In the Flesh (3 page)

Hiding her nausea beneath chilly hauteur, Brenna moved forward. The man they said was the Crown Prince of D’Ashier hung unconscious before her, his wrists shackled and chained to opposite walls. The entire weight of his body was supported by those metal bonds. His powerful arms and broad shoulders were stretched to the tearing point, his hands a dark purple from supporting his large frame.

Reaching him, she used both hands to lift his slumped head and gasped. Aside from her husband, she had never seen features so finely crafted. Each line and plane had been etched by a master hand to create perfection.

Sadly, his face was the only part of him not covered in blood, or cut or burned or whipped. The rest of him—a warrior’s well-honed body—was gravely, perhaps mortally injured.

She listened closely for sounds of life, and caught his breathing—shallow and erratic. The sounds of a man dying.

“Take him down.” She stepped out of the way.

Smithson growled. “Give me Gordmere first.”

“No.” Brenna raked his massive frame with a look of pure disgust. She’d never in her life met so vile a creature. “Once the prince is safely in my transport, I will release Gordmere.”

The exchange was completed within moments, a perfectly healthy Gordmere exchanged for a man who had only hours left to live. The antigrav-craft lifted off and navigated carefully out of the cavern.

“Send out a call for troops,” she ordered. “I want that place destroyed.”

The distance to the palace was quickly traversed, but the prince’s condition seemed to worsen considerably over the journey. Afraid to move him further, Brenna left him in the craft when they landed. She wanted to present a live captive, regardless of whether he died shortly after or not. Running against the clock, Brenna hurried from the transport bay in search of her husband. The fastest route was through the
seraglio
, so that was the path she chose.

Rounding a corner, she skidded to a halt at the sight of the king. She was about to speak when she realized he wasn’t alone. He was with
her
. Sapphire.

As Brenna registered the intimacy of his pose, her eyes widened. Gunther stood in the doorway of
the concubine’s room with her cheek cupped in his hand. Bent over her possessively, his lips clung to the
mätress
’s with obvious affection. When he lifted his head, the torment on his handsome features was clearly visible.

He loved her.

Brenna collapsed against the cool plaster wall, shocked by comprehension. She could not win his heart, because it was no longer his to give. He was taken.

Something inside her cracked, then broke completely.

Sending the concubine away would not be enough. As long as Sapphire drew breath, she would be a threat.

Straightening and moving away before she was seen, Brenna reminded herself that she was queen and had unlimited resources. She could, and would, deal with this threat once and for all.

Everything she needed was right at her fingertips.

Sapphire entered the queen’s receiving chamber, admiring as always the beauty of natural light flooding the room from the domed skylights above. As the palace computer slid the door closed behind her, she prostrated herself just inside the threshold, her forehead touching the cool tile floor. “Your Majesty, I am here as you ordered.”

The queen’s regal voice echoed across the vaulted ceiling and down the long, narrow chamber.
“You may rise, king’s
mätress
. Come and sit at my feet.”

Moving as she was bade, Sapphire walked the massive length of the throne room toward the beautiful Queen Brenna. Golden, like her husband, the queen was the day to Sapphire’s night. Tall and blessed with a willowy gracefulness, the queen stood a head higher than Sapphire and possessed none of her generous voluptuousness. However, it was not the blonde’s figure that had discouraged the king’s passion but her frigidity. As Sapphire approached the monarch, she swore she felt a radiating chill even through the queen’s warm velvet robes.

Once she reached the end of the room, Sapphire took a seat on the bottom step of the royal dais and waited.

“We both understand our respective positions well,
mätress
, so I will be brief. Sari needs an heir. I have discussed this with the king and he agrees.”

Sapphire took the news without a blink.

The queen watched her closely. “The thought of the king in my bed does not affect you adversely.”

It was a statement, not a question.

Inclining her head in acknowledgment, Sapphire said, “Of course not, my queen. The king is yours. I have never thought otherwise.”

Brenna leaned back in her throne with a grim smile. “I see you are not as taken with the king as he is with you.”

Sapphire said nothing, which in turn said everything. She had never professed to love the king. He was a good man, a handsome and kind man, but he was not her
karisem
. She could never love a man who
saw her only as a possession and not as an individual with thoughts and feelings of her own.

“That is fortunate for you,
mätress
, considering what I have to say. The king does not feel he can share my bed if you remain in the palace.” Bitterness was evident in the regal voice.

Sapphire lowered her eyes to hide her pity, her heart going out to her queen.

“You are to be retired with the honor due you as the king’s
karimai
,” Her Majesty said. “As his most favored, you will be moved immediately to a home on the outskirts of the capital. You will be provided with fourteen
mästares
who will serve you until you die. Your every wish will be granted,
mätress,
for your exemplary service to the king.”

Sapphire sat for a moment in shock.
Retired.
More than freedom, more than she had ever allowed herself to hope for. She was being pensioned off, after only one contract.

Usually when a
mätress
was released, she was free to find another protector, her value now greatly enhanced for having shared the bed of the king. Her wages became ever more exorbitant, her worth increasing with every protector until she acquired the funds to support her indolent lifestyle. But such was not to be Sapphire’s fate. The king valued her and loved her so much he was willing to retire her.

Retirement.
The word swirled in Sapphire’s brain with a heady delight. It was what she had worked for, the reason her parents had encouraged her to become a concubine. Not only was the position well respected, it was also one of the few careers where hard work guaranteed a luxurious existence for
life. In addition to her pension, she was also being gifted with fourteen
mästares
—handsome, virile men who would dedicate their lives to serving her.

“I’m grateful, my queen.” Her words were heartfelt.

Brenna waved her hand in dismissal. “Go. Your belongings are being packed as we speak. The king has left the palace and will not be saying farewell. I’m certain you are clever enough to discern why.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Now she understood the king’s driving urgency of the night before and his passionate declaration. He’d known it would be their last time together.

Sapphire backed out of the room in a bow. The doors slid open with a hiss as she approached, then closed again when she departed.

Unbelievably, freedom was hers.

Brenna waited until the doors sealed shut behind the retreating
mätress
. The fact that the concubine could so easily disregard the king’s love solidified the queen’s already firm resolve.

“Guardian,” she called out to the empty chamber.

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Has my gift been delivered to the new home of the
mätress
Sapphire?”

“Of course, my queen. With the utmost discretion.”

Her mouth curved in a feral smile. “Excellent.”

Chapter 1

Sapphire alighted from the royal antigrav-craft, her palms damp with anticipation. The home given to her by the King of Sari was, in fact, a small palace. Bright white with multicolored windows, it was set in the golden hills of sand like a sparkling jewel.

As five of her new
mästares
unloaded her belongings, she approached her front door. The hot breeze that coursed over her skin was a welcome and pleasant sensation. She’d spent the last five years inside the palace, her skin tanned by artificial means, her lungs filled with purified air. On excursions with the king, she had always entered the cooled antigrav-craft through equally cooled landing bays.

Taking her first deep breath of natural air in years, Sapphire smiled at the slightly gritty sensation left in her mouth. She enjoyed the heat of Sari and relished the fine sheen of sweat on her skin that evaporated instantly in the dry desert environment.

Placing her palm on the recognition pad, she waited a split-second as the system acknowledged her
prints. The door slid open and
“Welcome, Mistress”
rang out in the melodious feminine voice of the house computer.

Sapphire entered her new home and was immediately assaulted with chilled, cleansed air.

“Guardian.”

“Yes, Mistress?”

“Purify the air, but cool it only in the bedchambers.”

“As you wish.”

Absorbing her new surroundings with wide eyes, she found the balance of her
mästares
lining either side of her long entrance hallway. The resemblance the men bore to the king was noted with a smile. Tall, blond, and possessing sinewy lines of muscle, they were all remarkably handsome.

Sapphire walked through the gauntlet, then paused at the end with a frown. “There are only thirteen of you.”

The
mästare
nearest to her dropped to his knees. “Mistress, my name is Dalen.”

Resting her hand on his head, she slipped her fingers through his silky hair. “I’m pleased to meet you, Dalen.”

He stood, and smiled with boyish charm. “The other
mästare
is still in the healing chamber, Mistress.”

Her frown deepened. The healing chamber took only moments to heal slight injuries.
“Still?”

“He was gravely injured when he arrived. He’s been in the chamber for half an hour now. While he should be healed shortly, he’ll need some rest before he can assume his duties. But the rest of us stand ready. We’ll more than make up for his absence.”

“I’ve no doubt you will all please me. But I’m concerned about the injured one. How was he so badly hurt? And why was he sent to me in such a state?”

“I’ll take you to him, Mistress. I have no answers to your questions. You’ll have to ask him when he emerges.”

Offering his arm, Dalen escorted her through her palace. Sapphire took in the size and beauty of her surroundings with astonished pleasure. There could be no greater testament of her worth to the king than this show of largesse.

They crossed the large receiving room with its massive divan and traveled down an arched hallway to the center atrium. The sight of a large bubbling bath surrounded by lush greenery filled her with joy. The rest of her life would begin in this home, and her blood quickened at the thought of the freedom she would enjoy here.

Dalen stopped before a door nestled along the rear wing of the courtyard and waved his hand over the lock pad. The door slid open, and she stepped inside. In the center of the small room stood the cylindrical glass healing chamber. She took one look at the unconscious man inside and her instinctive response to him was so powerful, she ordered Dalen to leave her. When the door slid shut behind the retreating
mästare
, Sapphire walked closer to the chamber.

The injured man took her breath away. Tall, dark, and devastated with whip marks that were slowly healing before her eyes, he still boasted raw potent masculinity. He was nothing like the king or
her
mästares
. He was nothing like any man she’d ever seen.

Rich, gleaming black hair blew gently around his nape as the swirling air pressure inside kept him upright. His skin was deeply tanned and stretched over powerfully defined muscles. She’d never seen a man with so many ripples of power beneath his skin; not even her warrior father displayed such strength.

His facial features were strong and bold, like the rest of his body. High cheekbones and an aquiline nose gave him an aristocratic cast; the powerful jaw and sensual lips made him dangerous. He was simply magnificent. She wondered what color his eyes were. Brown maybe, like her own? Or perhaps blue, like the king’s?

Sapphire circled the chamber slowly, wincing at the myriad wounds that striped and gouged his flesh. The man had been tortured most grievously. The length of time he’d already spent in the chamber told her he must have been near death when they brought him to her. Who would have selected such a man for her? He was as different from the other
mästares
as she was from the queen. Even unconscious, this man radiated mastery. He was no
mästare.

Returning to the front of the chamber, she continued her heated perusal, her nipples puckering as desire quickened her blood. His broad and powerful chest was almost healed now. A thin strip of hair led her eyes down the ripples of his abdomen to his cock and testicles below. Her mouth went dry as she noted the carefully trimmed curls at the base of his shaft and his heavy sac that was completely denuded of hair. She stepped closer to the cham
ber until her hands and breasts were pressed against the warm glass, her eyes riveted to his groin. Even flaccid, his penis was impressive. She wondered how it would look when aroused.

As if it could read her mind, his cock suddenly twitched and began to swell. Rising slowly, it took on commendable size. Becoming aroused by the sight, Sapphire rubbed her breasts against the glass, then stilled as the stunning phallus grew in response to her wantonness. Startled, her gaze flew upward and was arrested by dazzling green eyes. Emerald bright, they raked her body hungrily, able to see her completely through the sheerness of her gown. Her skin tingled and grew warm as the man studied her with breathtaking boldness.