Bound to Seduction Read Free Page B

a
derogatory word.”
    She looked around again, knowing she was
either about to get sliced and diced by some escaped mass murderer,
or that she was hallucinating. Big-time.
    She had to be hallucinating. “I—I don’t see
a lamp.”
    One corner of his lips turned up in
amusement. “We don’t use lamps. Another myth.” He took one small
step closer to her, and even from across the distance, she felt the
heat of his body stir the air around her. “I am Tariq from the
Marid tribe and the Kingdom of Gannah. And I am here to fulfill
your wish.”
     
    * * *
     
    Tariq waited for the woman to say
something—anything—but she only continued to stare at him with
those unbelieving eyes. Eyes that were a unique mix of green and
brown, rimmed in gold.
    As those
pretty eyes grew wider and she still didn’t say anything, he fought
from frowning. She had
summoned him , dammit. She
was the one who had gone looking for the Firebrand opal, and now
she was standing stock-still before him as if she’d seen a ghost?
He would never understand humans. They wished for things they
didn’t want, and then when they had them, they wished for something
else.
    Bile churned in his stomach over the fact he
was being forced to do this yet again, but he reminded himself what
was at stake here. For his brothers, he would seduce again. As many
times as he had to until they were both free. This one wouldn’t be
a total hardship, he realized as he took in the strawberry-blond
hair that fell to her shoulders, the high cheekbones, the small
mouth, and seductive mole just to the right of her lips. But he’d
done this too many times during the long years of his imprisonment
to be anything more than only slightly intrigued by the woman in
front of him. And until she cooperated and stopped looking at him
as if he’d sprouted a second head, he couldn’t get this thing
started then finished so he could focus on a plan to destroy
Zoraida for good.
    “ Azizity ?” he
asked, careful not to touch her, at least not yet. “Are you all
right?”
    “I—” Her gaze raced over his features; then
her face paled, and her eyes rolled back in her head just before
her whole body went limp.
    “Humans.” Tariq wrapped his arms around her
before she hit the counter and fell to the floor. The scent of
peaches assailed his nostrils. Smooth skin and sensuous curves
filled his hands as he lifted her into his arms. She was lighter
than he thought but still deadweight against him as he carried her
into the living room and laid her out on the couch.
    No, he would definitely never understand
this race. Even with the shock he was used to seeing on their faces
when he first appeared, he’d never had one pass out on him.
    He wasn’t sure what to do, so he went back
into the kitchen, grabbed a towel from the drawer, and ran it under
a stream of warm water. After ringing it out, he came back to the
living room and sat on the edge of the couch next to her.
    Soft waves fell across her cheeks. He
brushed them back, felt the satiny strands against his fingers, and
marveled at the contrast between his dark flesh and her much paler
skin tone. Long lashes feathered the skin beneath her eyes, making
her look almost angelic. And her mouth—plump and pink—drew his
attention. A mouth he would soon be taking, soon be licking, soon
be tasting.
    A wicked shot of heat rolled through his
groin. A dark desire he usually had to work to conjure. But this
came suddenly, without force, without the magic he always needed to
become aroused. The realization caught him off guard more than the
fact she’d passed out on him.
    It would
make things easier, he told himself. It didn’t mean anything.
Pushing the thoughts aside, he ran the damp towel along her
forehead. “Wake up, azizity . I’m not
here to hurt you, only to pleasure you with your wish.”
    And corrupt your soul to feed the immortality of one evil
sorceress .
    He ignored that thought too. Dwelling on it
would get him nowhere. And he