Secrets of a Reckless Princess (6 page)

BOOK: Secrets of a Reckless Princess
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“Yes, we have mated. She isn’t just beautiful, but passionate also.”

Damon just stared at him, since he hadn’t spoken out loud. He knew Ran Kartel was supposed to have a strong ability to read the emotions and thoughts of others. Apparently this had passed on in some measure to his son.

“It was a natural assumption you were wondering from both the look on your face and the direction of our conversation.” Kartel shrugged, his smile negligent. “I would ask myself at once if I knew the female I loved had agreed to life partner with another male if he’d fucked her yet.”

“Not the word I would have chosen, Kartel,” Damon said bitterly. He wanted to pace, but the room was too small, so instead he just knotted his hands into fists and took a deep breath. “I hope you…that is, Jayla is sensitive and looks so delicate…”

A glimmer of respect showed in Kartel’s blue-green eyes. “You do love her if you hoped she enjoyed mating with another male. And like I said, you are looking at this the wrong way. The Princess is much more free now than she was before our alliance. You know the law. She can have a second mate.”

It was true. With the ratio of male to females almost three to one, it was considered acceptable—encouraged even—for a female to have more than one male in her bed. The enhanced sex drive of S-species males meant for greater aggression if they were sexually deprived for long periods of time. Multiple mates took care of that problem. “Are you telling me you’d agree?” Damon asked.

“Why not? Your affection for one another is obvious enough. I have no desire to make her unhappy, and I’m sure you’ll be more useful if you are not consumed with jealousy, which by the way, Le Clerc, is an irrational and archaic human emotion.”

Since most of the day he’d spent in gloomy contemplation of his less than appealing future, with this reverse of fortune he didn’t even mind the slight condescending edge of amusement in the other male’s voice. Damon said, “My mother was full human, not S-species. I’m half-bred.”

“Mine as well. I suppose we have that in common besides Jayla. Now then, are you interested in my proposal?”

“I’d crawl naked through a nest of Mantuian fire ants for her. Yes, of course I’m interested.”

“I wasn’t talking about Jayla. I guessed easily enough that was a given. I meant the position on the Ruling Council.”

At least Kartel was astute enough to know it wouldn’t be easy. “They aren’t going to accept my appointment with open arms, including my father,” he pointed out quietly. “They think I’m a troublemaker, and if they are resistant to change as much as they have been in the past, I still will be. What they don’t see is that the economic model Anasta is based on is already beginning to fail despite the evident prosperity here. It’s happening on other planets as well. The reason my article had such a universal impact is that the less affluent have already begun to feel the effects. Exponentially, it will continue to grow unless some things are changed, including taxation, tariffs, and exporting practices.”

“The difference now is you have me on your side and I think together we can effectively harness your ideas into presentations they will consider. Are you in?”

Put that way, it was an offer impossible to refuse. Kartel was right. One of Damon’s problems was he was too passionate about his work, and as a result, admittedly too forthright. He said, “Absolutely.”

* * * *

The two moons hung low over the First City, giving a shimmer to the tall buildings. Ran Kartel traced a line down his wife’s slim shoulder to the generous curve of her breast. He murmured, “He accepted. The alliance with Anasta is complete. Our son is now consort of the Princess.”

Jerra sat up in a flurry of blonde hair and outrage, nude and lush. “You didn’t tell me before this?”

“I just received the message.” He pulled her into his arms again. “Besides, it’s your fault. You distract me.”

“Hmph.” She pushed at his bare chest, but not with any great force and a soft smile lingered on her lips. “Our son chooses a life mate, a
wife
, and you forget to tell me.”

“You knew he might.” Ran nibbled at her neck, which was still graceful and taut even in middle age. “I, for one, am glad he came to the decision so quickly. It means he found Princess Jayla attractive, which I assumed he would from the images I’ve seen of her, but he must also have
liked
her. I know Marc and he wouldn’t tie himself for life to any female, no matter the political advantage, if she wasn’t appealing in other ways as well.”

“No, he wouldn’t.” Jerra settled back against him. “It’s just…”

When she trailed off, he knew exactly how she felt, not just because he could read her with an uncanny accuracy—more than anyone he’d ever known—but since he felt in a small measure the same way. He caught her chin and tilted her face toward his. “We haven’t lost him, love, we’ve gained. He’s a full grown male, and he has taken the right steps, waiting for this opportunity. When he and the Princess decide it is time, they will breed. Think of holding our son’s child someday.”

“I feel old.”

The wistful tone of her voice made him chuckle softly. His wife was supple and alluring with her fair coloring and those magnificent aquamarine eyes. His current state of full arousal proved he didn’t find her any less attractive than he had the first time they’d met. He cupped her buttocks and urged her closer, so his erect cock pressed her stomach. “I’m older than you are, so am I also supposed to feel ancient? Let me show you how young we still are.”

“You are so predictable, Governor,” she murmured, slipping her hand lower to circle her fingers around his swollen erection and squeeze lightly.

Pleasure shot through him at the caress. “When you are naked in my arms, I suppose I am.”

“How about when I am naked on
top
of you?”

“That’s always pleasant also,” he teased, but the motion of her hand, sliding up and down his penis made his tone a little uneven.

“Pleasant?” She laughed, and let go of him, rising up on the bed, her voluptuous breasts swaying in enticing symmetry. “I see you need to be reminded of a better word.”

Straddling his hips, Jerra rose up and, taking his cock in her hand, positioned the tip at her vaginal entrance and began to slowly lower herself. As she was human, not S-species, he was much larger and he knew she liked this position best because she could more easily control the penetration, working him inside as her body stretched to accommodate his size.

The slow grip of wet, tight heat was enough to make him groan out loud and his hands splayed over her hips to help her balance her weight. His wife’s long, pale hair brushed his fingers, soft as silk.

He loved her even more after over a quarter century of marriage than he had when he’d first met her as a sexual slave aboard a transport ship back when he was just an ambassador. At the time, to be able to marry a human required special permission, but as Governor of Minoa, he’d had that law changed. It had been outdated legislation anyway, leftover from when S-species were still trying to build their population.

Like many of the laws Damon Le Clerc protested. With the state of growth of most of the colonies, some of the laws were even potentially harmful. If Marc could get Le Clerc to rein in his infamous reckless defiance and…

Jerra slid down the last crucial distance and he was fully embedded in her luscious warmth. All thoughts of anything but the sensations bombarding every nerve-ending in his body were wiped out as she began to provocatively rock back and forth, and she made a small sexy sound of enjoyment with each motion.

He lifted his hips in rhythm with her movements, so in tune that they undulated together like one creature, and he filled his hands with her breasts, fondling the yielding flesh.

Tension built, his testicles tightened, and he fought the urge to ejaculate, the pleasure escalating as his wife arched backwards and moved more urgently on his cock, obviously close to orgasm, her nipples pebbled against his palms.

Then with a low wild cry, Jerra began to shudder, her inner muscles clenching in a way that made his resolve to not let go of his own control too soon melt away. He surged upward as she fell forward and clutched his shoulders, and their mutual cry of release was the result of knowing each other, carnally, and in every other way also, very well.

Afterward, drowsy, with her head pillowed his chest, his fingers tangled in her hair, he heard her ask, “Did you tell Marc about the assassination attempt?”

“No,” he admitted. “It’s over. Why worry him? Now, go to sleep. I don’t know about you, but I am pleasantly exhausted, my love.”

Chapter Six

Marc respectfully waited for the queen to speak, noting the tense set of Jayla’s shoulders. They were in the royal private office, and next to the desk, Raphael Le Clerc had what was apparently his personal chair, where he now sat, silent, looking very much like his son except for the faint lines by his mouth and flecks of silver in his dark hair.

He spoke first, breaking the long silence. “You make a convincing petition, Ambassador, but while I agree that Damon’s acumen would be valuable, his passion for his ideals clouds his judgment at times.”

The subject of that little speech stood unmoving, but Marc could tell it took some effort to not defend himself by the set of Damon’s jaw. Jayla spoke for him. “Let’s keep in mind you haven’t given him much of a chance to express himself through formal channels. When he has asked, he’s been refused.”

Her mother moved a hand to tap her fingers on the desk. “The pardon aside, an appointment to the Ruling Council is not given lightly, Damon.”

“I know, your Highness.” Even in the midst of his disfavor, Le Clerc spoke with the familiarity of someone who had known the queen a long time. “But don’t you think the voice of a younger generation should have a say there? Look at what the archaic political atmosphere of Gandsar produced. A failed economy and social unrest. I have said all along just because a colony looks prosperous, it doesn’t mean it is stable. Anasta is no exception. I—”

Raphael interrupted his son with brittle inflection in his tone. “We know how you feel about this. The entire Federation knows, thanks to your article.”

“It caught my attention, and my father’s.” Marc stepped in smoothly. “Which means others listened also. If he was just a radical, he would be dismissed. But, in truth, his ideas make sense. A switch in agrarian policies, so each colony doesn’t produce whatever it wants but there is regulation for greater productivity and distribution. A universal military force, not hundreds of individual armies. An expansion of the Universal Council so there are representatives from every planet, and most importantly, a ruling body for the overview of economic health that has jurisdiction and power. I could go on, but I know for all your disapproval of his methods, you have taken stock of his ideas.”

“So, apparently, have you.” The queen looked at him with a small ironic twitch of her lips. “I am starting to wonder if I just gained a new son-in-law or a champion for Damon’s revolution.”

“A controlled one,” Marc answered in his best persuasive tone. “In place of the unrest that would inevitably happen as colonies start to fail, one by one. I happen to know my father agrees.”

“You are that sure it will happen that way?” Raphael addressed his son, Marc noted, not him.

“Change is needed.” Damon, still dressed in the loose clothes given him as a prisoner, nodded, his good-looking face set. “Gandsar is just the beginning.”

The older Le Clerc and the queen glanced at each other and seemed to come to a silent agreement. She said, “Ambassador Kartel, if you are certain enough the Universal Council will withdraw its order of censure, we’ll propose the appointment. Though I know Damon doesn’t believe this, the Ruling Council of Anasta is not blind to upcoming problems. I think his voice there will be welcomed by some, but not all. It remains to be seen the ratio of one to the other, but my recommendations do not come without a lot of thought on my part, and the members know it. However, be aware I will not force this through. There has to be a majority vote.”

The dismissal in her tone was a signal and the three of them left together, Jayla walking in front, her shimmering hair in a long fall down her back, the gentle feminine sway of her hips drawing Marc’s gaze.

BOOK: Secrets of a Reckless Princess
11.31Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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