he chuckled, his eyes gleamed brighter than day. Though she had known him so short a time, already she had each feature memorized. The darkest brown hair, untouched by gray, that framed his noble face. The broad stretch of his shoulders, the well-muscled chest she had fallen asleep on each night. Her blood surged at the thought.
“I missed you too. Shall I ignore the new addition and call you again tonight?” He spun her in a circle before settling against the trunk of a tree and pulling her to him.
The tease in his voice made her think him joking, but the insistence in his kiss made her wonder if perhaps he might, were she to ask. Longing welled up in her throat, but she pushed it down. It would have to be enough that he offered—were she to accept, it would lead to trouble. “Part of me wishes you would. But that would be a mistake.”
“Would it?” He rested his forehead on hers. “By the god, Kasia, I am tempted. No other woman has ever consumed me so.”
“And were you any other man, we could let it overcome us. But you are king, and you must tend to far more than me.” She knotted her hands in his robe to anchor herself to him. “Why could you not be any other man?”
Her exaggerated wistfulness earned a smile. “Ah, but if I were, then I could not have made you mine. Your father would have refused any other Persian.”
“Well then, you could have been born a Jewish man. That would solve everything.” She grinned.
But when he loosed a laugh, something in it brought her shoulders up. “The god obviously knew better, sweet one.”
“Mmm.” She pulled away and held out a hand. Once he had enveloped it in his she meandered down one of the paths. “And I shall have to grow accustomed to sharing you.”
“Does it make you jealous?” He sounded pleased by the idea.
She tilted her face up to the cleansing power of the sun. “Would you be jealous if I had other lovers?”
He growled low in his throat. “I would kill any who touched you. But it is different—you know it is.”
“The world says it must be. But a heart is a heart, be it male or female. King or slave. Of course I am jealous, Xerxes. But I have been praying for peace about it. I have no desire to be consumed by envy and bitterness like . . .” She pressed her lips together.
Xerxes laughed. “You have a point. I should not like to see you become like her either. You can at least rest in the knowledge that you are the one who holds my heart.”
“Do I?” She swayed to a halt so she could turn to him. In his eyes blazed the truth of his words. Would it be enough? Enough to sustain a marriage like theirs? “I wonder that the king can afford to put his heart in anyone’s hands.”
He raised her hand to his lips. “It is a risk. It would be a greater one, I think, to deny this. Can I trust you with my heart, lovely Kasia?”
Such a great responsibility, yet it settled on her shoulders like the kiss of the sun. “Always. I will guard it with every ounce of life.” She hesitated a moment. Perhaps it would be enough—if she met it rightly. “Logic tells me it is too soon, but my heart bids me tell you anyway. I love you, Xerxes.”
His eyes slid shut. “You have found the perfect way to guarantee my thoughts are with you this night instead of my new bride. And tomorrow . . .”
She lost herself for a long moment in his embrace, then pulled away when the sound of laughter reached them from another part of the garden. The breath she dragged in was as unsteady as her legs. “Is it tomorrow yet?”
Xerxes laughed and led her onward. “Soon enough. And how did you spend your today, my love?”
She felt her expression change from longing to excitement. “I made a friend. Chinara’s mother, Jasmine. She has been unwell all this week, but she was about again today.”
His brows drew together. “She is the first friend you have made?”
Kasia pressed her lips together. She had avoided mentioning how standoffish the others were, knowing it would displease him. “They are wary of anyone in your favor. Your mother and Jasmine both assure me this is normal.”
The noise that came from his throat sounded unconvinced. “You must be careful, Kasia. The intrigues of a harem have been known to alter empires before.”
There went her ease. “Intrigue?”
He grinned down at her. “Have you not heard that it was my mother who guaranteed I inherit, not the argument offered by the Spartan about being the first son born after he became king?”
Her lips twitched. “I may have heard mention of that theory, yes.”
“It would be foolish to assume women have grown more passive in the last decade. Though few will cross Amestris when it comes to my favoring Darius as my heir, they will still squabble among themselves in an effort to secure lesser positions for their children.”
A shiver skittered up her spine. Though Xerxes had usurped his brother’s claim to the throne peaceably, she knew enough of history to realize it was more often achieved by assassination.
Xerxes stopped and measured her. “You are right that the others will be wary of you. You must never trust them too fully. When they see that my love for you does not fade, they may smile to your face, but they will also fear your children will take the positions they think meant for theirs.”
A knot grew in her throat. “Jasmine?”
“The one safe friend, I should think.” A corner of his mouth pulled up. “With no son to fight for and a daughter secure in my affections, she remains above the eternal plotting.”
“Good.” Her breath whooshed out. “I like her very much.”
His eyes narrowed, as if thoughts crowded his mind. “You will do well to model her in one respect—keep your thoughts free of ambition. Much as my soul yearns for you, my reason must still consider the best of the empire. The offspring of a Jewess might go far, but no son we have together will ever be king. Know that now. I will not have you getting ideas in a few years that will endanger either our love or the security of my other children.”
She pulled her hands free of his as fire seared her cheeks. “You lecture me about my non-existent ambitions for a son who may not ever exist? This, Xerxes, is why talk of love should be reserved for later in a relationship. If you knew me, you would never insult me with such a warning.”
The blasted man looked amused. “I may have known you only a week, my love, but I am well acquainted with women in general. Though the weaker sex, they inevitably outdo men in conniving. At this moment, you are the epitome of humility and modesty. I would keep you that way—but once-sweet maidens often become ambitious shrews in the royal house.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “I am duly advised. And let me assure you in turn, my husband, that I have no desire to see any child of mine on the throne. I will consider my life full if I can keep them far from intrigue and but live with your affection.”
That one-sided pull of his mouth was as aggravating as it was alluring. “A lovely sentiment, but short-sighted. Much as it pains me to contemplate it, I will not live forever. Will you then be content
