To Seduce An Assassin (The Omaja Series Book 2) Page 20

  “Oh, Graciella,” he groaned. His arms circled her waist, their bodies separated only by her nightgown and his trousers.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t stop,” she apologized between kisses. “I’ve wanted to do this so badly, love you like this. I’ve been in love with you for so long.”

  “Wait.” He rose up on one elbow, gently pushing her back against the pillows and peering down into her face. “What do you mean, you’ve been in love with me for so long? You just got here a little over a week ago, Sheir-zin.”

  “I’ve loved you since I was fourteen. Since the day we met at Stovy Farm, when Jiandra brought you there for the first time.”

  He claimed her lips, tasting her mouth with his tongue. “You noticed me then?” he asked against her mouth.

  “Of course. How could I not?”

  “Sheir-zin…” He kissed her again, this time more hungrily, while his hand stroked over her hip through her gown. “Lahdli. Ladhli Sheir-zin Halvon.”

  “I love it when you speak Nandalan.”

  “The words ‘my love’ just don’t carry the same depth of feeling for me as the Nandalan words.”

  “My love?” A surge of excitement rose in her chest.

  He buried his face against her neck. “Lahdli. My love…precious Graciella. Sheir-zin Halvon. Halvon means mine,” he rasped against her tingling skin. “Ohkfu shah denahmay. I love you so much, sweet Graciella.”

  “You love me? I think my heart is going to stop.” She arched her back and strained up against his kisses. “Since when?”

  “Since the moment I opened the coach door and saw you in there with a wild, untamed look in your beautiful hazel eyes.”

  “At the bandit attack?”

  “Yes. All grown up, and having become the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

  “Yavi. Don’t exaggerate, because I’m willing to believe anything right now.”

  “Then believe this,” he said, propping himself up on his elbow to peer down at her. “You are undoubtedly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

  “Including Gerynwid the Shapeshifter? Her beauty was reportedly legendary.”

  “Her beauty was forced, malevolent. Yours is pure and innocent, a beauty that comes from the innermost core, Sheir-zin.”

  “Mm, Yavi,” she sighed, stretching up, seeking a kiss from his sexy lips. “Kiss me. I need your kisses right now. All over me.”

  He flicked his tongue over her lower lip, chuckling. “All over you? Don’t tempt me.”

  “Tempt, tempt,” she said, laughing.

  He covered her mouth with his, his hands caressing the curve of her waist. “Graciella,” he rasped against her lips. “Don’t beg me for more. Tell me to stop. I don’t want to take your virginity right now, like this.”

  “No, it’s fine—I know a way we can avoid getting me with child.”

  He paused to look down at her, cocking an eyebrow. “Do you?”

  “Yes. Jiandra explained it to me. It’s how she and Yajna have avoided having a child up to now.”

  “Do tell.” He caressed her waist through her gown, his thumb straying close to the underswell of her breast.

  “If I understood it correctly, you pull out of my, ah, chamber, before you spill your seed.”

  “Ah hah. Well, your getting with child isn’t the only reason I don’t want to take your virginity tonight. Or this morning, rather,” he amended, glancing over his shoulder at the clock.

  “What is your other reason?”

  “You might regret our lovemaking later, resent me for giving in to temptation.”

  She thought about that. It was true she’d resent him if he only used her for sex and then discarded her, which made her suddenly wonder if that was what he was planning on doing.

  “And I don’t want to hurt you,” he added.

  “By…by taking my virginity, and then shunning me?”

  “No! No, Sheir-zin. I mean physically hurt you. Intercourse is painful for a woman the first time.”

  “I’ve heard tell of such. But it seems a necessary evil, one I must go through in order to have a second and a third time.”

  “We have an oil made here in Nandala for this purpose, but I don’t have any. It’s only for new brides. It’s part of the way our culture attempts to keep relations before marriage at least somewhat restricted.”

  “Oh well; you don’t have any. Let’s just take our chances.” She pulled him back down for another kiss, trying to wrap a leg around his hips.

  He broke off the kiss, breathing hard, and pried her leg off his thigh, pressing it back down to the rumpled bedclothes. He moved his groin carefully away from hers. “No, Lahdli. No. I want your first time to be as enjoyable as possible.”

  She clutched at his shoulders. “You can’t just stop now, like this. Not when I’m—I’m—”

  “What?” he whispered.

  “Feeling all this want.”

  He chuckled and hung his head a moment, then looked up at her again. “I know. I feel it a hundred times worse than you do, trust me.”

  “Don’t leave. Please don’t leave. I need your arms around me tonight.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, Sheir-zin. Just let me breathe for a second, get some control.”

  §

  Confound it, the woman would not stop moving against him, hugging him, and kissing his neck, and Yavi was about two seconds from climaxing in his trousers. He gently untangled her arms from around his neck. “I must excuse myself for three minutes. I promise I’ll be right back.”

  “Where are you going?” she whispered, her Villeleian accent like sensual liquid velvet in his ears.

  “To my latrine, if you must know.” That was partially true.

  “Oh. Of course.” She released him.

  He rolled over and pushed the filstoc aside, then looked back at her. “If the ghost appears while I’m gone, ask him to hold off a moment before doing anything threatening or scary.”

  She punched his arm. “Why did you have to bring him up before leaving me alone in the dark? I had forgotten about him.”

  “I haven’t forgotten about him.” He grinned down at her as he stood up. “In fact, I’d like to thank the little bastard. He’s the reason I had an excuse to stay with you tonight.”

  “Yavi!” She stretched forward to punch his stomach, which only added to the aroused throbbing of his cock.

  He grabbed his shirt off the floor and hurried to the door. “Be back in three minutes. Time me if you like.”

  Inside his own room, he picked up a used towel from the lower shelf of his washstand, freed his aching shaft, and stroked himself quickly to release. He visited his latrine, washed his hands at his washstand, donned his shirt, and returned to Graciella’s bedroom door just in time to make his predicted arrival.

  He tapped lightly. “Graciella? It’s me.”

  “Come in.”

  He slipped inside, barred the door, and went to the fireplace to build another fire. “Any sign of demon boy?”

  “No. He heard about your terrible jokes and decided that was enough torment for me for one evening.”

  Yavi grinned, crouching to stack a couple of logs in the fireplace. “Torment, eh? Is that what I’ve inflicted on you tonight? Six years of celibacy must have really eroded my lovemaking skills.”

  She laughed. “I rather think they have made your skills sharper.”

  “How would you know? What do you have to compare me to?”

  “Only my fevered fantasies of you.”

  He struck a flint, noticing his erection was springing to life again already. “How have I measured up? To me in your fantasies, that is?”

  “Quite well, I must say.”

  He rose, using the poker to spread the fire before turning to face her, hands on hips. “Now, my dear, we are going to sleep. I’m not getting back in that bed with you unless you swear by the Gods you will go to sleep.”

  “I swear. By the Gods. But you have to hold me in yo
ur arms while I sleep. If you hold me, I promise to go to sleep. If you refuse to hold me, I will jump up and down on the bed until daylight.”

  Tempting as it was to take her up on that threat and then watch her breasts bouncing up and down under her gown, he chose a saner response. “It’s a deal.” He moved toward the bed and picked up the blankets, and she scooted aside to make room for him to crawl in beside her.

  He sucked in a deep breath and willed his erection to remain under control as she snuggled eagerly into his arms. She tucked her head under his chin, positioning her fragrant hair directly under his nostrils. Her sweet, feminine body molded itself to his larger, more muscular frame. He held his breath and waited.

  Like a miracle, she closed her eyes, and dozed off within mere minutes.

  He relaxed and breathed deeply, smiling. He’d basically ignored his oath tonight, and yet his heart felt light and free. He knew that could only mean one thing.

  He was truly, deeply, in love.

  Thirteen

  “Jiandra!” Graciella motioned to her sister as she came up the stairs. “Come in here; I want to tell you something.”

  Jiandra followed her into the library.

  Graciella closed the double doors behind them and headed for the settee. “Let’s sit by the fire and chat a moment.”

  Her sister sank onto the couch. “What is it? You look like a cat who’s caught a mouse.”

  “Yavi.”

  “Yes? What about him?”

  “He kissed me last night.”

  Jiandra’s eyes widened. “He did what?”

  “Kissed me. Said he loved me.” Graciella hugged a pillow to her chest. “Ohhh, sister, it was wonderful!”

  “How did this happen? Was it after Yajna and I went to bed?”

  “Yes.” Graciella related the whole guard-duty-while-she-slept agreement she and Yavi had made, and how she’d finally urged him to join her on the bed at three o’clock in the morning.

  “Poor thing was sleeping sitting up in the chair when I woke up. I begged him to please just lie on the bed, on top of the covers if he wanted.”

  “And just like that, he got into bed with you?”

  “Yes. I was shocked. He’s been so aloof, rebuffing all my advances so far.”

  Jiandra frowned. “He’d better not be just toying with you.”

  “That’s why I’m bringing this up. Do you think you could…perhaps, just this once…read his mind with the Omaja tonight at dinner? See what he’s really thinking, if he’s really in love?”

  “No. That’s not what the Omaja is for; I’ve told you this.”

  Graciella sighed. “I know. I just feel so excited and scared it isn’t real.”

  “In the meantime, I’ll attempt to find out what he’s thinking the old-fashioned way. By asking him.”

  “You will?”

  “You’re my little sister, and you’re like a daughter to me besides. There is no way I’m allowing Yavi of the Zulfikars to take advantage of my Gracie.”

  Graciella pressed her lips together. “Well, don’t embarrass him, please. Poor guy probably doesn’t realize we sisters talk about everything.”

  “I don’t care if he gets embarrassed—If he’s breaking his oath of celibacy, I want to make sure his intentions are honorable. Period.”

  “Sheesh, I wouldn’t want him to cross you when you’re upset.”

  “No, you wouldn’t,” Jiandra agreed, chuckling. “Ever since I found out that I’m with child, my mothering instincts have been extremely fierce.”

  “All right, well, when you speak to him, let me know what you find out.”

  “It’s a deal. Shall we order tea and cinnamon bread? I’m starved.”

  §

  Yavi stood with his brother in the guard captain’s quarters, conferring with General Binnaj of the Assassin Army and General Manck of the Warrior Army. Army captains Pavan, Terthan, and Shardul also joined them.

  Terthan shook his head. “There are no abandoned fortresses in Nandala, Sire. If there were, we would have already reclaimed them for defense positions.”

  Yavi put his hands on his hips. “The queen said the room Uman and Terijin were meeting in could be underground. If what she saw was a meeting of the members of the rebellion, we must find the location of this underground fortress, now.”

  “Have any of you been to the old guard tower outside Faril?” Yajna asked the officers.

  “The one that’s half-crumbled to the ground?” Binnaj asked. “I have traveled past it many times. There’s nothing there.”

  “Are you certain there isn’t something in the ground under that tower?” Yavi pressed. “Have you explored the ruins up close?”

  “No, Mahaj. I suppose it’s worth a closer look.”

  “Yes, send an assassin scout party tonight. I want a report by tomorrow morning.” Yavi turned to the map, bracing a hand on the table as he studied the drawings of the roads and woods around Faril. “Tell them not to engage the enemy or even let them know they are in the area. I want this mission to be kept secret at all costs. They are simply looking for a hidden door, a hatch with a ladder, or a staircase leading down. Yajna and I will take it from there.”

  “Yes, Sire.” Binnaj put his fist over his heart. “I’ll send my best scouts.”

  Yajna spoke up. “General Manck, what is the report on the patrols for bandits?”

  “We have cleared the entire highway from here to Ularia, as well as the one leading west toward Hajan. I am waiting for a report back on the northernmost trade routes and the rural areas south of Darpan.”

  “Nothing unusual being reported on the bandit groups, no rumors of loyalty to a son of Thakur?”

  “Nothing more than what those farmers had heard up in Nirren. The bandits we’ve killed or rounded up didn’t seem to be part of any sort of organized groups, if that’s what you mean. Nor did any of them make reference to the Zulfikars as ‘usurpers’ or speak of some heir of Thakur’s.”

  “Alert all your guards to keep their eyes and ears open,” Yajna warned.

  “Aye, Sire.”

  “One more thing, General Manck.” Yavi folded his arms. “Can you spare some well-trained warriors to join the palace detail? I want to provide extra security since the queen’s sister is here visiting. In the event of war, I want her protected at all costs.”

  “Yes, Sire. Whatever you need, just say the word.”

  “Men of integrity, Manck. I need people I can trust.”

  “I will send Shor and Tor. Brothers, from Hajan. You remember Tor—he was at the battlefield outside Caladia.”

  “Yes, I remember. He was the young man serving us in the tent.”

  “We accepted him into the Warrior Army soon after. Him as well as his older brother Shor. They are both excellent swordsmen.”

  “Good.” Yavi gave him a taut smile. “Once they arrive, I shall spar with them in the courtyard, test their skills. Gentlemen, that will be all for now.”

  The officers bowed and took their leave.

  Once they were alone, Yajna raised an eyebrow at him. “Extra guards for the queen’s sister, eh? Is there something you wish to tell me, brother?”

  “Yes, there is something I wish to tell you. Piss off.”

  Yajna laughed. “Don’t pretend you haven’t noticed how stunning our young houseguest is.”

  “Well, she’s off-limits to you, so stop taking notes on her attractiveness.”

  Yajna raised his hands defensively. “I was merely making an observation. I have already claimed her beautiful older sister, and I couldn’t be more satisfied with my choice.”

  Yavi poured himself a cup of water, ignoring his brother’s smug grin.

  “I’ve seen the way you look at Gracie, brother. And I don’t blame you—she has grown into an undeniable beauty. But you swore an oath.”

  Yavi drained the water cup, then sighed. “I did swear an oath. You are right.”

  “Are you having second thoughts about it?”

 
Yavi turned away to stare out the window, down at the guards running drills in the courtyard below.

  “Brother.” Yajna’s voice softened, and he placed a hand on Yavi’s shoulder. “When will you forgive yourself for what happened to Gerynwid’s maid?”

  Yavi swallowed, hard. “I don’t know if I deserve forgiveness. Or Graciella’s love.”

  “You’re a good man, brother. You would have given anything to save Svana. You would give your right arm now to save Nandala. And you have always given everything to protect me. You deserve Graciella’s love, if ever you’re blessed enough to win it.”

  Yavi glanced at his brother. “She told me she loved me last night.”

  “She did?”

  “Yes. And I confessed my love to her as well.”

  “Do you love her?”

  “Yes, brother. I would not have said it otherwise.”

  “Did you break your oath of celibacy with her last night?”

  “No. I came close. I didn’t want to do it without the Arunima oil.”

  “You showed more restraint than I did with Jiandra, then.”

  “You made love to her without the oil the first time? You beast!” He punched Yajna’s shoulder.

  “No, no, I didn’t penetrate her without the oil. I did other things, things you don’t need Arunima for.”

  “I see.” A few choice images filled Yavi’s mind. “Spare me the details. I’m struggling enough as it is at the moment.”

  “Look, brother. If Gracie loves you, and you love her, I say Tejeshwar’s blessing is with you. You could inquire of Master Volkan to be certain. I will go with you to the monastery, if you like.”

  Yavi turned his back to the window and leaned against the sill. “Brother, what do you think Mother would say to me, if she were here? About Svana, about my oath, and about Graciella?”

  “There is no doubt in my mind what Mother would say. She would tell you to stop punishing yourself for the past and to open your heart to a woman’s love, if the woman is worthy of you. Graciella is more than worthy. She comes from good stock; you know that her family is virtuous and true. She works hard, and she’s loyal. If she truly loves you, Mother would approve.”