To Seduce An Assassin (The Omaja Series Book 2) Read online

  As they made their way down the passageways to his wing, he darted a sideways glance at her face. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, and he suspected the ghostly encounter wasn’t the only thing distressing her tonight. It was likely she still felt guilty about causing his “illness” with the spice cake laced with Tongkat.

  When they reached the door to his bedroom, he pushed it open. “Why don’t you wait in here where it’s warm while I go find Liel and see if he can rummage up a cot?”

  She swallowed and peered timidly into his room. “All right.”

  “I won’t be long.” He strode past her into the room and placed the bundle of white fur at the foot of his bed.

  She waited outside, fidgeting.

  “Come on inside. You can bar the door from the inside while I’m gone if you like.”

  She shuffled into his room, hugging her pillow to her breasts. “The bar won’t keep that thing out.”

  He smiled gently. “I know; I just thought it might make you feel more secure.”

  “Sire, I—I’m not sure I can sleep in a room by myself until daylight. Can you, perhaps…put the cot in here, with you? I promise not to make any noise or be any trouble.”

  “Of course. That was my suggestion in the first place.”

  A bit of relief was evident on her lovely face. “Thank you.”

  “Will you be all right until I get back?”

  “Yes. I just need to get a grip on myself. I’ll go stand by your fire, see if I can stop shaking.”

  He stepped past her to examine the embers. “The fire’s almost out. I’d better re-kindle it for you.”

  “No, no—it’s fine. I don’t want to trouble you.”

  “It’s no trouble.” He stoked the embers and bent down to toss on two more small logs. “There, that should get it warmer here in a moment. I’ll return shortly.”

  She nodded, watching him as he left and closed the door. He hurried down to the servants’ quarters and rapped on Liel’s door.

  “Liel, it’s Yavi.”

  “Yes, Sire?” Liel’s sleepy voice answered. A moment later, he opened the door. He’d put on a dressing robe over his pajamas.

  “I need a cot.”

  Liel rubbed his eyes. “A cot, Sire?”

  “Yes. Do you have an extra one down here somewhere?”

  “Yes, Sire, of course.”

  “A good, clean one if you can manage it. One that doesn’t smell.”

  “Yes, Sire.”

  “Bring it up to my room.”

  “Yes, Sire. Right away.”

  Yavi smiled as he made his way back upstairs to join his frightened little guest. Liel was the perfect steward. Faithful and discreet, and he knew when not to question why.

  When Yavi opened the door to his room, he found Graciella standing in front of his fireplace with the filstoc wrapped around her shoulders, her pillow lying on his unmade bed. Something about seeing it there provoked some arousing images, but he managed to stifle them. “Everything all right while I was gone? No demon-children blowing open the windows?”

  She offered him a faint smile. “No demon-children. I’m calming down a bit now.”

  “Good, good.” He shoved his hands into the pockets on his dressing robe, avoiding eye contact. “Liel is bringing a cot. We can put it here by the fire if you want.”

  “Yes, that would be wonderful.” She faced him and took a deep breath. “Sire, I’m sorry for interrupting your sleep like this.”

  “Don’t apologize. I’ve apparently lodged you in a haunted bedroom, so I’m the one who’s to blame.”

  She frowned. “No, no, you aren’t to blame. You’re—you’ve been nothing but polite and accommodating during my stay.”

  He chuckled. “I was trying to make a joke.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” She looked down and hugged the fur blanket tighter around her slender frame.

  “Graciella, stop apologizing. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “Yes, I have,” she whispered.

  Liel knocked on the door. “Sire, I have your cot.”

  Yavi backed away from his guest. “Enter.”

  The older man opened the door and carried in a wood-and-canvas cot. “Where should I put it, Sire?”

  “Set it up in front of the fireplace.”

  Graciella moved out of the way so Liel could do as requested. He opened the wooden slats, then tested the stretched canvas for sturdiness. “I hope that serves your purposes, Sire. Would you be needing anything else?”

  “No, my good man. Go back to bed and take your rest.”

  Liel bowed, left the room, and closed the door. Yavi barred it, then turned back to his roommate, who was peering at him with a look of nervous fear. He moved a little closer to her. “Are you all right?”

  “No.” Her beautiful eyes filled with tears. She squeezed them shut, and the tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks.

  He stepped closer, wanting to embrace her, but restrained himself. “What’s wrong, Graciella?” he asked softly.

  “Me!” she sobbed, burying her face in her fur blanket.

  He touched her shoulder lightly. “Is this about the ghost?”

  “No.”

  “What’s it about, then? Tell me,” he urged.

  She raised her head. “I drugged you tonight. With the cake.”

  “I know.”

  “You know?” She looked mortified.

  “Let’s just say it became pretty obvious as I was eating that second piece of cake. Which was delicious, by the way.”

  She buried her face in the fur and sobbed aloud.

  “Graciella,” he chided tenderly, placing a hand on her other shoulder and turning her to face him. “Why are you crying so?”

  “I—I’m ashamed of myself,” she moaned into the fur.

  He wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he massaged her shoulders, resisting the urge to pull her into his arms. He asked as gently as he could, “Would you mind telling me why you did it? Were you—aware of the effects of Tongkat Ali?”

  She looked up. Her lovely face was streaked with tears, strands of dark hair stuck in them along her forehead and cheeks. “Tong what?”

  “Tongkat Ali. It’s an herb.”

  “I didn’t know that’s what it was called. I got it from Wilten.”

  He frowned. “Wilten gave you Tongkat Ali?”

  She nodded guiltily. “She—she was trying to help me. Seduce you.”

  He pressed his lips together to hide a smile. “Was she, now?”

  “Please don’t be angry at her. She meant well.”

  “All right. And why was she trying to help you seduce me, pray tell?”

  Graciella swallowed. “She knew I…wanted to.”

  By the Gods, hearing her admit it to his face was worse than the effects of the Tongkat. His cock surged against his heavy dressing robe, and he found himself thankful that his female guest’s attention was on his face.

  He shifted uncomfortably. “So…she gave you this herb, and you baked it into a cake.”

  “Yes.”

  He had to know more. “And what were you planning to do once the Tongkat took effect?”

  “Well, I didn’t know it was going to make you ill.” Fresh tears stung her eyes, and she squeezed them shut. “I’m so sorry. I’m embarrassed and ashamed.”

  “Graciella, the Tongkat didn’t make me ill.”

  “Yes, it did. I’m sure it was that herb. No one who ate the regular cakes felt sick afterward.”

  He wanted to pull her into his arms and show her his “illness,” convince her he was not actually sick, but decided that was a bad idea. A terrible, horrible idea. “You, ah, didn’t answer my question. About what you were planning to do once the herb took effect.”

  “Kiss you.”

  “I see.” He cleared his throat.

  She buried her face in the fur. “I’m sorry!”

  “Graciella, I’m not angry with you.” While her face was hidden, he quickl
y adjusted the front of his robe.

  She raised her head, eyes brimming with more tears. “But that’s not all I’ve done to you, Sire!”

  “Oh?”

  “I snuck into your room last night.”

  He smiled. “I know that, too.”

  She looked bewildered. “You know that, too? You knew it all day?”

  “Yes. Why do you think I wore a towel to bed last night?”

  “Oh, you mean you usually sleep…?” She trailed off, swallowed, and pulled the fur more tightly up to her chin. “I admit, I did see your backside.”

  “If I hadn’t known you were here, you would have seen more than that.”

  A becoming pink blush rose in her cheeks. “How did you know I was here?”

  He sighed. “Graciella, I am a trained assassin. I know when there’s someone in my room. I can easily detect a human presence, hear their breathing, sense their heartbeat.”

  She stared down at his chest. “Right. I must seem a fool.”

  “Why did you come to my room last night?”

  “I thought Kitran was in here.”

  “Kitran? Why would the washing-girl be in my room that time of night?”

  “I thought…I can’t tell you what I thought. I promised Jiandra.”

  He had to know. “Jiandra will never know you told me. Mum’s the word.”

  “Yes, she will. She knows when I’m hiding something. She can read me like an open book.”

  “Graciella, you’ve been honest with me tonight up to now. Please tell me the rest of the truth. Why did you think Kitran would be in my room? Does this have something to do with the spat you two were having?”

  “Yes.” She hung her head. “But I can’t tell you without betraying Jiandra’s trust and Kitran’s privacy.”

  “All right, how about I make some guesses, and you just nod if I’m right. Then you didn’t tell me anything or purposefully betray anyone.”

  “Okay.” She looked up at him and waited.

  “You thought Kitran was here because I invited her to my room?”

  She nodded, holding the fur tightly to her chin.

  “So…you thought I was planning to make love to Kitran?”

  She nodded again.

  “And you thought this because Kitran maybe claimed she and I were lovers?”

  She shook her head no.

  “You just assumed it on your own?”

  She shook her head no.

  He frowned, puzzled. She was worried about betraying Jiandra’s trust, so… “Does this have to do with something Jiandra said?”

  She nodded.

  “Jiandra thinks Kitran and I are lovers?” He didn’t like that idea one bit. Jiandra should know him better than that.

  “Well, she wasn’t sure.”

  “But she saw or heard something that gave her that impression.”

  She nodded again. “With the Omaja stone. The day she was reading the minds of all the palace servants in search of the traitor.”

  “Ohhh.” He suddenly understood. “So perhaps she saw something in Kitran’s thoughts that gave her the impression she and I were lovers?”

  Graciella nodded. “Please don’t tell Jiandra I told you. Or let on to Kitran.”

  “I won’t. But I’ll be honest with you—it’s no surprise. I knew Kitran had feelings toward me.”

  “You knew? So is it true, then?” The pained look in her eyes stole his heart.

  “No, it’s not true that we’re lovers. I knew because of how she looks at me, giggling and smiling when I’m around.”

  Graciella looked down at his chest again, huddling in her fur.

  “So when you got here to my room last night and saw that I was alone—why did you leave?”

  “Leave your room?”

  “Yes.”

  “What else was I supposed to do? I didn’t know you knew I was hiding in here, or I would have apologized right then.”

  “I mean, if you wanted to seduce me, why didn’t you just join me in bed?” He knew he was treading on very, very dangerous ground, but it was late, he was still under the remaining effects of the Tongkat and the katsuri he’d drunk, and at this point, he was starting not to care where all this led. He wasn’t up for pretending to be indifferent and cold while she was crying and pouring her heart out to him. It seemed cruel and dishonest.

  “I wasn’t brave enough,” she admitted softly.

  His heart leapt. “But, you wanted to do it?”

  “Yes.”

  He stared at her lips, fighting the longing to bend down to kiss them.

  “Sire, I’m so ashamed of my behavior since I’ve been here. I know that it’s been improper and utterly disgusting.”

  He grinned. “Well, it hasn’t been that disgusting.”

  “If you decide to send me back home, I will completely understand.”

  “No, I don’t think that will be necessary.” The last few shreds of his resistance to her charms were falling by the wayside, and fast.

  “And I swear to you that I did not make up the ghost story tonight to have an excuse to come to your room.”

  “I believe you.” He eased forward a bit, caressed her shoulders through the fur.

  “I’m sorry I lied to you about the cake when you asked me what was in it. I am not usually so deceitful, Sire, and I promise it won’t happen again.”

  “Please stop calling me Sire. Just call me Yavi.” He stared down at her face.

  She gulped. “I must look a mess.”

  “No.” He touched her chin, lifting it a bit to see her pale-hazel irises better. “You look beautiful.”

  She chuckled. “You’re just saying that so I’ll stop blubbering.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Yavi, could you ever forgive me?”

  “Mm-hm,” he murmured, just before bending down to press his lips to the corner of her full mouth.

  She sucked in a surprised breath and held it.

  He pulled back. “I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s just the Tongkat.”

  “Now, that’s where you’re wrong.”

  “Wrong?”

  “I don’t need Tongkat to be extremely, hopelessly interested in kissing you.”

  “Oh?” She stared at his face, blinking.

  “But I can’t go any farther than that, as much as I’d like to.”

  She nodded, pulling her fur up to her chin protectively.

  “Let’s sit down, and I’ll explain why.” He grasped her elbow and led her to sit on his bed. While she perched on the edge of the mattress, he went to get the cot so he could sit on it facing her. His dressing robe tried to gap open, so he grabbed her pillow and placed it in his lap, then cleared his throat. “Graciella, I used to be a very different man when I was younger.”

  She watched his face mutely.

  “I wasn’t really interested in true love. I was interested in women, but not in being faithful to one woman. I was with many women. I enjoyed the chase, the seduction.”

  She nodded. “A lot of young men are like that.”

  “True, but that doesn’t justify it.”

  “You’ll get no judgment from me, the woman who snuck into your room and poisoned your cake.”

  He chuckled, and she did too. He loved seeing her face soften with amusement after such a rough evening of guilt, fright, and tearful confessions.

  “While Yajna and I were in Villeleia six years ago, something terrible happened. Because of me, a girl died.” He swallowed painfully. “You’ve made your confessions tonight; here’s mine. I was dallying with the Sorceress of Caladia and with her maid Svana on the side. Gerynwid found out about Svana, and she used the maid against me. She threatened to kill Svana if Yajna and I didn’t steal your sister’s stone. When Yajna later refused to steal the stone and decided to turn himself in instead, I tried to get to Gerynwid’s estate in time to save Svana, but I was too late.”

  “I’m so sorr
y, Yavi. I know it must have been hard on you to lose the woman you loved.”

  “No, that’s just it. I didn’t love Svana. Not really. It was just lust. And it got her killed.” He rubbed a hand over his face, tears stinging his eyes. “I’ve never forgiven myself for her death, Graciella.”

  “Maybe now is the time.”

  “But that guilt is the only thing stopping me from doing it again.”

  “Doing what again?”

  “Seducing a young woman with only a thought to satisfying my own lust.”

  She fell silent, studying his face.

  “That’s why I’ve kept you at arm’s length, Graciella. I could never forgive myself if I caused you hurt or pain.”

  “Then it sounds like you are a changed man, and you should forgive yourself for what happened to Svana.”

  “Forgiving myself won’t give that poor girl her life back,” he choked.

  “Neither will hating yourself and being alone forever.”

  Yavi paused, gazing at her face. She was right.

  “Gerynwid killed Svana, Yavi, not you. It was not your choice. That witch was hell-bent on killing everyone in her path, it seemed.”

  “That’s what my brother and your sister said when I told them I had sworn an oath of celibacy.”

  “But you didn’t buy it?”

  “Well, it’s true that Gerynwid was already cruel to Svana before Yajna and I came along, abusing her and mistreating her miserably. But I don’t know that she would have killed the girl if I hadn’t come into the picture.”

  “We can never really see into the future and know all the consequences of our actions, Yavi. If you could, you certainly wouldn’t have chosen a path that led to Svana’s death.”