between his fingers before kneading the mound as he moved softly within her.

The firestorm of release turned into a gentle wave as she shuddered in his arms. The light came out of her in slow pulses that filled the room and continued outward. The energy continued on its journey as Arbor-Dren kept the slow circling of her clit sending ripples through her.

When she slumped against him, she felt his light bite on her shoulder.

Their breathing slowly gained a normal rate.

Her actions crashed in on her with a horrible suddenness. There was no music to distract her now, she was lying in the sun with a strange man wrapped around her, and he was still inside her. There was literally nowhere to run, not that her legs would hold her.

Her body was still glowing, but it was a soft light that just made her look a little blurry.

She jumped when he said, “Myra, you seem a little tense.”

His hand still cupped her breast and the other was idly lying at the juncture of her thighs.

She swallowed. “Tense is a good way of looking at it.”

He wrapped both his arms around her and pulled her back against the muscles of his torso. “Why?”

“I don’t normally...I don’t know why I was...I have no idea why I jumped into that.”

He kissed her shoulder again. “Would you like me to explain, or shall I have Sek-Rah do it? It is a matter of Kameraet tradition for the Day clan.”

“Is this a lecture about the birds and the bees? I believe I have figured that part out already.”

Arbor-Dren clicked his tongue. “I do not know what that means, but I am honoured that you chose me. I will be an excellent consort.”

She sighed and squirmed against him. “I have no doubt of that. I just don’t know what I am.”

“The High Lady of the Day clan, matron of Fremiat, bringer of life, the walking hope, the light of joy.” He brushed his hand down her thigh, across her knee and around to her backside.

“Why all the titles?”

“You enable us to create females. The Kameraet had believed it was merely superstition until the females ceased being born. If our union is successful, the pregnancies on Fremiat will begin to have females within them.”

“So...”

“So every couple on Fremiat is trying to make daughter...right now.”

It was a sobering mental image.

Arbor-Dren seemed completely at ease in the nude. Now that she wasn’t shrinking from his markings, he was delighted to be out of the armour.

Myra sat up and wrinkled her nose at the musky scent that hit her as she moved. A shower was in order.

As she crept out of the bed and moved toward the bathroom, she asked, “Do you know how Sek-Rah came to be the Avatar?”

He followed her close. “I do. She was pregnant with her only child, and she had just gone into labour. She was dying and the other Avatar was dying. Fremiat went from one to the other, letting one die and healing the new mother. She immediately gave her daughter the power of joy and fertility, as she would not have another child.”

The idea of him following her into the shower was slightly creepy, but he walked to the controls and ran the water of the large corner shower and turned on the multi-spray heads.

To her surprise, he coaxed her into the spray and handed her a cloth with aromatic liquid soap in it.

Myra chuckled and began to wash her shoulders, working her way down between her thighs. Arbor-Dren got his own washcloth with a more masculine scent and shared the corner of the six-by-six shower space.

When she rubbed at her sex, she winced a little until the heat of the water relaxed her. She continued down to her ankles and then stood to face the shower sprays again. Her legs were going to be a little stiff but there was an entire city to explore, and she was quite sure she would be able to work the muscles loose.

Myra wrung out her washcloth, left the shower and found lengths of fabric to dry with. She wrapped herself up and checked her hair in the mirror. It was a bit of a disaster.

With smooth moves, she plucked the pins and clips out of her hair, smiling at the slick feel of her hair as it tumbled free. A quick dig around found a drawer with several pristine brushes.

She sat at the dressing table and brushed out her hair while Arbor-Dren completed his shower.

“I have to ask, Arbor-Dren, why the masks for this mission?”

He stepped out and reached for a drying cloth while he turned off the shower. “We did not want you to make your judgement based on appearance. It is our standard work uniform. It did not appear to send any apprehension through you.”

Myra smiled. “I looked up what I could of the Kameraet. I still wasn’t prepared for what happened to me, but that is something I will deal with.”

He wrapped his towel around his hips and scowled. “What do you mean?”

“Do you think that a woman from an alien world would simply crawl into bed with the first man who has fantasies about her? My behaviour was outside my experience.”

He cocked his head. “You seemed willing.”

“I was! That is what shocked me. Haven’t you ever had a moment when you acted out of character and surprised yourself?” She bit her lip.

“Of course.”

She flapped her hand at the bedroom. “I am very surprised.”

He sighed. “You will need some time to adjust to the idea?”

“Probably.”

“I would like to remain in your bed every night.”

She blinked at the thought that she would sleep anywhere else or demand that he do so. “Of course.”

He smiled. “Good. In that case, did you want to explore the city?”

“I would like that, Arbor-Dren.”

“Call me Arbor, please.” There was a relaxed attitude to him that replaced the action-ready tension that she had noticed earlier.

She took in the very pleasant aspect of him wearing nothing but the cloth around his hips, and she swallowed, trying to remind herself that jumping into bed with him again would be tacky and a little bit painful.

Myra finished brushing her hair straight and put the brush back where she found it. She headed back into the bedroom and worked to get herself back into her clothing.

Her inner thighs were a little raw, and the trousers chafed slightly until they settled around her hips. She tugged on the boots, wrapped the sash and then put on the bustier.

Arbor was watching from the edge of the bed. “You are leaving your upper clothing for last?”

“Have you seen how tight this is? Once it is on, I can’t do much bending.”

He smiled. “I do admire the fit.”

She chuckled and laced up the front before reaching to the back and tightening the structural lacing. A quick bow and tucked laces and she was ready for her tour.

“You seem to have practised that.”

Myra smiled and headed for the door. “I have worn one or two in my life. It is something you get used to.”

He didn’t put his cloak on, but his breastplate was on, front and back.

Arbor offered her his hand. “Wearing this is also something you get used to.”

Just the act of holding hands seemed to be more intimate than having sex, or that was Myra’s impression. Sex had been heat and instinct. Putting her hand in his was trust.

They left the bedroom and headed down the hall.

“Why were you chosen?” She could have kicked herself for blurting it out.

Fortunately, he seemed to know what she meant. “We volunteered and were selected out of those available to travel immediately. Each of us represented one of the noble houses of the Night clan, and if we had remained in our positions, we would have been in line to inherit the control of our own families or the Night clan itself.”

“Instead, you are stuck with me.”

Arbor lifted her hand to his lips before resuming its position between them. “I consider it an honour and a privilege to be your consort. It will be tiring; I have no doubt. No one from the Night clan has ever been chosen before. The Day clan kept to themselves as much as they could.”

Myra remembered her grandparents. “You have no idea. It goes into the blood. Day is pulled by Day, I can tell you that much.”

He cocked his head as they made their way down the stairs. “What do you mean?”

“My family tree looks more like a chain. They part for a few generations and then smack together again. It is always legal, but when viewed all at once, it is a little peculiar.”

He chuckled. “It is the way of the Kameraet. The bloodlines want to remain strong, so every four generations, they rejoin if there is an available possibility.”

“That is exceedingly creepy, but I suppose that is what happens in small towns back home.” She mulled it over in her mind. “How large is the population?”

They made it to the main floor and headed back to the throne room where Sek-Rah was twirling her staff like an oversized baton.

Myra’s hands itched to try twirling the staff like her ancestor was doing. Her urge to learn martial skills surprised her.

“So, all Day clan members are completely passive?”

Arbor raised his eyebrows. “In what sense?”

“The physical-defence sense, because I can tell you, anyone coming at me is going to get a swift kick to the balls.”

Her consort’s burst of laughter made Sek-Rah turn around.

Myra was suddenly engulfed in a hug.

The Avatar gripped her and pressed quick kisses to her cheeks and forehead. “More strength than my dear Lamyria. I can almost feel the little girls returning to this world. The plants are budding and the insects are getting ready for the opening.”

“What has to happen for the plants to open?” Myra was wary.

Sek-Rah blinked. “Why, the consummation in the throne room. Well, the throne to be precise. Didn’t your new consort mention it?”

Myra blushed. “Arbor and I have not discussed it. Does it have to be now?”

The Avatar raised her hands. “Oh, no, but you should do it in the next four days to keep everything moving along and so we can make the most of the growing season.”

Arbor stepped to Myra’s side and eased her away from her ancestor. “Myra was wishing to see the grounds and then the city. I have agreed to escort her while she explores.”

Sek-Rah paused, “You will take care of her?”

“It is my duty and a pleasure to keep her safe.”

“Do so, or I will stake you out and have you eaten by insects.” The bright smile belied the creepy threat. Sek-Rah flared her cloak and walked out with the doors swinging wide to let her exit.

Arbor blinked. “That is a side we have not seen in centuries. Sek-Rah is actually in a good mood.”

Myra didn’t know what to say, so she followed her ancestor out the door with Arbor at her side.

The doors were standing open, but the moment they passed through the doorway, the doors closed behind them.

“Huh. I guess the tower is insisting on privacy.”

“You think it is a thinking being?” Arbor looked surprised.

“I think it has a life of its own and my being here woke it up. I can see the energy in it when I look at the walls. I can
feel
it
.”

“There were rumours that Sek-Rah put power into the city, but since we could not enter, no one could test it.”

Myra reached out with her new senses and found the direction she wanted to explore. There was no way to tell him that the entire city was hers and it would act to protect her. It was hard for her Terran senses to grapple with, but the new part of her took it as her right to have protection.

She worked it in her mind until she could ask him. “The Day clan, how did they stay safe?”

“The high families of the Night and Eclipse clans each provided workers for the court. They tried to protect the Days when the attack happened, but against the superior numbers, there was nothing they could do.”

He put his arm around her waist, and he remained close as they walked.

“Was there anyone from your family involved?”

“Both defending and attacking.”

Myra hadn’t thought of it as a civil war before. “What set it off?”

“Three generations of Day males taking the throne that should have gone to their mates. When women sat on the throne, all was peace.”

“And when the Days were dead and the females ceased to be, the Night and Eclipse clans took to the skies in an effort to find mates.”

“Correct. We began a course through the stars that brought us riches, mates and other worlds. Fremiat is still our home and all of our people will want to see you.”

They rounded a building, and Myra found what she was looking for. “They can come and see me, but I am not going to have sex in public.”

Arbor said innocently, “But it is tradition.”

She looked up at him in horror, and he started laughing. She moved out of his grip and walked into the gardens, leaving the mad chortling behind her.

Sek-Rah must have been manicuring the hedges. They were high, straight and deep, glossy green.

Myra ran her hand along the greenery and felt the slight prickle of thorns. The buds were there, and they nearly quivered with urgency when she touched them.

She walked the length of the hedge, changed direction and walked back up with her left hand trailing the greenery.

Arbor waited at the far end, and she approached him slowly, pausing a few feet away from him to lean toward one of the waiting buds. She kissed the tiny green nub and sent a tiny curl of light into it with a smile.

The bud swelled and opened until a crimson flower twisted out of the green concealment. The scent that came out of the flower was glorious.

Myra’s eyes closed as she inhaled the intoxicating aroma that was sweet, floral and sexy all at the same time.