“But instead, you were married,” she said coolly.
“Thalia—”
She moved away, trying to keep her footsteps slow and even, when in truth she wanted to run and run, and never stop running.
When she finally reached her bedchamber, Thalia noticed that the guards positioned themselves outside the doors.
Uzza and the handmaidens were waiting for her inside. “Majesty, would you and Prince Ashtyn wish a meal brought to the chamber?”
Thalia shook her head. “Nay, I want nothing. Later you can ask the prince if he is hungry.”
Nothing seemed real to Thalia as the handmaidens undressed her and rubbed her skin with exotic oils, then helped her into a thin white robe. Thalia endured the fuss, hardly paying attention as they brushed her hair and added oil of frankincense to her long tresses.
Thalia’s thoughts were fixed on what would happen later when her handmaidens left and her husband came to her. Her heart raced when she thought of lying beside Ashtyn.
Uzza finally shooed the others out of the room. “Majesty, forgive me for speaking plain, but you are just a girl. Has your mother prepared you for this night?”
Thalia’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “Had I been betrothed to a man of Egypt, my mother would have told me what is expected of me.”
Uzza picked up the brush one of the handmaidens had put down and began brushing Thalia’s hair. “I have observed that Prince Ashtyn admires you. I have seen how his eyes follow you whenever you are in the same room with him. He is a man of great honor and will teach you what you need to know.”
Thalia wanted only to get this night behind her. She was embarrassed, but had to know, so she asked, “Is it assured I shall be with child after this one night?”
“Nay, Majesty. But your husband is a virile man—he will soon plant his seed in you, and a child will come of it.”
Thalia motioned Uzza away and stood. “I will not be needing you anymore tonight.”
Uzza bowed and backed toward the door, closing it softly behind her.
“Mother,” Thalia whispered, glancing upward. “I do so need your wisdom. What am I to do?”
Thalia froze when she heard the door open and the sound of bootsteps behind her. Turning slowly, she watched Ashtyn advance toward her. He’d removed his armor and wore only a short tunic. When he stood before her, he made no attempt to touch her, but his eyes swept her from head to toe, lingering on the golden hair that lay like silk against her creamy shoulders.
“You are an exceptional beauty, Thalia. I believe there has never been a woman born who could rival you.”
He was flattering her—it was what she expected. “I would like you to get this thing done as soon as possible.”
He smiled slowly. “This thing?”
“Whatever you do to plant your seed in me.” She reluctantly met his eyes. “I am not completely unintelligent. I know something of what will happen.”
He spoke gently, “You are frightened, and there is no need to be. I will do nothing you don’t want me to do. If it is your wish, I will go to my own quarters until you are ready to receive me.”
She closed her eyes and let out a long breath. “I would have you do it now.”
“Thalia, there is no reason to fear me.” He took her trembling hand and raised it to his lips. “Do you trust me?”
“You know I don’t!”
He turned her into his arms. “There is no reason you should. I am grieved that you have been forced into so many situations that were not of your choosing. But I promise I will be gentle with you.”
Ashtyn’s understanding touched her heart, and her head dropped onto his shoulder. “I do not know what is expected of me.”
“Yet you have no fear of standing before me in this thin robe.” His lips touched her ear, and he felt her shiver. “It does not bother you that I can see all of your beautiful body.”
She remembered how he could seduce with words, and she had felt the power of his seduction before. Oh, aye, he was good with words, but she would not be trapped by them—not tonight, not ever.
“My mother once told me that in Egypt we do not put as much emphasis on nakedness as they do in other countries. I suppose it is because our garments are made to keep us comfortable in Egyptian heat.” She looked at him. “Are you offended by my apparel?”
Ashtyn’s calloused hand drifted down her arm, and she could feel the raw power radiating from him.
“Thalia, I can scarcely think when I am near you. I dare not look too closely, or I will not be able to breathe.”
She stepped away from him and gathered the filmy robe about her as if to cover herself. “I know this is as difficult for you as it is for me.”
In truth, Ashtyn could hardly catch his breath as he looked at her long, shapely legs clearly defined through the gauzy material. His hungry gaze climbed up her body, and he saw that she wore nothing at all underneath. If she had a flaw, it was not visible. He quaked inwardly at the thought of taking her to bed and introducing her to the joys of the flesh.
“What if I told you I am exactly where I want to be?” he asked gently. “You must understand, my whole life has been moving me toward this moment. I have known since boyhood that you would one day be my wife. I don’t think I ever doubted you would eventually be found.” He stepped toward her. “I cannot tell you what I felt that night in your mother’s garden when I saw you for the first time.”
Thalia stared into his eyes, searching for the truth.
“I saw how much you were admired by those men, and I thought to myself: that cannot be—she belongs to me. There was one man in particular I wanted to run through with my sword. He kept touching you. But I soon saw you were annoyed with him, and I watched you leave the room.” He touched his lips to her forehead. “And then you came to me in the garden, and I thought one of the goddesses had come to play a trick on me.”
“You speak pretty words. Have you said these same words to other women?”
Ashtyn watched her eyes flame like fire, and when her gown fell open, his mouth went dry. “Nay. I have waited a long time for you—but none of the wait was as difficult as the voyage to Bal Forea.”
Her eyes were wide with doubt. “Why was that?”
His arms slid around her, and he brought her closer to his body. “To see you every day and not be able to touch you was agony.”
“You were untruthful with me,” she said accusingly. “You never told me I would be forced to marry you, yet you knew it would come to pass.”
“An untruth by omission. There are many things I did not tell you about me, but if there is anything you want to know now, you have but to ask.”
“What can you say that I do not already know?” she asked, her voice still edged with anger, though she did not pull away from him.
Ashtyn’s mouth rested on her forehead, and he could smell the fragrance of her hair. Closing his eyes, he called on all his strength not to ravish her. “As I grew older, Thalia, you became more real to me.” His mouth moved to the tender spot just beneath her ear, and he felt her shiver as he continued his slow seduction. “Each night before I sought my bed, I would say your name aloud. It became a ritual with me, as if you were somewhere speaking my name.” He gripped her shoulder and planted a kiss there. “Of course, you did not even know I existed at that time.”
“I do not believe you,” she whispered, her head falling back against his shoulder.
“Yet, it is true. I have known for a long time we belonged together, while you have had only a short time to learn that your fate was joined with mine.” His long fingers tangled in her hair, and he brought her face close to his. “On the voyage to Egypt I felt the space between us narrow, and when I stepped onto Egyptian soil, it was as if I could feel you all around me. That night in the garden, I thought my heart would burst out of my chest.” His mouth touched her brow. “In Egypt I could finally put a face to the one I was to marry.”
“None of this seems real,” she
whispered, nestling tighter against him.
“We were destined to walk through life together.”
Thalia’s blue gaze was filled with uncertainty as she looked at him. “Help me understand.”
“I am not sure I can even help myself,” he murmured, just before his mouth touched hers. At first Ashtyn felt her body stiffen, but then it become pliable and shaped to his. Her arms twined around his neck, and he lifted her against his body. She was so small, so light to carry, he feared he might hurt her in the heat of his desire.
Ashtyn placed her on the bed and then removed his tunic so he wore only a loincloth. He watched Thalia’s eyes widen and her lips tremble, and he knew he’d stirred her passion.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he lifted her onto his lap, cuddling her against him. “I want more from you than this one night.” He brushed her hair out of her face. “We are tied together, Thalia. Do you not feel that?”
Thalia swallowed, aching and throbbing with emotions that were so new to her, she didn’t know how to react. What she felt was his hard muscled body against her naked skin. At last she found her voice. “We are tied together out of necessity.”
He frowned and stared at her. “I await the moment you feel as I do. I wish for it.”
“Then you may have to wait forever, Ashtyn.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ashtyn pulled Thalia close and tilted her chin, whispering, “Sweeter than honey is this mouth I waited so long to claim.”
Thalia’s lips parted to receive his kiss. She felt herself floating back onto the bed as his warmth gravitated toward her. Her eyes drifted shut when she felt him lie down beside her and press his body against hers.
She whimpered deep in her throat as he eased her out of the thin gown and tossed it aside. This time when Ashtyn pulled her against him, he had slipped out of his loincloth. Thalia felt the swell of him against her thighs, and heat washed over her in waves.
Ashtyn tilted her head so he could look into her eyes, but Thalia closed them, fearing he would read too much of what she felt. She gasped, and her eyes flew open when she felt his mouth touch her breast.
“Do not fear,” he said gently, his head dipping once more to take the nipple into the warmth of his mouth.
Thalia felt like she was melting inside as he suckled her breasts. She had never known a woman could feel this way.
Touching his mouth to hers, Ashtyn’s hand moved down, circled her navel and moved across her stomach. Her mouth opened to his as his hand moved even lower.
Her heart was beating so fiercely she could scarcely breathe. When Ashtyn’s hand touched her most intimate place, she moaned with need. A cry tore from her lips when he slid his finger inside her, stroking a spot that made her call out his name.
“Sweet wife,” he said in a husky voice. “We will discover each other tonight.” His mouth was so near hers, she turned to catch it with her lips. “You have only to say the words, and I will stop.”
She shook her head, her lips pressing against his while he gently massaged her. “You touch me deeply, my heart,” he said, tearing his mouth from hers.
Thinking he wanted her to touch him, she shyly wrapped her fingers around the swell of him, but was startled when he grabbed her hand.
“Nay.” His voice was deep. “If you do that, it will be over before it begins.”
Thinking she’d done something wrong, Thalia jerked her hand back. Ashtyn caught it and kissed each of her fingers. “My heart, it is just that everything you do brings me closer to pleasure.”
She did not understand, but it did not matter because he continued to massage her, and Thalia threw her head back as his finger moved farther inside her. His touch made joy sing through her body and tears spring to her eyes. If she died now, she thought, she would have known what it was to live. Her body trembled, her breath caught, and Ashtyn kissed her tears away.
Wave after wave of pleasure moved through her body, and Thalia could do no more than tremble and quake. She stared into Ashtyn’s eyes, feeling the wonder of what he’d done to her.
He moved over her and gripped her hips, lingering a moment as if he feared he might cause her pain. She waited, hardly breathing as their gazes locked.
He entered Thalia, then paused, pressing his lips to hers. She groaned as he slid farther inside her, and her arms wrapped around his waist as if she needed to be anchored. She felt him tremble and knew instantly that he was trying to control his desire.
Ashtyn set a slow rhythm, and her eyes closed in pure ecstasy. He was tender and gentle, moving farther inside her with each thrust. Thalia hardly felt the pain as he broke through her virgin barrier.
“Ashtyn,” she said, pressing her lips against his shoulder.
“I know, sweet one—I know what you feel.”
She felt him stiffen, and his seed poured into her body.
Thalia was disappointed that it was over. Yet had she not wanted to get the thing done? She looked questioningly into his silver-blue eyes.
He rolled over, holding her close to him, his hand stroking soothingly across her hip. “I know I left you longing for more,” he murmured against her ear. “But I feared I would hurt you.”
There was a tightening in her stomach as she lay her head against his shoulder. “I did not know how to give you what you needed.”
His laughter was warm. “Sweet, sweet wife, if you had pleased me any more, my heart would not have survived.”
They both fell silent for a moment, but his hands continued to move, touching her hip, sliding across her breast, stirring passion anew. When he heard her gasp with pleasure, he gently rolled her over, his mouth taking possession as he entered her once more.
This time he was not so gentle. She could hear his heavy breathing as he pushed all the way inside her, his thrusts hard and deep. Wave after wave of joyous feelings shook her body as she raised her hips to meet his thrusts. They rode the storm of passion, and her body trembled again and again as he brought them both to blissful release.
His weight pressed down on her, and she held him in her arms. “So this is what it feels like to be a wife,” she said, smiling.
“How I have yearned for this moment,” he whispered, watching her turn her head, which caused her magnificent hair to slide across her face. “I so often imagined what it would feel like to hold you in my arms and make love to you.” His lips brushed across hers. “None of my dreams came close to the feelings I experienced tonight.”
Thalia tried not to think about the woman who held Ashtyn’s heart. She chose not to imagine that he’d ever shared this same intimacy with her. “I am told a man has many partners over his lifetime. Is that not so?” She hated herself for asking such a question, but the answer was important to her. She warned herself to remember he was a master of words and would say what he thought she wanted to hear.
“No woman could stir my heart like the one I now hold in my arms. I hope I pleasured my queen.” His smile went straight to her heart, and then nothing mattered but the touch of his hands.
Thalia surrendered to Ashtyn’s lips, and his renewed conquest of her body.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Thalia stretched as she awoke. For a moment she thought she was back in her bedroom in Egypt, but when her eyes swept across the elegance of her chambers, she knew she was not.
Remembering the night before, she rolled over eagerly, but the smile froze on her lips when she saw that Ashtyn was not beside her.
As if by some second sense, Uzza appeared in the doorway, bowed and smiled. “Shall I prepare your bath, Majesty?”
Thalia slid to the edge of the bed and swung her feet to the floor, wincing at the ache in her lower extremities. “Aye. Where is Prince Ashtyn?”
“Majesty, the prince asked that I inform you he is inspecting the troops. I am also to tell you he will return in time to eat with you before he leaves.”
Thalia had known Ashtyn would be leaving, but she had not thought it would be so soon. Pulling on he
r thin wrapper, she went into the bathing chamber and descended the steps into the bath. Her handmaidens swarmed around the room, some laying out what she was to wear while others poured sweet oils into the bath and still others changed the bedding in the other room. A dour-faced Uzza watched to make sure everything was done to her satisfaction.
The bath was not as large as the one in her mother’s villa in Egypt, but Thalia could still swim in it. She dove underwater, remembering all the wondrous ways Ashtyn had thrilled her the night before. And now he was going away. How could she bear to be separated from him? She belonged to him, and he to her.
Was that not what marriage meant?
When she rose to the surface, she was delighted to see Ashtyn sitting on the side of the bath with only a strip of linen about his waist.
“I sent your women away,” he said, slipping into the bath and reaching for her. With a blush on her face, she lay her head on his shoulder.
“You are to leave today?” She could not keep the disappointment from creeping into her voice.
“I must. I have been gone too long as it is.” He touched her cheek, slid his thumb under her chin and tilted her face up. “But … I have time.”
Another blush stole up her face as he pulled her against his naked body. She could not breath when he lifted her, locking her legs about his waist and easing into her body.
Thalia’s head fell on his shoulder as he backed her against the side of the bath and drove deeply inside her. They both rode the wave of passion while he kissed and caressed her.
“When I awoke this morning and found you beside me, I knew I was the most fortunate of men,” he murmured against her lips.
Thalia could not answer because he was plundering her body. Throwing her head back, she felt his mouth move along the arch of her neck.
His dark hair fell around her, and he whispered, “Tell me I wasn’t dreaming last night … you are mine.”
How could she tell him anything while he controlled her body and mind? Thalia gasped as he brought them both to full satisfaction. For a long moment he held her, still inside her. “What will I do tonight when you are not beside me?” he asked, his mouth sliding across hers.
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