Swept Off Her Feet (17 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Dev’s eyeballs felt gritty and hot with steadily building rage. The further he followed the brazen path of scarlet desecration, the angrier he became.

How dare she deface his beautiful ship, his
Blazing Star
in such a fashion?
He’d be damned if he’d tolerate this statement about their relationship. While he had no wish to break Nnora’s wild and wonderful spirit, he fully intended teaching her a thing or three about respect—and about keeping her feminine defiance within proper,
private
bounds!

The two guards at Dohsan’s cabin door braced to attention at sight of him, saluting smartly. He nodded, noting the shocked looks on their faces. He did not often venture down into crew’s territory, so he could understand their reactions to his unannounced presence.

Sighing inwardly, he thought of the future. His crew might as well adjust. He knew Nnora—if she had her way—would have him doing many unaccustomed things.

He was dismayed to find Nnora’s trail ended at her sister’s cabin. Dohsan’s presence was one of the many things he had withheld from his princess. The thought of just how displeased she likely was had him hesitating at the door.
Rejas!
Nnora would have his
cherzda
and
sirat
in a vise if that precocious, vixenish little sister of hers had blabbed his other news.

Sending an awkward plea star-ward, he took a fortifying breath. Gesturing for the guards to step aside, he released the manual lock and opened the cabin door—

And stepped into chaos.

Sixteen high-born
Rb’qarmshi
colonial
fem
were crowded into Dohsan’s tiny cabin. According to Devtorvas’ tortured eardrums, they all seemed to be talking at once…at the top of their lungs.

Like any self-respecting male
Rb’qarmshi
, the prince had a healthy dread of being the center of attention for so many
fem
. Hoping to escape their notice, grab Nnora and run, he hugged the wall, sidling around the perimeters of the room.

He had almost reached his unsuspecting goal when a lanky
fem
whose towering height, white hair and pale tangerine eyes—closely resembling the norm on
Rb’quarm—
spotted him. The
fem
pointed towards him, her shrieks alerting the other women to his presence. The entire flock advanced on him, murder and mayhem in their eyes.

“Dog!”

“Deceiver!”

“Trickster!”

“Kidnapper!”

The epithets rang out and Devtorvas blinked, nonplused by the vehemence displayed by the
fem
. He spread his hands, calling on his usual diplomatic mien to subdue and calm this group—
gaggle?
—of
fem
. “If we might have a little quiet, please?” When the noise level dropped to a low-voiced buzzing of disapproval, he continued, “That’s better! Now, gentle-
fem
, what seems to be the problem?”

The room erupted again. Dev gave up trying to make sense out of the commotion, turning instead to Nnora, who stood in the midst of her overly-vocal supporters, aloof and cool. “Have you any idea what this is all about?” he yelled to be heard over the ruckus.

“You have injured their pride by insulting their Crown Princess, kidnapped the lot of us and made yourself an enemy of our
Chyya
. They are not inclined to forgive that barbaric behavior and neither am I!”

“Insulted you how, Nnora? By loving you…by offering you the treasures of two worlds and access to a thousand more? What are you talking about?”

“I am talking about our marriage contracts, and the fact that I have yet to see them, let alone
sign
them, you bastard!” She was in high dudgeon, and the
fem
echoed her sentiments at the top of their lungs.

He groaned and tried to get closer to Nnora, only to find himself outflanked, cut off by three enormous
fem
-in-waiting determined to thwart his every move. After two abortive attempts to sidestep them, he gave up the useless endeavor. The wily
fem
didn’t intend to let him pass without physical intervention.

Had to be Dohsan. How else could all his plans have gone awry so quickly and so completely?
Shooting an “I’m-going-to-kill-you-the-first-chance-I-get” look towards Dohsan, he held out his hands in a conciliatory manner. “I can explain—”

“Oh, I’m sure you can.” The love of his life sneered at him, eyes glinting coldly, and his heart sank. “You can explain why this ship is heading
away
from Mars with two royal princesses. If you put your mind to it, you could probably even convince us we are not all hostages to ensure my father’s compliance to your will. However, I do not wish to hear your explanations.”

He ran nervous fingers through his hair, pushing the damned unruly locks off his forehead, while sparing a quick thought to his missing hair-tie.
Oh, yes
, he recalled fondly,
Nnora’s clutching fingers had ripped it off while he’d been lapping at her delicious pussy
. But all that was in jeopardy now.

What would be an acceptable approach? At a loss at how to deal with an angry
fem
, one he was desirous of pleasing in every way, he listened to her quiet, driven comments, his heart hurting in tandem with the pain he heard in her low words.

“You have manipulated my emotions, lying to me from the very beginning—” She broke off, shakily sinking her teeth into her plump bottom lip, battling to withhold the tears that hovered on the edge of her thick eyelashes. He might just cry with her. His emotional state was so entwined with hers that all his celebrated statesmanship flew out the door, reducing him to the lowly status of a hapless male pleading with his mate, ignorance his only argument.

“Nnora! Please,
Nippa
, if you would just listen to me—”

“I listened to you in my bedroom, and look what it got me.” She had the misfortune to blush as she obviously remembered just what listening to him had gotten her…several times.

Dev worked at suppressing the smile that wanted to escape his lips at her tell-tale coloring. It broke loose as he tracked Nnora’s blush. He recalled the incidents as well as she did. “You liked what it got you!” he retorted, taking the opportunity to move in closer.

“Can you honestly say you regret our interactions in the bedroom, Glennora?” He kept his voice low, not wanting the others privy to their intimate conversation.

She hesitated, then took a different tack. “Why didn’t you tell me my sister and these others were also going back to
Rb’quarm
to be groomed as wives for your favorites?”

“I planned to tell you everything. I was waiting for the right time. If these crises hadn’t cropped up—one of them helped along by your spoiled brat of a sister, I might add.” He threw another disgruntled look at Dohsan, who retaliated with an evil, saccharin-sweet smile that chilled him to his bones.

He knew himself a brave man, but if
Chyya
Glenbrevchanka had only had the one daughter, he might have been returning home unmated. He did not envy the unsuspecting
Rb’qarmshi
who would eventually take that
Deth
-brat to wife. The poor male would end up her slave, or a raving lunatic.

He got back to the safer prospect of cajoling his fiancée. “I wanted to concentrate on our situation without all these added distractions.” He indicated the others with a wave of his hand.

“Don’t listen to him, Princess. He’s lied before, and he’s no doubt doing it again!”

“That’s right!”

“I say dump him and find someone worthier!”

Dev growled low in his throat, seeing his hopes for a painless extraction going down the tubes. Nnora had managed to put the length of the room between them again, and he worried she was seriously considering taking the advice of the interfering
fem
. He had to do something fast, before the situation deteriorated beyond repair. Keying his wrist communicator and opening up his secured priority channel, he hailed GanR’dari.

“
Chyya
?” His second’s voice came clear and undistorted through the powerful miniature speaker.

“The
uzak
has hit the
Riahc
generators. Scan my coordinates and translate the
mr’nok
squadron to me immediately.”

For a split second, silence sounded loudly from the wrist unit. Then, “At once, Sire!” GanR’dari’s voice betrayed his shock.

Dohsan’s face screwed up into a disgusted frown. “Oh,
shit
!”

“Watch your language, young lady!” Nnora ordered sharply. “You’re still an adolescent, regardless of how sexually advanced you are. There is a certain standard
of behavior
I
demand of my younger sister. You better learn fast that a woman cheapens herself when she uses such gutter language.”

Outside of the bedroom, that is.

Nnora blushed as she caught Dev’s knowing gaze, raised eyebrows and quickly hidden smirk.

“We are not women, we are
fem
. I keep telling you behavior norms are different for us. And you’ll be cussing in a minute,” Dohsan warned, grimly. Pointing an accusing finger at Dev, she spat, “That…that
tyrant
has sent for the goon squad, his bully-boys…
reinforcements
.”

“Yes, I have, Dohsan. You have instigated quite a mess here, little Princess, and now I am going to straighten it out.” Dev widened his stance, crossing his arms. Intense satisfaction blossomed, as he watched Dohsan’s face darken with anger.

“By placing us all under cabin arrest again?” Dohsan sneered, her anger at his earlier treatment of her plain on her face. “Pretty high-handed of you, Princey-boy-toy.”

Princey-boy-toy?
He was not amused.

“Yes, if I must, Princess-brat.”

The thought of upsetting the little horror almost made up for having Nnora mad at him…
almost
.

“Those guards were not for her protection? You had a Royal Princess—
my sister
—placed under cabin arrest?” Nnora’s disgruntled voice intruded upon his war with Dohsan. “Why?”

Dev pushed away from the wall, aware his hopes of fucking Nnora anytime soon were fast flying out the space dock. He’d better tailor his explanations so they placated her protective feelings for her sister.

He tried to gather his arguments, aware of heat building inside as he felt Nnora’s eyes following his every movement. He hid his smile, hoping she recalled how she’d felt when he’d held her in his arms, lavished her with all the love he felt for her. He thrilled, heart pounding out a triumphant beat when he saw her tongue swipe her lips in a nervous gesture as she shifted her stance, releasing the sharp sweet scent of her aroused pussy.

His
cherzda
jerked and swelled, pushing boldly against the tight, form-fitting material of his ship suit and Dev turned so his condition was evident to Nnora’s wide-eyed stare, while shielded from Dohsan’s. It seemed a good idea to let Nnora know she affected him too. “Perhaps I did it because your sister delights in causing trouble. No sooner had she set foot aboard, than my second-in-command caught her urging on a fight between two of my most trusted warriors. The idiots were vying for her immature favors, totally forgetting she has yet to enter into her initial
pava
.
Rojas
and
Deth
help us when she does get her first flowering!”

“Surely you are not trying to blame Dohsan for the unruly actions of your own men.” Nnora’s delicate eyebrows rose in disdain. “Perhaps they simply followed your own sterling example of how to treat us Colony-born
fem
—”

“On top of that…” He paused, but chose to ignore, for the moment, Nnora’s snide dig. If he succeeded in winning her back, there would be time to deal with it. “On top of that, we caught her spying in posted off-limit areas.

“Admit it,
fem
.” Devtorvas growled at Dohsan from between gritted teeth. “Go on. Or will you lie to your sister?”

“Dohsan?” Under Nnora’s disapproving, questioning gaze, the young princess hung her head and scuffed her feet, blushing. On an almost eight-foot tall being, that diffident stance should have been incongruous, yet even Dev was moved to pity by the predicament the youngling destined to become his “little” sister found herself in. Dev could see how much Dohsan worshipped her older sister, wanting Nnora’s approval and love.

Nnora let loose a long-suffering sigh. “Why do I have a sinking feeling I really don’t want to know what my rebellious sister has been up to?”

She tapped her foot when she received no response. “My
baby
sister’s continued refusal to meet my eyes isn’t doing much to alleviate my fears. Dohsan.”

A stubborn expression turning her youthful face sullen, Dohsan glared at him before turning to meet Nnora’s worried gaze. “Okay, already! I was having a bit of fun with his men—it was no big deal! As for spying, I was just exploring the area out of boredom. There was nothing of interest to see, anyway. Besides, according to the deal made with our father, we are supposed to be allies, so there was no reason for Mr. High-and-Mighty to throw me in his version of the clink.”

“This is a military ship, young
fem
.” He knew his voice was sharp, but Dohsan had a lesson coming. Best it came from him. From Nnora it would wound her badly. “It is
not
a playground for your childish pranks. Be thankful I only confined you to quarters. By rights, I can still have you stripped and lashed for insubordination, then dumped in a shuttle and returned to your father!”

The color fled from Dohsan’s face. She bit her lip, focusing beseeching yellow-green eyes on her sister.

“May I speak with you alone?”

Nnora’s voice sounded diffident, her tones softer than they had been.
Good.

“You may speak with me anytime…anywhere. I will always be available to you,
cherzda’va
.”