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54
She closed her eyes and fought back tears. “Jas...you have no idea. Once I was with Jayems, once we had been together, made love… Jas,” her voice cracked. “He was a virgin, too.”
Jasmine stared at her in shock. Jayems, a virgin?
Rihlia found her composure. “We can mess around all we want, touching and kissing whomever we please, but the moment we cross that line, we can never go back. That’s why it’s a marriage. It has to be.”
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“Congratulations on your new match,” Raziel said, and she realized he was the one who had spoken. “Keilor is a good friend of ours, and we wish his new wife every happiness,”“Happiness and a long life,” Isfael seconded.Jasmine frowned lightly. “Well, I don’t know about the long life, but I’m definitely going for happiness. Thank you.”
The Charmer 56
He placed one finger on her lips and admonished, “I am your husband. I can well afford to lavish gifts on my beloved wife. Would you deny me this pleasure?”Tears pricked her eyes. “But...”He flashed her a wicked smile and pulled her against him. “Of course, I had to sell my favorite stag and indenture myself to the jeweler to afford these lovely gems, but it was worth it.”
The Charmer 57
Keilor took in her mulishness and knew it for what it was. He chose to attack her jealousy with direct action. Ignoring her mood, he stretched out on the couch and placed his head in her lap. “I don’t dwell on the men you knew before me, love,” he told her gravely. “I expect the same courtesy from you.”“None of them are likely to rake you over the coals in public.” Her eyes narrowed. “Or mention how I looked without my clothes.”Several heartbeats passed in silence. “I did not go to her willing
The Charmer 58
No one touched her, though, during the seventeen hellish days it took to reach Yesande’s citadel.Stags had never been Jasmine’s favorite animals, and she liked them even less after riding double all day, every day, with Yesande for over two weeks. The hide wore off the inside of her thighs and her backside, and she could hardly walk for the first three days. After a week she started to saunter like John Wayne, and she was certain she’d never be able to stroll with her legs together again.She only had one question for Yesande in the en
The Charmer 59
Even Yesande recoiled at her shriek.“Still think I won’t kill her?” he asked savagely, trying not retch at her gasping sobs. She deserved better than this.Yesande took a step back, pallor leaching her already pale skin. “Father’s madness,” she whispered with horror. “It did carry to you.”He allowed his eyes to gleam golden. This
The Charmer 60
Jayems winced, remembering his cousin’s reaction to that bit of news. Mathin would be lucky if Keilor didn’t break every bone in his body when next he saw him. “She was alive. Raziel and Isfael are with them.”“Small comfort,” Keilor answered morosely. He looked at but did not see Jasmine’s lemon tree.Jayems froze. “You don’t think she would betray you?” he asked in amazement. “She’s not the kind of woman to take her promises lightly, and despite the ugly rumors, I don’t belie
The Charmer 61
No amount of grueling exercise could take her mind off of her husband for long, though. With every day that went by her longing grew, until she dared not think of him while riding lest her seat on the saddle—usually behind Mathin or Raziel—become an aching torture.Oddly enough, none of her companions seemed to be affected by the increased levels of pheromone she knew she emitted at those times. Wondering if her marriage had something to do with it, she finally asked Mathin about it.He snorted with ill humor. “Isfael merely remains in Haunt, where one never feels the desire to mate, and he can still scent danger. As for Raziel and I…” He scowled. “We’ve been taking a sinus block
The Charmer 62
Mathin’s rough voice was glacial. “She was dying, maggot brain. Had I not ‘caused trouble’ you wouldn’t be holding her now.”Worried, Jasmine’s gaze swung between the two men. “What’s wrong? It didn’t hurt me, Keilor.”“You’ve done nothing, love. Be still,” Keilor told her, and said to Mathin with barely restrained violence, “She would not have been in that condition if you hadn’t botched your job in the first place. What kind of savage are you?”Mathin’s eyes ignited gold and he leaned towards Keilor with a curl to his lip. “I am not invincible, any more than you are,” he said
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