"Oh?"A dark amusement cut through his exasperation.It baffled him how brazen she insisted on being despite the obvious danger.She knew his title, so she knew his reputation, did that mean nothing?His eyes gleamed, tracking the line of her throat beneath the veil."A life is something to be bartered so easily?"
She nodded, so sure of herself."Luckily I am benevolent.I will not ask anything unreasonable.I simply wish for your cooperation."
He leaned forward."And if I told you I had no intention of cooperating?"
"Then you'd be lying," she said pleasantly, reaching for her veil to unclasp it."You came three days early.You wanted to see the board before anyone arranged the pieces.Or, you wanted to see me."The veil was discarded."Are you, per chance, smitten by me?"
Choking on air, his face burned."You forget yourself!"he hissed, trying to regain control.The lamplight gilded the curve of her shoulder; he looked away."Are you not afraid?"he questioned, the sound barely carrying over the distant din."Of my vengeance?"
He saw an unmistakable smile grace her glossy, tinted lips.His heart knocked against his ribs.
"If you wished for my head, my Lord," she whispered, the words like silk wrapping around his throat and tugging him forward, "you would have taken it by now."
My Lord.
It slid into his soul; it was sweet, venomous.A title of submission that felt like conquest.
"You dare play with devils, Khatun?"
The smile widened, a flash of white."I dare many things, my Lord."
Her words dangled before him, as if offering him the delicious bliss of mutual ruin.It seemed he was in great trouble—the kind he'd walked into blindly, the kind he could still walk away from, the kind he had absolutely no intention of escaping.
Azul picked up a date from a small platter."I know you wouldn't love a wife like me, so I'll offer you a contract.In exchange for your alliance, I will give you anything you wish, as long as you fulfil my wishes for me."The brief glimpse of her open mouth felt obscenely intimate.
"That sounds an awful lot like marriage, Khatun."
"It is, except once the contract is over, I will leave.You can marry whoever, live however.You need not give me an heir, and I need not nag."She reclined against the cushions, a picture of indolent sin that complemented the treason on her tongue."So, what is it you wish?"
"What is ityouwish?"he countered, his voice a low rasp.
"Hmm.I want to exterminate the Borjigin."
The raucous celebration outside swelled, filling the dead space between them with forced merriment.Ragnar’s blood went cold, then hot.He couldn’t help it—a short, breathless laugh escaped him.
"Crazy woman."
His gaze darted to the curtain, to Thane’s silhouette beyond."Aren’t you afraid I’ll hand you over?Why discuss treason with me?"
It seemed she moved faster than his mind could process, or his mind was simply struggling to function in her presence.Either way, he found her settled into his lap, her weight pressing down on him.He went rigid, every muscle coiling.She picked up another date and pressed it to his lips.Helplessly, he parted them, allowing her to place it on his tongue.The sweetness exploded, coating his insides with overwhelming saccharine delight.
"My Lord," she purred, her lips brushing the shell of his ear.A violent shiver racked him, a jolt of unrestrained desire.Surely his body had been set on fire.
"Isn’t this a good deal?"she continued, taunting him."You only need to pretend to be a dutiful husband, and I will return the favour."
One hand snaked up to capture both of her wrists, pulling them down behind her back until her spine arched, thrusting her chest forward.
A soft gasp escaped her.
"You’re all talk for such a weak mortal," he mused, his face inches from hers.He could see the rapid flutter of her pulse in her throat."You can’t even defend yourself.What use is your favour to me?"
Her body strained against his hold, and he lessened the pressure infinitesimally.
"See this as my betrothal gift," she whispered, "by the end of your stay here, you will be dead."
I…will die?
He wanted to laugh at the very notion that anyone in the Borjigin could successfully take a blade to his neck.But her eyes held a terrifying, vivid certainty, one he could not ignore.
