Kass frowned, searching for the right words to explain a concept unknown in the ordered world of Regula Prime. "Enlasé has been strictly forbidden because the combining of many minds can conjure power beyond imagination. Terrifying power. Dare we unleash it? Jagan, like so many of the exceptionally gifted, can be . . . unpredictable. Difficult. It is uncertain if anyone can control him, not even the Queen, who is the current ParaPrime."
"Is the gamble worth the risk?" Tal prompted.
"Freeing Psyclid?" The thought misted Kass's eyes, but not so greatly she didn't see Tal flinch. What was it about a woman's tears that unmanned even the strongest male? "I am Psyclid, Captain. I have no choice but to say yes. And if the situation turns worst case, Jalaine and I together can manage the Sorcerer Prime." At least she hoped so. Eight years ago they had managed him. How else had she escaped to the Regulon Space Academy instead of fulfilling her destiny as Jagan's bride? But his powers had grown since then.
So had hers.
Tal stood. "I am aware we have other matters to discuss," he said in the cool, impersonal tone he might have used to give orders to a maid, "but I believe this is neither the right moment nor the correct setting. Goodnight, Kiolani."
He was dismissing her? Without a single word about last night?
Grimly, she stood, offered a stiff nod. "Goodnight, Captain." Back straight, she strode out of the Green Salon. He could beg, plead, go down on bended knee . . . she was never letting him back into her bed again.
Now there was her biggest fantasy yet. All he had to do . . .
Kass stalked out, taking great care to close the door soundlessly behind her.
Chapter 33
Pausing only long enough to lock the door to her tower suite, Kass dropped onto the white and silver brocade sofa and stared, stunned, into space. She could not possibly have suggested the one thing that would force her to tell Tal the truth. A mission to Crystalia. Just saunter into the palace under the noses of Reg guards. Consult Ryal and Jalaine, king and queen of Psyclid. Mama and Papa. Not to mention the undoubted presence of M'lani. Lovely, energetic little M'lani, who was only thirteen when Kass left home. Family all.
The reunion was bound to be dramatic. Tearful. Yet she, eldest daughter of the House of Orlondami, was the one who suggested a Reg officer and Reg marines accompany them. How could she have been so stupid?
Because, of course, her plan not only made sense, it was essential to ensure the success of Jagan's more far-reaching plan, Psyclid's freedom. Something of far greater importance than the Princess Royal's love life.
So she was going to have to tell Tal the truth. And lose him-
Kass froze, shoulders stiff, head slightly cocked to one side. Not a sound within or without the walls of the tower, yet she felt him. Tal here?
In front of her, not a sign of life. Slowly, Kass turned, knowing she would find nothing, and yet . . .
The area behind her was, as always, beautifully decorated but empty of life.
Stress had finally done it. She was crumbling under pressure, so fearful of losing Tal that she'd somehow tumbled into the fringes of Jagan's black arts, conjuring Tal's essence out of thin air.
No. Neither Psyclid ParaPrimes nor Fleet-trained princesses crumpled under pressure. Slowly, Kass rose to her feet and tip-toed toward the bedroom. Strange behavior in an empty room separated from the main body of the castle by the width of the tower staircase. Who could possibly hear her? And yet . . .
Frowning, Kass paused in the bedroom doorway. What in the name of the goddess . . . ? Someone had drawn the curtains around the four-poster bed, completely closing it in. Tal! By some miracle he'd come to her. Her heart sang.
Then plummeted to her toes. Not Tal. Only someone using the black arts could have materialized in her bed.
Jagan!
Kass charged toward the bed, ripped back the curtains. "How dare you?" she roared. "Get out of my bed this instant before I toss you straight out the window!"
"I thought you'd be pleased," said a puzzled male voice-not Jagan-from the bed's dark interior. "Why else did you leave the secret panel ajar?"
Tal? Kass sank onto the edge of the bed, holding her head in her hands. "I wasn't yelling at you," she muttered, shock throwing her back to the days of Cadet Kiolani when Captain Tal Rigel was the god who ruled her universe and she was striving so hard not to make any mistakes. "I thought Jagan had conjured himself into my bed, and I had no idea I left the panel ajar. But I was rather upset, as I recall," she added, attempting to salvage a bit of her pride.
"Shall I leave?"
He'd come to her, and they were quarreling. Again. Now that her eyes were adjusting, Kass could see him quite clearly in the ambient light drifting in from the sitting room. Everything she'd ever wanted, lying in her bed, and she seemed to be doing her best to send him away. Time, time, she needed time to jumpstart her brain. "No, of course not," she breathed. "But I'd really like to know how you found your way through the maze of passages."
He must have sensed her softening, because Tal grinned. "Easy. The way to the tower was the only passage that was clean. Did you do that yourself, brave girl? I found the broom and the lantern just inside the tower panel."
"There were spiders . . . and mice and rats and bats, but I fought them off, all for you. And when you weren't there, I waited for you," Kass declared, building momentum. "Such a delightful surprise, I thought, finding me naked in your bed. And then you came back and fell on me, smothered me. You were drunk!"
Tal held up a hand, palm out. "Guilty as charged. And I don't blame you for tossing me on my ass. I deserved it."
Kass hung her head. "I am truly, truly sorry-"
"As am I. Believe me, it won't happen again. Particularly," he added, emphasizing each word, "if you don't run off and leave me again."
"There's the expedition to Psyclid," she reminded him gently.
"You won't be leaving me. I'm running the op."
"You can't!" Kass slapped the bedcovers just short of Tal's naked thigh. "You're the heart of the rebellion. You can't take such risk."
"No risk. Invisible, remember?"
"Only if everything goes as planned."
Abruptly, Tal sat up, his broad shoulders level with her eyes, his suddenly serious face hovering over her. "Kass, don't you see? It's a matter of respect. The rebellion is making first contact with the king and queen of Psyclid. I'm the one who has to do it."
"Of course you are," she murmured. That should have been obvious from the moment she suggested the plan. To the Regs, she was merely an adjunct of the rebellion, a useful weapon, but she held no official position. S'sorrokan, not Ensign Kiolani, would negotiate with Ryal and Jalaine.
The only postive note to Tal crushing her pretensions to power was that he clearly didn't sound like a man who knew he was lying naked in full view of the Psyclid Princess Royal. He sounded like the ever-responsible Tal Rigel who would always do what had to be done, no matter the risk. The trouble was, that wasn't the man she wanted at the moment. Kass kept her eyes down, hiding a naughty smile. Men-even Fleet captains and rebel leaders-were so easily distracted. All it took was . . .
She closed her hand over his half-mast erection, ran her fingers down the velvety coating until she touched the soft blond curls at the base. Then slowly back up, squeezing gently, rhythmically-Tal groaned, his body sliding back to prone, head falling back against the pillow. Kass played with the damp tip, her lips curving in satisfaction as moisture spilled onto her fingers. The male portion of the miracle of life, now oozing from a rock-hard penis belonging to a man who had definitely put thoughts of the rebellion aside.
And somehow she would be the woman who provided the other half of the magic mix it took to make children. How, she was unsure, but she would find a way. Surely, when he got over being angry at her deception, he'd realize what an asset an alliance with a future queen and ParaPrime could be.
Tal Rigel had not coldly, calculatedly planned all this. She wouldn't believe it.
Kass rose on her knees, moving to straddle Tal's hips, then slowly, almost teasingly, lowering herself onto him. Ah, goddess! The exquisite pleasure of the contact was not only felt in her most intimate parts but reverberated in her mind, as she felt Tal's pleasure as well as her own. He was special, so very special, her gateway to a world of sensation her fantasies had never dreamed of. To a love far beyond anything she had ever imagined. The scent of him, the sheen of his skin, the ripple of muscles that brought joy not fear. The mind that challenged her own. His shining honor barely tarnished by one small slip from grace.