Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 28150 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 141(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28150 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 141(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
“Perhaps if you let me suck your cock, I can get you ready again?” she asked hopefully.
The offer sounded tempting, but he didn’t think he’d be able to get it up again even if he wanted to. Normally the offer of her forked tongue wrapped lovingly around his shaft was enough to make him hard, but he just couldn’t drum up enough enthusiasm.
Giving her a kiss on the cheek, he gently disentangled himself from her grip. “As alluring as that sounds, I’ll have to pass. Now get off so I can call Tuk to fetch you.”
She looked like she wanted to cry but wisely didn’t press. He felt bad for hurting her feelings, but he didn’t need the pressure of her persistence either. After calling for his servant, he threw on a pair of pants and paced the room, ignoring the softly weeping concubine. His temper grew with each passing second, not at Caseila but the situation.
The disastrous night with Calliope had only been the beginning. He thought some time with Nihira, one of his favorite women, would erase the human female from his mind. Blaze, however, found that he was wrong. Terribly wrong. His cock barely stayed hard enough to fuck her. It had been humiliating, and it put him in a foul temper.
The next night was Jaet, a Thibian like himself. Her beautiful golden looks usually stirred him beyond reason. Again, nothing. Tatal, Falen, and Mariya the subsequent nights failed just as miserably in bringing him to a satisfying ending. He’d even tried two at once, but that didn’t excite him either.
Did he dare try any of the other women? No. Nothing would do. The truth of the matter was that he wanted Calliope, and her rejection cut him to the quick. He’d been so sure though that she felt the same way.
When Tuk entered the room, she gave him the customary salute and hooked the chain around Caseila’s collar. “You may wait out in the hall for me while I speak to the King,” she instructed the still weeping concubine. “Sire, could you please tell me what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I had no further need for her,” he said, trying to hold on to his last droplet of temper.
“But something has been going on these past few days. Have the girls not pleased you as they should?”
“It’s not them!” he roared louder than he should have. “Just do as I ask, and don’t question me again. Perhaps you should do a better job at picking members for my harem.” This comment seemed to take his usually unflappable servant by surprise. She turned a deep shade of red. The minute the words were out of his mouth, he knew he’d gone too far.
His servants worked very hard to please him and see to his every need. That he would yell at Tuk, one of his most faithful workers, shamed him. “I’m sorry,” he said gruffly. The damage had already been done however. Curse that woman for driving him to this.
Bowing her head, Tuk turned abruptly. Just as she was walking out, Radien walked in and stopped her. “Are you all right, Tuk?”
She nodded, but didn’t speak.
“Hmm, it seems that the King is in rare form again today. I’ll find out what the problem is. Don’t worry,” Radien assured her.
Tuk merely nodded before scurrying off.
“What do you want?” Blaze glared at his friend, not willing to listen to yet another lecture.
“To see if everything is all right with you. I could hear you yelling at poor Tuk from down the hall. What is wrong with you? You’ve been in a foul mood for days. The servants tiptoe around you, and you snap at everyone without provocation. Hell, at dinner tonight you barely said two civil words before you got up to leave.”
“If the way I’ve been acting bothers you, then why are you here now? I didn’t ask for your company.”
“Don’t play the mighty King with me. We grew up together, and I think I’ve earned the right to speak freely to you. You’re being an ass. Whatever it is that’s upsetting you, fix it. The servants don’t deserve it. Your concubines don’t deserve it, and neither do I.”
Clenching his fists at his side, Blaze reined in his temper. Radien had a point. It wasn’t the servants’ fault that he was frustrated, and furthermore, he had to stop acting like a child who couldn’t get what they wanted.
Releasing a heavy sigh, he looked at his friend. “You’re right. I have been unbearable lately. I can hardly stand it myself.”
“What’s wrong? You can tell me anything.”
“I… do you remember that concubine? The human one?”
Radien frowned. “I’d wondered what had happened to her when she didn’t appear to entertain us with the rest of the harem. I thought perhaps she’d displeased you in some way, but…”