Thief of Olympus (Greek Myth Series Book 3) by Elizabeth Rose Page B

with me,” he commanded.
    “I cannot,” she said, pushing away. “I have just recently given birth and I must wait to heal. You will have to find your pleasures elsewhere.”
    The baby started crying, and Lysandra quickly looked across the room. He released her and sank back down into the water.
    “How long will it be until you can couple again?”
    She stepped from the tub and hurriedly wrapped the drying cloth around her.
    “I don’t know.”
    Her lower body still throbbed in pain from the birth, but now there was a different kind of throbbing. Zarek, king of Thrace, held her interest, and she should be ashamed. Amazons didn’t need men, yet she felt as if she needed everything he had to offer. She picked up her son and sat on the bed.
    Zarek watched from the tub as Lysandra cuddled his son to her face, and then removed the cloth from her body, and brought him to her breast. The infant suckled hungrily, and a stab of jealousy bit into him. How he wanted to be in that position. She possessed him, holding his senses captive. She had given him the son he had always wanted - the heir to rule his kingdom upon his demise. But now she denied him what he so desperately needed. Nine months trapped in her power, not being able to find the desire to couple with anyone but her. This brash, defiant, commanding Amazon had done something to overpower him. He cold no longer think with a clear head when she was near.
    He picked up the soft soap she had discarded, using it to try to cleanse himself of his lust for this woman, but it did not help. The soft suckling sounds of the baby and the cooing and gentle murmurs of Lysandra’s voice were driving him mad. He scrubbed furiously and ducked under the water, trying to think of anything else. Never had he felt this way toward any woman. He had courted many ladies in his days, but not with one of them had he felt such an attraction as he did with Lysandra.
    Being raised a thief, he wasn’t used to being denied what he wanted. He always took what he wanted, without asking. But this was different. He had taken Lysandra once for his own needs, but only because she had been using him as well. He would not take her again unless it was with her approval. Though he often coupled in lust, Lysandra was more than just a night of pleasure. She was the mother of his only child. A part of her would always be with him through his son. That thought alone made her special in his eyes.
    When he watched her hold and feed his son, he felt something he never had before. He couldn’t explain it, but it was almost like respect. Strangely enough, even though this man-hater wanted nothing to do with him, he couldn’t help but feel he no longer wanted her to leave his side. Not just for the baby’s sake, but because her presence sparked a new life in him. She was a treasure he could not have. But more than that, he felt like somehow they were meant for each other.
    When he emerged from the water, she had put down the baby and was already half clothed. She kept her back to him, and he slipped from the tub and quickly clothed himself. How had he let her take control of his mind and body so easily? What was this power she held over his emotions?
    He had just finished dressing when the knock came at the door. He gave Lysandra a moment to pull on her skirt before he opened it.
    “Lord Zarek!” Daedalus, eyes wide, spoke quickly, waving his hands in the air. “They’re approaching the castle, and the men cannot hold them back any longer.”
    “Who?” asked Zarek, running a comb through his hair.
    “The Amazons. They have come for Lysandra and the baby. And that’s not all. Harpies have been spotted over the cliffs. The archers want to know if they should ward them off?”
    “Harpies?” asked Lysandra, coming to Zarek’s side with the calm baby in her hands. “They have been attacking the Amazons lately, though I don’t know why. They want something from us. Harpies are persistent. They won’t leave