Delivered by the Defender (Kindred Tales)

“Lovely,” Valen said approvingly, nodding as the chief tailor stepped back to admire his handiwork. “I like the way it clings to her curves and shows them off.”

“A curvy female looks best in this style,” the tailor said, nodding. “You must never hide her beauty—it should be displayed to full advantage. Shall I make up some other, similar outfits for your female and send them to your residence?”

“Yes, that will be acceptable.” Valen nodded. “My residence is in the Ambassador’s square.”

“Very good.” The tailor nodded. “And now, you’d best be off—the banquet starts in less than one quarter of a standard hour.”

“Thank you for your fast work,” Valen told him. He turned to Selena. “Come, little one, I hope you’re hungry.”

Selena was hungry—but not for food. Her whole body still throbbed after the way the big Kindred had touched her and then left her wanting, but she had little choice other than to nod her head and follow him.

I’ll think about all of this later, she told herself. Right now, I have to get through the banquet.

She had no idea how very difficult that was going to be.

25

The banquet hall was almost as big as the reception hall, but instead of a shiny black marble floor, it had mosaic floor, like some of the hallways. Standing in the vast, arching doorway, Selena saw that the tiles had been placed to resemble gigantic fruits and flowers. When she looked up, she saw that the ceiling was likewise decorated in sparkling, multicolored gems. The whole effect was a little bit like being inside a giant jewelry box.

In the center of the cavernous room, there was a long, low table with richly embroidered cushions instead of chairs. Ducking her head, she saw there was a kind of well under the table, where one’s legs were apparently supposed to go. Some people were already seated around the table—almost all of them appeared to be couples and most of them appeared to have the odd double-faces with an extra nose and mouth on their foreheads.

Selena noticed that the double-faced Ma’shorkans seemed to be speaking with their top mouths and sipping their drinks with their bottom one. It must be convenient at dinner parties to have two mouths, she supposed. Though it certainly looked very strange—at least to her.

As she studied the assembled guests she realized, to her relief, that she wasn’t the only woman wearing an extremely revealing gown. Apparently it was considered normal to show off your assets when you went to dinner at the palace. So even though she still felt terribly exposed, at least she wasn’t any more exposed than anyone else.

“Hello, hello, and who have we here?” A male servant wearing the black and gold livery of the palace came up to them, raising his eyebrows in uncertainty.

“This is Selena Bates, an esteemed guest musician from Earth, who is going to perform in His Majesty’s gala,” Valen answered smoothly. “She should be on your guest list—this banquet was on her itinerary.”

He pulled out the piece of stiff parchment paper and showed it to the servant, who nodded and frowned.

“Yes, yes, I do have her on my list but she is marked down as an Independent Female, so only one place was reserved for her.”

Valen frowned like a thundercloud.

“As you can see, Selena Bates is not an Independent female—she belongs to me. And as her Master, I refuse to allow her to be seated without me.” He waved a hand at Selena. “You can see for yourself how luscious she is—I must be near her to fend off unwanted advances from other males.”

“Yes, yes—she is an exceptional beauty,” the servant said, nodding thoughtfully. “Hmm…let me see what I can do—I’ll return shortly.”

He bustled off and Selena couldn’t help feeling a warm glow in the pit of her stomach.

He claimed me as his! she thought, looking up at the big Kindred, who was still frowning sternly as he watched the servant, who appeared to be rearranging the cushions at the table and adding an extra one. He said he was my Master and that he wanted to protect me from other men!

Of course, a part of her knew it was ridiculous to be getting all swoony over Valen’s words—he wasn’t really her Master and he had let her know in no uncertain terms that he would never really Claim her in the way Kindred claimed women as their brides. But still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was living out one of her very own erotic fantasies of being owned and taken care of by a stern but loving Master.

Selena had learned the hard way to keep these fantasies to herself. She’d never had a lover who was interested in playing them out with her—Gary had been decidedly disinterested—and she didn’t speak of them much to other women, either. Oh, she’d dropped a few hints to Jess, when her friend had demanded to know why Selena had broken things off with her ex, but for the most part, she kept them inside.