Unexpected Mates (Sons of Heaven) (22 page)

The human sat back in his chair, seemingly stunned. “She’s your...?”

“Mate. Yes. Amy. Is. My. Mate.” How clear could he make it and have the human still misunderstand him?

The sound that escaped Ellwood’s lips spoke of a sick headache coming on. “Now we’re dealing with an international incident of a
much
higher order.”

“Is that good or bad?” One could never tell with humans.
It doesn’t sound good.

“Good for you. Bad for Ms. Ferguson. Attack on or attempted murder of a member of a foreign royal family is an act of terrorism.”

“Should I care?”

“Knowing Lucy, no,” Amy spoke up from behind him.

Sakkra whirled around, then launched toward her. Stunned by the sight of her in the command center when she should be in bed. Amy stood tall and proud, wrapped in an ankle-length robe of royal
ullium
. She looked every millimeter the princess she was.

He rushed to her side, running a hand over the dark red lines of healing tissue on her cheek. “You should not be up. You are healing.”

She smiled weakly, though slightly crookedly.

She needs more pain medication.

“The healer gave his permission, as long as I take the guards with me.” Amy glanced at one of the six warriors surrounding her.

Ellwood’s voice reminded him that they had an audience which consisted of more than Sakk males. “Will those heal without scarring?” he asked bluntly.

Amy blushed, and she averted her eyes.

She knows that is beyond us. I will have to speak with the healers about telling her such things.

Sakkra turned and shot a warning look at the human. “Our healers are conferring with yours. We understand there is...human surgery of a sort that may help eradicate them.”

“You don’t have—?”

“Our males accept their scars. Our males would die before allowing our females to come to harm this way, their own woman or not. We have never had need of such healing before.” He stopped short of comparing Sakk culture to human in an uncomplimentary fashion.

Ellwood hesitated. “I’ll send your medical team the names of the best we have in the field. They will be in touch before lunchtime. You have my word on it.” He tipped his head. “Ma’am...Sakku, take care. Sakkra...I will issue a preliminary report for you. I know how to phrase this. Good day to you both.”

With that, the screen went blank.

Sakkra placed his fingers under Amy’s chin and urged her face up so he could see her eyes. Thankfully, she wasn’t crying. That would have shredded him.

“I will never allow you to be harmed again,” he vowed.

She shot him that same lopsided smile. “I’m sure that’s true.”

“And I will eradicate every sign that this has happened to you.”

Amy wrapped her arms around him, whispering her thanks into his chest. As appealing as it was to have her in his arms, it wasn’t right to show such affection in front of his men.

“Are you hungry?” he offered. She’d slept through breakfast, and he doubted she’d had enough time to eat since he’d been gone.

“Ravenous.”

He wrapped an arm around her and led Amy toward their quarters, her guards and his falling into step around them. Sakkra ordered two away to see to food for them.

The walk passed in comfortable silence. At last, they entered their quarters and left the warriors behind. Amy headed for the table, and Sakkra guided her toward the bed.

“Sakkra...” She looked toward the door and lowered her voice. “Labtrayel, I can sit up. Honestly.”

He laughed. “Are you saying you don’t want to be in bed with me?”

Her face went an enticing shade of red, and she didn’t respond to that.

“I suspected as much,” he teased her. “We have much to discuss.”

“Do we?”

He steadied her onto the mattress and tucked Amy in. “We do.”

She bit at her lower lip. “We’re going back to Sakk soon, aren’t we?”

Sakkra sighed. “No, and we can come to an agreement about the time we spend on Sakk and the time we spend on Earth at a later time.”

“On Earth? You mean... We won’t be moving to Sakk permanently?”

“Do you want to?”

That seemed to confuse her. “Well...not permanently, but that was the agreement. I knew that when I accepted becoming your mate.”

He leaned down and laid a gentle kiss on her lips. “As I knew you had reservations about it when I claimed you as my mate. Beyond that, I thought my Sakku had instituted new policies that allowed for matches to stay on Earth.”

That seemed to confuse her. “I can’t ask you to give up Sakk permanently. It’s not right.”

“Neither is making you leave your world permanently, which is why I propose a compromise. I have been told that many Earth marriages are built upon healthy compromise.”

“This isn’t exactly an Earth marriage, and...You are a Sakk prince. You cannot tell me your father will be happy with you compromising.”

He shrugged. “I am the younger son, and my brother has already produced an heir to the throne. I hear his mate is carrying a second. There is no reason for me not to take on the post of ambassador to Earth on a semi-permanent basis.”

“What do you propose? Six months each?”

Sakkra took her hand, shaking his head. “That would be problematic, at best. The trip to Sakk takes nearly three Earth months. We would spend half the year in transit to spend three months on each world.”

Her expression crumpled. “Oh. I didn’t realize how long the journey was.”

“My idea is simple. It is tradition for the young of mated couples to be born on Sakk. The young are safe to travel at three
sa-sen
.”

“So go to Sakk when I’m pregnant and come home with a young baby?”

He could see the concern in her eyes and guess its cause. “Your parents are more than welcome to travel with us, if that would ease your worry. No grandparent wants to miss the early days of a new life, and as Sakk-descended and mated, there is no reason for them to be denied passage to Sakk.”

Amy scrambled to her knees and kissed him. The arousal was blinding in its intensity.

Sakkra pulled away from the kiss regretfully. “Not yet. The food will be here shortly.” Even though the cooks would be making their food separately from that of the men, there would be little delay in its arrival.

She groaned in complaint, but she allowed him to tuck her back into bed.

“One more thing we should discuss,” Sakkra reminded himself.

Amy perked at the announcement. “Yes?”

“Would you permit my men to bring your belongings here? The healers wish you to remain here for the next week, and I am certain you would like your own clothing, electronics, and... Anything you might wish.”

She hesitated long enough to make Sakkra nervous. Just as he would have apologized for the idea, she started speaking.

“Can Rietin lead the team? It’s not that I don’t trust your men,” she hastened to add.

“But you
do
trust Rietin?”

She nodded. “I do.”

“I believe he should be your personal guard then. You will need a team of men for your protection, and a wingless tracker like Rietin would be a good liaison with any human authority figures you might encounter.”

A smile pulled up at her lips.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Just imagining Rietin in a tuxedo,” she imparted.

Sakkra laughed heartily at the mental image. “I believe we should accept an invitation to a formal affair.” He sobered. “When you feel up to such a thing.”

Chapter Seventeen

An assault on Wednesday evening left two women hospitalized and has blossomed into an international incident.

When twenty-six-year-old Amy Davidson returned to her apartment to pick up some belongings, the last thing she expected was an unbalanced woman with an illegal sawed-off shotgun, waiting for her inside the secured building.

Lucy Ferguson, aged twenty-five, was apparently so distraught over being told she wasn’t Sakk-descended that she decided to kill off Sakk-descended Davidson. She tricked one of Davidson’s neighbors into letting her through the security door and disabled the lock on Davidson’s door, laying her trap for the other young woman.

Unfortunately for Ferguson, there were a few things she didn’t know about the situation. She didn’t know Davidson carried a comm device, that she had a group of Sakk warriors guarding the entrances to the building...or that Davidson was a Sakk princess, thanks to her mating with Sakkra, the younger son of Sakkrel, the Sakk emperor.

In the resulting altercation, Ferguson fired two shots, wounding Davidson. Davidson’s guards subdued Ferguson and rushed Davidson to the Sakk consulate and appropriate medical aid.

Ferguson faces federal charges for terrorism, as well as local charges for assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault, and attempted murder. She remains in guarded condition in the lockdown wing of Heaven’s Mercy Hospital.

No official statement has been released about Princess Amy’s condition, though unnamed sources report her condition as guarded but stable.

Sakkra’s snort said he didn’t appreciate the sensationalism and errors any more than Amy did. He cleared the screen and turned to Amy. “I suppose we must make an
official
statement,” he noted.

“I suppose we should. I do like one thing in that account, though.”

One brow went up. “And that would be?”

“Princess Amy. I like it.”

“My men will call you Sakku or Sakku Amy. It is tradition.”

“Of course. They’re Sakk. But for the humans? It makes sense for them to have a name they understand for me, and it sounds...refined. Like Princess Di.”

He wrapped an arm around her and laid a kiss on her lips. “Then our
official
statement will use that name for you.”

A light tap at the door announced that their moment of peace was over.

“Yes?” Sakkra called.

“Your guests, Sakkraas,” one of the warriors replied.

Amy looked down at the fleece pants and t-shirt she’d been lounging in, then started to rise. It was probably best for her to disappear behind the curtain and dress in something more suitable.

Sakkra pulled her back to the couch next to him with a smile. “For
these
guests, you need not dress further.”

That shocked her to silence. Sakkra was typically overprotective about what people saw her wearing.

“Send them in.”

The door opened, and her mother came in, followed closely by her father and her cousin Jo. Amy launched across the room, and hugged Diane, tears misting her eyes. She pulled away a moment later, cursing herself for being so childish.

As if reinforcing that, her mother pressed a hand to Amy’s forehead and smiled. “They’re taking good care of you, I see.”

Amy nodded. “Sakkra wouldn’t stand for less.”

Her father leaned in and pressed a kiss to her unmarked cheek. “Princess Amy?” he teased.

Jo took up the chorus. “Does that make me a Duchess?”

“Have you been tested yet?” Amy countered.

Her cousin shook her head. “No. Rae and Tracy tested negative. Guess there’s no reason to.”

Amy nodded, and she glanced at Sakkra, certain that he would be disappointed her cousins hadn’t proven close enough to test as compatible.

To her surprise, he was on his feet and striding toward them. He tipped his head to Diane. “Mother, thank you for coming. I know it means a lot to Amy to see you well and safe.”

She enfolded him in a hug, and Sakkra’s shock was impossible to miss. He shot a look of near-panic at Amy’s father.

“While I don’t mind you calling us Mom and Dad, Diane and Steve will be fine if you’re more comfortable with it.”

Diane released Sakkra, and Steve offered his hand. Sakkra took it awkwardly and shook it.

“Welcome to the family,” her father intoned. “Thank you for taking such fine care of our daughter. And of us.”

“Thank you for coming,” he repeated. He released her father’s hand and tipped his head to Jo. “And you, Jolene.”

“Jo is fine,” she responded.

He waved them toward the sitting area. “Please, come in and make yourself at home. Refreshments will be along shortly.”

Amy went back to her place on the sofa, smiling at Sakkra tucking the blankets around her again. “I told you that I’m not an invalid.”

“Yes. I know.” But he finished tucking her in, then settled next to her.

Her mother laughed. “You should have seen me trying to keep her in bed or on the couch when she was sick.”

Amy sighed. “The healers hover constantly. It’s not as easy to sneak past them as it was to sneak past you. And that’s before you take my personal guard into account.”

“Complaining?” Sakkra asked.

“No. Just commenting.”

“Good.”

Her father leaned toward them, his elbows planted on his knees. “What is the plan now?” he asked carefully.

“We’re not moving permanently to Sakk,” Amy informed them. “We will make some trips there, of course. Anytime we make the trip, we’ll be gone for about a year, since it takes about three months to reach Sakk and the same amount of time to make the return trip. While we’re there, we should spend some time there before we return.”

“And when will the first trip be?” Diane inquired.

“Royal children are born on Sakk. It’s tradition.”

“You’re not!” Jo’s eyes went wide, and she waited for a response.

“No. Of course not.” Amy’s face flamed in embarrassment.

Sakkra entered the conversation. “We’ve arranged for plastic surgery for...repairs. And I believe Amy would like to take a honeymoon...or a series of them. It would not be unexpected for a new princess to tour the consulates and meet the military leaders at each base.”

Her heart skipped in excitement. “Bermuda? Italy? Germany? The UK?”

He smiled. “Of course. I will leave the details up to you. The healers will not allow us to travel for at least two weeks, I’m sure, but we can visit wherever you wish. Now or later.”