In the Service of the King Read Free Page A

hair was silky and fine even through the weaving. He tightened his fist around it to break his urge to plunge his hand into the beautiful mass of hair.
    Finally, he dropped the fine strands of dark chocolate and came round to stand in front of her. “Look at me.”
    She responded immediately to the direct command, tilting her head back but keeping her expression passive. That didn’t stop him from noticing the dilation of her eyes as they settled on him.
    He sucked in a breath. He would’ve been impressed with her responsiveness if he hadn’t been so completely enthralled by those eyes. Her left iris was a brilliant emerald, nearly rivaling his own in the intensity and clarity of green. Her right, however, was a bright turquoise, touched by green to be sure, but without question a deep, dazzling blue. The effect of her mismatched gaze, paired as it was with her fair, creamy skin and dark tresses, was arresting. His mouth gaped in rapture of her beauty.
    Powerless to resist, he leaned down and cupped her left cheek in his hand. He stroked his thumb across her cheekbone, his finger playing with the ends of her eyelashes. “You have been touched by magic.”
    Her breathing stuttered and her eyes grew glassy. She blinked the threatening tears away. “Thank you, Your Majesty,” she whispered. She pressed her face into his hand, just the tiniest bit.
    That one small movement seemed weighted with emotion and affection, drawing Kael into personal conversation he rarely offered the Proffered. “Am I to understand that tonight actually marks your birthday?”
    Shayla bit her lip and nodded.
    The image of her teeth buried in plump flesh made his body tighten. Her birthday, how wonderfully unusual. It happened, of course, though the Proffered’s blood was most potent any time during her twentieth year. “Well, Shayla McKinnon, I will try to make it a good one for you, yes?”
    Her smile was warm, glorious. “Thank you, Sire.”
    The way she looked at him sent ripples of electricity through his blood. His fangs elongated. Kael pressed his lips together and dropped his hand, backed away.
    Something like confusion shadowed her face before she straightened her expression and lowered her gaze once more.
    Those eyes are going to be a problem . He was drawn to them, to her. He wanted to pull her up from the floor and onto the bed, and lay her out on her side as he rested facing her. He wanted to learn about her as he stared into those magical eyes. And he never wanted to learn about any of the Proffered. He never allowed himself to imagine them as companions. He was on dangerous ground.
    But her face was like a mask of his people’s mythology. One eye offered the green of their sacred stone, and the other the hue they cherished for its representation of fidelity, loyalty. Her porcelain skin reflected the purity of intent the diamond in his hair stood for, and her dark red lips were the color of life-giving blood. Her face was a mirror of the sacred stones—emerald, sapphire, diamond, ruby—hanging in his hair.
    It had to…mean something. Didn’t it?
    No!
    He hadn’t realized he’d growled in response to his thoughts until Shayla jumped. Kael resumed his earlier pacing, growing more frustrated at himself and the situation as he thought about the dangerous impossibility of his emerging desires for her. He was half tempted to send her away, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. And that turned his frustration into anger.
    He marched to the large cabinet in the corner and wrenched open the doors. The left one banged against the wall and ricocheted back at him. He yanked out a drawer and drew a heavy black eye mask from among the items displayed within. He had to hide those eyes.
    He stalked across the room and stopped just behind Shayla’s now-trembling form. Remarkably, he noted in passing admiration, it was the first fear she’d demonstrated since he’d walked into the room….
    He shook his head. “Rise,