LustingtheEnemy by Mel Teshco Read Free Book Online Page B

caught and held hers. Damn. What was he doing to her? She
felt things for him she’d never imagined possible in such a short time. She had
too many people relying on her, too many secrets to guard. Yet he’d broken down
her defenses as easily as a strong wind tearing up the dunes.
    Judas broke eye contact first, as though even he was unsure
of the intense attraction between them. “Hungry?” he asked.
    “Starved,” she admitted, even as she wondered how the hell
she was going to keep anything down in a belly that was writhing with a hundred
or more different emotions. Judas scared her, and not because of the sudden
tension in the air. She was scared of her own reaction and feelings toward him.
It was as simple and as complicated as that.
    Perhaps if she’d been in love before she’d better know how
to deal with it?
    No. Somehow she doubted any man from her past would compare
to Judas.
    As he unpacked the picnic basket, a task so unlikely for a
king, she struggled to maintain calm by forcing interest in the tranquil
scenery.
    Who’d have thought such beauty existed in the unforgiving
desert?
    “Why do so few people know about this place?” she asked. “It
doesn’t seem fair not to share it.”
    He pulled a crusty loaf of bread in half. “It’s significant
to my most devoted servants.”
    “So only those closest and most loyal to you can visit?”
    He tore free some of the dough and filled the crust with
goat’s cheese, olives and peppers. He handed it to her and asked, “Does that
bother you?”
    “I’m not sure,” she admitted. She looked down at the yeasty,
tantalizing bread, sniffing it appreciatively. “Shouldn’t I be preparing
something for you?”
    “If I wanted a slave I wouldn’t have chosen you,” he refuted
gently. “It wasn’t only your beauty that captured my interest. It was your
spirit, your fire.”
    She sucked in a breath. Modesty aside, she knew she had all
those things and more. Her throat dried. She still wasn’t good enough for him,
still wasn’t the person he thought she was.
    “Eat. Enjoy,” he said gruffly.
    She took a deep, steadying breath, and nodded. She had to
get over the guilt issues, the self-analysis. If saving her people meant
sacrificing her self-worth, even her heart, then so be it. She’d enjoy the time
she had with Judas.
    She bit into the crusty bread. The flavors of the toppings
exploded in her mouth. “Yum,” she said around a mouthful.
    His eyes flashed, mouth curling with humor. “You’re
precious.”
    She swallowed, a hand covering her mouth as she wondered
inanely if she had a piece of olive or pepper stuck in her teeth. “You’re not
half bad yourself…Sire.”
    “And you’re learning your place,” he teased. “Perhaps I’ll
keep you, hmm?”
    “You’d better!”
    Somehow the jesting back and forth felt good…right. And
wonderfully carefree.
    Finishing the last of her bread and its filling, she stood
before carefully unclipping her beautiful bra and dropping it onto the
cushions. Her pants were discarded next, and she stretched, glorying in the
freedom of her nakedness almost as much as the burn of his eyes.
    “Time for a swim,” she said.
    “Don’t mind if I watch,” he said hoarsely.
    She tossed a smile over her shoulder before wading slowly
into the water. It was silky cool and soft on her toes, then her calves. Even
the breeze that brushed over her hairless pussy was deliciously fresh as Judas’
hot eyes continued to scorch her from behind.
    Her toes curled into the silt at the bottom of the lake when
she stopped in the water, mid-thigh. She twisted around. “Care to join me?”
    Her heart skipped a beat at his gleaming stare, his fierce,
possessive look. Her hands skimmed slowly through the water, back and forth,
while all her energy pinned back the beast awakening within and growing ever
stronger as Judas stood and began to strip.

Chapter Four
     
    Judas couldn’t tear his eyes away from the beautiful,
utterly