Page 64 of Black Sea

Mistress Yrrek flinched and quickly stepped back, pure fear sailing full sail in her wide eyes.

It was only when I felt Amlach’s fingers wrap around my forearm that I realized I had nearly lunged at the woman.

“Will you excuse us for a moment?” He smiled from ear to ear and dragged me away.

As we zigzagged through the guests, dancers, and fire eaters, it felt like his hand was so red-hot it could sever my arm. At the hall’s rear, Amlach passed through a curtain of scarlet and gold drapes dangling between two columns, and I angrily wriggled free from his grasp.

“Don’t tell me you’re really thinking about accepting her proposal,” I snapped.

He faced away from me, so stiff he resembled a statue. “Why shouldn’t I?”

I grabbed him by the elbow and made him turn around. “Did you notice how Roxior’s attitude shifted when she approached?” I continued in a pressing tone, keeping my voice as low as possible and glancing around to ensure no prying ears were nearby. “It’s clear that this woman is responsible for the loss of his lover.”

“She is,” he confirmed.

I frowned, speechless.

Amlach rubbed one hand over his face and grimaced in annoyance. “Do you think I spent the afternoon beating off because of what didn’t happen in that tub?”

I blushed, brusquely averting my angry gaze.

He sighed, growing more irritated. “Roxior has summoned me to his study to explain his new plan.” He took a half step closer to me to speak more softly. “By becoming that woman’s favorite, I could find out all her dirty secrets, all the shady things she is involved in. And Roxior will finally be able to officially accuse her in order to bring her before the Council of Rubra and demand her death sentence at the hands of an executioner or the desert.”

I grew circumspect. “I thought he aimed to humiliate those who had killed his beloved during the Games, robbing them of glory and wealth . . .”

“It seems our performance hasn’t impressed just Mistress Yrrek. And now Roxior wants to see her executed.” He moved even closer, so near that my skirt touched his tunic. “And the sooner I provide him with all the evidence he needs, the sooner we can get home.” He took my chin with two fingers, lifting my face to search my eyes. “Don’t you understand?”

I grasped his wrist and yanked his hand away. “I don’t understand how you can be willing to prostitute yourself for this,” I hissed.

He shrugged. “She’s a very beautiful woman. It won’t be that hard to sleep with her.”

I made a disgusted face. “How can you say such a thing?”

“I’m a man, Nauriel,” he snapped between his teeth. “I have needs that you undoubtedly don’t require me to explain. And besides, it’s been far too long since I’ve touched a woman.”

“You touched me earlier,” I said point-blank.

His pine-green irises seemed to burst into flames. “Not enough.” He stared at my lips, and then his gaze, darkened by desire, traveled over my body. “Not the way I’d like to.”

I felt as if I was breathing pure fire instead of oxygen. “Amlach—”

“You think I want to screw her?” he growled in my face. “Or any other female who looks at me like I might be the fuck of the century?”

“That’s enough,” I said, livid, then turned to head back where we came from.

Suddenly, Amlach seized me by my arms and slammed me against the column so hard that a few of my hairpins came loose as I hit my head.

“I want you,” Amlach declared with both passion and anger. So much anger. “And I want you to stop resisting me and admit that you feel the same way about me.”

Terribly shocked, I didn’t push him away when he cupped my cheek with his hand, so big that for a moment the ridiculous idea that he could crush my skull in his palms crossed my mind.

Amlach pressed his thumb beneath my chin to tilt my face upward, leaning down until he brushed the tip of my nose with his. “Tell me that tonight I will finally have you. Tell me you’ll let me do whatever I want to you.” He slid his other hand from my breast down my ribs and along my side until he reached my buttock, which he squeezed so hard that I gasped. “That you’ll let me fuck you as I imagined from the first moment.”

I scowled, troubled by how his crude language affected me. “Don’t talk to me like that,” I commanded, pushing my hands against his abdomen in an effort to shove him away.

Amlach moved his hand behind my neck and ran his fingers through my hair, giving it a sudden tug that made me moan with a mix of surprise and excitement.

“I’ll talk to you however I want,” he growled, his mouth brushing mine with each syllable. He yanked my hair again to tilt my head back even further. “The way you want me to.”