Chapter Fifteen
“You’re going to leave me?” Kim couldn’t hide her shock or fear as she looked at Wray. For the last two days, he had barely let her out of his sight and then, only when she had insisted on going into the cleansing room alone to relieve herself. They had kissed and touched, had laughed and loved. She had felt like a pampered princess, no wait... an Empress.
Wray had hand feed her an astonishing array of strange foods, each more different than the one before. Most she had liked, but a few, much to Wray’s amusement, she'd spit out and made funny faces.
Now he wanted to leave her.
“It is just for a little while, Kim. I need to go to the surface and deal with Lord Reeve. Once that is taken care of we can continue on to Tornian.”
Wray had told her w hy they needed to stop on Vesta. Explained to her that the only reason he had been returning from the Kaliszian Empire was that Emperor Liron had wanted to meet with him to discuss Lord Reeve's failure in maintaining the steady flow of food supplies that were so vital to the Kaliszians. He also admitted it wasn’t the reason Liron had given him for the meeting and if he had known, he would have just sent Veron to deal with the complaint, but that the possibility of information on compatible females had drawn Wray to meet with him personally.
He hadn’t understood why Kim’s eyes had darkened when he’d told her. Why she had grown extremely quiet. When he had asked, she’d refused to tell him. He should have pressed her further, but instead he told her was going to the surface and that upset her more.
“You’re going to leave me.” She said again and turned away from him to wrap her arms around her waist. Goddess, she couldn’t believe she was feeling like this, as if she was being abandoned but she was. Wray had become her rock, her corner stone. He made her laugh, he held her when the nightmares came and kissed away her tears. He was the one thing in all the universes that she completely trusted. Without him, she was lost.
“For less than a day , Kim. I’ll be back before you lay down to rest for the night.” Wray hadn’t liked the way she turned away from him, hadn’t liked how her arms had tightened around her. “For you to travel with me would not be…”
“ Normal for a Tornian female.” She finished for him. “Of course not.” Kim said running a hand through her hair and suddenly the tiredness she couldn’t quite shake settled over her again. “I think I’ll go lay down. I’ll see you when you get back.”
Wray watched Kim walk away from him and his heart ached. He had seen the fear that had filled her eyes as she'd turned away. Didn’t she know he would never leave her unprotected? He planned on Veron staying behind to guard her, much to the Captain’s displeasure.
There was no way he could take her to Vesta with him. What would she do there? Currently there was no Lady in House Reeve so there would be no female for her to talk to and because of that she would need to stay with him. That would be a distraction for the males of Lord Reeve’s House.
‘The clothier is still there.’ The words whispered through his mind.
Frowning , a new thought came to him.
If he took Kim with him, they could stay in House Reeve for several days. She would be able to rest in more comfortable surroundings than the Searcher provided and then she would be able to arrive on Tornian rested and in the coverings of an Empress instead of in one of his shirts. He knew it bothered her to wear them, especially when other males were present. It was obvious in the way she would tug and pull at it whenever a warrior would enter their chamber to discuss something with him. She would find a reason and quickly leave the room.
What he was considering had never been done before. A male rarely allowed his female to travel with him and never to a House without a female. It gave the other males a chance to attract her.
T hey would allow them to travel to a House where a female was present so the females could intermingle and all females traveled to Tornian when the Assembly was called, even though he had no Empress.
Yet wasn’t he the Emperor?
Couldn’t he change the rules?
Kim didn’t want to be left alone .
H e didn’t want to leave her alone.
It was to her benefit to meet with the clothier and have coverings made and that was all that mattered to Wray.
Lord Reeve would just have to adjust his House to the needs of the Emperor and Empress.
Moving to his comm Wray notified Veron of the change in plans and told him to inform Lord Reeve. Turning, he went to inform Kim.
Kim laid on the bed with her back to the door and tried to fall asleep but it wouldn’t come. She understood why Wray was leaving her behind, just as she understood he wasn’t leaving her behind. There were going to be times when they would be separated. She knew that. Wray was an important male with an important job and big responsibilities. She needed to understand that… she just didn’t feel safe here… not without Wray. Maybe it was stupid, after all she was surrounded by Wray’s warriors, warriors he claimed were fit and worthy, but she couldn’t help it. She wasn’t ready to trust them, wasn’t ready to be separated from Wray, maybe she never would be.
With the exception of Fala and Gyula , every male she had seen had treated her with respect. Actually, after a quick glance in her direction they had dismissed her as if she wasn’t there, and while she’d appreciated it since she was only wearing Wray’s oversized shirt, it also bothered her. Those quick glances had been so assessing… and now she understood why. They had all been wondering whether she would be ‘compatible’ with Wray.
Hearing the chamber door slide open , she stopped trying to sleep and rolled over to watch Wray walk towards her.
Entering their resting chamber Wray suddenly realized that if it weren't for Reeve's incompetence, the Searcher never would have been there to intercept the Ganglian ship. He never would have found Kim. He was actually in Lord Reeve’s debt and because of that, Lord Reeve's punishment would not be as harsh as Wray had originally intended. But there would be consequences because no matter what Wray had said, the Kaliszians and Tornians needed each other if they were going to survive the great infection.
Sitting on the bed next to Kim, he ran the back of his hand along her cheek. “I’m sorry I upset you, Kim.”
“It’s not your fault . I’m still pretty messed up from what the Ganglians did to me and sometimes things upset me that shouldn’t.”
“ You shouldn’t be upset when I can’t be with you?”
“Not like this. I know there are things you have to do , Wray. Duties you need to perform. This is one of them. It’s not as if my being there matters.”
“It does to me , Kim.”
“I know.” Reaching up, she put her hand against his. “I know I matter to you, Wray, and I’ll be fine here alone. I need to get used to it.”
“Get used to what?” Wray asked, frowning at her.
“Being alone.”
“Why would you think you will be alone, my Kim?”
Kim found she was smiling slightly at Wray’s endearment, he was saying it more and more and she liked it, liked knowing she was his.
“ Like I said, Wray, you have duties you need to perform, places you need to go. There are warriors you need to meet with. I can’t be with you when you do those things. It’s not something your females do and it will only cause you problems if you allow it. So I’ll be spending a lot of time in our chambers… alone.”
“What ‘problems’ do you think you could possibly cause, Kim?”
“I’m not Tornian, Wray, and that’s major. You’re going to have males that view me exactly the same way Fala and Gyula do.” Wray’s angry growl had her squeezing his arm reassuringly. “That’s just the way it is until you change the law, but that won’t change what people believe and then there’s that other thing…”
“What other thing?” Wray demanded not liking how her eyes dimmed.
“ That thing about you looking for ‘compatible’ females. From what you’ve told me, the chances are slim that I’ll be able to give you offspring. What happens if I can’t? Will you be forced to send me away?”
Wray’s eyes grew in horror at Kim’s words , at what his words had led her to believe.
“No! Goddess , no, Kim!” Pulling her into his lap, he held her tight. “You are mine ! Nothing will separate us. Offspring do not matter. We are compatible. You and me.” Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm so he could explain what he hadn’t before.
“I will tell you truth, Kim. Normally when a male stays with a female that is unable to present fit offspring, he is forced to give up his position. Not,” Wray cut her off quickly, “because he is seen as unfit but because without fit offspring his blood line will end. That does not apply to me because I have Tora and he is fit. He will be the future Emperor so it matters not if we have offspring. As for not being Tornian… you will be once I present you to the Assembly of Lords.”
“What?” Kim questioned giving him a confused look.
“It is within the Emperor’s power to declare anyone Tornian that he deems worthy.”
“You can do that?”
“Yes, my Kim.” He told her giving her a gentle smile. “It will give you the protection of Tornian Law. No male would dare harm you, for it would mean his death. It would give you the freedom to go wherever you wished inside Torino and feel safe.”
“You wouldn’t be upset if I couldn’t give you more offspring?”
“No. All I want is you, Kim. If the Goddess chose's to bless us with male offspring I would love them as much as I love you.”
“And if she blessed us with a female?” Kim had meant the question as a tease, but the look on Wray’s had her regretting it. “Wray…”
“The Goddess hasn’t allowed a female to be presented to an Emperor since Lucan.”
“What ?”
“She no longer considers us worthy enough to care for one .”
“She’s wrong , Wray.” Kim vehemently denied. “ You are.”
“If I am it is only because of you , my Kim. Now,” Wray forced his dark thoughts away. “How would you like to go with me to Vesta?”
“What?” Kim didn’t try to hide her shock.
“I do not want to leave you, Kim. There is a clothier on Vesta that can make you female coverings.” He said slipping his hand up her thigh under her shirt. “Not that I prefer them, but I know you would.”
“What are ‘female’ coverings , Wray?” Kim asked, shifting to give his hand more access.
“Cloth that covers nearly all the body.” He told his hand moving up to the v of her thighs.
“Really?” Kim questioned softly opening herself to him. “You want me covered up?”
“From others… yes.” He growled slipping a finger into her as his thumb circled her nub. “From me… never.”
Twisting , Wray pressed her back into the bed, his mouth covering hers. Somehow, in moments, Wray had them both naked.
Kim eagerly wrapped her legs around Wray’s waist, her heels pressing into his fine ass and pulled him in deeper. Goddess, nothing had ever felt as good as Wray loving her. With every touch he showed her how special she was to him, how important. He always made sure she found pleasure in their Joinings, never taking his before hers.
Knowing this , Kim raised her hips, squeezing and twisting in the way she’d discovered drove Wray crazy and was instantly rewarded by a low growl as he drove deeper into her.
Kim opened herself up even further to Wray, giving him everything she was because he was everything to her. He accepted her even after what the Ganglians had done , accepted her flaws and even accepted the fact that she may never be able to give him offspring. She mattered to him. Her , and she wanted to give him everything he needed.
Her entire being start ed to tighten as her release approached along with a strange tingling deep in her womb. She needed Wray, needed him now .
“Wray!” she cried out, arching up as her orgasm exploded through her. Her vaginal muscles clamped down hard on Wray’s cock as she convulsed around him.
“Kim!” Wray roared when she clamped down on him. She was demanding everything from him and he gave it to her. With one final deep thrust, he filled her with his heart, his soul and his seed.