Sylvan shook his head in admiration.
“So you’re planning two diplomatic missions in one? Truly, I made the right choice when I placed you on the Council, Brand.”
“Well, thank you, Commander.” Brand smiled with pride. “I’m just doing my best for our people.”
“You’re doing an excellent job. And you’ve convinced me—go to Darden Three and contact the Q’ess on your way back. Are you going to tell your new bride that she might be seeing her family again soon?”
Brand shook his head.
“I want to keep it a surprise. That way, if the Q’ess refuse to meet with us for some reason, she won’t be disappointed.”
“A wise idea. May the Goddess grant you safe travels and much success.” Sylvan offered his forearm for a warrior’s clasp. “And be sure you enjoy this very special time in your Claiming Period.”
“Thank you, I will.” Brand took the offered forearm and clasped it firmly. “I’ll make you proud, Commander.”
“I’m certain you will.” Sylvan smiled at him. “And as soon as you’ve established good relations with the Dardens, I’m going to take my wife there for a second honeymoon. Pink sandy beaches and two-hour sunsets are just what we need.”
Brand smiled and nodded as he bid his commanding officer goodbye. He was whistling as he made his way back to his suite where Allara was waiting. He couldn’t wait to tell her the good news—they would be spending their Tasting Week in paradise!
Twenty-Nine
“We are going where, husband?” Allara asked, frowning up at the big Kindred.
“To Darden Three, baby. It’s a beautiful planet with a very broad tropical zone. Have you ever been to the beach?”
“The beach?” Allara shook her head. “No, my family lived far inland and the Q’ess do not believe in traveling too far from home.”
“So you never took vacations anywhere?” Brand gave her a disbelieving look. “Not the mountains or the ocean or anywhere?”
Allara shook her head.
“Until I was sent to you, husband, I had never been farther from home than the grass lands that edged our city.”
“Well, you’re in for a treat.” Brand’s golden eyes glowed with excitement. “Darden Three is beautiful. And we’re going to be there during our Tasting Week.”
Allara bit her lip, not sure what to say about this. All during their Bathing Week, Brand had been talking about how he longed to taste her. But to be honest, the idea made her distinctly nervous.
For one thing, it just seemed wrong for a man to want to lower himself to putting his mouth on a woman’s forbidden areas. Allara was certain any man of the Q’ess would have recoiled in horror and revulsion at such an idea.
And for the second thing, the idea of the big Kindred’s mouth between her thighs just made her feel nervous and shy. It seemed so intimate—so forbidden.
So naughty—so dirty—so wrong, whispered a voice in her head.
Though Allara had been trying to rid herself of the nagging little voice in her head that sounded so much like her aunt, she hadn’t been completely successful. It didn’t screech in her head as it had on the day she had accidentally pressed the transmitter’s button, but it still whispered to her of duty unfulfilled and a mission that had been abandoned for her own selfish reasons.
Leave me alone, Allara told it now. I must obey my husband. If he tells me that he wants to press his mouth to my pussy, I must let him.
But the thought still sent an uneasy, forbidden chill down her spine.
“…get Kat to make you some swimsuits for the beach,” Brand said and she realized that she had missed what he was saying due to her own internal conflict.
“What was that, husband?” she asked him. “You say I must have special clothing for this new planet?”
“Absolutely, baby. But don’t worry—I’ll take care of it all. Before you know it, we’ll be on our way to paradise.” Brand leaned down and kissed her, excitement dancing in his golden eyes. “Tonight’s the last night of our Bathing Week and we leave tomorrow morning. So we’ll be spending the first night of our Tasting Week on Darden Three.”
Allara tried to smile but she was pressing her thighs together in deep anxiety. She couldn’t remember feeling this nervous since the day of their wedding.
Thirty
“Well, how did you enjoy our honeymoon?” Brand asked as their ship lifted off from Darden Three.
“Honeymoon?” Allara asked, frowning.
“It’s the term the humans use for the period right after a marriage or a Joining. Generally the new husband and wife take a little trip together and go someplace special. It’s a kind of mini-vacation, so they can relax and enjoy getting to know each other,” Brand explained. He gave her a half-lidded smile. “And I’d have to say that you and I certainly did get to know each other a bit more, wouldn’t you, baby?”
Allara found herself blushing but this time her embarrassment was mixed with pleasure because she knew her husband was making a reference to their Tasting Week, which had turned out must better than she’d ever expected…
Darden Three was everything Brand had promised her and more, she had to admit when she thought back on the past week. The people who lived there were kind and generous with an easy, open hospitality that made her feel at home right away. The beaches were broad swaths of pale pink sand which glittered in the sunlight and the waves were a pale, clear aquamarine which was just beautiful.
They had been fed all kinds of delicious delicacies—tropical fruits and fish with mild, white, flaky flesh, and wonderful pastries shaped liked the fruit they were flavored with. And, aside from a few state dinners with the Prime Minister of the Dardens, they’d had plenty of time to spend together.
Allara had feared she would miss her daily music lessons from Selena but it had turned out that the Dardens also had a musical legacy. In particular, they had a custom of “singing to the sunset,” which Allara and Brand had been introduced to that very first night.
“It’s the custom for all our people to come out and sing during the fading of the sun,” the Darden Prime Minister had told them, during their first state dinner. “So don’t be surprised if you hear voices raised in song, periodically throughout the evening. It is the way we give thanks for the beautiful planet we live on.”
Allara had thought this was a lovely custom. Though she had once been shocked at the idea of singing outside the Song House, she was beginning to see that music could have a part in all areas of life.
“That’s wonderful,” Brand said. “Maybe Allara and I will do some singing ourselves this evening.”
“Well, I understand that the two of you have just been Joined.” The Prime Minister winked at him expressively. “So I won’t be surprised if I hear a love song coming from the balcony of your suite.”
Brand had laughed and squeezed Allara’s hand under the table, which sent a little nervous chill down her spine. She knew what kind of “singing” her husband wanted to do with her that night but the idea of him pressing his mouth to her pussy still made her uneasy.