Naima smiled, beaming like a beacon, giving him a questioning look.
"I haven't been with you Brions for long," she began mischievously, "but I'm willing to bet a lot of money and all my pretty jewels here that you would not let any warrior anywhere near my room."
Braen snorted.
"A male warrior in my geshas quarters? Of course not," he said. "But I would gladly post a unit of my most accomplished female warriors."
"It's fine," Naima said hurriedly. "I trust the machines to pick up my calls for help the next time the Fearless tries to attack my mind. I would feel very uncomfortable with a bunch of amazons in the next room."
"Amazons?" Braen asked, frowning.
"They were female warriors on Terra, a very long time ago," Naima explained. "Pretty badass. Some say they cut off their own breasts to shoot their bows better."
The general considered that. Brions were proud of their own heritage, but he'd often said it only meant they took no interest in others.
"I admire their commitment," he concluded. "They should have developed fighting techniques that didn't demand such mutilation."
Naima stared at him, half-amused and half-annoyed.
"It's probably a myth," she said. "In any case, I'm fine. And there's always Kerven, posted at my door. He's so keen to follow your orders I basically had to escape from him to be here now."
A flash of irritation shot through Braen at once and Naima recoiled so fast she practically jumped.
"He didn't try to stop me or anything," she hastened to say, "just that he's very diligent. All good. Calm down, General. Jeez."
He looked at her, absolutely stunning in her nervousness. Her breasts rose and fell in tune with her breathing. The generous cleavage did nothing to suppress the burning desire Braen felt for his gesha to begin with.
Naima caught him looking, giving him a playful glare.
"Don't look at me like that," she chided. "Terrans have a saying about this. My eyes are up here."
"I know where your eyes are," Braen said, smirking, enjoying the easy banter that had developed as if overnight with her even if she insisted on denying him.
He didn’t want to question it, simply enjoy it. Perhaps his promise to not press her on the matter of their fated coupling had done more than he anticipated to ease her mind.
"They are very beautiful as well. That's why I gave you the jewels to match them."
There was the sweetest blush on Naima's cheeks before she shook her head and turned away from him. Her body spoke a different language, but as promised, Braen said nothing.
"Still," she said. "It makes me feel like a piece of meat."
Before Braen could say anything, she cut in more brazenly than anyone else would have dared to talk to him, like she was wont to.
"Yes. Do you Brions have no imagination at all? It means I get the feeling I'm a pretty body for you to look at."
"I told you I would give you everything," Braen said. "Not to look, that's impossible. You're radiant."
Naima didn't reply to that, changing the subject. The general had caught the small smile playing on her beautiful red lips. That, if not anything else, told him to bide his time and let his gesha get used to the life on the flagship.
She was spirited, true, but the feeling he got was that she was testing him. He had never shied back from a challenge.#p#分页标题#e#
He was grateful for the experiences of his brother generals who had Terran brides too. Although the details of the sacred bond were not shared, rumors and details emerged, helping guide Braen through these… difficult times.
Terran females fought in a different way. In a strange way, they had more fire and will than Brions and their ultimately submission to the bond wasn't certain. Braen found himself liking even that about his fated. For such a fight, the bond between them would be all the stronger for it and he wouldn't have been a general if he hadn't enjoyed a battle where his victory wasn't a given.
"You seemed very thoughtful when I arrived, General," Naima said, clearly wanting to change the topic. "Will we meet with the Chali soon?"
"Yes," he admitted, a hint of irritation edging into his voice at the mention of the traders. "I was thinking of the future."
"Oh," was all Naima said, avoiding his gaze.
"I was thinking of all the unknown worlds out there," Braen went on, seeing that it piqued her curiosity despite herself. "When all this is over, I want you to come with me. I think you'd like it beyond the union 's borders. The Benevolent can fly anywhere and face any challenge. What kind of worlds would you like to see?"
He paused, studying Naima curiously. There was a slight hitch in her breath, her pupils dilating.
"I'm quite fine with the ones we have, thank you," Naima said, grinning as they started walking in the long hall, the stars to their right. "I couldn't visit all the worlds that are in the union already if I had ten lifetimes."
"I don't believe you," the general said honestly. "Your eyes went wide when I spoke of space beyond the one we know. Your breathing got a little bit faster. These are signs of interest, excitement."
"I asked you not to do that, General," Naima pointed out although she didn't seem mad. "Alright, then. Say that I would like to see one of these magical worlds. Which one would you take me to?"
That was a test, clear and simple. Nothing about Braen betrayed his understanding. The general kept walking, noticing that for all her words, Naima stayed closer to him than was absolutely necessary. Her hand brushed against his every once in a while, bittersweet and maddening.
The emotions that rushed through Braen were entirely alien to him. He understood his body's call to take her, to bury his cock deep into Naima's wet pussy again. Lust was simple. Only there was something else, something wholly new.
Whenever she moved closer to him, the smallest touches sent shocks of electricity through his body. More even than to fuck her, Braen wanted to hold her, to touch her gently, just for a moment.
They were stolen touches, forbidden and sweeter than sin. More intimate than lust, they were everything the fated desired, something to last rather than be spent. A fire to simmer throughout all eternity. The bond between them was calling them together, giving them glimpses of what could be if they just... just what?
If he'd known how to make Naima his, Braen would have done it without a second's hesitation. For the moment, everything was fine. Better than that, even. To walk with her like that, smell the fresh, clean scent of her hair – it was enough.
"A warm one," he said.
Naima chuckled a little, nodding her head.
"That's good, if not expected," she said.
"I would take you there to wipe all memories of the Fearless away," Braen went on. "We could stay there as long as you want. Walk and discover the world until you've forgotten what it's like to be cold. Until you can't remember darkness or what it feels like to fear. It could have an ocean, but one you can see through."
They kept walking side by side. Minutes passed and Naima still hadn't said anything. The general didn't offer anything else either, waiting for her judgment.
Then she slipped a hand around his and it felt better than any victory ever had. Even vanquishing the Fearless all those years ago seemed rather bland in comparison.
"You keep doing that," Naima said quietly, still not looking at him.
Braen missed the burning gaze of those greens, but he felt like he'd accomplished something much greater.
"You keep saying things like this," she continued, "and I'm left feeling bad because I won't give this is a chance."
"And you don't like this why?" Braen asked, amused.
Naima wasn't finished.
"Because words are easy. Your entire species collects these ideas and feelings for the moment when you find your fated. And then you just dump it all on them."#p#分页标题#e#
"If it's actions you want, I am a Brion," the general replied seriously. "It's what we do best."
A sense of levity had gone out of the moment that had been there seconds before. His gesha smiled sadly, shaking her head.
"That's not the point," she said. "Every story has two sides and there’s rarely a victory with two equal victors. Someone has to lose for the other to win. Let's talk about something else. We should focus all our actions to the Fearless. And maybe to the fact I still can't properly operate my room. The darkness here is driving me up the walls."
Braen stopped. He turned to his gesha, seeing her big green eyes flash, daring him to pick up the subject again, but the general had no intention of making his way to her heart by arguing. She was right about a few things, however.
Words were easy. And they were in a perfect place for pushing someone against the wall just like that.
Naima let out a whimper of surprise when the general pulled her into his strong embrace and her back hit the wall between the view screens. The hallway was dimly lit on his command – bright for Brions, but allowing them to be hidden from the sight of anyone foolish enough to walk down that way at the moment.
Naima's hands rested on his chest plate and Braen would have given everything he had to feel their soft touch on his skin again. Instead, he waited for the push. No matter what, she was his gesha and he had no intention of doing anything against her will.