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“It’s just that I wasn’t all that careful. I was making a lot of noise and running up and down the halls and then went in the Tygerian’s room with him. The guards saw me go. Then that guard of my uncle’s came and knocked on the door after a while, and he said he knew what I was doing and he would make a full report to my uncle.”
“What do you mean? That impertinent bastard!” Dartan asked, sounding angry.
“I know. We weren’t even doing that much, really. At least I don’t think we were.”
“Tell me what you did.”
“Well,” Kalen said, picking at the bedcovers. “I wanted to make him feel good, and he didn’t even actually…penetrate me. He probably thought we were mostly fooling around.”
“But you thought you weren’t?”
“I took my clothes off. So did he. I put my hands on him and stroked him, Kalen. Over and over on his…you know. Until he…completed.”
“Oh.”
“And we were both naked. So it wasn’t just nothing. Probably far from it.”
“Indeed.”
“Now I have to decide…do I tell the prince? Or do I keep my mouth shut?”
“If you tell him, he’ll call off the wedding.”
“I know. And I thought I wanted that. And then I thought I didn’t. And now I’m back to not knowing again.” He sighed. “I have no idea what to do, Dartan. I’m a warrior. I don’t want to wind up like those men in the blue robes I saw once.”
“Men in the blue robes? What are you talking about?”
“It was when I went to a conference with my father. You see, I saw these men with the Tygerians…”
A loud voice suddenly interrupted them so abruptly, Kalen spilled his cup of tea all over the bed.
Chapter Seven
In his short, but eventful life, Kalen had already learned one vital fact. No matter how bad you feel, fate can always arrange for you to feel even worse. An impersonal, robotic voice spoke to them from a small box on the wall.
“Message for His Highness, Prince Kalen of Loros from His Highness Prince Mikol of Tygeria.”
“What the hell?” Kalen said. “Is that a speaker of some kind? Is it a communicator?” His eyes grew wide. “Can people hear us talking on those things too?”
“No, calm down. I don’t think that’s how it works.” He turned toward the box on the wall. “Go ahead with the message.”
The box crackled and the impersonal voice said, “You are ten minutes late for a previously arranged appointment with Prince Mikol of Tygeria. Please come to Deck 35, Suite 489 at your earliest convenience.”
“Shit, I forgot all about that. Kalen, you have to get dressed and go down to Deck 35 for your meeting. I lost track of the time.”
“Now? But I’m not ready to face the prince yet.”
“You have to. Get dressed and let’s go see what your Tygerian prince wants to talk to you about.”
Kalen groaned, but he knew Dartan was right. He had to get moving, though it probably wasn’t accurate to call Prince MikolhisTygerian. He got reluctantly to his feet while Dartan went to the bags he hadn’t even unpacked yet and began pulling clothes out. “I need to shower and shave,” Kalen protested as Dartan shoved an armful of clothing at him.
“No time. And you showered last night. Just go clean your teeth and comb your hair. We have to get moving. I’ll send back a message that we’re running late but on the way.”
“What kind of person sets a meeting for this damn early in the morning anyway?” Kalen grumbled as he pulled up his pants. He tried to hurry, because this man was important, after all, but he still resented it. This was not a great way to start, and maybe he’d tell the prince that too. His father used to say that it was a good idea to start out as you meant to go on, and Kalen didn’t consider himself to be at his best in the mornings. Even when Kalen was younger and had been in combat training, he used to be in trouble with his instructors all the time because of his reluctance to face early mornings. He thought he could totally have been a morning person if morning just started a little later in the day.
Not that Prince Mikol would want an ongoing relationship or anything else to do with him anyway, when he found out he had been running around having sex with random strangers on Belline. Gods, he couldn’t have screwed this up any better than if he’d been actively trying.
Despite his misgivings and all his worry, twenty minutes or so later, Kalen was ready to go. With Dartan’s help, he had pulled himself together enough to go face the prince, though he still felt a long way from being presentable. At least his hair was neatly combed and tied back, and he’d insisted on a quick shave, despite what Dartan said. He still didn’t look his best, he thought, but it would just have to do.
