Dragon Lords Books 1 - 4 Box Set: Anniversary Edition (37 page)

T
o Nadja’s delight
, the carpenter had begun work on the doorframe. After the dressmaker had finished her many measurements, it was time to pick out the patterns. Queen Mede was a great help, as she chose the most appropriate gowns for each of a princess’ occasions. When it came down to the material, Olek’s closet was examined, and matching designs were sketched out for Nadja’s formal wear.

By the time they’d finished, Nadja was exhausted. The queen left with the dressmaker, winking at Nadja as she passed through the doorway. Nadja gave her a tired smile in return. Leaving the carpenter to his work, she wandered toward the kitchen. The queen had offered to let her dine in the common hall with the rest of the castle, but Nadja had refused. Eating at home suited her more than dining in front of a room filled with palace residents.

Crossing by Olek’s office door, she couldn’t help peeking in. The night before she had explored the home while putting away all her purchases and unpacking her suitcases. His office was neatly organized, except for his desk, which was cluttered with electronic organizers and stacks of paper written in several different languages she couldn’t read.

Before she realized what she was doing, Nadja had stepped into the office instead of the kitchen. Olek blinked, looking up in surprise to see her. He had taken a shower and shaved. The color of his dark cotton shirt brought out his eyes. His hair was still a little wet, combed back from his face to hang damp around his shoulders.

“All finished?” Olek asked, leaning back in his chair and stretching his hands behind his head.

A slight, humorous smile found its way naturally to his lips and Nadja realized he just couldn’t help himself. She nodded, pressing her lips thoughtfully together. “I told your mother to make sure the dressmaker shows you the list first. Queen Mede ordered a good amount on my behalf and I wasn’t sure what my budget was.”

“You don’t have one.” His hands stayed threaded behind his head.

“Oh,” Nadja gasped in surprise. “The queen said I could put everything on our account. I’m sorry I should have asked before going shopping. I’ll pay you back for everything—wait here.”

Nadja hurried to the bedroom closet to dig through her luggage. Pulling out a gold box that her father had given her, she brought it back toward Olek’s office. When she reached the living room, he was there waiting for her. The carpenter had disappeared into the sun room.

Nadja held the gold box against her stomach as she pulled the lid open. It was filled with jewelry. She fingered several of the pieces lightly before lifting a diamond necklace so he could see it. Her hand trembled and she tried to act indifferent as she dropped the necklace back onto the pile.

“I planned on getting rid of this stuff anyway.” Nadja gave a small shrug. “I’m not sure who to take it to. I didn’t see any brokers when I was in the village. Maybe you know someone who’d buy it. Then, you could just take whatever cash I owe you for your trouble, plus what I owe for yesterday’s shopping, and the gowns, then give me back what’s left.”

“Nadja—”

“No, it’s all right. I trust you to be fair about it,” she broke in. She held out the box to him and when he didn’t readily take it, she shoved it into his chest.

Olek reluctantly held onto it instead of letting it fall.

Carefully, she added, “Maybe a jeweler could melt it down before reselling it.”

“This isn’t necessary. I don’t expect you to sell your belongings—”

Again she interrupted before he could finish. “No, really,” Nadja said a little too eagerly. “I don’t want any of it and the cash would help me out until I can find a job.”

“You have a job.”

“Being a princess?” Nadja shook her head. “No thanks. I’m sure I can find something that pays decently enough. I can earn my own way. It’s what I planned on doing anyway.”

“When I said you didn’t have a budget, I simply meant you could buy whatever you needed. I won’t limit you.” Olek set the box aside and moved to stand before her. “I can well afford it. There is no need for you to sell your jewels or seek other employment.”

Nadja glanced down to avoid meeting his eyes. Instead, she found herself looking at the simple Qurilixian cotton drawstring pants he wore. Queen Mede had told her it was the casual style often worn during the evenings. She took a step back, her body all too willing to remember what his had felt like next to hers, and how she had ached for hours afterwards.

“All the same,” she answered. “I would have you get rid of that stuff. I don’t want any of it, and I won’t change my mind. Just make sure you tell the jeweler to take my name off of everything before he sells it.”

Olek conceded with a nod. Nadja relaxed.

“We need groceries,” she said, changing the subject with ease as she went to the kitchen.

“I usually dine in the hall. My brother Ualan is the cook in the family.”

“Is that where you ate last night?” Nadja queried, feigning disinterest. “With your brother?”

“I ate at the royal office.”

“With your brothers?” she probed. Even though she made a great show of rummaging through his refrigerator, everything inside her concentrated on his answer.

“No. I was with my father.”

“I don’t really care what you do,” Nadja lied. Frowning, she slammed the door shut. There was nothing within that tempted her. She went to the cupboard and repeated the same procedure, rummaging through, finding nothing, and shutting the door.

After her third unsuccessful try, Olek stepped forward, offering, “We could stop and get something on the way to the library. Or I could have food delivered there if you like. I promised to take you.”

“Oh.” Nadja thought that maybe he had forgotten. He tried to move closer and she artfully avoided contact with him as she went into the living room. Olek followed behind her. “If it’s not too much trouble, then that would be fine. You don’t have to stay there with me if you have work to tend to. I just need to know where it is.”

“I have time.”

“Let me grab my translator.” Nadja walked into their bedroom. Once out of view, she took a deep breath and then another. Olek made it very hard to concentrate.

O
lek’s heart
ached in disappointment. His wife seemed so eager to get rid of him. Earlier, when he’d come home, he’d heard her laughter with the queen through the door. He’d thought to find her in a better mood, but one look in his direction and her smile had faded. She had looked so beautiful, standing tall on the dressmaker’s stool, wearing the soft cotton top and pants of his people.

She’d avoided him most of the day, so he’d been surprised when she’d shown up in his office. He had to hold his hands behind his head to keep them from reaching out for her. He desperately would love to kiss her lush lips, as he had his way with her on his desktop. At this point, he’d settle for just holding her next to him—anything to have her close.

It had not been his intention to stay out all night. He’d wondered if she was going to ask him where he had been, or if she’d be mad at him for not sending word. He’d heard wives sometimes did things like that. The slightly possessive tinge in her words when she finally mentioned it told him that, even though she might still be upset with him, she obviously cared enough to be jealous at the idea he might have been up to something untoward.

In fact, it had been quite the opposite. The king suspected someone had tried to break into the royal office and they’d been pouring over the possibilities. As far as they could tell, nothing was missing. That event, and a few others, led them to a very troubling conclusion. It was possible they had a spy in their midst. They decided not to alarm anyone else in the family until they knew for sure. With troubled marriages, Lady Riona in a coma, Princess Morrigan self-indentured, every other noble marriage in trouble, and King Attor in all likelihood gearing up for another brutal round of ‘which side can kill the other faster’…well, it didn’t seem like the best time to trouble everyone with the possibility of a traitor.

Olek frowned as his eyes fell on the golden jewelry box. Nadja’s name had been engraved on a few of the pieces so the valuables clearly weren’t stolen. Picking the box up, he took it to the safe hidden in his office floor. Even though she said she didn’t want it, he would hold if for her just in case she changed her mind, or until she told him the real reason for wanting to get rid of it. As his fingers lightly dug through the top layer of jewelry, he couldn’t help but wonder who had given her so many expensive gifts.

Taking some of the papers off his desk, he put them into a long, narrow case encrusted with his royal seal. Nadja waited for him until he came back. She was lovely, and he ached to hold her. He couldn’t help but smile whenever he saw her. However, it felt like his smile was becoming less and less frequent as of late.

Nadja curiously glanced at his case but didn’t ask about it. Olek stopped her at the door and, spoke a random succession of Qurilixian words, before whispering, “Loudly give a command so it can record your voice.”

“Open,” Nadja stated. Olek confirmed her voice command, and motioned for her to speak again. “Open,” she repeated and the door slid open.

Repeating the same procedure, he had her order the door to close. She smiled thoughtfully when they were finished, clearly pleased that she would be able to leave on her own. Olek said nothing as he led her out into the hall, but couldn’t help wondering if she thought about escaping him.

T
he palace library
was much larger than Nadja imagined it would be. Books, giant old tomes of the written word, lined the high shelving. Nothing was on a computer and the musty smell of dust and age hung thick on the air. Nadja instantly loved being in the room.

Though she found a few books written in a very dated dialect of the Old Star language, they were mostly dated novels from Old Earth. The books she was interested in were in the planet’s native language. She was glad she had brought her book translator with her, until she realized it didn’t translate the Qurilixian script. Luckily, Olek was able to load a program onto her unit that could.

He stayed patiently out of her way as she figured out their filing system. Sitting on one of the low red chairs, he took out a pencil and began to work. She caught his eyes on her ass a few times as she made her way around but tried to act like she didn’t notice.

Nadja lifted up on her toes to scan a book’s binding and then pulled her arm down to read the title on her little screen. She stubbornly refused to ask him for help, though it would have sped the process along.

A servant brought lunch, a simple fare of meat, cheese and bread. Nadja made a sandwich and ate standing up while she searched, refusing to sit with her husband. Olek merely picked at the plate, lounging back in his chair as he made the pretense of not watching her.

Finally, several thick volumes and a few hours later, she was ready to go. Olek eyed her load, glancing over the titles. Nadja half-expected him to order her to put some of them back. She’d chosen several medical texts, an encyclopedia of the planet’s herb and plant life, gardening, and more than a few scientific journals.

“Do I need to tell someone I am taking these?” Nadja asked. It was the first thing she had said to him in hours and her voice was husky from little use.

It had been very disconcerting to have him so near, watching her. His sultry eyes left her weak. So many times she wanted to cross over to him and just start kissing his perfect mouth, touching his perfect body. Nadja had never been so bold and she hadn’t forgotten what happened the day before.

Olek blinked, as if surprised to hear her finally speak. He had attempted conversation a few times only to be shushed by her silence. “No, it is the family library. You may take what you like, but when you’re done, bring them back for the others.”

Nadja nodded, surprised at how readily they accepted a stranger into their midst as part of their family. She hadn’t been denied a single thing. Olek reached to lift the heavy load from her arms into his. Nadja almost refused, but they were heavy so she let him take them.

When they arrived back to the house, the carpenter was finishing up. Nadja was very pleased with what the man had accomplished in one day—and a little surprised since he walked so very slow. She was even more amazed that he’d built her new shelving in the sun room for the additional plants she’d collected. He’d also made her a potting table with places to hang spades and hand rakes. She realized Olek had not only ordered the additional construction, but he’d bought her a cushioned stool.

She smiled and thanked the carpenter as he left. Olek walked the older man outside, murmuring to him in their shared tongue. When he came back, Nadja managed a weak nod of thanks as she disappeared inside her room to unpack her boxes and leaf through the books.

O
lek couldn’t get
anything done. Nadja was in his head. Everywhere he looked in his home, she was there. She was in the throw pillows she added to his couch, in the tablecloth and vase of flowers on his dining room table, in the endless line of feminine toiletries laying siege to his bathroom counters and cabinets. He never realized a woman would need so much stuff.

The rest of the evening, he stayed in his office, listening for movement from the atrium on the other side of the wall. As a shifter, his hearing was very sensitive and he detected the swish of turning pages and the raining of dirt into a pot. He wanted her so badly, longed for her with every fiber of his being but she wouldn’t have him. He’d seen her desire that night in the tent. What had happened? Why was being a princess such a big deal to her? Would she really have been happier with a poor farmer?

None of her prejudices against his station make sense, especially in light of her expensive jewels. It wasn’t as if his refined beauty grew up poor on a farm and was used to such a life. In fact, he would bet she wouldn’t last a month of constant, hard, manual labor. Everything about her indicated she came from money and affluence. It was in the way she carried herself, the way she instructed servants with ease and kindness, the way she commanded respect without even knowing it. These were traits bred into a person from birth, not mimicked or learned.

Unable to suppress his curiosity any longer, Olek stealthily moved toward the atrium door. It wasn’t closed all the way. A stream of light filtered through the narrow opening. The evening dusk brought with it a chill and he quietly murmured for fire.

Knocking softly, he caused the sun room door to swing open. It wasn’t the garden he’d expected. Instead, the potting table was filled with glass jars bubbling with mysterious liquids. A stack of writing papers carried strange symbols and notations. Books were scattered on a clean bench, several opened to different pages. In the middle of it all was his wife.

Nadja’s brow furrowed in concentration as she lifted her translator to the book. She mumbled something under her breath, made a notation, and turned to lift one of the jars of green liquid. Still muttering to herself, she wrote her observations down on the paper.

“Nadja?” Olek asked, realizing she didn’t hear him come in.

Nadja jumped, nearly spilling the green liquid down her shirt. She froze and took several deep breaths. Setting the glass down carefully, she backed her hands away as if the liquid would somehow jump off the table on its own. Then, suddenly whirling to face him, she demanded, “What are you doing sneaking up on me like that? Didn’t you ever hear of knocking?”

“I did knock,” Olek answered, seeing she was shaken. He ignored her usual ire, and stepped into her new office.

Nadja twisted her fingers together as he looked down at her notes. She quickly covered them to hide them from view. It was pointless because he couldn’t read the notations anyway.

“What exactly are you doing?” Olek asked. “This doesn’t look like gardening.”

“I’m…” She hesitated, a frown marring her brow. “It’s none of your business. I don’t bother you about what you do all day, or last night for that matter. You could afford me the same courtesy.”

“All day I work on matters of the House of Draig—rather boring but important tasks. Last night, I was in the royal office going over papers with the king and I fell asleep on the couch.” To his surprise, the admission actually seemed to relieve her. Olek lifted the green jar. “Is this a kind of fertilizer?”

Nadja tensed as he recklessly swirled it. “Don’t!”

A splash of liquid came out over the edge and dotted onto one of the plants. Instantly, the leaf began to bubble and melt. Olek frowned, his eyes turning to her suspiciously.

“It’s not what you think,” Nadja said, holding up her hands in defense of any unspoken words. When he didn’t lower the jar, she eased it out of his fingers and gingerly set it on the table. “It could have taken off your skin.”

“How do you know what I am thinking?” he asked, still wary.

“It was a simple mistake. The translator was reading your word for poison as potion and the word for hydrochloric acid as happiness cream and I just now figured out what it was trying to say. The combination of these elements make acid, not…” Nadja paused looking at him. “I’m sorry. It’s all really very boring.”

“No, please, go on,” Olek said, liking the sound of her low siren’s voice. He could listen to it forever, it didn’t matter what she talked about.

“No, it gets really…scientific. You couldn’t possibly be interested.” Nadja slowly urged him back to the door. When she got him outside, she shut the atrium-turned-laboratory door. “I would just appreciate if you didn’t touch anything in there until I can figure out how to write on my labels in Qurilixian.”

“I can easily read seven languages and speak nearly thirty fluently. Label them however you like.”

Nadja looked surprised by the admission. “You have an uploader unit at the palace?”

“No.” He chuckled.

She stopped near the fireplace. Orange light glowed over her skin, contrasting her features.

“We don’t use uploads,” he said. “Sometimes the material doesn’t process correctly when you need it to.”

“Too bad. It would really help the brides learn the basics of your language. The phonetics alone can give a non-native a headache.”

Nadja stiffened, as if she hadn’t planned on revealing so much.

Too late. Olek caught it. Smiling in pleasure, he asked, “You’re trying to learn my language?”

“I…” Nadja hesitated and looked away. “It would only be prudent. Since I am here, I should be able to speak to people.”

“Why didn’t you ask me for help?” His voice deepened, as he closed the distance between them. He reached to stroke her cheek, casting a spell between them as his touch moved over her throat to brush over her collarbone. “I will gladly teach you.”

“I don’t need your help.” Though she denied him with words, her eyes drifted closed as his mouth hovered near. Olek was surprised at how sincerely she softened into his arms. For all her refined defiance, her defenses crumbled easily.

“I would give it,” he whispered, leaning in to close the distance between their lips.

Olek’s mouth conquered hers with tenderness before trailing to her neck. His movements became urgent as his hand found a hold on her breast. He began walking her backward to the water fountain in the front hall, as he whispered hoarsely against her throat, “Tell me you want me.”

Nadja didn’t answer. Her cheeks flushed with red.

Olek growled at her silence. Her body said everything her lips refused to. Her hands found his shoulders, his back. Her fingers tangled into his hair, urging him onward.

He lifted her up on the edge of the fountain. Climbing to join her, he forced her into the water. Her feet splashed as she landed. Water rushed over her shoulders, wetting her tight cotton shirt and budding her dark nipples to straining.

Olek didn’t ask her permission as he tore the shirt from her body. His gaze burned into hers, daring her to deny him, as the water caressed her naked flesh. He stepped closer, causing her to lean against the hollow in the rocks. Ripping a long strip from her shirt, he studied her face for a reaction as he grabbed one of her wrists in his large palm. Lifting her arm with deliberate slowness, he raised it above her head. He looped the shirt around the peak and easily tied her to the fountain. His gaze dark and serious, he lifted her other hand and bound it in the same fashion. Her lips parted, but it wasn’t a sound of protest that whispered past her throat.

Olek eyed his handiwork, very pleased. He glided his hands over her flesh with the aid of the water. She was beautiful, writhing in her innocent passion for him. With her restrained, it would be so easy to claim her. But Olek needed answers first and this might be the only way he could get them. This was the only time she let down her guard, mindlessly responding to him.

N
adja was too far gone
to resist him. Her heart hammered in her chest. The sound of his moans rolled over her soft and low. No matter how much Nadja tried to tell herself that she would deny him when this moment came, she couldn’t. His warmth drew her in and caused the stirring of emotions she couldn’t control or fight. Her body sought the feel of his, just as it sought air and food for survival.

She had almost been convinced that he had spent the night with another woman, as most men of power would have done. Different scenarios had played endlessly in her head. But, when she looked at him and he spoke of sleeping in the royal office, she detected the truth in his eyes.

The masculine smell of him overwhelmed her and she leaned naturally into him, ready for more of his kisses. Suddenly, it was as if she could feel him inside of her. If she closed her eyes she could almost detect his heart beating next to her chest, though his body was several inches away.

Lightly, he touched the sides of her breasts, denying their straining centers. Pleasure coursed through her racing blood, heating her even as the water cooled. Her mind followed the delectable movements of his fingers.

Nadja trembled before him. His hands glided everywhere, touching everything but her most heated parts. It was pure torture. Kneeling before her in the water, Olek slid his hands over her slender hips. He pulled at the waistband of her soaked pants and dropped them into the water, unveiling her naked body to his hungry gaze.

Her arms strained weakly as she tried to free herself, to be able to touch him in return. The fountain sprayed over his body, dampening his shirt and hair, soaking into his cotton pants. The material molded delectably to his firm body. She yanked harder against her restraints as she gasped for air.

Olek worked his way up her, massaging and caressing. Her hips jerked, searching desperately for his fingers. Her nipples arched for him. She was no longer in control of her own body. He drew nearer, letting her feel his warmth against her wet flesh. Her breasts thrust toward him, only able to rub the aching tips lightly to his shirt.

“Olek,” Nadja begged mindlessly. “Please.”

Olek grinned, a devilishly handsome look of pleasure. He placed his hand on the rock over her head, towering over her. The very domination of his presence excited her.

“Oh, please,” she moaned, her eyes closing as if that could counteract her aching need.

“Please?” Olek asked against her skin. Her body jerked in response.

“Yes, please,” she pleaded, desperate. She lifted her leg to touch his as she hung helplessly before him. Her calf rubbed insistently against his hip, trying to free him of his clothes. She managed to work her knee along the flesh of his waist. Nadja groaned loudly in gratification of the small triumph.

“What do you want?” he demanded hotly.

“Olek, please, don’t, just, oh!”

“Tell me,” he commanded. “Tell me what you want, Nadja.”

“I want you,” Nadja admitted softly. Her cheeks heated with a blush, though her body didn’t stop its aching search for more.

“What do you want from me? Tell me what you want.”

“I want…
this
.” She moaned, thinking she felt him move a little closer. Her leg pulled at him, wrapping around his firm ass as she tried to force him against her burning center. Every nerve in her screamed his name. Her blood raced, pumped faster by a heart that nearly leapt from her chest.

“Who do you want, Nadja?” Olek’s strong voice dipped low, almost to a growl.

“You.” She grew exceedingly desperate. This was a torturous game, but she wouldn’t have stopped it for anything. “I want you, Olek.”

“Who am I to you?” Olek persisted.

“You’re my…husband?” she answered, confused.

“And who is your husband?”

“A prince,” she said, even more so. Why was he talking when he should be kissing her? Her mouth strained for the feel of his, throbbing with need. Her body yearned for him to end this torture.

“That’s right, and you are my princess, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she growled before begging, “I’m your princess. Please, no more.”

Olek didn’t deny the soft request. Dropping his questioning, he let her pull him into her body. The rough material of his pants separated their heat as he fitted his arousal next to her.

Nadja gasped in the pleasure of it. She panted wildly, moaning and gasping with delight as he moved himself against her. Finally. “Oh, yes.”

“Do you want me inside of you, Nadja? Do you want me to claim you?”

“Yes, oh, yes, Olek,” she cried, growing louder. “Claim me. Come inside me. Please end this torture.”

Her arms tightened, wrenching against her restraints as she tried to force him closer. He leaned over to kiss her breast, sucking the water from the delicate bud, lapping into it with his rough tongue. She gasped with pleasure at the sensations his mouth caused. She felt like her body was falling off the side of a mountain. His hand moved down her flat stomach, stopping to test her wetness for him as he dipped a finger inside her tight sex.

“Olek, yes!” she breathed. Her hips jerked. Her pussy convulsed pleasurably as he stroked the clit. She was so close. He felt so good, and knew just the right way to touch her. The rough rocks ground into the tender flesh of her back. She didn’t care. “Ah, there, right there,
mmm
, don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.”

“Tell me why you are so unhappy being my princess?” he murmured against her throat. He licked her racing pulse firmly with his caressing tongue as he drank the sweetness from her skin. “What are you running from?”

“I am not running from anything,” Nadja lied, breathless. Olek froze.

Nadja was too mindless to notice at first. Her body kept moving against his, rubbing herself to his hand. A moan came from her lips. Slowly, as she realized Olek no longer kissed her, she opened her eyes to look at him. To her utter horror and disappointment, he deliberately pulled away.

“
A-ah
, no,” she gasped.

Setting his hand over her head once more, he leaned so that her leg slid off his hip. Her foot splashed into the water. Staring deep into her troubled gaze, he frowned. Her chest heaved for air. “You said you would be honest and loyal.”