Eli took his hand off his sword hilt and bid his visitor to enter.
Jaelin slipped into the room as silent as a cat. She wore her plain brown hair tied in a severe knot at the nape of her neck, and she dressed in bland-colored clothes that did nothing for her features. Unremarkable in every way. The kind of woman few noticed or remembered, and that was way Jaelin was so good at her profession.
Jaelin bowed to him as a man would.
“Learn anything interesting about our hosts?”
“A few things, Your Highness. I included them in my brief.”
“Nothing that helps with my current mystery.”
“Heard about the guards. Sligo put us all on alert and taught us how to identify traces of yetha root.”
“Does make you wonder why anyone would go through that much expense and effort for a slave. Especially a slave that’s been in the palace for more than a decade.”
Jaelin frowned. “Interesting, Your Highness.”
“Qumaref’s negotiations failed with Arren and K’tel.”
“You think the two are related.”
Eli lifted his shoulders. “I’d like to know what we’re up against, and you can go places a man can’t.”
The prince told Jaelin what little he’d learned, but he kept his suspicions to himself. He didn’t want to bias her findings.
“I will need time, Your Highness,” Jaelin said. “While she’s the subject of a lot of gossip, getting real information will be difficult. Premal will be easier. He’s a very public figure. Feared and hated.”
Eli paused for a moment. Many had said the same of him, and he hadn’t cared. Perhaps he needed to reassess that.
“Premal struck first, and I’ve put things in play so he knows I’ve hit back. The next move is his. The more information I have on what that move will be, the better.”
Jaelin bowed in acknowledgment and left his room.
Eli glanced back at the sleeping form in his bed. Nothing was going according to plan, but he couldn’t find it in himself to be angry. Taking off his jacket, he slid into bed beside her and smiled as she curled up in his arms.
Negotiations resumed the next day, and Prince Eli didn’t return to his rooms until the moon was high in the sky. He was in a dark humor as he sprawled back in an overstuffed chair.
Auburn brought him a class of cold water and a tray of crisp fruits.
He took the water.
“You’re upset.”
“Tired of listening to idiots talk so they can hear their own words. Even my patience has its limits. Only bright side was Premal wasn’t there.”
“That’s very unusual.”
A dark smile curved Eli’s lips, and he sipped his water. “He was ill, or so I understand.”
“Are negotiations going well?” Auburn asked.
“I don’t expect them to this early, but I also expected a level of professionalism that’s missing.”
Auburn helped him slip off his coat, and she loosened the gold dragon clasp on his tunic.
He caught her fingers. “What are you doing?”
“Helping you relax.” She slid behind him and rubbed his shoulders.
Eli stiffened. Normally the touch of another would have made it impossible for him to relax, but this was different, softer, calming. He eased back into her hands, his tension melting beneath her fingers
The prince closed his eyes and let himself enjoy her ministrations. “Where did you learn this?”
“Something we’re taught,” she said.
He cracked an eye. “Very thorough education.”
“I was the sultan’s, and this was a skill we’re allowed to practice on the eunuchs and other ladies in the harem.”
Eli winced, but he couldn’t hold tension under her deft hands.
“Most eunuchs are slaves,” Auburn said. “They didn’t have a choice in their assignment.”
“To do that to a boy...” Eli shook his head.
“There are far worse fates for a slave. They enjoy many comforts for their sacrifice.”
“Barbaric no matter how you look at it, and I’m trying to strike a trade agreement.”
“You might feel differently if you ever have a daughter.”
“Not many girls born to the Dracasan line, but if I have a daughter, she’ll learn to protect herself,” Eli said. “And I’d assign a Knight of Valor to be her bodyguard. They embraced Dracor, and a Knight would rather die than disappoint Him.”
“You would teach a girl to fight? To wield a weapon?”
“Any daughter of mine will be born with enemies, and I’ll make sure she’s equipped to deal with them. I may not be the best teacher, but there are several female Knights. One of them will help her.”
Auburn narrowed her eyes. “There are female Knights?”
Eli smiled at her skepticism. “Damn good ones. I’ll introduce you to them when we get to Tamryn.”
“You allow women outside the royal family to wield weapons?”
“I don’t allow Knights to do anything. They do as the Dragon God wills. Dracor blesses every Knight Himself.”
“You’ve had a tiring day.” Auburn offered Eli her hand. “Rest would be good, and you’ll have another long day of listening to men who love their words tomorrow.”
A smile tugged his lips. “Tempting offer, but I shouldn’t.”
“It’ll be more comfortable with our combined warmth in the cold desert night, and I understand you’re not interested in more than that.”
He traced his thumb over her plump lips and along her smooth cheek. “I am interested, and that’s why I shouldn’t sleep beside you.”
She focused on the floor.
“You don’t understand,” Eli said. “And I don’t know how to explain it to you. How to convince you it’s wrong to make love to you when you’re with me out of obligation.”
“I want to make you happy.”
Eli touched her cheek so she’d look up at him. “What makes you happy?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me.” He dropped his hand to his side as the truth of his words slapped him.
He couldn’t remember the last time someone else’s happiness had meant so much to him. How had this slave girl undone him when trained courtiers had never gotten to him? Something to figure out so it never happened again.
“I have a few things to get done, and then I’ll be to bed.”
Auburn nodded and left him to his notes and papers.
Eli closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, knowing that turning away from her was proper even if it wasn’t what he wanted. Desire bit him, and he forced himself to focus on his mission and the strands of information that laced the idiocy he’d sat through that day.
Eli wrote down the important points and began formulating a plan.
The moon was high in the sky when the prince shoved the notes away and stretched. Sleep tugged on him, and he kicked off his boots and trousers. Smiling at the freshly polished boots waiting for him, he unbuttoned his shirt and set it aside.
Eli glanced at the bed and frowned when he saw it was empty.
His frown deepened when he found Auburn curled up on the floor beside the bed. A throw pillow cushioned her head, and she’d tucked a thin blanket around herself.
The prince sighed, scooped her up off the floor, and deposited her in his bed. Her eyes fluttered open, and a sleepy smile curved her lips when she saw him.
“I thought...” she murmured.
He tucked her beneath the crisp sheets of his bed. “Neither of us is sleeping on the floor. We’ll figure out something better tomorrow.”
Auburn nodded, her eyes fluttering closed again as she cuddled into his warmth.
He knew it was a lie. Once he’d slept beside her and woken up with her next to him, he didn’t want to sleep alone. She was more addictive than any drug.
Wrapping her in his arms, he held her close as he caged his desires and let exhaustion overtake passion.
Chapter 14
Over the next several weeks, Premal avoided Eli, but the prince had played court games too long to think he’d won. Eli tightened his security and waited.
Despite the lingering threat, the prince attended diplomatic meetings in the morning and again after the heat of the day. In the afternoons and evenings, he returned to his rooms and Auburn.
It felt like coming home.
Strange, considering he was in a desert far from Tamryn. Stranger still to find himself so happy, happier than he ever remembered being.
Perhaps it was the simplicity. Auburn enjoyed their time together as much as he did, and he had only to contend with Sultan Pandhuka. The sultan wanted the same things Eli did, though they had yet to agree on how to get them.
Still, there was no Dragon Church. No politicking for the throne. No engagement to a woman that barely tolerated him. This was an oasis before he returned to the storm of royal succession.
The prince shoved the uncomfortable thoughts aside and started to dress when Auburn caught his eye.
What’s on your mind?” Eli asked.
“I have something for you, something to make the meetings more bearable.”
The prince raised a brow as she walked over to his wardrobe and withdrew a coat, tunic, and trousers similar in style to what he’d brought with him.
He trailed a hand over them, and a smile curved his lips. “Silk.”
“A special weave so it’ll look like your Tamarian clothes, but these should be more comfortable in the heat.” She turned over the hems for him to inspect the workmanship. “They took longer than I’d planned, but they were much more difficult for the craftsman than my new dresses.”
Dresses that marked her as his.
His conqueror roared as he stared at the tunic then up at Auburn. She was his, now and always. Eli leashed the thoughts as he stared into her cornflower blue eyes.
She’d thought of him, learned about him, and cared enough about his comfort to see these made for him.
Oasis, indeed.
She bit her lower lip and stared at her feet. “You don’t like it?”
Eli touched her arm so she’d look at him. “It’s perfect.”
Color tinged her cheeks, and a smile curved her lips.
The prince changed into her gift. She’d gotten the sizing perfect, and he was already cooler. “Not sure I’ll want to wear anything but these while I’m in Qumaref.”
“I’ll arrange for more.”
Eli nodded his approval as he slid his arms around her. Thumbing over her upturned lips, he swallowed back his desire.
The Twins be damned, Auburn still considered herself a slave. He would not take advantage of her.
The Twins.
His breath hitched.
Eli had never given much thought to the goddesses of love. They hadn’t figured in his life, and he preferred it that way. Or he had once.
Staring down at Auburn, pain stabbed through him and left an exquisite ache. Eli kissed her on the forehead and forced himself to leave her and see to his duties. The Twins hadn’t been a part of his life, and he couldn’t afford that to change.
Not if he wanted the throne.
Sadness slowed the pounding of Auburn’s heart as Prince Eli left for more meetings. She almost laughed at herself. It had to be the first time a slave girl was sad to see her master go.
Strange, perhaps, but she enjoyed Eli’s company. He was intelligent, interesting, and he treated her well. Better than anyone had ever treated her.
Eli wasn’t a good man, not like the Knights of Valor in the stories she’d read, but he wasn’t evil, either. He was driven, excelled at getting what he wanted, and principled. She listened to the other servants talk about him, and the Prince of Tamryn terrified most of them.
Auburn suspected that’s exactly what he wanted.
Yet, Eli could be kind, and he held to his principles. He was her master, and while he didn’t agree with slavery, that didn’t change her status in Qumaref. A status he’d never used even though his body responded to her.
She wished he would.
The thought surprised her, but for the first time in her life, she wanted a man’s attention. She wanted Eli to hold her, wanted him to share her bed, and wanted him to teach her all that could be between them.
Biting her lip, she remembered the feel of his strong chest. The heat of him. The clean masculine scent of him. Warmth pooled in her belly and radiated out through her limbs. Closing her eyes, she embraced the memories and the desire they built.
A shiver teased along her spine as she imagined him showing her all that could be between a man and a woman. She’d been trained how to please her master, but it had been academic.
Before Prince Eli, she’d never known a man’s touch. Never known the bone-deep pleasure of a kiss. Had never known the heady warmth of waking up beside someone wrapped in their strong arms.
With Eli, she wanted to know all that and more.
Auburn glanced at herself in the mirror. Other than the flowing dress, she appeared the same as she had a few weeks ago. But she held her head higher now, walked more erect. She was part of the Tamarian delegation, part of Prince Eli’s entourage. The hard and determined prince didn’t listen to just anyone, but he listened to her.
He’d promised her freedom. She hadn’t meant to give him her heart in return.
She wanted her feelings for him to fade to distant admiration. Something easier. Something less intense. Something he could reciprocate.
Her heart squeezed, and the heat of desire froze into a lead ball.
Respect, thankfulness for taking her to Tamryn, perhaps even fear were the correct things to feel for Prince Eli. Anything else on her part was foolishness, and she alone would suffer the price of that foolishness.
Besides, she should be glad he wanted nothing more of her.
If Tamryn was anything like Qumaref, it would be much easier to find a husband if she still had her virginity.
She thought again of the boy in her visions and clutched a pillow to her chest as tears slipped down her cheeks.
Chapter 15
Eli returned to his rooms in a dark humor, and seeing Auburn waiting for him worsened his mood. Resisting temptation had never been his strong suit.
Auburn poured him a large glass of water and seasoned it with twist of orange. She selected several of the finest fruits and brought them to him.
“Thank you. The wine was strong tonight.” Eli downed the water, and Auburn poured him a second glass.
“The negotiations are going well?”
“As well I expected. It’d be better if there was a way I could excuse myself early when there are feasts and dancing girls, but I stay as long as the sultan does.”
“It shows him respect.”
“The food is over-spiced, and the girls...” Eli caught himself.
“They make you feel desire.”
“Did the sultan have this type of entertainment before I arrived? Or is this for me?”
“The sultan puts on the show for you and for himself. He’s not as young as he used to be, and many Qumarefis associate virility with power.”
Eli ran a hand through his black hair. “Doesn’t help keep me on the straight and narrow.”
“Someone may know that and is trying to get you to do something they can use against you.”
“I’m not a Knight of Valor. I’m not bound by their code.”
“You have your own code.” Auburn knelt beside him and touched his arm. “Few in Qumaref understand the difference between the Knights and the Tamryn Crown. Most think all Tamarians follow the Knight’s code.”
Eli reached up and took a lock of her hair between his thumb and forefinger. “You don’t understand what it costs me to follow any code.”
She stared up at him, her eyes liquid blue pools. “I’m not beautiful like the harem dancers, but I could help you ease the discomfort of the entertainments. I’m here to serve.”
“You are not j
ust here to serve.” Eli stood and paced the room. “You deserve better than that.”
Auburn sat back on her heels. “Perhaps you could teach me more of that game. Chess, you called it.”
Eli ignored her milk-pale skin and soft curves as he got out the board. Sucking in a breath, he focused on the game, his keen mind quieting his physical needs while he discussed various strategies with her.
Auburn bolted upright in bed, a strangled scream escaping her lips as she scanned the room for intruders. A sliver of moon peeped through the silk drapes, its faint white glow the only light in the cool room. The curtains around the bed rustled with a night breeze, but there was no other movement.
Eli sat up beside her and held her close. “You’re all right. Just a dream.”
She was shaking so hard her teeth chattered, but the familiar warmth of him comforted her. She stared into his deep blue eyes, touched his cheek, then hugged him.
He stroked her hair and held her as he waited for the night terror to pass.
Sucking in a steadying breath, Auburn turned and met his gaze. “I need to tell you something, for you to listen even if you don’t believe me.”
“Tell me what?”
“Tomorrow, it will get very hot in the meeting room.”
“It does every day,” Eli said.
“Hotter than normal. Hot enough that the sultan will suggest a break in the gardens. Don’t go. And don’t go anywhere without Sligo. He needs to always be with you.”
Eli rocked her and stroked her hair, but he didn’t agree.
Fear burrowed into Auburn, and her blood froze in her veins. “Your Highness, master, please listen to me.”
“Why is this so important?”
She closed her eyes, and the image of the boy wavered then disappeared. “It just is. Please don’t go into the gardens. Don’t go back to the meeting room alone. Please.”
“Let’s get some sleep.”
Her tears dampened his chest, and he stroked her hair, but the hard lines of his face promised nothing. She eased back against the bed, still wrapped in his arms as she pillowed her head against him. She laid there for a long time before his strong steady heartbeat lulled her back to sleep.
To Love a Prince (Knights of Valor Book 1) Page 7
