“No, Braxis,” I said more firmly.
“Give me something, woman, or I will not be satisfied, and you will suffer as well, I promise you,” he snarled.
“I've already—”
“I need more!” Braxis roared.
“I...” my breath caught and I had to stop a whimper from escaping. “You can look.Onlylook...” I drew my panties down and his eyes went wide, going straight to my thatch of curls.
“Oh, fuck,” he whispered, his rage rapidly receding. “Touch me, Amara.”
“No.”
“I beg of you. Just stroke my chest.”
“No.”
“What would you have of me?” Braxis asked feverishly. “Ask a boon and it shall be yours.”
My mind raced with the possibilities and my body suddenly thrummed with feminine power. What could I get from him? What did I want that he might actually give me simply for touching him?
“Send a message to the Triari Embassy,” I said breathlessly. “Tell them that I'm safe and won't be harmed.”
Braxis' hands stilled. His harsh breath lifted his chest aggressively. “For that, you will run your hands over me like a lover.”
“I'm not touching your cock, Braxis.”
“Everywhere else,” he bargained. “But you will do so as if it's what you want to do.”
I shivered. My eyes twitched. “Agreed. But I want to see you send the message right now.”
Braxis surged off the bed and went to the left wall beside the bed. He slapped a panel near the corner and it opened. A few vicious movements and a monitor was revealed with a keyboard below it. He typed furiously, too fast for me to follow, then pressed a button on a box beside the monitor.
A voice came through, “Yes, Chief?”
“I'm sending a message to the Triari Embassy,” Braxis said gruffly. “I want Malik to know that I have his mvarra. Allow the message through.”
“Yes, Chief!”
Well, there went my brewing plan to send another message later.
“Come here,” Braxis ordered me.
I pushed down my shift and went to him on shaking legs. I didn't understand too much about alien technology but I saw the Bleiten words for “Triari Embassy” and also “direct communication” on the screen. He really was going to send the message.
“What do you want it to say exactly?” He demanded.
“Tell them to notify Prince Kyrian that Duchess Amaranthine is safe and unharmed and will continue to be so.”
“Prince Kyrian?”
“My Triari consort.” I lifted my chin.
Braxis grunted and typed what I wanted. Then he tapped a button and the screen read “message sent.”
“Are you satisfied?” he demanded.
“Yes,” I whispered.
