LustingtheEnemy by Mel Teshco Read Free Book Online Page A

an odd note in his voice when he
explained, “I’m taking you somewhere few people know exists.”
    The carriage jostled over the potholes and ruts of the sandy
road leading away from the security of the palace. Four guards rode behind and
four in front; even so she couldn’t help but wonder if Judas wasn’t too exposed
outside the walls. “What about your safety?”
    “Don’t worry about me, angel,” he said wryly, “although I
bring soldiers along with me as a precautionary measure, I can take care of
myself.”
    She tilted her head to one side. “Are you saying I can’t?”
    He chuckled. “I’d never be so uncouth.” He shrugged.
“Besides, I have a feeling you can more than take care of yourself too.”
    You don’t know the half of it.
    A little over an hour later Judas commanded the soldiers on
horseback to return to the palace. Though she could tell by their faces they
were reluctant to leave, they had no choice but to obey their king. As they
rode away, the driver of the carriage clucked his tongue and the grays
continued ahead.
    When the carriage veered off the road a few minutes later,
Akeisha jerked her attention outside. It looked as though they were traversing
unmarked territory, but in this inhospitable land, trails were often covered up
in a sandstorm. Even the best trackers would have trouble navigating their way
through the Helbelzcha desert.
    The sun blazed high in a bright blue sky, heat rays bouncing
off the sand and into the carriage. She swiped at her brow, longing for the
cool sanctuary of Judas’ palace.
    She’d grown used to the Scantia forest’s relative
coolness and had yet to accustom to the desert heat that Judas seemed to
relish.
    “We’re almost there,” he said, evidently reading her
discomfort.
    “I’d forgotten how hot it is out here.”
    She should remember. The journey to the palace in a cramped
carriage with too many other women had been hell. The only thing that’d kept
her going as the others had moaned with discomfort and distress was the
knowledge she would save her people.
    Or die trying.
    It was almost amusing using those three words again, this
time in relation to her people, the first in relation to her heart. She
shivered, despite the heat. Perhaps the latter would need to be sacrificed for
the former?
    “Then you’ll like the destination,” Judas said, brushing
back a sliver of her hair that’d dared to escape Fontaine’s amazing handiwork.
    When the carriage tilted forward and they rolled down a
sharp incline, he instructed, “Close your eyes.”
    She squeezed them shut, chewing her bottom lip and
experiencing a giddy excitement, much like a little girl did anticipating a
longed-for present.
    When the carriage lurched to a stop, she kept her eyes
closed even when Judas helped her to her feet then led her down the carriage
step and onto the ground outside. As the horses whickered and the carriage
lurched away, he said huskily, “Open.”
    Her eyelids fluttered apart. She looked around, awed. “How
do your people not know of this place?” she breathed.
    “Some do.”
    A small lake evidently fed by an underwater spring,
glistened a sparkling blue under the relentless sun. Palm trees reared high
into the sky, ferns and grasses a green carpet underfoot. And right near the
waters’ edge, a picnic basket was perched on large, flat cushions.
    Caution waylaid enthusiasm when she asked, “You sent someone
earlier to set up a picnic?”
    He watched her with a soft smile that was completely at odds
with his hard demeanor. “I did.”
    Something almost gleeful tore through all sense of restraint
as she danced to the cushions and sank down. “I love it.”
    A large, long-legged bird honked annoyance as it cocked its
head at them from the other side of the lake. Feathers ruffling with annoyance,
it continued digging with its beak at whatever was edible beneath the sand.
    Judas joined her on the cushions and she forgot to breathe,
to think as his stare