by Stacy Reid
Be on her knees whenever he commanded? The slow thud of her heart as heat stirred low in her womb was distressing. She was a warrior elite, not a concubine. She should not be captivated by the wicked intent that leaked from his words. What had she been thinking? Surely there must be another way to complete her mission.
No, there is not. The castle Shelah is otherwise impenetrable.
Her eyes followed the hand that lifted and traced the curve of her breast with a fingertip. Her stomach quivered with anticipation, and something akin to dread danced down her spine. She ached for a firmer touch. Should a simple caress be so incendiary? If her beast had not screamed mate at his scent, she would not be standing so calmly in front of him, allowing privileges she’d never granted another man. She dug deep and tried to find the essence of her darkness and came up blank.
She moaned when he reached down and glided his hands over her calves and massaged. Silky smoothness ran over the arches of her feet, the insides of her shin and to her thighs. He gently heated his palms with his fire as he explored her. The breath lodged in her throat and her sex throbbed.
“Can you fight at all, hari?”
“No, my father was never able to afford a master for his daughters.”
A credible deception.
Her body relaxed, and she swayed into him. She purred deep in her throat as what could only be desire weakened her limbs. It was warm and languid. He turned her around. She bit her bottom lip and shivered at the wet trail of his tongue at the globe of her ass. He brushed her hair from her hips and stung her flesh with soft, sensuous bites to her mid-back. Oh.
He tugged, and she stumbled into his lap.
Reaching around her hip, he raised her leg and draped it over his knee. She felt vulnerable and exposed when he repeated the motion with her other foot so that she sat on his thighs, splayed wide.
“You tempt me when no other has done so in months.”
The deep rasp of his voice sent pleasure through her.
“So, I do have a use.”
“Distraction?”
Tehdra heard the unspoken danger. “More like appeasement.”
He shifted her tresses on her back, and she tensed. The thick, silky length hid her Cerja, and if he were to drape her hair over her shoulder, she would have no explanation. She relaxed slightly when he merely sifted the curtain of strands through his long fingers.
He tightened his arm around her waist and jerked, flushing her back to his chest.
“Let’s see how sensual you are.”
Tehdra moaned at the rough murmur at her nape.
Slight sweat slicked her skin from the heat that leaped from his palm as he cupped her breast with gentle pressure. She arched into his touch, and he rolled her nipples between his thumb and forefingers. Tehdra sighed at the exquisite pleasure. Arousal flared to life within her, her pussy slick with moisture, her breasts swelling in desire.
He trailed a finger down her stomach, where he lightly skimmed her slit.
Tehdra tensed in anticipation. He slowly stroked one hand down her stomach, and skipping her aching sex, caressed her thighs. Each time he came close to her core, she tensed, and he retreated. He did it over and over until she started to subtly writhe in his lap.
“Touch me,” she demanded, need shivering through her, starting the flesh between her legs to throbbing.
He chuckled, smoothing his hand between her legs, and cupping her with firm pressure. She hissed, pleasure licking at her skin as he ground the heel of his palm above her nub. Her clitoris was swollen, so large and sensitive she gasped as he circled it, then pinched.
He ran two fingers through her damp heat. Tehdra jolted, and her heart hammered. He glided them over her folds and lightly pinched the pulsing nub before sliding his fingers down to rim her entrance. Sweat glistened on her skin as he slightly heated the fingers caressing her core.
He pushed the two long thick fingers inside of her, and Tehdra gasped at the sharp sting.
“You are untried.”
His tone was curious…mayhap even puzzled. What had he expected?
She dazedly peered down at the hands between her splayed legs. The darkness of his skin against her pale body was utterly shocking and arousing. He pushed the two fingers deeper, then withdrew and thrust in again, slowly, but with no hesitation. She felt burned, stretched, and deliciously impaled. She wanted more, and the hunger without her beast froze her. How could she hope to retain control if he made her crave like this?
Tehdra instinctively clutched his hand to stop the onslaught of confusion.
The king froze, and her muscles subtly coiled in deadly awareness.
“Remove your hand.”
Something dark shifted inside her at the utter coldness of his voice. She willed herself to drop her hand and not respond.
“Why did you stop my movements?”
Tehdra opted for honesty. “I did not like what I was feeling.”
“Are you here to be my hari?” he asked with soft menace.
“Yes.”
“First lesson.”
He spread his thighs wider.
A soft hiss escaped her lips as pinched her nipples, his touch almost cruel. “You are mine to do with as I please. You are a hari in my kingdom. Your purpose is always to please me.” He cupped her core possessively, and then with a twist of his wrist, seated three fingers deep inside her.
“I can do anything I wish with you,” he said as he worked her leisurely but hard.
The sting heightened, and she hated the raw punch of arousal that ripped through her core and traveled to her nipples hardening them until they ached just short of pain.
She felt when the sun dipped, and a hiss of malevolence sang in her blood as her demon beast stirred.
Mine.
With a ruthless will, she reinforced her psychic shield. The beast buried inside her was a creature of blood and rage, and while she sometimes utilized the brutal and powerful chakra, if she allowed too much connection while in Nuria, it would wrench control from her, to claim the king.
Ajali nipped her neck and dragged his fingers through the alarming slickness he’d created. Raw heat shimmer in her belly and his roughness made her want more.
“Ajali,” she moaned his name raggedly. She was drawn to fire and entertained the thought to resist and launch herself from his lap. But she ruthlessly held herself still. If not, all her plans and deception would be for naught, and she would have failed her mission, and her personal oath to serve her king until she had atoned for Vlad’s treachery. No, she lied to herself. She remained in his lap because every part of her cried out that she sat in her mate’s arms, and she may never be this close and intimate with him again.
He ran soaking fingers over her clit. Lightning streaks of pleasure whipped through her. Wetness rushed from her as his movements became firmer. His thumb flicked out and glided over her nub with pressure. Her nipples strained, and her mind rushed to keep up with the sudden switch from erotic pain to exquisite pleasure. Desire spiked, and her body vibrated from the hotness of her arousal.
His hands bunched roughly in her hair and tilted her head. Their gazes held. His eyes glowed wicked, his expression filled with sensuality, with lust. His chest and arms, carved with muscle, held her close, and hard, sensual lips descend on hers, kissing her with hunger.
Her first kiss.
Tehdra instinctively parted her lips, and when his tongue searched for hers, she tentatively met his. Never had Tehdra imagined a meeting of lips could be filled with such pure carnality. Pleasure torpedoed through her like molten lava. His taste and fragrance, a heady combination, left her giddy as his mouth seduced hers with exquisite thoroughness. His flavor, dark and rich, exploded over her tongue, and Tehdra came alive in his arms as she tasted him back with soft, untapped hunger.
He drew his mouth from hers and chuckled as her hips started to writhe in rhythm to the fingers he thrust her. “You are going to clasp my cock like a vise,” he promised, kissing her betw
een the words he whispered. The timbre of his voice was raw and heated.
She clenched on his fingers.
“Perfect,” he praised, and then claimed a hungrier kiss, before trailing his lips lower. He sank his teeth into the side of her neck. The rough action sent a bolt of lust to her core, causing her to pulse and clench.
He smacked her wet core, and a jolt of shock shivered through her body. He slapped lightly at her clitoris with each descent of his hand. She shivered on his lap, and on the fifth slap, a bolt of lust speared her like lightning. Everything in Tehdra melted. Ecstasy claimed her, and she could do nothing but ride out its wave. Her skin glistened with the sweat that ran in rivulets to tangle with her mane of hair. She could say with certainty her mission was compromised. Even without her beast, the man had her thoughts muddled.
He was wonderfully dangerous
Ajali’s heart struck like a damned war drum in his chest. What had just happened? He sucked in a sharp breath. In his entire sexual life, his control had never been so tempted. He cursed. Tehdra twisted in his lap and faced him. He had been immune to such visceral lust over the years, and in the dark of the night, sometimes he’d allow his mind to touch on the possibility of having some personal emotions except for the desire to save his kingdom. He’d always banished the need. Now…this. He glanced at his surprising temptation. A blush highlighted her pale skin, and her eyes were heavy-lidded with arousal and what looked like shock.
She was untutored.
He had intended to test the truth of her words, and he filed away the knowledge that she had lied. Was it only to elevate her family that would urge her to do something so reckless? What he'd not expected was the swiftness of which she'd made him lose control.
He was hard and straining against his trousers. Everything in him wished that she was not a virgin. Even with oil and her arousal easing his way, it would be difficult to get his cock inside of her. The raw need that pulsed through him demanded he takes someone more experienced.
He removed his fingers circling her tightness. She followed his movement with her eyes as he raised his hand and licked her essence from him. He smiled when a hot stain bloomed across her cheeks.
He would keep her, purge her from his system, and then return her to her village with enough wealth to keep her family happy for a lifetime. He could not retain her for long as she had no fighting skill. Tehdra would be a liability that he had no time to handle…and he did not like the ease with which she threatened his restraint. Even now, he would waste time and resources to retain trainers to take her through the basics of fighting, to give her a chance in the event of an attack. He would have his sister undertake her training.
The door flew open, and he snapped his head up as Bastien and Uriah strode in with Lady Sascha dogging his steps. Tehdra tensed, and a flush covered her entire body. He ran his hands down her torso and cupped her pussy, arching a brow. She narrowed her eyes in warning. Interesting. Still, Ajali tugged a coverlet from the nearby sofa, and draped it over her, hiding most of her body.
Ajali did not think she comprehended what being a hari meant. She seemed ignorant of what was required, and he saw her need to cover herself more securely as Bastien, Uriah, and Lady Sascha entered the room further. If it was his pleasure, he could give her to Bastien or any high-ranking official that visited his castle for the night. Ajali’s women served every desire that he had; they all understood this before entering his domain.
Just who was Tehdra? Suddenly, it became even more imperative that he kept her close until he unearthed the anomaly of her. She did not belong. Therefore, she was dangerous. For the second time since encountering her, warning stirred in his gut.
Testing her, he teased her flesh under the coverlet, and she gasped. The paleness of her skin served to highlight her apparent mortification.
It intrigued him.
He was used to women trained in the sensual arts, where a partially naked form on display would not cause any discomfort. In fact, they would have delighted in their sensuality.
Uriah cleared his throat.
Ajali tore his gaze from the confounding woman. “What is it?”
“It’s Ceran, my liege. He has returned,” Bastien said tension rife in his tone.
Heat pulsed inside of Ajali.
Ceran one of his most trusted and skilled warrior should not be here. He was on a mission crucial to the future of Nuria. Ajali looked to Sascha.
“Forgive my interruption, my liege,” she said, her eyes flicking to Tehdra. Lady Sascha brought her gaze back to him. “I am aware that my brother is hurt, and I was refused entrance to the war room.”
Lady Sascha and her brother, Lord Ceran, had been in Ajali’s service for years. She enjoyed the privileges of being the king’s hari, and Ceran, an elite warrior.
Ajali met Uriah’s grim expression over Sascha’s head with false calm. For her to be denied entrance to the war room meant that Ceran hovered at death’s door.
“I will be with you shortly. Bastien, stay.”
They flashed, blurring with speed from the room, and leaving Ajali alone with his high chancellor. And Tehdra.
“Have the hari Tehdra placed in my wing. Assign servants to see to her needs and have caftans and jewelry readied for her. I wish to have a loop for her navel as well. See it done.”
Shock froze Bastien’s features. “Your wing, my king?”
“See it done,” Ajali said. His tone brooked no refusal.
His chancellor nodded stiffly, aiming a look of disdain Tehdra’s way. She, in turn, gripped the coverlets to her and gave him a serene smile.
Cold disapproval emanated from Bastien. “It seems as if my king will keep an untrained hari. Follow me.”
Was Ajali mistaken in the cunning triumph that flashed in her eyes?
He would keep her close. Ajali gathered her and placed her on the chair. He then flashed from the room, trusting his high chancellor to see to his commands.
One of his most elite warriors had been harmed. The mission he’d sent him on was compromised.
The enemy was growing bolder.
It begins.
3
The king’s wing boasted three hundred rooms and was the size of a small village. The chamber she had been assigned was richly furnished. Instead of gray stones, the purest of marble constructed the room. The floor itself was covered with the softest, most decadent carpeting with intricate designs. Tapestries graced the walls, and they were inlaid with gems of amethyst, emerald, the purest of diamonds and gold creating a royal splendor. Servants peppered the place, but no warriors. Were they lax with his protection, or that confident of his fighting skills? Either way, it was worrisome. It made him an easier target. She explored all the chambers within seconds. Except for the guards, she’d passed in the great hall that led to his wing, the wing was unmanned.
Power hummed under Tehdra’s skin as the sun completely sank and her darkness rose. She found it most curious that the stories bandied about the Darkan legends held truths. It was said before the first Great War of Amagarie, over millennia ago, the Ricarkri—ruler, and king of the dark ones made a bargain with the Demon King in a bid for power to subjugate and dominate all. A bargain that destroyed one of Amagarie’s suns, leaving the Darkage in perpetual darkness and filling their citizens with chakras from demons—a chakra so malevolent it could not tolerate the light. She'd never thought mere sunlight would have so completely suppressed her darkness.
Protect.
The hiss of her beast had her going cold.
Yes, …we must protect our king Gidon Al Shra, she pushed back through their psychic link. Her darkness went silent in the cage of her mind, but Tehdra could feel its deadly intent. If she were not careful, it could try and wrench control from her. Its only desire was to kill and destroy, and though she wanted to be a reliable and capable warrior, she was cautious of the beast’s chakra she used.
It would only want her to protect Ajali, where her real focus must be on her king. She
had successfully infiltrated the impenetrable castle Shelah. Tensions rode high in the Darkage as everyone waited for the attack that would claim the life of their king. Grief tightened Tehdra’s throat. Their realm could not afford to lose Gidon. He possessed a bold plan to raise his people from the mire of darkness they had been trapped in, to a life of prosperity. Of the seven realms of Amagarie, the Darkage was feared, never to be looked on with favor, only revulsion. Their reputation was so reviled that she could not approach King Ajali now for an audience and warn him that treachery abounded within his world. She would probably be killed on sight for being a Darkan.
She would start her search for her kind tonight and uproot them from Nuria. With luck, as a hari, she would not be watched too carefully in the coming days or be given tasks that would interfere with her mission.
Tehdra frowned as she remembered the king’s lesson. To be a part of his harem meant relinquishing all rights of her person to him. He could command her to fulfill anything he demanded, and if she resisted, it was at her peril. It was also possible he suspected her of being a spy. If it was only mere desire he felt, why would Ajali have his chancellor deliver her to his wing? Intrigued, she’d asked the chancellor if she was not to be a part of the harem. The chancellor had blandly told her that she would stay with Ajali until he tired of her, and then she would be returned to the harem or her village. Either way, she would be wealthy.
She stepped into the shadows and speared her senses, seeking the whisper of danger. Careful to move with stealth even in the mire of the shadow world in the event she encountered one of her kind.
Ajali breathed through the fury tightening his chest in a vise grip, narrowing his gaze on the stone walls of his war room instead of focusing on the murderous rage. He had sent Ceran on a mission that had been highly secretive and classified. Yet, one of his best, most trained spies had been uncovered. He had fought in a battle so brutal it had left him nearly dead.
Ceran had been attacked in the Taryllion—thousands of miles of land separating the borders of the seven kingdoms. Someone knew that he had been sent towards Avindar, the kingdom of lightning, and they had orchestrated an ambush. Ajali had spies embedded deep in all the kingdoms. Knowledge was a power that he vied for with ruthlessness. The operative he had in Avindar had not reported at his usual time.
