Ancalagon - 86. Chapter 86

I placed my hands over his, wanting to touch. I laced our fingers together and leaned my hand into our connected palms. “We need to find some allies who can prevent that from happening, because I don’t think I’d like jail.”

He huffed. “As if I’d let Seedrah put you in a cell.”

“Instead of sneaking us back on the planet, we need the rebels to help us make as big an entrance as possible. Do you think they can do that?”

“Maybe.”

“And Seedrah… is he loyal to you or to the Kardoval?”

Garjah hesitated. “He would not do anything that harms any of the Kardoval, but he would also strive not to harm me or mine either.” He sighed. “I would rather avoid putting him in that position. It is bad enough I left him to assume my role without complete training.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “They put Seedrah in charge of all the security forces instead of someone more experienced? How do you know?”

Tapping his forehead, Garjah said, “He has the skills and the memories, just not all the real-life experiences to bring them forth. Still, no one else can take over for me.”

“Okay. So I talk to Ases, you reach out to Seedrah. We just have to arrange for a publicly televised landing and meeting with people who want to arrest us, and hope that doesn’t happen.” I winced, envisioning the look on my parents’ faces if they succeeded after all we’d said and done before the Council.

We needed this to go well… I kept rambling on, “So big splash is the plan. Supporters. No excessive guards. The Kardoval painted into a corner publicly so they can’t make us disappear as soon as Ases turns off his mech.”

“I believe in our ability to direct these events into our favor. You are very skilled,” Garjah said. He squeezed my hand. “But you need to rest first. First shift is early enough to start.”

Sighing, I said, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep.”

“Do you want me to help you?”

“What does that entail?” As much as I gravitated toward Garjah the moment we were near each other, needing to touch and be touched, I wasn’t aroused at the moment. I was tense, my muscles almost aching with the stress of fleeing the planet, traveling to Ardra and the political maneuvering.

“You naked and on this bunk,” he said simply.

I opened and shut my mouth. How did I say I didn’t want to have sex without hurting his feelings? Maybe if I stripped down and he saw that I wasn’t hard?

I shucked the tunic, lifting it off my torso with both sets of arms and then tossing it onto the table. I pushed my pants off and dropped them on top of my shirt. My feet were already bare. Garjah sat, staring while I did my perfunctory strip tease, but then he patted the bunk.

“Up here, face down.”

“Okay.” My voice wobbled, and I wasn’t that steady climbing onto the bunk and lay down with my head resting on my folded arms. It wasn’t cold in the room, but it wasn’t warm either. I shivered when the bunk shifted. I turned my head to look. “What are you doing?”

“Just getting something.” Garjah rifled through a bag on a shelf. He grinned, crowing his triumph. When he turned he had a big smile and something clenched in his fist. “You’re gonna love this.”

Maybe I would. I held in the sigh when Garjah climbed onto the bed next me, closing my eyes. I decided to just let myself feel. What I expected was his hands on my ass, maybe parting my legs.

He did start with my legs, but the tube he’d gotten was apparently oil, and he’d warmed it in his hands before he placed them on my calves and thighs, stroking and rubbing upward, moving back down, then doing it again. Then he started on my back. Two pairs of hands worked to ease my tension. He kneaded my upper back near my shoulders gently but ran the knuckles of his wide fingers down my spine and into my lower back repeatedly as he sought out the knots keeping me tense.

I groaned and melted into the pillow. “So good.”

“Shh, just relax.” He sought out every single knot and tense spot on my back and obliterated them, then worked his way down my arms and palms. The sounds I made had to have turned him on, but my breathing slowed and I didn’t even care that I was half hard. The pain I’d been feeling was minor, but full body, and it amazed me how I’d pushed it down so much that I didn’t even notice how bad it had gotten until Garjah made it go away.

Dimming the lights, Garjah curled around me. I snuggled into his chest. “Sleep,” he said in my ear, and I couldn’t do anything else.

Double beeps woke me. “What are you doing?” Garjah was sitting at the table with his comm propped up. Why wasn’t he in the bed with me?

“I’ve sent messages to Seedrah and Chaintrik. They will bounce ahead of the ship, but it will take some time before we receive any responses.” Garjah spun on the seat to face the bunk. “I also ordered food to be delivered and sent an invitation to Ases’ comm so that he can join us after you have bathed yourself.”

“Do I stink?” I lifted an arm and sniffed. I didn’t smell anything.

Garjah smiled. “No.” He came over to the bunk and slid back inside. “But you were so relaxed, your scent was amazing. I don’t think I can keep my hands off you.”

“Oh.” I flushed. “I could go for another massage.”

Garjah slid a finger between my pecs slowly. “How about I do your front this time?”