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It was so much more than he’d ever hoped for that he sagged a little in his seat and traitorous tears sprang to his eyes. He didn’t want to appear weak in front of his new in-laws, but Ryan leaned over and stretched out a hand to him. He took it and Ryan squeezed it warmly. “We’re your family now, Kalen. And you can count on us to have your back.”
Again, the relief that spread over him made itself manifest in tears, so when a soft sob escaped him, he turned his head into Mikol’s shoulder to hide his face. Mikol ducked his head to whisper soothingly in his ear.
He rose to his feet, bringing Kalen with him. “This has been a long journey for mynobyoand he’s still grieving for his father. I know he’d like to express his gratitude, as I do, but he’s a little overcome at the kindness. I hope you understand.”
“Of course,” Ryan said.
“I believe we’ll go to our rooms now, if that’s all right. Maybe you can send some of these cakes down to us later?”
Ryan laughed softly. “I will.” He stepped forward and laid a hand on Kalen’s shoulder. “Make sure you get some rest, honey. Don’t forget the dinner later this evening.”
“Thank you again, omak. I’ll come by later to speak to you both, after Kalen gets settled.”
He guided Kalen out of the room quickly and once out in the corridor again, he stopped to peer down in his face. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. Thank you for the help in there. They’re both really nice.”
“I don’t believe anyone ever called my father nice before.” He leaned in. “Don’t tell anyone. We don’t want people thinking the Bloody Prince has gone soft.”
Kalen laughed and Mikol wrapped an arm around his waist to take him down the corridor.
****
Kalen woke up in the huge soft bed Mikol had left him in and rolled onto his back. Mikol told him this area had originally been his suite, but that he’d had this room redesigned as a separate bedroom for Kalen. He’d told him that as he gave him a brief, hard hug and told him to get some rest. He’d be back later.
Because he was so exhausted, both emotionally and physically, that was exactly what Kalen did. He fell onto the big bed with the big, soft, thick mattress, like the one he’d had on the space station, and tumbled almost instantly into sleep. Now he rolled to his back, staring up at the ceiling and taking stock. He felt much better, but vaguely uneasy.
First of all, why did he have his own separate bedroom? Tygerians were supposed to be overwhelmingly dominant and jealous lovers. Didn’t Mikolwanthim in his bed?
Not that he objected, of course. He barely knew him. And he wasn’t homosexual—more than likely. Yet could he deny his attraction to this Tygerian prince? He blamed it at first on the amount of Cygnarral he’d imbibed that night on Belline and maybe on that little white pill he’d taken. Obviously, he’d been out of his mind.
Then later, at the space station—well, it must have been the stress on that morning of the betrothal.
Nothing else really made any sense.
He had actually wondered for a while if he were asexual—up to this point in his life, he’d had little interest in sex. Of course, as the most eligible bachelor on Loros, he’d been introduced to all kinds of pretty women, but other than appreciating their grace and thinking them lovely, he really had little interest.
Not that it meant anything. He had no interest in men either, though he had plenty of good friends, and Dartan had always been like a brother to him. Anyway, he’d wondered, that’s all. From time to time. He’d always been attracted to strong people and admired other warrior’s skills. But that was probably all it was. Sometimes—he’d justwondered.
Like how he was puzzled now by the idea of Mikol parking him in this room and taking off, leaving him alone in this vast, strange palace.
But he was a man, damn it, so he sat up on the side of the bed, recognized that he was feeling much better than when he’d first stretched out there, and began to idly take inventory of the room. The furniture was nice but nothing ornate or covered in gold leaf, like the furniture in his father’s palace. It looked well-made and expensive, but it was definitely no frills. There was a chest, probably to put his folded clothes in and a kind of taller piece that he got up to investigate.
When he opened one of the double doors, he found at least six or seven beautifully made robes, all in sapphire blue, the color of Tygerian royalty, according to what Mikol had told him. The material was luxurious and soft, and he knew it would probably cling to his body, like the ones he’d seen at the conference he’d attended with his father. He took one out and placed it on the bed to change into, and then he went in search of a bathing room.
There was only one more door to investigate. When he opened it, he found what he was looking for. Inside was a large bathing pool—the water would probably come up to his chest when he sat down on one of the benches that stretched around it inside. The thing almost filled the whole room. He noticed a small, enclosed area that contained the other usual facilities. A cloud of steam floated over the top of the pool, and it looked so inviting, he immediately slipped off his robe and sat on the side, dangling his feet in the water. On all four sides, there were small racks, holding a variety of bottles. He slid on his ass along the glossy tile down to the nearest rack, looking through the bottles until he found the soap.
Then he just sat still for a while, luxuriating in the hot water, and the idea that he was so far away from his hated uncle, and nothing could touch him here in this beautiful, strange fortress of a palace.
He spent the next quarter of an hour bathing and shampooing his hair and just soaking. He was happy to discover that the floor of the pool wasn’t slippery at all, so he could move around freely. It was definitely the warmest he’d felt since he joined Prince Mikol on his ship.
He heard a faint noise by the door and glanced over to see Mikol standing there, leaning against the frame. His eyes were smoldering, and it made something stir inside Kalen’s stomach. Those stupid “butterflies” again.
“How long have you been watching me?”
“Long enough. I’m glad you’re enjoying the bathing pool.”
“It’s wonderful,” Kalen said, grinning up at him. “Are you going to get in?” He tried hard to make the question sound off-hand, like he didn’t much care one way or the other, but the little hesitation in his voice, not to mention how breathy it sounded made him think he didn’t quite pull it off.
