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Bastien’s gaze flicked to Tehdra, and Ajali read the question as to what he would do with her. He smiled his answer and chuckled at the disapproval that flared in his chancellor’s eyes. He stalked from the sitting room with Tehdra following.
***
She had failed in her research.
All of the women the king had spoken with had rattled off skills as if they were trying to join his warrior caste. Disbelief had gripped Tehdra when he had told the Nubian goddess that he would want a demonstration of her skills later, after she’d prattled so proudly that in her village, she was unmatched in taijiu. Nothing in the extensive parchment Bylan had given Tehdra indicated this. She was unprepared for all that a hari should have to offer. She had truly believed he only added women to his harem so he could bed them whenever he pleased. There had been no whispers that his concubines ever served other purposes.
Tehdra had coldly calculated what to admit about her skills. She had no elements that she wielded like the many they spouted—water, earth, and lightning. She could not say darkness and shadows. Death or imprisonment would have been delivered instantly. She could not say taijiu either. If he required a demonstration, her prowess and speed when she used the shadows to fight would be unmatched. She would be discovered immediately.
She had no idea how to move without the shadows for speed. Such concentration would be impossible, trying to remind herself not to execute something that she had been doing from the time she was a babe.
She gritted her teeth. How hard could it be? Simply fight and stay alert enough not to use the shadows to her advantage. Somehow she must find the means of enticing the king. Tehdra lengthened her stride to keep up with his pace. They passed dozens of women who curtsied and smiled at him invitingly.
They climbed winding stairs and swept into a large chamber. It was tastefully furnished with several elegant great chairs and divans strewn randomly about, and silky, colorful tapestries lined marble walls with exquisitely crafted, gold inlays. Her feet sank into the plush carpet.
The King sprawled indolently into a great chair. “Undress.”
She couldn’t have heard him correctly. She had expected some hard questions. Not this. “I—”
“Remove the caftan.”
He was most assuredly serious.
Her hands trembled slightly as she drew the string that held the flimsy garment together and stepped from it, naked. Heat climbed her neck, and she gritted her teeth, burying the sudden nerves that erupted through her body.
A soft hiss slipped from him, and her blush deepened at the fire that flared in his emerald gaze. Tehdra swallowed tightly, she never thought he would try and bed her so soon. She did not know if she would allow him such liberties, but to resist would certainly raise his suspicions. She had never been impulsive in her life, yet it seemed as if her plan to join his harem would prove to be foolhardy.
“Come here,” he said, penetrating eyes assessing her every move and expression.
She was attracted to the raw power and sensuality that rolled off him and it beckoned to her like nothing else ever had. But this, so soon and without knowing the manner of man he was…it was unsettling.
The tyrant of Amagarie. The name that had followed him since the last Great War.
Tehdra glided closer and stopped between his sprawled legs. “I never thought I would be bedded this soon,” she said, attempting to assess his intentions.
His decadent lips quirked in a smile. “And what expectations did you have when you vied to join my harem?”
His tone was flat, devoid of all interest and emotions, so at odds with the raging hunger she spied in his eyes. His control was admirable.
“Maybe I expected conversation…before I was required to fuck you to repletion.” Her voice came out husky, not the confident blasé tone she had been aiming for. She gritted her teeth in annoyance.
“Most extraordinary,” he said softly. “You are without any skills to serve in my diplomatic corps hari…. What use could I have for you then, if not to be on your knees for me whenever I commanded?”
Be on her knees whenever he commanded? The slow thud of her heart as heat stirred low in her womb was distressing. She was a warrior elite, not a concubine. She should not be captivated by the wicked intent that leaked from his words. What had she been thinking? Surely there must be another way to complete her mission.
No, there is not. The castle Shelah is otherwise impenetrable.
Her eyes followed the hand that lifted and traced the curve of her breast with a fingertip. Her stomach quivered as anticipation and something akin to dread danced down her spine. She ached for a firmer touch. Should a simple caress be so incendiary? If her beast had not screamed mate at his scent, she would not be standing so calmly in front of him, allowing privileges she’d never granted another man. She dug deep and tried to find the essence of her darkness and came up blank.
She moaned when he reached down and glided his hands over her calves and massaged. Silky smoothness ran over the arches of her feet, the insides of her shin and to her thighs. He gently heated his palms with his fire as he explored her. The breath lodged in her throat and her sex throbbed.
“Can you fight at all, hari?”
“No, my father has never been able to afford a master for his daughters.”
A credible deception.
Her body relaxed, and she swayed into him. She purred deep in her throat as what could only be desire weakened her limbs. It was warm and languid. He turned her around. She bit her bottom lip and shivered at the w
