Captain Gareth's Mates by Cassandra Pierce Read Free Book Online Page B

concerned.”
    “On the contrary. You are now the son-in-law of the grand potentate, and a powerful Anubian lord in your own right. My father expects you to rule this world one day, as he has no legitimate son. Only daughters.”
    He couldn’t hide his troubled expression in time.   Izbal dabbed tears of guilt from her eyes with the edge of the blanket. “Traditionally, the couple is expected to do no work other than, well, be together during this first week. We’re to be left completely alone for the next six moons. Not even the servants will disturb us. I hope you’ll find it...and me...tolerable.”
    Touched by the sadness in her voice, Gareth moved to the edge of the bed and sat down beside her. “I find your company more than tolerable, Izbal.” His thumb lifted to stroke her cheek, brushing away the remnants of her tears. “And though I don’t understand or approve of all your customs, I will never dishonor you. I promise.”
    “No one would blame you if you did. You have been saddled with a wife you neither love nor find attractive. The fact that you have stayed even this long fills me with wonder.”
    Gareth’s brows rose. “What makes you think I don’t find you attractive?”
    “A woman knows, my lo—I mean, my husband. I have never known love, but I have observed such emotion in others. I see no desire in your eyes when we speak or touch. I see no pleasure when I approach you.” With a resigned sigh, she straightened her shoulders. “No matter. I have lived without love until now, and I will continue to do so. We will be kind to each other and pass the time as best we can, both now and in the future. Soon enough, you will return to your other life. It is not unusual on my world for husbands and wives to lead separate existences. No one will suspect that anything is amiss.”
    His thumb slid down her cheek as he cradled her face in his hand. “Izbal, I do find you beautiful. The problem is...well, there’s a complication. You wouldn’t understand.”
    She looked up at him with dawning comprehension. “Your heart belongs to another, perhaps?”
    “Yes.” His shoulders sagged in relief that she had spared him the necessity of going into detail. “Yes, exactly. My heart belongs to another. It happened before we met. I tried to tell your father, but he insisted it didn’t matter.”
    “It wouldn’t to him. That is not his way. My mother and his other wives accept his varied interests...and I can, too, my l—Gareth. Can you not make a little space in your heart for me as well? I have no desire to push the other woman out.”
    “You are amazing, Izbal,” he said sincerely. “I am proud to call you my wife.”
    “Thank you, my lord. I am honored to call you my husband.”
    Her words had caused something to tighten in his chest and make his heart thud a little faster. His hand remained on her face, tilting her chin until their faces were only inches apart. He smelled the sweetness of the perfumes her servants had adorned her with, as they had him. Was it possible those oils contained some type of pheromone or aphrodisiac? Something about her certainly had a strong physical effect on him.
    Leaning in to kiss her seemed the most natural thing in the world.
    So he did.
    She responded with an enthusiasm he hadn’t expected. Her mouth gripped his in a warm, moist embrace, tasting and caressing. Gareth let his tongue skim over her bottom lip and then prod further until it touched her teeth. Izbal murmured with enjoyment, parrying his tongue’s incursion with a playful thrust of her own.
    As the kiss deepened, Gareth shifted on the bed and caught his robe between his thigh and the mattress. The front parted accidentally, revealing a sliver of the entire length of his body. Izbal went still against him, and he heard her suck in a nervous breath. When he broke the kiss and leaned back to study her, the longing on her face was palpable.
    He couldn’t help but enjoy the strength of her desire for