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She startled and pressed herself up against the door, her eyes wide. “Who are you?” she asked. That her voice didn’t shake made him oddly proud.
“Zarin Aurata, at your service.” He twirled his hand in lieu of a bow, returning it to the wheel when the rover slid over some loose rocks, his side bumper scraping along the wall.
“Like, as in Thulida’s Zarin?” Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the seatbelt.
“Exactly so.” His ears twitched, taking in every adorable sound she made.
Her chest heaved at his answer, and it took every ounce of his willpower to keep his eyes on the road rather than watching those magnificent tits bounce under her tight shirt.
“Did you drug me?” An undercurrent of anger ran through her words.
“I did.” He shrugged. “It was the most expedient way to get you into my rover without attracting attention.”
She took a slow breath, held it for the count of five, and released it just as slowly. “And I’m in this vehicle with you why?” Her voice turned low and deadly.
“You’re coming home with me.” If he was a smarter man, he’d give her a longer explanation, especially considering the waves of anger rolling off her. Good thing she wasn’t armed.
Or was she? He shot a glance at her before returning his eyes to the road. The promise of the strong storm hung heavy in the air, and they were moving too fast for him to spare too much of his attention for the pissed-off woman sitting next to him. She hadn’t felt armed when he held her soft body in his arms. Where would she even hide a weapon in the tiny outfit she had on?
“Home? With you? In the coldest hell that’s going to happen,” she ground out. Before he could counter her moves, she flicked out a knife, slashed out at him, sliced through her seatbelt, and flung herself from the moving vehicle.
Fuck. Where did she pull that knife from?
3
SERAIAH
Abducted by a desert king wasn’t exactly on her bucket list. King Zarin Aurata had a reputation for being an uncompromising, ruthless leader who did whatever was necessary to safeguard his kingdom. In the handful of cycles since he took the throne, he’d put down an insurrection with roots in his late father’s reign, renegotiated treaties and trade agreements with any nearby nation that had a recognized leader available to negotiate with, and expanded his territory to the edge of the Egimata Forest.
Gripping the seatbelt like a lifeline, she eyed her captor. A muscle jumped in his cheek, his sharp features backlit by the single ray of sun strong enough to penetrate the deep canyon they traveled through.
But why had he snatched her? She wasn’t a useful hostage. Last she’d heard, negotiations were going well between their two territories, and neither she nor her family held enough power in Cywillada to be of any benefit.
That wasn’t completely true, though, was it? Maybe he knew of Tanl’n Maher’s ongoing romance with her eldest sister. Still, that had nothing to do with her, except that her family had now turned their matchmaking attentions to her, dammit all. She herself had zero pull with her territory’s big boss.
There was no logical reason for this abduction.
But here he was, knocking her out and dragging her away from her home like some ancient warrior claiming his bride. She repressed the teeny sliver of her brain that got all swoony at such an archaic but somehow still romantic idea. Surely he didn’t want her for that. He couldn’t.
Though she liked how she looked and appreciated her curves and muscles, she wasn’t vain enough to believe she was stunningly beautiful. Definitely not unique enough to drive a man she’d never met — a king, no less — so wild with lust that he’d snatch her from a date palm grove on a random autumn morning. Hells, she was just a tree-obsessed nerd who spent most of her time running around the orchards, trying to help improve her city’s food production to feed their growing population.
She was Verdet, which was unusual, yes, but not enough to risk a war over. Besides, the abilities found within her branch of the family focused on growing things and healing. It didn’t make sense.
Figuring out why he’d grabbed her was important. So was giving him a piece of her mind. But her parents taught her that should anything like this ever happen, escape was her top priority.
She swallowed down the more violent urges that boiled in her blood. He was lucky they were in a moving vehicle or she would be using some of those self-defense moves her cousins taught her on him.
Carefully, she unfastened a small pocket on the waistband of her running shorts and palmed her pruning knife, sharpened last night. “And I’m in this vehicle with you why?” she asked, doing her damndest to keep her voice steady.
“Why, you’re coming home with me.” He didn’t even bother looking at her when he said it. Smug bastard.
She waited for more. But nope, that was it. Just a king who decided he wanted something and took it. No consideration about if he should or if she even wanted to go with him. She saw red. “In the coldest hell that’s going to happen.” She feigned a slice towards him to force him away, cut the seatbelt holding her secure, and threw herself out of the moving vehicle.
Which, in hindsight, not the smartest move. She knew how to fall — loose limbs are essential if you wanted to avoid broken bones when crashing to the ground from high tree branches — but leaping out of something traveling fast through a walled mountain pass was a different experience entirely.
More painful, too, she thought as she tucked and rolled across the rocky ground before coming to a crunching halt against a boulder, the vehicle behind theirs passing close enough to ruffle her hair. Tires skidded over the gravel, red brake lights illuminating the darkening canyon as doors slammed and muffled voices shouted.
She barely had time to catch her breath and push to her knees before she found herself plastered against Zarin’s very hard body.
