Meet Kudar al Numan. Rich, Powerful, Masterful. Used to getting what he wants.

Kudar al Numan refuses be snared by love. But, when Kudar sees beautiful raven haired Laila and decides he wants the slave girl for himself, will he finds it divine to become a slave to love?

 

Meet Kudar between the pages of the new intriguing historical romance novel Slave Girl by Sheniqua Waters. Read more about Kudar in the following excerpts:

Slave Girl - Excerpt 2

Omar led Laila out of the harem and up a flight of steps to a part of the palace she had not seen before. The chief eunuch stopped in front of a door, opened it, then nudged her inside the room.

Though her head was bowed, Laila managed to notice details of the bedroom. The chamber was spacious with several columns separating the large opulent space. There was an enormous bed in the middle of the marble floor which Laila could not ignore. Across the room, an open door led to a balcony. In the corner of the balcony, there was a table set with food. Plush red pillows lay around it.

“You may rise,” a deep male voice rumbled.

Laila straightened herself and saw Kudar standing at a table in a small alcove in the corner of the room. He seemed even more handsome than she remembered. He wore a white shirt which was open down the front exposing his muscular chest, and he had on a pair of loose fitting trousers.

“You look beautiful,” he commented. “Would you like something to drink?” Without waiting for an answer, he picked up a chalice and began to pour the drink into two goblets. “Come,” he instructed.

A lump caught in Laila’s throat when Kudar turned to look at her.

“You’re not afraid of me are you, Kalilah?” he asked.

Laila shook her head, walked to him, then took the goblet from his outstretched hand. She raised the cup and wine touched her lips.

“Are you hungry? I am famished. Let’s eat,” Kudar suggested.

Laila stepped forward and walked to the balcony. Kudar followed her. They sat on the lush pillows around the table and looked toward the city, which could be seen the in the distance. When Laila began eating, she found the food tasted as delicious as it smelled and the meat was so tender it practically fell off the bone. Kudar attempted small talk during the meal. However, Laila had a hard time focusing on any of his words. Her thoughts lingered on what the maidens in the harem told her about their nights with Kudar.

“Has everything here in the palace been to your liking, Kalilah?” Kudar asked her after the meal.

“Aye. Everything has been wonderful. I have never seen such beautiful clothes in my life. It took me forever to choose a garment to wear to dinner tonight.”

Kudar chuckled. “I’m glad you were impressed. I wanted to wait until I knew you were feeling better before I called you. How about your back? Has it healed?”

“Aye, I think so.”

“Let me see,” Kudar prodded.

Laila looked at him for a moment before she turned her back to him. She untied the tie of her vest then slowly unfastened her blouse. Careful to keep her chest covered, she let the vest and blouse fall down her back.

“Um…Everything looks alright,” Kudar said as his fingers lightly traced her back. After a short pause, he added, “You are as beautiful as the first day I saw you.”

Laila turned her head to look at him. “You remember seeing me at the auction house?”

“Of course. I remember seeing a lot of you that day,” Kudar replied as a mischievous grin spread over his inviting lips.

In response, Laila’s expression turned to a scowl and Kudar felt her stiffen then start to pull away from him. Impulsively, he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. She fell back into his arms. He bent his head and kissed her gently on the mouth.

When his mouth touched hers, an explosion of heat oozed through him and an uncontrollable moan escaped from his throat. He had been dreaming about this moment since the day she had been brought back to the palace. Now that his lips were on hers, his body reacted strongly to the touch of her soft, yielding lips.

“Don’t be afraid,” he chided when he felt a shudder go through her. “It will be nice for the both of us,” he whispered, then kissed her again expectantly.

In Kudar’s imagination, she had been very willing. In his imagination, she had responded with a moan and eagerly wrapped her arms around his neck. Now, however, she lay completely still in his embrace. Lifting his head, he asked, “Why won’t you kiss me back?”

Laila didn’t answer. Instead, she pushed away from him.

Quickly, tying her vest together, she rose and walked to the balcony wall. She turned her back to him and looked out toward the city at the pink and purple light that canvassed the sky in wake of the setting sun.

“Answer me,” Kudar demanded.

At the sound of his impertinent tone, Laila turned to face him and found her voice. “Why are you pretending this is about me?” she questioned.

“What?”

“Look. I’ve faced it. None of this is about me. It’s about you and what you want. I don’t have a say. You wanted to kiss me. So, I let you kiss me.”

“You let me kiss you?

“What more do you want from me?”

“I want you to kiss me back. I want you to enjoy it as much as I do.”
            “Enjoy it? I don’t know you. Why would I want to kiss you and make love to you? If you want someone who feels privileged to be in your bed, you want one of the other women in your harem. You don’t want me.”

For a moment, Kudar was taken aback by Laila’s frankness. But he decided he wanted to hear what she had to say, even if he may not like it. After all, she was now talking which was more than she had done during dinner.

“I’ve been told I’m a very giving lover,” Kudar admitted. “I’m sure you will like it.”

“But if I don’t have a choice, does it matter? How is being here in your palace any different than being a slave to Zora? I didn’t have a choice then, and I don’t have a choice now. You want me to be like one of your many love slaves who give you their bodies when you want it. That’s not what I want. When I make love, I want to be in love first.”

Kudar chuckled. “That’s nonsense. What does love have to do with anything? I see to it that you have a place to live and nice things to keep you comfortable. In return, we give each other pleasure. That makes the most sense.”

“If I wanted that kind of relationship, I would have married the boy my parents picked out for me back home,” Laila protested.

“You compare me to a boy?” Kudar scoffed as he stood to his feet. “You compare this to what you have back home!” He swept his arms about. “You had nothing this nice at home and no boy can treat you as good as I can!”

“I want to choose who I love! I want to choose who I kiss!”

In a few strides, Kudar was at her side. He turned her to face him. “You should want to kiss me,” he explained.

“Well, I don’t!” Laila retorted. Why did he think she would be so eager to jump in to his bed? His arrogance was beyond belief! “Why should I want to kiss a man who’s kissed a million girls before me?” she countered in a steely voice.

“This is why…” Kudar grumbled as he drew her hard against his chest and lowered his head to her.

This time, when his lips met hers, an unexpected bolt of heat seared Laila’s lips. Her legs suddenly felt weak. She couldn’t help but lean into Kudar for support as a wave of untamed attraction coursed through her being. As her body melted into his, she felt the evidence of his desire.

“You can’t tell me that kiss did not affect you. I know you felt what I did,” Kudar rasped when their lips parted.

Laila shook her head breathing deeply. “No…It didn’t affect me…” she managed to say.

“You’re lying,” Kudar countered, now that his prowess had been challenged.

“I’m not lying!”

“Oh? Just lusting for me?” he questioned.

Laila blushed and pulled away from him. She had to step away from Kudar. Being so close to him was clouding her thoughts. Not only was she having trouble thinking, she was having trouble taking her eyes off his enticing lips. She stepped sideways in an attempt to move past him. But Kudar stepped to block her path.

“I can see it in your eyes,” he noted. “The truth is, you want me just as much as I want you.”

Laila shook her head in repudiation. “Why should I want you? You don’t even know my real name,” she bristled.

“Well, what’s your real name?”

“Laila,” she replied.

“Lay-la, huh?”

She nodded.

Without warning, Kudar scooped her into his arms. Laila gasped in astonishment as her slippers fell silently from her feet and her arms settled around his neck. With long strides, he made it to his enormous bed in the middle of the room then dropped her on it. A moment later, he stretched out over her.




Slave Girl - Excerpt 3

When Kudar entered Laila’s chamber, he saw her sitting at the vanity table brushing her hair. Her towel was gone and she was dressed in a purple robe made of silk.

She continued to ignore him for several moments more.

When it was evident he was not going away, she spoke. “You still here? I thought you’d be gone on your trip by now.”

“I’ve been betroth. It’s my duty. I’m not going to let my family down,” Kudar responded.

“How nice for you,” Laila replied with words that dripped with honey yet held the sting of venom. “You won’t let your father down…but you will let me down?”

“Laila, it’s not that simple,” Kudar protested.

“Then what is it, Kudar? I know your father doesn’t like me because he doesn’t think I’m good enough for you…But I never thought you would go along with him.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Then how is it, Kudar?” Laila asked. Placing her brush on the vanity, she turned to him. “I’m good enough to have fun with? But not good enough for you to share your life with? I thought your feelings for me were real. But you never cared for me! Not really!”

“Laila, that’s not true. I wanted to talk to you at dinner…I wanted to explain…That’s why I called you to my room. You didn’t come,” Kudar countered.

“And I won’t!” Laila assured him, her heart still heavy due to her earlier conversation with Amir.

“You won’t come when I call?”  

“You heard me! I don’t know why you bothered to bring me back from Karamania. You don’t love me. You’ve made that outstandingly clear. When it’s all said, you don’t think I am good enough for you! Not someone who is your equal. Well, for the record, I belong to no one. I am no one’s slave! And that includes you!” Laila spat back angrily.     

“I could punish you for speaking to me this way!”

“I would curse you with every breath!” she pledged.

“I wanted to explain everything to you…make you understand…you should have come to me when I called for you tonight! When I call for you, you come to me! Now come!”

Laila squared her shoulders but did not move.

“Come to me!” Kudar commanded again, this time with much more force. “You come to me whenever I want you!”

As her reply, Laila turned her back to him and started to walk away.

Kudar reached out and