Page 26 of The Emperor's Concubine

The slender man looked disappointed for some reason. “I see. Well, of course you know the King won’t be very pleased.”

“What won’t I be very pleased about and what are you doing out here, Calliope? Why did you leave the bed?” Blaze joined the rest of them, his chest still bare.

Darus sidled up to Blaze. “We caught this ungrateful human trying to escape,” the servant said, seeming to take delight in delivering the message.

Callie wanted to knock the snot out of him. Blaze turned to her, the look of hurt evident in his eyes. Her heart ached for him.

“Is that true, Calliope?” he asked softly.

She couldn’t meet his eyes, nor could she answer him. It hurt too much. Oddly enough, London remained silent through this exchange.

“I see,” he said with comprehension. “Radien, if you don’t mind taking the child back to Nola, she looks rather tired. Calliope and I need to have a talk.”

Callie shivered. What did he mean to do to her? Would he beat her? Would he send her back to the harem room? Was therean underlying threat in his words concerning London? Would he get rid of her? That thought chilled her to the bone.

When he turned, he didn’t wait to see if she would follow or not, but she knew she had no choice. Not a word was spoken until they made it back to his bedroom.

“Have a seat.” Blaze gestured to the bed.

Callie sat down, uncertainty hitting her. She watched as he walked back and forth, not speaking. The waiting was killing her. “What will you do to me?”

He ignored her question and kept making circles around the room, a look of deep concentration on his face.

“Please, would you just say something? If I’m in trouble, can’t you just get it over with?”

He turned to her then, and her mouth fell open. Blaze looked like he wanted to cry. “What do you think I should do to you?”

Callie shrugged. She’d expected him to yell and rage at her, but this was not the reaction she’d expected and it was unnerving. “I don’t know.”

“There’s only one thing left to do. I figured that you were trying to stow away on the ship headed for Earth in the morning. If you really want to go, you have my blessing. I’m not going to keep you if you don’t want to be here.”

Callie didn’t know what to expect, but it certainly hadn’t been this. Was she dreaming? Or was it some kind of trick? “And you’d allow me to take London with me?” she asked cautiously.

“There could be no other way. You’re free.”

She should have been elated, but she wasn’t. In fact, she was sad. That he would let her go so easily disturbed her more than she wanted to admit. “Why?” she couldn’t help asking.

Lifting one blond brow, he looked at her questioningly. “You can ask that after you just tried to escape? Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“Yes. It was… I mean is, but you were so adamant that you wouldn’t let me go. Why the change of heart?”

He clenched and unclenched his fists at his side. “You won’t let me have my dignity, will you? Fine, but get ready to laugh. I love you. I think I have from the moment I set eyes on you. I’ve tried so hard to fight it, but I can’t do that any longer. I have my pride though, and I’m not going to keep you here if you don’t love me back. Now laugh. I’m sure that’s what you want to do.”

Callie was stunned. She walked over to him and placed her hand on his chest. “Do you mean it?”

“Do you want to rub it in? I’ll allow you your victory, but don’t push it. Yes, I love you. Why aren’t you laughing?” he asked tightly.

“Because I love you too. I think I’ve loved you almost from the beginning as well.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her long and hard, taking her breath away. When he lifted his head, a tear escaped his eye. “You have no idea how I’ve longed to hear those words from your lips. Why did you never say anything?”

“You have a harem full of women waiting to do your bidding. What was I supposed to do? I was just one of many.”

“That’s not true. None of the other women even existed for me when you came into my life. I’ve thought of no one but you. Please say you’ll stay with me. Be my Queen.”

“I’m just a slave. Can you do that?”

“I’m the King. I can do what I want. Just say yes.”

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