9781631055577NiKohsChosenMichaelsNC (19 page)

OkVei
dropped a kiss on her lips. “It’s a private thing shared between two people.”

GiNae
bit her lip and narrowed her eyes. “How many other women have you been with?”

“Just
one.
Right
af
ter I turned fourteen
, when two other boys in my dor
mitory
and I entered Maturity, one of the
older boys arranged for each of us to have a private instructor, of sorts,
where I learned, ah, how to please a woman.” His ears tinged dark blue.

“That’s
not fai
r.” She stuck out her lip in a pout. “Why
should you get special instruction, while girls have to wait?”

OkVei
smoothed his thumb over her lower lip. “Look at this this way. I can guarantee
you’ll have a good experience. My first time, I was fumbling, and
squeezed too hard, was too rough, and…” He gulped. “I can’t
believe I’m admitting this, but I came before I was even inside of her.”

GiNae
blinked. “You what?”

“Yeah.”
He kissed her. “Apparently that’s not uncommon among teenage boys. She
reassured me I’d
learn to control my body, and so I
did.” OkVei looked proud of himself. “When she pronounced me finished with the
instruction, she said I was a quick learner, and to always remember to be
considerate of whomever was my Bond Mate.”

“So
far, you have been v
ery considerate.” She hid her
face in his chest again, inhaling his scent. “I still don’t think it’s fair.
I’m older than you are.”

She
felt him sigh. “Are we back to that again? GiNae, I think I’ve loved you since
I was eight. You went off to the Academy,
and when
you’d return on break, you’d seem so much older, and I used to resent the fact
I wasn’t old enough to join you.”

GiNae
drew back. “The Primary stuff wasn’t so bad, and I used to help you with your
homework. My friends used to complain about you,
and
ask me why I’d let you go places with me. The truth is, I liked the fact you
grasped certain concepts easier. I may have been older, but in certain
subjects, you were smarter.” She placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “That’s why
I tried to make your tran
sition to the Advanced
Studies smooth for you. I
had RaKel
to show me around,
but she didn’t have a lot of time to spend with me
.
 
You had told me your mother was spending more time in her room, your
father was off on some rescue mission…OkVei, I know what
it’s like to lose one parent, and you were losing two. I wanted to keep
some sort of normalcy in your life. I didn’t want you to lose me as well.
Especially not your first year of being in the dormitory.” Tears pricked the
back of her eyes. “You had ambit
ions, and I didn’t
want the destruction of your home life to interfere with it. Now look at you.”
GiNae tried to smile. “Studying on the space station and taking lessons in Bond
Sex.”

“Lessons
I can now apply to you.” OkVei’s lips claimed hers once more an
d GiNae felt herself being pressed against the cushions
again. He pulled up her shirt and massaged her breasts before moving his lips
over her nipple.

“Oooh,
OkVei.” GiNae closed her eyes, loving the feel of his hands and mouth on her
bare skin. She felt a
finger stroking her bare knee
and realized his hand was beneath her slacks. “OkVei…” She reached down to grab
his wrist. “I thought we were going to take things slow.”

Warm
breath bathed her right breast as he exhaled. GiNae opened her eyes as his hand
le
ft her leg and slid into her palm as he brought it
up to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “You’re right.” With one last kiss on
her nipple, OkVei let go of her fingers and tugged her tunic back into place
before sitting back on his heels. He helped her to
a
sitting position and smiled. “You might want to pull your binder up.” He traced
the area where her erect nipples tented the fabric.

GiNae
bit her lip and tugged the garment back into place, taking her time and
secretly pleased with the look on OkVei’s f
ace. She
rather liked the bold feeling of power, and raised her tunic, teasing him with
small glimpses of her bare torso. Once she had it back in place, she smoothed
the tunic over her hips and saw OkVei’s disappointed look.

“I’ve
created a monster.” OkVe
i slapped his hands over his
face in mock horror.

GiNae
laughed, then leaned forward to pry his hands away. “Not quite.” She kissed his
lips, then stood. “I need to go pretend I’m arriving from work. I’ll see you at
dinner, and remember, we’re going to hav
e to pretend
we’ve not seen each other for a while.”

OkVei
nodded and twined his fingers through hers. “I intend to make my intentions
known to your mother no later than tomorrow.” His lips grazed her knuckles,
sending tiny tingles through her core. “So be
prepared to spend the rest of the evening with me tonight.” His other hand
skimmed her hip and curved around her backside, causing GiNae to bite her lip
and step away. He rose and went to the security panel. “The privacy setting is
back to normal. I will
see you tonight.”

GiNae
teleported a half-mile from the house, using the walk to collect her thoughts
and to get her raging hormones under control.
Is
this what RaKel said about Maturity, that when I find my Chosen, I will
like
the changes? This
afternoon
certainly felt different from the past
three months!
As she walked, she noticed colors seemed more vibrant, and
her mood was much lighter than before.
Does meeting your
Chosen have that much effect on a person? I should not have doubted anyone.
This is won
derful!

Upon
entering the dwelling, GiNae released little SkiRee from his pen and delighted
in watching him scamper around before scooping him up and twirling him around.
I
so hope OkVei learns to enjoy your company!
She took him inside to feed him, being
careful to mask her emotions from her mother.

After
feeding the
dogas
, she took a deep breath and joined
ViShe in the kitchen, feigning surprise at the news of OkVei’s return.

ViShe
scoffed and closed the door to the dining room. “Don’t try to play innocen
t. I know full well you already knew he was back. You
forget, I can sense your happiness, and no matter how you tried to suppress it
earlier, I knew.” GiNae bit her lip, then felt herself being enfolded in a
tight hug. “I’m happy for you, and I know you ar
e
relieved that NiKoh is
not
your future mate. Am I right?”

“Yes.
Oh, Mother, you were right. I’m going to enjoy Maturity.” Tears leaked from
GiNae’s eyes.

Her
mother sighed. “No matter what happens, OkVei has been a part of our family for
several years. I
would be happy to welcome him as
your Bond Mate.”

GiNae
pulled away. “He is only going to be here a week, and wants to announce our
Pre-Bond intentions at the Feast of AnDoh in two days. He’s invited me to his
sister KiRah’s home for the party. Is it—will
you be
welcome?”

“You
forget, NiKoh’s family does not draw lines between the divisions of labor. I am
your mother, and NiKoh’s son is your Chosen. That makes me an honored guest,
regardless of my position in this household.” ViShe’s firm tone belied her s
mile. “I made OkVei’s favorite dish, so you might want to
pay attention while he’s home.”

“I’m
useless in the kitchen, other than cleaning up,” GiNae protested. “We still
have at least three years before anything more formal happens. He has to finish
this
space station rotation, then graduate, and if he
is chosen to stay on the station—Mother, I cannot join him.” She clutched her
stomach. “The very thought of going into space terrifies me.”

ViShe
smiled and turned back to the stove. “As you said, there will
be plenty of time for the two of you to get to know each
other before the Bonding. Go on out to the living room and join them.”

“Thank
you.” GiNae tried to curb her eagerness as she left the kitchen.

She
found both men sitting at the table. OkVei stood up
.
“GiNae! It’s so good to see you after all these months.”

“It’s
no use. My mother already knows.” GiNae turned to NiKoh, whose expression had
turned to puzzlement. “Greetings, NiKoh. I have good news. You will not have to
go before the Council, in order t
o seek the
dispensation we discussed.” She made her way to OkVei’s side and slipped her
hand into his. “Your resemblance to each other is remarkable. I remember my
Psychology teacher saying dreams don’t always show the entire identity of a
person, and simi
larities can be misconstrued.” OkVei
dropped a kiss on her forehead and she leaned against his shoulder. “OkVei is
my Chosen, not you.”

A
slow smile spread across NiKoh’s face. He threw down his napkin as he surged to
his feet and placed his hands on their
entwined ones.
“This is a marvelous day. My son returns, finds his Chosen, and she’s been
living under my roof for the past several seasons. I formally welcome you,
GiNae, to the House of SiLah, and extend my protection to you, even though
you’ve had it s
ince you were four years old.”

“Thank
you, NiKoh.” GiNae felt her face heat. “I hope everything we have discussed in
the past weeks will be forgotten.”

“What
discussions?” His eyebrow quirked upward. “Other than talking about the
dogas
you brought home, I
don’t seem to recall discussing anything else with you.”
I’m
happy for you, little one. May my son bring you much happiness.

GiNae
dipped her head, overcome with emotion.

“ViShe?
Bring wine. Our children are going to Bond one day.” NiKoh dropped his hand a
nd moved toward the kitchen door, throwing it wide open.

A
shriek and the sound of glass breaking met GiNae’s ears. “Mother?”

“Just
a moment.” ViShe appeared a moment later, a wet stain down the front of her
apron. “NiKoh, this is the last straw. These
are the
final four goblets from your Bonding Ceremony. You cannot break any more of
them.”

NiKoh
took the tray from her hands and set the four bronze goblets on the table.
“Fetch the silver ones. I choose to toast our children with the ones from your
colle
ction.”

ViShe
gasped, as did GiNae.

“But,
NiKoh—”

“Forget
propriety,” he thundered. “BeSai has been gone nearly an entire year. This is
your daughter, not hers. Now get them.” He turned back to the young couple.
“Close your mouths. It is normally the fath
er of the
female who offers the first toast, and since yours is long gone, I am glad to
play both roles. In fact…” NiKoh turned as ViShe reentered, “…since this is an
unconventional family, my son bonding with the daughter of my Domestic, plus
the fact we
have a
dogas
in
the house, I propose the following toast.” He took a silver goblet from the
tray and waited until the other three held theirs. “May you two find your own
happiness, in a world dictated not by rank, but by friendship, loyalty, and
love. I gi
ve my blessing for this upcoming Pre-Bond,
and will be here for any advice, support, and whatever else is needed. What is
mine is now yours. Blessings.” NiKoh extended his goblet toward the others,
then drank. He then turned to ViShe. “I found myself in a
strange predicament this afternoon. I took the afternoon
off, intending to spend it with my son, but he took off on an errand of his
own. Now I know why he abandoned me.” Laughter broke out. “Left to my own
devices, I pondered several things. Why your daug
hter
calls to me, when it is you with whom I share the closer bond. Why my marital
knot has unraveled, meaning I am free to choose another. I don’t know when
these questions will be answered, but of one thing I am certain. ViShe, our
families are about to
be blended, with the coming
nuptials of our children. Would you think it very forward of me to ask you to
let me escort you to the Feast of AnDoh at my sister’s house?” He held out his
hand.