Dark Warriors: A Dark Lands Anthology (Darklands) by Autumn Dawn Read Free Book Online Page B

what I’d really like.”
    Her hands stilled, and then commenced pounding on his back with satisfying force. It didn’t last, though. Those small hands took more punishment than he did, and soon she had to resume a slower rubbing motion.
    It felt incredibly good, and very erotic. He was tempted to roll over and offer to give her the same service, though his version would be considerably more provocative. Glad he was on his belly, covering the result of his heated thoughts, he quieted himself to enjoy her attentions. After all, he had not chosen her…yet.
    But she had come to him. Surely that entitled him to some playfulness?
    The temptation was too great to bear. “Tell me, adajah, how is it that you remained chaste in a world as promiscuous as your own? You’re quite old to still be a—ow!” He rolled over so quickly she fell away from him. No one had dared to strike him outside of battle in many years. It may have only been a cuff on the back of his head, but her audacity shocked him.
    It turned him on a little, too. Or maybe that was a result of her inelegant sprawl, which put her within easy reach. The length of leg she was showing didn’t hurt either.
    Before he could thunder at her, she snapped, “That’s rude to mention, you jerk! How could you guys sneak around, taking secret photos of us...or whatever you did? If I’d wanted a bunch of horny guys to see me naked, I’d have posed for Playboy and gotten paid for it!”
    Dagon gaped at her. “Had I seen you naked, woman, I’d have remembered it! We did scans, true, but…”
    “You invaded my privacy, and every other woman’s here. As for how you could know that we, that I…” She trailed off and looked away.
    “That’s a very small thing, compared to what we intend to do to you.” The heated words were a threat, true, but one he regarded with sensual promise. Too late, he realized how it would sound. He reached for her, trying to apologize.
    Vana shot to her feet and backed away. Aiming for the door, she circled him, careful to stay out of reach.
    “Vana.” He stood up, extended his hand toward her.
    She slipped through the door and was gone.
    Frustrated, he glared at the floor. That had been foolish of him. A man never threatened a woman with such things. But when she stood up to him as if she were twice her size and muscled as well, he forgot that inside she was nothing but soft woman, easily wounded.
    Well, maybe not entirely soft, he corrected ruefully as he considered the last few minutes. The woman had spine. It made him want to dominate her, and the fire in his blood told him how. Unfortunately, he was not free to choose a woman based on lustful attraction. As leader of his people, he needed something more; someone with queenly qualities. Though he hadn’t quite defined what those were, he doubted Vana had them. How could she? It was unlikely that the first woman he’d gotten to know would possess every quality he’d ever need in a wife. A wise man would get to know the others before he even thought about making a choice.
    Unaccountably restless, he paced to the window and looked out. The spires of the city he cared for did not soothe him as they usually did. He knew the cause. The women were in the Bride House, waiting. Years of sexual frustration told him that nothing was more important than seeking them out. Yet his father’s example stayed him.
    Though long dead, Dagon’s father Nadir still influenced his choices. He’d been a good father, but a poor husband. Anything his wife Ellyn had wanted, she’d gotten. In return she’d borne him son after son. While it had given Nadir much happiness, for only a son could hold the throne, it had not pleased Ellyn. Instead of correcting her increasingly objectionable behavior, Nadir had simply hired male caretakers (females did not do such menial things) for his children and spent more time on matters of state. He’d practically raised his sons, while Ellyn withdrew to the point of a