Game of Temptation (5 page)

Chapter Six

Alethi's knees buckled as she pressed her
fist between her teeth to stifle her cry. The point between her thighs throbbed
like wildfire and felt as if they were being fondled, caressed and played with.
Every sensation that she felt down below coursed throughout her body, making
even her fingertips sensitive. Her breathing came in rasps and she moaned
despite the control she tried to wield. She bit het knuckles, not feeling any
pain as all the feeling concentrated on only the pleasure between her legs.
Gods,
gods, please…oh, gods…too much…too much…

As mysteriously as it happened, the
pleasurable sensations vanished, leaving her quivering on the floor. The hand
she had been biting was bruised anew and the other had been holding onto one of
the crystalline figurines that decorated Arun's room.

She concentrated on steadying her breathing.
Steadying herself. She knew her dress was stained with her wetness and Arun
would notice. Again. The first time it happened three days ago, he had stared
at the wet spot and then at her face with his lips curled in a grin and his
eyes set like a predator. He asked her what happened and she lied saying that
she spilled water and accidentally sat on it. But she knew he knew better,
though he did not say anything. Even she could smell herself and it was
certainly very distinct from the smell of
just water
. Besides, she
knew she was red from head to toe with the question.

It was happening often – the tingling
sensation and the arousal that came with it – but it was not often strong. Most
of the time, she could control herself and hide it. She could only thank the
gods that the intense tremors did not happen when Arun was around. She did not
know what excuse she could claim for that.

She tried to stand but found that she was
still too weak for that. Instead, she ruminated on all of it. Arun had backed
off from touching her intimately as he did on her first night at the lake. When
he did touch her, it was careful, tender and often at the places where her
spine would tingle in response. And only very briefly.

Perhaps his sudden tenderness was the reason
why she was having dreams of him night after night. His touches were always
sensual and caressing, but never intrusive or forceful like the night at the
lake. Her dream Arun was different from the real one that seemed to dominate
everything. Not that she preferred one over the other. In her dreams, his hands
and lips nuzzled her neck, her arms, her stomach and her thighs, never going
further. Her favorite had been the first night she had dreamt it when he kissed
her lips so tenderly, she was surprised her brain could come up with a tender
elf after his forcefulness at the lake. Always her sleep was peaceful, and
always, she looked forward to the dream and the glorious feeling she would have
waking up.

She even started to worry for him when one
night, he screamed cursing. His hands were grabbing fistfuls of the bed sheet
and he was breathing as if he were in pain. He dismissed it as a nightmare when
she asked him what woke him but she didn't believe him. His face was laced with
pain, but he would not tell her anything. That was the night she dreamed him
kissing her just above her hidden treasure. Part of her cursed him for
disrupting that dream. Especially since it did not continue when she went back
to sleep.

And then, there was another thing that
troubled her in all this. He had never once questioned her about the state of
her country. He had been so adamant at finding out what he wanted to know when
he caught her, she expected him to start asking the same day. But not once had
he asked. At least, not yet.

Her thoughts shifted elsewhere anticipating
any word from her father. It would only be two more days before a messenger
would arrive, if not her father himself. She didn't care if Niraya would
accompany him, she promised herself she would tell him the truth and she would
accept whatever her father's judgment would be. But she would protect Orrin if
the king sentenced him to death for such treason. He was after all, her real
father.

In her mind, it was all set, but she knew
when the time came, it was not going to be easy and a few hearts, if not all,
will be breaking that day. But her father needed to know the truth. And his
acceptance or rejection of her would tell her how much her father truly loved
her and her mother. It was all done for his sake, after all.

"Alethi?"

She spun around so quickly, she felt her
neck crack and pain shot all around her neck to her head. She clutched them and
bent forward in pain, whimpering. There was no one to blame but him. He should
not be surprising her every chance he got!

The pain dissipated, replaced by warmth.
Warmth of a hand engulfing her own…and of lips pressed just below her ear above
her hand. Arun's breath, as he chanted words she could not understand, roused
her as her body tingled once again. His unique smell assaulted her and it was
all she could do not to fling herself at him.

His lips grazed up toward her ear lobe and
whispered, "Be careful next time," before he let go of her.

Her hazel eyes met his bright green ones.
She recalled her dreams and quickly looked away. Again, his touch was brief but
it inspired something in her. Something that made her want to curl up in his
arms and stay there.

"Thank you," she said, not knowing
what else to say.

Suddenly, he was in her line of vision once
more, bending himself to meet her eyes. "I know I have been keeping you
here like a prisoner for so long. Perhaps, you would honor me with your company
around Rehanathi?"

"The honor is mine," she started,
but remembered the problem she had with her clothes. "Perhaps you would
allow me to change before we leave?"

Arun's face held that infuriating grin and
predatory eyes once more, chuckling low. He knew and he was enjoying her
squirm.

"Of course," he acquiesced in
amused tones. "I shall wait for you outside." He took the figurine
from her hands and put it back where it belonged.

Alethi let out a breath she did not know she
had been holding when he exited the room. Her legs were still shaky but she
could hold herself up better. She has had many suitors, daring dukes,
mischievous marquesses, earls, counts, viscounts and even barons, but from none
of them had she felt anything like she felt with Prince Arun. With them, she
dreaded every touch, even the simple respect of touching their lips to her
fingers. But with Arun, she wanted him to touch more than her hands. By the
gods! She was beginning to understand why some women have been sleeping with
rakes behind their husbands' backs. The arranged marriage brought them no joy
and she shuddered to think what her life would be like marrying someone whose touches
she dreaded.

But Arun was an elf, and she, a human.
Without even a trace of elfin blood in her. It would be foolish to think that
he had any interest in her. She knew he was only acting on his nature to mate
for the year. It surprised her when she found out about it. That elves only
mated once every twenty-one years and that marriage did not exist. Every elf
was family and the child born from the mating of two elves in their mating year
was brought up by all.

It was a strange custom, but it did make sense
if one lives for too long. For all she knew, he was fucking another elf every
time he went away. The thought twisted her heart and she recognized it to be
jealousy. "Stupid, Alethi. Stupid!" She slapped her forehead. Of
course it shouldn't matter. She had no claims on him. She had no right to be
jealous.

Arun's smile greeted her as she stepped out,
his hands outstretched and she took it. She could not deny the sensations that
crawled through her hands to the rest of her body as her skin made contact with
his. In a gentlemanly manner, he hooked her arms around his and she nearly
groaned. She was still sensitive down there and with him so close, there seemed
to be no rest for the yearning and the dull throb she was feeling.

"Rehanathi is beautiful," she said,
trying to distract herself. "Every tree seems more alive here than in
Dosalam and every creature more cooperative with each other…more docile."

"It's the Imreal," he said.
"It breathes more life to everything. One of the main vessels is in the
Ollan – the place where…we first met. I am sure you have felt things more
strongly there."

She nodded. "Everything felt more real
there."

He nodded. "It is one of the powers of
the Imreal. We share its gifts of life. Some say we are its seed. But we do not
really know. Its lore has been lost to us. Even our understanding of it is so
little now."

"Perhaps, things are meant to be that
way."

"Perhaps. We—" he stopped and a
few moments have passed before another elf stepped into the clearing.

"My lord, one of the scouts has
arrived. I believe she has something important to say," Nuat said.

Arun sighed. "Princes, forgive me. I
have need to attend to this. I will be back."

Alethi nodded. "I understand, Prince
Arun. I shall wait."

He gently took her hand and pressed his lips
to her knuckles. She stamped down on a shudder as they held each others' eyes.
And then he tore away and followed Nuat.

She watched him as he disappeared in the
thick foliage and settled herself on leaning on one of the two huge trees in
the area. It was not nearly as beautiful as the flora and fauna near the
Imreal, but it was still leagues better than the tended gardens in her castle
home. The leaves were more green and the flowers, brighter. Even the sun that
shone through was not searing-hot.

Her eyes closed taking all of it in. She
inhaled the myriad of smells that she would only describe as soothing. She was
about to speak to herself when her throat constricted and her eyes shot open.
Her first reaction was to scream, but the constriction was there and her open
mouth only breathed out air. In front of her was the elf, Liushan. His eyes
murderous.

"You are all the same wretched fools,
are you not?"

Alethi slowly calmed herself. Whatever
Liushan wanted, she was sure it was her fear. He fed on it to fuel whatever
hatred he hid behind those eyes.

"You have taken our sister. Raped her
until she died of grief and shame. The truce was supposed to lend credence your
honor, but here you are wrapping our prince in your little scheme." His
hand snaked up to her throat and held her tightly below her jaws. "You are
taking advantage of his weakness and I will not allow that. What I will do is
fuck you raw so you won't even have the strength to do anything to him. I
promise you, it will not be pleasurable for either of us, but I will do what I
must."

Panic rose inside her and she found that she
could not even move, but she let none of it show in her face. Outwardly, she
knew she looked fierce and challenging because Liushan slapped her. She saw
nothing but white and her cheek stung. Her jaw felt bruised and her ears were
deafened by a single tone. But it was her throat that pained her the most. He
did not let go and she could only gasp and cough as she felt herself choked.

"We will see how defiant you are when
we're through.
Princess
." He said her title as if it were a
mockery. "Have you anything to say
princess
? No?" His hand
manipulated her head and found herself staring straight at him again when her
vision cleared. "Well, first, let's see if you like how you're being
treated right now."

Her eyes widened, disgusted at the hand he
was bringing up her inner thigh. It didn't matter that he was perfection
himself with his blue eyes and dark hair. She was disgusted to her core. She
wanted to close her legs and stop him, but she was still unable to move. Most
of all, she could not let him know that she had not yet fully recovered from
her earlier ordeal, nor with the sensations brought by Arun. Despite her fear
and disgust, her fearless look never wavered and Liushan's face flash a hint of
frustration that was immediately gone.

"Hmmm…I can heel your heat from
here," he said, his hand about three fingers away from where no one has
touched her before.

She wanted to cry, but she kept up the
façade. She could not let this creature be the first one to touch her there.
Even she had not allowed herself to do so! He had no right, but she could not
do anything about it. His hand crawled up higher then suddenly stopped.

"If you do not stop, I will be forced
to harm you. Do not let that happen, Liushan."

She knew that voice though it took on a
dangerous tone. Hope flooded through her and tears she had been keeping
threatened to spill.

"If you proceed with this, it is
tantamount to harming the princess and it will shatter the truce. I will not
let it be said that the truce was broken because of elfin idiocy."

In an instant, his hands let her go and so
did the tightness of her throat as she dropped to the ground, shaking. Nothing
had ever frightened her as much as what she had just gone through. Her senses
closed in about her as if compensating for her helplessness earlier. He was so
close and she could not do anything to protect herself. The tears were there,
but she just could not show them to the man who sought to defile her.