Read In the Flesh for Free Online

months spent in the desert protecting and strengthening the borders of D’Ashier. Attired in a mästare ’s uniform, he was clad only in a loose pair of linen drawstring pants that hung low on his hips. His chest and feet were bare. He moved toward Sapphire’s office with his customary bold gait, a stride that proclaimed without a word that he controlled all things around him.
    The cool tiles felt wonderful against the soles of his feet. Apparently Sapphire shunned technology whenever she could comfortably do so. He liked that about her. He’d had his share of pampered, indolent women. The thought of an earthy lover made his pulse race.
    And now, finally, he was moments away from seeing her again, face to face. Wulf’s palms itched at the thought.
    The first time he’d seen her, he had been rousingfrom near death. In the days since, he’d almost managed to convince himself that she couldn’t be as breathtaking as he remembered. He was hopeful those first moments of renewed life and consciousness in the healing chamber had simply caused a temporary susceptibility. Perhaps any woman would have been especially appealing.
    His mouth curved in a self-deprecating smile. Obviously he hadn’t convinced himself of the ordinariness of her charms, because he could have escaped at any time, yet here he was. The efforts Sapphire had taken to detain him were impressive and intriguing, displaying a knowledge of imprisonment he would have thought beyond a concubine’s sphere of study. Still, he was confident he could slip away with a little effort…if he weren’t trapped here as surely as if he were chained. No matter how vital it was that he return to D’Ashier, he couldn’t leave without knowing what the consequences would be for her.
    And if she wanted him as much now as she had before, he intended to celebrate his rebirth in her bed.
    Wulf paused on the threshold of her open-walled office. As he caught sight of her, his body hardened with need. He hadn’t been mistaken or delusional. Sapphire was stunning. Small-boned and petite, she stood on a short step reaching for a book. When she turned to face him, her smile tightened his chest.
    “How are you feeling?” she queried in a raspy voice.
    Dressed in an almost transparent shift, she robbed him of speech. The sight of her lush curves sent heat flaring across his skin.
    Full, firm breasts swayed unfettered over roundedhips, and jeweled rings sparkled from luxuriously long nipples. Her waist was not small—in fact, she had a slight womanly roundness to her belly—but it looked tiny in relation to the voluptuousness of her figure.
    Her hair was waist-length and a lovely shiny brown color like the pelt of a hosen fox. Her face, while not classically beautiful, was arresting with intelligent brown eyes, full lips, and a determined jaw. Beneath the shimmering sheer fabric of her gown, her skin was creamy and completely hairless—the hair most likely lasered off permanently.
    Wulf’s mouth was as dry as the desert outside. Sapphire possessed something much more attractive than physical beauty—she radiated confidence. She aroused because it was clear she hungered for the pleasures of life and she was determined to pursue those pleasures. He sensed she was a kindred spirit, a primitive creature like himself in a world that had long ago evolved and been tamed.
    As she stepped down to sit at her desk, her smile widened, and a sudden realization burned through Wulf’s mind. When he was in her presence, his focus narrowed until he was aware only of her. When she’d stood in front of the healing chamber, he had ceased to feel the excruciating pain of his wounds or his profound exhaustion. He could only watch her, ache for her as she rubbed herself against the glass and stared at him with open admiration and desire. The way she’d looked at him had made him feel powerful and virile at a time when he was helpless and disgusted by his own weakness.
    He wanted her. She made him