Free In the Service of the King by Laura Kaye Page A

relax for a moment. We have time to talk.” He folded a length of tartan over her legs and waist and scooted the tray and then closer to her. “You must be hungry, yes? I brought you some food. I know it’s not much, but…” He shrugged.
    She tugged the robe up to cover her breasts and glanced at his face, found him a little shy for the first time. “I’m starving, actually, and this looks and smells delicious.” She picked up some cashews and popped them in her mouth, all of a sudden ravenous for the feast before her. “Thank you.”
    His smile was dazzling, proud, and grew as she polished off her piece of the savory frittata and, at his insistence, half of his, the spicy olives and artichokes, most of the nuts, and an orange.
    With a satisfied groan, she pushed the tray away. Kael’s eyes flared at the sound, which unleashed a new hunger low in her belly.
    He inhaled deeply and chuckled, ran his hand through his hair. “I like the way you think, Shayla, but perhaps we should talk first?”
    For a split second, his words confounded her, but then he took another slow, deep breath in through his nose and licked his lips. Could he…? Oh, jeez. He could! He could smell her. She crossed her legs where they were extended in front of her.
    Kael frowned and gently encouraged her ankles to part. “Never apologize for needing me,” he said, echoing her earlier words in a low, serious voice that amped up her desire further.
    Shayla shook her head, blushing and smiling at the expression she swore could only be described as adoring. She drew her legs up to her chest and embraced them, rested her head on her knees so she could see him.
    “Okay, well, about this mating…” She admired the design on her hand. Realized the ache she’d earlier felt was gone. Interesting.
    “Yes. It pleases me. Greatly. I want you to know that. I hope it pleases you, too.” He tucked his right hand into her grip, once again joining their marked hands.
    She thought of all she’d hoped for from this night. “It does, Kael, more than you know.” She squeezed his hand. “But what does it mean? How does it work?”
    He tilted his head. “More than I know? Tell me what it is I don’t know, then. Please?”
    She nodded. “I will. I promise. But please explain all this first. I need to understand.”
    He stretched forward and kissed her cheek. “Of course. In my world, Shayla, blood is magical, powerful, the source of all life. Some blood, when joined together, is especially strong, especially right. For a vampire, that rightness can manifest in a bond that identifies mates who would be a good match, who would bear strong offspring. And it is a rare, special thing.”
    Shayla studied her hand, his words opening up new worlds in front of her, worlds she’d only dreamed of and never once thought would truly exist for her. “So, we’re mated now?” A cacophony of reactions flooded her mind.
    Kael’s eyes flared. “No. Not yet. The mating mark lasts for three days. If the mating ritual isn’t completed within that time, the mark will disappear along with the chance to ever be together. If you agree, on the other hand, there will be a ritual ceremony to affirm the bonding and celebrate the start of our life together, with you as my queen, sharing my world, my blood, my immortality.”
    She frowned and struggled to make sense of her thoughts. Queen? Immortal? So, getting what she’d always wanted came along with some things she hadn’t imagined. Did that really matter? “I see,” she said as her mind worked, compiling pro and con and to-do lists, weighing options, and imagining alternate paths. She knew she couldn’t accept the mating without some sacrifice on her part. She was twenty years old with a world of opportunity and possibility in front of her.
    But then she looked at Kael and realized that everything that had ever motivated and interested her, everything she’d ever imagined would make life worth living, was sitting right