Raashh Decisions (Xxan War Book 3) Read online

  She sighed. “Yes.”

  In a dizzying move, Arren was on his feet with Sandy in his arms. She grabbed at his shoulder, then loosened her grip. There was no way Arren would drop her.

  He settled her on the toilet, turned away, and started preparing the stone tub for a bath: raising the temperature, adding agitation, and increasing the filtration. A bath sounded good, and Sandy hurried to join him. Arren lifted her into the hot water, but he didn’t join her immediately. Instead, he collected supplies into a small basket and brought it to the edge of the tub. Then he sank in next to her.

  He stared at her solemnly. “You are my mate now, Sandy. You know what that means to me. Nothing in life will be more important to me than you, from this moment on.”

  She nodded, though the concept made her head spin. She couldn’t remember a time when she was first in anyone’s life, let alone a man’s.

  “After mating, the first thing a male does is bathe his mate with Saahaal. Clove is the English word for the spice.”

  “Okay.” Something told her it wasn’t as simple as it sounded.

  Arren nodded. He plucked a bottle from the basket and opened it. The liquid pooling in his hand released the smell of clove into the room, enticing her senses.

  The clove stung like his Zhigaaal had. In fact, the Zhigaaal smelled faintly of clove, which might explain the slight sting.

  What started out as a simple bath turned to more quickly. Arren cupped her breasts and smoothed the oil over her nipples, bringing them up against his fingertips.

  Sandy reached out and snagged the clove oil out of the basket. She poured a handful and started working it up Arren’s primary cock.

  His pupils dilated in pleasure. “I’m supposed to be bathing you.” It wasn’t a complaint. Clearly, he liked what she was doing.

  “Maybe I want more.”

  “If you were willing, this was supposed to end with more.”

  She chuckled, working him more avidly. “Obviously, I’m willing.”

  Arren stroked his hands down her body, arousing her to a potent edge before he thrust inside her. Sandy placed her hands on the side of the tub, levering herself up and down on his cock, breaths rasping in and out of her lungs, scorching her senses.

  It was over in moments, Sandy holding tight to Arren’s shoulders, her harsh breathing stirring the steam from the bath. Arren followed her over, every muscle tightening, even the ones that raised his ridge plates.

  Sandy laughed in the release of tension, her body going lax as it had when they’d been binding.

  “Yes?” he asked archly.

  “When do we…?”

  One eyebrow went up, and he cocked his head to one side.

  “When do we use the secondary and when do we use only the primary?”

  “Any time we have the time and you wish to experience another frenzy, we can use the secondary.”

  “In that case…” Sandy reached for him, intent on stroking him up.

  Arren guided her hand away, then laid a kiss in the palm of his hand.

  “But you said—”

  “The next time we have a frenzy, I intend to have you dressed in silk, as you should be.”

  “You have silk. I’ve seen it.”

  He shook his head. “Those are S’suumea. I’m going to buy you your own silk clothing. Today.” He started working the clove oil into her legs. “But first we eat.”

  “What do you have in mind for silk clothing?”

  Arren chuckled. “Conveniently enough, Spice has a clothing department, and you can have anything you want from our clothing line.”

  “Oh, can I?” she played along.

  “I have it on good authority. I happen to know the owners.”

  ****

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Raashh,” the clerk called out, offering a smile that Arren knew was fake. Few employees liked to see the owners of the company walking through the door.

  “Good day. Sandy and I will be shopping for her today.”

  The clerk scanned her gaze up and down Sandy’s body. Just when he would have protested the rude behavior, she started speaking again.

  “A medium, I would think.”

  Sandy nodded. “Usually, yes.”

  “And what sorts of things will you be looking to purchase today?”

  “On my account,” Arren interjected. “Sandy has no limits.”

  The clerk shot him a look of surprise. She focused on Sandy with a false smile that turned Arren’s stomach. Sandy squirmed uncomfortably.

  “Very well. Do you know what you’re looking for, Sandy?”

  “The S’su…” She looked at Arren for help.

  The clerk beat him to an answer. “S’suuhhea?”

  “Yes,” Arren answered for her. “Also lingerie, bath products, and silk daily wear.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I really liked the blue and silver print that was in the catalog.”

  The clerk performed a turn around her, making an examination Arren wondered at. “Yes, the blue and silver…and probably also the green and gold. Let’s take a look at what I have in the back.”

  She led the way, and Arren took Sandy’s arm and accompanied her to the work room.

  The clerk’s eyes went wide. She looked as if she meant to protest. Her gaze snapped to Sandy’s hand, and she composed herself. “I see. If you would.” She motioned to a chair.

  Arren kissed Sandy’s cheek and obliged the woman. The clerk showed Sandy style after style of dress, robe, nightgown, undergarments, and assorted frilly objects he had no name for. Her eyes lit up, and she looked his way.

  “Anything you want,” he assured her. “Everything you want.”

  Sandy smiled shyly. “And if I want you to wear the S’suum…” Again, she faltered.

  “S’suumea,” he provided. Arren considered it. “I will wear the informal S’suumea for you, if you wish.”

  “The one that looks like a silk kilt?” she asked.

  “That is the informal,” the clerk supplied.

  Arren tipped his head, and Sandy smiled.

  “I’ll add it to the order then?” the clerk asked.

  “In colors to match whatever Sandy picks out,” Arren instructed.

  Her smile said he wouldn’t regret it.

  “While we are making the order,” Arren inserted, “I will need a case of Saahaal and a second sent to Evan and Zondra Duncan at Daahn’s nest. I will write a note to include with it.”

  The clerk nodded to him in acknowledgement and went back to Sandy.

  “You’re thanking her for introducing us, aren’t you?” Sandy asked.

  Arren chuckled. “Do you think that’s not warranted?”

  “No. I agree with you. Maybe I should send her something, as well.” She pointed out a scandalously brief nightgown that would fit over Zondra’s very pregnant form. “This in green and gold to match her eyes?”

  “As long as the note makes it clear it comes from you. If Evan thinks I picked that out, you would very quickly find yourself a widow.”

  ****

  “Hello, Deidre,” another woman called out. “What have we here?”

  “Good afternoon, Mrs. Raashh. Mr. Raa… Oh, dear. Having more than one is rather confusing isn’t it?”

  Sandy looked around at the petite, honey-haired woman staring at Arren. The deep blue silk sheath dress caressed her body.

  “What a surprise,” the new arrival exclaimed. “I’ve never seen you in here, Arren.”

  He stood and offered a bow of his head to her. “Joy. A pleasure.”

  She turned to Sandy. “And this must be… I’m sorry. I don’t know your name yet.”

  Sandy’s heart stuttered at that. This woman was Arren’s family, but she hadn’t heard of Sandy? She forced a weak smile and mumbled her first name. I don’t even know what last name I should be using.

  Joy surveyed the dress, then focused on the ring on Sandy’s hand. “Preparing to take Sandy to the nest to introduce her, Arren?”
Her tone made it seem she was teasing him.

  “No. Dressing my mate in a manner appropriate to her place in my life.”

  Sandy looked around at him. It hadn’t been her imagination. The tease had irritated or angered him. Arren’s eye slits were narrowed, and his ridge plates pushed lightly out at his pale skin.

  Joy’s brow furrowed. “But…you’ve mated now. Haven’t you? That’s why you haven’t been at the office the last few days. Daveed said—”

  Arren tipped his head. “Yes, but we are just becoming established in our nest. The moment to visit my seir will come in time.”

  If Sandy was gauging her expression correctly, Arren’s announcement had caused Joy distress.

  At last, Joy composed herself. “I understand.”

  His expression said she didn’t, but Arren didn’t correct her.

  “Should I send your regards to Raashh and Daveed?” There was a note of formality in the response that put Sandy’s nerves on edge.

  “You may,” he responded crisply. “Inform them that I will return to work in the next few days.”

  “No rush. Daveed doesn’t expect you to leave your mate immediately.”

  Daveed… The name resonated in Sandy’s memories.

  “I won’t be leaving my mate. Sandy will be joining me at Spice as a second personal assistant. Betty will enjoy the help.”

  “That’s good. I find working with my mate wonderful.”

  “Daveed,” she breathed. “Oh!” Sandy strode to the table she’d left her purse on and rifled through it. The manila envelope in hand, she turned to Joy. “I forgot in the excitement. I was supposed to deliver this to Daveed.”

  Joy reached to take it, but Arren’s hand was there first. He took the envelope, opened it, and flipped through the pages inside. “Daveed would have sent this to me to deal with anyway. I will take care of it.”

  “But your mate,” Joy protested.

  “It will only mean a phone call.” It was clear that had been a dismissal.

  Joy didn’t miss it. She offered a weak smile to Sandy and left the room.

  At a loss to understand the intricacies of Xxanian families, Sandy returned to the clerk just in time to see the silk shoes that matched the dresses being set out for her to choose from.

  ****

  Arren knew whatever was preying on Sandy’s mind was coming to a head. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  She didn’t look at him. “Are you ashamed of me?”

  He nearly wrecked the car in surprise. “What? Why would you ask such a thing?”

  “Joy had never heard of me before. Why wouldn’t you tell your family about me? Why don’t you want to take me to the…nest?”

  The hurt in her voice made him want to beat his head against the steering wheel. “I don’t speak to my family often.”

  “You work with Daveed.”

  “Not really. We work in the same building. Two floors apart, but we rarely make an effort to see each other or speak to each other. We send papers and memorandums back and forth by office courier and assistants. We rarely even pick up a phone.”

  Sandy turned to look at him, her eyes wide and wounded. “Why?”

  It was his greatest failing, a disgrace.

  “What happened to make you two hate each other?”

  “I don’t hate him. We just… I’m a Subdominant.”

  “What does that mean?” Her expression said she really didn’t know.

  Arren pulled over and stared at the steering wheel. He turned to look at her. “All my life, I have been…less. Less than my brother. Less than my nephews. Less. A disgrace that my Dominant seir produced a Subdominant son. I have always been too human for his tastes.”

  “But his mate is human,” she protested. “It seems all their mates are human.”

  “My mother was. They are. He doesn’t begrudge the fem…the women being human. They were born human.”

  “You were born mixed,” she fumed. “How can he begrudge you that?”

  “Because he is the typical Xxanian Dominant. Raashh doesn’t take my mother’s attributes and genetics into account. He is a Dominant that produced a Subdominant. It is his failure, and I am a reminder of it. The only value I have to my family is in running the business. So, I moved out of the nest and live alone.”

  She touched his hand. “You aren’t alone.”

  He smiled. “No, I’m not alone anymore. Now I am the Subdominant head of my own nest. It’s an odd situation. It would be unlikely to happen on Xxania Uuaahth.”

  “And you don’t want to take me to the nest because?”

  He forced his jaw to unlock and his ridge plates to retract. “Because I refuse to let them show me disrespect in front of you. I know you would feel bad because of it, and that would make me brutally angry. It would be…unpleasant for all of us.

  “They would not disrespect you, of course. Any female added to the nest is an asset to them. In fact, being able to bind a female to myself may make me more worthy in their eyes, but only marginally so.”

  “Why?”

  He cocked his head to one side, at a loss for what she was asking.

  “Why only marginally more worthy? Oh, I hate that term.”

  Arren smiled. “I knew you would.” He sighed and ran a hand through his blond curls. “I am a Subdominant. Though I might bring female young to the nest, any males I produce will likely be…”

  “Subdominant.”

  He nodded.

  “They aren’t really that stupid, are they?”

  Holding back a laugh at that pronouncement was impossible. “That’s one way to put it.”

  “Just so I know… Are we ever going to visit your family?”

  Arren would have liked to lie to her, but that would be dishonorable. “I suppose we’ll have to. But not today.”

  Her smile was wide and heartfelt.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Four days later

  Arren turned toward the trilling phone, sighing. Back at work two days, and it seemed the paperwork and calls never ended. He would ask Betty to handle the calls while he caught up on paperwork, but he’d asked her to teach Sandy everything she needed to know about her new position as his legal aide, and he hated to interrupt that. The two women had bonded so well, he wanted to encourage it.

  The secretary Betty had left on her own desk was knowledgeable enough to handle a pre-made list of chores, but she wasn’t knowledgeable enough to handle calls for Arren.

  He scooped the phone to his ear with a greeting of “Arren Raashh.”

  “You cannot continue ignoring our seir, Arren,” Daveed informed him.

  I should have just let all phone calls go to the message box. Betty could have gone through them later.

  But who knew Daveed would call me? Honestly, Arren couldn’t remember the last time his brother called him personally. Usually, Mallory called and spoke to Arren or Betty, and Arren or Betty spoke to Mallory. He would have sworn, until that very moment, that his older brother had never willingly used a phone.

  “I’m not ignoring Raashh, Daveed. After mating, which isn’t something you interrupt, I had the priority of seeing to the needs of the company. Raashh put me in this position, so things were not left undone or half done.”

  “You have a mate, Arren.”

  A smile curved his lips at the reminder. “I know. It is not something one is unaware of.”

  “I introduced Joy to the nest less than a day after mating ended, and I only waited that long because Rayn insisted on his blasted tests.”

  And we all know you are the perfect son, Daveed. But there was no need to antagonize him. Arren’s problems were largely with their seir. Even Daveed’s attitudes could be traced back to the elder’s.

  “It’s been four days,” Daveed continued.

  “I am well aware of the time.”

  “Do you ever intend to introduce your mate to the nest?” He was losing his patience, by the sound of it. Arren was sure his brother’s ridge plates were
extended.

  I have to. “Eventually. When other priorities have been met.”

  “Other… It’s not as if the nest is on the other side of the world, and even if it was, you have a shuttle at your disposal. How many priorities can there be that make visiting Raashh a physical impossibility for you?”

  Even when you “ran the company”, most of the work I do was delegated to others. But Arren didn’t say that. Even if Daveed acknowledged it, he wouldn’t find it germane to the discussion. “We will get there in time. Joy knew all three of us before she mated with you. For you, it was a matter of form to introduce your mate to Raashh.”

  Daveed lost what little patience he had retained thus far. “It isn’t a matter of form. It is a matter of tradition.”

  Ah, yes. And Raashh loves his traditions. “In case you’ve forgotten, I don’t live at Raashh’s nest. My mate is fully comfortable with my nest. She’s been bathed with Saahaal in my nest. Doing the same in a nest I don’t live in is not my highest priority.”

  His brother growled curses in Xxan. “Consider it.”

  “I’ll consider it.” He had since before he’d bound Sandy to him. “I promise.” But he wasn’t in any hurry to go back to Raashh’s nest, where he was always treated as less.

  ****

  Two days later

  Sandy pulled her hair back into a ponytail and turned toward the bathroom. The cleaner would arrive soon, and she had to collect the last of their scattered clothing from the week into the bags.

  A sound from the living room sent her that direction instead. She’d thought Arren was in the arboretum, collecting clothes with her. What would have sent him to the living room?

  “Arren? We don’t have—”

  She stopped short at the sight of a huge, hairless male, carefully removing his shoes just outside the elevator doors. He straightened, coming to his full height of nearly a head taller than Arren was. She’d wager he carried at least another thirty-five kilos of muscle on his form as well.

  His brows raised in surprise at the sight of her, and he took a step toward her. Sandy backed away from him, nearly toppling backward over the couch in the process.