Forced Handfasting (8 page)

“Thank you, goddess,” he whispered before he stood up, and left the chapel.

On the way back to his room, he had a feeling like a weight had been lifted off of him. That weight had been crushing his true feelings that were developing for Sam, and now he wasn’t going to be ashamed to show it. He wanted to get Sam to at least like him for the time being, and hopefully with enough time; she might even come to love him. First thing first though, he needed to apologize for his recent behavior.

Once he was back in his room he dismissed Niko from his stance. He noticed Niko’s hesitation when he was told his friend could leave, but he couldn’t blame the man. He would be furious with Niko if he witnessed his friend mistreat his mate.

Samantha was still sound asleep when he pulled a chair up to the side of the bed. It was growing dark outside, so the light in the bedroom was diminishing quickly. He opened one of the double doors that lead out to the balcony from the bedroom, and breathed in the fresh air. Everything around him smelled different since the goddess spoke to him. Was it because the goddess had taken the time to speak to one of her wandering children or was it because Jahan felt freer than he had in a very long time?

A bird calling for its mate had him smiling. He searched the evening sky until he found the source of the call then watched in amazement as the two birds landed softly on a nest that was built up in the tree that overhung the balcony. He glanced backwards at Sam then back to the birds. He knew from his mother that the Macon birds mated for life, and raised their young together. The male Macon was very active in the young birds’ lives and could be seen scavenging for food to bring back to the nest.

Watching the birds made him long for that kind of relationship with his new mate. He wanted to watch Sam grow round with his child in her belly, and see his child laugh, and play as she chased him or her around in the courtyard. This was the first time in his life he actually yearned for a family of his own. He still had his two brothers, but they were both married, and fathers for some time now. He was the wild one of the three brothers who didn’t want to settle down, until he saw Sam. Everything changed with that one glance she had given him while she stood with her head held high on the slaver’s block. Never again did want to see her suffering like that.

He went to sit in the chair next to the bed. Sam’s face was flushed from the excursion he had put her through in the market but at least he knew she would recover. He would take extra special care with her from now on, whether she liked it or not.

He reached out to brush another strand of hair that had blown across her face while she slept. The slight touch of her skin had him wanting to sink his cock into the warmth of her pussy. He wanted to run his hands over every inch of her small body while she lay sprawled across their bed. He wanted to feast his eyes upon her breasts then tenderly suck one of the dark pink nipples into his mouth. More than anything he wanted to hear Sam scream out his name as he brought her to climax again, and again.

For now though, he would have to be content to sitting next to her, and watching her while she slept. Tomorrow, he promised, was a new day. A day to start his campaign on winning his wife over.

Chapter 7

Sam came out of her dreamless sleep to the sound of bird’s singing nearby. She turned her head in the direction the sound was coming from then opened her eyes. What she found sitting next to her was not what she expected to find.

Jahan was asleep in a chair she hadn’t noticed before. His long legs stretched out onto a part of the bed where she wasn’t, and his head was bent at an odd angle. It had to be an uncomfortable position, but she could vaguely hear that he was softly snoring. He looked peaceful sleeping, and she didn’t want to wake him because she knew his temper would return.

She continued to examine the man who rescued her, and forced her to marry him. His long lashes lay fanned out on the tops of his cheeks, and his full, pink lips were slightly parted. Her eyes moved downward to his bare chest. It was the first time she was seeing him partially naked to the point where she could examine him. There was not an ounce of fat on his torso, and only a tiny sprig of the same black hair graced his chest as it travelled down to his waist then disappeared into his pants. Any man back on Earth would have loved to have his build!

The sound of a clearing throat made her look back up to his face. Sam’s faced flushed red when she saw Jahan was watching her watch him.

“What are you doing here,” she snapped. She wanted to cover up her embarrassment at being caught red-handed.

Jahan smiled at her. “I am watching over my wife.” He removed his feet from the bed and placed them on the floor. He leaned forward so he could rest his elbows on his knees while he watched her.

“Why? You apparently hate me for some reason.” She turned her head away from his intense gaze.

“I don’t hate you, little one.”

She couldn’t help herself when she laughed at his words. “You could have fooled me! Back on Earth you don’t treat someone badly if you like them.”

“I must apologize for my actions.”

His response peaked her interest. She wanted to hear what this apology was going to entail. Maybe she could work out a deal with him, and have him take her home.

“I umm..,” he paused, searching for the right words to say. “I want you to forgive me. My anger got the better of me, and it was by no means your fault.”

“Really?” she asked mockingly.

She didn’t expect him to raise out of the chair then sit on the bed next to her. She attempted to move away, but he trapped her body by placing one hand on the opposite side of her body.

“Yes.” His gaze travelled over her face, heating it up once again. “I want to start anew. When I first saw you standing up there on the slaver’s block, I knew you were the one for me. I wasn’t going to leave there without you. Once I had you securely on board my ship I could feel the anger rising, and it was not directed towards you. I watched you sleep for a short while as we travelled to Donwi, and I imagined the horror you must have gone through at the hands of your captors.”

Images of her cell flashed before her. The darkness, the cold, the hunger, all came back in an instant. She felt her eyes tear up as her throat felt like it was closing up on her, and swallowed numerous times to get rid of the burn in her throat. She didn’t want to cry in front of this man who was trying to tell her something.

“But, you forced me to marry you. What about that?”

“Ah, well…I still needed a wife, and you feel right into my hands. I didn’t have to search any further.”

“Is that the only reason you bought me, to marry me?” She was getting confused.

“Niko, and I went to the slave auction at first to just watch. We were there to purchase supplies for my ship, and had some time we needed to kill.” He lied a bit about having to wait for the supplies. “At the bar we stopped at, we found out it was one of the largest slave sales held on Iatune in quite some time. The planet was packed with owners looking for new slaves.”

“What would happen to the slaves?” She wanted to learn what her fate might have been if it hadn’t been for him.

“Some are purchased as household servants; some are put to work in fields, and some are resold for a profit, but you, I guess you would have become a sex slave.” He caressed the side of her side.

Fear gripped her so hard she began to shake. An ex-slave! She should be grateful then that Jahan had rescued her from a certain miserable life.

“Why are you shaking, little one?” He searched her eyes for a reason.

“I…I...,” she stuttered. She didn’t know what to say. The first tear slipped past her lower eyelid. She blinked several times in haste to make the tears go away, but it was fruitless. A second, then a third tear followed.

“You are safe now, my little Earthling. I will never let anything happen to you.” His thumb wiped away the tears as they fell.

A sob ripped from deep down. So much had happened to her lately, and she was tired, scared, unsure of her future, and belonged to a man she didn’t know who wanted to have a baby with her.

Jahan pulled her up gently into a sitting position then engulfed her in his huge arms. She had no idea for how long she sobbed but when it was over, she felt drained. Her eyes drifted closed as sleep called to her once again.

“Sleep now, my heart. I will have some food ready for you when you wake up.”

His words soothed her as well as the feeling of him caressing her hair. He kissed her forehead when he laid her back down on the pillow. She felt the coolness in the air when Jahan’s warmth was pulled away from her body, and wished he would hold her like that forever.

The blanket was pulled back up over her as she slid back into the world of unconsciousness.

When Sam next awoke, the room was a bit warmer. The door to the balcony was still open, letting in the breeze that swept up the mountainside. She looked around the room to find it empty, and wondered where Jahan was. She rolled to her side then sat up on the side of the bed. A wave of dizziness overcame her then quickly disappeared as quickly as it had come. She had breathed in through her nose a few times before she pushed off the bed to stand.

“I have got to pee!” She made her way over to the bathroom. She washed her face and brushed her teeth while in the tiny room. A brush was sitting on the side of the sink, so she picked it up, and ran the bristles through her hair a couple of times to get the knots out.

“Sam?” Jahan’s deep voice filtered through the door of the bathroom.

“I’m in here,” she called out.

“Are you alright?”

She could hear the uncertainty in his voice. “Yes. I will be out in a minute.” A few more strokes with the brush and she was satisfied with the condition of her hair.

Upon exiting the bathroom, she found Jahan standing near the doorway waiting for her. He looked her over then smiled as he if found something he liked.

“You shouldn’t be up yet.” He guided her back to the bed by her elbow then sat in the chair in front of her. “The healer said it would take some time for you to recover.”

“A healer? Is that like a doctor or something?”

“Yes. The healer I summoned has served my family for some time now. He took care of my father when he took sick.”

A shadow of sorrow played across his handsome face. The loss of his father must have hit him hard. She was lucky to have both of her parents still even if they resided on another planet, and didn’t want much to do with her!

“Are you sure you are feeling okay?” He waited patiently for her to answer.

She nodded then giggled. “I’m fine, Jahan, really.” It was hard for her not to give him a genuine smile. As she smiled, he responded in turn with his bright smile. “May I ask you a question?”

Jahan scooted forward in his chair until he sat on the very edge. “Anything, ask me anything you wish!”

“Why such an abrupt change towards me…again? I mean, I know you apologized, and everything but why?” She really wanted to know what had caused him to change the way he was acting.

“If I tell you, do you promise not to laugh?” The look on his face reminded her of a little lost boy who was too shy to ask for help.

She nodded her response then waited. The air felt tense around her as he thought for a moment then spoke.

“Yesterday, after we returned from the market. Niko stayed with you for a short time while I went down to the chapel.” He surprised her by taking one of her hands between both of his. Her hand in his grip made hers look like a child’s. Everything about him made her feel like a child. “While I was in the chapel asking the goddess to heal you, I…the…the goddess appeared.”

She sucked in her breath at his admission. Goddess? Like the gods and goddesses of ancient Greek history?

“Goddess?” she asked.

“Yes, the Goddess of Life appeared to me for the first time in my life. I have heard of others having had the goddess visit them but never me, even when my father lay dying. Anyhow, she explained how she led me to you.”

“She led you to find me? I don’t understand.”

“The gods, and goddesses of my world are known for appearing to those who need them. The Goddess of Life said she led me to you because you are my mate.”

“What?” she screeched. “How is that possible?”

“I don’t understand the ways the gods and goddesses sometimes act but I was told if one appears to you there is a good cause behind it, as I found out last night.” Jahan’s eyes were wide with excitement. He rubbed the top of her hand with two of his fingers as he spoke. “I just ask that you give me a chance to prove to you that I am not the asshole you think I am.” He gave her a crooked half smile.

“But…but why did you force me to marry you? You could have explained everything to me, and I might have understood.”

“I’ll admit the way I handled things was wrong. I was so overcome with anger that I lashed out at the wrong person. If it wasn’t for Niko, I might have lost you in the market.”

“What do you mean?” She remembered the strange man trying to grab hold of her but not Niko.

“Niko was smart enough to follow us to the market. He stayed far enough away from me that I didn’t suspect he was there. When I foolishly walked too far ahead of you, Niko immediately saw your distress. The goddess saw fit to take you away from me if I didn’t change the way I was acting towards you. Niko even warned me that if I didn’t treat you like I should, he would come, and take you away!” He tried to laugh at that comment but couldn’t because he knew it was the truth.

“Will I ever be able to return to my home?” she whispered. Deep down she knew what his answer would be but she needed to hear it said aloud.

“If, at the end of the years’ time, you do not wish to remain here with me, I promise to take you back to your home.”

Sam didn’t know what to say. He wanted her to stay with him, yet he was willing to let her go if she chose to go after the Handfasting was over. Would she be able to leave after a year’s time?

“Okay, but tell me why you needed me in the first place.”

“There is the Council of Elders that wishes for me to marry. One member in particular, Rahman, wanted me to marry his daughter, Kioto. By no means did I want to marry her, so I left here a few weeks ago to seek out a wife. On our way back, we landed on Iatune.”

“And that’s where you found me, right?”

“Yes, the moment I saw you I knew you were meant to be mine.”

How could she deny this man now? Sure she wanted to go home but what did she really have waiting for her there when she returned; Parents who knew very little about her, a teaching job she just started, no close friends? Should she take the jump, and give this huge, masculine man a chance to win her over? No man on Earth would ever be able to compare to him, not just in looks but also in his sincerity.

“What do I need to do in order for this council to leave you alone? What are you to them anyway?”

“I am the ruler of this planet.”

Whoa! She didn’t see that one coming! “Ruler? You mean like a king?” Her heart beat sped up. Was she really married to a king?

“Yes, but here on Uxslore the king is the Ruler.”

“I am married to the ruler of the entire planet?”

“Yes.”

“Ok then, why does this council have the right to tell you who to marry?”

He leaned back in his chair after he released her hand. “The council, or at least some of the council, believes they have the ultimate say so in matters concerning Uxslore.”

“Why not just disband or dismiss them?”

“It’s not that easy. My father set up the council a long time ago to help him run things when he started to become ill. As the years passed, and my father’s health deteriorated, the council became stronger. It is just since I came to rule that the council is trying to exert its power, and I wish to eradicate that, and the first step was to deny them the pleasure of forcing me to marry Kioto. I fear though that the council has some tricks up their sleeve, and will try to force me out as the ruler.”

Sam didn’t like the sound of this council. It reminded her of the extremists groups on Earth who wanted people to follow or conform to their ways. Too often violence would erupt as a result of the extremists being denied their demands.

“Will you help me?”

It was Sam’s turn now to take hold of his hand. It was the first time she had touched him first. His hand felt rough under her fingers. She traced the creases imbedded deep into his skin while she thought about everything he just told her.