Wray (23 page)

“For less than a day
,
Kim. I’ll be back before you lay down to rest for
the night.” Wray hadn’t liked the way she turned away from him,
hadn’t liked how her arms had tightened around her. “For you to
travel with me would not be…”

“Normal for a Tornian female.” She finished
for him. “Of course not.” Kim said running a hand through her hair
and suddenly the tiredness she couldn’t quite shake settled over
her again. “I think I’ll go lay down. I’ll see you when you get
back.”

Wray watched Kim walk away from him and his
heart ached. He had seen the fear that had filled her eyes as she'd
turned away. Didn’t she know he would never leave her unprotected?
He planned on Veron staying behind to guard her, much to the
Captain’s displeasure.

There was no way he could take her to Vesta
with him. What would she do there? Currently there was no Lady in
House Reeve so there would be no female for her to talk to and
because of that she would need to stay with him. That would be a
distraction for the males of Lord Reeve’s House.

‘
The clothier is still there.’
The
words whispered through his mind.

Frowning
,
a new
thought came to him.

If he took Kim with him, they could stay in
House Reeve for several days. She would be able to rest in more
comfortable surroundings than the Searcher provided and then she
would be able to arrive on Tornian rested and in the coverings of
an Empress instead of in one of his shirts. He knew it bothered her
to wear them, especially when other males were present. It was
obvious in the way she would tug and pull at it whenever a warrior
would enter their chamber to discuss something with him. She would
find a reason and quickly leave the room.

What he was considering had never been done
before. A male rarely allowed his female to travel with him and
never to a House without a female. It gave the other males a chance
to attract her.

They would allow them to travel to a House
where a female
was
present so the females
could intermingle and all females traveled to Tornian when the
Assembly was called, even though he had no Empress.

Yet wasn’t he the Emperor?

Couldn’t he change the rules?

Kim didn’t want to be left alone.

He didn’t want to leave her alone.

It was to her benefit to meet with the
clothier and have coverings made and that was all that
matter
ed
to Wray.

Lord Reeve would just have to adjust his
House to the needs of the Emperor and Empress.

Moving to his comm Wray notified Veron of the
change in plans and told him to inform Lord Reeve. Turning, he went
to inform Kim.

Kim laid on the bed with her back to the door
and tried to fall asleep but it wouldn’t come. She understood
why
Wray was leaving her behind, just as she understood he
wasn’t
leaving
her behind. There were going to be times when
they would be separated. She
knew
that. Wray was an
important male with an important job and big responsibilities. She
needed to understand that… she just didn’t feel safe here… not
without Wray. Maybe it was stupid, after all she was surrounded by
Wray’s warriors, warriors he claimed were fit and worthy, but she
couldn’t help it. She wasn’t ready to trust them, wasn’t ready to
be separated from Wray, maybe she never would be.

With the exception of Fala and Gyula, every
male she had seen had treated her with respect. Actually, after a
quick glance in her direction they had dismissed her as if she
wasn’t there, and while she’d appreciated it since she was only
wearing Wray’s oversized shirt, it also bothered her. Those quick
glances had been so assessing… and now she understood why. They had
all been wondering whether she would be ‘compatible’ with Wray.

Hearing the chamber door slide open, she
stopped trying to sleep and rolled over to watch Wray walk towards
her.

Entering their resting chamber Wray suddenly
realized that if it weren't for Reeve's incompetence, the Searcher
never would have been there to intercept the Ganglian ship. He
never would have found Kim. He was actually in Lord Reeve’s debt
and because of that, Lord Reeve's punishment would not be as harsh
as Wray had originally intended. But there would be consequences
because no matter what Wray had said, the Kaliszians and Tornians
needed each other if they were going to survive the great
infection.

Sitting on the bed next to Kim, he ran the
back of his hand along her cheek. “I’m sorry I upset you, Kim.”

“It’s not your fault. I’m still pretty messed
up from what the Ganglians did to me and sometimes things upset me
that shouldn’t.”

“You shouldn’t be upset when I can’t be with
you?”

“Not like this. I know there are things you
have to do
,
Wray. Duties you need to
perform. This is one of them. It’s not as if my being there
matters.”

“It does to me
,
Kim.”

“I know.” Reaching up, she put her hand
against his. “I know I matter to you
,
Wray
,
and I’ll be fine here alone. I need
to get used to it.”

“Get used to what?” Wray asked, frowning at
her.

“Being alone.”

“Why would you think you will be
alone
,
my Kim?”

Kim found she was smiling slightly at Wray’s
endearment, he was saying it more and more and she liked it, liked
knowing she was his.

“Like I said
,
Wray,
you have duties you need to perform, places you need to go. There
are warriors you need to meet with. I can’t be with you when you do
those things. It’s not something your females do and it will only
cause you problems if you allow it. So I’ll be spending a lot of
time in our chambers… alone.”

“What ‘problems’ do you think you could
possibly cause
,
Kim?”

“I’m not Tornian
,
Wray
,
and that’s major. You’re going to
have males that view me exactly the same way Fala and Gyula do.”
Wray’s angry growl had her squeezing his arm reassuringly. “That’s
just the way it is until you change the law, but that won’t change
what people believe and then there’s that other thing…”

“What other thing?” Wray demanded not liking
how her eyes dimmed.

“That thing about you looking for
‘compatible’ females. From what you’ve told me, the chances are
slim that I’ll be able to give you offspring. What happens if I
can’t? Will you be forced to send me away?”

Wray’s eyes grew in horror at Kim’s words, at
what his words had led her to believe.

“No! Goddess
,
no,
Kim!” Pulling her into his lap, he held her tight. “You are
mine
! Nothing will separate us. Offspring do not matter.
We
are compatible. You and me.” Taking a deep breath, he
forced himself to calm so he could explain what he hadn’t
before.

“I will tell you truth
,
Kim. Normally when a male stays with a female that
is unable to present fit offspring, he is forced to give up his
position. Not,” Wray cut her off quickly, “because he is seen as
unfit but because without fit offspring his blood line will end.
That does not apply to me because I have Tora and he is fit. He
will be the future Emperor so it matters not if
we
have
offspring. As for not being Tornian… you will be once I present you
to the Assembly of Lords.”

“What?” Kim questioned giving him a confused
look.

“It is within the Emperor’s power to declare
anyone Tornian that he deems worthy.”

“You can do that?”

“Yes
,
my Kim.” He
told her giving her a gentle smile. “It will give you the
protection of Tornian Law. No male would dare harm you, for it
would mean his death. It would give you the freedom to go wherever
you wished inside Torino and feel safe.”

“You wouldn’t be upset if I couldn’t give you
more offspring?”

“No. All I want is you
,
Kim. If the Goddess chose's to bless us with male
offspring I would love them as much as I love you.”

“And if she blessed us with a female?” Kim
had meant the question as a tease, but the look on Wray’s had her
regretting it. “Wray…”

“The Goddess hasn’t allowed a female to be
presented to an Emperor since Lucan.”

“What?”

“She no longer considers us worthy enough to
care for one.”

“She’s wrong
,
Wray.”
Kim vehemently denied. “
You
are.”

“If I am it is only because of
you
,
my Kim. Now,” Wray forced his dark
thoughts away. “How would you like to go with me to Vesta?”

“What?” Kim didn’t try to hide her shock.

“I do not want to leave you
,
Kim. There is a clothier on Vesta that can make you
female coverings.” He said slipping his hand up her thigh under her
shirt. “Not that I prefer them, but I know you would.”

“What are ‘female’ coverings
,
Wray?” Kim asked, shifting to give his hand more
access.

“Cloth that covers nearly all the body.” He
told his hand moving up to the v of her thighs.

“Really?” Kim questioned softly opening
herself to him. “You want me covered up?”

“From others… yes.” He growled slipping a
finger into her as his thumb circled her nub. “From me… never.”

Twisting, Wray pressed her back into the bed,
his mouth covering hers. Somehow, in moments, Wray had them both
naked.

Kim eagerly wrapped her legs around Wray’s
waist, her heels pressing into his fine ass and pulled him in
deeper. Goddess, nothing had ever felt as good as Wray loving her.
With every touch he showed her how special she was to him, how
important. He always made sure she found pleasure in their
Joinings, never taking his before hers.

Knowing this
,
Kim
raised her hips, squeezing and twisting in the way she’d discovered
drove Wray crazy and was instantly rewarded by a low growl as he
drove deeper into her.

Kim opened herself up even further to Wray,
giving him everything she was because he was everything to her. He
accepted her even after what the Ganglians had done, accepted her
flaws and even accepted the fact that she may never be able to give
him offspring. She mattered to him.
Her
, and she wanted to
give him everything he needed.

Her entire being started to tighten as her
release approached along with a strange tingling deep in her womb.
She needed Wray, needed him
now
.

“Wray!” she cried out, arching up as her
orgasm exploded through her. Her vaginal muscles clamped down hard
on
Wray’s cock as she convulsed around
him.

“Kim!” Wray roared when she clamped down on
him. She was demanding everything from him and he gave it to her.
With one final deep thrust, he filled her with his heart, his soul
and his seed.

Kim pressed her forehead against the glass of
the shuttle window, trying to get a better look at the scenery
below her. Vesta was amazing. She’d never known there were so many
different shades of color, greens, purples, reds and browns. Wray
had explained to her that the browns were lands recently harvested
that were being allowed to rest and recover while the other colors
were crops at different stages of growth. It reminded her of the
beautiful patchwork quilt that had covered her bed back home. The
one her grandmother had made.

“It’s beautiful
,
Wray.” She said, turning to him.

“It is.” He agreed but he was looking at Kim,
not the scenery. Her eyes were clear and sparkled with excitement
and happiness. He had been worried she might be frightened,
traveling to yet another new strange place, surrounded by males she
barely knew but she seemed to be taking it in stride.

Before they had left the Searcher, he had
summoned the warriors that would be traveling with them and
presented their new Empress to them. Traditionally, this would
never have been done, a female, even the Empress
,
did not have direct contact with any male other than
the one she was Joined with. If a male was there to protect her, it
meant he had yet to acquire the mean
s
necessary to attract her, therefore he meant nothing to her.

Kim had already shown through her actions
with Damir that would not be her way and word had spread through
the Searcher of the respect she had given a male she did not know.
She unknowingly earned their respect and because of that, he had no
doubt they would protect her, Tornian or not but she didn’t. It was
why he had summoned them, knowing it would show her they were not
like Fala and Gyula.

Even though he knew she was uncomfortable,
she stood proudly at his side and acknowledged each warrior with a
nod of her head as he introduced them. It was another action that a
Tornian female would never have done, cementing their commitment to
her. He had seen it in the eye of every warrior.

“Will we be landing soon?” Kim’s soft
question brought his thoughts back to her.

“Yes.” He said smiling at her. “We will land
within the grounds of House Vestoria then proceed directly inside.
From there we will be escorted to our chambers. Once you are
settled and secure I will meet with Lord Reeve.”

“I won’t be meeting him?” She asked.

“You would want to?” Wray frowned. Why would
she want to meet the male? Females only requested to meet with a
Lord if she were interested in Joining with him. He knew Kim
wasn't, but still…

“Isn’t it expected?” Kim frowned back at him.
“I mean, if I’m your Empress aren’t I supposed to meet your Lords?”
This was something they hadn’t discussed. What her actual duties
would be as his Empress.