Acting Out (14 page)

The following days leading up the big conference and gala
for the Council members were busy for Jessica, but they were nearly insane for
Korian. More than at any other time in his life, including right after his
father died, he had a mission to accomplish. His entire life, his main priority
had always been ruling the kingdom. Not schooling, not warrior training, not
his friends, or his love life, but first and always his focus remained on his
future as king. His father had drilled it into him from the cradle, and Korian
had embraced his destiny with both hands willingly. That was why Jessica
MacGregor had thrown him for such a loop. Nothing and no one had ever stolen
his focus so thoroughly as she had when she exploded into his world with her
shocking red hair, lush curves, and passionate emotion. His life had been black
and white before her arrival, but now his world was painted in a rainbow of
colors from bright yellow happiness to purple ecstasy to emerald jealousy and
more. He felt like he had never really lived until he heard her laughter for
the first time.

And what had he done with such a prize? Instead of embracing
it and thanking the stars for their blessings, he had smashed it out of fear
and rage at the changes she had brought to his life much like the hulking green
monster from the Earth movie that Mahoney had insisted he watch. The sheer
terror he had felt when he finally realized what he had done had paralyzed him
for almost an entire day. He was desperate to win her back, not just because he
craved her body, but because she brought light to his dark places and forced
him to view her as his equal. She didn’t care that he was a king or held great
power over an entire planet of people. She had seen him for who he was as a
person, and the thought of losing the only one in his life who viewed him that
way broke him down into shards of broken glass.

 It had taken many, many hours of painful soul-searching,
but he had finally risen from his bed with purpose. Calling his secretary to
his office, he had grilled the younger T’Kalan female for information on what
Jessica might enjoy for a gift. When she had hesitantly mentioned fresh flowers
or sweets, he had ordered her to pull up the information on local vendors that
would deliver and kept her busy for the next hour ordering everything she could
image the human woman would like. The only thing he had insisted on was the
three dozen cuttings from the
thalia
plant and the jeweled collar for
her companion. Realistically, he knew that showering her with gifts would not
make everything magically smooth between them, but he had at least accomplished
his goal of gaining an audience with her. He had no expectations of forgiveness
after what he had done, so he was given hope when she readily agreed.

Then, when he had arrived and she had been wearing a new
dress that he had helped choose, his heart had been given a jolt as if a
corrective treatment laser had hit him square in the chest. It seemed like
things just got better and better as they spoke until she had agreed to his
suit. Not just that, but she had asked for a fresh start. If Jessica had
thought that would upset him or make him change his mind, she was terribly
mistaken. Korian could have asked for nothing better. Not only did his
thalia
give him another chance, but she was allowing him to begin fresh as the man
he knew he could be, and there was a very real chance that he would be able to
regain her trust once more. Because he finally realized why he had acted like
such a fool: he was in love with the human Jessica MacGregor.

When she had told him she was expecting his youngling? He
thought he would drop to the ground with shock. No matter what Mikael had told
him, he had not honestly believed that she would end up pregnant beyond the
poisonous fury that had taken hold of him when he believed that the child may
not be his. The realization that he loved her followed by the news that she
would also be bearing his child had sent him into a frenzy of fierce joy and
paralyzing fear. He could not lose either of them, and he would do whatever it
took to protect them and keep them close. He would not let his
thalia
down
ever again.

The irony of his earlier belief that a relationship with
Jessica would be nothing more than a distraction from his duties was almost
laughable. From the moment he walked out of the door of Mikael’s apartment, he
was filled with a renewed purpose. In order to ensure the safety of his future
lifemate and their young, it was imperative that he make a good showing at the
conference in order to secure the favor of the Council. He needed their help to
guard against another possible attack on his world by the same forces that had
sent his father and many older warriors to the stars too soon. To that end, he
set about planning an exhibition that the off-worlders wouldn’t soon forget.

Korian swept Jessica along into his planning and he found
her insight and familiarity of such spectacles to be priceless. They spent
every day of the following week together traveling to provinces across T’Kala
and recruiting the best and brightest of their talent. Jessica was endlessly
fascinated by her new home and peppered him with questions about culture,
music, arts, and ways of living. When he mentioned that the province of
Nin’Tala was renowned for native T’Kalan dancing, she insisted he take her
there to witness it for herself. The local dance theater was honored to host
their new king for the first time, and had put on a show that brought both him
and Jessica to their feet with cries for more. It had been her idea to book the
troupe for the exhibition at the conference, and the dancers had been thrilled
to be included.

From there, it seemed that the entire show had fallen into
place with ease, and he owed it all to his outgoing and friendly
thalia
.
His people instinctively fell in love with her effusive praise, honest
appreciation, and her natural ability to charm anyone she spoke with. She even
won over and secured a promise to perform from the cranky and reclusive
musician from Bak’Bar that played a stringed instrument. Lysanter Mic’Arin was
the most popular and famous musician on T’Kala and he rarely left the privacy
of his home to perform, but he agreed to a showcase in the assembly for
Jessica. Korian could only shake his head in disbelief as she flawlessly put
together such a display that the Council would not soon forget.

The final performance, or grand finale as she had called it,
would be a demonstration by the T’Kalan warriors themselves. He would never
forget his pride when she had suggested it.
“Just imagine it, Korian!”
she had exclaimed.
“What better way to convince the Council to send
reinforcements than to show them what you can bring to the table?”
He had
to agree with her. He may have been one himself, but it wasn’t out of just
loyalty when he stated that his warriors were elite fighters. The two of them
spent many hours with their heads bent over a vidscreen planning it out
together. There would be general examples of fighting techniques by a handful
of his best warriors followed by an exhibition by his first female warrior,
Mahoney, accompanied by prototypes of the new battle bots she helped design. If
the combined might of his fighting forces did not sway the Council to place
their faith and resources in his world, then he would be greatly surprised and
offended.

Though Jessica had seemed in good health following the
initial treatment, he kept close watch over her for any signs of ill health or
fatigue. When she had begun to complain of her head aching while they visited
the city of Vin’Tress in order to recruit the province’s famous acrobats, he
insisted on calling for a medic against her wishes. He refused to allow her to
suffer any ill effects from her pregnancy even after she calmly explained that
human females on her Earth were well-used to the symptoms. Both her health and
her safety were his main priorities now, and he would not be budged on either
of them. She seemed to accept his overbearing sensibilities with good grace,
and just shook her head with a laugh when he tucked her into a bed for a nap
every time she yawned or showed signs of fatigue. He was even grateful for the
constant presence of her fierce companion, as prickly and snarling as it was,
for he knew from experience that the creature would guard her even more aggressively
than himself especially now that she was with child. There was a reason why the
companions were so highly sought after by the elite and rich of their society,
and he was already planning on the purchase of yet another one when their child
arrived to greet the stars.

Throughout their travels and planning together, Korian had
difficulty refraining from grabbing Jessica and taking her against every flat
surface they encountered, but he managed to control himself with some
difficulty. On the third day of their travels together, she resumed her
affectionate touches to his arm or thigh, and though the progress thrilled him,
it led to some very uncomfortable moments for him when his breeches would get
too tight in the crotch and he would have to use all his ingenuity to hide the
evidence of his desire from her and those around them. His traitorous
imagination tortured him constantly with remembered visions of their bodies
joined, her hair trailing down her back, and her cries of ecstasy as their
bodies splintered apart to commune with the stars. He could be patient,
however, and kept his eyes on the final prize of securing her for his forever
lifemate.

That didn’t mean that he refrained from testing the limits
every chance he received. Once she broke the touch barrier between them, he
took full advantage of the opportunity to return her affection whether it was
by pulling her into his side as they strolled, holding her hand during events,
or reaching out to tuck a stray red curl behind her ear. She even allowed him
to kiss her sweet lips and hold her in his arms, and it thrilled him each time
he left her breathless and panting with desire. Though it pained him to return
to his compound each night unaccompanied, it was of some comfort knowing that
he was not alone in his arrested passion. He would never confess to be an
expert on female emotions, far from it, but he knew what he saw when he looked
into Jessica’s eyes, because it reflected back everything that he felt, too. He
could read the enjoyment of his company, her happiness at seeing him arrive to
pick her up, and her reluctance to part at the end of the evening. For the first
time in many days, he was beginning to feel confident that things just might
work out between them.

Of course, that was only if he managed to make it through the
Council visit alive. Like a specter of doom, the thought that a hired assassin
was coming to kill him haunted his dreams. He was no stranger to the concept of
someone wanting him dead, but he had always been able to face them on a field
of battle, or in the case of Rox’Ana Ful’Tera, across a crowded banquet hall. A
nameless, faceless enemy was not someone he could conquer easily. Mikael and
Zandar had both begged him to cancel the conference and allow them to arrest
the treasonous noblewoman, but Korian had steadfastly refused. Gaining the
support of the Council was paramount in order to secure T’Kala’s future safety,
and not even the threat of his death would deter him from seeing that through.
In the end, the two warriors had reluctantly agreed, but insisted on calling in
several dozen warriors from around the globe to converge on the compound for
extra security. They pored over the guest list, studied archived footage from
Council transmissions, and narrowed their search down to the contingent
arriving from Mamaxon. While there were only five delegates arriving from the
powerful planet, they would likely be bringing employees and servants with
them, and they had no way of knowing who they would be.

Zandar had suggested a transmission meeting with the Mamaxon
Councilman to inform them of the threat, but Korian had shot that idea down.
They had no idea of who they could trust, and he didn’t want to clue the
assassin in on the fact that they knew he was coming. That also meant that they
had to allow Rox’Ana Ful’Tera to not only retain her freedom, but to attend the
conference, as well. If all went according to plan, then he would be able to
net both of the criminals at the same time, or as Jessica had phrased it,
“catching two birds with one stone.”

At first, it had been difficult for Korian to come
face-to-face with Zandar. Even knowing that what his spy had witnessed was a
ruse, he still felt the boiling fury rise to the surface when he had arrived in
the communications room onboard
The Ax’Sandre
and those hateful
imaginings assaulted his mind. However, as soon as he encountered him, the
lieutenant had stood to his feet, saluted his king, and had announced,
“Mahoney
has assured me that you have been briefed on the true reason for our presence
in the noblewoman’s bedchamber. However, should you still wish to issue the
Warrior Challenge, I will not dishonor either of us by refusing. You are a
worthy king, and it is my privilege to serve you. Just know that Jessica
MacGregor’s heart belongs to you alone, and I will swear my fealty to you both
all my days.”
Korian had allowed the silence to stretch between them for a
long moment before he returned the salute and strode forward to clap the older
man on the back in forgiveness. Even if the warrior had tasted the heaven of
his
thalia
’s lips, the fact remained that Zandar was a loyal and worthy
warrior and his actions that night may have saved Korian’s life. That was not a
debt that he took lightly, and he would find a way to repay him in kind
someday.

The evening before the arrival of the Council, Korian found
himself ensconced in his office with Jessica, Mikael, and Mahoney as they
finalized the logistical issues remaining for the T’Kalan exhibition, docking
of the foreign airships, and the increased security detail and housing of the
extra warriors that had arrived only hours before to report for duty. Though
most of the plans were already in place, there were still the finer details to
work out, and it took all four of them to ensure that the conference would
proceed according to plan.