AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Once, he might have toyed with her, purely for his own amusement, but he was supposed to be above that now, the little sermon his brother had delivered when his exile had been revoked and his title reinstated still resounding in his ears even a couple of years later. It had been about the kind of behaviour expected of a prince, as if Xerxes didn’t know. As if Xerxes hadn’t sacrificed everything he was on the altar of princely expectation already.
Still, he’d given his brother a pass on that since Xerxes hadn’t exactly comported himself with dignity in Europe, and it had been a good reminder of all the things that had bound him before he’d been exiled. All the things that he’d been forced to give up when his father, King Xenophon, had disinherited him.
Things like honour and dignity and responsibility.
Things like self-respect.
Yes, Adonis had handed those things back to him when he’d returned to Axios, but they had come at a cost. And he wasn’t the same biddable boy he’d once been. The earnest, easily manipulated boy who’d only wanted to do his best and make his father proud.
No, he was a man now and he recognised the twin cages of title and name that the boy had been trapped in. It wasn’t a cage he would willingly enter again.
At least, not without a key.
He wandered closer to his very stiff-looking guard, studying her face, though what he was looking for he didn’t know. Perhaps for another glimpse of the person he thought he’d seen beneath the mask of the soldier.
Not just a person. A woman.
A small jolt went through him. Yes, shewasa woman, and he even though he shouldn’t find that as interesting as he did—just what drove a woman to want to be a guard, for example?—he couldn’t un-notice it, as it were.
‘No need to look so horrified,’ he purred, coming to a stop in front of her. ‘It’s only a couple of gowns.’
She looked startled for a second, as if she hadn’t expected anyone to notice her slip. Then that too was quickly masked, her expression like granite. ‘I’m sorry, Your Highness.’
Curiouser and curiouser. She wasn’t a fresh-faced recruit, which meant she should have had more control over her reactions than that. His father would definitely not have approved.
‘No need to apologise. I’m just curious as to why a woman wouldn’t want the opportunity to try on a couple of pretty gowns.’
Something gleamed in her amber eyes and he thought it was probably temper. ‘Not all women like pretty gowns, Your Highness,’ she said coolly.
Something stirred inside him. Very definite interest.
If he wasn’t much mistaken—and he seldom was—there had been a slight note of challenge in her voice. Which wasn’t exactly wise in a soldier, especially when responding to a commander. Was she like this with all her superiors? Or just him?
The thing inside him stirred again, rousing. Oh, he hoped it was just him.
Careful. You’re supposed to be on your best behaviour.
He always was, though, wasn’t he? Ever since he’d returned he’d been nothing but good, giving his brother no cause for concern. But it had been a long three years. And, now he was getting married, those years would turn into a lifetime.
Surely a minute or two’s enjoyment with an interesting woman was allowed?
‘No, indeed,’ he said lazily. ‘What would you prefer? A good flak jacket? Some hard-wearing boots? A sturdy pair of trousers?’
‘Those are all very useful items,’ she agreed stonily, ‘but I assure you, I have no problem with gowns.’
‘Is that so? Your expression, soldier, would say otherwise.’
Her lips were pressed together, temper sparking in her eyes again, and the hungry beast inside him, the one he’d had to leash since coming back to Axios, pulled on its chain.
It had been a long time since he’d allowed himself female company and he missed it. Women had been his saving grace while he’d been exiled—and not just physically. He’d enjoyed their company, too. His childhood had been largely male dominated since his mother had died young. His father had never remarried, turning ever more rigid and austere as time had gone on, making the palace a cold place to grow up in.
As a child, he’d tried to make friends with the daughters of a couple of the palace staff, because he’d been lonely, but his father had put a stop to it soon enough. Those friendships had been innocent, but Xenophon hadn’t approved, teaching Xerxes his first and most painful lesson in the importance of detachment: that the personal needs of a prince were insignificant compared with his county and his duty. Those two things came before everything else.
This soldier wasn’t a girl, but she was still staff and she was employed by him, and if he wanted female company there were others who could fulfil his needs.
Still, he couldn’t deny he was intrigued by her show of spirit. It gave him a hint of the woman behind the military mask, and the contrast was...interesting to him.
Obedience was valued highly in the royal guard; questioning orders was not allowed and disdain for authority was not tolerated. Yet twice now she’d given herself away, both in her disapproval of him and her clear dislike at what he’d asked her to do.
