Dark Prince (4 page)

"Now," he breathed hotly against her lips. "Let me see what I have won."

Olena shivered, too stunned by the feel of his lips to move. He began caressing her skin. The fog that tried to invade her all night, had crept into her brain during that last kiss and now held her in its mist--unwilling to let her think, only feel what its master wanted her to.

He trailed his hands over her gown, burning through the silk as if it didn’t exist. He flexed his fingers, letting his palms do most of the touching. They moved down her hips, over her waist to come up, cupping naturally around her smaller breasts. The soft globes fit beautifully into his hands and he touched them as if they already belonged to him.

Olena gasped, too stunned to move. He kept his eyes locked to hers. He ran his finger up her delicate neck, so strong that they could have strangled the life from her. They did not cause her pain, except the bittersweet agony beneath their gentle gliding. Her blood simmered, pooling between her hips to create a feeling of desperation and longing.

Taking the dress in his firm grasp, Yusef tore it. The material ripped loudly, causing her to jump in surprise. The warm air of the tent hit her naked flesh as the gown was tossed to the side. Her nipple puckered, beckoning him, tempting him.

Yusef stepped back, boldly taking her in. Her skin was white and flawless. It had looked so pure against his tanned flesh. Panties hugged her hips, taunting him with their lacy barrier. Oh, how he’d like to bite through them. Freckles dotted her shoulders, like light and airy kisses. He promised his mouth he would kiss each and every one of them in time.

Her body was well-built, muscled and strong, but still gentle and soft--just like her playful eyes. There was a quiet innocence to her gaze, but Yusef could feel deeper inside her than mere appearances allowed and knew it wasn’t all true, and yet it wasn’t all an act.

He could tell she worked hard by the calluses on her hands, though they did not look rough. Already he concluded that this woman knew how to use a gun. He felt the intent in her trigger finger as if she had fired one often.

Olena held still, watching him devour her with his eyes. It made her hot to see his desire for her, unfiltered in its brazen heat. A wave of guilt overcame her for she knew she would never succumb to him. She knew she would be using him and then leaving him behind as soon as she got a chance. He was just a means to an end--and her end was escape from this exile of a planet.

Thinking of that end, she blinked away the fog, fighting it. She knew her feelings had something to do with the crystal around his neck as well as the wine they had given her to drink. She had tasted that unique blend of herbs before. Psychiatrists liked to use them because they opened the mind and loosened the tongue, though they were illegal in many quadrants. Narrowing her eyes, she stiffened her resolve. This man had tried to drug her, tried to take away her will.

Her eyes shone brightly with an innocence she did not feel. "Like what you see?"

His response was a bestial growl. He didn’t look away.

Taking a finger to her lips, she felt the drying blood on them. The straps still wound up her arms and she left them. She kicked off her shoes. Sucking her finger, her eyes growing wide, she turned to pose shyly for him.

Yusef swallowed, already tortured by what was to come. Still, he couldn’t think to stop it.

Olena blinked and murmured in her most sultry of tones, "I think I got myself dirty, Yusef. Maybe you should come give me a bath."

Chapter Three

Yusef couldn’t help the fever that ignited in his body at the request. He knew he was going to regret it. His warrior instincts told him to be careful, that this woman was cunning, that she was going to be trouble. Not heeding his own instincts, he let his lust do the thinking and walked over to the naked vixen staring at him.

The firefly pin atop her locks glistened as she moved. The little black gemstones sparkled like stars, winking mischievously at him. Reaching, he glided a hand down her cheek, cupping her jaw, his fingers coming over her sensitive ear.

Olena froze, not allowing her body to shiver at the gentle caress. Slowly, he drew his hand over her shoulder and down her arm. Taking up the tattered end of her belt that hung from the winding straps on her wrists, he backed up, leading her by the straps to the steaming tub.

Olena let him look at her, unashamed of her body. She wasn’t a fool. She knew in the end, he would want the same thing all men did. He would want her complete submission. She would never do it. She’d been a man’s slave once. Once was enough.

Yusef was unaware of her turmoil. When he looked at her, she smiled a beautifully dazzling smile. Bringing her forward, he tried to kiss her. Her lush, full lips called to him. They pursed when she talked, begging to be touched. He saw the swollen cut where his teeth had bitten her and he felt the matching sore on his own lip.

Olena moved past him, mischievously passing up his offered mouth. She shrugged out of her panties and got into the bath. Standing naked before him, she waited.

Yusef did not have to be commanded. He stepped into the large basin joining her. Slowly they sank into the warm water. Their backs to opposite sides, they faced each other. Her legs lying to his side. Olena closed her eyes, momentarily content to enjoy the water.

Soon, his fingers were on her feet, lifting them to his chest so he could lather them with soap. His soft touch took her in for a moment, entranced her mind with the pleasure of it. He let his hands roamed, gliding up her calf. When he touched the intimate curve of her knee, she stiffened, ticklish. Opening her eyes, she bathed him, as he did her.

However, as she lathered his feet, she too found herself working up to his hair-roughened thighs. The soap slid delightfully erotic on their skin. Their touches stayed on task, heating and building fires wherever they journeyed. From the thighs they discovered hips, from the delectable hips they discovered stomachs, and from flat stomachs they found chests.

Yusef took his time, teasing her breasts, learning their feel, testing their response. He was not disappointed. As he ran his thumb over a sensitive nub, her body jerked in pleasure.

To Olena’s surprise, she found they were kneeling in the warm water, her hands moving in circles over Yusef’s shoulders. His mouth was inches away from hers, parted, ready to kiss her but holding back. He worked his large hands over her back, massaging her closer to his chest.

The raven strands of his hair were on his shoulders. The dark tips were wet where she had brushed against them. The texture of him mesmerized her. It was hypnotic to her fingers. She couldn’t seem to find the will to stop touching him. The smell of him, of the soap, it drove into her senses.

It was insanity. She knew it. Being with him would go against every code that she lived by. It would ruin the balance of her life. But she could no more stop herself than she could stop the march of time or change the will of the seasons. He was desert heat to her arctic cold. They would never survive together, yet here they were--touching, feeling, stroking, burning.

His tenderness cracked the ice block that had settled over her heart years ago. She couldn’t fight this kind of passion. He didn’t demand anything from her, only gave. How could she refuse such a gift? No one had ever treated her like she was delicate, like she was a real woman.

Desire overwhelmed her, scaring her.

Yusef watched her. The mischief faded from her emerald eyes and he saw the raw agony of pain staring at him. In that moment, a veil was lifted, baring her soul to him. He smelled her longing for him, but also the deeply buried fear. Her eyes moistened with tears as she looked deep into his gray eyes. Whatever it was that she had planned by luring him to the bath, she was not following through.

Olena didn’t know if it was the man, the wine in her veins, or the crystal glowing brighter with each passing moment, that was driving her onward. All she knew was that her body would never be the same. As her desire had begun to respond naturally to his, she forgot her plans, forgot that they shouldn’t be doing this. She forgot to hate him.

Slowly, Olena leaned forward, her arms winding slowly around him as she kissed him. Yusef held her, enjoying himself as he let her make the first move. Her lips were open and sweet, pouring a tender vulnerability over him. Her body pressed more firmly against him as he leaned back in the tub to support her weight. Her legs adjusted over his waist, careful to keep him from touching her with his arousal.

Yusef growled into her opened mouth. Her lips quickened to a fevered pace as she moaned into him. He found her hips, naturally urging her body closer, seeking to tame the ache she had created. He paused in their kiss, opening his mouth as he slid her next to his arousal. The water caressed her, burning hotter near his erection.

Yusef suddenly pulled back. If they finished this mad tirade, the council would sense it on them. If he broke the law, his marriage would be disapproved and he would be forced to live the rest of his very long life alone. Not until she publicly declared she wanted him by breaking his crystal, could he claim her.

Olena, too impassioned with the new feelings to stop, went forward to nuzzle his neck. His pulse jumped beneath her kisses.

"No," he commanded. "Stop."

Stop! Her brain screamed in disbelief. Did he just tell me to stop? Nobody tells me to stop!

"We can’t do this," he said, feeling like a fool as the words came out. He wanted to caress, but he took them away from her skin in denial. Her lips slid along his jaw to his mouth. Her wide emerald eyes stared into his gray ones.

"Why not?" she asked, persistent. "Who would ever know?"

"I would know," he answered with pride. "The council will know."

Olena shrugged, moving to kiss him again. Her body was at such a pitch that she didn’t care about the council or this man’s sudden discovery of honor. Just a moment ago, when he was trying to nestle his erection closer to her inner thighs, where had his sense of honor and his fear of the council been?

"Kiss me," she demanded, her eyes alighting with the mischievous shield to block him out. "Now."

"Say please," he teased.

Her eyes hardened. All vulnerability was gone when she looked at him. Her smile cocked dangerously to the side. A wave of bitterness and despair crashed inside her, caving in her heart. She was a fool. This man was good, she’d give him that. He’d turned her own con back on her and like a dupe she’d fallen for it. He’d made her admit to wanting him only to deny her. A lovely pout on her features, Olena leaned forward.

Yusef watched her, thinking she was perhaps one of the most beautiful creatures in the world. Soapsuds clung to her breasts, drawing his eyes. He would never know how he got the willpower to stop her advances. Her naked arms stretched above her head. Sometime during their play the wristbands had fallen off into the water. Yusef swallowed as her cream colored breasts shifted with the movement of her arms.

Olena took her fingers to her hair and pulled the firefly pin from her locks. With a shake, her hair spread over her skin like trails of fire. Her wide, sultry gaze looked deep into his. His breath caught. She saw the look and knew the battle was now hers. He wouldn’t be refusing her again. Leaning forward, she brushed a kiss to his lips.

"Please…?" She pulled back with a pout. Her eyes hardened and she jabbed the tip of the firefly hairpin into Yusef’s neck. Pushing the firefly’s wings down, she injected a sleeping agent, so strong that it could easily put an elephant out, into his bloodstream.

Yusef stiffened, feeling the poke. His arms lifted to grab her. Instantly, his vision blurred and his hands dropped into the water with a big splash. He couldn’t move. Even as he was passing out he managed a light curse, his dark eyes glaring hotly. As his vision faded around the treacherously lovely being watching over him, he saw her smile waver into a hard look. She waved at him, insolently wiggling her fingers, as she said darkly, "I just don’t say please, husband."

Olena pulled the pin from his neck. The wound dotted with blood but did not drip. He would be out for the rest of the night. Standing, she did not smile as she slipped the pin back into her hair.

When she finished pinning up her locks, she looked down at Yusef, staring at his naked body for a long time. He was incredible. His touch was fire and her body sung with what he did to her. She would have to be careful. This barbarian had almost tricked her into forgetting herself.

Not bothering to dress and knowing he would be out until morning, she leaned over to haul his arms over the side of the bath, making sure he wouldn’t drown. It wouldn’t do to add his murder to her long list of crimes. He was too heavy to move much further than the edge of the tub, so she just left him there.

Striding across the fur-covered ground, Olena didn’t bother to dry her wet body. She dripped a long trail, as she went to the table laden with food. She grabbed the earthen jug in the middle and took a long pull off of it to try and calm her nerves. Emptying half the jug, she set it down with a gasp. Then, seeing a knife left on a tray of sliced fruit, she picked it up.

She glanced at Yusef. Crossing over to him, her face hard, her heart harder, she clutched the knife in her steady hand. As she reached the bathtub, she stopped directly above him. Her fist turned white around the blade as she studied his chest lifting with shallow breaths of sleep.

"You almost bested me," she said softly, pointing the knife at him, ire pouring from her expression as she glared at him. Her eyes narrowed, as she swore vehemently, "Never again."

Olena turned the knife in her hand and held it steady. She took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and drew the blade through her upper arm with a stiff jerk. A whimper left her lips at the pain and she instantly dropped the blade to the ground. Blood ran crimson trails down her arm. She fell to the floor, clutching the injured appendage and refusing to cry out.

For a moment she just rocked, naked and frozen on the ground, waiting for the worst of the initial pain to pass. As the agony of her self-infliction started to dull, she grabbed a nearby bath linen and wound it around the cut to stop the bleeding.