The Harem- The Burning Beauty

Chapter Seven-Tempted By The Master

Tempted By The Master

The sun was barely down with its descent beneath the horizon, but Julius was the first of his household that feared the searing ball of flames, to arise. His body appeared to inflate slowly as air filled his lungs and life poured itself back into him. His eyes opened with a flutter and instantly he was aroused by the exotic scent of the woman that lay motionless in his arms. She was still dressed in her garments from the night before and the feel of the fabric against his skin drove him mad. Her curls were in disarray and unruly about her head and he indulged himself by running his fingers through the silky mass. Julius vowed that he was going to have this woman. He would claim her before another snatched her away from his arms. He would sooner walk willing into the merciless radiance of the sun before that happened.

But last night his brother had shown the interest that had him contemplating a means of delivering him a swift demise. He knew Marcus; the calculating, manipulative rogue he was. He’d known that even through the cloud of lavender he’d perfumed the ballroom with the bastard would still be able to scent and sense his Cassie...

His Cassie. The thought had him holding her closer. Julius was going to wish he had not bothered with her. Cassandra’s wrath went so deep for him that he was sure centuries would pass before she gave in, especially after his refusal the night before. They had time, a hell of a lot of it at that. He would make her love him eventually.

For now, there was much to see to before his guests awoke from their slumbers. With much reluctance, he peeled himself from the beauty in his bed and felt an instant chill. Julius had forgotten how the cold felt in his bones. He ran the back of his fingers down the side of her jaw and felt warm again. An interesting thing that was. Even without a meal she was still so warm. He’d never felt it with any of the other women. He’d have to study more into the anomaly; perhaps a visit to Simone would give him answers.

Till then, he had to find Habashi. Work needed to be seen to. Clean up from the many messes were probably done already, but he wanted to see so for himself. So he got up, pushing away coverlets, dressed himself quickly and moved to the door of his chambers. She would soon be awake, and he was sure he wouldn’t be able to control himself if she looked at him with those hungry eyes she possessed. He was sure she wasn’t even aware of the sultry look she gave off when she looked at anyone. A special one, his Cassandra was. She was the only of his Harem that fed off the lust of others. He’d thought he’d sensed it in Elizabeth, but after a few good meals she was all blood. What made Cassandra different? Another problem he would present to Simone the sorceress that swore her life to him. He had saved and protected her many years ago from villagers that saw her natural gifts as something to destroy. Humans always sought to destroy that which lived out of the guidelines of normality. His kind had to learn that the hard way and since then they were the greatest pretenders man kind had ever danced with.

As Julius made his way down the hall he pondered to himself if he would ever be able to not keep her in his bed every night. It felt so right to die with her inside his arms and to awake from such a deep slumber with her still there. He wanted that every evening and to have her wake there as well. Then he would capture her lips and feel her whimper and croon beneath him. Yes...to have Cassandra like that would be his undoing. He’d never wanted another woman the way he wanted her, not even the other women of his harem. That thought had him pausing in midstride. It was the truth; there had never been a stronger urge of need for any other woman than it was with Cassandra. Perhaps it was because she was giving him more of a struggle for her affections than the other women did. Indeed she was stubborn. Maybe that was what made her more alluring to him; for her to claim she loathed him but the moment she was trapped in his arms she was all moans and soft lips. An interesting game they were playing.