Yasmin released a shuddering breath and rejoiced when Siraj’s arms tightened around her waist. His strength never ceased to amaze her. She knew she wouldn’t be able to survive this ordeal on her own. She drew her strength from her husband.
It was still hard for her to believe. She was married to Siraj—the Jackal Princess of the Golden Desert. Yasmin’s fingers traced the golden Jackal armband she wore and sank deeper into Siraj’s embrace.
“No matter what happens, nothing will change my feelings for you,” Siraj said, his mouth right next to her ear. “I will never regret my decision to make you my wife.”
Yasmin half-turned to face him on the horse and bit her lip. “Even if I am the daughter of a witch?”
Siraj nodded slowly gazing deeply into her eyes. His honesty reached within her and squeezed her heart. “Yas, she is not you, I want you to remember that. She might have given you her power, but that is where the resemblance ends.”
“Gods!” she exclaimed, her eyes misting. “I don’t know what to believe anymore. I feel like…I’m already losing my grip on reality.”
“Believe in me,” Siraj whispered, kissing her cheek. “Believe that I love you. Hold on to me if you feel yourself slipping. I will never let you go.”
He squeezed her, as if to make his point.
“I need you to claim me before our god.” Yasmin cradled Siraj’s face with her palm.
He nodded again. “Soon, I promise,” he replied. “We must endure the hospitality of the Falcon’s caravan first.”
They came so a stop near the caravan line and dismounted. Khalil’s men took the horses away while a woman bearing the Falcon armband approached them. She was dressed in a fine silk robe in the deepest green that shimmered in the light as she walked. Her dark hair ruffled in the breeze, and her smile lit up her lovely face.
“Siraj!” she called out, raising her hand. “What are you doing here?” The moment she reached them, she embraced Siraj with a grin. “Is this your princess?”
The woman extended her hand in greeting, but the Falcon gently pushed his wife’s hand away before Yasmin could take it.
“I do not want you to touch her, Zara,” Khalil said, his face grave. Siraj’s eyes narrowed until the Falcon turned and amended himself. “I don’t want her to touch Yasmin here. Zara has a keen sense of perception when she touches someone. I wish to be in my carav before any truths are revealed.”
Zara looked back and forth between her husband and Yasmin. “Your colors are swirling brown. What is going on, Khalil?”
“Come,” he said, beckoning them to follow.
Siraj took Yasmin’s hand and walked with her to the Falcon’s carav.
“Where is Akim?” Khalil asked.
“Playing by the oasis with Aziz,” Zara answered.
“Good. He doesn’t need to witness this.”
Yasmin glanced at Siraj. “Akim is their son,” he told her. “He’s about twelve years old now. A good kid. He will make an excellent Falcon Prince when his time comes.”
Her eyes widened. Did she have a brother? Yasmin stumbled her way up the steps into Khalil’s carriage.
“You’d best tell me what this is all about, Khalil,” Zara demanded, putting her hands on her hips just as the Falcon closed the door. “I’d hate to think you were deliberately rude to the Jackal Princess!”
Khalil made a sour face. “Of course I’m not trying to be deliberately rude!” he exclaimed. “I need you to touch her now, Zara, and tell me what you see.”
The Falcon Princess arched a brow but didn’t move other than to cross her arms on her chest.
Khalil growled low in his throat. “Trust me,” he said, his voice calmer. “I couldn’t risk your reaction in front of our people.”
Zara took a deep breath and sighed. Without a word, she crossed the carav and stood in front of Yasmin. “It’s all right. My name is Zara. It is nice to finally meet the woman Siraj has been searching for most of his adult life.”
Yasmin blushed and glanced at her husband. He gave her a heart-stopping grin. That grin had the power to fill her with a confidence she didn’t feel a moment ago.
“This won’t hurt at all, Yasmin,” Zara said. “Give me your hand.”
It shook in the air, but Yasmin extended her hand regardless. Zara took it gently and gasped. She closed her eyes and her grip became firm.
“Gods above…” Zara’s voice trailed off. Her eyes snapped open and she gazed at Yasmin with a look of shock.
“What do you see?” Khalil asked, stepping closer.
“It can’t be possible.” Zara’s eyes caught Siraj’s. “It can’t be.”
Siraj pulled Yasmin back into his embrace. She didn’t fight him.
“What did you see?” Khalil asked again, frustrated.
“Her colors are an exact match to yours,” Zara told him in awe. “I’ve only seen that once before—with Akim.”
Yasmin felt as if she was going to be sick. Her stomach twisted within her.
Khalil ran his fingers through his hair and tugged hard. “Siraj was right. By the ancestors, he was right!”
“Yasmin is your daughter, Khalil.” Zara’s face went white. “And that means her mother was… Oh, sweet god of Falcons!”
Yasmin turned into Siraj’s chest and hid her face. She couldn’t bear the scrutiny any longer. Silent emotions poured out of her as she clutched onto him—fear, uncertainty and pain. She knew Siraj could feel her emotions through their magical bond, but his strong arms held her firmly against him.
“Mother’s ghost is haunting my wife,” Siraj said. His deep voice reverberated throughout her body, calming her somewhat. “That ghost has already destroyed four of my caravs. We must find a way to kill it.”
Zara licked her lips and cleared her throat. “Siraj,” she began. “I don’t believe there is a ghost.”
His confusion and disbelief filled Yasmin’s heart. “You’re wrong. I’ve seen it myself. It stole her from our wedding on a spectacular whirlwind. And it…somehow brought me across the dunes in the same manner. I’ve experienced it myself!”
Yasmin watched out of the corner of her eye as Zara shook her head and trembled like a leaf. “No, Siraj. That wasn’t a ghost you experienced.”
“Then enlighten me!” he cried, his anger snapping.
Zara took a deep breath, as if she didn’t wish to reveal the words she was about to say. “Yasmin’s magics, they are twisting her. They are manifesting like a spirit, but these events are not spiritual in nature. I am sorry Jackal, but…Yasmin is going insane.”
Nineteen
“No!”
Yasmin collapsed completely against Siraj, forcing him to hold her up. But the strength in his arms assured he would not drop her. He stared at Zara in disbelief, feeling the denial of what she’d just spoken well up within him.
It couldn’t be true. He would not believe it. Yasmin’s mind was sound. He knew it for a fact. She was lucid and conscious and had no knowledge of casting such powerful magic. How could she be losing herself so completely? It didn’t make sense.
No one spoke. The only sound came from Yasmin, who shuddered against him from head to toe.
“You are wrong,” he finally said, his voice soft, yet booming in the silence.
“Zara is never wrong, Siraj,” Khalil replied. “As sure as Yasmin is my daughter, she is losing her mind.”
Siraj’s eyes stung as he clutched onto his wife, practically crushing her in an effort to keep her close, to protect her somehow from the cruel truth.
“If that is true,” Siraj said, his world reeling, “then she is a natural born princess of the Golden Desert. It doesn’t matter if she is legitimate or not. My own brother is illegitimate and my caravan regards him as a prince, even though he can never inherit my crown. Therefore as your daughter, she has the protection of the god of Falcons. As my wife, she is protected by the god of Jackals. There must be a way to stop this!”
“Other than prayer, I do not know what that
might be,” Khalil answered, placing his hand on Siraj’s shoulder.
The Jackal swallowed hard. “I need…to be alone with Yasmin. This is too much for her to take in. I cannot be a part of any feast you might have planned, regardless of tradition. We haven’t…I haven’t…she was taken from me before we…could…”
“On the far side of the oasis,” Zara offered, sparing him from further embarrassment, “there is a small clearing surrounded on one side by trees and on the other by the cliffs. We will make certain no one finds you. If you wish, you may rest there tonight and meet us again in the morning.”
Siraj glanced to Khalil, who walked to the door. “Come. I will escort you there. I’m sure you have much to discuss with your princess. But we have much to discuss as well, Jackal.”
The Falcon’s intense gaze burned into him. Siraj nodded. “We will return in the morning to make sense of this madness.”
Satisfied, Khalil spun on his heel and bounded out of his carav. Siraj walked with his arm around Yasmin’s shoulder. She followed dutifully, her face turned toward the sand.
~ * ~
Walking around the Falcon’s oasis took the better part of fifteen minutes, but Yasmin didn’t notice. She was numb, planting one foot in front of the other. Siraj was leading her, somehow knowing she needed him to do so. Despite the lush foliage and the wildlife that lived in the trees, Yasmin saw none of it.
She knew she’d one day go insane. But she had no idea that day had already come. What did she do now? What hope did they possibly have to save her from her fate?
Siraj and Khalil said their goodbyes once they reached the clearing, but Yasmin wasn’t listening to their words. She glanced up at the cliffs and took a deep breath, remembering the two summers she spent perched among them. She hadn’t had the courage to confront the Falcon as a child. She’d hoped she could find out why she heard him when he called to his birds.
Now she knew. She was his daughter. It all made sense.
Warm arms surrounded her from behind, urging her back into their warmth. Siraj was such a handsome, loving man, and he’d foolishly shackled himself to her in marriage. She should have been more adamant against it. She should have refused. But when he began kissing her neck, she forgot about refusing him and melted in his embrace.
Suddenly, Siraj’s cleansing magic pulsed through her, erasing the grit of the desert from her skin. He’d cleansed himself as well, and the clean scent of his clea blossom filled the air.
“It makes sense,” she whispered, turning her head to allow his kisses. “When you married me, I was thinking about how I needed to get away from your caravan. I had thought the…the ghost would destroy it. My magic must have lashed out and taken me away from you.”
Siraj’s arms tightened and he sighed, leaning his forehead on her shoulder. “I will not allow you to go mad. I will not lose you again.”
“And when I was alone on the dunes,” she said, continuing as if he hadn’t spoken. “I was frightened. I called your name. I needed to be with you. So my magic brought you to me.”
“Yas,” Siraj replied. “I will not let you succumb.”
“You can’t stop it.”
“Watch me.”
“I must leave you.”
Siraj spun her in his arms so fast, she gasped in surprise. “You will not!” His eyes shot sparks and her breath caught in the back of her throat. He must have seen the fear in her eyes, for his countenance softened.
“You will not,” he repeated, softer. “Yas, I’ve been looking for you for years. I’ve known you could do the ancient magics since we were children. I’ve always known what that might mean. But I’m not afraid to face it. You were given to me. I intend on keeping you.”
She looked down, unable to hold his eye contact. The man never ceased to amaze her with the things he said. Her heart burst with love for him. But he could be putting himself and his people in harms way.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said, lifting her chin with his finger. Once she gazed into his eyes, Siraj held her face gingerly between his palms. She saw the truth written on his face. The magic that drew them together had probably told him everything in her heart.
“What are we going to do?” she asked, biting her lip.
“We are going to take things one day at a time. We are going to pray for guidance.” He gave her a sexy, mischievous grin. “And we are going to make love.”
Yasmin’s heart skipped a beat and her entire body flared to life. She needed to rub against him, needed to feel his cock deep within her. She needed his mouth on her breasts and his skin sliding on hers.
With shaking hands, she touched his chest, only to inch higher and embrace his neck. “Siraj?” she asked. Her fingers toyed with the hair on the nape of his neck. He shivered and her pussy responded with a rush of wetness.
“What?” His breath tickled her skin.
“I love you.”
He took a deep breath and kissed her lightly on the lips. “I know.” With those words came his passion. His mouth returned to hers, crushing her lips and demanding entrance for his tongue. Yasmin stood on her toes and allowed him in.
Siraj’s hands wandered to her ass where he squeezed her closer against him. Yasmin moaned with pleasure and held the back of his head, determined never to let him go.
“I am going to burst if I don’t get inside you,” he said, gasping against her lips.
Yasmin found her courage in his desperation. Without a word, she slipped her hand into his undergarments and took hold of his cock. He leapt away from her in surprise, but couldn’t get too far. She smiled at him and stroked his length, reveling in the feeling of having him in the palm of her hand.
“What are you—?”
“Shh,” she interrupted.
“Yas…” Siraj’s voice trailed off as he stood there, letting her touch him. His eyes were shut and he gently thrust his hips a few times.
“Be quiet, Siraj,” she replied. “Let me love you like you loved me.”
Before he could protest, she knelt in the grass and loosened his belt wrap. With a few sharp tugs, his undergarments fell to his ankles and he sucked in his breath. She grasped him and looked up, only to see he was now staring at her.
Holding his gaze, Yasmin opened her mouth and took him inside, swirling her tongue on his sensitive skin. Gods, but he tasted divine, salty and warm and distinctly Siraj. His fingers dug into her hair at the very moment he groaned loudly. Yasmin’s nipples hardened, but she didn’t stop.
Again and again, she took him in her mouth, pressing deeper with each thrust. Siraj’s sighs of encouragement spurred her on and she cupped his balls. Taking his cock in her hand, she continued to stroke him while she licked his sack, gently running her tongue along his male skin.
“Stop!” he cried, startling her. She looked back up into his face. His passion now raged out of control. Excitement shot through her like a burst of electricity.
He bent low, grabbing her under her arms. She only had a moment to marvel at his magical strength before he walked her back against the sheer cliff face behind them. Without repentance, he held her against the wall with his body and dove his hand into her undergarments.
The moment his fingers slid between her pussy lips and rubbed her clit, Yasmin cried out in ecstasy. He silenced her with his mouth. He kissed her for so long, she had no idea when she’d last taken a breath.
“You will come first,” he growled, pulling away. “I command it.”
More cream coated her pussy at his words, and his fingers plunged into her. Siraj lifted her foot against a nearby rock and continued plunging his fingers into her, making her ride his hand, back and forth.
“You are so wet, so hot,” he whispered into her hair, thrusting with her. “So beautiful. Gods, Yasmin, come for me. My sweet wife.”
She brought his lips back to hers and did just that. With his tongue conquering her mouth and his hand claiming her pussy, she released, shuddering against him with tears wetting her e
yes.
I love you. I love you, Siraj, she thought over and over again. Her husband peeled her from the cliff face and laid her gently in the grass near the trees. With the hum of insects in the bushes and the call of the birds above them, she sighed and ran her fingers through the Jackal’s hair. Suddenly, she heard a phantom voice in her head.
I love you, too, Yas.
Startled, she gazed into Siraj’s face only to see him smiling at her and cocking a brow. She smiled back. Their bond had grown stronger.
Now he was gentle, opening her robes with an unparalleled patience, pulling down her undergarments and revealing her breasts one at a time. When his mouth took a nipple deep inside, Yasmin bit her lip at the sensations. His tongue rolled it before taking it in his teeth and gently tugging. He made love to her with his mouth alone, plunging her breast into his mouth over and over.
His legs straddled her thigh and Siraj pressed forward, digging his cock into her skin. Yasmin held him to her, trying hard not to pierce his skin with her fingernails. But it was nearly impossible to do so when his mouth took her other breast and his hand cupped her pussy once more.
Her body convulsed at the shock of his finger on her clit after having already come so powerfully. But he was gentle. Lifting his face, he traced kisses along her collarbone and up her neck, crawling over her body to finally rest between her legs.
Neither one of them had fully shed their robes, but Yasmin didn’t care. All she wanted was the man she loved rocking inside her body, demanding her pleasure.
“Take me, Jackal,” she whispered, lifting her hips just enough to feel the tip of his cock against her pussy. “I want to be your wife in every way.”
He didn’t say a word. Holding her eyes, he slid inside her, advancing slowly, until he was finally, gloriously rooted within her. She pushed against him until he pulled out and plunged again. And again.
More so than when they’d made love before, this time was a deeper connection—of their souls, not just their bodies. The intense connection touched her, just as Siraj was touching her. Caressing his arms, she undulated with him.
The Jackal Prince Page 10
