a man of his word though. He’d follow through. Even if she changed her mind, despite what he’d said earlier. First, he needed to know her true desires about what would happen here. He didn’t want an obedient puppet in his bed. He wanted Neela. Strong, belligerent, self-contained Neela whose dark eyes and darker hair had plagued his dreams and his fantasies.
“Neela,” he began quietly. “I’ll trade with your government. They can make an offer for my ore. You’re free to go.”
She looked at him with confused eyes.
“I want you.” He moved closer, speaking into her upturned face. “I want you like no other woman I’ve known. But I want you , not your obedience.”
“You have me,” she answered.
He forsook her breast to stroke a tender thumb across her full bottom lip. “I only want you if you also want me. Think about what I’m saying, Neela. Think carefully. Do you want me because the woman in you desires me, or do you want me only to fulfill a struck bargain?”
Breath parted her lips as she studied his eyes. Slowly, she smiled. “I want you because I’m a woman who’s attracted to a man.”
He knew it was the truth simply by virtue of the drug she’d taken. It wasn’t enough of a confirmation. “And the Elaran agreement? Would you be standing her before me, naked and willing, if it didn’t exist?”
“I wouldn’t because I’d never have come alone without it. It brought me to this circumstance and this moment. I wouldn’t have been granted access to you otherwise.”
“You know what I’m asking,” he redirected her.
“I know,” she agreed. “If I were standing before you in a uniform and as myself, I’d still desire you. I wouldn’t give into the temptation because it’s not my way. But I’d want to. I’d want to very much.”
“Thank you,” he said, dropping a kiss on her forehead. He stroked her neck with the backs of his fingers. “I want to lie with you. Alone. If you allow it, I’d enjoy sharing you with Tarrel later. Is that acceptable to you?”
Neela licked her lips. “I want you to share me with him.”
Thrax smiled. “Then I will. I won’t share myself with him, but I’ll enjoy watching him fuck you while you beg for more.”
Neela’s breath caught.
He reached beneath her garment, cupping her pussy and slid a finger deep inside her. Neela bit back a moan as she rocked her hips to meet his hand.
“Wet,” he said, pleased. “I have a gift for you.”
Thrax turned to leave. Neela’s hand curled around his upper arm. Her brow drew together uncertainly. “My king, you said the ore is agreed to regardless of what happens between us.”
“I did. Call me Thrax instead of king. In my bedchamber, we are equals.” She still seemed uncertain. “Are you afraid?”
“No, but sex isn’t the same. I feel—stripped.”
He smiled and took her hand, leading her to a table off to the side. It had an injection pump on it. “This pump spray has the antidote to the inhibitor you took. I’d like to give it to you, if you’ll let me.”
Her gaze shot to his. “You’d allow that?”
“Why wouldn’t I? Neela Pharr attracted me to her. I want to know what you’re feeling. I want to share them with you, but not if being intimate makes you uncomfortable. I’m no threat to you. If you need your emotions curbed, then I’ll give you the option to do so.”
She stared at him in disbelief. He’d give up the right to know her mind? It was a gift she hadn’t expected. It meant she had her full control back if she took it. It meant no more tears unless she released the iron grip she kept on herself.
She glanced back at Tarrel who had remained standing in silence for the duration of their arrival in the king’s chamber. He seemed as taken aback as she was. He lifted an eyebrow, an expression she often saw from him when he was waiting for her next move.
“No,” she said after a moment. She lifted her gaze boldly to his. “I want to feel everything
Learning to Kill: Stories