Savage Possession (Temple of Luna #1) (6 page)

He said nothing else. The door closed behind
him, a quiet, stark statement on how easy it would be to forget
her.

She’d made her choice. The smart choice of a
mature, fortunate woman who didn’t have to settle for a king’s
wandering attention. Or worse, a mating like that of Rais’s father,
who was rumored to have a long-term mistress who owned his heart
and body while his mate had to settle for the cold sheets of his
empty bed.

Avani knew better. Raised by those close to
power, she knew that the king had no mistress. If anyone owned his
heart, it was without the comfort of flesh. Kings could do as they
pleased, but strong rulers did what was honorable. If Rais took a
mate of good breeding and found no long-term pleasure in her body,
he would do the honorable thing. A cold, proper marriage, with
carefully scheduled sex as a means of producing heirs.

For her, a life living on
the crumbs of lingering affection when her uncle’s status and
wealth could guarantee her the luxury of love.
Unless he loved me.

The worst thing of all was knowing she
hadn’t been brave enough to take that chance.

And now she’d never know.

Chapter
Three

Rais tripped over the rucksack in the middle
of his tent. He regained his balance, but not before driving his
toes into the metal frame of his cot. Pain shot up his leg, and he
growled viciously. “I need bigger quarters, Jarek.”

The healer didn’t look up from the wide
tablet in his hands, but his fingers moved to touch the screen.
“You have the biggest tent in the army,” he said absently. “But you
already know that.”

It was true, and it drew another growl from
him as he hauled the rucksack into the corner. “That doesn’t mean
it’s sufficient.”

Jarek simply arched a thin
eyebrow and studied him over the tablet. “You
do
remember that I’m here to decide
if your...irregular schedule of Temple visits is detrimental to
your temper, don’t you? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you
wanted to be sent back.”

“
I don’t have a temper,” he
snapped. “And if I wanted to go back to the Temple, I wouldn’t need
anyone’s permission.”

“
Interesting.” Jarek
returned his attention to whatever notes he was taking. “I went to
school with your cousin, you know. She has your temper. She’s a lot
prettier, though.”

“
Fuck you. And stay away
from Zahra.” He paced to the other side of the tent, his shoulders
tense. “She’s too good for you.”

“
Undoubtedly true.” He
didn’t sound offended. “My file says you saw Dhaval’s niece, but
stayed with her less than a day. You’re playing a dangerous game,
and I can’t let you rejoin combat if you’re not steady.”

Avani. His chest ached, and he rubbed his
hand over it absently. “The priestess attended my needs very
efficiently. I’m not going to crack up, if that’s what you’re
implying.”

Jarek sighed. “I don’t care if you fucked
the high priestess herself. Twelve hours is insufficient time for a
man who’s been under your level of strain. And it shows.”

Again, the quiet healer
probably spoke the truth. But, for some reason, the thought of
going back to the Temple to see another priestess was
unfathomable.
And Avani doesn’t want to
see you, does she, you sad little bastard?
“I’m fine. Just fine, Jarek.”

“
You’re not fine,” Jarek
replied, his voice flat. “You can tell me what’s going on and we
can work through it, or you can lie and I’ll mark you unfit for
duty. After the last incident we had with a man pushed too far, I’m
not taking chances.”

Rais ground his teeth. “My ill temper has
nothing to do with the stress of battle. It’s--” He sucked in a
rough breath. “Perhaps you’ll be happy to know I’m in a mood
because I’ve been thoroughly rejected. I asked Avani to wait for
me, and she refused.”

“
Avani?” Jarek’s fingers
whispered over the screen, undoubtedly calling up files. “Dhaval’s
niece. Previously a novice of the Temple of Luna.” The healer
glanced up at him. “She left the Temple after seeing you? Was there
an...incident?”

“
Just her deeming me
unworthy.” Rais wouldn’t ask. He wouldn’t. “Where did she go? Back
to her uncle’s?”

“
No, actually. To your
mother’s court.”

Where she’d be constantly surrounded by
eligible courtiers. He couldn’t hold back his growl. “That’ll make
her a lovely match, I bet.”

“
Perhaps. I hesitate to
intrude, but...” Jarek cleared his throat. “You were with her for
twelve hours, during which you claim she satisfied a priestess’s
duties. At what point did she deem you unworthy? The two seem
mutually exclusive.”

He didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “I
told you. She did her duty, but refused me as a mate.”

“
Ah. So, if I’m to
understand correctly, you’re acting like a man on the edge of
violence because a woman you’d spent twelve hours with refused to
promise the rest of her life to you.”

The healer’s dismissive
tone scraped Rais’s raw nerves. “Make light of it if you please,
but you’ll do it elsewhere.”
If you value
your face.

Jarek wasn’t intimidated. He met the glare
with cool blue eyes that showed no hint of pity. “With all respect
due a prince of the blood? Grow up. If she matters so much, spend
more than twelve hours wooing her. And if she doesn’t, stop acting
like a sixteen year old with a bruised ego.”

He wanted to punch Jarek right in his smug,
calm face, but he forced himself to consider the admonition. How
hard had he tried? All he could remember now was that he’d asked,
and she’d denied him. She’d wounded his pride, and that had been
all that had mattered. “Do we have video communications set up
yet?”

“
Not stable. The humans are
doing something new to block our signals. We can break through in
spurts to download data, but video communication would be erratic
at best.”

If he could manage to get away without
endangering his unit, he could settle the matter with Avani once
and for all. “Has Ari made it back yet?”

Jarek returned his attention to his table.
“Two days ago.”

“
Then I’m taking a few more
days.” He arched an eyebrow. “Make it a medical suggestion, if
you’d like.”

“
Pretend it’s a suggestion
if
you
like,”
Jarek replied, his voice a little sharp. “It’s hard enough on the
men when their leaders are calm. Don’t come back on edge like this.
You’ll get men killed.”

Rais glared at Jarek as he snatched up his
own tablet. “I overlooked it when you called me an immature brat
because it’s possibly true, but if you treat me like an idiot,
we’ll be taking this outside.”

Oddly, the corner of the healer’s mouth
quirked up. “There’s the royal temper. Have a good trip. Be sure to
forget to give my regards to your cousin.”

Jarek fled before Rais could say another
word, and the prince turned his attention toward preparing a
message for his mother. He could be at her summer home in two days.
Avani would be there, and he could do the unthinkable.

The future king could woo his bride.

Karim was handsome. Not a surprise, Avani
supposed. Not with the gorgeous Zahra as a sister and Rais as a
cousin. The entire royal family was sinfully attractive, a fact she
sometimes thought they were all too well aware of.

But Karim was especially pleasing to the
eyes, and he had too much grace to be an unpleasant person. She was
in no mood to be courted by a stranger, but even she wasn’t foolish
enough to pretend that wasn’t exactly why she’d been summoned to
court. Her aunt and the queen had taken an interest in her future
now that she no longer served Luna.

An interest in joining their families was
more like it. She supposed she should be flattered that the king’s
own nephew was courting her with the full approval of his family.
She watched him weave through the crowded room toward her with two
glasses of wine and tried to summon the slightest bit of interest
in him.

“
Come, Avani.” He offered
her one goblet and leaned his shoulder against the wall. “If it
were as bad as all that, you’d have jumped out the window
already.”

Her mouth twitched up in spite of herself as
she accepted the wine. “You’re assuming I could get it open before
my aunt descended on me.”

“
I could distract her with
my dazzling wit and charm, but then your uncle would challenge me.
A mess from start to finish, you know.”

“
A pity.” She sipped her
wine and found a small smile for him. “I’m sorry, Karim. It’s been
a trying month with many changes. I’m afraid I’m not excellent
company.”

“
Trying
is putting it mildly if you had to deal with my
cousin.” His grin was mischievous. “You wouldn’t believe the
rumors. I don’t believe them, and I believe damn near
everything.”

Avani felt warmth rise in her cheeks as she
stared down at the wine in her goblet. “I can imagine. Women don’t
often leave the Savage Temple at my age without a mate.”

Karim’s light eyes were sharp. “No, they do
not. So why did you, little one?”

As if she’d had a choice. Oh, Celine had
been very solicitous. Eager to make arrangements that would dispel
any rumor that Avani was being sent away from the Temple in
disgrace.

Even if she was.

Not in the mood to discuss her shortcomings,
Avani sidestepped the question completely. “I’m more interested in
hearing the rumors. I imagine they’re a great deal more amusing
than truth could ever be.”

“
They’re stranger, at any
rate.” There was something almost too casual in his demeanor. “The
most oft-repeated rumor is that you rejected him. That he wanted
you for his mate and you refused.”

Her chest hurt. Her stomach
felt tied in knots. It took all the training she’d been given in
the art of control to show no reaction but mild amusement. “What
kind of foolish girl would reject the king’s own heir?”
What kind, indeed?

But Karim didn’t laugh. He didn’t say
anything at first, just stared at her as he straightened off the
wall. “By the Goddess. It’s true, isn’t it?”

She refused to let herself react. “Are you
saying you find me foolish?”

“
Of course not.” He studied
her face, his brows drawn together in a puzzled frown. “But you
loved him when you were younger. Everyone but Rais knew it. What
changed?”

She felt another twisting stab of pain, and
this time she doubted any amount of practice could keep it from her
eyes. She looked away from him and found the queen, a beautiful,
regal woman who suffered her own pain with graceful elegance.
“Nothing,” she whispered. “Everyone but Rais knows.”

Karim made a soft noise of sympathy and laid
his hand on her shoulder. “Your aunt and mine have conspired to
throw us together. It isn’t the best of circumstances, but... Well,
a man would be lucky, Avani. Me, or anyone else. Just remember
that.”

His hand was warm and comforting. He was
older than Rais, almost twice her own age. Old enough to have
served his time in the war and come home to enjoy the pleasures
wealth and beauty could bring. Gossip linked Karim to an endless
string of women and no small number of scandals.

An experienced man and a dangerous one, but
at least he seemed willing to be patient with her. She lifted her
gaze to his and wet her lips nervously. “My uncle has many
daughters who gained wealth and power with their matings, but he
encouraged them to wait for a man who would cherish them. I’ll tell
you what I told Rais, and you might find it equally naive. But I
want a man who loves me.”