DarykRogue (7 page)

“Don’t. I’m not some…some tramp you can do with what you
will.” Irritation mixed with her desire to run. She turned and met his intense
eyes head-on. His hands dropped from her shoulders. “I’m trembling because so
many things have happened to me in the last…few days.”

“You’ve been through an ordeal not many have endured and
even less have survived.”

She shook her head. “More than that.” As soon as the words
left her mouth, she wanted to take them back. “Never mind.”

Xandra started to walk away, but he stepped in front of her.
“What else happened to you? What are you hiding?”

“Why do you care?”

He scrubbed one hand over his jaw, his eyes diverted in
thought. A dark shadow covered his jaw. He hadn’t shaved in many a day, but it
only added to his handsomeness. “I can tell when a person is running from
something, and you’re a prime candidate for it.”

Determined not to answer his curiosity, she returned to the
bed and found the comb and brush the women had brought her. “Yoanda and Phili
were very generous.”

She sat on the edge of the bed and flipped her
shoulder-blade-length hair over her head. Methodically, she worked at the
tangles until the comb ran smoothly through the strands. When she sat up, her
hair flowed in thick strands about her shoulders. That felt so much better.

“Things are never what they appear,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

He ran a hand through his dark hair and the inky strands
curled and waved in disarray. Muscles rippled in his arms, and she remembered
how strongly his arms enclosed her. “Yoanda isn’t as sweet as she acts, and
Phili is as sharp and ruthless as a
taracore
bird.”

“I gathered that Phili doesn’t like me.”

He smiled. “She doesn’t like other women at all. They’re
competition.”

She placed the comb and brush on the bedstand. “In what
way?”

“She likes the attention of men, and she often gets it.
She’s the admiral’s concubine, but she probably has sex with other men on the
ship for money or favors. If you think Farcam and Oscan were mean to you, you
haven’t faced the full wrath of Phili.”

Fascinated, she sighed. “Well, I can’t say that isn’t
interesting. Women in Magonia aren’t usually that powerful.”

He sat on the bed next to her but not close enough this time
to make her uncomfortable. “With freedom comes opportunity for power
and
corruption.”

“Perhaps the Truth and Order Police and the scribes are
correct then.”

“About what?”

She looked over at him. “Freedom is the greatest evil. If
people know too much, they think too much. If they think too much, they do too
much. Certain chaos is the result.”

“Perhaps. But which would you rather have? Knowing nothing
and living by rote like you do on Magonia or the freedom to be who you really
are in Dragonia?”

Stunned this brute of a man had asked such a
thought-provoking and intelligent question, she stared at him a long time
before answering. “I’m fine the way I am. Don’t think that your philosophy can
change me.”

“You’ve never thought what it would be like to know
freedom?”

She shrugged. “Until I met Ketera Aldrancos, I rarely gave
it thought. I wasn’t certain it was an option.”

“She was the friend you mentioned with you on the ship?”

“More an acquaintance, but we quickly became friends. She
was sailing to Opali to save her father who was imprisoned for having seditious
documents.”

His eyebrows winged upward. “Seditious how?”

“He’s an archaeologist and apparently he found documents
that bring the Chronicles of Magon into question. The authorities on Magon say
the documents are lies and dangerous. That her father betrays his country by
saying that Dragonians are not like what we think they are. That Dragonians are
not so much different than we are.”

Rayder’s eyes filled with curiosity. “Very interesting. Do
you think her father is a traitor to his country? Do you think Dragonians are
the bad people the Magonian powers-that-be want you to believe?”

What could she say to that? “I’ve never met any Dragonians
until I met you and the other people on this ship.”

His grin flashed, and it did things to his eyes that she
liked, changing the brooding quality to a lighthearted moment. “What do you
think now?”

“That you are all still brutish of course.”

He laughed. “Many of us are.” He shook his head. “There’s a
lot you don’t understand about Dragonia and its people. Perhaps I can teach
you.”

“You won’t be able to brainwash me.”

“It’s not brainwashing if it’s the truth. If your eyes are
opened, maybe you won’t fight me so much.”

“Why would you bother? I’m a slave. You only intend to sell
me off when the opportunity comes along.”

That shut him up, and she felt a definite flood of
satisfaction. A crack of thunder made her stand up in reaction. She wrapped her
arms around herself, as if that could stop the storm from coming.

“The rain is already here.” He gestured to the portholes.
Rain trickled steadily down, and day had turned almost to night. “You cannot
run from it.”

“I know. Please, I’m tired. I need… I need more sleep.”

A huge crack of lightning split the silence. She jerked in
fear and her hands went to her mouth. She’d never felt so much fear, so much
uncertainty in her life. Her entire body shook from within.

His face darkened and he sighed. “Enough of this. Tonight we
sleep together.”

His change of subject threw her. “What? No. I told you no
sex.”

More lightning flashed and thunder cracked overhead with vicious
intensity. Her trembling became uncontrollable, her heart racing, palms growing
damp. How could this fear take hold of her so quickly?

He came to her, and before she knew it, his arms wrapped
around her waist and back. Fear eased under his strong embrace, and impulsively
she buried her face in his shoulder.

“Do you want to be alone?” he asked.

“I…”

“I confess I’m tired as well. There will be no sex tonight,
as much as I might want it.”

She looked up at him, body racked by a shaking she couldn’t
stop. “You can sleep in the chair.”

Rayder’s eyes darkened like the fury outside. “Oh no, my
beauty. If I sleep here tonight, I’ll stay in the bed or not at all. Which is
it going to be?”

Chapter Five

Xandra stared at Rayder as shock ran through her. She backed
up a couple of steps. “If you try anything, I promise I’ll—”

“You’ll scream? No one would help you. No one. The men on
this ship aren’t the noble kind.”

Fear trickled up her spine. Had she misjudged him and become
too comfortable?

His grin faded into seriousness. “I’m not a rapist. But I’m
still sleeping in the bed if I’m staying here. Otherwise I’m leaving. Which is
it going to be?”

Thunder and the increasing motion of the ship made the
decision for her. “All right. You can stay.”

She wished she hadn’t said yes to Rayder as he started to
remove his clothes. Allowing the virile slave trader to stay with her
tonight—well, in Magonia, it wasn’t done. No man stayed with his betrothed the
night before the marriage.

Marriage.

How completely ridiculous. She’d only just met the man. Yet
what choice did she have? Frustration bit her. She’d been forced to marry Taris
and now this man was forcing her to marry him.

Married to two different men in a month. How bizarre.

Freedom.
Right.

Rain splattered against the portholes and the lightning and
thunder grew more intense. She’d have to get used him for as long as she stayed
on this ship. Play along with this whole bizarre marriage thing and escape as
quickly as she could when they docked in Dragonia.

First his tunic came off. She took in Rayder’s body with
fascination. Broad shoulders and wide chest rippled with power, as did his long
arms. Dark hair sprinkled across his pectorals and down over a hard muscled
stomach. Her breath caught as her gaze tangled with his.

“Something wrong?” he asked as he started to unbutton his
trousers.

“Stop.”

“What.”

“At the least, for modesty’s sake, leave your trousers on.”

He smiled, and the wicked gleam in his eyes told her that
Rayder found her discomfort amusing and maybe gratifying. “I never wear clothes
to bed, and I’m not starting now.”

She lied. “But I’m not ready to sleep yet.”

He shrugged as he tucked his thumbs in his waistband and
eased the trousers down his hips. “I am. It’s been a long day. You can stay up
if you like. There are books on the desk if you wish to read. Keep the lamp on
if you want.”

Reprieve.
“All right.”

As his trousers fell lower, she sucked in a breath and
averted her eyes. She walked over to the desk, snatched a book of poetry and
sat down in the nearby chair. “I’ll read then.”

“Suit yourself.”

Rayder wandered to the bed, and out the corner of her eye,
she saw his naked figure climb into the bed and under the covers. She couldn’t
see anything really, but the thought of him naked upended her. As she flipped
open the book and started to read, she became even more aware of him. He lay in
bed, so close, the power of his presence somehow so disturbing that even
dressed he unnerved her. She glanced over quickly. He lay on his left side, his
eyes closed. Good. She couldn’t take it if he were lying there watching her.

As nonchalantly as possible, she continued to read.

It didn’t work.

The lightning flashing, the sound of the storm lashing at
the cabin destroyed her concentration, and so did the man lying in the bed.
Both warred with her ability to read and that bothered her. She tried again,
determined neither one would win. Despite her efforts and the minutes that went
by, her awareness of him increased.

He’s just a man. No reason to become all goggle-eyed over
him.

Especially considering he was a rogue and wastrel.

She forced her attention back to the poetry. Beautiful and
absorbing, the passages took her to another world. From the words, Xandra
learned that Dragonia possessed as much splendor as danger, as much life as death.
Glaciers, jungles and deserts occupied the continent. Though she’d heard it all
before, the poet described the land with such affection and depth that rendered
the country mysterious and beautiful. Curiosity twisted inside her and made
Xandra wonder if Dragonia would be her freedom or stifle her in entirely new
ways.

Her eyelids started to droop with exhaustion, but she
couldn’t abandon the book. Finally she couldn’t keep her eyes open. She closed
the book with a sigh and noted the author’s name carved in red on the rich
black cover.

She said the name softly. “Aknada Tyrus.”

“She was my sister.”

Xandra jerked, startled by Rayder’s voice. She dared to look
up. He was still under the covers. “Your sister?”

“Yes.” He sat up against the dark wood headboard. “She was.”

A sinking feeling entered the pit of her stomach. “Was?”

He swallowed hard, his eyes momentarily burning with anger.
“She was murdered.”

Murdered. She understood so well how it felt for a loved one
to be murdered. Her heart twisted as her own pain resurfaced with staggering
force.

“Oh god Magon. I’m sorry.” She touched the cover reverently.
“This poetry is so beautiful and meaningful.”

He nodded. His eyes sad. “Aknada wrote that poetry when she
was but fifteen. She was very talented.”

“When did… When did she die?”

“Three years ago. She was twenty and betrothed.”

Tears prickled in her eyes. “How awful. What happened to
her?”

“Never mind. I’ve said too much.”

Curiosity plagued her, but far deeper emotions overruled.
Tears spilled over her eyelids. A few seconds later she heard the bed covers
rustle as he left the bed. Her heart pounded, her breath coming shorter. She
stood quickly, needing to escape. She kept her eyes averted from him.

His hands clasped her shoulders. “Are you all right?”

She looked up quickly, still afraid of his nakedness and
even more fearful she’d tell him her story. She solidified her strength and
remembered her goal. Return to Magonia to live her life, and more than
that…find a way to bring Taris Elian to justice for what he’d done to her
family. She swallowed hard around the bitterness that filled her heart, filled
every part of her until she overflowed.

“Xandra? What’s wrong?”

She kept her gaze pinned to his face, overwhelmed by
feelings and a staggering awareness of his virile presence. “Why do you care?
I’m merely your slave.”

His mouth tightened, his brows lowered and eyes serious.
Those green and gold striations mesmerized her and added mystery to his allure.

“You’re my slave, and it’s better if you get used to idea
rather than fight it,” he said.

“Just allow you to take over my body. You don’t want to
marry me, so why are you?”

“You know why. Because Admiral Aramus requires it.”

“You are second-in-command. You don’t have influence over
him?”

“I’ve been on this ship three years, slowly working my way
to second-in-command. I didn’t get that far by arguing inconsequential points.”

She made a noise of disbelief. “Marriage is
inconsequential?”

His eyes sparked with a predatory glimmer. “No. It’s a very
important step in anyone’s life. My parents made sure I knew that.”

Sarcasm crept into her reply. “Really. I heard that all
Dragonians are raised by their brutish fathers and the mothers rarely interact
with their children.”

His fingers tightened on her shoulders as his mouth became a
thin slash. “Where did you hear such bollocks?”

“Our scribes.”

He grunted. “They lie.”

That stung, and she wanted to deny what he’d said but
couldn’t. “Mia, one of the women I met on the ship, was training to become a
scribe. She decided the life wasn’t for her. She said some unhappy things about
lies and the scribes.”