GALLANT (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 3) (34 page)

She tried to imagine what was going on in Gallant's head and was surprised to realize that as long as she let go of any doubt about his loyalty she knew the way his mind worked very well.

He never used force if subterfuge was a viable option.

He could slip in and out of different roles with ease and was a master at instantaneous improvisation, going along with any situation until a solution made itself known.

He would cheat rather than lose.

And he would protect her life with his own.

Damned if she wasn't crazy about that man! A warm memory of his teasing game from the morning flooded into her system. Crazy, yes. But
love
? No way.
That
crazy, she wasn't. She asked herself the question she always posed when a man interested her for more than one evening.

Would she miss him if she never saw him again?

Her stomach did an upsetting somersault and she frowned at the greasy bird wing in her hand. Heaven only knew what she was eating but it must not agree with her. With effort, she mentally switched channels to return to the topic of how Gallant intended to get them out of here.

Knowing these Illusians would soon be headed toward Earth with no plans for an offensive attack was the key to everything. Escaping from this underground vault was next to impossible. And after all the trouble they had taken to lure Gallant here, it was unlikely they would simply allow him to leave in his own ship with a promise to return.

The Princess put on the pretense of respecting Gallant's position but Cherry suspected she highly resented his superiority. As for the rest of the council, they had been loyal to her for a lifetime, where Gallant was the new kid on the block as well as an unknown factor.

Conclusion?

Cherry flinched at the intrusion. The mysterious mentor
was
reading her thoughts. She took a moment to recall the steps in her analysis thus far then spelled out her conclusion. The safest, most logical course of action would seem to be to go along with the Princess and head for Earth with her army. At least it would get them out of this hellhole.
Right?
She waited a moment but received no response.
At least tell me who you are.

Her question fell into an empty void.

An enthusiastic round of rude bodily noises announced the end of the meal and Cherry recalled the Princess's promise of "something very special" for afterward. She only prayed the evening's entertainment didn't require her participation this time.

The servants cleared away the scraps then covered the table with a white cloth. After refilling the tankards around the table, they slipped silently out of the hall.

"A salute!" Honorbound exclaimed, rising from the floor. They all lifted their drinks toward her. "Our gods have smiled on us at every stage of the royal plan. May we hope that their blessings continue."

"Salute!"
the council members shouted in unison. Every one gulped down the entire contents of their tankards then slammed the metal vessel down on the stone table.

Honorbound turned to Gallant and held out both her hands. "My lord, will you rise and stand beside me, face our friends with joy, meet our enemies without fear and lead our people to glory?"

Gallant placed his hands in hers but wobbled a bit as he stood up. Cherry wondered if the potent brew was getting to him. As far as she could tell he hadn't had any more than he had the night before.

The Princess's toothy smile was feral as her eyes raked hungrily over him. "As I mentioned before, there is no reason to put off embarking on our journey any longer. So, tonight we will fulfill the next stage in the plan. In order to continue our royal family line, it has been decreed that you, Sovereign Gallant, and I, Princess Honorbound, daughter of the late sovereign, will become life-mates and produce the heir to the sovereignty. As fate has ordained, I am at the height of my fertile season and fully ripe for the royal mating."

Gallant's only reaction to the shocking proclamation was a slight swaying movement. Cherry couldn't believe he was so drunk that he failed to come up with one lousy word of protest. What was wrong with him?

Drugged. Be careful.

The words had barely registered when Honorbound climbed onto the cloth-covered table and tugged Gallant up beside her. Still holding both his hands, she shifted so that they were both facing Josep. "We are ready for you to say the words."

He narrowed his brows and stared at her in such a way that Cherry was certain he was speaking to the Princess telepathically.

"No!" Honorbound shouted at Josep and Gallant swayed away from her voice. "It
must
be tonight." As abruptly as she had switched from pleasant to angry, she calmed herself. "You will say the words now, Josep."

Clearly disapproving, Josep struggled to his feet. "Sovereign Gallant, Princess Honorbound, although you have walked separately since your births, you are about to step onto a brave new life path together."

My God, Cherry thought, they're actually getting married! She listened to Josep's words, heard Honorbound speak vows and watched Gallant's head bob in a semblance of agreement to everything that was being said, and yet she couldn't believe it was happening. Her mentor's firm warning was the only thing that kept her silent before such a farce.

Finally, Josep said, "The words have been said. Let the consummation begin. Sovereign Gallant, see your life-mate as the Gods formed her." Honorbound unhooked the gold chain at her waist and tossed aside her only covering.

Cherry had the most awful premonition of what was coming next, but until she watched Honorbound removing Gallant's vest and boots, she didn't quite believe it. The Princess flashed Cherry a superior look as she undid Gallant's trousers and pulled them off him.

The applause and cheers of the council members were disgusting, but the sight of Gallant's engorged manhood jutting out from his body was an obscenity. How could he possibly be aroused at a time like this? Surely he didn't desire the grotesque Princess!

Drugged.

Drugged? Cherry thought he looked drunk but that wouldn't explain the state he was in. Unless... Without further assistance from her mentor, she reasoned that the drug could be an aphrodisiac.
This isn't right! She's going to rape him.
She pleaded, not knowing if she was being understood.
He has tremendous control. Help him use it!

The Princess ran her hand up Gallant's arms and over his abdomen. With lusty appreciation she grasped his swollen sex organ and alternately stroked and squeezed him, all the while growling and showing her teeth like some ferocious beast.

Suddenly, she released him and took a swipe down her own chest with her one long fingernail. As blood seeped from the diagonal line she had drawn, she sliced Gallant in the same manner, then pressed their bodies tightly together.

Cherry cringed back against the wall, fully expecting Gallant to react violently, but he simply stood there. When the Princess stepped back however, Cherry—and everyone else—could see that Gallant
had
reacted after all.

He had gone limp as a cooked noodle. The council members found it both funny and disappointing and loudly voiced their encouragement. Whether it was his own doing, the Princess's bloodthirsty tactics or help from their mentor, Cherry didn't care. Gallant was back in control. Somewhat. He still looked like a zombie but at least the Princess couldn't rape him in his current condition.

Honorbound's nostrils flared indignantly but she wasn't ready to give up. When her hands failed to bring him to more than a semihard state, she knelt down and took him into her mouth.

Cherry closed her eyes but the loud sucking sounds created an image as vivid as if she were watching. Honorbound's husky laugh caused Cherry to reopen her eyes in spite of her revulsion.

Gallant was once again erect and the Princess had turned away from him on all fours, gyrating her buttocks at him. With a low groan, he dropped to his knees behind her, savagely grasped her hips... and froze.

He appeared to be in excruciating pain as he held himself stiffly in place. Then slowly, unbelievably, he went soft again.

This time, the Princess did not hide her fury as she spun around and slapped his face. In an inhuman voice, she growled at Josep. "What is his problem?" she demanded.

Josep shrugged. "He is not accustomed to performing in front of an audience, at least not one with other males. You must keep in mind that, regardless of his heritage, he was raised in a different culture than ours. Perhaps you should take him to your private warren... with the required two witnesses, of course. I would recommend young, unscarred females, similar to his slave." His suggestion implied that Gallant's lust would be amplified by the added efforts of such witnesses.

As Honorbound called for two novitiates, Cherry wondered if she had been wrong about Josep being her mentor but she didn't have time to find out. Honorbound's next order was to have Cherry taken away and safely secured. Cherry tried to get Gallant to look at her as she was being led away but he seemed to be drawn completely inside himself.

The last thing she heard Honorbound say was, "Bring along another special brew for my shy mate."

Holy stars, Cherry thought, as she realized Gallant would be forced to ingest more of the aphrodisiac. He didn't stand a chance of resisting after that and there was nothing she could do to help him. At least he wouldn't have to be further humiliated by her watching his abuse.

Go
, her mentor demanded. Bowing her head, she complied, only to become more anxious when she realized the two giants that had been assigned to escort her weren't heading toward the niche where she had spent the previous night. In fact, they were going into an area that had not been included in their tour of the village.

When she balked and tried to turn back, they each grabbed one of her elbows and moved her along. Even if she used her robotic arm on one of them, she had no doubt the other man would break her real arm in the next instant and that wouldn't accomplish anything in the long run. They walked for several minutes and had to climb down two ladders to get to their destination. Cherry didn't need to be told this didn't bode well for her immediate future.

She supposed she should be grateful that her guards either had no interest in her or no desire to mess with the property of the new sovereign. It was difficult to be thankful, however, when they lowered her into a narrow pit, considerably deeper than she was tall, and covered it with a metal grate.

"Please don't do this, guys. I'm claustrophobic. I'll... I'll scream all night and no one will get any sleep. Come on! What will it take for you to forget your orders? Hey! Don't go away!"

The moment she heard their footsteps fade in the distance, she pressed her back against the damp rock wall and used her feet and hands to scale her way up to the top. She wasn't surprised to discover the grate was locked tightly in place.

Unlike the upper caverns, the only light was coming from a burning torch on the wall above the pit. She couldn't help but wonder how long it would be before she was in the dark as well as trapped.

Would anyone ever come back for her? Or would they tell Gallant she simply disappeared? Surely, he wouldn't believe that. But what would he be able to do about it without risking his own life and his mission? What if they all left the planet tomorrow without freeing her? Exactly how long did it take to die of starvation?

That line of thinking caused a terrifying wave of helplessness to wash over her and she ordered herself to think of something positive. If she was still here in a day or two, then she could consider the negatives. Positively speaking, she was alive and more or less unhurt. Also, she and Gallant seemed to have an ally on the council. What else? When nothing came to her quickly, fear started creeping into her mind.

Okay then, happy thoughts. Flashes of memories fluttered by like colorful butterflies. She and Aster on vacation together, tipping over a canoe in an ice-cold lake. Her baby sister Rose playing in the mud with the newborn piglets.

But thoughts of Rose always made her feel sad. If only there had been some way to let her know she hadn't abandoned her all those years ago.

Happy thoughts!

Her amazing discoveries in Innerworld. The first time she was given a starring role.
Men.

She tried to focus on her favorite males from all her years as a mature woman but, truthfully, there were only a few whose faces and names were memorable. And those, she realized, she remembered only because they were friends rather than lovers, like Falcon, or lovers that remained friends after the lust waned, like her beautiful Apollo and intense Thor.

Gallant's face loomed in her mind's eye—with and without the patch—frowning, laughing, teasing,
loving.
Was he so different from all the others or did the prolonged togetherness he had forced upon her only make it seem that way? How could she know for sure, when she had never spent this much time with one man? To be perfectly honest, she couldn't think of another man that she could have tolerated for this long without a break, regardless of the circumstances.

Accepting that as a fact, she decided Gallant Voyager could be placed on her list of Grade A happy thoughts. When she put some concentration into it, she was able to come up with about ten more Grade A experiences before she started on those that she considered Grade B. Despite her best, most optimistic efforts, however, every minute that passed felt like an hour.