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I raised a brow. "Worried I'll be making comparisons between past lovers and my new companion while I'm on house arrest?"
Saboa balked, but Hartwin snickered. "She has never even revealed a lover's name to me, let alone discussed one's technique." Saboa visibly relaxed.
"That's not true. Hart was my only male friend until I came of age. When it came to that time, I interrogated him about what it's like, and about what men enjoy the most."
"Oh, stars, I'd forgotten about that," Hartwin chuckled. "She just wouldn't relent and kept asking until I was blushing like a morning sunrise."
"Do you care for her?" Saboa watched us both intently.
"Yes, though I never carried any designs on courting her. She's always been out of my league. Still, I couldn't bear to watch her get hurt. I admit I was worried about how tonight would go after this afternoon. I didn't realize how today was like a repeat in history for you, Zira. I understand now why you were so freaked out."
Picking up some more food, I ate quietly. Hartwin returned to Saboa. "I understand if you're upset that I hid this friendship from everyone, including you, but you know how this life is, the lack of privacy. My friendship with Zira was the only thing that was mine. The laughs we shared helped me learn to control my temper. It's why I was able to rise so quickly through the ranks, because I'd use a joke she'd shared with me to help control my emotions during testing. If you need to reassign me, I'll understand."
"Who was your first lover?" Saboa suddenly asked. For a moment, I thought he was talking to Hartwin, but then they both looked at me.
Swallowing what I was eating, I looked at Saboa, confused by the sudden line of questioning. "A Praldian named Shipton from the Skogar region. Why?"
"Why a Praldian? Why not a Cyran? A friend who you felt safe with?"
"I…"
"She was scared of us," Hartwin answered. "Our size, strength, and violent natures. She didn't feel safe with even me in that regard."
Looking from Hartwin to me, Saboa waited for confirmation. "It took me two years to have the guts to take a Cyran as a lover. He was a trader in the city, a friend, but someone who was not immune to my glance, so I knew I could control him if needed."
Saboa breathed a sigh of relief before glancing up to Hartwin. "You care for her, and you know her moods and can recognize if she isn't well. She confides in you and trusts you. I'd be a fool to reassign you, Hart. Right now, you're my alarm system until I get to know her better than you do."
Jervaise stuck his head in. "Shift change."
Hartwin put out his hand to his prince, and they clasped elbows. "Congrats on your joining, Luth. I couldn't have picked a better princess for you." Hartwin turned to the door but stopped just before leaving. "Keep an eye on her eyes tonight. If they congeal, she needs food. If they turn dark, she needs sleep. If they go bright blue, she's about to attack and try and drown you in some body of water nearby," Hartwin laughed, stepping outside and shutting the door behind him.
Raising an eyebrow, Saboa gazed at me. "You tried to drown him?"
Not amused by Hartwin's joke, I shrugged. "Once or twice." Getting up, I walked into the bedroom and stood looking out the window towards the city. I knew what was expected of me. I'd taken casual lovers once or twice before, though none in a while now. Saboa wasn't the man I loved, but now he was my life companion and would eventually be the father of my children.
Following me into the room, Saboa moved to turn on the light. "Don't," I begged. He stilled his hand above the switch. "It will ruin the view."
Gazing out to the city lights in the distance, I watched him close the doors in the reflection of the window, plunging us into complete darkness. The advantage now was his due to his night vision.
Brushing my hands over the front of my dress, I sighed. Cyran soldiers repressed their desires so strongly that anything between them and their desired object was collateral damage when they finally relented to them. I didn't want this dress ruined, it was too lovely. Touching the release clasp, the dress loosened as it unwove at the seam. Letting it fall to the floor, I continued to watch the city lights.
I couldn't even hear the prince breathing in the room now. He was somewhere behind me, standing in the dark watching his prey, fighting his instinct to pounce.
Another minute passed. Then Luther's hands fell on my upper arms with an almost hesitation as he pressed his body to my back. My eyes went wide as I realized he'd already disrobed. I hadn't heard him at all. This suggested that each time I'd listened to his movements today, the noise he made was deliberate, to either gain my attention or put me at ease.
"Zira, I need to know your limitations. Your kind is not built like mine. I don't wish to hurt you out of ignorance of what your body can endure."
I'd heard those words voiced before, and the desire for the memory of the one who uttered them rose within me. Turning in Luther's arms, my face level with his chest, I didn't look up at his face. I didn't want to ruin the memory.
"I'm sturdier than I look. Trust your instincts, and they won't lead you astray," I advised. Lifting to tiptoes, I put my mouth to Luther's ear. "Don't use my hair to hold me. You can touch it, but I react badly to someone fisting it."
His grip on my arms tightened as I went to drop back to my flat feet, keeping me on my toes. "Say my name?" he whispered into my ear.
Closing my eyes, I licked my lips. "Luther," I whispered.
Turning his face, he kissed my neck. I shuddered. My desires were raging within me from the memories I was calling forth. Encircling me in his arms. Luther hugged me tight against him as his lips traced across my collarbone. My hands found the back of his broad shoulders and were holding fast, my feet dangling above the ground where he had me.
When his teeth found the silk undergarment's strap, he used them to peel it from my shoulder slowly. The way his muscles strained against me, without adding more force, suggested Luther was trying to act in the way a Praldian might. Slow and gentle was not the way Cyrans copulated.
