wanted to do was laugh. When she thought about it, though all wrong, it really was sweet of him to make the effort--even if he was doing it just to get into her panties.
“Great!” Quinn grinned. “So, let’s go to this coronation and then we can come back here and have sex.”
“Wait, just because you do all this, doesn’t mean we’re going to have sex,” Tori stated, her cheeks flushed. Did this man never give up?
“Yes, I was afraid of that.” Quinn nodded and then winked. “But, you can’t blame a man for trying.
Every time I’m around you, I smell your longing and it clouds my judgment. I know it will be soon. I can wait for you to know it as well.”
“Oh, um,” Tori sighed and gave him a helpless smile. “It’s not poetry, but it’s ... not even close to poetry actually.”
The playful look he shot her was utterly stunning in its simplicity. Holding out his arm, he asked, “Shall we go, my lady?”
* * * *
The banquet hall was filled with the Var people who’d come to see their new queen. Tori was a little unsettled to be at the head table next to Quinn and the royal family, where all the attention was being directed. She saw many speculative glances cast her way and she couldn’t help but wonder what they were thinking.
Several times during the long meal, Quinn’s fingers would stray to her thigh and twice he got so bold as to dip his hand behind her back and into the cross laces of her gown. His warm fingers on her flesh nearly wrenched a scream from her lips, as a shockwave of pleasure assaulted her. When she didn’t hit him right away, a grin spread over his features and Tori was forced to wiggle away from his touch.
“So,” Tori began, looking at Quinn as the plates were taken away. Traditional Var music played in the background. It was beautiful, but she missed her oldie earth tunes. She was on the end of the head table, away from Quinn’s brothers so she had no one else to talk to. “Tell me more about the houses of Var and Draig.”
“The Draig have been the enemy of the Var since before I was born. My father believed that we were too different to coexist in peace.” Quinn shrugged and leaned back in his chair to study her. “But now Kirill is working for peace.”
“You don’t want peace?” Tori asked.
“I want what is best for the Var people.”
When he spoke of his duty and his people, she saw a rare seriousness in his eyes that wasn’t there at other times. Quinn may be playful, but he was also very dedicated to his job and his position in Var society. His love for his culture and his race ran deep.
During dinner, Quinn spoke of his people and their great history--a history the princes had lived through.
The Var lived a long time and sometimes passed that long life on to their life mates--aided by the same mystical power that guided them and the radiation from the blue sun.
He told her much about the former King Attor’s rule. From what she already knew about him bringing the biological weapons to his own planet, Tori was kind of glad he was dead. She would hate to have met him. It was an opinion she wisely kept to herself.
Long ago, several hundred years before the princes’ birth, before Attor became king, things had been different for the Var people. It was a wild time, a time when the Var let emotions rule their heads and their hearts. They acted rashly and on pure instinct. Looking at the charming Quinn and his never-ending barrage of come-on lines, she doubted very much that things had changed as much as he’d have her believe.
For reasons completely unknown to his son, Attor changed the ways of the Var. He was a good king, one who worked hard for his people. He encouraged emotional detachment so that if one halfmate died, there could be others to take her place. It was Attor who encouraged men to have control, to drink nef--
a drink that somehow calmed them sexually and gave them restraint. When she swallowed nervously at that, Quinn grinned
“Great!” Quinn grinned. “So, let’s go to this coronation and then we can come back here and have sex.”
“Wait, just because you do all this, doesn’t mean we’re going to have sex,” Tori stated, her cheeks flushed. Did this man never give up?
“Yes, I was afraid of that.” Quinn nodded and then winked. “But, you can’t blame a man for trying.
Every time I’m around you, I smell your longing and it clouds my judgment. I know it will be soon. I can wait for you to know it as well.”
“Oh, um,” Tori sighed and gave him a helpless smile. “It’s not poetry, but it’s ... not even close to poetry actually.”
The playful look he shot her was utterly stunning in its simplicity. Holding out his arm, he asked, “Shall we go, my lady?”
* * * *
The banquet hall was filled with the Var people who’d come to see their new queen. Tori was a little unsettled to be at the head table next to Quinn and the royal family, where all the attention was being directed. She saw many speculative glances cast her way and she couldn’t help but wonder what they were thinking.
Several times during the long meal, Quinn’s fingers would stray to her thigh and twice he got so bold as to dip his hand behind her back and into the cross laces of her gown. His warm fingers on her flesh nearly wrenched a scream from her lips, as a shockwave of pleasure assaulted her. When she didn’t hit him right away, a grin spread over his features and Tori was forced to wiggle away from his touch.
“So,” Tori began, looking at Quinn as the plates were taken away. Traditional Var music played in the background. It was beautiful, but she missed her oldie earth tunes. She was on the end of the head table, away from Quinn’s brothers so she had no one else to talk to. “Tell me more about the houses of Var and Draig.”
“The Draig have been the enemy of the Var since before I was born. My father believed that we were too different to coexist in peace.” Quinn shrugged and leaned back in his chair to study her. “But now Kirill is working for peace.”
“You don’t want peace?” Tori asked.
“I want what is best for the Var people.”
When he spoke of his duty and his people, she saw a rare seriousness in his eyes that wasn’t there at other times. Quinn may be playful, but he was also very dedicated to his job and his position in Var society. His love for his culture and his race ran deep.
During dinner, Quinn spoke of his people and their great history--a history the princes had lived through.
The Var lived a long time and sometimes passed that long life on to their life mates--aided by the same mystical power that guided them and the radiation from the blue sun.
He told her much about the former King Attor’s rule. From what she already knew about him bringing the biological weapons to his own planet, Tori was kind of glad he was dead. She would hate to have met him. It was an opinion she wisely kept to herself.
Long ago, several hundred years before the princes’ birth, before Attor became king, things had been different for the Var people. It was a wild time, a time when the Var let emotions rule their heads and their hearts. They acted rashly and on pure instinct. Looking at the charming Quinn and his never-ending barrage of come-on lines, she doubted very much that things had changed as much as he’d have her believe.
For reasons completely unknown to his son, Attor changed the ways of the Var. He was a good king, one who worked hard for his people. He encouraged emotional detachment so that if one halfmate died, there could be others to take her place. It was Attor who encouraged men to have control, to drink nef--
a drink that somehow calmed them sexually and gave them restraint. When she swallowed nervously at that, Quinn grinned
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