Page 12 of The Emperor's Concubine

“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…”

“But what?”

“I thought it was rather odd that she’d be cast aside so soon, especially when I don’t ever remember you looking at any woman like that before. Don’t get me wrong, I realize you enjoy all kinds of women, but for some reason, I thought this one was different.”

“She is, although she told me she’d rather scrub floors than be my concubine.” Blaze wished he’d have handled things differently.

At first, Radien looked as though he didn’t know what to say, but then he broke into loud, guttural laugher.

“What’s so damned funny?” Blaze demanded.

“Are you trying to tell me that the great King Blaze was rejected by a woman in his own harem? This is too much!”Radien laughed even harder, holding his sides. He was so caught up in his mirth that he didn’t see the fist shoot out.

Radien hit the floor. This stopped the laughter. Rubbing his jaw, he slowly got to his feet, eyeing Blaze warily. “King or not, that’s your one time to strike me like that without retaliation. I’ll put it down to your frustration, but don’t let it happen again.”

“You shouldn’t have laughed,” Blaze muttered stubbornly.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have, but keep your damned hands to yourself next time. So this concubine has rejected you? She’s your property. You can do whatever you want to her, and there’s nothing she can do about it.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. She may belong to me, but I refuse to take a woman who doesn’t want me. If I were to take advantage of a person less powerful than me, what kind of man would I be? And what kind of King would I be? I’m supposed to lead by example. Bending people to my will outside of war is not the kind of ruler I want to be.”

He took pride in the fact that in most circumstances he was approachable to his people, seeing to their needs and welfare. Even those who served him he treated with respect because, from an early age, he’d been taught by his own Sire that to get respect, you had to give it. “I have more pride and dignity than that. Besides, there are plenty of women begging to be in her position.”

“Yet you don’t want any of those other women,” Radien aptly pointed out.

Damn his eyes for being so right. “Yes, that’s true. I want her like mad, but she’s not interested. I’ve never been in this situation before, and I really don’t know how to handle it. She’s like no other woman I’ve been with.”

“But have you actually been with her?”

“I’m not talking about being with her in that sense. Stop thinking with your cock, damn it. What I meant was, when she was near, her spirit calls to me.”

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