Read Online The Barbarian's Mistress by Nhys Glover - Free Book Online Page B

others. Her life had never been her own. Secluded, protected and yet abused by those who should have loved her, what kind of life was that?
    ‘If you like. Now sleep. I’ll wake you when it’s time to go.’
    The sun was dipping toward the west when he finally woke her. To his great annoyance, he’d dropped off himself for an hour, coming to full wakefulness in a sudden start, unsure where he was, heart beating like a drum. When he looked around him, saw the horses and the chariot, saw the girl with her pale hair s trewn across the warm grass, he relaxed. He was where he needed to be. Safe. Happy. Oddly content.
    He didn’t give himself time to contemplate those emotions. Instead, he climbed to his feet quietly , and went to fetch the horses. By the time he had them hitched up, he could wait no longer. Dropping to her side, letting his body shield her from the sun, he reached for the cloth on her face.
    One step after another, allow no thoughts beyond your next step, allow no thoughts of your destination, allow no thoughts of the reason for your destination …
    Some mischievous spirit redirected his hand, and he found himself stroking the silky lengths of light, golden-brown hair. The hard callouses on his palms and fingers snagged the fine threads, so he kept his touch feather-soft, one tentative stroke after another, just as he would have stroked a nervy mare’s gleaming coat. The sharp tipped blades of grass that pierced the golden waves were a counterpoint to the sleek pleasure of those skeins against his skin. Pain and pleasure. Could there ever be one without the other for him again?
    His touch must have been enough to wake her, because she drew the dried cloth downward until her face was revealed. Big, golden eyes stared up at him, still drowsy with sleep. They were the exact colour of her hair now.
    He jerked back his hand, embarrassed to have been caught caressing her in such a way. She shouldn’t have felt his touch. She wasn’t supposed to know what she did to him.
    ‘That felt nice. Has my hair changed colour?’ Her words were slow and drugged, her lips curling up languidly at the edges. Vali fought his baser urges, focusing on her words instead of her ripe lips.
    ‘It’s lighter than I expected. Sit up and have a look for yourself.’
    His words, delivered with stern force, were enough to break the insidious spell. Her eyes blinked rapidly, hurt reflected there, digging a dagger into his gut. Better this way. Cruel to be kind. She belongs to another. Think of the reason for your destination! No that wasn’t the way it worked for him. Don’t think of the reason for your destination! One step after another…
    He helped her to sit, catching her grimace of pain before she could hide it. She didn’t complain. Silently she drew her loose hair over her shoulder and stared at it in bemusement.
    ‘It doesn’t look like mine at all, does it? No one will recognise me now.’
    ‘Yes, it’s a good disguise. Now get up. It’s later than I’d planned. We’ve only got a few hours more of daylight. Do what you need to do in the bushes over there, and then let’s get going.’
    It still embarrassed her to have him refer to bodily functions, even in an indirect way. So be it. It was time she experienced the baser aspects of life. Smothering her in luxury had never served. In the next week she would gain a crash course in how the other half lived.
     
    ‘Oh Gaius, I didn’t expect to see you here,’ Salvia said languidly, as she reclined on her couch as her handmaiden brushed her auburn hair in long, steady strokes.
    ‘I was told you want Anniana to accompany you to one of Titus’ orgies later in the week. You know how I feel about her going to the palace. Her innocence is her greatest value, and it can be taken too easily in a place like that.’
    ‘I’ll watch over my baby, don’t you fear. But it’s time Titus saw what I’ve been telling him about all these months. This will be a major political