Fencer (3 page)

Rhoda waved it off. “Don’t worry about it. Kebril bought it for me, so technically, it is his, as I frequently remind Drehl. It was part of my trousseau, so it will have to be replaced by my husband.”

She rubbed her hands together, and it made Meena laugh. Rhoda didn’t seem the kind to make much fuss about clothing, so she was guessing that it was a matter of family honour or some such that the men had to provide for their women.

Kebril extended his hand, and Meena placed her fingers in his grasp for him to raise to his lips.

The kiss sent tingles down her arm and across her chest, beading her nipples and coiling low in her belly. She didn’t gasp, but it took all of her self-control.

“Now, Lady Meena, may we adjourn to pick out some clothing for you? The sooner we make the selections, the sooner you can be in your own clothing and my brother can get some peace.” Kebril offered his arm, and Meena took it as Rhoda smirked and said, “Your brother doesn’t deserve peace. If he wanted it, he should never have looked my way.”

Kebril shot back, “You doodled yourself into his portrait like a schoolgirl. What was he supposed to do about your obvious pining for him?”

Meena could see Kebril’s grin as he moved swiftly to one side to avoid the cupcake that was hurled at his head.

He had a sense of humour. One more check, aside from dead sexy, in the plus column.

T
hey sat next to each other on a couch in a study, and Kebril scrolled through style page after style page, making notes and selections for her.

“Do I really need to be here for this? You seem to do quite well on your own.” She sat back with a grunt.

He paused. “I am being a bit of a martinet, aren’t I? I apologize. What kind of clothing do you prefer for casual wear?”

She scrolled through and found something that approached hakama and a wrap shirt with wide sleeves. “That. It suits my blade style, and speaking of that, is there somewhere I can get some practice blades?”

Kebril smiled. “All your images have you holding blades. It was one of those blades coupled with the mark inside your elbow that gave us the clue to find you.”

She blinked. “How?”

“Dark green blood. Only three species within Janial’s jurisdiction have dark green blood, and only one had representatives on a world with a Terran. We tracked blade wounds on a Yinshin, and it led us right to you.”

She frowned at the mention of the Yinshin. “I am glad you found me, but if I had known what I would be facing, I would have just killed him.”

“Who?”

“Lord Makadan. He has taken to having his cousin hire honour proxies, and when they lose, he gets a disgraced bed partner for a night.” The data pad in Kebril’s hands cracked with a jolt of power and a spark.

She sighed. “Does that mean we will have to start again?”

“What did he try to do to you?”

“Oh, he wanted me to lose the fight to first blood and then, he would have had me for one night by contract as a default for losing.

Fortunately, I was very motivated not to lose.

Unfortunately, he pressed charges because he kept coming after he had lost, so I kept cutting until he passed out.

“When the jackass woke up, he had me charged with assault, and while my agent and I had a video proving his refusal to abide by the rules of honour, we were not allowed to display it. I was dumped into Janial and forced to choose.” Kebril’s jaw was tense. “What were you choosing?”

“Either get out of jail and bear Lord Makadan’s heir, or stay there until I agreed to get knocked up. It was quite the problem, so I wanted to give it as much thought as I could possibly manage.” If the data pad weren’t broken, he would have snapped it again. With a sigh, he held the tech back in a flat position, and to her amazed gaze, it wove itself back together.

“Nice trick.”

“I should not have lost my temper. I apologize. The thought that you could have been so close to danger and I hadn’t even met you yet, it tears at my heart.” He sighed raggedly.

She took his hand, and his breathing resumed a more normal cadence. “Thank you for your empathy, but my life was danger. Now, can I see the pictures that everyone keeps referring too?” He grinned. “Come this way.”

They walked down the hall until the unmistakable scent of pigments and paints wrinkled Meena’s nose. Rhoda’s studio was vast and full of canvases.

“Our wall is over here.”

He took her by the hand and led her to a wall where a dozen images were arranged, all painted with precise attention to detail and every one showing Meena in a different embrace with Kebril. In some, they stood shoulder to shoulder, in others, they were entwined, and in one, it was obvious that they were having sex while Kebril held her hips to take her weight. The look on her face was blissful, ecstatic. His face was harsh, possessive and passionate.

“They can be hard to look at, no?” He kept his hand on hers, his thumb brushing back and forth across her fingers.

The scalding blush running through her cheeks made her wish for a waterfall to wedge her head under.

“How does she…I mean, how can Rhoda see and paint all this?”

“It is her talent. Drehl’s guess is that she taps into time and sees your match under ideal conditions. She is an artist by nature, so once the image is in her mind, she can produce it on canvas.”

Meena wandered around, looking at the images of Kebril and her. It was amazing. Every detail was there, including the small tattoo she had been given when she was dumped in Janial. It would only be removed when she had completed her run through the court system.

She rubbed at the mark and looked toward Kebril. “What type of blades do you use?”

“It depends on my mood and my opponent. Why?”

“I was wondering if you could get me something to practice with. I get twitchy if I don’t have something to do.” Meena turned and smiled up at him.

“I think you can share my collection. I can have weapons made up for you if you like, but my weapons are at your disposal.” He smiled.

The double entendre was obvious. “Let’s just make an appointment for me to handle your sabre.”

“Then, we had better get you some appropriate clothing. You can’t fence in a gown.” He grinned.

“Though, I would enjoy watching you try.” She scowled and then chuckled. “I have fought in worse.”

He offered her his arm. “Have you now? What do you prefer for standard workout gear? I am thinking something in a flowing, stormy blue with matching trousers.”

She sighed and started to describe her ideal fighting outfit. He offered suggestions and she countered, but eventually, they came to an agreement of style and fabrics.

Kebril got to his feet. “Is it to presumptuous to ask for a kiss?”

Meena blinked. “Um. No. I suppose that it would be fine.”

He leaned down, and she tilted her head up, rising on her toes to get it over with. Kebril held her chin with two fingers and ghosted his lips across hers. Sparks shot through her nervous system with that light touch, and when he did it again, she inhaled sharply.

Meena placed her hands on his shoulders for support and leaned into him. His body heat warmed her palms, and she waited for the next kiss to fall.

Kebril groaned and took her hands off his shoulders. “And that is enough to start with. Good day, Meena. May your dreams be sweet.” He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, and he walked out.

She stood in the study for five minutes before her body stopped trembling with the easy arousal that he had stirred in her.

Meena sought Rhoda out, and apparently, one look into her features was enough to send the artist into peals of laughter.

“Let me guess. Heat, tingles and blood throbbing in places it normally doesn’t remain in residence.” Rhoda poured a cup of tea and lifted it up to her.

Meena took the tea and flopped into the chair she had occupied hours earlier. “How did he do that?”

Rhoda sipped at her own cup as if debating whether to answer or not.

“Come on. You know something.”

“Well, when he healed you, he used nanites programmed to repair and flush away marks of damage. The nanites are supposed to break up and flush away. However, if he had designs on your person, they could remain in place and react to him when he was feeling particularly randy. Think of them as mood bots.”

Meena lifted her hand up and stared at it as if she could see the little beasties in her bloodstream.

“That is cheating. So, they react in me when he is near?”

“Well, when he is near and interested in sex. On the plus side, it will work the same way from you to him. They will send signals to him that he can’t ignore. It can be a lot of fun at dinner parties.” Meena spluttered and blotted at her lips with a napkin. She looked at Rhoda’s impish expression and asked, “You are kidding, right?”

“Nope. If they want to show you off like an exotic pet, they have to put up with the tantrums when you don’t want to leave your cage.”

“Show me off?”

“Kebril is a prince of the Genarans. He has ambassadorial status on several dozen worlds. You will have to attend and probably throw a few dinner parties.” Rhoda grinned.

Meena muttered, “Maybe the Nyal government will put me under arrest again. Save me from my horrible fate.”

Rhoda cackled and hooted in amusement until Meena couldn’t help but grin in response. It seemed that Yacaro was going to have two Terrans in residence. They were asking for whatever Meena and Rhoda could dish out.

M
eena was curled up in the solarium, reading a book, when the courier bot arrived. It rolled up to her with a box supported by its arms.

The mechanical voice said, “First instalment from Prince Kebril.”

She took the box and set it to one side, opening it carefully. Inside were several bundles of fabric, each wrapped with a ribbon. Meena unravelled the bundles one by one, and when she draped each offering over the chair she had been sitting in, she found three days’ worth of clothing, including underwear, and a fencing outfit reminiscent of feudal Japan.

She grinned and held the clothing up to her body, one by one. It was nice that he had made the fencing outfit a priority. Now, she only needed a blade and a practice dummy and she was set.

Rhoda was with Drehl in a far section of the palace. Meena’s room was a little too close for audio comfort, so she waited an hour before she tried to go back to bed. Rhoda was noisy in the sack.

Meena tried on the clothing, piece by piece.

Each item was such a close fit, she would swear that they were designed specifically for her.

She frowned as she checked the flow of a day gown. Kebril hadn’t told her where the clothing came from. He just spent time with her, looking at patterns and staring at her while he chose colours.

Meena finished playing dress-up and returned to her original dress. She sat back down and continued to read the history of the Genaran people. It was a secure file that Rhoda had given her in an effort to help her understand the people she was surrounded by. The majority of the population of Yacaro was Nyal by extraction, but the Genarans were the original inhabitants.

A small population managed to keep its presence hidden for a few generations but finally confronted the new colonists and explained that they would be tolerated but that all decisions involving the resources of Yacaro were up to the Genarans.

There were a few skirmishes, but even with a small population, the Genarans managed to subdue anyone who tried to rise against them. The alteration that they had undergone generations earlier made it unlikely for them to succumb to the crude weapons of the colony. After two generations, they managed to live in harmony.

Meena yawned. She was exhausted. She got to her feet, piled the new clothing into the box and made her way back to her room.

The raucous noises were over, so Meena stripped and crawled between the sheets. If she were lucky, she would get a few hours of rest before her body woke her with the urge to exercise. Not being able to do the one thing she was trained for would become a strain if she didn’t get back to work soon.

A bot wheeled into her room as she towelled off after her shower. “Good morning, Miss. Prince Kebril has requested that you join him at his home for breakfast. Please dress for a duel.” She blinked. “Do I have a choice in this matter?”

“Miss, please be aware that Prince Drehl and his wife are waiting for you to leave so that they may resume their nocturnal activities.” The bot whirred.

Meena yanked on the silky underwear and put on her wide trousers and wrap shirt. She slipped into a pair of sandals and was out the door right behind the bot.

The bot spoke as they walked. “Prince Kebril has programmed the transport to take you directly to his home.”

The gleaming personal transport was waiting for her with the hatch open and beckoning to her.

It was time for a ride.

The small conveyance had no controls and took off the moment she was settled, sealing as it rose.

The vehicle skimmed along the mountain range, heading north at stunning speed. A gleam of light caught her eye, and she stared as the ship took her toward a palace made of crystal grown from the mountains themselves.

The quartz had a blue tint, and the polished pale grey granite that the vehicle landed on offset it. The palace could have housed a hundred or more quite comfortably, but the only person in sight was Kebril, standing next to a chest hovering a few inches off the ground.

The transport settled, and the canopy opened.

She pushed herself free of the small vehicle and crossed the courtyard until she was standing in front of him. “Thank you for the escape.” He grinned. “I made the mistake of staying over one night while they were still in their honeymoon phase. I had the room you are staying in, and the mornings are far more distressing than the evenings.”

“Why?”

“Because you have to face them over breakfast, and it is very hard to keep a straight face.” He rolled his eyes, and despite the hellish colouration of his gaze, it was still funny.