Hadaen [The Marujan Brothers Series] Book One (3 page)

Sleep brought her to
serenity…

…The beautiful white
carnations swaying in the gentle morning breeze always had given
her a tranquil feeling. She sat, the light peach skirts of her
cotton dress circling around her on the flat grass of the gardens.
Amelia smiled to herself and leant her back against the front of a
bench. She loved her home; the beauty of it never ceased to
captivate her senses, which was why she would awaken early every
morning just to catch the rise of the sun and revel in its warm
kisses on her face.

A monarch butterfly
fluttered by her face and then dropped to a perch in her lap. Her
heart swelled and she sighed contently. Across the lawn, she saw
her mistress heading in her direction. Amelia wove a greeting and
the woman smiled. She’d always admired Lady Marza. The elder
woman’s poise spoke of genuine grace and elegance. And her beauty
was strikingly flawless. No wonder so many men could barely keep
their jaws intact whenever they saw her.

“Amelia, must you ruin all
your dresses?” Her voice was clipped but her eyes ever so
comforting.

“I’m sorry; Lady Marza,
but I simply could not resist this sight. It’s rather too beautiful
to pass up on.” And Amelia gave her sweetest smiles.

“And somehow I always end
up forgiving you. I might as well get on my way… I must prepare for
your initiation next week.” And Lady Marza walked away

Her initiation… She had
almost forgotten. She was to be eighteen in three days. And in
Maruj, a girl’s initiation occurs on her eighteenth year after
birth. A shudder ran through Amelia. She had always anticipated the
day but now that she was in its extremity, she felt unbelievably
giddy and a bit nervous. For it is on this day that a man—a wealthy
man will choose her as his own and they shall be bound to one
another for eternity; Amelia swallowed down the gulp in her
throat.

She’s heard stories of
girls who’d been chosen by the most despicable of men, the sweetest
of gentlemen… and then some in her class who were hoping to be
selected by the lord himself, Hadaen Maruj. She shivered. Lord
Hadaen’s family had been the first rulers of the kingdom and was
continuing to do so. She could tell why; he and his brothers all
had an aura that seemed to radiate dominance and power. Amelia
frowned. She had no doubt in her mind that she couldn’t be even
near as lucky to gain Lord Hadaen’s hand in union. She was a
simpleton—a girl who was commonly pretty and no special
traits.

She’s seen him many times
before. A few times she was just sitting right there in the gardens
and he’d supposedly stand on his balcony staring out into the
unknown. Other times, she would be running off to the library to
fetch another interesting tale to read and glimpse his huge form
conversing with a group of men; acquaintances, she supposed. If she
would admit, Amelia would say Lord Hadaen was a very handsome
man—beautiful, really. His dark hair fell over his brow thickly,
seeming as if to reach into the dark glistening of his eyes. Truth
be told, her heart did backflips and somersaults whenever she
managed to steal a glance. He was a heavenly sight.

Amelia gave herself a
mental shake and scowled. She would not think of Lord Hadaen in
this fashion. She must force herself to hate him for the
disappointment that she was sure would come when he wouldn’t be the
one to choose her, threatened to be far too consuming to her
well-being. She saw it in his eyes countless times; he was not the
type to love and love was indeed what she was after.

She didn’t hear the
footsteps ascending towards her. But she did recognize that thick
musky-male scent that managed to tease her femininity every time.
Amelia held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut, preparing to
melt like a puddle.

“Such an ugly scowl worn
by a far too beautiful face…”

Amelia jumped to her feet,
almost toppling over in the process. Strong warm hands settled
around her arms, steadying her. “L-Lord Hadaen; I did not see you
come.”

He chuckled, his mouth
curving into a tempting smile. “Had I made my approach known,
wench, would I have been able to enjoy the sweet swiftness of your
blush?”

Amelia hooded her eyes and
knotted her fingers within the flap of her apron. “It’s a beautiful
morning, my lord,” she choked out, aiming to change the subject of
the conversation. And she babbled like an idiot. “The sun is
promising a delightful day, my lord. And the birds are just about
in agreement with me. Do you hear them?”

Amelia almost fainted when
he stepped closer, his eyes filled with purpose and desire—she
wasn’t too innocent not to recognize desire! And she took two steps
back. To her shock, he took three more steps towards her, slamming
himself sweetly again her and holding her still within his
grasp.

“Your initiation is near…”
he whispered, his breath now hot in her ear.

Her eyes widened to the
size of the serving bowls she was used to seeing at dinner. “I-I
suppose...”

He smiled devilishly. “You
suppose?” And his fingers reached up to flick a lock of raven hair
from her face. “Are you a bit excited to know who your eternal
lover shall be?”

Oh god! Amelia fought
against hurling her skirts in her hands and fleeing from the
dangerous man. She’s never felt like this before. Not ever so
filled with lust and craving to the point of bursting. “Not just a
l-lover, my lord. But a trusting husband...” she mumbled. Her
abdomen tightened and her mouth dried. What she needed
was—

“A great lover is what you
need, wench; someone to cherish your beauty… and trace that
gorgeous blush of yours all the way down to your
wetness.”

Her mouth dropped
instantaneously and she attempting to free herself from his grip.
But he only held on tighter, his scorching gaze scanning her face
and then journeying its way down her neck and over her breasts. “My
lord, you must stop. I beg you…” She was almost near to tears, that
wetness he spoke of, making itself presence known between her
thighs.

Their eyes locked for
years—okay, maybe just a minute—and smirked, running his index
finger along her necklace. “That’s an interesting necklace you have
there…”

Amelia jerked from him and
clasped her hand over her treasure. “It belonged to my mother; and
before that, her mother.”

“Relax; I will not harm
you…or your necklace. But do listen and listen to me carefully.”
Lord Hadean pierced her eyes with his own, mirroring his yearning
to her; a yearning too intense to withstand the measures of. Amelia
looked away. “In three days’ time, I will summon you to the
Chamber
. And you will
not hesitate to come. Then, I will call for your mistress, Lady
Marza, and request for your hand.”

Amelia gasped and managed
to pull away this time. “No! You mustn’t…” Her intensity of her
blush heightened.

“Your thoughts and body
contradicts you words so very much.” Lord Hadaen inhaled sharply.
“But I do, however, enjoy the thrill of the chase.”

“I beg you; it is not me
you wish to have…”

“And when I request for
your hand,” he continued as if she hadn’t even spoken at all. “Lady
Marza will not deny me what I want. I will take you to my chamber
and brand my mark into your lovely body until it is weak and spent
beneath mine.”

Suddenly all life fell
from her legs and Amelia collapsed onto the bench. She kept her
head bowed; her heart pounding and afraid that if she spoke again
she might only encourage his tantalizing advances. So she bit on
her lip and remained quiet hoping that she might not end up
flinging herself into his arms after all.

And before she could
manage to turn her head away, Lord Hadaen bent and kissed her on
the forehead and turned to walk away.

“Nous nous rencontrerons
de nouveau,” he said.

“N
o!”

Amelia flew up off the bed,
perspiration sticking her hair to her skin in dampened locks.
Swallowing hard, she jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom,
her breathing rate going wild. Finally managing to splash some
water over her face, she stared at her reflection in the mirror.
She felt like she’d been sleeping for decades. And what the heck
kind of dream was
that
anyway?

“Calm down, Mel. It cannot
be what you think. Dreams are
just
dreams.” She closed her eyes for a moment and
sighed. “Lord Hadaen” from her dream came into her thoughts. He
even looked just like that man in the store a few hours ago. Amelia
shook her head. There was only one explanation for what was going
on and she was going to accept it no matter what anyone else had to
say about it.

She was coming down with a
serious case of paranoia. Yes, and that was her
rational
conclusion.

The image of “Lord Hadean”
kissing her on the forehead and turning to walk away popped into
her mind; and his silky voice muttering seductively,
“
Nous nous rencontrerons de
nouveau
….”

Amelia’s eyes widened immediately.
Where the hell had she heard that phrase before? And then
recognition dawned on her like a tell-tale bomb to the
heart.

“Oh shit!”

Chapter Two

H
er lavender scent assaulted his nostrils, tightened the
muscles around his groin and had his cock standing at attention.
Hadaen shifted in his position where he stood, secluded behind a
heavily stacked bookshelf. His eyes narrowed on Amelia as she
seemed somewhat awed by whatever she was reading from a computer
monitor. Whatever he had thought was shielding her from his
mind-probing that night, he needed to discover it; and quickly
because at the moment her mind was a thick fog of smoke, blocking
his sight from the tiniest spec of her thoughts. Grunting softly,
he frowned and decided to try again. Damn. Nothing. What was she
looking at? His gaze flickered over her face at that moment; the
gentle furrowing of her brows and the pouting of those sweet
luscious lips. He needed to taste them again.

She sat completely erect, shoulders
raised and the thin fabric of her pale blue t-shirt drawn tight
across small breasts. Her hair was caught in a messy ponytail and
her face pale and makeup less; craft of a woman who could care less
about cosmetics. He liked her that way. Always had. Her natural
un-powered countenance was the same beauty that had captured his
attention ever since the moment he had first set eyes on her in
Maruj. Her hair was shorter now though; the ends of her dark locks
curled into a bob at her jawlines. Snapping his head back jerkily,
Hadaen cursed at himself. Concentrate, man! You are not here to
fantasize like a stupid schoolboy.

Dismissing all carnal thoughts from
his mind--however hard it was—Hadaen edged closer to her, still
carefully hidden from her view. The dusty scent of the old books
almost made him sneeze and the silence was far too quiet, his
thoughts coming loud and fast. A woman stepped around the corner
before him, moving towards Amelia. He took a few steps back,
watching. She was an attractive woman...and young; somewhere around
Amelia's age. She was speaking. Hadaen used his inner ear,
listening attentively.

"Found anything?"

Amelia looked up at the cherry blonde
and shook her head. "Not much. I did find an article though. It
says Maruj is some ancient kingdom that existed thousands of years
ago. Says it was ruled by some powerful dynasty."

"Yeah?" The woman pulled up a chair
and sat down. Damien's jaw clenched.

"Yep. I still don't know if I should
believe in this stuff or why I even dreamt about it in the first
place. But anyways, it went on to say that many believe that the
kingdom still exists but no one has been successful in locating
it."

"Really? We should go find this
place," she joked.” There might be some hot guys there. You know...
the type who's willing to settle down."

Amelia shook her head and sighed,
leaning back in her chair. Memories of her dream faded back into
her mind. She was never the type to place faith in supernatural
things but she was starting to become convinced. It was so very
strange yet so very welcoming that she found herself yearning for
another confrontation with that mysterious man. She wondered if
she'd ever see him again.

"I should probably just forget about
all this bullshit, Reese. It doesn't matter anyway. What I should
be thinking about is finding a job."

Reese shrugged. "I could ask Brant if
he needs another waitress..."

Amelia gave her friend a once over and
tried to hide her disapproval. There was no way in hell that she
would be caught wearing a short pleated skirt and 6-inch stilettos.
"No offense but I think I'll pass." The look on Reese's face made
her feel guilty. "You know short skirts and high heels aren't my
thing."

"Yeah..." She frowned slightly. "But
anyway, you could try by Cal's grocery store. I heard he fired that
tramp from across the street."

A laugh bubbled up in Amelia's throat.
"I'll check it out."

"Okay." Reese held up her wrist watch
at eye level and squinted. Amelia had always thought she needed
spectacles. "Damn... I gotta get back to work. Brant will kill me
if I'm late. It’s a full evening; paycheck day." She flashed a
giddy white smile. "I'm dying to see which rich bachelor the cat
will draw in tonight."