He sat naked on a raised chair that had beenpositioned close to the bed. His dark head slowly came up, hisgolden gaze burning with intensity as it wandered all over her bodybefore coming to rest on her face. “What I should have done longago. I claimed you.”
Kara’s mouth worked up and down, but nothingcame out. She cleared her throat. “Claimed? Is that like beingmarried?”
“Aye.” She could feel himsensing her emotions about marriage—the earthly and Galian versionsanyway. “Leastways, our bond is now eternal andunbreakable.”
Her hand came up to her head. Was he readingher mind?
“Only your emotions,pani.”
Her heart beat acceleratedagain. Her breasts heaved up and down in time with her breathing.“Can you feel this emotion?” she bit out. “I call itpissed.”
“Aye.” There was amusementemanating from him even though his expression didn’t show it. “Youare vexed with your Sacred Mate.”
“I prefer pissed to vexed.Vexed isn’t strong enough.”
“As you will.”
His stoicism irked her. Hecould feel all her feelings yet she could barely guess his?Frustrated, she looked around for something to throw at him. Seeingnothing with hurling power, she settled for avesha-hidepillow. Warbling out herannoyance, she jumped off the bed and made to run around him. Aheavily muscled and tattooed arm stopped her. He pulled her intohis lap.
“Let yourself become onewith me. You will know my emotions the soonest,nee’ka.”
Nee’ka—the Trystonni word for wife. Kara thought to tell him to stopcalling her that, but his hot breath against her neck sent shiversdown her spine. And being in his arms again…
She wanted to cry. She wanted to throwherself on the bed like a child and cry her eyes out.
“I’m not supposed to wantyou,” she said quietly, refusing to look at him. “Klykka warned methat this necklace would make me disappear from Galis.”
“You can visit with youradoptive sister at any time of your choosing,pani.”
“But I can’t livethere?”
“Nay. You will live onXaerja with me.” He brushed one hand along her spine, making ittingle. “’Twill be your wish now to always be by my side, just as Iwill always crave to be at yours.”
She had felt that way before the bridalnecklace. She couldn’t imagine her emotions growing even moreintense now. But they were. She did nothing but sit on his lap andthe desire to be even closer was already waging war within her.
“I don’t understand any ofthis,” she whispered.
“I know. Leastways, youwill the soonest.”
“How can you be sosure?”
“’Tis the way of our holyunion. The goddess has decreed it thusly and so it is.”
“I don’t believe inreligion.”
“You don’t have to. Thegoddess will have her way whether you believe she exists ornot.”
His breath. The warlord’s hot breath coulddo to her body what a thousand hands working simultaneouslycouldn’t. It had always been this way between them, yet now theeffect was exponentially more searing. Again, she shivered.
“I can smell your arousal,Kara. Do not fight our consummation.”
She closed her eyes against his words. Hernatural female instinct told her to run—even if there was zerochance of not being found—but his closeness was working its sensualmagic on her. She latched onto a less heated, but still important,topic. “Did the Emperor really give me my name back?”
“Aye. Your given name isyours to keep. ‘Tis only your surname that changed when I claimedyou.” She could sense he realized she was stalling. “You are nowand forevermore Queen Kara K’ala Draji of Xaerja.”
Her eyes flicked back open,though she still didn’t look at him. It was both bizarre andbeautiful to know she would never be called Kari again. She hadlived with the name for moreYessat-Yearsthan she could count,yet it had never felt like hers. Probably because itwasn’t.
“Look at me,Kara.”
