SfS ch17
Sitting on Xanir's knee, wiping his wet shirt across his scarred chest, Alanna's eyes were drawn irresistibly to the beads of water tracking over the planes of muscle. She flushed, not needing her husband's reminder of how easily he could reduce her to a mindless, lustful wanton.
"What makes you suspect the two tonight were rivals?"
Alanna's eyes softened; despite the obvious, urgent need Xanir had spoken of practically lifting her from his lap right now, he wanted to
talk
to her more. "Well, he killed her," she said in a 'duh' tone of voice. Xanir cast her a 'just you wait' look. She grinned and kissed him softly on the shoulder, smiling as his heartbeat speeded up under her palm, and mused quietly, "But then again, maybe the two factions are no longer rivals. Maybe the woman - Rebeqa - was killed due to internal power struggles."
A rough hand under her chin and she met Xanir's narrowed eyes, darker shadows gleaming in the darkness. "No longer rivals?" his query was soft. "Do you have any reason to support this theory, princess?"
Her heart jumped as his other palm slid down over the curve of her hip.
Down, girl. Focus
.
She drew a long breath. "Nothing set in stone. But my father's agents have seen the Lord Mika meet with a suspected agent of Beguine; someone who I have noted speaking to Beguine here in the palace."
Xanir blinked, eyes going blank. That information had not been in any of the letters that had reached his bride, either the public words or the hidden ones which Limaq continued to intercept now Em Feliz was absent from the palace. Evidently the princess had another secret method of communication that Emf had not discovered. Not altogether surprising: the Kjeldahl intelligence network was whispered to be the best in the known world.
His lips twitched: his cousin and spy-master would be gutted when he heard. His eyes softened again, looking down into the bewitching little face raised to his. What did it matter, his princess was sharing her knowledge with him anyway. He kissed her softly on the lips, feeling her melt. Delicious. Drinking in her sweetness, he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into her mouth, to taste, tease. Enjoy.
Alanna let out a despairing little whine and pushed against his chest, tearing her lips free to gasp, breathlessly, "You told me I had to report
first
. Stop distracting me!"
Xanir raised one eyebrow and wrapped his palm around the back of her neck, pulling her lips slowly, inexorably back. "You're saying I'm just a
distraction
?" he growled softly. His eyes were dancing.
Her hand whipped up to cover his advancing lips and she scowled at him. "You know damn well you can stop me thinking whenever you want. Nothing to prove, here."
Xanir kissed her palm, feeling the shudder run through her, and smiled smugly.
"Or we could take a tea break, get back to the reporting later?" she moaned hopefully.
Xanir straightened, releasing her with a smile. "Of course not, I told you. Stop getting
distracted
."
Alanna glared at him, letting out a long hiss of breath, and pulled a hideous face at her tormentor. "
Whatever
." She took another long breath, composing herself. "The Lords Mika and Faisal borrowed heavily to invest in their new plantations along the coast, but with the three battalions you sent down there actually
enforcing
the new laws on serf registration and treatment, they cannot maintain those young plantations with cheap, disposable workers from overseas as they had intended, and so will not recoup their outlay for decades, longer."
Xanir sat back, eyes narrowed again as he frowned at his princess, following her suspicions. There was a slight smile on his face at how well she was informed. "Who lent them the funds?"
Alanna's heart jumped as that intelligent, fierce gaze met hers. He was so delicious. Dangerous. She shook her head, shrugging her lack of definite knowledge, although the word
Siane
echoed silently between their connected gaze.
Xanir looked away, scowling into the darkness, one hand absently stroking over the soft curve of her hip. "Initially I thought this was just a bit of internal unrest, and I don't have any proof otherwise, but - a high proportion of their new serfs were Sianese -- and too healthy to have been indentured long," he mused quietly. "Naturally the death rate was disproportionately slanted towards those who weren't so fit."
Alanna met those intent eyes, nodding quietly, "So replacements were being brought in. More Sianese. Building up numbers." Suddenly she rolled her own. "And here I thought you were being charitable to the wretches, passing that law." Tahlm'ese citizens only became serfs due to criminal activity or when they failed to repay severe debt, and there were laws about the duration of serfdom required to make recompense. Harsh penalties protected them from the worst abuses, but until very recently there had been loopholes that had not protected foreign 'serfs', who in reality had been slaves.
Xanir smiled and brushed a thumb across her lips, "I can have more than one reason for my actions, little maia." Then, looking out at the stars, "Why is Beguine staying within the Zalmat? If invasion is on the cards it would make more sense for him to head south, join the uprising."
"Maybe he is more useful here - he has met three different mercenary captains at taverns in the city in the last two weeks."
Xanir's eyes were suddenly ablaze; he lifted her and turned her to face him, demanding, "Which captains?"
Startled, heart pounding at the easy strength with which he had just moved her around, Alanna reeled off the names on a gasp.
"
Why did you not tell me this immediately?"
She froze, quivering under the sudden blast of anger. Xanir sighed in exasperation and pulled her in by the chin to tilt up her face and kiss her, hard. "Alanna. If Beguine is employing that many outlanders -." He broke off abruptly, surging to his feet and hauling her after him towards the door guarded by his friends. He cast a hard glance back her way. "Continue."
Tears lit Alanna's eyes. Dammit. "I thought he was just choosing between them. I didn't think -," she broke off before her voice turned into a whine.
Xanir glanced back again at the downcast face, and sighed, halting. Rough palms cupped her cheeks, tilting up her face for a soft, swift kiss. "I cannot tell you everything in one night. But that piece of information was the most important you have yet given me, and you just dropped it into the conversation as an aside." He scowled in exasperation, already hauling her on.
"How was I supposed to know?" Alanna muttered grumpily at that muscled back. The moonlight skimmed the hard planes, muscles moving seductively under the skin as he towed her along, and she gulped, flushing again.
"You need to tell me everything immediately; you don't yet know all the nuances, princess."
"Then you need to stop distracting me," she groused.
Xanir cast an impish smile over his shoulder, tapped almost silently on the door and swivelled with a warrior's grace to curl behind her and hug her back against his chest. His chin tilted to whisper in her ear. "Patience; I will gag you soon and reward you
thoroughly
for that titbit."
She shivered, flushing with embarrassment and a crash of lust. The door cracked silently open. Limaq's eyes fell on Alanna's expression and he blinked, shooting an amused, very male look over her head at his Tahl before inclining his head in a silent bow.
"I need a watch set on -." Xanir's breath again tickled her ear, rioting her pulse. "Which taverns? Tell him the captains too."
Alanna had to swallow twice before she managed to whisper her reply, trying to steady her breathing. Her heart swelled, glowing with a different satisfaction as she took part in the short, tactical discussion that followed, hand clenched on Xanir's. Then she froze in shock, a starburst shattering through her when her husband added, "And when I am away, heed my princess's advice and observations on further such matters." His teeth nipped her ear. "My assistant spymaster bride. Discuss
everything
with Limaq and Zander."
Her mouth opened in silent shock, watching Limaq incline his head gravely, a little smile flitting across his face. She managed to stop gaping when Xanir towed her away from the closing door, head whirling. Then her thoughts evaporated when out of sight of the door and walls her husband pulled her into his arms and began to kiss her with serious intent.
"Mikla, I missed you too, my princess."
*
"What do you think Rebeqa was doing in here?" Xanir asked later.
Alanna's eyes were unfocussed and soft, her breathing erratic while her thoughts slowly resurfaced. Xanir was cross-legged on the carefully nurtured grass under the trees. She was sitting cuddled close on his lap, her arms wrapped around him and his lips brushing gently down the side of her neck. She shivered, whining, "Do we have to talk?"
The smile was back in Xanir's voice. "No kisses for you if you don't talk first," he decreed. "But the better the information you give me, the better placed the kisses. Promise."
Her breath caught, mind flashing back to that long, beautiful afternoon on his terrace when he had kissed her
there
. Her blood thundered, mind racing. "But we're touching, so playing opposites, yes?" Alanna countered, nuzzling kisses down the strong column of his throat. "Don't kiss me Xanir, don't, please don't!" she pleaded teasingly.
His fingers in her hair eased her head back, and he kissed her lingeringly before looking questioningly down into her face. "Playing? You liked that tortuous pretence?"
Her smile was beautiful, smug and she turned her blushing face into his palm to nibble the pad. "You and me playing a secret game in the teeth of them all? You bet I did. I still fantasize about all the things I didn't get around to begging you not to do."
Heated eyes met hers, and her pulse jumped. The fire in him grew until she felt she was drowning in it. "Tell me," he said.
After a few short breaths she managed to pout, "Only if you promise to enact them without delay."
Xanir ignored her condition, eyes aflame as he whispered, "Do you want to hear my fantasy?"
