"We are no closer to knowing who the traitor is." Beka followed the
contours of his body with a finger.
"We have a spy in Olma's camp." Tyr rolled onto his back to give her full access to his body. "You think Olma is behind the coup attempt?"
"Yes," Beka replied, "She was in my quarters just after I wrote the note. My role in your life usurps her authority. She is no longer the First Female."
"She has always been matriarch and will continue to be as long as I am Alpha." Tyr asserted.
Beka ran a finger around his navel, causing him to twitch. "Unless we prove that she has been disloyal."
"Of course." He grasped the bed linens in his hands, in an attempt to comply with Beka's request that he not return her caresses, yet.
"Why do you believe you can trust Goneril?" Beka slowly trailed her finger from his navel to the waistband of his sleeping trousers.
"With one soft-hearted gesture, Tamerlane has raised her above all other unmated females in the Pride." Tyr sighed with frustration. "She owes him and she owes The Alpha."
"Still, Tyr." Beka had waited a long time for the right to be the aggressor in their intimate war. She was not ready to relinquish control just yet.
To distract himself, he took inventory of his physical response to her touch. His heart was pounding steadily at a slightly accelerated rate. His abdominal muscles were tense, displaying their toned perfection. His pulse pounded in his ear. His mouth was dry. He was coiled tight, waiting impatiently for release. His manhood had begun to swell. She was keeping him on the edge, prolonging the anticipation. She was torturing him and he adored it.
"You still believe Olma is not a threat to you?" Beka tugged at his waistband. Her finger and the silk of his trousers dragged across his skin. The combination of textures sent his blood pressure sky rocketing.
"As I said, I believe she would do nothing to harm Tamerlane." Tyr swallowed. "And, right now, it is in the best interest of Tamerlane that I remain in power."
His trousers and her hand rested at his most intimate hairline. She buried her face in his belly, taking his flesh between her teeth. He growled. She released him, soothing the area with her tongue. He sighed. At last, her hand found his desire. All thoughts of State were pushed away as pleasure became their only goal.
"Get up Kodiak."
Tyr raised his head reluctantly. The bedside clock read 09:00. He had shared his bed with her for less than 48 hours and his life was already topsy-turvy. He could not remember the last time he had slept until 09:00. Reluctantly he rolled over to confront her. All thoughts of combat scurried from his brain. Before him stood temptation, joy and desire. It was that moment that he fully understood that his independence had evaporated. Tyr Anasazi was mated - for life. The thought of letting her go caused his heart to restrict. He grabbed his chest and doubled over in pain.
"Tyr?" Beka rushed the last few feet to his side. "Tyr, what is wrong?"
"I'm fine," he lied gruffly. "I appear to have cut the circulation off. I must have slept on my arm too long."
"Here, let me."
Beka pulled him into a sitting position. The bedclothes fell from his body. She used his distress as an excuse to explore the muscles that covered his chest. Her exploration ending at his left biceps, which she began to massage.
"Is that better?" Beka whispered.
Tyr resisted the urge to drag her into bed with him. "Where have you been?"
Beka appeared to have been up for hours. Her hair was coifed. She was dressed for the street. She had set a data pad down on the bedside table, when she rushed to his side. He picked it up.
"This is a plan of the palace." He shivered as she touched a particularly sensitive spot.
"I'll remember that for later," she said, caressing the spot a second time and getting the same reaction.
'What have you been doing while I have been sleeping?" To cover his reawakening desire and the residual fear of losing her, he barked his question.
"Olma accompanied me on a tour of the building. You and I need bigger quarters. Something with a nursery, a reception room, and a bedroom with closets for two."
"How many thrones is this going to cost me?" He had decided to play the husband while he could.
"Not nearly enough to make a dent in your credit line." She slapped his arm. "And I have decided that Tamerlane will move into this room. That way, Goneril can have his bedroom next to Olma's."
"You could have consulted me." Tyr looked put out. It did him no good. Instead of soothing his ruffled feathers, she continued to describe her plans.
"Oh yes, there is a large room that no one has used for years. We'll turn that into a classroom for the children."
Tyr froze. Children? "What children?"
Beka hugged him. "You don't know! Five of Seamus' wives gave birth last night. It seems Anna went into labour and four more followed her. He has five boys, after 24 tries. Isn't that perfect?"
"Perfect? They are Harper's children, perfection is impossible." From the frown that appeared on her face, he deduced that he had misunderstood.
"When our son is old enough to go to school he will have other little boys to keep him company. Harper's sons."
"You are planning to stay longer than ten months?" Tyr held his breath.
Beka paused to identify the tone of voice he used. Was that hope? "Tyr, I will not stay, but our son will. I know that I must make this planet my home base. For our son, the brother of the Reincarnation, this will be his permanent home. As he will be a target for kidnappers and extortionists. the only way I can keep him safe is to leave him here with you."
Her announcement was torture for Tyr. That his son would grow up under his roof was joyful news. But that his mother would be an infrequent visitor, that was painful."
"What of Harper's daughters? They should be attending school." Tyr covered his personal concern with concern for the children he thought of as nieces.
"Harper has a study program devised for the older girls. Any younger ones can join the boys if their mothers approve. But you know Nietzschean social practices? They keep the genders separate when it comes to education."
"How long will your changes take?" Tyr could not argue with her understanding of the situation.
"A week tonight, we will be sleeping in our new bedroom." She grinned. "Mark it on your agenda. We will have a new bed to inaugurate. I will want your undivided attention."
"Until then?" Tyr smiled seductively.
"Until then, you are cut off." Beka kissed him. "We have a traitor to identify."
"We have a spy in Olma's camp." Tyr rolled onto his back to give her full access to his body. "You think Olma is behind the coup attempt?"
"Yes," Beka replied, "She was in my quarters just after I wrote the note. My role in your life usurps her authority. She is no longer the First Female."
"She has always been matriarch and will continue to be as long as I am Alpha." Tyr asserted.
Beka ran a finger around his navel, causing him to twitch. "Unless we prove that she has been disloyal."
"Of course." He grasped the bed linens in his hands, in an attempt to comply with Beka's request that he not return her caresses, yet.
"Why do you believe you can trust Goneril?" Beka slowly trailed her finger from his navel to the waistband of his sleeping trousers.
"With one soft-hearted gesture, Tamerlane has raised her above all other unmated females in the Pride." Tyr sighed with frustration. "She owes him and she owes The Alpha."
"Still, Tyr." Beka had waited a long time for the right to be the aggressor in their intimate war. She was not ready to relinquish control just yet.
To distract himself, he took inventory of his physical response to her touch. His heart was pounding steadily at a slightly accelerated rate. His abdominal muscles were tense, displaying their toned perfection. His pulse pounded in his ear. His mouth was dry. He was coiled tight, waiting impatiently for release. His manhood had begun to swell. She was keeping him on the edge, prolonging the anticipation. She was torturing him and he adored it.
"You still believe Olma is not a threat to you?" Beka tugged at his waistband. Her finger and the silk of his trousers dragged across his skin. The combination of textures sent his blood pressure sky rocketing.
"As I said, I believe she would do nothing to harm Tamerlane." Tyr swallowed. "And, right now, it is in the best interest of Tamerlane that I remain in power."
His trousers and her hand rested at his most intimate hairline. She buried her face in his belly, taking his flesh between her teeth. He growled. She released him, soothing the area with her tongue. He sighed. At last, her hand found his desire. All thoughts of State were pushed away as pleasure became their only goal.
"Get up Kodiak."
Tyr raised his head reluctantly. The bedside clock read 09:00. He had shared his bed with her for less than 48 hours and his life was already topsy-turvy. He could not remember the last time he had slept until 09:00. Reluctantly he rolled over to confront her. All thoughts of combat scurried from his brain. Before him stood temptation, joy and desire. It was that moment that he fully understood that his independence had evaporated. Tyr Anasazi was mated - for life. The thought of letting her go caused his heart to restrict. He grabbed his chest and doubled over in pain.
"Tyr?" Beka rushed the last few feet to his side. "Tyr, what is wrong?"
"I'm fine," he lied gruffly. "I appear to have cut the circulation off. I must have slept on my arm too long."
"Here, let me."
Beka pulled him into a sitting position. The bedclothes fell from his body. She used his distress as an excuse to explore the muscles that covered his chest. Her exploration ending at his left biceps, which she began to massage.
"Is that better?" Beka whispered.
Tyr resisted the urge to drag her into bed with him. "Where have you been?"
Beka appeared to have been up for hours. Her hair was coifed. She was dressed for the street. She had set a data pad down on the bedside table, when she rushed to his side. He picked it up.
"This is a plan of the palace." He shivered as she touched a particularly sensitive spot.
"I'll remember that for later," she said, caressing the spot a second time and getting the same reaction.
'What have you been doing while I have been sleeping?" To cover his reawakening desire and the residual fear of losing her, he barked his question.
"Olma accompanied me on a tour of the building. You and I need bigger quarters. Something with a nursery, a reception room, and a bedroom with closets for two."
"How many thrones is this going to cost me?" He had decided to play the husband while he could.
"Not nearly enough to make a dent in your credit line." She slapped his arm. "And I have decided that Tamerlane will move into this room. That way, Goneril can have his bedroom next to Olma's."
"You could have consulted me." Tyr looked put out. It did him no good. Instead of soothing his ruffled feathers, she continued to describe her plans.
"Oh yes, there is a large room that no one has used for years. We'll turn that into a classroom for the children."
Tyr froze. Children? "What children?"
Beka hugged him. "You don't know! Five of Seamus' wives gave birth last night. It seems Anna went into labour and four more followed her. He has five boys, after 24 tries. Isn't that perfect?"
"Perfect? They are Harper's children, perfection is impossible." From the frown that appeared on her face, he deduced that he had misunderstood.
"When our son is old enough to go to school he will have other little boys to keep him company. Harper's sons."
"You are planning to stay longer than ten months?" Tyr held his breath.
Beka paused to identify the tone of voice he used. Was that hope? "Tyr, I will not stay, but our son will. I know that I must make this planet my home base. For our son, the brother of the Reincarnation, this will be his permanent home. As he will be a target for kidnappers and extortionists. the only way I can keep him safe is to leave him here with you."
Her announcement was torture for Tyr. That his son would grow up under his roof was joyful news. But that his mother would be an infrequent visitor, that was painful."
"What of Harper's daughters? They should be attending school." Tyr covered his personal concern with concern for the children he thought of as nieces.
"Harper has a study program devised for the older girls. Any younger ones can join the boys if their mothers approve. But you know Nietzschean social practices? They keep the genders separate when it comes to education."
"How long will your changes take?" Tyr could not argue with her understanding of the situation.
"A week tonight, we will be sleeping in our new bedroom." She grinned. "Mark it on your agenda. We will have a new bed to inaugurate. I will want your undivided attention."
"Until then?" Tyr smiled seductively.
"Until then, you are cut off." Beka kissed him. "We have a traitor to identify."