by Faye Avalon
“Against these things you are single-minded,” Kassaro said shaking his head and sending his long hair shimmering around his wide shoulders. “But a female can do things to a man’s mind. She can bewitch him, make him believe he is going insane.”
Temper snapped around the edges of Caelan’s thoughts. He would have argued with his friend, told him to hold his tongue, except Caelan knew first hand that Kassaro spoke from bitter experience. A woman had indeed bewitched Kassaro and driven him to the point of madness. So much so, that his friend now treated women as commodities, never wanting to risk his heart to that madness again.
Caelan knew he would never allow such lunacy to overpower him, especially when it involved a woman of Lahna’s treacherous abilities. He prided himself on being able to read people and their intentions. Perhaps he had momentarily fallen under her spell, but he had thankfully recognized Lahna’s motives in time and had not allowed himself to be taken in by her.
He chose to conveniently forget that he had been but a breath away from being inside her, and had she not feigned reluctance he would have taken her without compunction. He turned to Kassaro. “I am aware of the woman’s reasons for being here. I believe she is a plant by the king.”
Kassaro didn’t look surprised. “I too had wondered. What will you do?”
“Send her back, or she goes to the Doe Park.”
Despite his low opinion of women, a look of horror passed over Kassaro’s face. “If you send her back—”
“Of this I am also aware.” As was every man on the islands, and even Kassaro’s view of women as sexual playthings didn’t hold with the kind of treatment meted out to women of the king’s court who had failed the king in some way. Caelan sighed. “My only course of action is to force her to become a whore.”
“And yet the course does not please you?”
Caelan didn’t answer. In truth, he didn’t know.
“There is another way,” Kassaro said. “You keep her for your own personal pleasure. Here at the palace. As some kind of slave.”
“As some kind of slave?” It had never been the practice for Limani to have slaves, and Caelan abhorred even the thought. They had servants, indeed, but islanders considered it an honor to serve the royal court of Limani.
“Slave in a purely sexual capacity.” Kassaro confirmed with a grin. “And if slave is too strong a word for your sensibilities, then captive. Perhaps she will yield information about the king’s court and about Zomotia that we can use to our advantage.”
Caelan didn’t want to acknowledge to himself that the thought of Lahna at his mercy gave him more than a jolt of pleasure.
‘What concerns me is that she may already have gleaned information about us and our ways that will prove beneficial to our enemy,’ he said scathingly. ‘If she has been tasked by the king, then we can safely assume the woman is no fool.’
“Indeed. Which only strengthens my argument,” Kassaro added, more serious now. “Bed her, drive every thought of treachery from her head. That you are capable of this I have no doubt. I’ve seen first-hand your affect on women. Many a female, satiated by your lovemaking, is powerless to resist your charm.”
Caelan narrowed his eyes as Kassaro grinned again.
“I am glad you find this whole thing amusing, my friend.”
“Alas, I do not. I only wish the situation did not exist, but since it does then is it not best to use it to our advantage and glean valuable information from the wench? Surely preferable to sending her back to Zomotia. Plus, it would have the added benefit of addressing your bodily needs whenever they arise. Keeping the woman at close quarters and ensuring she doesn’t have free access to come and go as she pleases is paramount. That way she would not be in a position to chance upon any of our plans for invading Zomotia when the time is right.”
Considering, Caelan drew his fingers across his stubbled chin.
“You would have to make a public declaration,” Kassaro went on. “There are already rumors circulating that an unknown woman has been ensconced in the Prince’s chambers.”
Caelan wasn’t surprised, and he had already suspected as much. Wildfire had nothing on the speed that rumor tended to circulate in Limani.
He threw his friend a suspicious look. “And?”
Kassaro laughed. “And there are also rumors that if this woman is of no interest to our leader, then she should be dispatched to the Doe Park for our warriors’ pleasure.” Kassaro waited a beat. “Of course, should you desire to keep the woman for your own sexual pleasure, our people would welcome it. Your right as leader is to have any woman you please. But for her to remain in your living quarters they would expect a certain propriety be observed.” A look of pure distaste crossed Kassaro’s mouth, and his eyes went hard. “There is a way she can be of great use to you, and to Limani. As much as it revolts me to suggest such a thing, you would do well to make her your consort.”
Caelan felt his stomach rise to his throat. “Have you taken leave of your senses?”
Kassaro shrugged. “Once was enough for me, my friend. But this makes good logic. Taking a consort would go a long way to assure the other island leaders that Limani’s warrior prince has taken the duties of leadership to a whole new level. A prince who concerns himself in matters of the court, who no longer philanders his way through women, and who has, in effect, settled down to marital bliss would, in their eyes, be worthy of consideration. They celebrate your brawn, but as yet have no way of knowing the strength of intellect that rests between your ears.”
While Caelan considered the point, Kassaro went on. “An added advantage is that the wench would be trapped here, under your control and forced to do your bidding. Even if she came upon information to use against us, with you as her husband and legal master she would be powerless to return to the king or to Zomotia. The bastard could demand it all he liked, but he would be trapped by his own diktat.”
True enough. To serve his own greedy purposes, the king himself had given the decree that a man’s wife was sacrosanct, and that any man who took another man’s legally acquired woman would be sentenced to the harshest of penalties. Such a law had enabled the king and his court to ransack the islands and take any maiden they pleased. It was a strategy that had worked to their advantage when the Zomotian army had invaded the surrounding islands. Available young women had been forced into marriage by the invading warriors, and then taken back to Zomotia, while their fathers or lovers could do nothing to stop it happening.
“Lahna would never agree,” Caelan said, trying to buy himself some thinking time as his mind searched frantically for an escape route. “The woman has to consent to a man for it to be legally binding.”
Unless you were the king or his favored minions, Caelan thought with venom. They would take any woman they pleased, with or without her consent.
“The Zomotian whore signed away any such courtesy when she dared set foot on our land with her treacherous intentions,” Kassaro said with a sneer. “She deserves no consideration. But if you require her consent, I have every faith in your ability to obtain it. Your cock delivers a persuasive punch.”
Kassaro grinned, and Caelan huffed. “Perhaps you could at least give the impression that you are not finding this whole conversation amusing in some way?”
“Alas, I find it far from being so. But we are in challenging times which require a certain flexibility in order to secure our independence from a treacherous enemy. All you need remember, my friend, is that your decision at this time may well help to take Limani one step closer to victory.”
Deep in thought, Caelan fought a battle between logic, insanity, and desire. “I fear you have a point, and I will give it further consideration. But for now, we should focus on the issue that is more pressing for the men.”
Kassaro nodded and headed for the door, leaving Caelan to ponder their conversation. He might have been surprised by Kassaro’s suggestion but, he realized with some trepidation, his friend had offered wise counsel. Making Lahna
his consort would aid his standing amongst the island leaders, while allowing him to effectively hold her captive and thwart any plans she might have to feed back information to the king. And he wasn’t entirely against the idea of having Lahna permanently in his bed. The thought of her luscious body being his for the taking was almost too tempting to resist. She would indeed be his captive. Bound to a man she had been sent to use her feminine wiles upon in order to gain information and, unable to return to the King with her report, she would be forever tied to him.
It had a certain appeal.
A flicker of a smile crossed Caelan’s face, and a hardness shot into his groin. Indeed, he would put paid to the witch’s plans in the most appetizing of ways.
Part of him welcomed the idea with open arms, but another part warned that he was stepping into wildly uncharted waters with no map, compass, or experience. A dangerous place for a man in which to find himself.
Dangerous and enticing.
Chapter Four
Tavi had waited so long to hear word that Prince Caelan would be frequenting the Doe Park that she took extra time combing her long dark hair, leaving it loose across her shoulders the way her prince liked it most.
Her prince. This would be her first time with Caelan since he had become the Island’s ruler. She realized things would be different, but considered she knew him well enough to believe at heart he would still be the considerate and thoughtful man she had grown to love.
In the days of his father’s reign, Caelan had been a frequent visitor to the Royal Tent at the Park, and Tavi had looked forward to his visits. He had chosen her particularly, but she feared it wasn’t because he desired her especially. She was the sister of one of his warriors who had died at the hands of a Zomotian soldier. Left alone with no family and no male protector, Tavi had no option but to join the Doe Park. Caelan had argued with his father that Tavi should be assigned work in his household rather than forced into a life accommodating men, but the island’s laws required that only maidens who came with a dowry were able to become servants of the royal court.
Tavi knew that Caelan had tried to overrule this tradition, that he had tried to force change, but his father had been adamant that traditions must remain in force. Even when Caelan had offered to pay the dowry himself, his hands had been tied by protocol and tradition. Tavi had accepted her fate.
She was treated well and it was a life that was better than most, especially as one of the prince’s favored women. She wanted for nothing, and the prince lavished silks and perfumes on her which she shared with her friends at the Park.
Tavi rubbed rose oil over her arms and down her thighs, already dreaming of the steady yet unrelenting hands that would stroke her, bring her to the crazy heights of need and desire. Prince Caelan was a man who enjoyed foreplay, unlike the brute Kassaro whose only desire was to sink between a woman’s thighs as fast as he could with barely a thought for her pleasure.
She hoped that the Prince would come alone tonight, but she suspected he would be joined by his beast of a friend. Tavi didn’t necessarily dislike threesomes. Some of the prince’s elite warriors were rather sweet and gentle. But Kassaro? He treated her like goods to be used as he pleased. She couldn’t accuse him of being cruel, exactly, but he was … indifferent. And somehow, that was the cruelest of all.
“The Prince has arrived.”
Tavi replaced the container of rose oil and turned in readiness to greet her visitor. Her smile wavered only slightly when she glimpsed Kassaro at Prince Caelan’s heels. So she was right. She would be entertaining two men this night.
In deference, she lowered her head as Prince Caelan came toward her, but not before noticing his glittering blue eyes alive with pleasure at seeing her. He reached for her hands and encouraged her to take a step toward him.
“You are well, Tavi?”
“Yes, my lord.” She dipped into a curtsy. “Very well.”
Those piercing eyes narrowed, but there was no malice in their depths. Instead they twinkled with mischief. “Since when did we share such formality, little one? Will you insult me so?”
She returned his smile. “I do not wish to give offense. It is just that I am unsure how to act in the presence of my island’s new leader.”
He drew her close, but Tavi sensed something had indeed changed. Before, he would have embraced her by now, but this time he gave her a chaste kiss on her forehead and set her back. “You will act as you have always acted. I demand it.”
Tavi only smiled. She was still unsure. Caelan seemed so different in both manner and countenance. Oh, he was kind and thoughtful of her wellbeing, but there seemed to be a distance in him, a troubling.
She had no time to ponder on this change because Kassaro stepped into the room, spared her a critical glance, and made for the wine she had set out on the table in the corner.
He raised one eyebrow. “Only two drinking vessels?” His scoff turned to a laugh. “It seems our little Tavi was hoping to entertain you alone, my prince.”
Caelan walked to the table and poured himself a large amount of wine. He downed half the liquid in one go, then replaced it on the table. He walked back to Tavi. “Alas, I am unable to partake of your delights this night, little one.”
Tavi couldn’t hide her disappointment. Despite the best attempts of her colleagues, she had not yet learned the theatrical ways of the seasoned whore. “You wish to choose another girl?”
He laughed and tapped the end of her nose. “Indeed not. Were I here to indulge in my own prurient needs, you would be all I would desire.”
Despite her disappointment, Tavi managed a smile. “Then I am as relieved as I am disappointed, my lord.”
Caelan stepped to the doorway and glanced back as Kassaro followed him. “Stay,” he said. “I will have a maid replenish your wine and bring bread and meats for your supper.”
Tavi wanted to tell Caelan that she would rather get drunk on the wine alone if she had to endure this night with Kassaro, but she would never insult Caelan in such a way. For the island’s leader to take it on himself to arrange sustenance for others was certainly not the normal way of things. In the absence of his body that night, she supposed it was the best of compliments and an indication of his genuine affection for her.
She watched him leave, her heart heavy. The sounds behind her made her turn to see Kassaro making himself comfortable on the bedding on the far side of the tent. He had whipped off his tabard so that his chest was bare, but he still had his breeches on.
He lounged there as if the space was his to own, his assured grin rankling her nerves and making her face heat with anger. Oh, how she hated the insufferable man.
“Were the prince still here you would by now have removed your gown for him, would you not, my little vixen?”
Tavi stuck her chin in the air and walked to the table. She said nothing as she poured wine for them both.
“No bitter words for my ears?” he asked, derision in his tone as he accepted the flagon. “No harsh retort?”
“And have you take your revenge for such with your treatment of my body?”
She was known to show deference to other warriors who frequented the royal tent. It was owed them for their bravery and loyalty in battle for their island. But sweet goddesses, she could find no such behavior for this brute of a man. Nevertheless, her status, when ranked against his, was so far down the scale it was virtually non-existent, so she did what he expected and removed her gown.
Kassaro laughed, watching her as he sipped his drink. “You undress as if you are about to be thrown to the lions,” he said. “And yet I have only delights for us this night. Come here and I will show you.”
Tavi ignored his outstretched hand, but did as he bid and stood in front of where he lounged on the bedding. Pointedly, and with that irritating smile of his, he lay back against the cushioning. Tavi stepped between his outstretched legs and dropped to her knees. She began unbuckling his breeches and pushed her hand inside to find him large and ha
rd.
His hand came around her wrist. “I told you I have delights for us,” he said as if it were a threat. “The first of which requires you beneath me.”
He whipped her onto her back before she could breathe and he stretched her legs wide, pushing up her knees. His finger slid along her slit, slow and relentless, while with his other hand he held down her thigh. “Growing wet for me, are you?”
Tavi hated that she was. That, despite how much she despised him, she could respond to him so readily on the rare occasions he took his time.
Watching her with a lazy grin, he worked his finger in and out, back and forth, setting up a rhythm that had her feminine muscles clenching around him.
“How delightful you feel, my vixen. Will you taste as good?”
With which he withdrew his finger, drove his hands beneath her backside to lift her high, and pressed his mouth to her core. She closed her eyes against the onslaught, gritting her teeth as sensation stormed through her. Oh, how could she react this way? He was a selfish and arrogant brute, wanting only to exert his power over her by proving he could make her respond to him in this way. It wasn’t about her pleasure, but only about his.
Regardless that she knew this, he took her up. His ruthless, treacherous tongue pushing her to dizzying heights. Her release came hard and relentless, and over and over she shuddered. When she was spent, she hated herself. She had let this swine push her to dizzying heights. Had let him have control over her response.
He raised his head, his mouth slick and further adding to her sense of self-loathing. With a satisfied grin, he shoved down his breeches and without word or ceremony thrust inside her. As he did so, Tavi squeezed her eyes shut and thought of her prince.
****
Caelan lounged in the corner of the main entertainment area of the Doe Park and quietly surveyed the scene before him. While some of his warriors chose private accommodation, most preferred to entertain themselves here. Caelan was beginning to realize that this was due to the lack of female offerings rather than a need for privacy. Here they could indulge and share without limiting themselves as they would in the private quarters.