Minder by Viola Grace

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter One
     
     
    Aleyn Zargas was exhausted. The sex with Baileez had been great, but it was time to leave. Meeting him had been easy, he was always on the prowl. Getting him into bed had been as simple as running a hand up his thigh and a heated kiss. Escaping from him now was her only chance.
    As soon as he knew that she was pregnant, she wasn’t going to go anywhere, so now was her only window of opportunity. Too bad he wouldn’t remember her.
    “Bai, you have to wake up. Just a bit.” His hand skated up her thigh and his mouth sought her breast. “Not that much, sweetie.” She touched his mind and his hand relaxed, his breath fell into the even breathing of sleep. This was the hard part. “You did not meet me tonight. We did not meet at any of the events. Your lover, Vaiu, was here with you. She was here all night and well into the morning. Aleyn never existed.”
    He frowned and she moved to reassure him. “Aleyn was not on Hickom, she was just a name that you read in a report. The woman you wouldn’t breed.” He smiled and reached for her again. She read it in his mind. He had bred her, she would be his. “No, you never touched her. Don’t know what she looks like, smells like or anything else.” As she mentioned his senses, he called them up and she blanked them out.
    She removed any trace of her mind and body from him carefully, then took up her gown and left him slumbering with a frown on his face. He wasn’t happy, but she was free to live her life.
    With their child forming in her belly.
     
    * * * *
     
    “Son of a bitch! What the hell happened to my head?” Baileez gripped his head in his hands as he sat up. He rarely overindulged in drink so this headache was out of scale.
    “Good morning, sir. How are you this fine morning?” Von, his manservant, was attentive as always.
    “Wondering what the hell hit my head in my sleep.” He shook his head gingerly. “What did I get up to last night?”
    “You were seen with a rather attractive woman last night. Vaiu was jealous and made a number of comments to her companions who spoke to your staff.”
    “I thought I was with Vaiu last night.”
    “No, sir. She was irate and took another to her bed.” Von straightened the bedclothes as he left the bed and blinked in surprise. “Perhaps this belongs to your mystery woman.” He held up a gauzy strip of fabric that could have been a scarf or a shawl. Based on the stains on it, it had been used while they coupled.
    “Give me that. There was no mystery woman. It was Vaiu. I am sure of it.” He groaned and gripped his head again. Every time he thought of the night before, pain wracked him. “I think I need to go to medical.”
    “I think that is a wise decision, sir. Take this with, they may be able to identify your mystery woman.” He held the scarf for Baileez.
    The instant that he took it, he turned to head for the door.
    “Sir! You may want to put some clothing on before you go to Medical.”
    Baileez blushed and grabbed some trousers, a tunic and a robe from his wardrobe. Struggling into everything at once was not a good idea and he had to slow his dress to yank on the tunic, pull up the trousers, shrug into the robe and then step into the boots. Given his state of mind, he checked his reflection in the mirror and made sure that his cock wasn’t hanging out. It would sort of fit his current mood.
    Von walked next to him through the halls of the palace, keeping close but not so close that it looked like Baileez needed help. They walked into the Medical Quarters with their heads held high and he imperiously lifted his hand to summon a physician to him. The instant that they were in a private room, he collapsed, groaning and clutching his head.
    “Sir? What is the matter? A bad batch of brandy?”
    “No. I can’t remember last night. Nothing.” He thrust the veil of fabric at the doctor. “And this woman was with me. The problem is that there is nothing in my mind