“No, I mean, I thought Reaksarians were restricted to Hell?”
It was yet another way Lucifer kept the Reaksarian Tribes in line. He couldn't risk them trading for weapons with other races so no foreigners were allowed on the continent of Reaksar and Reaksarians weren't allowed to leave the planet.
“We are but I always knew I'd either change that or leave Hell. So, I prepared for it by learning languages I thought might come in handy.”
“Do you know any human languages?”
“English, that's all.” He shrugged. “From what I've heard, most of Earth knows that language. It's strange that there are so many languages on that planet.”
I made a huffing sound. “Yes, but many of them are beautiful and worth learning.”
“Perhaps you could teach me some,” he suggested softly.
I looked away.
“After my massage,” he added and laid back down.
“I'll have you know that I'm onto your tricks,” I declared.
“My tricks?” he asked in an amused tone.
“Mal was the one who filled my plate at dinner and he's never asked me for a massage,” I clarified. “You're making me do things that aren't expected of a mvarra.”
Braxis snorted. “What's expected of a mvarra depends on her mvarro. And right now, I expect you to give me a massage. So, get to it.”
I grimaced at the back of his head. At least a massage was better than letting him paw at me. Plus, there was the fact that he was making me do this in public, with his men watching. I had a feeling that this was more about appeasing them than messing with me. So, I stepped forward.
The oil had dribbled out of my hand while I spoke to Braxis so I poured another palm-full and set the bottle down. My first big sweeps across his broad back made Braxis sigh. I leaned into the heels of my hands and pushed up from his low back to his shoulders. He groaned and dropped his arms to the ground, laying his cheek on the lounger.
My hands worked what seemed like miles of hardened muscles and I began to lose myself in the rhythmic swipes. Braxis must have done some work in the sun recently because his skin—once so pale from the harsh Reaksarian climate—was now a light bronze. It gleamed from the application of oil. Although he was taller and a touch broader than Malik, his body reminded me of my husband and I couldn't help but admire it. On Earth, most men had to spend hours in a gym and restrict their diets to get such a body, but I knew that neither Malik nor Braxis had ever stepped foot in a gym and they denied themselves nothing. Their bodies had been built by genetics and war.
Perhaps because those muscles were attained without targeted exercise, they looked natural. Neither Malik nor Braxis had that bodybuilder, about-to-pop, I-can't-put-my-arms-down physique. Their bodies had developed muscles that were necessary to wield weapons, defend their people, and, in Braxis' case, to construct all of those things necessary for a comfortable life. That resulted in a powerful build that still managed to look effortless. Their muscles bulged but they did so with a certain sleekness to them that most large men never achieve. In short, they both had truly magnificent bodies.
I pushed aside the silky waves of Braxis' bright hair and started working the tight muscles in his neck. He groaned in pleasure, the sound shivering through me. I tried to remember that this was my enemy, not my husband, and I had no right to enjoy touching him or even to take satisfaction in the sounds he made. But the curves and dips of Braxis' back were making me forget all of that.
The man was so large that his legs hung off the lounger. If I hugged him standing up, my head would probably just reach the underside of his pectorals. That's simply too big. Malik was as large as I wanted to go with a lover, any bigger and it became a problem. Didn't it? Braxis needed to be with a Bleiten woman—one closer to his build and height whose body had been made to accommodate his.
And why the hell was I thinking about this?!
I suddenly realized why. Oh, this was evil brilliance—Braxis getting me to touch his body while he faced away from me. Giving me the privacy to admire him and even enjoy him without scrutiny. He didn't have to do anything but lie there to seduce me. But it shouldn't have mattered. He was abhorrent to me. Wasn't he? No more than 24 hours earlier, this man had forced me to bare myself and watch as he masturbated, and I had thrown up in response to it. A few hours after that and I was touching him as if I loved him. And a few hours later, I was crying in his arms as he sang to me. Was he getting to me? How?
Words. It was what he said and how he said it. Braxis and I were in a complicated and delicate battle in which words were the only weapons allowed. But they were a double-edged sword. As I sliced at him, I had to be careful not to cut myself and I also had to remember that he wielded a sword as well. In my linguistic arrogance, I'd never see him as a threat. How wrong I'd been. I'd already taken a few hits and my immortality wouldn't heal these wounds. I'd have to do that myself and I needed to do it fast.
“You have a wonderful touch, pretty pixie,” Braxis rumbled, taking another verbal stab at me.
This time, I was prepared and his words only annoyed me. I leaned forward and dug my elbow into his back. But Braxis only groaned again in pleasure, bringing to mind the memory of him kneeling before me, staring at my sex and groaning as he stroked himself. I grimaced at him and continued to pummel him with my elbows, fists, and knuckles. By the time he told me to stop, I had worked out a lot of my anger toward him and myself. As I stood there panting, I realized the second part of his brilliant plan. Braxis had given me an outlet for my stress and now, I was nearly as relaxed as he was.
Braxis sat up and gave me a calculating look. “Feeling better?”
“I'd feel even more better if I could massage your face,” I said sweetly as I lifted a fist. “Is it feeling tense by any chance?”
Braxis chortled as he stood up. He stretched, giving me a mouthwatering view of his body. I looked away again. The bastard had tied me up and tried to rape me; only my ability to feed on his lust had saved me. He wasn't a good man and telling him that he was wouldn't change anything. I couldn't let myself be lured into a feeling of camaraderie or intimacy with him. I was his prisoner. His witch had subdued my magic. I was their enemy and I was fighting for the men I loved and an entire realm. I couldn't forget that and I couldn't wait any longer. I resolved to make my escape that very night.
Braxis pulled on his shirt and strapped on his belt before holding a hand out to me. “Let's go for a walk.”
I took his hand and let him lead me away from the pool. I looked up at him and judged his height. I suppose his size wasn't as ridiculous as I'd thought. He always seemed so massive to me and he was, but he wasn't exactly the giant I'd believed him to be. He was definitely the biggest Bleiten I'd ever seen, bigger even than Malik, but he wasn't of monstrous proportions—not in this form at least. I had painted a picture of Braxis in my head and used fear to color it. As such images do, that picture had morphed into a monster—a great, hulking creature who had become so real to me that pieces of it still lingered in my mind even when Braxis stood before me.
I'd thought that I had seen past my nightmare-image of him when he'd first brought me onto the ship but I hadn't, not completely. Which led me to wonder what else I'd twisted about him. No, that was foolish and I nipped the thought in the bud before it could flourish. Big or not, monster or angel, I hadn't distorted what Braxis had done to me or what he was continuing to do. The whole reason he made this bargain with me was to win me—his words. He had warned me that he would try to seduce me and I was still falling prey to him. Well, not anymore. My monster was merely a man, and men are far easier to defeat.
