To Love a Prince (Knights of Valor Book 1)(7)

What in the seven hells was he thinking keeping her with him, much less making her part of his retinue? He and his shadowguard had vetted every other member of his team, and they’d all passed the rigorous security checks before the prince had even considered them for this mission. The handful of attachés Eli hadn’t worked with previously had come recommended from people Eli trusted.

Except for Auburn.

He should send her away, to the seven hells with the repercussions she suffered. She’d chosen to dance for him. She’d deal with the consequences.

That would be the easiest and most logical path.

But Eli couldn’t bring himself to do it. He wanted to lie and say it was because she was a slave and had no choice in her circumstances. That while she’d chosen to dance for him, she couldn’t have known the sultan would gift her to a foreigner. A foreigner that had been in Qumaref for less than a day.

The prince had no compunction about lying to other people, but he never lied to himself. That was foolish.

Frustration burrowed into him. Eli didn’t understand why he hadn’t sent her away, or why he hadn’t forced her to share a room with the rest of his staff.

That bothered him more than anything else.

Staring down at the notes in his hands, the prince growled. Enough foolish thoughts of slave girls. He had a mission to complete.



When Prince Eli finally tucked away his papers and stretched, the sun was pinking the sky. The room had turned chill during the night, and he understood the thick rugs and warm throws despite the afternoon heat.

The prince drew the curtains over the windows. He needed to sleep before the negotiations started, and the rising sun would make that impossible.

Dragging himself to his bed, Eli found Auburn curled up with the blankets wrapped around her.

Her rich copper-red hair cascaded across the pillows, and before he could stop himself, Eli reached out and stroked it. He cursed as he snatched his hand back.

This had already been a difficult, if not impossible, assignment.

The Dragon Church opposed slavery and demanded its abolition before it would countenance relations with Qumaref. Slavery or not, the merchants’ guilds were eager to open trade. The nobility was ambivalent, though many of the elite households had developed a taste for the rich spices and fragrances that they could only purchase from Qumaref.

This mission had to be a test from his father, but Eli didn’t know what the king wanted. Had King Garrett sent Eli to Qumaref to appease the merchants, knowing nothing could come of it?

No, that wasn’t like his father. The king expected something, and it would take all of Prince Eli’s considerable negotiating skills to reach an agreement. After two months on the ocean to get to the desert kingdom, Eli would be damned if he went home with nothing.

Auburn made the situation more difficult, especially for him. A part of him wondered if his father had conspired with the sultan, but King Garrett would never countenance slavery.

Eli gazed down at her. Temptation wrapped in silk, and he was not used to resisting temptation.

He was also not sleeping on the floor.

Kicking off his boots, the prince left his shirt and trousers on as he slid into bed. While he was careful not to touch her, she scooted closer to him, her eyes never opening as her chest rose and fell in the steady rhythm of sleep. Eli growled several expletives, but he didn’t want to move and was too tired to do anything but sleep.

He draped an arm over her, and she nuzzled closer, the heat of her chasing away the desert cold. She felt good in his arms, soft and right. Exhaustion didn’t allow him to question it, and he laid his cheek against her copper hair as sleep took him.





Chapter 5





When Auburn awoke, Eli was still asleep. Not surprising given how late he’d worked. She studied his face, hard and handsome even as he rested. So odd, Auburn thought. Any Qumarefi would have already stripped her of her virginity, taking her and using her for their pleasure. But not this dark, forbidding foreigner.

Disappointment warred with relief. He was handsome, and while he wasn’t kind, he wasn’t cruel either. She suspected he would be a demanding lover, and the idea of him focused on her like that warmed her insides and flushed her cheeks.

She bit her lip. It was foolish to want his attention. So much easier and less dangerous to pass unnoticed, especially as he’d already promised to take her to Tamryn.

A shiver stole through her as she remembered the heat in his kiss and the way it had left her wanting more. Auburn hadn’t known a kiss could do that, hadn’t known her body could respond to his as it had. Hadn’t imagined she’d want anyone to kiss her again, or that she’d want to touch a man’s bare skin and feel the muscles of his chest tighten under her fingers.

Heat slid through her veins, and she pressed closer to the prince.

He felt good beside her. Not safe, she would never call Prince Eli safe, but protected. It was a strange feeling, as strange as his clothes, his words, and his mannerisms.

Yet familiar.

She’d seen him in her visions, waking dreams that both warned and guided her. Time had taught her to believe in the visions and to act on them. While images of Prince Eli were more recent, she’d seen the dragon crest he wore in her visions for as long as she could remember.

Her fingers trembled as she stroked the gold buttons on his jacket, each etched with that dragon crest. The symbol of Tamryn.