The Theron Residency (Brides of Theron Book 4) (14 page)

“I guess when you’re hungry enough, you’ll eat anything. I actually didn’t eat any of the food here until yesterday. I guess I realized that the people here needed me much more than I need to starve to death. You know?” She pointed to where she cut him, “I was a bit nervous. I have rarely had to cut a person with a blade. We have equipment and lasers to do that. They measure depth and cut only what is necessary.” Her touch was soft and careful. She wiped away the foam and all that was left was the red line of the newly formed scar. “I hope it didn’t hurt very much. If I had a topical anesthetic, I would have used it to dull the pain.”

He reached out for her hand and she did not pull it away from him. Looking into her eyes, “I only hope that what we did will work. You realize that I am taking a big risk here. If he does not believe us, then it may mean my death sentence. I don’t even want to think about what I may have involved you in. If any harm comes to you from doing this, I don’t think I could forgive myself.”

She squeezed his hand reassuringly giving him a weak smile and said, “If we don’t take this chance, we will die a terrible death anyway. Really Carel, what choice do we have? I am fully prepared to die if it means that there is the slimmest possibility to help the people imprisoned here. You obviously are, too. Otherwise, you would never would have come to me in the first place.” She sat on the floor right next to him, his hand holding hers and glanced over to the rock where the bones lay. The salve was working its magic. “Besides, I could have told you no. I agreed to take part in this scam knowing full well what the consequences would be.”

“I knew once Zirlo said that I could trust you, that you would help me.” All was quiet for several minutes. Carel and Jenaya continued to watch the corner of the room, eyes on the foaming appendage. Carel finally broke the silence. “Do you think it is ready yet?”

“The bandages are still foaming. Maybe we should give it a little more time.” He wondered if she was just as scared at the prospect of being caught in a lie as he was. However, he knew now that she was just as willing to die for the cause as he was. Tomorrow morning Gatton would be notified. The Emperor would stand in front of them and listen to them plead their case that these bones are the remains of Zirlo and Lars. It could go really well or bring about the terrifying possibility that Carel and Jenaya might just die tomorrow.

The ride home from Grendalia went fast. How was it that it seemed to take forever to get to your destination, but less time to return home? They had talked about their lives before they were together. Now that they were officially mated, would everyone really be able to tell? She wondered by what means the people of Theron used to detect this. The different types of gifts that other alien beings had possessed were fascinating to her. She once had met a species of aliens that had big metallic looking eyes and no mouths that spoke telepathically. To have someone in her head was unnerving. The being could read her every thought. Despite all of that, the only question she had was: How did they eat? She was surprised when it answered her question. It turned out that they fed on the energy given off by other beings and the universe. If they weren’t careful, they could suck out the life force of what and who they were feeding on, rendering their prey soul-less. Zane said that it was a type of execution for the most heinous of crimes. She wondered if Lars would lose his soul for his crimes. For what he’d done, he certainly deserved it.

As they pulled up to the front of the house, she saw Zane and Grace sitting on a blanket in their front yard watching the moons rise behind the trees. Grace was lying comfortably in Zane’s arms. Over the trees behind them, one of the moons of Theron were peeking out above the house as if smiling down on them. She immediately became self-conscious. Would they make a big deal of it? Would they know instantly that she and Ceran were now mated?

“Hey, you guys? Did you have a good time?” Grace yelled out.

Did she know already? Certainly Zane did. She stepped out of the hovercraft and grabbed several of the bags in the rear compartment looping them over her arm. She didn’t have to answer when she heard her mate yell out, “Yes, we did.” It was then that she made up her mind that it didn’t matter what anyone else thought, but it didn’t make her feel any less self-conscious. They were mated and in love. Beyond that, nothing else mattered. She stood up tall and handed Ceran the bags watching him place them just inside the door. He grabbed her hand when he returned and they walked over to join their neighbors.

“Would you mind if we joined you?” Ceran said. Laura noticed the look that Zane gave Ceran. It was a kind of unspoken congratulatory glance and she could feel the blood rush up to her face. Now, Grace was eyeing her suspiciously. As if finally understanding what was going on, she looked away and smiled slyly.

“Sure. I need to talk to your mate about what is going on at the hospital anyway.” Ceran held her hand as she sat down on the blanket. He sat close to her never letting go of her hand.

“So, what’s up?” Laura asked, pretending that nothing was amiss.

“I released Zirlo today and sent him home with Zeb and Yasa. Once he woke up, there was really no reason to keep him. Emma is doing great and I think that you should be able to send her home with Brylon tomorrow. I sure hope that you do release her soon. She made Brylon bring her rewas to the hospital today. That was definitely interesting. Those little guys were really energetic. I don’t know how he keeps up with them all.” He shook his head and Grace giggled. His look became serious now, “The council spoke with Zeb and Zirlo this morning. Lars is going to be transferred to The Caverns tomorrow.”

“The Caverns?” Ceran questioned, “I thought that Zeb would have him executed?”

“After speaking with his father and the council, they determined that it might be better to hold him there until they could determine what to do with him.” Zane did not elaborate further, leaving much unsaid.

“What are The Caverns?” Laura asked.

“It’s a sort of high-security prison. The Caverns are group of caves that go deep into the planet. There is only one way in and one way out. We hold many of the most terrible criminal offenders there. Most of the criminals on the planet are punished by entering community work programs for rehabilitation. Being sentenced to The Caverns is something reserved for the most heinous of crimes. Anyway, Lars’ leg is nearly healed. With a brace, he can be moved quite easily by The Cavern’s security team to his cell. Other than that, all is quiet.”

“I can’t say that I won’t be glad that I am no longer responsible for his care.” She looked out over the trees where the sun had dipped just below the horizon. The beautiful reds and purple were taking over the skies. “What a beautiful sunset.”

“So, where did you guys go today? Anywhere interesting?” Grace prodded.

“I took her to Grendalia. It’s where I grew up.” She looked up at Ceran and saw the sadness just behind his eyes. He must have been thinking about the crosses on the small hill at that moment. “My old house is starting to be reclaimed by the forest. It is hard to believe that a little over ten years ago it was such a beautiful place.”

“The pink flowers that his grandfather named the town after were beautiful. They were growing all over the meadow. I could imagine what life would have been like there after Ceran told me some of his memories of the place. It looked like it would have been a great place to bring up a family.” She looked over at Ceran still looking off into the distance. “Grace, he showed me a stream that looked like one we would find in the Smoky Mountains National Park. When he left to get food for a picnic, I slipped and fell in. It was freezing!” Ceran laughed at her recollection. “Then we had a picnic by the lake where he used to swim in with his sisters. It’s a beautiful place.”

“I have never heard of Grendalia. I know of the flower, but never have heard mention of the city. Where is it located?” Zane asked as Laura scooted into his lap like Grace did her mate and leaned back against Ceran chest as he gave Zane the coordinates. He explained how his family came to live there. This was probably the first time that he ever told anyone besides her who he was before he attended academy. It was nice to hear his stories. Zane and Grace listened and encouraged him to share more. The four of them sat under the stars by the light of the moon for quite a while.

“It’s getting late and we both have to report to work tomorrow,” Ceran said as he helped Laura up to her feet. “It was nice talking like this. We should do it again sometime.”

Just then, Zane chuckled, “It sure was. It’s also nice to see that you are mated now. I am glad that Laura is safe and I won’t have to keep such a close eye on her for you anymore Ceran.” She could feel the heat on her face. She was sure her skin was a deep maroon. She never believed that he would call her out like that. Zane reached out for her hand and squeezed it, “It’s alright Laura. In our culture being a mated couple is something that is celebrated, not something to be ashamed of. The bond you share with Ceran is stronger than most I have seen. You have both made a good match for each other. It is rare to see a connection between a pair this strong. Embrace it.” She squeezed his hand back and looked at Grace, who smiled sweetly at her.

As they walked up the steps to the door, she heard Grace yell, “Go get her, tiger!” She couldn’t help but giggle. Now Ceran’s color matched her own. “Well, that went well,” he said as he closed the door behind him. “Are you hungry? I can make something for us to eat?”

She looked at him slyly, “I don’t know that depends on...”

“Depends on what?” He laughed.

“Are you on the menu?”

“You mean that you’re not tired?” He laughed. Scooping her up into his arms, he charged up the stairs carrying her into his bedroom. Once he placed her on the bed, she started to remove her clothes. He followed suit. This time she was determined to observe everything. She moved her gaze from his eyes down his face to the curve of his soft, full lips. The shadow of stubble on his face. She reached out to touch the skin along his jawbone finding it a little rough as it tickled the tips of her fingers like fine grit sandpaper. She gently swept her fingers down his neck and along the tight muscles of his shoulders. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. Down even further she explored. Her fingers touched the hard muscular flesh of his chest. She combed through the downy hair that dusted his pectoral muscles. She reached the taut rippled skin covering his abs as she continued to move downward inch by inch toward his hard cock.

It was an odd looking thing when she thought about it. This skin covering his serpentine organ felt smooth as high-quality satin and was too big to close her hand around. Yet, it was hard as an expensive marble sculpture but warm with the heat of his body. She wondered how it would taste. Curiously, she trailed kisses from his mouth to his cock. She licked the shaft like an ice cream treat and felt him react with shiver. Feeling brave, she took him into her mouth careful that she wouldn’t scrape the sensitive skin with her teeth. She grabbed the shaft tightly as she pressed it to the back of her throat. She could feel him place his hand on the top of her head guiding her movement gently to heighten his pleasure. She caressed the head of his cock with her tongue as he moved in and out of her mouth. She grabbed him even tighter and he moaned her name loudly.

Her other hand found the loose skin around his balls. She cupped them in her other hand loosely. He seemed to like this as she could hear him make odd noises of pleasure. It wasn’t long before she felt the skin tighten around his balls. With a shiver and a moan, he released his seed into her mouth. Not quite knowing what to do with it, she thought the easiest thing would be to swallow it. It wasn’t all that bad and she must have done it right to get the response he was giving her. She examined him like an art collector would examine beautiful pieces of art. His body was an excellent complement to hers. They were both thin and muscular. His long strong body was the sexiest thing she had ever seen. Just looking at him made her feel full of electricity, almost like when she reached into the small fairy pool by the tree. It was as if she wasn’t careful, she would fill this room with her light. She had touched every inch of him with her kisses before she was done exploring.

He returned the favor when he came back to his senses. He explored her body with his touch, his sight, his tongue. He started at her neck and trailed down to her breasts. He cupped them in his hand, gently pinching the sensitive rose-colored flesh of her nipples. He followed a similar path in his exploration, kissing down her abdomen to the blond patch of hair that covered her womanly parts. Shifting his body down where his shoulders were square between her thighs he explored with his fingers into the dark cavern of her sex while his other hand explored the folds that surrounded it. It was then that he found a hidden small button of super-sensitive flesh when she reared back in reaction to his touch.

He placed his mouth over that most sensitive part and flicked it with his tongue. This overwhelming sensation took her by surprise. Her senses seemed to be in hyper drive. It was like a fire being lit in her belly becoming hotter with the breeze as it blew harder and harder. She grabbed a handful of his hair and tugged hard. He laughed, stopping for just a second, and she screamed, “Don’t stop!” He resumed without delay, continuing to flick his tongue faster. Just when the fire could not burn any brighter, or any hotter, she felt a spasm deep inside of her. All she could see was bright white light taking over her vision. The heat was now radiating outward from her core moving to the tips of her toes and fingers. Her body involuntarily went limp as she felt the heat move up her neck toward the crown of her head.

A moment later she regained her senses she asked, “What was that?”

“I don’t know, but you sure seemed to like it.” He laughed and she laughed with him.

“Oh, my God!” She exclaimed. She must have had an orgasm. Sure, the sex she enjoyed this afternoon was quite pleasurable the second, and many times around. But this? This was heavenly. Her body felt numb and super sensitive at the same time.

“I don’t know about you, but I am hungry.” He said looking into her blue eyes. “I am going to see what I can scrounge up in the kitchen. Do you want anything?”

She nodded and smiled, “I will be down in just a minute.”

He kissed the top of her head, “Don’t take too long.” She watched as he stalked out of the room naked. His long muscular thighs all the way up to his behind were flexing with each step. When she was sure that he was out of hearing distance she muffled a squeal into the nearest pillow. She felt like a giddy teenager all hyped up with adrenalin. Life with him would not be less than spectacular. After what she experienced with him just now she knew that to be a fact. Especially, if sex tended to get better with practice as it was known to. She resolved herself to a long life of sharing his bed and his life. Not feeling fatigued at all she thought to herself, “Would it be too soon to ask to do it again after they ate their dinner?”

“God, help him!” she squealed and ran down to join him in the kitchen.