Aurora's Promise (19 page)

“You’re shameless,” Brooke laughed. Turning to Aurora, she
explained, “Ilyrian men have a lot of faults, but being indifferent to their
families is not one of them. Especially when it comes to their wives pregnant
with their first child.”

Bethany snorted. “Crazy is more like it. We both had fully
armed escorts here and we never even left the palace grounds.”

“Escorts?”

“Guards,” Brooke said. “We left them outside with yours.
They didn’t look too happy about letting us come in alone, but they didn’t want
to argue with us and fight your guards at the same time.”

“I don’t have any personal guards. Those are just the house
guards.”

Brooke shrugged but Bethany said, “See how far you get past
the front entry by yourself without at least two extra shadows.”

“Do they follow you everywhere?”

“Pretty much,” Bethany said. “At least when you’re not
inside private quarters.”

“Have you been outside the palace grounds?” Aurora asked.

Bethany shook her head. “No. But the grounds are
huge
.
Still, I’m working on talking Wyc into it. I really want to see his family’s
territory. But because I’ve had complications with my pregnancy—”

“Uh,
hel-lo
,” Brooke interrupted. “Being nearly
poisoned to death is not a normal pregnancy complication. Wyc wasn’t the only
one freaked out by that, oh mother-to-be of the first child to be born into the
final generation of the prophecy.”

Bethany rolled her eyes. “Well, anyway, since then Wyc’s
been beyond overprotective. We stay here because there are more safeguards put
in place. All five families have many of their best soldiers here. More added
as each one of us has been found and considering the circumstances, I
understand.” Bethany gave Brooke a warning look. “Something I would never admit
to saying.”

Brooke nodded. “Of course. Wouldn’t do to let them know too
often that they’re right.”

“So Connyn’s irritating arrogance is a family trait?” Aurora
asked. Absently Aurora rubbed a spot between her eyes. The small ticking pain
was back.

“Arrogance?” Bethany said and then smiled. “You are so
tactful.” Bethany’s brows pulled together in a slight frown. “Are you feeling
okay? We could come back another time.”

Aurora dropped her hand and tried to smile reassuringly. She
really hoped her eye didn’t start to tick again. “No, please stay. Everything
is fine, it’s just this whole prophecy thing has kind of unnerved me since I
had a talk with Connyn’s mother. “

“His
mother?
Well hell—oops. I mean
heck
.”
Shaking her head, Bethany let out a loud sigh. “I’m trying to cut out the
cursing since I’m going to be a mom,” she explained. “Connyn should be telling
you all this, not his mother. I can’t believe these men don’t explain themselves
better. One of these days, one of them is really going to piss off their mate
and Ilyria will have one less heir to a throne.”

“It’s the final generation thing that’s throwing me the
most,” Aurora said.

Bethany ran a hand over the obvious swell of her belly. A
thoughtful look came over her face. “It’s enough to throw anyone. Having the
fate of a world rest on the shoulders of our children…” She took a deep breath
and looked back up at Aurora and Brooke, facing them with a shaky smile. “Jesus.
I can’t think about that for very long. It scares the hell out of me.”

“I’m sorry,” Aurora apologized. “I’m sure there are others
who can answer my questions.”

“It’s all right. It’s hormones. And just really wanting my
child to live a perfect life free of pain and trouble. That’s not asking too
much, right?” she said with a wry shake of her head.” Bethany turned to Brooke.
“You went out of the palace when we first got here, didn’t you?”

“Rordyc took me on a quick two-day tour of his family’s
territory when we first arrived, but I haven’t pushed the issue to go back
because jumping through portals makes me puke. I’m just not up to traveling.
Hopefully things will even out during the second trimester.”

Aurora’s eyebrows flew up. “You’re pregnant too?”

Brooke blushed slightly. “Yes.”

“Good god. Is there something in the water in this planet?”

“Nope. Just in the Mating Rites,” Brooke laughed. She
frowned at Aurora. “Are you feeling okay? You just went white as a sheet.”

“I…uhh…yes. I’m fine. Just trying to assimilate.” Aurora
mentally shook herself and gestured to what she had started to call the Canopy
Room, the day room she’d been shown to the first day. “And I’m forgetting my
manners.” Cait had set out a table of food in anticipation of the visit. “Please,
after you. I hope you’re hungry.”

“You are a mind reader,” Bethany said, not shy about taking
the lead toward the food. After the initial oohing and aahing over the
miniature buffet as they filled their plates, they each picked a comfortable
seat next to the window.

Licking pink cream from her fingers that had oozed out of a
puff pastry, Bethany said, “This is a beautiful room. It would make an amazing
nursery.”

The cracker in Aurora’s mouth turned to dust. Brooke looked
at Aurora and then glared at Bethany. Bethany blushed. “Oops. Sorry. New mother
syndrome. I should know better. Too much too fast. If it helps, I screamed at
Wyc the first time I thought he might have gotten me pregnant.”

“Are all the men the size of Connyn?” Aurora asked.

“Pretty much.”

“And you screamed at him?”

Bethany grinned. “I was upset. I also tried to cut out my
guardian tattoo with a carving knife, but that’s another story.”

“Honestly, Bethany,” Brooke said. “It’s a good thing I’m
here or she might think lunacy runs in the family.”

Bethany picked up a small triangular finger sandwich. “Huh.
You forget that I was there when you tried to run over your mate with a truck.”

“He deserved it.”

“Oh I know he did.” Bethany popped the little sandwich into
her mouth whole and threw Brooke a broad teasing grin before she started
chewing.

Now it was Aurora’s turn to laugh. “Now I don’t feel so bad
for some of my more violent thoughts toward Connyn. I was beginning to think it
was just me.”

“Ha!” Brooke said. “It’s not us. It’s the men. Good thing
they’re so sexy.”

Bethany’s impish grin was full of mischief. “It does tend to
make up for an awful lot.”

“Usually,” Aurora murmured, her tone making it clear that
there were times when even an Ilyrian male’s ultimate sexual appeal didn’t get
him completely off the hook.

Bethany’s grin spread to a full smile as she pointed another
sandwich at Aurora. “We’re going to get along just great.”

* * * * *

By the time she’d parted ways with Brooke and Bethany,
Aurora had two women she’d come to regard as friends and a hell of a lot of
information she was still trying to digest along with other salient facts she’d
collected since she’d been in Ilyria. Apparently, she did have several personal
guards. When Brooke and Bethany had taken her on a tour of the palace compound,
they were “escorted” by at least a dozen guards. Only six of them had arrived
with Brooke and Bethany.

She had felt like the sideshow to a traveling carnival the
way people stopped whatever they were doing to stare at them as they passed by.
Bethany and Brooke ignored it as they pointed out the different streets that
led to the private sectors of the Five Houses, making sure she knew the way to
get to both of their homes.

Pacing back and forth in the Canopy Room, she put into place
all she had learned. There was only one more full day before the Council met
and she could feel time slipping through her fingers. It was actually a relief
when the message came that Connyn would be late again. Every time she even
glanced at the main door, heat flashed over her skin. Which was one of the
reasons she’d camped out in the Canopy Room while she considered her options.

Still praying that Ellen would show up before she was
paraded in front of the Council, she ran through plans B, C and D. She was
still working on plan E. Her first order of business in all of the plans was to
make sure she held in complete check her willingness to confess all her heart
while in the throes of sexual ecstasy. And to do that, she’d need to keep the
reins of control in her hands. That shouldn’t be too hard for just two more
nights.

After the Council met, all bets were off. She had a very bad
feeling about that meeting. Bethany and Brooke hadn’t been able to tell her
much about the Council. Neither of them had been before it or knew much about
what might happen, nor had they even known Connyn had arranged for her to be
presented to the Elders and Prophets. Their expressions when she mentioned it
did nothing but make her worry more. A lot more.

Pulling her hair loose from the ponytail, she stared out at
the darkening night. Shit. There was nothing she could do about the Council.
But there was something she could do about Connyn. She smiled. And there was
plenty she was planning to do
to
Connyn as well, if she could keep her
nerves under control long enough.

Turning away from the window, she walked to the bed,
shedding clothes as she went. Right now she felt wound tight enough to burst.
Not the place she needed to be in if she intended to keep control tonight. With
her body wrapped in this tension, it wouldn’t take much convincing just to let
Connyn take charge and work it all out of her. The idea of letting him simply
dominate her in that rather primitive but undeniably sexy way he could had her
skin warming with just the thought.

Though she’d learned to bring the lights on by watching Cait
run her finger around the rim of the light bowls, she didn’t bother with
adjusting each one individually. Turning in a slow circle in front of the bed,
she held her hand out, fingers spread, and whispered, “Lights low.” The room
was immediately suffused in a soft light that made the white bedding glow like
a welcoming pool of romantic dreams.

Once she was lying in the middle of the bed, she stretched
out completely naked and closed her eyes. Let herself drift, sifting through
fantasies as her arms and legs shifted over the smooth material that was both
soft and cool against her skin. She opened her mind as the possibilities wafted
through, smiled at the vision her imagination created of Connyn standing behind
the spoked wheel of a pirate ship, confidence shining out of his gray eyes,
dark as the thunderheads building in the sky behind him.

She ran her hands lightly from her breasts to her thighs.
No, she didn’t want a storm. Well, it was her fantasy. She could fix that. Cupping
her breasts in both hands, she reached for a fantasy she’d put off, waiting for
a time she’d need a good hard orgasm and plenty of time to work through it.
Pinching her nipples, she inhaled a long deep breath, bent her knees and drew
them up, opening her heating pussy to the cool caress of the evening breeze.

Phoebe was nervous. Captain Kilth was in a mood today.
She’d like to believe it was the storm they’d been racing all day to stay ahead
of. One quick look out the porthole had been enough to prove that they were no
longer dealing with that particular obstacle. She glanced back at the door.
Which meant the captain might soon be down to finish what he had threatened.

Her skirts brushed and swished around her legs as she
walked in tight circles in the small space, wondering just how far she’d pushed
him this morning. It had been more than a week since they’d left the last port
and this morning she’d opened her eyes to find him looking down at her with a
strange expression on his face. He’d looked half angry, half perplexed. She was
surprised that he hadn’t either already dressed and left or stroked her fully
awake and ready to receive him. Either being the norm depending on the
situation of the ship or crew.

The large door creaked as Captain Kilth entered and then
thudded loudly as he pushed it closed again. She spun around in time to see him
slide the bolt into place with an ominous, heavy-sounding clunk. He turned to
face her but didn’t reach for her. Instead, he leaned his shoulders against the
door and crossed his arms over his broad chest.

Suddenly she found it difficult to breathe. The man
embodied the very perfection of physicality in male form and the aura of danger
that enveloped him only made him appear more unreachable and more desirable. As
frequent as their interactions had become, not once had she grown immune to the
reactions he sparked in her. Days ago she had been quite shocked to discover
that she actually looked forward to being with him. In fact, enjoyed the time
they spent together both in and out of his bunk. The conclusion she’d come to
after a clear examination of those feelings last night while she was, as
always, tucked against his side after being exhaustively seduced was at the
root of her offer this morning.

They had to be closing in on several possible ports and
she knew she must be set ashore as soon as humanly possible. To help expedite
the process, she’d quite generously offered him a large sum to be decreased
daily in order to ensure a possible port would not be ignored in favor of her “safety”
once again. If she didn’t remove herself from his presence soon, her physical
safety wouldn’t be the only thing in jeopardy.

The curse he’d breathed across her brow was both shocking
and startling. And when she’d tried, in her most polite but pointed way, to
reason with him in an attempt to draw out some semblance of agreement from her
captor, he’d pushed out of bed with another oath. Now being angry herself, she’d
accused him of being any number of things she couldn’t completely recall at the
moment but that had leapt off the tip of her tongue in her burst of anger.

She knew she had called him a liar, a rogue and had
creatively compared him to one of her uncle’s dogs that she particularly
disliked, but it was to her shame that she couldn’t actually remember
everything she had yelled at him as he dressed. Though this was undoubtedly a
most difficult state of affairs, she’d never in her life behaved so badly, lost
so much control. Apparently the man was able to push her past all the limits of
polite society that had been drummed into her very core by years of proper
education for a woman of her social standing.