"He is beautiful, Anna." Harper, holding his son, gazed into the eyes of
his wife.
The trio was entangled in her bed. Anna had learned early in their marriage that Harper needed body contact to feel secure in a relationship. To hasten the bonding with his son, she had asked Harper to attend the midnight feeding. With the baby sated, she rested, while Harper counted toes and nuzzled the forehead of the baby. She had woven her legs through the legs of her husband and had placed her hand at the juncture of his hip and thigh. The warmth of her touch radiated, drawing out his hyperactivity like a poultice draws poison. The dim lighting added to the illusion of intimacy.
"What shall we call him, husband?"
Another Harper family ritual that began with the birth of their first child was the naming of his children. Harper had sole responsibility. His wives had one veto, but the choice was ultimately his. It had become tradition for Anna, at the end of an interview with a prospective mate, to explain the cultural oddities of life with Harper. A couple of applicants had withdrawn their offers as a result. Harper did not know.
"Sun Tzu."
The name sounded like sneezing to Anna.
"Sun Tzu Anasazi Harper." Seamus made a face as the syllables fell from his tongue. "Rather a mouthful, but all the boys will have the middle name Anasazi, so the first name has to be that of a warrior."
Anna blinked. "All the boys will bear The Kodiak's family name?"
"Yeah," Harper ran his finger down the bridge of the boy's nose. "They will be raised and schooled with Tyr's second son, to form an elite military unit that serves the Reincarnation. It seemed fitting that the six of them carried the name."
"My son will be one of the Reincarnation's personal guard?" Anna removed the baby from the arms of his father. "Have you told the others?"
"No, and I won't. Nor will you." There was an edge to his voice. "Tyr gave me permission to tell you, because he understands how I rely on your common sense and discretion."
Although Anna took the remark as a compliment as it was intended, she did not stifle the sigh that welled up. She hugged the baby tightly. Her son was going to be raised as a warrior, an honoured warrior, privy to state secrets and intrigue. His sisters would be prized as wives with access to the finest males. She would have fine grandchildren to cuddle and spoil. She and all the generations that followed her had been raised from obscurity when she chose the little engineer. They would write legends about the mother of Sun Tzu, out of Anna, by Seamus.
"You aren't pleased?"
Harper had been married long enough to recognize the signs of wifely discontent, but not long enough to interpret them.
"Why wouldn't I be pleased? My son is honoured and my husband respects me enough to include me in his secrets." She looked at her husband through her lashes.
"Help me here, Baby." Harper turned on the bed to face her, carefully disentangling himself. "There's a subtext I'm missing."
"The daughters of Freyer wish you to impregnate them."
Harper could not understand what the desires of his three most recent wives had to do with this conversation. He reined in his impatience. Anna never took the direct route, when a circuitous route was available.
"I've tried Anna."
The first mating with the sisters had occurred individually, but consecutively. The women returned him to the First Wife battered and bruised - their wombs devoid of children. The experience had made him reluctant to return to their beds.
"I've explained that they must let you prepare their bodies for mating. That they must learn the way of Harper if they want to bear his children." She put her hand on his cheek. "I had some of the others confirm that your way is very pleasurable."
Harper accepted her praise as due. Acquiring wives in the Kodiak culture was easy, keeping them was harder and Harper kept thirty-one. He no longer bragged of his prowess as he had done in his youth. The size of his family was all the validation he needed.
"I also told them not to take offense should you call out the name Trance Gemini on completion of your duty."
There! The subtext! Was it his fault that his heart belonged to Trance? He did not ask to fall in love with her. He honoured his wives. He respected them. He had great affection for them. Trance and he had never been intimate, before or after his marriages. She would not allow it, even though he had communicated the depths of his feelings for her. Anna learned of his secret when they mated for the first time. He hadn't even realized he had called out her name, until Anna began to cry. More often than not, at the culmination of intimate moments with his wives, when all rationale thought was stripped away, the truth would accompany release.
"Anna, you chose me, Trance didn't." Seamus kissed her gently. "Accepting your offer was the smartest, absolutely most genius thing I have ever done."
Anna watched as he left the room. "But you didn't say you loved me, Seamus."
Tamerlane found his courtesy uncle hiding in his laboratory much later that day.
"Uncle Seamus, you look as if you haven't slept in twenty-four hours."
Tamerlane noted the blood shot eyes and the shaking hands that held a cup of coffee.
"I haven't." Harper yawned.
"Has Dad got you working on something?" Tamerlane sat on a stool beside Harper. "I could ask him to ease up on you."
"No my condition is not your father's fault." Harper considered for a brief moment then told the boy the truth. "Three of my wives demanded that I fulfill my conjugal duties last night."
"Are congratulations in order?" Tamerlane grinned.
"I just received confirmation. All three are pregnant." Harper grinned. "Tamerlane, there is a lot to be said for polygamy. But what no one tells you is how much like hard work it can be!"
"Why do you live the Nietzschean way?"
"More of an accident than a plan on my part." Harper listened to himself and grinned. That statement covered his entire life. "Do you really want to know?"
"I need to understand the consequences should I choose polygamy. Who better than a man with thirty-one wives to provide perspective?"
"Thinking of mating are you?"
Harper grinned as shock scrambled across the face of the Reincarnation. Bull's eye. I bet he hasn't told Tyr.
The trio was entangled in her bed. Anna had learned early in their marriage that Harper needed body contact to feel secure in a relationship. To hasten the bonding with his son, she had asked Harper to attend the midnight feeding. With the baby sated, she rested, while Harper counted toes and nuzzled the forehead of the baby. She had woven her legs through the legs of her husband and had placed her hand at the juncture of his hip and thigh. The warmth of her touch radiated, drawing out his hyperactivity like a poultice draws poison. The dim lighting added to the illusion of intimacy.
"What shall we call him, husband?"
Another Harper family ritual that began with the birth of their first child was the naming of his children. Harper had sole responsibility. His wives had one veto, but the choice was ultimately his. It had become tradition for Anna, at the end of an interview with a prospective mate, to explain the cultural oddities of life with Harper. A couple of applicants had withdrawn their offers as a result. Harper did not know.
"Sun Tzu."
The name sounded like sneezing to Anna.
"Sun Tzu Anasazi Harper." Seamus made a face as the syllables fell from his tongue. "Rather a mouthful, but all the boys will have the middle name Anasazi, so the first name has to be that of a warrior."
Anna blinked. "All the boys will bear The Kodiak's family name?"
"Yeah," Harper ran his finger down the bridge of the boy's nose. "They will be raised and schooled with Tyr's second son, to form an elite military unit that serves the Reincarnation. It seemed fitting that the six of them carried the name."
"My son will be one of the Reincarnation's personal guard?" Anna removed the baby from the arms of his father. "Have you told the others?"
"No, and I won't. Nor will you." There was an edge to his voice. "Tyr gave me permission to tell you, because he understands how I rely on your common sense and discretion."
Although Anna took the remark as a compliment as it was intended, she did not stifle the sigh that welled up. She hugged the baby tightly. Her son was going to be raised as a warrior, an honoured warrior, privy to state secrets and intrigue. His sisters would be prized as wives with access to the finest males. She would have fine grandchildren to cuddle and spoil. She and all the generations that followed her had been raised from obscurity when she chose the little engineer. They would write legends about the mother of Sun Tzu, out of Anna, by Seamus.
"You aren't pleased?"
Harper had been married long enough to recognize the signs of wifely discontent, but not long enough to interpret them.
"Why wouldn't I be pleased? My son is honoured and my husband respects me enough to include me in his secrets." She looked at her husband through her lashes.
"Help me here, Baby." Harper turned on the bed to face her, carefully disentangling himself. "There's a subtext I'm missing."
"The daughters of Freyer wish you to impregnate them."
Harper could not understand what the desires of his three most recent wives had to do with this conversation. He reined in his impatience. Anna never took the direct route, when a circuitous route was available.
"I've tried Anna."
The first mating with the sisters had occurred individually, but consecutively. The women returned him to the First Wife battered and bruised - their wombs devoid of children. The experience had made him reluctant to return to their beds.
"I've explained that they must let you prepare their bodies for mating. That they must learn the way of Harper if they want to bear his children." She put her hand on his cheek. "I had some of the others confirm that your way is very pleasurable."
Harper accepted her praise as due. Acquiring wives in the Kodiak culture was easy, keeping them was harder and Harper kept thirty-one. He no longer bragged of his prowess as he had done in his youth. The size of his family was all the validation he needed.
"I also told them not to take offense should you call out the name Trance Gemini on completion of your duty."
There! The subtext! Was it his fault that his heart belonged to Trance? He did not ask to fall in love with her. He honoured his wives. He respected them. He had great affection for them. Trance and he had never been intimate, before or after his marriages. She would not allow it, even though he had communicated the depths of his feelings for her. Anna learned of his secret when they mated for the first time. He hadn't even realized he had called out her name, until Anna began to cry. More often than not, at the culmination of intimate moments with his wives, when all rationale thought was stripped away, the truth would accompany release.
"Anna, you chose me, Trance didn't." Seamus kissed her gently. "Accepting your offer was the smartest, absolutely most genius thing I have ever done."
Anna watched as he left the room. "But you didn't say you loved me, Seamus."
Tamerlane found his courtesy uncle hiding in his laboratory much later that day.
"Uncle Seamus, you look as if you haven't slept in twenty-four hours."
Tamerlane noted the blood shot eyes and the shaking hands that held a cup of coffee.
"I haven't." Harper yawned.
"Has Dad got you working on something?" Tamerlane sat on a stool beside Harper. "I could ask him to ease up on you."
"No my condition is not your father's fault." Harper considered for a brief moment then told the boy the truth. "Three of my wives demanded that I fulfill my conjugal duties last night."
"Are congratulations in order?" Tamerlane grinned.
"I just received confirmation. All three are pregnant." Harper grinned. "Tamerlane, there is a lot to be said for polygamy. But what no one tells you is how much like hard work it can be!"
"Why do you live the Nietzschean way?"
"More of an accident than a plan on my part." Harper listened to himself and grinned. That statement covered his entire life. "Do you really want to know?"
"I need to understand the consequences should I choose polygamy. Who better than a man with thirty-one wives to provide perspective?"
"Thinking of mating are you?"
Harper grinned as shock scrambled across the face of the Reincarnation. Bull's eye. I bet he hasn't told Tyr.