The Empress' New Clothes Read online

  Zor pounded his fist on the tabletop, sending goblets and crystal dishes flying. “How dare you defend her!”

  “She has done nothing!”

  “Oh? And you know this how? Because she saves all of her charms for you?”

  “You,” Kil bit out, “go too far.”

  “Not nearly as far as you went with her last night.”

  “’Twas a consummation feast!”

  Zor slashed his hand tersely through the air. “I care not what it was. You did everything but fuck her right there on the floor!”

  “I did no more to Kyra, and mayhap far less, than what you did to our brother Rem’s nee’ka during her consummation feast. And since only the nee’ka of the eldest in the line needs be gentled, we both know you were no lesser husband to her.” When Zor flushed, Kil smiled without humor. “I see now what your temper is about.”

  “I know not what you mean,” he growled defensively.

  “Aye brother, you do.” Kil stood up, preparing to take to the fields. “You’re feeling lower than a heeka-beast for splaying your woman out and fucking her like a dog before common warriors.” Kil shook his head and sighed. “You should have been grateful your nee’ka was still speaking to you, but because she was forgiving enough to do so, you punish her for it rather than thanking her.”

  Zor closed his eyes and lowered his head into his hands. “She will never forgive me now,” he whispered. “Never. I know it.”

  Kil sighed deeply. “You are wrong, brother.” He clapped Zor on the back. “If you would but open your fool eyes, you might just realize how much the wee wench loves you.”

  * * * * *

  Zor found Kyra at Pika’s Place, sitting dejectedly on a barstool trying to get sotted. Thankfully, Death and Glok were nowhere in sight, else Zor wasn’t certain he could have held his temper. Actually, not many were in sight this time of the day, save a couple of stragglers scattered about.

  When Kyra looked up from her bottle of moonshine and saw him, she quickly averted her gaze, muttering something about all the gin joints in the world and the luck of him walking into hers. He couldn’t be certain, but Zor sensed ‘twas her first dimension sarcasm at work again.

  “What are you doing here, Zor?” Kyra put the question to him with a sigh, rubbing her temples, as if she was too tired to fight with him.

  “I came for you, nee’ka.”

  “Why?”

  “You belong with me,” Zor said softly.

  Kyra snorted. “And with everybody else, to hear you tell it,” she grumbled.

  Zor flinched, hating himself for what he’d said in the great hall. “Pani, please. I did not mean it. I was just…just…”

  “Just what?”

  “Furious with myself.”

  Kyra swung around on the barstool. She eyed him up and down curiously. Opening her mouth to say something, she clicked her teeth shut, thinking better of it. Swinging back around, she was about to take another swig of moonshine, but hesitated when a strange flutter went through her belly. It was the fourth or fifth time she’d felt it in the past couple of weeks.

  “Please, my hearts,” Zor pleaded quietly from behind her. Wrapping his thickly muscled arms around her tightly, he rubbed Kyra’s baby-smooth cheek with his own gruff one. “Please just take a ride in my conveyance and let us talk. I would apologize. And I would explain my behavior.”

  “Zor…” Kyra hesitated, clearly indecisive. “I don’t know. I—”

  “Please.” He squeezed her, hugging her as if afraid to let go. “I cannot,” he admitted hoarsely, “spend even one more moon-rising like I did when you barred me from our rooms.” Rocking her back and forth gently on the barstool, Zor implored her once more. “Please wee one,” he whispered thickly, “I’ll grant you any boon save leaving me do you come with me now.”

  Kyra didn’t have to guess whether or not Zor felt as bad as he sounded, for her bridal stones told her he probably felt even worse. He was scared she wouldn’t forgive him, frightened that he’d damaged their relationship beyond repair, and utterly terrified that she would seek to find a way to leave him.

  “Oh all right.” She sighed, deciding to give in a bit and hear him out. “I’ll ride with you in your conveyance and hear what you have to say.”

  “Thank-you,” Zor replied in soft tones. Giving Kyra no time to change her mind, he picked her up and cradled her into his arms, leaving Pika’s in long strides.

  * * * * *

  “I thought you wanted to talk.”

  Zor hadn’t said a word since the moment they took their seats in the Q’an Tal conveyance. What he had done instead was proving to be far more effective to Kyra, however: her back against his chest, he was simply holding her.

  Divested of her qi’ka with Zor’s massive penis firmly embedded within her, Kyra had been surprised at first when he’d made no attempt to pleasure himself within her. He made no movements, nothing that would bring him release, simply sat there and held Kyra tightly, as if afraid to let her go.

  It was affecting her.

  Just sitting on his lap, being held by this primal male who needed to get as physically close to his mate as possible, was chipping away at her defenses. It was as if he couldn’t bear the thought of being removed from her even enough to allow her to sit on the seat next to him.

  Zor embraced her body tightly as the black crystal conveyance meandered aimlessly about Sand City. He breathed in the scent of her hair, rested his chin on her shoulder, closed his eyes, and held her possessively. He said nothing, made no motions, no movements.

  Kyra was beginning to think Zor would never get around to speaking, not even to answer her question, but eventually he did.

  “I see no point in words, my hearts, except to say I’m sorry, for ‘twas my words that hurt you in the first.” He sighed, his tone unnaturally subdued. “But ‘sorry’ hardly sets the hurt to rights, does it now?”

  “I don’t know,” Kyra murmured in a dulcet voice, “but I’d like to hear the words anyway and know that you mean them.”

  “Ah pani, of course I am sorry, and of course I mean it.” He breathed in deeply, the scent of Kyra’s hair reaching his nostrils. “I was angry with myself, but never did I have the right to take it out on you.”

  “I don’t get it.” Kyra shook her head slightly, not comprehending. “Why were you angry with yourself?”

  “Why?” Zor’s mouth fell agape. Stunned, he blinked twice before responding. “For allowing jealousy to rot my brain, for being a bestial Sacred Mate who needed to prove I could pleasure you better than any other in front of my men last rising.”

  “You were upset by that?” Kyra bit her lip. “Really?”

  “Weren’t you?” he asked incredulously.

  “Actually, no.” At his sharp intake of breath, she couldn’t help but to giggle.

  “What is so amusing?” he bellowed.

  “You just have to understand where it is I come from.” Kyra laid her head back against Zor’s chest and waxed sentimental over her upbringing. “On earth, sexual pleasure is viewed in a negative light. Even some types of erotic acts shared between committed mates are viewed as amoral. In fact, in my own country—uh, colony—there are several states—I mean, sectors—in which oral stimulation is illegal.”

  “By the goddess,” Zor groused, “I would have been locked up the very day my sire brought my first Kefa to me.”

  “We don’t have Kefas on earth, but I take your point.” Kyra absently surveyed the beautiful crystal homes they were passing over as she continued her explanation. “When I came here to Tryston, I felt the same way that you must have felt when your father first gifted you with a Kefa.” She shook her head and grinned. “I wanted to try everything, make up for all the time I’d missed, discover for myself what turned me on and what didn’t.”

  Zor found his first smile. “You are turning out to be more than a warrior can hope for. A wanton baggage, you are,” he said teasingly.

  Kyra reached behind her
and ran her hand over his jaw. He turned into it, nuzzling her palm contentedly. “But I love it, Zor. Every day I learn something more about myself sexually. I’m coming to understand my needs in a way I never did before you came into my life, or should I say, charged into my life.”

  He smiled at the memory of the claiming. “I’m glad ‘twas I who gave you this time for experiences, then.” He grabbed her hand and kissed it gently.

  “So am I,” Kyra admitted.

  Zor squeezed her tightly. “So what you are saying then, is that you looked upon our coupling at the consummation feast last moon-rising as another of these experiences?”

  “Yes.”

  He grunted. “I wish I could see it that way and mayhap I would if I had taken you for the right reasons.” Bending his neck, he kissed her sweetly on the shoulder. “But I thank you for not hating me because of it,” he said in low tones.

  “I could never hate you.” Kyra shook her head. “Never.”

  “Ah nee’ka.” Zor kissed her cheek, then turned her face slightly to kiss the tip of her nose. “I do not deserve one so fine as you.”

  When Kyra indicated that she wanted to turn around on his lap, Zor somehow managed it without breaking their intimate bond. Giggling at his outrageous ability, she reached up and cupped his face in her hands. Kissing him first on the lips, then slipping her tongue inside of his mouth, she began to rock her hips back and forth on top of him.

  “Ah, nee’ka.” Zor broke away from the kiss momentarily and grabbed a buttock in either hand. “Be still, my sweet, and I will use my powers to rock you.”

  “Mmmm.” Eyes closed, Kyra smiled at the familiar feel of her husband’s jutting erection buried inside of her, giving her pleasure. She kissed him again before adding, “by the way…”

  “Aye?”

  “I discovered something else about myself last night.”

  “Oh?” Zor summoned her body, rocking her faster. She moaned hedonistically, sucking in her breath. “And what was that, my lusty one?”

  Kyra grinned without opening her eyes. “I’m an exhibitionist.”

  Chapter 24

  “Would you just admit it already?” Kyra grinned at Geris, who was currently reclining next to her on the royal bed. She continued to needle away at her best friend to get her to confess the truth. “You’re in love with your husband. There’s no crime in that. Just say it!”

  Lying propped up on one elbow, Geris puckered her lips into a frown. “And how do you know if I’m in love with the man?”

  “Hmm…let me think.” Buoyed up on an elbow facing Geris, Kyra tapped her chin and pretended to give the matter serious consideration. “Could it be because this is the first time anyone has seen you in seven”—she held up her fingers—“days? It’s not, however, the first time anyone has heard you,” she answered smugly.

  Geris gasped. Her hand flew to her heart. “People were listening at the door?”

  “Servants talk.”

  “Sweet Jesus. What did they say?”

  Kyra batted her eyelashes rapidly and fell onto her back, arms thrust over her head. “Oh Dak,” she mimicked in her best impression of Geris, “make the stones sing to me, daddy, make them siiiiing.”

  “Oh God.” Mortified, Geris clapped an elegant hand over her eyes. “I am so embarrassed.”

  Laughing, Kyra pulled Geris’s hand away from her face. “Don’t be. That’s the beauty of Tryston, don’t you see?” She shrugged. “If it makes you feel any better, I did it with Zor in front of a room full of warriors and begged him for it.”

  “Ooohh girl, you didn’t.”

  “I sure did.”

  “Why do I get the feeling you’re proud of it?”

  Kyra grinned. “Because I am.” Propping herself back up on her elbow, she gestured toward her best friend with her other hand. “Back on earth, I never would have had the nerve to do something like that, even though I had fantasized about doing it in front of others like a zillion times. But here, it’s different. No one thinks less of you for indulging your fantasies. On Tryston, I feel…”

  “Beautiful.”

  “Sexy.”

  “Sinful.”

  “Wicked.”

  The two women laughed, enjoying the feminine banter they had missed during their separation.

  “Oh fine, I admit it.” Geris groaned comically, falling on her back and flinging her hands dramatically over her head. “I’m in love with the man. All right? Happy now?”

  “Uh huh.” Kyra grinned. “I couldn’t be…” Eyes rounding, her smile faltered a bit. “I couldn’t be…”

  Geris sat up quickly, the pained look on Kyra’s face alarming her. “Girl, what is it?” When Kyra’s only response was to blanch and clutch her stomach, Geris went from alarmed to frantic. “Kyra!” she yelled. “Please baby—talk to me!”

  Kyra grabbed her stomach and dragged herself to the middle of the bed. “Ger,” she gasped between breaths, “Help…Please.”

  “What do you want me to do!”

  Kyra shook her head, not really knowing what she needed, but realizing she needed something. “Hold me,” she gasped out.

  Geris cradled Kyra’s head in her lap and stroked her hair soothingly. She did this for about fifteen more minutes, hoping the pains would go away. Unfortunately, Kyra’s moaning only intensified. “What’s the matter, baby? Was it something you ate?”

  Kyra’s breathing grew more and more labored. Moaning, she clutched Geris’s arm.

  “Girl, I’m going for help!”

  “No!” Kyra closed her eyes and cried out as a sharp pain twisted her belly. “Don’t leave me.” Unable to restrain herself, Kyra moaned like a dying animal as she felt a rush of warm liquid burst from her insides and pour down her legs.

  Geris screamed as a glowing blue plasma-like substance soaked them both. “Sweet Jesus! Kyra, I have to get help! Now!”

  Kyra shook her head even as she moaned, struggling for breath. “Don’t. Leave. Alone. To. Die…Please,” she wheezed out between sobs.

  Geris set Kyra away from her and jumped up from the bed, flying toward the doors. “I won’t leave you!” she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’ll just tell a guard to call Zor!”

  Geris threw the doors wide and ran out into the black crystal corridor. Spotting Cam and Gio stationed a ways down the hall, she yelled at the top of her lungs, “Get help! Kyra is dying!”

  Cam and Gio went pale. Gawking at the queen of Ti Q’won and then at each other, then took off. “We shall alert the High King!” Cam called out over his shoulder. Wasting no time, he and Gio sprinted at top speed toward the great hall.

  Geris dashed back into the bedchamber, coming at a dead halt in front of the raised bed. “Sweet lord in heaven,” she muttered, clutching her throat, her eyes bulging.

  “Geris help me!” Kyra sobbed, clutching her stomach and spreading her legs as she began to work a mammoth-sized oval structure out of her body.

  Feeling faint, Geris clapped a hand to her forehead. “Girl, you’re laying an egg!”

  Frantic, and having never seen anybody lay an egg before, Geris started screaming hysterically, running for the chamber doors again. Throwing the doors wide, she shrieked, “Help! We need help! She’s laying eggs in here! Oh my god, she’s laying eggs!”

  * * * * *

  Zor, Kil, and Dak had been sharing a bottle of vintage matpow in the great hall when all three simultaneously spotted Cam and Gio running at top speed toward them. Instinctively realizing that something was very wrong, the trio of brothers shot to their feet. “What is it?” Zor bellowed.

  Cam reached the raised table first. Panting heavily, he clutched it to steady himself, even as Gio appeared at his side. “Queen Geris says…” Cam grabbed his stomach, trying to catch his breath.

  “What?” Dak roared. “What does my nee’ka say?”

  “’Tis the High Queen,” Gio gasped out.

  “Aye,” Cam confirmed between pants. “She is dying.”


  * * * * *

  Zor and his brothers had no idea what they would find upon arriving at the royal suites. Thoughts so grim that they had brought tears to his eyes had flitted through Zor’s mind, but nothing—nothing—could have prepared him for this.

  Dak’s nee’ka was standing next to the raised bed screaming hysterically, clutching a pani sac to her breasts as Kyra moaned and sobbed, in the process of hatching another one. His hearts flooding with relief and elation, Zor took a deep breath to steady himself. “By the goddess,” he murmured, overcome with emotion.

  “You’re about to become a sire!” Kil grinned, slapping him on the back.

  “To two babes!” Dak enthused, even as he clapped a hand over his nee’ka’s wailing mouth and took the first pani sac from her. “’Tis fine, my hearts.” Dak smiled down to his wife. “These are naught but babes, silly wench.”

  Geris’s eyes rounded. After Dak handed the pani sac over to a beaming Zor, she threw his hand from her mouth and stomped on his foot.

  “Ouch!”

  “B-Babies!” Geris sputtered. “I thought she was dying! Why didn’t anybody tell us you hatch eggs for babies around here? Sweet Jesus in heaven,” she sobbed, “I’m never having one! I—”

  “Enough, nee’ka,” Dak commanded, his nostrils flaring. “You will hatch my babes for a certainty!”

  “Well,” she sniffed, her chin notching up stubbornly, “we’ll just see about that!”

  “Aye, we will for a certainty! We’ll see to it as you lie in the bed and hatch!”

  “Enough, you two.” Kil waved a hand in their general vicinity. “Kyra is still laboring the other pani sac.”

  Immediately contrite, Geris leaned over the bed and clutched Kyra’s hand. Kyra took the time to smile at her best friend in between moans of pain and curse words leveled at her husband. “This is the most despicable thing you’ve ever done!” she wailed. “How could you not prepare me! How could you not tell me I was carrying eggs!”

  “But my hearts, I did not know. You should have told me when first you felt the belly flutters.”