Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 117336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
"No," he corrects. "I am not worried about anyone being hurt but you."
"You hurt me," I point out quietly. "Earlier. By forcing me."
He doesn't correct that he didn't really force me, that it was me that took a bitter, angry control of the situation the moment he got in the room. He knows what I mean. Azar just nods again, gazing out at his men. "I know. And because I do not know how to punish myself for such things, I will take it out on them instead."
Oh. I gaze up at him, thoughtful. Maybe he's not as awful as I expect. Maybe we can come to some sort of agreement after all, one that won't make me feel like a whore. I pull my hand from his arm and gesture at the doors. "I'm going to go back inside. This is a wasted exercise."
His expression grows icy, and he reaches for my wrist. "You will not point out your attacker so I can give him justice?"
I pull free from his grip, glaring in his direction. "That man's not out here. He's already dead. I killed him the moment I had a chance." And with that, I turn and head back into the barracks, heading for Azar's private rooms. I wonder if he's going to follow me. If he's going to insist upon more answers. If he's going to try and touch me again.
But he does none of those things, and I go back to bed and lie down, fully dressed. I don't sleep. My mind is too full of turmoil.
Chapter
Six
AZAR
I leave Melina to her own devices that night. She is skittish after what has happened between us, and unsure whether or not to trust me. I have played these kinds of games for much longer, though. I know how to lure an uneasy mind, to gain its trust so I can step in and take over. While I have no plans on taking over her mind—I like her sharp wit and the sting of her biting tongue too much—the basics remain the same.
Gain trust. Find out what she wants and provide it. Over and over, until she comes running to me.
I will not force her again. The next time we touch, I will educate myself on how to ensure a female receives pleasure in her mate's bed. She will beg me to touch her and give her my cock. The thought arouses me, far more than her angry distaste when she touched my cock before.
I can be patient. I can cast my lures and wait.
I flip through the human books, both fascinated and frustrated with them. They hold a wealth of knowledge, I suspect, but I cannot read their language, and I cannot ask because I will look weak. So I gaze at the pictures, hoping for some spark of awareness, some hint as to how I should proceed with Melina.
There is nothing, though, and I give up at dawn, heading for my table.
The servants are scurrying about, eager to please despite the early hour. I sit down at the head of the table and wait to be served. Glasses of fresh water and hot tea are placed before me. I wait for a plate of food to be set down, and once it is, I set a napkin in my lap and pick up one of the eating utensils that humans use. It still feels clumsy in my hands even after all this time, so I make sure to use it with deliberate care. A chair has been set up at the opposite end of the table for my consort, but there's no sign of her.
I lean back in my chair and pick up the hot tea, sipping it. "Where is Melina?"
The female servant waiting near the table trembles. "She…I will find her, my lord." She races from the room, clearly terrified of me. Annoyed at the delay, I drum my fingers on the sleek wooden table. Did I not specify that she was to take all of her meals with me? Is she avoiding me and breaking our agreement already? My anger continues to grow as the moments flick past, until I pick up a familiar scent in the hall, one of human soaps and soft skin. The rustle of skirts announces Melina's presence before she enters the room.
I'm pleased to see her dressed in the manner that she should be dressed. Her thick, tightly curled hair is held back by two jeweled clips above her ears, and fluffs out into a nimbus behind them. She wears a pale lavender dress that makes her rich skin glow with health, and the dark eyes that watch me snap with emotion. "You don't have to scare your staff, Azar. I was on my way." She turns to the quaking female behind her. "Thank you, Sylvia."