Chapter 11
Mayra inhaled heavily at his words. The handsome stranger was entirely overwhelming to her senses. He was a man out of myth, a legend with a muscular body and a smoldering smile. And he’d come to rescue her.
Would he also be the one to unlock her powers?
Mayra swallowed, shaking her head to clear of it of such thoughts. But she couldn’t completely banish the effect of his words. He’d called her beautiful, and he’d seemed to mean it. Still, could she trust him? Terap had said he would be her savior, that he would lead her to a life that even the old Vanfian oracle would envy.
Staring up into his penetrating eyes, she could almost let herself hope.
“Why?” she asked, when she could remember how to speak.
He was brushing her hair back from her forehead while staring into her eyes. “Why what?” he murmured.
“Why were you looking for me?”
A small grin tugged at the corner of his seductive mouth. “Because we need you. You are part of something bigger, bigger than the both of us. Something we can’t do without you.”
Mayra slid up the bed and away from her handsome companion, suddenly feeling exposed. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked down, no longer able to meet his gaze.
He wants to use me. Like all the others. He needs my powers, not me.
The sensation of his thumb rubbing against her cheek brought her eyes back to his. “What is it, beautiful?”
“I wish you would stop saying that,” she said, slipping under his arm and moving to sit on the edge of the bed, her back to the Vartik male. “We both know it isn’t true.”
“I don’t know who’s been filling your head with lies, but I can prove that I’m telling you the truth.”
She looked over his shoulder at him, her eyes narrowing. “How?”
Nojan gave her a cocky smile, then grabbed her hand, pulling it close to his body. “Feel what you do to me.” He settled her hand over the bulge that was straining against the fabric at the juncture of his thighs.
Mayra was amazed at the hardness she felt there. And the size.He must be enormous, she thought before letting out a gasp and yanking her hand back.
The Vartik male let out a soft chuckle. “You blush so prettily,” he said, planting a lazy kiss on her shoulder.
The sensation of his lips against her skin sent a shiver through her. It felt so warm, so right, that she wanted to relax back into his arms. But could she let her guard down now, when all of her life she’d learned not to trust others? Especially ones who promise friendship.
Just like the creature who used her tears to steal my dinner.
“You’re too stiff,” he whispered against her ear. “You need to rest, to relax. We both do.”
Hearing the strain in his voice, she realized that he really did need to rest. He was tired, perhaps exhausted. But why?
“You should rest,” she said, moving to stand. “I’ll find somewhere else to—”
“Oh no, you don’t.” Nojan grabbed her around her waist and pulled her back down to the bed. “I can’t have you wandering my ship while I’m asleep. You’ll stay right here in my arms, and we’ll both get the rest we need.”
Mayra didn’t know how she’d ever get any rest, pressed so closely to his warm body. Her anxiety only climbed when he tightened his hold on her. She wanted to run, to hide in the dark and try to figure a way out of the mess she found herself in.
She’d gone from knowing her place as a servant to the Vanfian princess to hurtling through the stars, destination unknown. Although some part of her wanted to trust the man who’d saved her from a short and brutal life as a whore to the Vanfian princes, it was still too soon to determine whether her situation had actually improved.
“Let me go,” she demanded, knowing already that he wouldn’t. Mayra had spent her entire life as someone’s property, so giving orders didn’t come naturally to her. Still, things had changed quickly in the last few hours, and she’d felt the lifeblood of a guard spill over her hands. Maybe she could push her newfound reserve of hidden strength a little further.
She felt his hands on her shoulders, pulling her around to face him. “Look at me,” he said, his fingers pushing her chin up. Mayra struggled to disobey, but something in his tone forced her gaze to meet his.
“You will rest here in my arms. You will not get up and wander the ship. You will heed my commands.”
It was as if weight were pressing down on her consciousness, a pressure to do everything he told her to. Before she realized it, he had her underneath him, his eyes bright and focused.
