Free Dawn of Empire by Sam Barone Page B

when he didn’t keep a weapon close at hand. Briefly, he wondered whether the girl would use it on him in the middle of the night, but decided he was too tired to worry about it.
    The bed had more than enough room for two, as Ariamus had liked his women large. For a moment, Esk kar thought it was empty until he realized the girl had wedged herself against the wall, as far from him as possible.
    Fine, let her stay there. Tomorrow, maybe even in the morning, he’d take her, and there’d be no more nonsense.
    Esk kar rolled onto his side, putting his back to her while facing the door. He pulled the single blanket up over his shoulder and let his body relax as he prepared for sleep.
    But his mind refused to obey. Thoughts of Nicar, the Alur Meriki, the command of the guard, the village itself, all kept running through his head. A week ago, Esk kar couldn’t have imagined this could happen. Now he could have power, gold, slaves, anything he wanted—if he could save Orak from the barbarians.
    A big if , despite what he had told Nicar and Gatus. There was so much to do, it was difficult to know where to start. Tomorrow there would be many tasks to set in motion. He would have to talk with Gatus, choose new subcommanders, prepare to meet with Nicar, and speak to the soldiers.
    Esk kar knew he faced long odds, but there might be a chance, and if he could win, if he succeeded, if the gods gave him luck, if … if … if.
    His thoughts kept traveling in circles, going from Nicar’s dinner to the meeting of the nobles, thinking of all the things he should have said to his men and the crowd tonight, what else he should have discussed with Nicar, all the tasks he would have to do tomorrow, how he must address the men, what he must say to the Families. Each time he tried to follow one particular thought, another popped into his mind and started the cycle all over again.
    The blanket shifted a little, and abruptly he felt Trella’s body against his back, her legs barely brushing against his, something softer touching his shoulder.
    “You’re still awake,” she whispered, almost as if it were an accusation.
    “It’s cold against the wall,” she explained further, to justify moving closer to him. “What are you thinking about?”
    Whatever he’d been thinking about vanished with the first contact of her flesh. “You. I was thinking about you.” Thoughts of Orak, along with his tiredness, disappeared, and he felt himself beginning to harden.
    “Don’t lie. You were thinking about Nicar and his gold.”
    He laughed a little. She was certainly quick about her wits and bold enough to challenge her new master. “Well, I was thinking about Nicar, but not about his gold. But now I can’t remember my thoughts, only the touch of your body. You are very beautiful, Trella.”
    She didn’t answer for a long moment. Then her arm crept over his shoulder, and somehow it seemed both cool to his skin and warm to his touch. Esk kar took her hand in his and held it firmly, the way he’d held it in the street earlier that night. She drew a little closer to him, and now he could almost feel the length of her body against his, warm and soft.
    “And what do you think about now?”
    He felt her breath against his ear.
    “I think about holding you in my arms, holding you and kissing your lips.” His manhood raged now, almost painfully, with an intensity he hadn’t felt in a long time, but he didn’t want to move or do anything to break the spell cast by her words and touch.
    “I am your slave, Esk kar,” she said, her voice low in his ear, moving more of her body against his back.
    Her words surprised him, but he rolled to face her, putting his arms around her, feeling the muscles in her back as he pulled her against him.
    Esk kar could feel her whole body against his, her skin almost hot to his touch. Something strange had come over him. Perhaps the events of the day aroused him, or the fact that she belonged to him. Suddenly he wanted