BARING HIS HEARTB
aski couldn’t sleep; her concerns kept her awake. How was Danika doing? What was going on in that bedroom? Would the child be alright? She was standing at the window, almost sick with worry. She’d heard Danika’s screams, and since then, her heart refused to leave her throat.
Baski decided already. On the morn of the morrow, she would do everything within her power to get time with the king—to explain about Remeta’s gift. If he knew and believed in Remeta’s gift, all that would remain would be to get Remeta to go to him and break the news. It was their best chance of telling the king about Danika’s pregnancy without endangering Danika and her child. On the morrow, she must find the courage to talk to him.
But for tonight. What was happening in that room? She was worried.
“Stop worrying, Mama. Come to bed. I feel scared,” Remeta’s sleepy voice came to her.
She turned to see Remeta sleepily rubbing her eyes. “I’m coming, my child.”
“You need not worry about the prince. He’s fine in his father’s arms now. Worry about the near future that scares Remeta, Mama. Worry about the three W’s,” she whispered sleepily.
A shivered worked down Baski’s arm. “What scares you, my child? What is the three W’s?”
Remeta laid back on the bed and fell back asleep.
Baski watched her laboured breathing as she slept peacefully. In the end, she took her advice and joined her on the bed.
Tomorrow was another day to worry about.
Sally stood in front of the mirror, looking worried and was so nervous, her hands were sweaty. It was her wedding night, and she didn’t know how to go about it. She had tried not to think about it all day, but night had fallen, and she was more skittish than a cat.
Madam Baski had called her to the privacy of her bedroom yesterday. She’d talked to her like a mother would do and told her the things to expect on the marriage bed. Madam Baski had told her it was completely different from what the kings did to her and what the guards did to her, too, when she hustled to feed the slaves back in Mombana.
“I don’t know how it’ll be different, Madam Baski,” she’d confiding.
“You’ll see,” the older woman had replied.
Standing in front of the mirror, Sally stared at herself. She’d bathed in scented water Madam Baski told the maids to arrange for her. She was dressed in her flimsy nightwear, her red hair pulled down well past her waist, and her eyes emphasized her nervousness. But she had kept her husband waiting too long.
She came out of the bathroom and walked back into the bedroom that had become theirs.
Chad had finished putting on his shorts when his new wife entered. She looked so small and nervous, and oh, so beautiful. He had never wanted another woman so much. He walked close to her and took her hand into his. “I will never hurt you, Sally. I never, ever want to hurt you. You look so scared. Maybe we will not lie together until you are ready. I can wait. I don’t want to hurt you.”
His sincere words assuaged some of her nervousness. The way his concerned eyes looked at her like she was the most beautiful woman—the most desirable woman. She shook her head. “No, I want to be with you.”
His hand cupped her cheek tenderly. “Are you sure? I can wait---”
“Yes. I’m very sure, my husband.” The word sounded strange but very sweet to her. She loved him so much.
That was all Chad needed to hear. He pulled her closer and took her lips into a soft kiss.
Danika’s heart pounded against her chest. The king lowered his head again and closed his mouth around her nipple, sucking and playing with the other one.
The courage deserted her at his reply, and the fear of what he’d do when he found out doubled. She must be a coward because she couldn’t tell him about it.
At least, not for today.
She’d talk to Baski, and they’d think of another way to tell him… another day. Today, she just wanted to enjoy the peace and solitude and happiness of lying right here on the floor with him and seeing a completely different side of him. She didn’t have the guts to ruin this moment for them. She earned this beautiful moment. A moan slipped from her throat as he nibbled her softly.
“Is it my imagination or did your breasts get bigger?” He pulled back and asked. His finger plucked the rigid peak of her other breast. “And your nipples got darker, too.”
The question shocked her. It shouldn’t have. She had always known that the king was very observant; she just didn’t know that his observance would extend to the changes in her body.
“Um. It must be your imagination, my king.” She prayed he wouldn’t be suspicious.
“Mm.” He dipped his head and licked around her nub.
What if I get pregnant?
The question shook him and made his heart ache. He couldn’t blame her; it was not her fault for asking. She didn’t know about his medical issues, and he had been drawing sexual pleasures from her body a lot. She was bound to ask. It didn’t make it hurt any less.
Apart from the death of Declan, the next thing that affected him was the pain of knowing that his father’s bloodline would die at the end of his reign. It was an unbearable pain. His generation had been on the throne and kept their bloodline going for more than a thousand years. And, suddenly, it had to come to an abrupt halt in his own reign.
If any of his male relatives were alive, he would have given him his queen for them to make an heir that would continue their bloodline, as many royal families have done over the years.
But he had no one. No relatives. No family. No child.
“Please, stop thinking about it.” Danika’s soft, melodic voice filled the air. “Whatever you’re thinking now, please stop.”
His eyes found hers. He saw her worry and his deep pain reflected in her eyes. He blinked once and put the thought away—for her. “I want to keep you close to me, Danika,” he breathed to her.
Her eyes watered at the heartfelt words. The king really liked her, she reasoned delightfully. He might not love her, but he had taken to her. She swiped the tears from her eyes. That was enormous progress compared to the way he was with her when he first made her his slave. “I want to be close to you too, my king.”
He kissed her lips; his tongue mated and danced with her in a song as old as time. She wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him. Making the moment last.
Finally, he pulled back. “There’s a spy activity suspected in the kingdom of Navia, so Princess Kamara will stay here. The courting week will still go on, so I cannot be with you constantly. It is an act of disrespect to her and her family, and I would not want to do that.”
Once a princess, Danika understood perfectly what he was saying. She nodded sadly, but relief filled her. The courting week would stop the king from taking sexual pleasures from her whenever he wanted to, and it was a good thing for her.
He laid his head back to her chest, enjoying the feel of her plump breast beneath his ear. “But once the courting week is over, you are mine, Danika.”
Her heart skittered away. “I’ve always been yours, my king.” She had always been the king’s slave.
“Yes, you have always been mine. And you will keep being mine. I will stop restraining myself with you, Danika. You’re the only woman that has seen all of me. You saw all and you are still here with me. You held me when I needed contact the most. You keep me sane,” he groaned hoarsely.
She felt each word vibrate her heart, her soul. Her throat closed with feelings.
“My upcoming marriage has weighed heavily on me for a long time. A woman who will have to touch me, try to talk to me, try to be in my personal space. It does not please me, but a king must do what he must for his people.”
“Yes, a king must.” It hurt her to agree with him. She wanted to be the only woman in his life. But she also knew how demanding the weight of duty was. If only she were still a princess.
She closed her eyes against the pain. She no longer regretted how her fate turned out. She no longer had pains about it. If she had never been a slave, she would never have known King Lucien. She would never have had a chance to be with a man like him.
“But I will keep you close to me, Danika. You know me, and I can trust you. You have proven trustworthy. I had no one, but now I have you.” He looked her in the eyes. “I am not letting you go.”
Vetta stood frozen behind the door. Her eyes were wide and her heart cold as ice. She’d heard those words clearly. Shock was her first reaction.
She couldn’t sleep, so she had gone to seek him out. To hell with courting week, she’d decided with every intention of coming to his chambers and seducing him to lie with her.
.