Three Square Meals Ch. 094

Realising Edraele would be occupied for a minute, he approached the sisters and crouched down in front of them. "You two okay?"

Tashana leaned closer and whispered, "It's just a little... unsettling... to see how much they love her and how much she cares about them. Edraele's just so different now from the woman I knew growing up."

Irillith edged forward on her seat and murmured in a soft voice, "She's not the same woman, that's the reason why." Putting an arm around her sister she continued, "But the new Edraele really does care for us."

John placed a hand on theirs. "Her feelings for you both are absolutely genuine. We just talked about you earlier... she wants the same thing you do."

Tashana slid one hand to her slim stomach and raised an eyebrow.

He smiled and nodded. "Yes, definitely. But first she wants to be there to care for you in a way your mother never was before. Just give her a chance, you'll see."

The twins leaned forward to hug him and he enjoyed their embrace along with the soft kisses they each planted on his cheek. When they sat back he turned to see Edraele and Alyssa were now seated in the centre of the horse-shoe layout of sofas, a space obviously intended for him left between them.

John took a seat between them and put his arms around both Matriarchs. "This feels lovely," he said, glancing at each of them in turn.

"How your home on Valaden will be," Edraele said, reaching across him to clasp Alyssa's hand.

The blonde let out a happy sigh and snuggled closer. She glanced at Faye, who was fluttering impatiently behind the sofas. "We're all set, Faye."

"Okay, just one second!" the sprite replied, bringing up a holo screen in front of her audience.

While Faye was getting the footage ready, John looked around the room and was pleasantly surprised to see that the girls from his crew had spread out amongst their guests. There was lots of furtive whispering going on as they chatted quietly to the Young Matriarchs and the trio of bodyguards. Even Alyssa had turned away from him to speak to Tsarra, who was seated beside the teenager. The short-haired House Perfaren Matriarch glanced his way over the blonde's shoulder and gave him a shy smile, before focusing on Alyssa once again.

John knew his playful Matriarch was up to something, but he hadn't quite figured out what. When he looked at Edraele, she burrowed into his shoulder and rested her head on his chest. He caught the hint of a smile as she deliberately avoided making eye contact with him.

Faye cleared her slender holographic throat to get everyone's attention. "May I present to you, the Battle of Khalgron!"

The overhead lighting dimmed to soft side-lighting and Faye's impressive collage of the battle began to play. This was the much longer footage that the sprite had showed John and the girls in the aftermath of the battle, and even though he'd seen it once before it still made for compelling viewing. For nearly an hour they watched raw footage of the girls blowing apart hordes of Kirrix troops, while the Invictus fought against impossible odds against the vast insectoid fleet.

There was a hushed quiet through the movie, punctuated only by the occasional sharp intake of breath or gasp of fear. John could only imagine how dramatic the footage must be to the Young Matriarchs, who would never have seen just how intense combat could be. To his surprise even Edraele jumped at several frightening moments, and he could feel the tension in her body as the battle drew to a close. When the movie ended, Faye slowly raised the lights to let everyone's adjust to the brightness, illuminating nine stunned blue faces.

"I had no idea..." Edraele murmured, gaping at him in awe. "You've all become so powerful!"

Looking around he saw similar looks of shocked disbelief from the Young Matriarchs and surprisingly, all three assassins as well.

"I'm sorry, we didn't show you the battle to scare you," John explained, darting a worried glance at Alyssa. "We thought it would be easier to just show you the footage than describe what happened with the Kirrix."

"You're like gods!" Kali Loraleth blurted out, staring wide-eyed not just at John, but the rest of the girls as well.

Dana grinned and nudged the young Maliri woman playfully with her elbow. Leaning closer she whispered something in Kali's ear that made her blush a dark blue. Whatever the redhead said shook her out of her shocked state very quickly, as Kali giggled and shot a speculative glance in John's direction.

Alyssa had an arm wrapped around Tsarra who appeared to be just as stunned as the rest of them had been. The blonde glanced at John and said, "It's important they all got to see this. If... I mean when we get into a fight with the Progenitor, he'll be using armies of women using those Reaper Cannons just like Irillith did. We have to prepare and get ready for that, because I don't think we've got any chance of avoiding it."

The Terran girls took that as a cue to start talking quietly to the Young Matriarchs, while the twins and Jade spoke with the assassins. John could feel the tension in the room dissipating and he glanced down at Edraele to see her lost in thought, her expression deeply troubled.

Stroking her shoulder to get her attention, he asked softly, "I didn't expect you to be shocked by that. You were there every step of the way through the Battle of Ashana and at Regulus."

She shook her head, an unsettled look on her face. "It's completely different just hearing your thoughts to actually seeing the kind of danger you put yourselves in. Now I can't help thinking back to Ashana again and you running out of psychic power mid-battle! I had no idea what kind of danger that put you in!" Her purple eyes looked haunted and it was obvious she was badly shaken. "Alyssa's right, we've got to ramp up the amount of power we give you... I can't leave you exposed like that again!"

"It wasn't your fault," John said to calm her. "We pulled through the fight and no one got hurt... well nothing we couldn't patch up anyway."

Unfortunately, the reminder of Rachel being shot by neutron bolts and screaming in agony did little to assuage the Maliri Matriarch's anxiety.

John was about to try a different tack when Alyssa stood in front of their sofa, holding out a hand expectantly to each of them. "Come on, it's time we three had a chat."

Edraele rose unsteadily from her seat, but not from a tummy full of cum which she had largely absorbed; she was still reeling from seeing those intense firefights. John stood as well, looking at Edraele with concern. He darted a quick glance at Tsarra to check she hadn't been left on her own, but the young woman was now speaking to Calara and Leena Ghilwen.

Alyssa led them out of the Officers' Lounge with a confident strut, then put her arm around Edraele as they walked down the corridor to their bedroom. "Hey, don't be upset..." she said with an encouraging smile. "Remember the plan? We're going to fix those power issues over the next few days!"

Edraele nodded, shaky at first, then with a sudden decisiveness. "You're right, we should have thought of this months ago!"

John stepped aside at the bedroom door to let his two Matriarchs in, then followed them to sit on the bed beside them. Alyssa and Edraele moved back a little across the covers to give him room to join them, glancing at each other in that telltale way, which the girls always did when they were deep in telepathic conversation.

He watched them for a minute, before he laughed and said, "I thought the three of us were going to have a chat? Maybe you can let me in on whatever secret plans you've been hatching?"

Alyssa smiled at him and he could tell she was desperately trying to curb her excitement, which was as intriguing as it was alarming. She glanced at her fellow Matriarch and the two approached him, pushing him back on the covers then lying down on top of him beside each other. The physical contact was very nice, as was the thought that he had two of the most powerful women in the galaxy wrapped in his arms. One was at least his equal in psychic power, while the other essentially ruled the most powerful species in this corner of the galaxy.

"Yes, and we're here to satisfy your every whim," Alyssa said with a seductive purr.

"Anything you desire, My Lord..." Edraele agreed, with a similar smouldering look in her eyes.

John was hard as steel in seconds with the promise in their lovely eyes and his hands roamed lower, exploring their delicious curves. He managed to compose himself with a herculean effort and said, "Okay you get full marks for the seduction routine, but didn't we come in here to talk?"

Alyssa shared a glance with Edraele and then gave him a coy smile. "Later... you two have unfinished business first."

"I want to earn my engagement ring," the Maliri Matriarch agreed, an eager gleam in her eyes.

He frowned and said, "I told you before you don't need to earn it. What's this about?"

Alyssa leaned closer and whispered, "Edraele's right... the rest of us earned ours the hard way. She's no exception."

"This is essentially an XO meeting after all," Edraele reminded him. "Don't you have a tradition you like to uphold?"

Sudden understanding came like a bolt from the heavens and John couldn't help laughing. "You won't accept my wedding ring until we've had anal sex?!"

"A ring for a ring, it's a fair exchange," Edraele replied with a shrug, a playful twinkle in her eyes.

Alyssa giggled and nodded. "You buggered all your fiancées before proposing. Poor Edraele will feel left out if you don't make her squeal on your huge cock before she agrees to be your wife. After all, you plan to regularly fuck us in the ass while we're pregnant, so you should give the poor girl a chance to try it before she agrees to an eternity of being taken by you in any way you like..."

John smiled and said contritely to his Maliri Matriarch, "I apologise. I hope you can forgive my lack of courtesy..."

"You're forgiven," she said with a playful smile.

Alyssa grinned at them both. "Now, we're going to the bathroom, so I can prepare her for you." She pretended to hesitate for a second before she added, "She's never taken anything back there before. Do you mind if I warm her up first, or do you want her 'virgo-intacta' as it were?"

Edraele saw his look of surprise and said, "Remember it's a terrible cultural taboo amongst the Maliri. What you're about to do my bottom is considered to be very naughty..."

John couldn't help grinning at Alyssa as he said, "Make sure she's ready, I don't want this to be painful in any way."

The blonde bowed subserviently, glancing at him under her long lashes, the feverish look of excitement in Alyssa's cerulean eyes quite apparent. "Whatever My Lord commands..."

His two Matriarchs climbed off the bed then walked hand-in-hand to the bathroom. He watched Edraele saunter towards the door, admiring the taut curves of her cheeks and hardly believing that she was going to allow him to plunder her spectacular ass.

John heard the shower activating and relaxed on the bed, waiting for his two Matriarchs to return. Even though he was eagerly looking forward to being with Edraele, he'd used up a sizeable portion of his psychic energy in healing her earlier, so he seized the opportunity to have a brief rest before they returned. The comfortable bed lulled him into a light sleep and try as he might, he struggled to keep his eyes open.

*John, we're ready for you now...* Alyssa murmured to him telepathically, her voice whispering through his mind.

John started awake and flushed with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry! I tried to stop myself from falling asleep, but I must've been-" Edraele glided into his line of sight and he stopped mid-sentence when he set eyes on her.

She was wearing a stately purple Matriarch's gown, which emphasised her rank and status, while showcasing her stunning figure. Her long white mane was up in an elaborate hairstyle, a few tendrils hanging down to frame her exquisitely beautiful face. Alyssa had expertly applied cosmetics to the Maliri woman, highlighting her high cheekbones and delicate features, the overall effect making Edraele look unquestionably regal. With her perfect poise, she was the epitome of a majestic Maliri Queen.

Edraele arched an elegant white eyebrow as she looked down at him. "I obviously didn't do a very good job of seducing you, not when you fall asleep the moment my back is turned..."

John sprang across the covers and practically vaulted off the bed so he could stand beside her. "You look absolutely breathtaking!" he exclaimed, his voice ringing with sincerity.

Alyssa drifted over to join them, looking similarly gorgeous in an elegant long evening dress, although she'd deliberately made an effort not to outshine her fellow Matriarch. "We sensed you'd fallen asleep, so I took some time to properly wrap up your present for you..."

He reached out to touch Edraele, but his hand wavered an inch from her slender torso. She looked so magnificent, he felt reluctant to risk sullying this flawless work of art standing before him. Edraele smiled as she heard his thoughts and stepped closer so that his fingers brushed her waist, initiating that first contact between them.

Enthralled, John murmured, "I don't know why I've not seen it until now..." He walked around her, trailing his fingers around her waistline as he admired every inch of her statuesque figure and elegant bearing. He traced the curve of her hip with his fingertips, drifting on to the firm swells of her upper cheeks, then back around to caress her toned stomach. "You were born to be Queen."

Edraele looked startled and shook her head. "I promise that wasn't what I was trying to imply. I remembered how much you love formal wear, so I just-"

John gathered her in his arms and kissed her, dipping her backwards as he did so. Edraele swooned in his embrace, her eyelids fluttering as she responded to his passionate kiss. When he lifted her so that she was standing before him again, she had a distinctly non-regal blush to her azure cheeks.

Alyssa approached them and slid a hand across the Maliri woman's back, stroking her affectionately. "It makes sense. The rest of the Matriarchs all treat Edraele as their leader anyway. Why not make it official?"

John nodded, studying the shocked woman standing before them. "There's no one in the entire Protectorate I trust more." He looked into Edraele's purple eyes and continued, "You know how much I value your opinion. What do you think, Matriarch Edraele Valaden? Would you like to become Queen Edraele of the Maliri Protectorate?"

Edraele managed to overcome her awe and stood taller, holding herself with pride. "If you choose me as your Queen, I will serve you to the absolute best of my ability, my Lord."

"I know you will, I don't have any doubt about that," he replied with a smile. "But is it a wise move politically? Will your official appointment as the highest ranked woman in the Maliri Regency put our alliances with the other Houses at risk?"

She thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. "Even if it weren't for the dramatic effect you've had on the demeanour of the other Matriarchs, I can't see any of them openly objecting, or even resenting it privately for that matter. Alyssa is correct, the Matriarchs have deferred to me on all the occasions we've met to discuss matters affecting the Protectorate. Relations between us have transformed from being vicious and homicidal to almost... pleasant, now."

John gathered her hands in his and said quietly, "Is it a role you'd be comfortable with though? I know you'd embrace the title if you believe it's what I want you to do, but what do you want, Edraele?"

The Maliri woman gazed off into the distance and shook her head in amusement. "As you know, I still have all of my former personality's memories. There were two things Edraele craved more than anything in the galaxy and she would have been willing to make any sacrifice to obtain them. First, was a cure for the tumour in her head, to avoid the agonising death that awaited her..."

Reaching up, John caressed her temple. "That was something I would have been more than happy to help her with, if only she'd asked. And the second?"

"To be Queen of the Maliri," Edraele said with a wry smile. "It's ironic that she's been given the two things that she desired the most, yet isn't here to actually savour them."

"It's unfortunate what happened to her," John said, a look of regret on his face. He brightened then and squeezed her hand. "But by choosing the course she did, we were able to eventually meet... and I like this version of you very much indeed."

Edraele smiled at him for the compliment, but she stepped closer and gazed into his eyes, her expression serious. "Don't feel any regrets about what happened to Edraele; she was a monster and deserved a far worse fate. If my former personality had been given the title, she would have abused her power to crush her enemies and exact vengeance for the innumerable grudges she held. Under her, the Maliri Kingdom would have become a terrifying presence in the galaxy. She would have made life intolerable for the people under her rule, and wasted no time subjugating the neighbouring empires."

"And what will the new Edraele do, if given that opportunity?" he asked, searching her face.

"Whatever I can to protect my people from the Progenitor that threatens their survival," Edraele said earnestly. "But they've also suffered for too long under tyrannical leadership, so I'll strive to give them the opportunity for a happy and prosperous future, free of the terrors of the past."

"Good answer," Alyssa said, hugging her fellow Matriarch from behind. "I think she'll make a wonderful Queen."

"So do I," John said, nodding his agreement. "I'll defer to your expertise on making the official announcement, my Queen."

Edraele looked touched and she reached up to caress his cheek. "Thank you for trusting me with something so important. I promise you'll never regret the decision for one moment."

They shared a three-way hug, with John and Alyssa warmly embracing the new Queen of the Maliri Protectorate.

When they eventually separated, Edraele gave John a coy look. "I believe we had something else planned this afternoon before we were sidetracked. I don't know about you, but I've been looking forward to this very much..."

John had his hands on her waist, but he let them slip down to her bottom and gave it an experimental squeeze. The feel of her firm cheeks yielding to him, had him as hard as steel in an instant and Edraele smiled when she felt the heat from his erection against her belly.

"Perhaps we should move to the bed?"

"We're all wearing far too many clothes, too," Alyssa agreed. John gave their elegant outfits a look of regret and she quickly corrected herself. "Or we could leave them on..."

He shook his head and ran his fingers over Edraele's back. "The gown looks wonderful on you, but I wouldn't want to ruin it. I want to leave you in a state of well-satiated exhaustion by the time we're done..."

Alyssa grinned at him, looking thrilled. "We? I was expecting to just be a spectator."

"What do you think?" John asked Edraele, gently rubbing her back. "I'm sure you'd have a great time with just me, but with Alyssa involved too..."

Edraele glanced over her shoulder and smiled at the blonde, "Would you like to help John break me in for the first time?"

"You're so fucking sexy," Alyssa purred, leaning closer and kissing the blue-skinned beauty.

While the two of them kissed, John took the opportunity to further explore Edraele's body. He brushed his hands across her chest, following the supple curves of her breasts with a light touch of his fingers, before massaging and teasing her erect nipples. The Maliri woman moaned into Alyssa's mouth, responding instantly to his expert touch.