“It’s not brainwashing if it’s the truth. If your eyes are opened, maybe you won’t fight me so much.”
“Why would you bother? I’m a slave. You only intend to sell me off when the opportunity comes along.”
That shut him up, and she felt a definite flood of satisfaction. A crack of thunder made her stand up in reaction. She wrapped her arms around herself, as if that could stop the storm from coming.
“The rain is already here.” He gestured to the portholes. Rain trickled steadily down, and day had turned almost to night. “You cannot run from it.”
“I know. Please, I’m tired. I need… I need more sleep.”
A huge crack of lightning split the silence. She jerked in fear and her hands went to her mouth. She’d never felt so much fear, so much uncertainty in her life. Her entire body shook from within.
His face darkened and he sighed. “Enough of this. Tonight we sleep together.”
His change of subject threw her. “What? No. I told you no sex.”
More lightning flashed and thunder cracked overhead with vicious intensity. Her trembling became uncontrollable, her heart racing, palms growing damp. How could this fear take hold of her so quickly?
He came to her, and before she knew it, his arms wrapped around her waist and back. Fear eased under his strong embrace, and impulsively she buried her face in his shoulder.
“Do you want to be alone?” he asked.
“I…”
“I confess I’m tired as well. There will be no sex tonight, as much as I might want it.”
She looked up at him, body racked by a shaking she couldn’t stop. “You can sleep in the chair.”
Rayder’s eyes darkened like the fury outside. “Oh no, my beauty. If I sleep here tonight, I’ll stay in the bed or not at all. Which is it going to be?”
Chapter Five
Xandra stared at Rayder as shock ran through her. She backed up a couple of steps. “If you try anything, I promise I’ll—”
“You’ll scream? No one would help you. No one. The men on this ship aren’t the noble kind.”
Fear trickled up her spine. Had she misjudged him and become too comfortable?
His grin faded into seriousness. “I’m not a rapist. But I’m still sleeping in the bed if I’m staying here. Otherwise I’m leaving. Which is it going to be?”
Thunder and the increasing motion of the ship made the decision for her. “All right. You can stay.”
She wished she hadn’t said yes to Rayder as he started to remove his clothes. Allowing the virile slave trader to stay with her tonight—well, in Magonia, it wasn’t done. No man stayed with his betrothed the night before the marriage.
Marriage.
How completely ridiculous. She’d only just met the man. Yet what choice did she have? Frustration bit her. She’d been forced to marry Taris and now this man was forcing her to marry him.
Married to two different men in a month. How bizarre.
Freedom. Right.
Rain splattered against the portholes and the lightning and thunder grew more intense. She’d have to get used him for as long as she stayed on this ship. Play along with this whole bizarre marriage thing and escape as quickly as she could when they docked in Dragonia.
First his tunic came off. She took in Rayder’s body with fascination. Broad shoulders and wide chest rippled with power, as did his long arms. Dark hair sprinkled across his pectorals and down over a hard muscled stomach. Her breath caught as her gaze tangled with his.
“Something wrong?” he asked as he started to unbutton his trousers.
“Stop.”
“What.”
“At the least, for modesty’s sake, leave your trousers on.”
He smiled, and the wicked gleam in his eyes told her that Rayder found her discomfort amusing and maybe gratifying. “I never wear clothes to bed, and I’m not starting now.”
She lied. “But I’m not ready to sleep yet.”
He shrugged as he tucked his thumbs in his waistband and eased the trousers down his hips. “I am. It’s been a long day. You can stay up if you like. There are books on the desk if you wish to read. Keep the lamp on if you want.”
Reprieve. “All right.”
As his trousers fell lower, she sucked in a breath and averted her eyes. She walked over to the desk, snatched a book of poetry and sat down in the nearby chair. “I’ll read then.”
“Suit yourself.”
Rayder wandered to the bed, and out the corner of her eye, she saw his naked figure climb into the bed and under the covers. She couldn’t see anything really, but the thought of him naked upended her. As she flipped open the book and started to read, she became even more aware of him. He lay in bed, so close, the power of his presence somehow so disturbing that even dressed he unnerved her. She glanced over quickly. He lay on his left side, his eyes closed. Good. She couldn’t take it if he were lying there watching her.
As nonchalantly as possible, she continued to read.
It didn’t work.
The lightning flashing, the sound of the storm lashing at the cabin destroyed her concentration, and so did the man lying in the bed. Both warred with her ability to read and that bothered her. She tried again, determined neither one would win. Despite her efforts and the minutes that went by, her awareness of him increased.
He’s just a man. No reason to become all goggle-eyed over him.
Especially considering he was a rogue and wastrel.
She forced her attention back to the poetry. Beautiful and absorbing, the passages took her to another world. From the words, Xandra learned that Dragonia possessed as much splendor as danger, as much life as death. Glaciers, jungles and deserts occupied the continent. Though she’d heard it all before, the poet described the land with such affection and depth that rendered the country mysterious and beautiful. Curiosity twisted inside her and made Xandra wonder if Dragonia would be her freedom or stifle her in entirely new ways.
Her eyelids started to droop with exhaustion, but she couldn’t abandon the book. Finally she couldn’t keep her eyes open. She closed the book with a sigh and noted the author’s name carved in red on the rich black cover.
She said the name softly. “Aknada Tyrus.”
“She was my sister.”
Xandra jerked, startled by Rayder’s voice. She dared to look up. He was still under the covers. “Your sister?”
“Yes.” He sat up against the dark wood headboard. “She was.”
A sinking feeling entered the pit of her stomach. “Was?”
He swallowed hard, his eyes momentarily burning with anger. “She was murdered.”
Murdered. She understood so well how it felt for a loved one to be murdered. Her heart twisted as her own pain resurfaced with staggering force.
“Oh god Magon. I’m sorry.” She touched the cover reverently. “This poetry is so beautiful and meaningful.”
He nodded. His eyes sad. “Aknada wrote that poetry when she was but fifteen. She was very talented.”
“When did… When did she die?”
“Three years ago. She was twenty and betrothed.”
Tears prickled in her eyes. “How awful. What happened to her?”
“Never mind. I’ve said too much.”
Curiosity plagued her, but far deeper emotions overruled. Tears spilled over her eyelids. A few seconds later she heard the bed covers rustle as he left the bed. Her heart pounded, her breath coming shorter. She stood quickly, needing to escape. She kept her eyes averted from him.
His hands clasped her shoulders. “Are you all right?”
She looked up quickly, still afraid of his nakedness and even more fearful she’d tell him her story. She solidified her strength and remembered her goal. Return to Magonia to live her life, and more than that…find a way to bring Taris Elian to justice for what he’d done to her family. She swallowed hard around the bitterness that filled her heart, filled every part of her until she overflowed.
“Xandra?
What’s wrong?”
She kept her gaze pinned to his face, overwhelmed by feelings and a staggering awareness of his virile presence. “Why do you care? I’m merely your slave.”
His mouth tightened, his brows lowered and eyes serious. Those green and gold striations mesmerized her and added mystery to his allure.
“You’re my slave, and it’s better if you get used to idea rather than fight it,” he said.
“Just allow you to take over my body. You don’t want to marry me, so why are you?”
“You know why. Because Admiral Aramus requires it.”
“You are second-in-command. You don’t have influence over him?”
“I’ve been on this ship three years, slowly working my way to second-in-command. I didn’t get that far by arguing inconsequential points.”
She made a noise of disbelief. “Marriage is inconsequential?”
His eyes sparked with a predatory glimmer. “No. It’s a very important step in anyone’s life. My parents made sure I knew that.”
Sarcasm crept into her reply. “Really. I heard that all Dragonians are raised by their brutish fathers and the mothers rarely interact with their children.”
His fingers tightened on her shoulders as his mouth became a thin slash. “Where did you hear such bollocks?”
“Our scribes.”
He grunted. “They lie.”
That stung, and she wanted to deny what he’d said but couldn’t. “Mia, one of the women I met on the ship, was training to become a scribe. She decided the life wasn’t for her. She said some unhappy things about lies and the scribes.”
“There you have it then. From the mouth of one who knows.”
“I would rather see for myself, but I don’t have time. I need to return to Magonia.”
“What is so important there?”
She shook her head, unwilling to give him more. “Business.” Before he could press her to ask more, she swerved toward a new subject. “Your parents were good people?”
“My father was a professor who taught children their sums, and my mother also taught very small children. They were gentle people.”
Surprised that he’d revealed his childhood to her like that, she relaxed in his grip. “That’s wonderful.”
“It was. I had a happy childhood. But it wasn’t perfect.”
“Is it ever?”
“Perhaps not.” He released her but didn’t move away. “When it was apparent I was to become a Daryk One, they tried to hide my abilities.”
Daryk One. Oh my god Magon. “You’re a Daryk One?”
His smile held wicked teasing, his gaze losing that intensity for one moment. “You’ve heard of us? What do you think you know?”
She licked her lips and his gaze flicked to her mouth and settled there. Heat flowed and filled her up. “Daryk Ones are powerful. Men who are stronger than the average man and brutal killers. And you’re all in alliance with Drakus Fina, an evil man who wishes to bring down the Magonian government and enslave every Magonian man, woman and child. Your slave ships are filled to the brim with Magonian women who Drakus uses as breeding material.”
Teasing left his eyes, replaced by a hard, unforgiving air. “Some of your story is completely wrong. But I’m not sure I want to take the time to tell you which parts are right.”
He started to turn away and took a couple of steps toward the bed. His wide shoulders were sculpted with muscle, waist trim, his butt hard. And his legs. Ah, his legs fascinated her. Thighs peppered with dark hair, corded strength through his calves and into his big feet. Xandra couldn’t help but stare, and when he turned to look back, he caught her assessing his body.
She couldn’t avoid seeing his manhood without acting the complete ninny, the full prude. His cock, she’d once heard this part of a man called. Somehow the word fit so well. Thick and long, his arousal stood erect from a thatch of dark hair that grew between his thighs. Her mouth opened, her breath caught. Her body reacted beyond her control as an ache grew between her thighs. He nipples peaked, grew taut, her breasts feeling larger and rounder.
Taris Elian hadn’t looked anything like this.
And his cock certainly hadn’t either.
She should look away—all the teaching of Magon said she shouldn’t even see this part of him once she married him. Of course, Taris wasn’t concerned about that. He’d showed her his cock the moment they were in the marriage bed. Rayder didn’t need to know that. “A man and woman never see each other’s…”
“Nakedness?” His voice dropped, going deeper and harder. He approached again, his stride sure, his power evident.
She couldn’t tear her attention away as stood close in front of her. Every inch of sculpted, finely honed man created conflicting emotions. “Yes.”
“Does it scare you?”
“Yes.”
“There’s nothing to fear. I can show you.”
“No. Our marriage is a sham. We can’t…consummate it.”
He speared his fingers into her hair and drew her slowly against him. “We can if we wish to.” His mouth hovered over hers, his breath fresh and warm on her lips. “You might not like it, my beauty, but there’s something between us. It’s hot and it’s real. There’s no shame in it.”
Thunder roared outside and she flinched.
“You can deny it all you want,” he said, “but I feel that you want me.”
Fire blossomed low in her stomach. She sucked in an uncertain, shocked breath.
“We can partake of pleasures of the flesh then dissolve the marriage when convenient,” he said.
That stung, even when it shouldn’t have. “You would toss aside a wife so easily?”
“Yes. The marriage is binding on Dragonia, but we can get it dissolved once we’re on dry land. It’s of no consequence since we don’t love one another and we’re not mates.”
Love? Did this man truly believe in love? The idea started an ache way deep inside both in her mind and body. She didn’t know why, but the thought of Rayder in love with a woman sent strange sensations bolting around inside her. She didn’t understand love between a man and woman, yet she still didn’t like the idea of him bonded with another woman in an undeniable way.
Feeling bold and angry, she pushed at his chest to get away. Hard, warm muscles moved under her touch, her fingers tickled by the hair that sprinkled over his chest. Heat blossomed in her belly.
He tugged her closer and slipped his hands down her arms to her waist. “Why are you provoking me? Do you like making me insane with your questions and insinuations?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never wanted to provoke a man the way I do you. Maybe because I’ve never met a slave trader before.”
“You don’t know a damn thing about me, Xandra. Don’t presume to know my motivations.”
“There’s nothing I need to understand about a slave trader.”
He jeered. “There’s nothing I need to know about you other than your body. From the moment I pulled you out of the water, you’ve haunted my every waking thought. Your hair is so beautiful.” He tangled his fingers in the strands. “Your body is soft in all the right places.” His fingers caressed her hip then returned to her cup the back of her neck. “Your breasts burn into my chest whenever I hold you. I can’t wait to see you in that bridal dress. And you don’t know how much I want to suck your nipples and sink my cock deep between your legs, fucking you until you’re screaming in ecstasy.”
Her mouth dropped open in shock, but she couldn’t retort, couldn’t think of one thing as she drowned in powerful sensation.
“You think I’m nothing more than a dirty bastard.” He whispered close to her ear, his hot breath teasing her until she shivered. His tongue wisped over the side of her neck and shot fire through her body. “If there’s nothing I can do to prove you wrong, then I guess I’ll have to prove you right.”
She wanted to growl at him, her pique growing as he pressed his naked body against her. She gasped as his hardness nestled against
her belly. She understood that hard column of flesh. He wanted her, and that frightened her more than the storm and grief recalled. For she wanted the same thing, her curiosity rampant, her longing deep and unaccountable. It was if he’d erased every moral she’d learned in the Chronicles of Magon. How could this disreputable man make her respond, challenge everything she knew?
His gaze flickered, a spark of red that took her off guard and made her gasp.
“Your eyes—”
“You don’t see anything,” he said raggedly. “I swear you’ll be the death of me yet.”
Before she could move, he cupped the back of her neck, anchored her body around the waist and kissed her.
Rayder’s mouth settled upon Xandra’s, tasting so much richer and hotter than it had before. As his arm braced her waist and he kept her anchored to him, she shivered with myriad sensations. Achy, feral, needy feelings. Heat shot through her belly, boiling upward as his mouth twisted across hers. Taste after taste, he urged her into response. She clutched at his shoulders and hung on tight as every hard inch of his body demanded her notice. His legs braced apart, and when he cupped her ass cheeks in his hands, she moaned softly in protest. Thick cock pressed intimately against her pleasure spot, and she gasped again as frantic pleasure rocked her. As her lips parted, he thrust his tongue into her mouth. She gasped at the invasion, but it felt so good, so right. Again and again his tongue caressed hers, creating a fire far more tempestuous than any storm she’d endured.
He tore his mouth from hers, breathing raggedly as he buried his face in the side of her neck. His tongue traced tiny patterns on sensitive flesh, and she shivered with wanton need. She craved—no, she died for more of what he was giving her despite the immorality of what she did. But it was too wild, to uncertain, too amazing to abandon.
Before she could gather air, his touch became far more intimate. His palms slid down over her waist and hips then back to cup her breasts. With a soft pluck, he teased one nipple. She moaned as heat as fierce as the lightning outside jolted her. He wedged one strong thigh between her legs and pressed upward. The ache between her legs burst into serious throbbing need. She writhed on his leg, pressing, retreating, allowing the upward movement of his thigh between her legs. One hand plunged into the front of her pants and touched her pussy lips. She gasped.
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