AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Laced with latent sensuality, the smooth drawl drew her into a slow awareness as the most dreaded thoughts echoed inside of her. He could not be her enemy. The notion was unbearable. Tehdra ruthlessly buried her emotions and met the ice in his gaze. The intense green of his eyes blazed, turning them almost black. Yet his voice invited her to confide in him, offering warmth, security in the midst of profound confusion. It was a trap. She couldn’t speak around the crushing sensation behind her ribs. “You startled me. Darkans are never talked about within my village. Their very names are taboo.”
“Ahhh…in Nuria they are our most important enemy.”
Important. She had never heard an enemy described as important before. Tehdra wished she had her essence to ferret out his feelings. The indecipherable look in his eyes made something akin to fear well within her. Her kingdom was threatened, and she was picnicking with that threat. “Would you care to elaborate?”
“Darkans are our natural enemies and the only kingdom in Amagarie that will never be allies with our kingdom. They are our enemies until the end of time, and it’s an inheritance we will pass down to all our generations.”
Unshakable resolve stamped his eyes, his face. The soft hope that maybe, if he fell in love with her—if she could eventually claim him as her mate—then they could overcome the kingdoms’ hatred of Darkans, died its death without much ceremony. It was a good thing she had not dwelled on the fantasy. “It is untenable to think that Darkans would assassinate your lieges. To what end? Are you at war with the shadow realm?”
Flat eyes caressed her face like a sharpen blade. “You seem distressed at such a thought.”
And in that moment, even without her beast, Tehdra recognized the raw danger and brutality of the man before her. “If you hear distress, it is only for you. The thought of you possessing such an enemy only brings forth concern for your kingdom. Do you have proof that Darkans murdered your queen?” Her voice strangled on the word “murder.”
“We have enough. Come, let us not ruin our picnic with talk of assassination and war,” he silkily commanded.
Tehdra’s equilibrium had never been so shifted. It was a struggle to portray calmness as emotions rioted within her. She concentrated on not spilling her wine. The most important enemy of her mate was her people. Their most important enemy.
“Why are they your kingdom’s most important enemy?” She needed to understand that. She subdued all emotions lest he picked up an inkling of her distress.
“They are our most important because the combined goals of all Nurian generations will be the destruction of the Darkage for what they have inflicted upon us,” he said softly. So low she strained to hear.
He raised a goblet of wine to his lips and sipped. “It is admirable, hari Tehdra, the concern that you feel for a king and a nation with whom you recently made acquaintance.”
She forced a smile. “I assure you, your majesty; there is no artifice or duplicity in my intentions. I would feel deep concern for any kingdom that proclaimed Darkans as their most important enemy.”
Eyes devoid of warmth perused her face with startling intensity. “Your concern is noted, Tehdra.”
She smiled, trying to ease the tension that had crept between them. “Ahh, you finally refer to me as Tehdra, not hari Tehdra.”
“I find it wise to use your title as a reminder.”
“Of what?”
“That you are a hari, thus reminding me of your place in my life and kingdom lest I lose myself in your cool beauty.”
He believed her a cool beauty? “Would it be so bad to lose yourself in me?”
“In you, hari? Most assuredly not. I would gladly do so for hours.”
Heat dusted her skin.
“Aahh, another blush, a concept that intrigues me. A hari who claims to be trained in the sensual arts glows at the mere mention that I want to sink my cock in her as deep as possible.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I assure you it is the sun.”
He cupped her cheek with one of his hands, and dragged the rough pad of his thumb across her lower lip. “I assure you, it is the thought of me fucking into your tightness that has your delicate skin flushing so becomingly.”
A rough, low chuckle echoed from him and swept down her spine, creating a hot, tingling awareness. An awareness that she might be out of her depths playing with the king of Nuria. The cold tension that had been ripe with danger disappeared, leaving a thrumming sexual need between them. It singed Tehdra and blazed deep in Ajali’s gaze. Tehdra offered up no resistance a
s he tugged her to him. She felt boneless as heat invaded her blood, creating a depth of need she did not think possible to experience without the presence of her beast.
His lips were so soft, silky, that the possibility of becoming addicted to him occurred to her. The hazy thought drifted away as his tongue licked over hers. His taste, smoky and masculine, made her moan in wantonness as she responded to his kisses with flaming sensuality. His groan echoed in her mouth, travelling through her body to stir a carnal ache in her center that Tehdra desperately needed to assuage.
He chuckled at her roughness, and she whimpered in frustration. Her impatience for more had her struggling to wrench command of the kiss. She only became more aroused when he bit at her lips to slow her down. Her mouth plunged and teased beneath his, still trying to take over. Tehdra ripped her lips from his and pushed him down on the blanket. Panting, she straddled his hips and pinned him down.
His laughter curled around her, and she captured it, savoring his taste.
“Bold, are we?” The husky whisper against her lips was filled with arousal.
