Auburn knew what she was supposed to do, but now that she faced it, her feet rooted to the ground. The coolness of the night air mixed with the heat of him and tingled over her flesh as his crisp masculine scent twined around her. His dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and the severe cut of his clothes whispered of a hard and unforgiving man.

She didn’t want to displease him, and her breath came fast as fear mingled with curiosity and a touch of anticipation.

Tangling her hands in the beaded silk of her skirt, Auburn bit her lower lip and focused. She was a pleasure slave, trained on how to give herself to the sultan and how to satisfy him. While this Tamarian was not the sultan, Prince Eli was her master now.

It was her duty to please the prince, and unlike with the sultan, a part of her wanted to please him. But Prince Eli’s strangeness made her pause. He was even more alien than the rumors whispered.

Her foreign prince wore clothes as black as night even in the desert heat, and he was taller, more muscular, and his skin paler than Auburn had expected. His eyes were the intense blue of a peacock feather, and even his scent was different. He wore none of the cloying perfumes favored by so many in the sultan’s court. Instead, he smelled crisp like an ocean breeze.

Prince Eli’s hands stayed at his sides when he spoke, and he moved with the contained energy of a predator. Powerful. In control. A man who gave orders and expected them to be obeyed.

The thought sent a shiver of desire skating down her spine where it pooled with her growing apprehension. She again questioned her decision to dance for the Tamryn delegation. Had she not been at the feast, the sultan wouldn’t have gifted her to this strange prince.

Auburn sucked in a breath and shoved the regrets aside. She couldn’t undo the choice, and even if she could, Prince Eli was her way out of Qumaref. Under Qumarefi law, the prince owned her and could take her with him when he returned home. Take her with him to Tamryn.

Tamryn. The golden city favored by the Dragon God. A land that embraced justice. A land that forbid slavery. Many dreamed of reaching the blessed city, but few ever tried. Even fewer ever succeeded.

This was her chance. Her only chance.

She had to please him if she was going to escape.

Plucking up her courage, Auburn stood closer to Eli, the heat of him soaking through her silk garments. Despite her training, her hands trembled as she bowed her head and waited for his command.

Eli frowned, but he didn’t step away from her. He was watching, waiting for her.

Auburn neither flinched nor shied away from him, but her breath came in short bursts as curiosity warred with fear. Most other girls her age had repeatedly given themselves to their master. While she’d listened to their stories and paid attention to her trainers, she had no experience of her own.

When Eli gave her no commands, she wondered if the foreign prince assumed she understood what he wanted because of her age.

Pushing aside her fear, she followed her training and brushed her hands over Eli’s chest. She undid the buttons of his tunic, the tips of her fingers teased the warm flesh beneath the fabric. She heard his breath catch, saw the pulse in his neck quicken, and felt his erection against her belly.

She swallowed back the lump in her throat and hoped he would be kind her first time.

Eli captured her fingers. “What are you doing?”

“Serving you.” She forced her voice not to quaver. “How can I please you?”

“Please me?”

“I’m yours. Here to meet your every need.”

The prince slid his hand under her veil and cupped her cheek.

She leaned into his strong fingers, closed her eyes, and prayed he’d be gentle.

* * *

Eli’s thoughts swirled in a maelstrom of desire as he yanked off Auburn’s veil and crushed his lips against hers. The contact jolted him, shredding his control and sending his inner conqueror howling. He pulled her against him, tangling his fingers in her thick copper hair as he fought the urge to carry her to the bed and consummate the need she sparked in him.

He wanted to bury himself in her as he overwhelmed her with pleasure, wanted to listen to her cry his name as need swept her away. By the gods, he wanted her. Completely and totally.

While he seldom denied himself, he refused to force himself on a woman. He wanted her, but not this way. Not against her will. The thought of her being forced into his bed because the sultan had ordered it cooled his desire.

Eli’s nostrils flared, and he stepped back from the kiss. “I shouldn’t have done that. It would be best if you distanced yourself from me tonight.”

Confusion puckered her brows. “I’m here to serve you. But if you wish me to go...”

She peered up at him, uncertainty and fear stealing across her face. He smoothed the lines on her forehead with his thumb, the heat of her sinking into him as her soft scent of vanilla and jasmine intoxicated him.

Temptation snapped at him, and his inner conqueror strained against his control. Leaning forward, he touched his lips to hers, and she softened against him. Eli deepened the kiss, parting her and sliding his tongue inside to taste her. Soft, sweet, and seductive. He wanted more. So much more.

Pulling back, the prince dropped his hands to his sides and paced towards the bed. He realized his mistake and stalked to the other side of the room.

“I displease you.”

Tears shone in her eyes, and Eli was certain they had more to do with fear than sadness. “You don’t displease me, and that’s the problem.” Eli took a long steadying breath. “I need to give you back before I do something we both regret.”

Panic widened her eyes, and Auburn fell to her knees and pressed her head to the floor. “I’ll do whatever you ask. Please don’t send me away.”

The prince remembered the expression on the sultan’s face when he’d thought Eli hadn’t liked her. “They’ll punish you if I give you back.”

“I’ll have brought shame to the sultan. They could beat me or sell me at auction. Most likely, they’d execute me.”

“Didn’t think it possible, but I like Qumaref even less.” Eli cursed under his breath. Growling, he walked back to Auburn and offered her his hand. “Get up.”

She kept her gaze averted, but she took his hand and climbed to her feet.

The prince stared down at her delicate fingers. He wanted to bring them to his lips, to kiss them one by one, to listen to her soft sighs as he did so. He caged the urge. “What am I going to do with you?”

She licked her full lips, and Eli’s discomfort grew.

“I’m here to serve you in any way that pleases you.” Staring up at him, her blue eyes were large and luminous in the candlelight. Her lids fluttered closed, and she tipped her lips up to him.

Eli groaned and turned away.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to meet your needs. If you show me what you want, whatever it is-”

“Stop. I can’t, I won’t, force myself on a woman. I’m a bastard, but I’m not that big of a bastard.”

“Force yourself?” Auburn frowned. “I’m yours. Your will is my will.”

“No.” The word filled the room. “No person belongs to another. That is a sin against the gods. I’ve done a lot of bad things, but not blasphemy. Never that.”

She cringed, ducking her head against his anger. “Please let me serve you. I could act as your food taster or anything else you might need.”

Her fear dulled his ache for her. “How long have you been a slave?”

“I was purchased for the sultan as a small child.” Auburn touched her head. “My red hair, pale skin, and blue eyes make me different.”

“Where did he purchase you?”

Auburn lifted her shoulders. “I don’t know. I don’t remember a time before I was in his harem.”

“How can you know what you want when you’ve never made your own choices?”

“I know I don’t want to die.”

“So it’s me or death? Not very flattering.”

Auburn stared down at her feet as color stained her cheeks. Embarrassment and fear teased across her face as her toes curled in her slippers.

“It was a mistake coming to Qumaref.”

“I made sure the sultan picked me to dance tonight.” When Eli paused, Auburn glanced up at him and met his gaze.

Eli frowned. “You what?”

“When I learned there was a foreign delegation coming from Tamryn, land of the Dragon God, I wanted to see you. So I made sure the sultan forced me to dance for you.”

“I don’t understand. I’m not sure I want to understand.”

“The workings of Qumaref are complex.”

Indeed they were. A slave was trying to play him. To use him, for what, he wasn’t sure.

It may prove a more interesting mission than he’d imagined.

Eli thumbed over her swollen lips. By the gods, she was beautiful. Soft pink flushed under her porcelain skin, and her plump lips begged him to kiss her. The wine mixed with exhaustion and desire, clouding his judgment as he leaned down and kissed her hot and hard on the mouth.