But that look… When the Spider had held his eyes, he'd arched his brow. The hairs on Jaden's neck stood on end. He knew. The Spider Prince knew who'd killed Karis! Gods above. And if he knew that, then he had to know that Jaden had tried to hide it from him through Mother's magic. The witch had claimed that the Spider would never know. But the Spider had killed Mother at the Falcon's oasis.
Perhaps the witch had betrayed him and told Ziyad Jaden's deepest fear. That had to be what his look meant. He'd been claiming Amani while vowing vengeance for Karis.
"Jaden!" The smack on his back made him cry out and jump before he realized the Scarab stood behind him with a wide grin. "Haven't seen you in awhile. How've you been? Are you all right? You look pale."
Jaden's eyes widened as he gazed into Qadir's face. "I…I am…not feeling well."
Qadir's brows knit together. "I'm sorry to hear that. Where is your lovely wife? Trianna has been asking about her. We should dine together this evening."
Jaden's sweat ran cold. "She…isn't feeling too well either, I'm afraid. We won't be able to dine with you."
"That's too bad. Trianna will be disappointed. What happened to your hands?"
Jaden looked down, noticing for the first time the scabs and bruises that marred them. "I…uh…Sahirah is rough, if you understand."
Qadir gave him a half-grin. "Looks like you have a hellcat. Well done, my boy."
Jaden's eyes narrowed. The Scarab was mocking him. His heart burned, but he didn't dare let on that he knew. The princes of the desert were conspiring against him. He had to do something. He wasn't about to lose his throne.
"I must take my leave," he growled, turning away from Qadir with a flourish. He squinted once he stepped out into the sunlight and strode across the sand to his caravan. The Spider was no doubt going to kill him as soon as he had the chance.
The Cobra just had to make sure he struck first.
Seventeen
Amani had blushed at Ziyad's haste to make it to his caravan. She was slung over his shoulder and his caravan was a little ways off. All she could do was hang on and hope he'd come to his senses.
A few rowdy onlookers from the gates whistled and cheered as they walked by. Amani knew it wouldn't take long before word had spread that she'd become the new Spider Princess. But she didn't relish the thought of having to endure their knowing stares after being carried back to Ziyad's caravan like a sack of the Scarab's gandarang fruit.
"Ziyad!" she cried, laughing. "Put me down. Everyone can see!"
"Good!" he answered, his tone jovial. "Then they'll know beyond the shadow of a doubt you belong to me." He didn't even sound winded and the caravan was still many paces away. "Especially my cousin."
"You are jealous!" she exclaimed. "I knew it."
Amani cried out at the sharp smack he gave her ass.
"I am not jealous, minx," he said, finally breathing harder. "I am merely concerned about who my princess spends her time with."
Ziyad began to rub her, right where he'd smacked her. That touch alone had her wishing he'd lower his hand between her legs.
"Do you want to know how much time I spent with Hyram?" she asked, just as they reached his caravan. The people of the Spider Prince cheered and shouted, some even danced and sang. No doubt tonight would be a great feast in their honor.
Ziyad growled as he strode down the line.
"I wasn't staying with the Falcon," she went on. "I was with my father. And Hyram visited me every day. He told me about you, about your journey here. Even gave me a Jandris blossom."
"Enough."
Amani continued, needling her husband and enjoying herself. "He ate dinner with us one night and my father was quite taken with him."
"If you wish for my cousin to be beheaded, by all means, continue, my love."
Ziyad had reached his carav and leapt up the steps like a cat. The door was no match for him as he opened it with magic then closed it behind him in the same way. Only then did he lift her off his shoulder, but he did not let her feet touch the floor.
Amani grinned at him, loving the disheveled picture he presented while his breaths puffed on her cheeks. She grabbed hold of his neck and hooked her legs around his waist.
"I am teasing you, Spider," she whispered. "Hyram never visited me. And if he had, I would have sent him away. There is only one man in the desert I love to distraction, but unfortunately, Brand never visited me either."
"Gods above, woman," Ziyad said through his chuckles. "Do you want me to behead everyone in my caravan?"
"What I want," she replied, tugging on his hair. "Is your cock between my legs. Think you can manage?"
Amani had no idea where her inhibitions had gone. But she grinned wickedly at Ziyad's look of shock. Leaning forward, all she did was lick his lips before he crushed his mouth to hers.
She held on tight as Ziyad attacked her like a starving man, devouring her whole. She could barely keep up with his mouth as he delved. She rubbed against him, wanting to be naked but not willing to let him go to disrobe.
With a growl, he knelt on the floor and laid her down, pushing her away to tug on her belt-wrap.
"No, don't go yet," she protested, yanking him back with her fists full of his robes. Her mouth took his in another powerful kiss, this time with Ziyad sprawled on top of her. Amani's hands dove inside his robes, only touching a small portion of his chest. Ripping her mouth away, she kissed and bit him down his neck, letting her tongue explore the line of his collarbone.
"Amani," he whispered, easing back. "Unless you want me to rip this fine green robe, you must let me take it off of you properly."
She nodded and watched as he unwound the wrap and opened her robe, peeling it down her arms. His fingers brushed the Spider ring she wore on a chain around her neck and he swallowed hard. She smiled at his discovery. He hadn't realized she still had it with her. That alone made her heart swell.
He tugged on her undergarments as well as her sandals until she lay naked beneath him. With a trusting grin, she placed one hand on his cheek and stroked his face with her thumb.
Ziyad's eyes returned to hers. "You will never again wear another prince's colors."
"Only yours," she replied.
He nodded. "Only mine."
Ziyad lowered his head and kissed her belly, slowly licking her in an upward path. "Gods, Amani, I never thought I'd love another woman. I was content in my solitude. But you made me care for you."
His mouth had found the peak of her breast. Amani gasped as he opened wide, taking her in only to slowly release her. His teeth lightly bit her stiff nipple and he grinned.
"How dare you make me want you, minx?"
Ziyad retreated only to advance up her other breast, capturing her second nipple in much the same way. Amani's clit demanded she rub against him. As if he'd heard her thought, he brought his knee between her legs.
"How dare you make me need you?"
His mouth now explored her neck, nibbling and licking, making her skin pebble. Amani's hips worked against his knee and he pressed even harder into her pussy. She clutched onto his arms, lost in the sweep of his silk robe against her.
"How dare you make me love you?"
Ziyad had found her ear and tasted her there. His hot breath shuddered through her entire body. In that instant, she came and cried out against his shoulder. He replaced his knee with his fingers, bringing her higher.
When she opened her eyes, she was surprised at the tears falling into her hair. He saw them and kissed them away.
"Ziyad," she breathed as she floated down from the heavens.
"What?" he answered, still nuzzling her.
She pulled on his belt-wrap, rejoicing when his robes finally gave way. In a flash, he was as naked as she.
"I love you, too."
~ * ~
Ziyad closed his eyes and grinned. Leaning his forehead on hers, he inhaled deeply, taking her breath into his lungs. "You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that," he wh
ispered.
"You deserve to be happy."
He shook his head. "I don't know about that. I've been an ass."
"Ziyad," she said, cupping his face. "You've lived through a nightmare I cannot even imagine. You were angry. You were grieving and terrified. I do not fault you for trying to deal with everything in the only way you knew how."
"My anger and grief pushed you away," he replied, giving her a chaste kiss. "I never would have forgiven myself if you'd chosen not to return to me."
Her gentle smile melted away the last remnants of his fear. "Do you know what Zara told me when we were on our way to Suridesh?"
"What?"
"She said the god of Spiders was looking down on us."
Ziyad scoffed. "The god of Spiders is the one who ripped my life to shreds."
Amani's eyes softened. "No, Ziyad. He made it so I wasn't accepted by any man. Not even you, until you were ready. He knew Karis would be killed. He knew you would need someone to heal your heart. We were meant to be together, my love."
"If that's true," he said, knitting his brows. "Then why didn't I just choose you over Karis?"
"Because then I would be in that grave by your oasis."
"Gods." Ziyad shivered at her words. Just the thought of Amani dying like his first wife sent a chill straight to his bones.
Amani caressed his arms and shoulders. "As much as you loved Karis, the god of Spiders gave her to you so that you could recognize love when you found it again. When you found me."
"She was pregnant, Amani," he said, unable to hold back the sorrow within him.
"I know," she whispered, giving him a few kisses across his face. "But do you not believe that your child and your first wife are in heaven watching over us? Karis knew I had fancied you for years. Perhaps she asked the god of Spiders to give me to you. She knew you'd come to love me as well."
Ziyad released the breath he'd been holding and hugged Amani close. "I won't survive if you leave me too."
"I will never leave you. I do not believe that's our god's will. I will give you a brood of sons. I will love you for the rest of my life and into eternity."
After her confession, Ziyad could no longer hold back. He lowered his head and kissed her, but unlike his brutal kisses, this time he was tender, drawing Amani's tongue into his mouth, stroking it serenely with his own.
With a moan, she wrapped one of her lovely legs around his hips, inviting him in. He didn't give a single thought to resistance. He pulled back gently only to push forward, sinking his cock into her, and cherishing her heated gasps.
Lifting his palm, Ziyad teased her nipple and watched as his wife threw her head back, giving him free reign over her neck. As he plunged within her depths, he nibbled on her skin until she returned her mouth to his.
Gods, but he wouldn't last much longer. Her fingers in his hair ensured he couldn't pull away, but he didn't want to. He wanted to lose himself inside of her and never emerge.
Her body's rhythm against him urged him to thrust harder. He obeyed her silent command. Amani's eyes caught his and wouldn't let go. He knew the exact moment she came. Her pussy gripped him and pulsed her pleasure as she cried out, making half-moons on his shoulders with her fingernails.
That was all it took.
Ziyad's own pleasure shot from him, into her, over and over. He growled and took her mouth, demanding every ounce of her heart. He pushed forward until he was completely sheathed, and gasped as her heat burned him from the inside out.
Amani didn't say a word, but her hands did the talking. She loved every part of him she could reach, from his arms to his ass. The trusting smile on her face sealed his fate.
He belonged to her. For the rest of his days.
Eighteen
"Amani?"
"Mmm?" She rubbed her thigh on Ziyad's, content to snuggle with him under his blankets. His arm was around her shoulders, and she rested her head on his chest, while drawing circles on his skin.
"Do you have magic?"
She was silent for a moment before answering. "I didn't think I did for a long time. But I found out after you'd married Karis that my ability is with plants." Amani lifted her head and rested her cheek on her palm. She gazed down at him and smiled.
"My wife is a gardener?" Ziyad flashed his handsome grin at her, making her suck in her breath. She'd never get tired of seeing him so content and relaxed. She doubted he'd ever know just how gorgeous she thought him to be.
"I suppose I am," she replied. "I was alone a lot and spending time outdoors was one of my favorite things to do. Along with gazing at the stars, I used to cultivate my mother's garden. But one day, a plant was dying. I spoke to it. I wished it wouldn't die, because I needed someone to talk to."
"You had sisters," Ziyad said.
Amani nodded. "Yes, older sisters who were married, younger sisters who chased after dragonflies, and other sisters who were too enraptured with attracting men for their own good. I'd learned a long time ago there was no hope for me."
"Don't talk that way," he told her, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You are mine now. And I will not allow the
Spider Princess to think less of herself."
She held his hand in hers and brought his palm to her lips. "I don't believe this now, but I did then. The plants were my only friends after Karis left with you."
He gave her a short nod. "Continue."
"My sisters learned I talked to the plants and they laughed at me. I was teased for it, as well as for not being able to find a husband."
Ziyad sat up so fast, Amani yelped when he flipped her over. "They laughed at you?"
His tone was angry, if not on the verge of furious.
"Childish banter, nothing more," she assured him.
His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. Amani's heart thudded within her. The Spider was ready to do battle. With her sisters.
She grinned. "I am sure that now, they are crying in their tea, Your Highness," she said, kissing his nose. "For I am the Spider Princess and they are the mere wives of goat herders."
Ziyad grinned devilishly. "Perhaps the god of Spiders bestows his justice after all."
Amani giggled and he chuckled right along with her.
"What happened with the dead plant?" he asked.
"Well, after I…told it not to die, it didn't. It began to grow before my very eyes. The leaves turned green, the stems became strong and its petals bloomed more than I had ever hoped. It comforted me on many nights. My mother still makes her perfume from it."
Ziyad leaned back and cocked his head. "Your mother wears the perfume of the rahala blossom."
"Yes, she does."
"But…those grow only at my oasis."
"That is why I knew it bloomed from my own ability. That rahala blossom was the gift you gave my mother when you came to Suridesh to choose your wife between Karis and myself."
"I…I gave a blossom to Karis's mother as well."
"Her blossom didn't last but one day after you'd left the tent city with your bride. My mother's flower still blooms."
"It has been years, Amani!"
She nodded. "After the Falcon told my father you'd finally accepted me, I used to pray to the god of Spiders where that rahala blossom is planted. It reminded me of you, of your strength and resilience. And your gentleness and honor. It is a delicate flower, but it survived the odds against it."
Ziyad just stared at her with his mouth open.
"I suppose I've been in love with you for a very long time, my handsome Spider."
"Then how could you accept me?" he asked. "After what I'd told you before we wed, that I would never love you. How could you accept that if you cared for me so?"
"I knew you were hurting and I knew you were brusque, but I also knew a side of you many didn't. You'd once flirted with me. You were a good man. And I knew I wasn't about to find another husband. I figured…you'd give me a child who would love me."
"Amani, by the gods, that is no way to live a life!"
"I must have broken your heart a hundred different ways."
"Do not think on it, husband," she whispered. "What's done is done. All we can do now is move forward from here. We love each other. That is what we should think on."
Ziyad lowered himself until he stretched out beside her. "The Falcon was right."
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