Courting Kel Read Online Free PDF

gather
brides for The Choosing. And an occasional trip to Amazonia for lessons in
sensual pleasures.
    “Drew, kindly help Kel to bathe and dress. I shall return
for her in an hour.”
    “Yes, Aren. M’lady.” The girl pointed to the tub as if
ordering Kel to obey. An apologetic smile quickly followed.
     
    Kel scowled at Aren’s wide back as he strode away, a towel
tied low on his hips, hiding the ass she had yet to see. “A very fine ass,” Kel
mused aloud, recalling how his buttocks felt under her hands as he drove into
her.
    Praying Drew hadn’t heard her, she glanced at the girl and
saw her blush.
    Kel submerged, determined to ignore Drew’s embarrassment and
her role in causing it. Women— girls —on Amazonia knew nothing of men’s
asses until their seventeenth season. And Drew was even younger. Kel had not
been allowed to watch the matings until she reached eighteen and her mother was
to pick a man to deflower her. A year later, her mother still had not decided
on Kel’s seducer. Now, nearly three years later, she’d been abducted and
brought here.
    Wherever here was, she knew nothing of its placement in the
galaxy. Having heard her mother curse all Ondrican invaders, Kel assumed this
planet was Ondrican and it lay fairly near to Amazonia. Somehow she would have
to verify her assumption and plan her escape accordingly.
    Drew pulled her up. “We haven’t time to dally, Kel. While
you wash your body, I’ll deal with your hair.”
    “Thanks to Aren, it’s a tangled mass.”
    “The shamwash will untangle any snarls.”
    Kel had her doubts but soon learned Drew had told the truth.
Bathed and now seated on a padded bench, Kel watched in the mirror as Drew stroked
an ivory comb through her waist-length hair like drawing a hot knife through
butter.
    Kel hoped the outside temperature was warm, as otherwise she
might catch a chill. Her hair took hours to dry. But when Drew finished weaving
luminescent pebbles through her curls, Kel’s hair had dried completely. It
shone like red sunlight.
    She was so enchanted with her hair, she scarcely noticed the
sheer gown Drew draped around her. Until the girl said, “There! You will be the
most beautiful bride today.”
    “Bride?” Kel squeaked.
    “Beautiful indeed,” Aren proclaimed, striding across the
room and encasing Kel in a hooded cloak. “I’ll explain everything en route.”
    Kel shot him a glare but held her tongue. No one on Amazonia
argued in front of others. Which wasn’t to say verbal warfare was waged in
whispers. In fact, when Kel’s mother wanted some item of news spread quickly,
she would pick a fight. Lingering servants and warriors would scurry from her
closed door and all but the most far-flung villages would know Basalia’s wishes
in a few hours. Only military orders were written.
    Kel suspected her mother tested her warriors in this manner,
seeing just how long it took them to disseminate the information throughout the
nearby offices and hamlets. In truth, she sometimes marveled at their
efficiency, especially when Basalia’s mood brightened. How the queen knew
remained a mystery to Kel. Knowing her mother, Basalia would take the knowledge
to her grave.
    “You look especially handsome this morning,” Drew said to
Aren.
    “Tak, Drew.”
    Kel looked more closely at Aren. He wore a golden
breastplate that fit his chest like skin but left his arms bare. A short tabard
hung off one wide shoulder. Skintight leather encased his lower body like oil
paints clinging to canvas. Kel could hardly discern where his pants ended and
his boots began. On his right forearm he carried a golden helmet with some kind
of material tucked into his armpit.
    “Well, Flame, what think you of my appearance?”
    “If you arouse, m’lord, you’ll split your pants.”
    Drew giggled. Aren’s eyebrows quirked upward, as did his
lips before he laughed. “I’ll see my tailor soon,” he said, merriment lingering
in his dark eyes. Sketching a half bow, he placed