Abducting the Princess (10 page)

“Where are you taking me?” But suddenly it didn’t much matter where they were going, only that her wedding obviously wouldn’t be taking place. Guilt didn’t even touch the relief barreling through her right then.

“You’ll see,” he murmured.

She stumbled. His hand on her arm righted her. But it was as if the close call instilled in her some semblance of logic. Her pulse thudded frantically. “My parents will have you killed for this!”

Once upon a time his inner darkness would have left her terrified. Now it was the thought that she might lose him, for good this time.

“I doubt that,” he said gently. “Your mother understands your heart and your father empathizes with your ideals.”

They did? He’d spoken to them?

He drew her to a stop. A door creaked open and fresh air brushed over her face. A horse snorted and a harness creaked. Mahaya directed her down two steps—it had to be the back entrance near the old holding yards—before they moved forward again.

Only once she was seated in a carriage that smelled oddly of leather and roses, did she ask, “The king and queen know you’re here?”

Horses clattered forward and the carriage lurched with motion. Her shoulder and thigh pressed against his, causing a little jolt of awareness.

She swallowed. If it had been Jarvias she’d touched, it probably wouldn’t have even registered.

Her belly tightened. Everything about her upcoming marriage had been wrong on so many levels. Why did it take Mahaya to all but kidnap her once again for her to admit it to herself?

She turned away from him, though she felt his brooding gaze on her long before he spoke. “When I was a young boy, starving hungry and deciding the world wasn’t a good place to live, it was your mother who made me think otherwise.”

Curiosity filled her. He’d never mentioned his past before, at least not without her asking, and he’d definitely never said anything about her mother. She stayed resolutely faced away from him when she finally asked, “What did she do?”

His hand enveloped hers. “She saw a starving kid staring at some unsold loaves of bread at the market. She bought me one.” His thumb brushed across her knuckles. “A simple act. But her concern set me on a much different path than the one I was more than likely destined to take.”

“That’s why you’ve looked out for me?” she asked in a small voice. “Out of gratitude?”

“Maybe at first,” he conceded. “But in the end my watching you was because of a far more selfish reason.”

Right then she didn’t quite know whether to be flattered, angry, or both. She sat fuming and motionless for some time before she finally said scornfully, “Yet you didn’t try to step in to stop me from marrying Jarvias.”

“There are some things you need to work out for yourself.” She sensed his upheaval at the memory of her decision. “Only when your wedding day arrived did I know I had no choice but to take matters into my own hands.”

She turned toward him, wishing she could see him through the stupid
darfe
. “So you really are kidnapping me?”

The carriage abruptly lurched to a stop. “That depends,” he said huskily.

“On?

“On whether you want to be with me forever?”

There seemed little point in lying. She’d have fought him off, screamed her lungs out if she’d felt any other way. “You know I do.”

His hand squeezed hers before letting go and untying her
darfe
. She turned away as it fluttered free and for a moment all she saw were roses upon roses twined around the carriage window and door.

Her pulse thudded erratically. Somehow she couldn’t look at Mahaya. Instead she leaned forward, heart in her throat, and peered out the carriage window. Her people stood silent outside, almost breathless, until they saw her.

A cheer suddenly rang out, thunderous after the thick silence.

All breath left her lungs when she slowly turned to Mahaya, wide eyed. He was dressed in an off-the-shoulder, royal
rakkia
robe that flowed to mid-thigh, a cinched belt revealing double fighting rods and a sheathed sword. “What’s going on?” she whispered, though her frazzled mind somehow comprehended what he’d managed to achieve against all the odds, despite an inner voice telling her it couldn’t possibly be true.

His smile lit up his eyes. “I thought you might prefer our wedding to be here, where the
larakytes
palace was rebuilt.”

“
Our
wedding?” she squeaked, though everything inside her knew it really
was
true.

He pushed open the carriage door and alighted before proffering an outstretched hand. “That’s right.”

Only once she’d stepped off the carriage did he drop onto a knee before her—before all her people—and ask in an emotion filled voice, “Mira, will you marry me?”

She wanted to pinch herself, just to be sure she wasn’t dreaming. She wanted to scream with joy and throw in some hand-to-feet acrobatics. Instead she said hoarsely, “Yes.”

His eyes filled with love and telling moisture when he asked, “And will you say your vows; become my wife today?”

“Yes,” she repeated on a breath, before looking up at her people’s rapt faces and yelling, “
yes
!”

If the people’s cheers were loud before, they were deafening as Mahaya got to his feet and drew her to him. He kissed her with a possessiveness that left her reeling and hungry for so much more.

Her inner panther growled approval even before he led her through the crowd who parted before them. She experienced a weird sense of déjà vu as her mind went back to the first meeting with Mahaya, when he’d led her through the crowd, forcibly that time.

Her face broke into a wide smile. Her people had known best right from the start. They’d allowed Mahaya to take her, known he was protecting her from the dissenters.

Her people hadn’t turned a deaf ear to rumors, they’d known what she hadn’t. Mahaya was a good, honorable man who wanted only to do right by her.

Her eyes met Jarvias’ stare as he stood in the crowd. Her smile dimmed, before she realized his eyes were warm with affection. She had no idea of why his change of heart, until the male soldier next to him laid a proprietary hand on his shoulder.

Her eyes went wide even as her smile broadened into a grin. It all made so much sense now! Little wonder Jarvias’ affections had been lukewarm at best. He might have found her attractive, but not anywhere near as much as his male friend. And to think she had planned to marry him in the sole hope to bear children. If she had, she might still have been a virgin ’til the day she died.

The king and queen stood hand in hand beside the altar, beaming with pride and ready to give their blessings.

Evidently Mahaya and the great King Judas had reached an understanding in relation to their mutual
nightmix
genes.

She glanced up at Mahaya with a wobbly smile. She had no doubt the strength he and her father had in common would be passed onto their children. Because it was with sudden clarity that she understood having a family to keep the royal lineage going had only ever been meant to happen with Mahaya.

Her
nightmix
lover.

About Mel Teshco

Mel Teshco lives in rural Australia with too many animals, too many children and not enough hours in the day to write!

Her loving husband is in training as a real-life hero and waits patiently to retire on the success of his wife’s writing.

Mel welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

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Also by Mel Teshco

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Alien Hunger 2: Galactic Inferno

Alien Hunger 3: Galactic Flame

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Discovering Sofia

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Kallie Revealed

Lusting the Enemy

Moon Thrall

Something Wicked This Way Comes, Volume 1
anthology

Winged and Dangerous 1: Stone-Cold Lover

Winged and Dangerous 2: Ice-Cold Lover

Winged and Dangerous 3: Red-Hot Lover

Print books by Mel Teshco

Something Wicked This Way Comes, Volume 1  
anthology

Ellora’s Cave Publishing

www.ellorascave.com

Abducting the Princess

ISBN 9781419945144

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Abducting the Princess Copyright © 2013 Mel Teshco

Edited by Briana St. James

Cover design by Erin Dameron Hill

Cover photography by LOYA-LA/fotolia.com, Andrei Vishnyakov/dreamstime.com, Istvn Hjas/123rf.com

Electronic book publication December 2013

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