TICEES (50 page)

Chelan remained still, her fists clenched. “There is nothing within the Empire that I want.” she whispered.

“The Empire is many things. I can supply you with your greatest fantasy. You have but to ask.”

Chelan shook her head slowly, pity within her heavy gaze. “You don’t know true love, my Lord. All I desire is Korba.” Immediately she saw Ticees stiffen, and she averted her eyes. She knew that her comment would inflame him, but it was the last way she knew she could hurt him, and for some reason, it made her feel better. Then she swallowed hard, realizing suddenly that she didn’t feel at all well. She looked up at him, but his eyes and face began to blur. She took a deep breath, but her head began to swim, and she felt disoriented.

She was taken by a wave of panic, and her hand shot out to his shoulder for support. She dropped the glass and rubbed her eyes with her fingers as she leaned on him, but it did not clear her vision. She felt warm, and her flesh felt as though it was on fire. “Help me,” she whispered. She looked at the fuzzy outlines that were his dark eyes, and she took several deep breaths. “Please, Ticees. I need … please help me,” she said, her voice faint.

But Ticees did not move. He only hoped that the dose of the Letting drug he had slipped her did not harm her alien metabolism. He watched her carefully as she teetered, travelling in and out of reality. Ticees smiled to himself. The drug was his assurance of manageability, especially when the Guildsmen arrived.

Chelan licked her dry lips, straining to clear her cloudy mind. Her breathing was becoming rapid, and she squinted, trying to see through the mist that obscured her vision. She saw Ticees reach for her, and she knew that he was pulling her gown from her, but her flesh felt numb and immune to his touch. Her body was distant and somehow not hers. She felt his hands on her shoulders, pushing her back, and her world spun as she peered up toward the hazy ceiling.

Ticees stood and looked down at her small body, her full feminine curves finally revealed to him. He continued to stare down at her, his chest heavy and his heart in tatters. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” he mumbled quietly. She had almost been his. She had been within reach, but now she was so distant, and he had run out of time.

Chelan swallowed hard, and her throat hurt. Her world was distorted in both time and dimension, and her weakened mind could not sort fact from fiction. Her skin had begun to tingle, and she felt warm inside, her nausea and headache receding. But she was weak, so very weak. Finally she closed her eyes and lay still. She no longer tried to move, for she had no place to go, and she no longer knew where she was. Then suddenly she was overcome by the most wonderful sensation, a wave of energy that surged through her nipples and deep within her core. She moaned. She needed to be touched. She needed to be filled.

Ticees crawled onto the bed, drawing her up with him. He hugged her to him, her limp and obedient body conforming to his. She was so beautiful, and now she was his. In another couple of minutes the drug would take full effect, and both of them would be in heaven.

Chelan felt her body being touched, and she opened her eyes. She looked into a face, but it was distant and blurred. Someone kissed her mouth and she turned her head away, suddenly feeling as though she was suffocating. Then she looked back to the befogged features, and she felt her lips burn, but this time she did not refuse the sensations. She responded, but she didn’t know why. Eventually the burn receded and she looked down, but her vision was blocked, blocked by … shoulders?

Chelan strained to clear her mind as touches raked over her neck. Then the face reappeared before her. It was a man, but his features were faint, and she did not know him. She closed her eyes and receded deeper within herself. Voices began calling to her, but she could not speak.

Ticees continued to stroke her soft cheek, knowing that the drug had taken full effect. She was no longer so limp, and now she responded to him. He knew she was incoherent, unaware of who or what she was reacting to, but such was the nature of the drug. Participants in the Let were driven to satiate powerful primal sexual urges, and with the drug coursing through her veins, she would get what she needed … from him.

When her breathing eased somewhat and her eyes closed momentarily, he looked down over her body. He moaned at the sight of her, and his steel-hard erection strained painfully for release. But he was determined to savor her, regardless of her state, and he started down her body, his hands and his tongue exploring all of her.

Chelan groaned, but she knew not why. Her body was shot through with strange tingling and warm sensations, but she could not pinpoint the source. She tried to move, but her muscles felt strangely languid, and so she relaxed, soaking up the sensual feelings that were washing over her, lancing through her. Her breathing was increasing as though she were exerting herself, yet she knew she was not moving. But it didn’t matter. Whatever was happening to her was truly wondrous.

Ticees was in ecstasy. The pleasures supplied by her pliable body were beyond his wildest dreams, and he languished in her feminine softness. He looked down at her in awe as he slid his hand along her inner thigh. She parted easily to his touch, and he opened her to him, taking his first taste of her tangy moisture. He settled between her long legs and moaned with delight, never wanting to leave her, never wanting her to leave him.

Chelan felt her body spasm involuntarily and her mind cartwheeled through the mist. She felt good, so very good, and suddenly she knew someone was touching her, loving her. She tried to clear her thoughts, but any resistance to the beautiful body sensations she was experiencing completely dissipated. She moaned as Korba’s name sliced through her brain. She writhed to the feelings being delivered to her core, and then she smiled to herself. “Only him,” her mind whispered, and she closed her eyes. She felt so deliciously aroused, and she wanted more, to be touched all over, to be taken. Every muscle in her body began to pulse, begging for contact, begging for release.

Ticees pushed her legs up and back, opening her wide, and he almost came at the sight before him. He buried his face in her soft folds once again, and she cried out, arching to him. Then he looked up and watched as her hands flowed to her erect nipples, her fingers pulling at herself, her body contorting to his tongue’s rhythm. She was pure passion.

Ticees lifted himself off her and struggled to get his breath. It was time. He could resist the delicacies she offered so easily no longer. He needed to be inside her urgently.

He moved to the side of the bed and pressed a button. His chamber doors opened. Ticees watched as the four Guildsmen he had selected walked in. Three of them wore the Imperial black shrouds, while the fourth wore the white uniform of the head Breeding master.

The man in white stepped forward, and looked down at the small woman. She lay across the bed, her face turned away from him, her breathing sporadic and heavy. He needed information, but that could wait. Normally it was required that both participants be examined first, thereby assuring no contamination, but the master preferred not to interfere with Ticees and his chosen mate. The Emperor would have allowed no mistakes. He looked to Ticees and nodded.

Ticees turned back to her and knelt by the side of the bed. He pulled her closer to him and then reached for his pants. He released his red-hot organ, his skin so distended it burned. Then he took her ankles and pushed her legs up, pressing her knees back hard on either side of her chest. He looked down once again into her soft folds exposed to him, and he nearly lost control. He positioned himself carefully and then entered her with one long, indulgent push.

Chelan cried out, her eyes wide, the unexpected discomfort permeating through the mist of semi-consciousness. She shuddered, utterly confused. Korba did not hurt her. She took several gasps of air. Someone was hurting her, but she did not know who or how.

Chelan’s hands finally smoothed over her breasts and traced down over her slender abdomen, searching for the source of her agony. Shadows caught her clouded vision, and she turned her head. There were black shadows looming near her, three of them, and she felt like she was being smothered. She squeezed her eyes tight, hoping they would go away and take with them the pain.

But the distress did not stop. Her flesh was burning, and her body was cramping. Her breathing was becoming labored and she opened her eyes wide. She had to stop the pain … she had to make it go away. Her hands resumed their quest, her fingers encountering her legs. Or were they her legs? Chelan swallowed. No, they were hers, but they were not where they were supposed to be.

Chelan groaned again. She hurt. Her whole body hurt, and her nausea was returning. Finally, she looked down. She saw a man between her legs, and she trembled. Her mind raced, and she gasped for air. “No,” she whispered, but she made no sound.

Chelan strained to see what was happening to her. What was he doing? She was naked, and she was on her back. She shook her head. She wanted a gown. She was cold, and she was supposed to have a gown. They were supposed to supply her with a white gown. They always had before.

Chelan clenched her fists. This wasn’t right. She didn’t like coming to this office, and she didn’t like this man. “Mommy?” She heard a small girl’s voice, and she closed her eyes. “I want my mommy.”

“No!” boomed a voice, and Chelan’s eyes snapped wide. “Your mommy can’t come in while I’m examining you. Now, be good, and this won’t take long.”

Chelan watched the little girl shake. “Please,” she pleaded.

“Shut up,” came the man’s deep voice, and Chelan could hear crying. She shut her eyes. Someone was hurting the little girl, and he had to stop. She had to stop him.

She groaned again, trying desperately to get oxygen. She peered down her pinioned body once more and saw the man. She tried to move, but she could not. Then the voice came back to her through the haze. “This will only hurt a little bit. Now don’t move. You’ll be okay.”

Ticees watched himself thrust into her, her tightness milking him so divinely. She was exquisite, the sight of her inner depths swallowing all of his massive organ was nearly more than he could endure. Her beautiful breasts undulated to his drives, the complete visual bringing him to the edge of his peak within mere seconds. He threw his head back, his muscles bunching as he neared his orgasm. His balls clenched, and the master stepped up to his side to witness the insemination.

Chelan looked up, and panic ripped through her. She saw the man in white, and the little girl screamed. “No!” she shrieked, and she saw the doctor between her legs jerk. He held her firmly, and he hurt her. He was hurting her with his body, and she did not understand.

She cried out again, and this time he slapped her leg hard. “Now behave!”

Chelan looked down once more, her chest heaving. “No!” He wasn’t going to hurt her again. Not this time. She gathered all her strength together. “No!” she screamed out loud. “You’re not hurting me again!” and she lashed out.

Chelan’s foot caught Ticees squarely in the chest, sending him crashing back. Then she lurched to her side. “No,” she whimpered as she struggled to breath. “No more doctors.” She had to get away. She needed to escape. She flopped to her back, her body sweating profusely, her skin on fire. She kicked back with her feet with all her strength and went over the edge of the bed, her head striking the floor hard. The little girl’s world clouded and went black.

Ticees was in shock. She had somehow resisted the Letting drug, and his mind exploded, his body consumed with rage.

The Guildsmen jumped back in stunned silence, their mouths agape.

Ticees stood, his fury vying for supremacy with his panic. He looked to the head Breeder, the man’s face ashen. “Get out!” yelled Ticees venomously, and all four men recoiled. “Get out!” he seethed, and all four fled.

Ticees grabbed at his head as he paced. Now what was he to do? The Guildsmen obviously knew that she was far from willing, and his very life was on the line. He concealed himself in his pants and scooped up the rest of his uniform. Then he burst into the Command Center, hitting a console button.

“Yes, Sire.”

“Layat! There will be four Guild members coming your way. I want them detained. Wait for further orders.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“And Layat. They speak to no one. Absolutely no one!”

“Yes, Sire.”

Ticees’ mind worked with cool efficiency, and he pressed another button.

“Security, my Lord.”

“Get Kadan on,” he ordered.

“Kadan, Sire.”

“Kadan. Layat has detained four Guildsmen. I want you to escort them personally to your own hangar. Allow them no speech. Eradicate them promptly, and dispose of them in the Dead Zone. They never existed, Kadan.”

“Understood, my Lord.”

Ticees took a deep breath, running his hands through his drenched hair. How could things go so wrong? How could she fight the Letting drug? Ticees knew that his problems with the Guild were over with. Kadan was his best executioner, and the man would go to his grave before revealing his deeds to anyone. There would be no evidence of their fate. They had been hand-chosen by Ticees and their selection unannounced to the other Guild members. As far as the Guild would ever know, they had simply disappeared without a trace for no apparent reason.

Ticees looked to the ceiling. Layat was a good man, but Ticees could afford no mistakes. He and his guard mate would be the only ones who knew that the Guildsmen had entered the Palace for his use. Ticees shuddered. Kadan would have one more job.

Suddenly, he thought of Chelan, and he ran back into his bedroom. She lay in an unmoving heap on the floor. Ticees knelt down beside her, his heart pounding. He was almost afraid to touch her, his hand moving slowly as he reached for her arm. He swallowed hard; her skin was deathly cold. Carefully, he picked her up, rolling her to him and cradling her in his lap. He brushed the hair from her face and looked at the bruise on her forehead.

“Damn you, Chelan,” he whispered as his throat constricted. He held her tight as he wondered what to do next. The whole thing was a nightmare, his actions beyond belief, his grief beyond reality. He felt as though he should awaken and all would be as it had been before. Chelan would come to him in the evening, laughing with him and talking to him.