Free Hollow Space by Belladonna Bordeaux Page B

’ ll have to feed before you meet with him. We cannot risk your hunger destroying our chances of an alliance, Majesty. ”
    Immediately offended, Jada nearly spun around to give him a piece of her mind. She didn’t. She was a royal and held to the highest standards of etiquette and decorum. Reprimanding her bodyguard in front of an alien species wouldn’t help her or her mission at all. Are you insulting my training?
    “ No, Princess, I ’ m pointing out the fact you already lust for the warrior. We should be cautious err you give him a reason to reject our appeal for peace between his kind and ours. Err, he inform the Chastity Party of things best left unsaid. ”
    Amanassa was right. She just hated to admit it. I will step carefully around him. Only problem with “stepping carefully” around the warrior who sent her passion into deep space was she had to have him and soon.
    She was about to knowingly break the law and take advantage of a sexually immature race.
     
    * * * * *
     
     
    “Why?” Michaelerus asked the empty confines of his quarters. “Why her?” Sitting on the couch in his antechamber, he raked his fingers through his hair.
    For ten and a half stellar years, he’d asked the questions over and over. Why his wife? Why that day when the Vor Marran was so close to Navora? Why had the Andromedains attacked the planet that should have been worthless to them?
    Why?
    Why?
    Why?
    The sand spit down on him. “I know. I shouldn’t pine for a woman long dead,” he responded. Even the empathetic grit from the Navorain’s original homeworld of Lazarus Seven could not assuage his guilt. He was tied in a knot of his own making.
    Stuck in a place where there was no going forward because he couldn’t let go of the past.
    “Farden frig.” He slapped his hand down on the cushion. What he really wanted to do was smash his fist through the closest hard object and keep on hitting it until he felt something beside the guilt that was eating him alive. I should have saved you instead of...
    He checked himself in mid-thought.
    Leaning his head back, he stared at the ceiling. “Computer, hologram Fis Marran 1A1.”
    Breathing deeply, he exhaled slowly.
    “What’s wrong, Michaelerus?” Shaunna’s question came from the corner where the holographic image of his dead wife was programmed to appear. “Another hard day with the Interstellar Space Council or have the Seven Kings ordered you on yet another patrol of deep space?”
    Detesting the tinny tone that came from her lips, the computer unable to attain the right lyrical modulation of her voice, he huffed. Shifting his position, he propped his forearms on his thighs. His fingers wove together as he contemplated what had happened in the corridor.
    There was no denying the music he’d heard, or the undeniable desire overwhelming his body when the sand slid down the princess’s sleeves.
    “Tell me, my love. It can’t be that bad.” Shaunna walked to where he sat and laid her hand on his shoulder. “We can survive another tour of duty.” A little giggle escaped her, but it lacked humor. The chuckle was sour, condescending, and critical. “Isn’t that what attracted me to you? I married the youngest Navorain warrior ever to earn the title Supreme Commander. The Great Michaelerus Fis Marran.”
    He held up a hand before the hologram went down the long list of accolades and accomplishments stored in the ship’s main database. He gritted his teeth so hard a muscle jumped in his jaw. “I have found my next mate,” he muttered, unable to look at the hologram designed to punish him for his sin of not saving his mate.
    “Oh.” She snatched her hand back as if she’d been burned.
    He gave the computer credit. The simple “oh” made him feel as disgusting as a slug’s slimy trail. The facsimile’s physical reaction to his announcement just nailed home the point he had failed in his duty. “What am I to do?”
    The computer programming faltered for a moment