Sorry about the delay in posting this chapter. Unfortunately the cold weather has brought the cold season into my house. Please feel free to comment. All feedback is welcome.
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Kat sat huddled on her bed. The clock on the table reminded her that she should have been in bed hours ago. While her body was quite sated, her mind was in utter chaos. She couldn't believe that he had actually tied her to her bed and made love to her with his mouth. What was she going to do? She loved what he had done to her but if he kept digging in her past, he was going to reopen old wounds. She knew that if he was seriously considering marrying her, then he had the right to know her background; but she wasn't going to marry him and she didn't relish the idea of him finding out about her past. As his mistress, he had no reason to pry.
The communications console next to her bed flashed before giving off a soft beep. She sighed. Glancing at the digital display, she could tell that it was Charlie. If she didn't answer his summons she knew that he would more than likely come and check on her. And she didn't want that. Leaning over she punched the button. Immediately his deep voice filled her room.
"Kitty-kat, why aren't you sleeping?"
"Because I'm not tired, Charlie. Other than calling to annoy me, is there another reason for you to be calling me at two in the morning?"
"My room is right next to yours, Katrina. I can see the light under the door. Obviously I didn't please you well enough. Shall I come back over and try again?" His voice deepened and she was sure that she would be able to see desire in his eyes if he had been present.
"No!" she quickly protested.
"My teachers always did say I was a quick study, Kitty-kat. I'm sure that I'd get it right this time," he coaxed.
"You stay in your room!"
"Then come to mine," he suggested. "It's not as if you haven't been here before," he added.
"What! I've never been in your room."
"Really? What about the night on our journey here? If I recall correctly you were there."
"I'm hanging up now, Charlie." She went to push the button to disconnect the call.
"If you do, I'll come over there right now," he admonished.
"I've locked the door!"
"So? I'll just come in the same way I did before." He sighed heavily, before continuing, "Talk to me, Katrina, until you get tired," he coaxed.
"What?" she asked, confused by his request.
"Talk to me about your planet, Earth," he suggested. "Where you come from-this country, E-owa?"
"Eowa?" A frown crossed her face before she realized what he was trying to say.
"Yes."
"You must mean Iowa. Iowa isn't a country, Charlie. It is a state in the Midwest. Which is part of the U.S."
"The U.S.?"
"Yes, the United States of America. I lived there my entire life. In a town that is not even half the size of your capital. It is mostly a farming and manufacturing state. We grow corn and soybeans. There are several cereal plants there."
"Cereal? You mean like Captain Crunch?" he asked eagerly.
"Yes," she laughed, knowing his fondness for the children's cereal. It was quite a sight the first time that she had gone down to breakfast and she had seen him hoarding a box of it.
"When we go on our wedding tour we will have to stop at this place where they make Captain Crunch."
"Wedding tour?" she asked in a daze.
"Yes. It is customary for newly wed royals to have a tour after six months of marriage. I would love to tour your homeland. The only reason that Rand and Gracie have not is because she is carrying the next heir. All heirs are born in the castle which they will one day rule."
"So you were born in this castle?"
"No. I received that right when I married Deanna. She was born here."
"And when she died that right - it came to you?"
"It normally doesn't work that way, Katrina. The council decided I was a better risk than Aric."
"Aric. The Aric that Gracie banished?"
"Yeah. He's an illegitimate of the last king."
"So he tried to claim the throne?"
"Several times. And he wasn't above using his sister, his uncle, or me to achieve his goal."
"Your uncle? I read some where that you were Deanna's cousin?"
"Yeah. Second cousins on our mother's side. I started looking after Deanna when she was an infant. My mother would come to visit her sister, The Queen. While the ladies were busy in doing ladies' things, I would be sent to the nursery. It was quite a let down for an eight year old. But the first time I saw Deanna toddling around in her little pinafore I was smitten. I never out grew it either as we grew older. I am from the
Vindexicis
Warrior class. The urge to protect is deeply seated in us." Kat could hear the affection in his words.
"
The Vindexicis
?" She shifted uncomfortably. Did he still love his dead wife?
"Yes, it is a class of warriors that has all but died out. I am a throwback to that class. There are only a handful of us born every sixth generation."
"So, this class, do they also carry the wizardry traits of Venus?"
"No. I have no magic. Until I have the