How twisted was that? To feel cared for by someone who tied her up and whipped her? What did that make her?

“You see?” he said softly, moving up to kiss her at the corner of her mouth. “There is a method to what I am doing. I do not hurt you for the sake of hurting you. I hurt you to help you seek out pleasure and desire in a world where pleasure and desire are so rare. I hurt you to bring you closer to me. You are so strong. So beautiful. So full of fight and wildness. Taming you is what’s best for you and is also something I take great pleasure in. You are a magnificent creature and should be treated as such.”

“But can’t you give pleasure without the pain?”

“Of course. But pain only makes you appreciate the pleasure all the more. And I see something very special in you, Melena. I see that you crave protection and correction. You want someone to take care of you and guide you through the world. You would trade your soul for it. Now all you have to do is trade your soul to me. Trust me to take care of it. Trust me to show you the way.”

“How can I trust you after all you’ve done to me, my family, and my people?”

“What have I done to your family? You can see I am going to bring your sisters back to your side. That I will take care of them.”

“What about my brother?”

“Your brother can take care of himself. He is choosing the life of a rebel, and it seems to suit him. Yes, I am trying to find him, and I am trying to capture him. I will not lie about that. My brother would have me kill him… but you need only say the word and I will spare his life and simply keep him imprisoned.”

Her eyes widened. “You would spare his life… for me?”

“I would. But you would have to give yourself to me completely. Not in half measures. Not as a bargaining tool but because it is what you want more than anything. I want you to want me more than anything.”

“Why? You have so many others willing to be yours. Craving your attention. Why do you need me?”

“I’m not entirely sure I know the answer to that question. There is something about you. Something that has gotten beneath my skin. I should not be telling you this… I should hold myself apart from you. To tell you this gives you a certain measure of power. Power I am not sure you can use judiciously.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you might try to use it against me. You would fail, of course, but it would damage our relationship badly. Perhaps so badly that we could never trust one another again. I would not wish for that. It would make for a very sad life for you.”

“How so?”

“I would never call you to me again. You would spend the rest of your days with only the women of the harem for company. You would have no hope of children to fill your life.”

“I have no hope of that now. Not while your brother has no heirs.”

“That will change soon. Within days, perhaps.”

“And if he never has an heir? You will accept being submissive to him and childless?” She frowned.

“He is emperor,” Valerian said softly. But he dropped eye contact with her. She reached to touch his chin, making him look at her again.

“If you do not agree with his dictates, why don’t you do something about it?”

“What would you have me do?” he asked sharply. “Unseat the emperor?”

“Why not?” she demanded. “We both know he goes too far in his hunger for world domination. Lives are needlessly lost in his wars. He is cruel and unforgiving. He slaughters people by the thousands. There are no redeeming qualities in him!”

Valerian disentangled himself from her and got to his feet. He began to pace beside the bed. “You shouldn’t speak of things you don’t understand!” he barked.

“You’re damn right I don’t understand them!” she cried, sitting up and watching him walk his hard circuit. “I don’t understand how a man like you… a man who thrives on domination… could ever be content to live under the bootheel of a twisted monster like your brother!”

“I have no choice! He is firstborn. Emperor by right of blood. I am second born. My lot in life is to see to his security and comfort. To do otherwise would be a betrayal of all I believe in.”

“Doing nothing is a betrayal of all you believe in,” she countered, reaching out to stop his pacing by pressing her hands to his chest. “I am learning about you. I am learning you are a man of honor. Your brother has no honor. You surely must see that.”

“I do,” he admitted. But then said hurriedly, “But it would be dishonorable to betray him.”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps by following his dictates you are betraying the people who died at his hand and in his wars. Did you ever think of that?” She could tell that he had, that this wasn’t the first time he had struggled with his conscience and his position in life.

“What would you have me do? Start a war with my brother? Plunge our people into civil war? Ask them to choose a side?”

“Why not, if you’re the better man? Is it better to have civil war or better to let a dictator kill others at whim? Is it better to lose thousands of soldiers to wars he shouldn’t be fighting? Not to mention the thousands of civilians who will die in the process. Your logic does not stand!”

She knew he knew she was right, she could see him struggling with it in his mind and in his heart. Then she realized that this was perhaps the first time he had talked about this with another person. A man like Valerian would keep his thoughts close to the vest. Close to himself lest wind of his doubts and feelings reach his brother. Yet here he was, discussing it with her.

She didn’t know why, but it made her feel special. Made her feel like she mattered to this man. He was not just using her for his blasé enjoyment… he wanted a woman of equal mind to him. He wanted somewhere to rest his head when his worries became too troubling. He wanted a place where he could express himself without fear of reprisals.

She tested her theory by cupping his face in her hands. “You are safe with me,” she told him. “I have no love or loyalty to your brother. I will not turn on you and tell him what secrets lie in your heart.”

“Loyalty must be tested before trust can be given,” he said. “You are not loyal to me.”

She gave a curt nod. “This is true. I am not loyal to you… yet. But I could learn to be if you show me you are worth my loyalty.”

“Your loyalty is to yourself. To your family. If my brother promised to free you and your entire family, you would turn on me in an instant.”

The accusation stung her for some reason. The feeling of hurt confused her, but she pushed it aside. “I would not. Because I know your brother would not honor any agreement he entered into. With you… I am hoping it is different. Prove to me you will see my sisters safe and happy, and you will have my loyalty.”

“I must find them first. That might take a great deal of time,” he warned her.

“I realize this. Knowing you are making the effort is enough for now. Only show me you are making progress, and I will be satisfied.”

“You will submit to me? You will allow me to use you as I will?” he asked. His gaze swept down the length of her body like a fierce, hot caress. It sent a chill down her spine. An excited chill. “I… will try.”

He laughed at that. A soft, fond sort of laugh as he reached to cup the side of her face in his hand. “Good. It would be no fun if you were too easy about it.”

“You think this is fun? Hurting me?”

“Am I? Am I really hurting you? Or is it your preconceived notions on how a man should behave toward a woman? What have I done to you that is so heinous? I have given you a home of safety and comfort. I touch you with love and reverence. I give you pleasure unlike anything you’ve experienced before. Is it all so bad?”

“You beat me,” she whispered, looking away from him. But he used his hold on her face to direct her eyes back to him.

“And none of it gave you pleasure?”

She wanted to lie to him. She wanted to tell him she was not that perverse. But it would indeed be a lie. She was perverse, she thought in dismay. She had to be, didn’t she?

“Ah I see. It frightens you to admit it to yourself. You think it makes you a bad person.”

“Doesn’t it?” she asked helplessly.

“Not at all. It only proves you can function on a higher level than most others. You can achieve pleasure in a higher state.”

He released his hold on her face, letting his fingers trail down off her cheek and onto her neck and throat. He caressed her body in one long stroke, his finger traveling from neck to shoulder to breast to belly. Then he reached the cleft between her legs and slid searching fingers into her. She gasped softly, rising up on her toes as if she could escape him. But he wasn’t about to let her go.

“You are wet,” he stated huskily. “As I knew you would be.”

“What does that mean?” she asked, knowing she was proving to him how inexperienced she was.

“It means you are ready for any pleasures that may come your way. It means you have not been untouched by what has gone on before this. It means I was right about you. You are very, very special.”

He dipped his head down and caught her mouth with his. He kissed her deeply, his tongue sliding past her lips so he could devour her. She felt overwhelmed as he drew response from her as a man dying of thirst might draw from a well. She moved closer to him out of instinct, her body aligning with his, her skin stimulated by the feel of his clothing. She was naked and he was not. It seemed both unfair and titillating at the same time. To date she had made no assertive moves in their relationship. She had never initiated an action. For the first time she felt compelled to do so. She tried to tell herself she wanted to do it because it would ensure he would look for her sisters, but deep inside she knew that wasn’t the case. She wanted to do it because she wanted to do it. Because he stirred her to do it.

She reached for the hem of his tunic and pulled it up. She placed her hands against the warm skin beneath, against the intimidating musculature of his abdomen. He was solid and strong, and she could feel it in every inch of him that surrounded her.

She touched him only briefly, her senses overwhelmed by that feeling of strength he exuded. She continued to lift his tunic until she was pulling it over his head as he ducked down to make it possible.

She kissed him again, then broke from his mouth to take him in, drinking in the power and strength of him. And all the while his fingers toyed between her legs, stimulating her, making her heart race madly. His free arm ringed her waist, and he dragged her up against himself, bare skin connecting to bare skin. She gasped at the contact. All that vital, heated flesh and muscle holding her, surrounding her. She reached to wrap her arms around him, and he lifted her up into his embrace. It came naturally to her to wrap her legs around his waist, opening herself up to the further penetration of his fingers. She felt one slide into her body, and she drew in a sharp breath.

“Easy,” he soothed her. “Let it come easy.”

She did as he said and relaxed, letting him have his way. His fingers were thick and callused, and it felt as though he were filling her up entirely. As he stroked her from the inside out, he was stroking her from the outside in. He had found a spot, an oh-so-sensitive spot between her legs that sent swirls of pleasure swimming through her. She was dizzy with it. Overwhelmed by it. She abandoned herself to it.

And just like the night before he caused her to explode in a sudden wash of passion, unlike anything she had ever known. More so even than that experience of the night before, for this time she was fully welcoming his touch. It made all the difference in the world.

Her head swam dizzily as she went limp in his arms. He kissed her down the side of her neck and chuckled softly in her ear.

“Don’t leave me yet. We’ve only just begun.”

Her eyes flew open. There was more? How much more? Would she be able to stand more?

“You see? It’s not such a bad thing to give yourself completely over to me,” he said.

“No. Not at all,” she agreed shyly.

“Come with me.”

She laughed because she was still wrapped around him. “How can I go anywhere else but with you?”

“True. But put your legs down and walk with me. I want you to walk willingly to my bed.”

She dropped to her feet, sliding along the front of his body. She noticed how tense he was, how every muscle seemed to be flexed, whereas she was loose and relaxed. Usually it seemed to be the other way around. She would be the one walking about in a constant state of tension and he would seem at ease.

She followed him as he guided her to the bed. He urged her onto it, following her down, laying her out across it, and stretching his tall body along the length of hers. He made a hungry sound in the back of his throat as he nuzzled her neck.

“You smell so good,” he said heatedly. “I can smell the scent of your arousal on you. It makes my head swim with all the things I want to do to you.”

“Like what?” she dared to ask.

“You’ll find out. Over time. For right now, I only want to make love to you.” He rose up on an elbow, looking down over her. He let his gaze trip down the entire length of her figure. She squirmed under his regard, wondering what he was going to do next. Would she like it? Would he continue to make her feel as she had felt only moments ago? Or would he bring back the pain of his other methods?

She was shocked to realize she was open to whatever he offered next. He had opened an entirely new world for her, unlike anything she would have ever hoped to experience had she remained a simple farm girl. There the most exciting thing she could have hoped for was perhaps the birth of a child. But the way her life had been going, she had been spending more time taking care of her family than she had starting a new family of her own.

Now everything was different. Her entire world was different. Her entire world centered around this man. This strange, enigmatic, oddly tender man. A man who seemed strict one minute, but then giving the next. She couldn’t figure him out. Not yet anyway. But she felt given time she would come to better understand him.

He rolled away from her briefly, and she watched as he began to remove his boots. He let them drop over the side of the bed, and each thunk made her jump a little. It made her hyper aware that this was really happening. That he was getting naked, and this time there would be no holding back.

He unbuttoned his pants, and she held her breath. He was watching the expressions on her face. She tried to control them, but she knew she was giving everything away when he chuckled at her.

“Come,” he said. “Undress your master.”

He lay back against the bedding, tucking his hands behind his head. She sat up hesitantly and reached out to touch him. She smoothed her hands across his belly, feeling the hard muscles there, then dropped her touch lower to the waistband of his pants. The material fit him snuggly and would not be so easy to remove unless he helped her. But it was clear he had no intention of helping her any further than he already had.

She grabbed hold of his waistband and tugged down, her heart racing. She had once undressed her brother when he had taken ill with a fever, so it wasn’t that she was entirely unfamiliar with the naked male form. But that had been her brother. This man was the furthest thing from her brother she could get. This man wanted things from her. More things than she thought she might be able to give.

She pulled downward, peeling back the material as one might peel a piece of heavy fruit. He wore nothing beneath the pants, so he was quickly exposed to her. She flushed when she saw how erect he was. She had never seen a man in a state of excitement before. Oh, she knew how these things worked, but to actually see it…

She finished stripping away his pants and let them fall over the side of the bed. She tried to look anywhere but at him.

“Look at me,” he commanded her.

She did. At his face.

“Look at my body. Look at what my desire for you has wrought.”

She did as he instructed, less because he had told her to and more because for all her shyness she was incredibly curious.

She looked at the way his cock stood out from the nest of dark curls, the soft sac beneath also furred. She found it funny that he did not mind body hair on himself, and yet required it be removed from his women. She wondered why that was.

“Touch me,” he instructed, his voice rasping a little.

She reached out and touched him along the length of his shaft. She was tentative at first, wondering if she might somehow do it wrong or hurt him. She didn’t want to do anything to upset him. They seemed to be reaching a place of peace between them. And understanding. She didn’t want to ruin that.

“You won’t hurt me,” he said softly.

Encouraged, she wrapped her hand around his girth and felt his weight in her hand. She ran her lightly closed fist along the length of him, toward the tip. He hissed out a breath, and she froze.

“No. It feels good,” he assured her. “Far too good. I am quickly becoming lost to the idea of throwing you beneath me and plowing your virgin sheath. But I do not wish to harm you so I must will patience onto myself. It is a good test of my fortitude and self-discipline. But I will say you test me thoroughly.”

She smiled a little at that. It pleased her to know she had some power in all this. Although she wasn’t quite certain if it was a power she wanted to have. She stroked the length of him again, marveling at how silky soft he felt all around his rigid hardness.

“Come and kiss me,” he said hoarsely.

She immediately obeyed, sliding up his body and reaching for his lips. He kissed her briefly and said, “I did not mean on my mouth.”

“What other way is there to kiss you?” she asked, confused.

“Just like I did your breasts you can kiss me all over my body. I want to feel your sweet mouth on me. Especially on my cock.”

She blushed at the bald suggestion and shied away, but he caught her chin and made her look at him. “I have given you pleasure, now it is time you return the favor.”

“But… I don’t know how!”

“You do. You are a natural at passion. I can feel it in you. Do whatever comes naturally to you.”

“It is not natural to kiss your cock,” she argued.

He laughed. “It is quite natural, I assure you. Go on. Try it. You cannot pass judgment on something you have not tried.”

“I know being stabbed is bad for me without needing to be stabbed,” she argued.

“Clever girl. I suppose you’ll just have to trust me and take my word for it.”

“You are asking a great deal,” she pointed out.

“Just try it. If you do not like it then we can revisit the issue at a later time.”

“You could simply command it of me,” she pointed out.

“I could… and I will. But I would rather you be willing than forced.”

She considered this. She considered that he did not want to force her. For some reason it made her more amenable to what he was asking of her. Then again, it was taking control for herself if she did this thing without waiting for his command. She would much rather be in control of the situation than not.

She slid down his body once more and eyed her opponent. There was a soft aroma lifting from him, musky and appealing. He kept himself clean, she understood. The women of his people seemed to bathe almost religiously, the women’s main living quarters taken up by a large bath. The women played in or lounged about the water for the better part of the day. They were surrounded by soft, sweet-smelling soaps and lotions, the combined scents of which filled the large area like a posy of flowers of all different kinds.

Her people did not bathe as much. For all they claimed the Jorku nation to be savage, they engaged in some refinements that her people did not. Bathing regularly was one of them, it seemed.

She leaned forward and touched her lips in a featherlight, uncommitted kiss. When nothing bad came of it, she kissed him again. He was silent and watchful, neither hurrying her nor pressuring her. But he did seem expectant. Did he want more than just those light kisses? Was he going to tell her what to do? She knew so little about sex. Or at least this part of sex. She had never heard of this before nor seen beasts in the field do this. But she had seen dogs lick themselves. Was that what he was expecting? For her to lick him like a dog?

She thought to try it… but since she wasn’t sure she did it far more slowly and carefully than a dog might. She touched her tongue to him, all the while watching his face and gauging his reaction. If she offended him she wanted to know right away. The last thing she wanted to do was offend this man.

She drew her tongue across the very head of his cock and watched as he closed his eyes and began to breathe quicker. His hand came down to rest on her shoulder, and she took it as a sign of encouragement. She licked him again, slowly and thoroughly, considering what she thought of how he tasted. It was a strong, salty flavor, not at all unappealing she was surprised to discover. Then again, she was surprising herself in a great many ways.

She ran her tongue down his length, then back up again, watching and feeling his every reaction. He groaned softly, his eyelids fluttering as his eyes rolled back in obvious pleasure. His hand crept up her neck, and his fingers threaded into her hair. He did not guide her however. Not much. He let her go at her own pace. His hold on her was merely encouraging. She was glad at that. She wanted to manage this at her own pace.

That feeling of power was creeping over her again. She felt it filling her up. What would it mean, she thought, if she could make this man lose control? Would that mean she then had control of him? Control of the man second to the throne of Jorku? It was a heady thought. But she was not frightened by it. In fact, she embraced it. She decided to chase down the possibility.

She opened her mouth and took the head of his hard staff into it, onto her tongue, surrounding him with warm lips and wet mouth. Still she watched his face, but she need not have. The sound he ejected told her all she wanted to know. Encouraged, she let her instincts have rein. She could easily imagine what would hurt him, so she tried to avoid scraping him with her teeth or biting down on him in any little way. But she did begin to apply sucking pressure. When he reacted with a groan, she increased the suction of her mouth and took him deep against her tongue.

“Great gods! Don’t stop!”

She had no intention of stopping. Not when she saw how he writhed with pleasure… helplessly it seemed. It seemed he could not control himself. For the first time since she had been captured and turned into a slave she felt she had control over her life. Perhaps it was only in this one small way, but it was enough for now.

She began to apply a certain amount of enthusiasm to her task. She took him deeper… a little quicker. Soon she was taking a little more than half of him into her mouth at a time. The hand in her hair was tight, his free hand gripping at the furs on the bed. Soon he was crying out, each shout of pleasure louder than the last. But suddenly he stopped, drawing her off almost violently. He cupped her face in his hands and dragged her up his body.

“No!” he rasped. “Not like this. When you make me come it will be because you are surrounding me with that tight, wet, hot little pussy of yours. And that must happen. Now!”

He rolled her over, trapping her body beneath his, and all her control evaporated like a single breath. Fear replaced it as she pressed against his chest, and she went stiff. It was so sudden. She had just been beginning to take pleasure in the way he was reacting for herself. That was when she had realized if he spent himself in her mouth she could avoid him trying to have sex with her… at least for a little while. She didn’t exactly know how often a man could make sex with a woman. Perhaps pretty often. But she knew from years of listening to her parents that it could happen more than once in a night. Still, there had been time between those acts, and she had known her father to fall asleep more often than not… thus leaving her mother alone for the rest of the night.

Still, listening to her parents’ furtive lovemaking in the night was not much of a sexual education. She had learned so much more from this man.

And now he was demanding more than she thought she could give. She had heard sex hurt some women… she was certain she would be one of those women. It was simply the luck of her life and how it was going at present. So she closed her legs and stiffened her body beneath his. A reaction he took in with a rich chuckle.

“Come now, there’s nothing to be afraid of,” he said.

“There’s everything to be afraid of! What if it hurts? What if I come to hate myself for giving in to you too easily? What if this is just another way for you to control me?”

“Firstly, do not shy away from pain. It builds us. Shows us how strong we are. Tell me you do not feel stronger, prouder of yourself now that you have come out of our sessions with all your will intact.”

She thought about it and realized he was right. Because he wasn’t trying to break her utterly, he was teaching her just how strong she really was. True, he was clearly trying to tame and condition her, but he wasn’t trying to destroy her.

He didn’t wait for her reply because he knew she knew the answer already. “Secondly, there is no reason for you to hate yourself just because you seek pleasure with me. There is nothing wrong with discovering what pleases us, no matter what it is or whom it is with. And just because I was your enemy does not mean I should remain an enemy now that circumstances have changed.

“And thirdly, I am designed to control you and everything around me. I would not know how to function if I could not control my world. And I imagine that is a little of what you are feeling here with me. But you were designed differently. I could see it in you from the very start. It is why I chose you above all the others available to me. You are a fire that wants to be tempered. A wild thing that craves the opportunity to be obedient. You are a fierce contradiction, and it arouses me beyond all measure to know you are mine.”

She didn’t know what to say to that exactly. Emotion seemed to swirl about, stuck in her throat and pounding in her chest. He made her sound so beautiful and extraordinary. She hadn’t realized he looked at her like that. She hadn’t realized anyone could look at her like that.

She allowed her body to relax, and the difference was readily apparent to them both. He smiled down at her and drew a thumb over the swell of her cheek.

“There’s a good girl,” he murmured. “You’re eager to learn how to be loved, aren’t you?”

“I… don’t think what you feel and how you act is love,” she argued.

“Oh, it is. And it is a feeling within me that grows stronger every day. You will come to discover it on your own… you will come to believe in it. You will believe in me.”

He trailed his fingers down her face and neck, down over her breast, into the curve of her waist and then lower, working his hand between where their bodies were pressed together. He found the bud of her clitoris and stroked her slowly.

“Let’s bring you up to where I am,” he said softly, and then he kissed her mouth. The kiss grew instantly deep as her body swirled with regrown pleasure. It took no time at all before she was gasping softly against his lips. All the while he toyed with her pleasure centers, she was aware of his erection pressing to her inner thigh, mere inches away from where he would breach her. But slowly that awareness turned from borderline fear to intense craving. What would it feel like? To have him come inside her? What would it feel like?

She felt his hand thread into her hair as he shifted his weight. He slowly canted his hips, running the rigid length of his cock through her slick nether lips. She felt him pass the entrance of her pussy and was shocked to find herself craving his invasion. Shocked to find her instinct was to try and catch him with her pussy and help him thrust deep into her. He repeated his action again and then again until she was moaning from the stimulation and the frustration she barely understood.

Then, suddenly, he pulled on her hair, yanking hard, just enough pain to startle her attention away from what he was doing. Then… then that was when he thrust into her. She didn’t know where to turn her attention -- the pain of the grip he had on her hair or the pain of him plowing through her virgin sheath. But both were so brief and faded so quickly she was left breathless and with nothing but the fullness of him inside her. That was when she realized he had pulled her hair purposely to distract her from what he was about to do. She didn’t know how she felt about that, and she didn’t have time to consider. His big body was moving over and inside her. His breath was in her ear, spooling rapidly against it.

“I am being gentle this time,” he warned her, “but it will not always be so in the future. In the future you will learn what it means to be taken. Taken in ways you haven’t even dreamed were possible. By god, you feel good. And all I can think about it is how good you will feel when I am slamming into you, thundering into your soft body. But for now this is enough. For now I introduce you gently to love. But you should know what the future holds.”

Melena didn’t know how to feel in that moment. Afraid of the future? Why should she be? He had shown her so much already. Even now he was showing her true and deep pleasure. Her body ran hot as he thrust slowly into her, but she could feel him quickening his pace. She could feel the urgency growing in him… because it was growing in her as well.

The transition in her life was taking her breath away. She was moving out of innocence and into a land of mature, complex feelings and emotions. She would never be the same. She was changed for all time, and he had been the one to change her.

She cried out as pleasure climbed within her. She couldn’t seem to help herself. She had no control. He was the one in control of their pleasure… and he handled it masterfully. He touched her, stroked her, kissed her, and thrust into her in a symphony of movement that swept her away. She moaned in his ear as passion built inside her again. She was ready to explode again, but this time she knew would be different… more powerful. This time she would be willingly giving him everything he was asking for.

“Come for me,” he whispered hotly in her ear, “and take me with you. Give me all the power that makes you who you are. Give that to me, and you will give me the greatest of gifts.”

He was asking so much! She knew she was on the brink… ready to give the last of herself away. But even if she wanted to stop she couldn’t. Her orgasm was like a charging horse that could not be stopped, that it was best to dodge out of the way of.

So she let go, gave him everything that he wanted, abandoned herself and any remaining fight she had left. She threw back her head and keened out a long cry of pleasure, her body locking up. She heard him grunt out a sound of controlled release. She could feel him giving in to his passion, but there was a sense of dominance, the sense that he was never one to lose control. As she swam in the afterglow of the most intense feelings she had ever known, she was aware of his reserve.

How could he not be feeling the same as she was? Was she not enough for him? Or was he incapable of abandoning everything and losing himself in a moment? If she could do it… if she could forget everything about who she was, where she came from, and how much she should be fighting to keep her own identity, then surely he could do the same?

She realized then that that was in her hands. Where he was in control of everything else, she must be in control of his pleasure. That had to be her primary goal. Perhaps if she focused on that goal she could gain some sort of power over him. She could gain some sort of control over her life.

The idea gave her comfort and helped her to swim in the sweet post-orgasmic lassitude that came over her. This, she realized, was only the beginning of things between them. And where she had once craved for the idea of him growing quickly tired of her, she was surprised to realize she now wanted the opposite. She didn’t want to be relegated to the anonymity of one of his forgotten women. If she wanted power over her life then she would have to keep him engaged.

The question was… could she do that? Was she capable of being what she needed to be to keep his attention from straying elsewhere? Because she knew if she wanted to gain things for herself and her sisters, then she must gain a position of power in his life. Among his women. She could already see the dynamic of the women in his harem. She saw who had power and respect and who didn’t.

Well, she would not be forgotten. She would see to that. And it would start now.

As soon as she caught her breath.

“Are you pleased, Sir?” she asked him breathily.

He chuckled and pulled back to look down into her face.

“Would it make you happy if I was? I thought you hated me.”

“Hate is too strong a word to be used any longer. One thing I have learned in life is that one must make the best of whatever situation they are in.”

“And will you make the best of being mine?”

She lowered her eyes and her lashes. “Yes, Sir.”

He regarded her for a moment, then said, “I am very glad to hear that.” He reached to stroke warm fingers over her cheek. “But do not lose all your fight and fire, Melena.”

“Never,” she said with a lift of her chin. “Just because I am making the best of a situation doesn’t mean I have to roll over and take whatever is handed to me. I will not allow you to treat me badly.”

“You will not allow?” He raised an amused brow. “I wonder if you have been paying attention these last hours. I am the one who will allow or disallow anything that happens to you,” he said sternly.

She defiantly lifted her chin. “You will not abuse me.”

“You no longer feel like you have been abused? Because mere minutes ago you were accusing me of being cruel to you.”

“No. I see now that this is your way. What you have done to me is not out of cruelty… merely your need to control everything around you. Perhaps one day you will no longer feel you need to control me and your world. I think I should like to be present when you do.”

His expression was bemused. Clearly he did not know what to make of her. Good. She would keep him guessing. She would not tell him all the secrets of her heart and her thoughts.

“I think it is time you went to bed with the other women,” he said suddenly.

He moved away from her, putting distance between them as he got to his feet. He turned his back to her and walked across the room, naked and unabashed. He reached for a bell and called a servant into the room.

“But I… I do not want to go,” she said.

He regarded her a moment.

“Something has changed in you,” he said. “Dramatically. I cannot tell if you are sincere or if you are telling me what you think I want to hear.”

“A little of both I imagine,” she said honestly. “I realize if I must be here, then perhaps I should abandon myself to my feelings and impulses. But rest assured, I will not do anything I do not want to do.”

That made him chuckle. “We shall see about that. For now, leave me. Tomorrow is another day.”

A servant appeared in the room. If he was embarrassed by his master’s nudity, he did not show it. But she was embarrassed to be nude in front of others so she hurried into the silks she had been wearing earlier. She frowned in consternation when she realized they were much easier to manage when there were many women at once helping her into them. And yet it had taken only one man to take her out of them… and that man had done so with masterful ease.

He instructed the servant to take her back to the harem and to see to her comfort. To make sure she had everything she desired… within reason.

Melena rose from her seat on the bed and followed the servant out of the room. As she left she looked over her shoulder at him. He stood by his desk, seemingly absorbed in some letter or other already. She was already forgotten.

She frowned.

She would simply have to try harder the next time.