by Faye Avalon
Hateful man. She would never accept that her future would demand that she allowed her body to be used in such a cheap and awful way.
She held his gaze. “What else?”
He shrugged, his expression one of disinterest. What was left of Lahna’s limited optimism shattered and she all but sagged on her horse. Everything pointed to escape remaining her only choice, and with the way things were looking it really would have to be soon.
“There is perhaps one other thing,” he said as if the suggestion had just occurred to him. “Something that might fulfil both our requirements. It will enable you to remain on Limani and ensure that nobody could ever make you leave.”
She looked up, her spirits lifting slightly at the tone of his voice. He meant the king. That the king could never make her leave.
With effort, she tried to tamper down the hope that burst into her chest. Whatever it was, if it involved keeping her dignity, and not risking her life on tumultuous seas, she would take it. Anything that kept her safe from the king’s vengeance.
But… “You said it would fulfil both our requirements.” Her instincts were on high alert. He was not the type to do anything out of the kindness of his heart. “How will it benefit you?”
“It will aid my standing amongst the leaders of the neighboring islands. Limani has always been the figurehead of the island archipelago, and with that responsibility comes the need for respect and confidence in the prince’s skills to govern. While my skills as a warrior are not in question, I have as yet to be tested as overall governor of the islands. Before my father died, and I assumed the role, I was considered a man who enjoyed the good things in life, a man who liked to drink, fornicate, and fight. Taking a consort will go a long way in proving that I am no longer that man. That my intention is only to serve my people and my land, which includes every island under the protection of Limani.”
His last words faded on the breeze as Lahna caught and held the one word that sang out like a cannon shot.
Consort.
Her hand went to her throat and she tried to focus on what he was saying.
“You will have maids, fine clothes, and the deference of every islander. I will ensure that—”
“Wait. I… I don’t understand. You… You want me to be your consort?”
“It would solve a mutual problem.”
Lahna’s hand pressed against her windpipe, as if to steady the beat of her pulse as it hammered there. His consort. For no other reason than to improve his reputation. To bolster his standing with the people. It was insane, impossible, unthinkable.
Her frantic thoughts tried to make sense of it, scrambling back and forth with the implications. But only one seemed capable of pushing through the jumble. If she agreed to this option, it that meant that they would … that he would…
And if they did it could put her in an untenable position. She could easily fall with child. It was difficult enough planning her escape when she only had herself to consider, but carrying a child in her womb? It would be inconceivable to contemplate putting an innocent and precious being in harm’s way. She had never considered herself maternal, but already Lahna knew that she would protect her baby with everything she had.
Which meant that if she found herself with child, she would be forever bound to this island, and to Caelan.
The thought chilled her blood, stole her breath. Only when she felt remotely steady again did she manage to take a deep breath. “From what I gather, you already have the support of your people,” she said, clutching at straws in her attempt to persuade him he really didn’t need to resort to such drastic measures. “They admire and respect you, which means that surely your reputation as a good leader will spread to the other islands soon enough.”
“I am a warrior prince. My people admire and respect that role. My father was well loved, respected, and admired for his intellect, for his ability to rule and to rule well. For my people to see me as such a man will take transition. Acquiring a consort is the first step in that journey.”
“It is madness,” Lahna said, her knees shaking even astride the horse. But even beneath the maelstrom of confused thoughts, she knew that she had to keep a clear head. If she refused this suggestion outright, he might dispatch her with due haste to that awful Doe Park. She had to stall a little, think all this through. But in the meantime, it was perfectly reasonable for her to voice her concerns to him. “We do not know each other.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. “And you wish to know me?”
“If you are expecting me to consider such a role, yes. I’d want to know everything about you.”
His expression hardened. His jaw went tight and his nostrils flared. Why did he suddenly look so fierce? So angry? Was it because he did not welcome his outrageous solution any more than she did?
“The only thing you need know about me is that I will satisfy you between the bed sheets.”
Her face went hot and dampness pooled between her legs. She didn’t understand how he could surprise her, confuse her, and yet at the same time draw such an amazing reaction from her body.
“Would we not talk at all?”
He shrugged. “I prefer silence when I make love to a woman, but should you wish for conversation I can no doubt oblige.”
“That’s not what I meant.” And sometime soon her body would cease this insufferable firestorm that rushed through her from breast to groin. “Where I come from a man and woman who are to wed converse. They tell each other about their feelings, their lives, their plans.”
He gave her a guarded look. “Here on Limani also, but our joining will not require such ambitious undertaking.”
“Then it would be a sad union, if the only thing we were to share was a bed chamber.”
“Believe me, there will be nothing sad about our union. I will keep you pleasured too well for such misgivings.”
With his eyes on hers, he dismounted. He came around and held out his arms in invitation.
Lahna considered remaining on her horse, but realized she could take advantage of this turn of events. She could work it to her benefit. It made sense to let him believe she would agree. That she would become his consort. If he thought she accepted her fate, albeit reluctantly, perhaps he wouldn’t keep such a tight rein on her. Then when his back was turned, her escape would become easier.
Leaning down into his arms, she allowed him to help her off the horse.
****
Caelan tried to bank down the thought of Lahna in his bed, concentrating instead on the fact that she had all but confirmed her intention to discover his plans. She wanted them to talk. She wanted to know everything about him. What she had omitted to say was that she really wanted to know everything about his plans to reunite the islands under Limanish rule against Zomotia. Information she could then take back to the king.
The witch really thought her charms were that persuasive? He enjoyed a secret smile. What she didn’t know was that while their union would greatly benefit him, it would give her no such advantage. Even denied information from his own lips, Lahna would not be given access to converse with others about weighty island matters. He would ensure that his court knew that loose tongues would carry harsh penalties. That the princess was to be engaged in light conversation only, and would mostly only enjoy the company of her maids.
Lahna would also realize that on becoming his wife, on becoming princess of Limani, she would never be able to return to Zomotia anyway. Which meant that, in the remotest chance that she should discover Caelan’s plans to take back the islands, there was no possibility of her feeding such information back to the mainland. Besides which, any such undertaking would be considered high treason and she would pay the ultimate price.
But first he had to make her agree to his proposal in order to gain control over her. He had no doubt she could be a capricious woman, and if he allowed her to believe that all they would share was a bed, for the hell of it she might just decide upon another of the options he had outlined. He wa
sn’t sure why the thought of her belonging to another man riled him so. All he knew was that he preferred she would be his, and his alone.
He stepped back with her in his arms as he gave a command to the horses to steady. “Let us walk and discuss my proposal in more depth.”
He closed one arm around her and with the other gathered the horses’ reins. They began to walk, the sun-warmed sand soft beneath their feet. He could feel her tense against him, the way she tried to create distance between them. He only tightened his hold.
“You have to see that my proposition is the best solution to our current predicaments.”
She didn’t look at him, but kept her gaze turned away and out to sea. “Forgive me, my lord, but I do not see it as such.” When she looked at him, he saw a glimpse of defiance in her eyes. “Whatever I decide to do, whichever of your options I choose, it makes me little more than a slave, a captive. I will belong to a man, a man not of my choosing. I ran to escape such incarceration. And yet, I have run straight into an alternative reality which gives me no respite from chains that would bind me.”
Caelan knew he had to convince her that her best—her only—choice was to become his willingly. If he could not achieve this, there was every likelihood she would run again at some point. He remembered Kassaro’s instruction to seduce her. Woo her. Make her believe that he truly desired her as his wife for reasons other than politics.
Seducing and winning Lahna was of extreme benefit to him and to his people, but the thought of enjoying her body in the process momentarily outweighed all the other factors involved.
Almost…
By the gods, he needed to keep his wits sharpened. What was he thinking? This was all about politics. It was about exerting his position as Prince of Limani. His warrior status was widely celebrated, his leadership skills on the battlefield never in doubt. But his skills in matters of court and island law were, as yet, untested. He needed the confidence of his people, and those of the other islands. Taking a wife would go some way to addressing that need. It would demonstrate how serious he was about his new role, and how he wished to put his whoring days behind him and become a prince his people could be proud of. The leaders of the other islands would embrace his counsel, would see him as solid and dependable. Besides which, an heir to his kingdom, which would one day soon include the neighboring islands again, would also be beneficial.
He turned to look at Lahna, imagined her belly large with his child. Since the image was not altogether a disagreeable one, he looked away.
“I do not intend holding you captive,” Caelan lied, ignoring the part of him that dealt in honor and truth. “Nor will any chains bind you.”
“Then I would be free to roam the palace without guards? To explore the island of my own free will?”
The hint of hope in her tone irritated him. It brought into sharp focus the underhand dealings into which he was about to embark with her. “Alas, that would not be possible. As princess you would be vulnerable. There may be those who would enjoy using you to bring about my demise.”
She stopped and faced him, surprise in her expression. “Really? But your people are loyal. I imagine their brave warrior prince can do no wrong in their eyes.”
He tried not to smile at her scornful rendition. “These are dangerous times, with much at stake for many. I fear the king has spies everywhere, not only on Limani, but out in the islands also. He has the means by which he can convince others to take up arms in his favor.”
“Indeed, I have knowledge of that. My uncle was so seduced. As a girl, I remember my uncle as a kindly man, filled with principles and ideals. The king has amassed the wealth and the power to offer much, and when people refuse to do his bidding he has no compunction in forcing them in some way.”
She seemed so sad, so reflective that Caelan touched his fingers to her chin and turned her head until she faced him. “And what was your uncle promised by offering you to the king?”
“He was given land and gold.”
She lowered her eyes, her lashes falling long and dark over them, like a curtain that had come down to shield the truth. The softness that had moved into his chest morphed again into suspicion. He was a fool to allow these intimate moments with her to soften him, to coax him to take his focus from his goal of protecting his people, ensuring the safety and sovereignty of his island, of uniting the archipelago.
Ever since he’d lifted Lahna from the sea, felt her in his arms, he had been a man victim to unsteady moods, swirling thoughts, and dangerous feelings. It was long past time to return his eye to the matters at stake and to see this woman for what she was. A temptress sent to make him question his goals, his plans. To entice him to let down his guard, to share his secrets. He wondered what she had been offered by the king. Land? Gold? Freedom?
While he could not believe the despotic king would offer any woman her freedom, perhaps Lahna had been swayed by the promise of goods and chattels.
In which case, his efforts to seduce her must ensure a better offer.
“While I cannot allow you to roam the island freely after we are wed, as my bride you will have everything that your heart desires. I will afford you every benefit that my wealth affords. You will have my protection and my respect.”
He curled his fingers around hers, brought her hand to his lips. “You will have the protection and respect of my warriors, who will also guard you with their lives.”
Keeping his eyes on hers, he kissed her hands, taking care to rub his lips gently over the soft, yielding flesh.
“You will be mine, and therefore no longer a pawn for another man to bargain with. You will be free from the king’s influence. As my wife, as my princess, you will belong to me. No other man can touch you without the threat of his demise. It is the law.”
“It is the king’s law,” she said, making Caelan fear that she didn’t view anything he’d promised her as being of benefit to her in relation to what she had already been promised. “I didn’t think it applied to Limani.”
It hadn’t. Women had been given certain rights under Limani law, but the day his ailing father had been tricked into submitting all rights of ownership and leadership of Limani to Zomotia, all such autonomy had effectively ceased.
With grim irony, Caelan realized that the rule of ownership of women was one that currently suited his objectives and one he would therefore spin with all relish.
“It does since Limani returned to Zomotian rule.”
With her head low, she raised her eyes to his. “But what if Limani becomes independent again?”
He drew his shoulders back. Oh, she was a clever one. “There is little chance of that.”
“Really? And yet I’ve heard talk of fighting to have the islands brought back under the protection of Limani rule. That you plan to march on Zomotia when you have sufficient military might.”
Caelan froze. Damn the palace gossips. Had he not sworn his council, his warriors, his palace staff to extreme secrecy? Had he not ensured that all papers referring to his plans had been securely locked away, with only himself, Kassaro, and two of the elders having the means to release them?
“Rumors always abound when new rule is thrust upon a country,” he said as dismissively as he could muster, although the words burned in his throat. He dearly wanted to put those plans into action immediately and take his country back. “There is enough to keep my people occupied without talk of uprisings and invasions.”
Something lit her eyes. He wasn’t sure of its nature, but knowing her guile he assumed she chose to believe the rumors over his terse words.
Denied the immediacy of going into battle against Zomotia, Caelan focused on what he could currently control. Wooing and seducing a woman. It had never failed him before.
Once again, he raised Lahna’s hand, brushed his mouth across her knuckles. He took care to soften his eyes, relax his tense shoulders. “Your skin is like the rarest peach,” he said, touching his lips to the back of her hand. “Soft, warm, fragrant.”
Her hand stiffened beneath his and she moved away.
“Why do you resist me?”
She shook her head. “I cannot think. You have given me a choice that is hard to accept, and you confuse me with your kind words and … and actions.”
“It is not my intention to confuse you. It is only my intention to demonstrate how much I find myself wanting you.”
Her hand went to her throat, a gesture she used often. At least, she did so in his presence. Was it another practiced response? One meant to give him a false sense of her innocence?
He took hold of her hands again and brought her up close. Thunder stamped a hoof on the sand beside him, obviously impatient to continue on their journey. Caelan reached out to offer a steadying stroke along his mane, careful to keep Lahna close as he did so.
“You want me, too,” he said firmly, holding her eyes captive. “You try to resist, but your body cannot lie.”
She swallowed, but her fingers curled around his. “I do not understand what is happening to me.”
He resisted a smile. “We are experiencing an attraction, Lahna. What you feel is a signal that we are meant to join.”
“To … to join?”
“As lovers.” Another tiny jerk and she was in his arms. “You are meant to be mine. You are meant to have me give you pleasure. To be inside you, our bodies joined as one.”
Her whole body felt tense against his, but she raised her chin until her mouth was close to his. “I have heard it is like this for a man and woman.”
“Exactly like this.” A whisper away, his mouth brushed hers. “Let me have you, Lahna. Let me make you mine.”
Her body stiffened further, but he pressed his lips to hers, determined to conquer her reluctance. It took just one tentative sampling before Lahna returned his kiss. Her hands came to his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin and rocketing sensation through his bloodstream. Her mouth was soft, but hot and needy. He had one heady moment when he wondered if she really was the innocent she claimed to be, then she drew back, her delightful breasts lifting and falling as she tried to steady her breathing.
