Pride of Empires (The Powers of Amur Book 3) by J.S. Bangs

Author:J.S. Bangs [Bangs, J.S.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2016-08-28T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

Basadi’s injunction against being held down turned out to be non-literal. In practice, she was quite eager to be pinned to the ground, squeezed, scratched, and bitten. Sadja was aware there were servants in the kitchen and the entranceway who had been watching them—but she was the daughter of the Emperor. Who were they going to complain to?

Well, to the Emperor. That was the point.

They moved into Sadja’s chamber, adjacent to the common room, where Basadi finally spent the last of her pent-up lust. Tangled atop Sadja’s bedroll, draped lightly in the thin sheet, they collapsed to the ground. Sadja doubled over the pillow and rested it beneath his head. Basadi curled up next to him, draping her leg over his, and playing her hand over his chest. Sadja rested his hand on the small of her back.

“You should count yourself lucky, Majatha-kha,” Basadi said.

Sadja snickered.

“You’re probably the last one to see me like this before I get married.” The bitterness in her voice was black and leaden.

“You’ll get a husband out of the deal, though,” Sadja said. He squeezed her hip. “Hopefully someone young and vigorous with a pole like a palm tree to keep you happy.”

Basadi snorted. “Ashti’s tits, I wish. No, the man is some miserable majakhadir that my father wants to reward.”

“Do you know his name?”

“Lushatha-kha. But that’s about all that I know. Probably has a jowly face and a wilted rice stalk.”

“See what I told you about marriage being a waste?” He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. “But there’s always more men around. Maybe he has a younger brother. Or some vigorous young man-servants.”

“Maybe,” Basadi said glumly. “On the other hand, he probably wants to repeat what my father did and keep me locked in a room surrounded by eunuchs.”

“What?” Sadja said. He turned to look Basadi in the eyes. “What did your father do to you?”

She smirked and gave Sadja a wicked, playful expression. “He locked me into a wing of the Moon Palace and let no one but eunuchs and old ladies come to see me. I had enjoyed the company of the khadir in the palace too much.”

“But you’re the Emperor’s daughter—”

“And he’s the Emperor. So who am I going to complain to?”

“Ah.” Sadja relaxed against his pillow. “I see it cuts both ways, being the daughter of the Emperor.”

“Mostly it just cuts me,” Basadi said, her voice going black. “I hate my father.”

Sadja was quiet for a while. “I was going to say you shouldn’t, but maybe…. I could insist that he does it because of his care for you.”

Basadi laughed and pinched Sadja’s stomach. “If I thought you actually believed that, I would leave right now.”

“We’ve been together a few hours, and already you claim not to believe what I say.”

“Oh, I never believed half of the things you said. But you were good enough at saying them, I had to see what else you were good at.”

“So you’ve had many men to compare me against?”

Basadi sat up and gave him a haughty, mocking look.

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