Текст книги "Alien On Fire"

Автор книги: January Bell

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

OceanofPDF.com

LEIGH

I can’t quite bring myself to regret my rash decision to ask Nydo for sex. Especially not when his lips brand my neck, my throat, as he presses hot kiss after hot kiss against my sensitive skin.

I moan at the flood of sensations.

“I am going to use my power on you. I will use everything I have to wring pleasure from you,” he promises. “I will ruin you for other males. Forever. You’ll never want anyone but me again.”

“That wasn’t part of the deal,” I gasp out.

“No, it wasn’t,” he says smugly, his gaze orange, devouring, an inescapable fire as he stares into my eyes. “And it’s too late to forbid it now.”

With that, his power slides over my body and I cry out, my fingers clenching the bed sheet, as wave after wave of heat licks over my skin.

His mouth chases each glide of power, and his deft fingers pull up the flimsy material of the shirt I wore to sleep in. Kissing my collarbone, the hollow at the base of my throat, he works his way lower, and lower, only to stop, even as it gets harder and harder for me to catch my breath under the onslaught of his mouth.

“You are… unbelievable,” he mutters, his orange gaze fixed on my face. “Every inch of your body is a work of art. Every soft sigh your pretty mouth makes is music to my ears.”

My stomach does a little traitorous flip.

I mean, anyone would like to hear that. It doesn’t mean anything, other than he’s good at talk. His mouth closes over one of my nipples, his fingertips gently tweaking the other. I lose track of time, lose track of my thoughts, lost to the feel of his body on mine. Heat sinks deep between my legs, and wetness pools against my underwear.

My core begins pulsing, and Nydo’s powers are there, stroking around my clit, teasing me with heat and pressure all at once.

“Oh my god,” I breathe, digging my nails into his shoulders.

“You like it?” he asks, a lazy, satisfied smile on his face.

“You know I do, you asshole,” I tell him, but there’s no heat in my words, nothing behind them.

The sensations die, and I scramble up to sitting, panting.

“You won’t call me names, not anymore.”

“That wasn’t part of the agreement.” I grit my teeth together, stubborn until the end, despite the insistent, maddening ache in my pussy.

“You will call me mate, my king, or Nydo… or I won’t give you what your body craves.”

His tongue darts out, licking across my tight nipple. When he blows cold air across it, I jolt, the base of my spine tingling in response.

“I will call you what I want,” I gasp.

Nydo stands up, and the warmth all over my body dies, leaving me cold.

“Then you will have to help yourself.”

Fuck. I squeeze my eyes shut. “Fine.”

“Fine, what?” he asks, that meltingly hot liquid feeling pouring over me yet again.

“I will be nice, my… Nydo.” I falter over the word king, and there’s no way I’m going to call him mate in private, not while his powers—

“Ahhh,” I cry out, heat penetrating my core, causing me to clench around nothing.

“Say it again,” Nydo growls, his teeth teasing one nipple, then the other.

“Nydo,” I say, absolutely desperate for release.

He climbs on top of me, pushing my underwear to the side. “Your pretty cunt is wet and hot. For me.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, panting as he slides a thick finger through my pussy.

“Say it again, call me your mate,” he demands.

“No,” I say, my eyes flying open. “I won’t.”

He flicks a fingertip against my clit, that heat sliding all over me again, the tips of his hair glowing orange.

Slowly, achingly slowly, he kisses his way down my stomach, my hips, and I shudder with excitement as he violently spreads my legs wide.

“Just as perfect as I imagined you would be, my queen,” he says. “Now say it,” he demands, bringing his finger to his mouth, tasting me.

“I hate you,” I tell him.

He grins wickedly, his eyes blazing, the heat of his power licking all across my skin, goosebumps and shivers chasing in its wake.

“That’s not nice, nor is it true,” he says, blowing cool air all across my wet pussy.

I whine, arching my back, so goddamn needy that all rational thought has clearly left my mind. Maybe even the whole damn ship, at this point. Maybe I left it back on Sueva.

“I thought you wanted it, thought you wanted to come for me,” he continues, merciless in the way he’s toying with me. The worst part is… the best part is, it’s only fanning the flames of my need.

“Tell me I’m your king, tell me nicely, and I’ll give you what you asked for.”

“No,” I say, even though part of me wants to, part of me wants to give in and submit to him.

But the stubborn part of me wants to know what he’ll do if I refuse even more.

His hand smacks gently against my clit, sending sparks flying behind my eyes, all the blood rushing to my pussy as I yelp, my hips rising.

“Lifting your hips like a good little mate,” Nydo says approvingly, and his gaze is so intense that I can’t help moaning, knowing I’m wetter than ever for him. “Do you want to come? Or are you enjoying this little game too much?”

One finger traces a light circle around my clit, and my belly clenches with need. I start to reach for myself, to give myself the release he’s denying me, only to have him catch my wrist in one hand and thrust it over my head, pinning both arms to the pillow behind me.

Oh my god.

I love it.

I jerk my hips up involuntarily.

A chuckle rasps out of him, and his mouth covers my nipple. I hook a leg over his hip and dig my heel into his lower back, trying to regain the upper hand. Or, at the very least, get some friction where I freaking need it.

He laughs again, a harsh, predatory sound that’s almost a growl. I shudder, and he nips at my breast, then my neck. A low moan tears out of me.

“Call me your king. Tell me you’re mine.”

“I’m not yours,” I say. It comes out breathy and not sounding anything like me at all. I’m not sure I even believe me, anymore.

Nydo laughs, then playfully slaps me between my legs again. His fingers run through my wetness.

“It looks like you want to be mine.” He raises one eyebrow. “It feels like you want to be mine, and only mine.”

He tugs at my underwear, and they rip apart in his hands. It isn’t until I catch the faint hint of smoke that I realize he’s singed them off of me.

“You asked me to give you release. You made me agree to your terms.” His finger finds my clit again, and he swirls around it, playing with it. “Now agree to mine, and I’ll give you what you want.”

I wet my lips. “Right now, Nydo, you’re mine.”

His eyes flare, and he finally increases the pressure, finally giving me what I need—

And then his fingers disappear.

“My king, Nydo, mine,” I say on an exhale.

“Good girl,” he purrs.

The words fuck you are right on the tip of my tongue, but when he moves down my body, licking my pussy, teasing my wet clit with loud, hot licks, all I can do is moan.

“This is what you get when you are good to your king,” he growls into my pussy, and I swear, the feel of his breath and the vibrations of his voice make me even closer than all the dirty foreplay.

It’s better than I dreamed it.

“Nydo,” I whine, my voice high and needy and unlike anything I’ve ever sounded like before.

“That’s right, Leigh,” he says approvingly, “come for me. Fill my mouth with your delicious taste.”

He laps at me, and when he presses a finger into me, I thrash against him, panting. He searches until he finds my g-spot, and when he does?

He’s relentless.

“Nydo, Nydo,” I say, and he continues to feast on me, stroking me higher and higher.

“Come for your king, for your mate,” he commands.

And it’s with that word —mate—that I do, losing myself completely to the explosive power of the most intense orgasm of my life.

My legs are still shaking as he scoops me up into his arms. I’m half-aware, completely dazed from the power of the orgasm he wrung from my body.

I feel sated in a way I haven’t in years.

I blink blearily as warm water from the shower drips over me. Nydo lathers a cloth with herb-scented soap and scrubs it all along my body. I can hardly move. I don’t know if it’s from his admittedly excellent sexual prowess of the after-effects of having an orgasm post-concussion, but for once?

For once, I’m content to let him prop me up against his chest and wash me all over.

“You’re still wearing pants,” I note. They rub against my bare butt.

“My pleasure was not part of the deal.” It’s said matter-of-factly. “Did I… DJ Tom Diddleston you to your satisfaction?”

“Don’t call it that,” I say immediately. Using that phrase was a bad, bad choice.

The washcloth slides over my breasts, and I tip my head back onto his shoulder, lost in the simple sensation.

“You called it that.”

“I don’t want you to call it that.” Words are hard. My brain still struggles to compute anything after what he just did to me.

“Is it a special term for only true mates on Earth?”

“No. Humans don’t have true mates.” I snort, then start to turn, regaining at least some control of my limbs. That is, until I realize I’m face-to-chest with him. His skin is so velvety and soft, the water beading across his perfectly sculpted abdomen.

Water runs in rivulets down the valleys of his muscles, all leading south… to where his pants are soaked, doing nothing to hide the massive erection straining the physics of the material.

“This shower is really big.” I tear my gaze away, forcing myself to look at his face.

His pretty, water-flecked face, his eyes still glowing warmly. A shiver runs through my body, and he slips the washcloth over my shoulders, a wicked smile turning up one corner of his mouth. “Just the shower, then?”

I snort, raising one eyebrow. “How did I know you were going to point that out?”

My gaze dips to it again. It is… really big.

“My pleasure was not part of the agreement we struck, but if you keep looking at me like you want me to bury my cock in your cunt, then I am only too happy to renegotiate.”

I breathe deeply, managing to inhale half the water streaming from the shower. Sputtering, I wipe my eyes and try to formulate an answer, even as my entire body starts to key up again.

“We will discuss this after we meet the delegation on Ikkox settlement.” Nydo all but purrs, and I shiver again as he soaps my hair, his fingers expertly working the shampoo through my locks.

He’s surprisingly gentle, his fingertips barely scraping over my scalp, and oh so careful with the side of my head that still aches from the Roth mercenary’s attack. My raging lust abates somewhat…

How is it that this is the same dude who slapped my pussy and made me come so hard I nearly blacked out, now taking care of me like…

Like he meant what he said.

Am I really his mate?

I close my eyes, letting the warm water run over me, trying to shove the question from my mind. Instead, the vision of Nydo on the space station comes roaring back through my mind.

His mate.

“Nydo…” I start to ask him about whether he actually thinks I’m his mate, about whether or not he’s faking it—but the shower water shuts off, and I shiver at the loss of warmth.

“You are cold,” he says. In an instant, the shower steams around me, the remaining droplets heating as Nydo’s heat envelops me. I stare up at him, my mouth parted in surprise.

“That’s handy,” I say, raising one hand, watching the water evaporate.

He runs his hands through my hair, and when he’s done, it lies in dry waves around my shoulders.

“Well, that answers why you didn’t need Piper to help with my hair.”

“Is that what you were about to ask?”

“Yep,” I lie, nodding my head.

“For this meeting, you need to look the part of my queen as much as possible.”

My abdomen clenches at the stress he puts on the word, triggering an instant memory of how he called me that in bed only minutes ago.

“I know what the Roth expect to see.” He steps from the shower, and I track the ripple of his muscles, the designs on his skin as they disappear beneath his pants.

“Doesn’t Piper need to look like a… princess, too? Doesn’t Billie?”

Annoyance flickers over his face, and I latch onto it, because that’s the male I know. The one who is imperious, and not in a fun way. The one who acts like the rest of us are just here for his amusement, and like his power gives him the right to treat us all as lesser beings.

I scowl at his back, and he passes me a soft towel, which I immediately put over my nakedness.

“You raise a valid point,” he finally says, then pulls his sodden pants off. His cock springs free and I turn away, all too aware of the fact he’s seen every inch of me naked.

What was I thinking? I thought I could… just make a deal with him, and that ridiculous need to fuck him would go away? I’ve just made everything worse.

I’m so distracted by trying to scrub the image of his massive, hard dick from my brain that it takes me way too long to figure out what he’s said to me.

“What?”

“You are right,” he says easily, and when I chance a glance back over at him, he’s toweling off the rest of his body.

“I am?”

The look he gives me is quizzical and amused. He shouldn’t be so handsome. It should be illegal to look like that and be muscled and have friggin’ superpowers, too.

Oh, and he’s royalty.

No wonder he’s a massive asshat. Most of the time. I twist my mouth to the side. Usually.

“You are correct,” he agrees on a sigh. “The other women should know how to properly prepare themselves for today, too. I trusted Lyko and Ayro to clue them in, but perhaps I was wrong to assume my brothers remember anything about the females of our species.” He frowns, his eyes dull and dark again.

This whole morning has been weird, and I have a headache returning around my eyes.

“Why wouldn’t they remember when you do?”

The counter makes an odd sound as he grips it, his knuckles whitening beneath the grey.

“Because I was old enough to remember our mother. To remember what they did to her. They were too young to.” His voice is even, calm. Deceptively so, considering when he leaves the bathroom, there are melted handprints on the metal countertop.

I stare at the door he disappeared through.

What the hell happened to his mother?

I’m not sure I want to know.

But seeing as how I’m stepping into her shoes as the first human female royal, fake or not… I probably should make it my goal to find out.

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

OceanofPDF.com

LEIGH

Nydo’s all but disappeared, and I quickly toss the bed sheets that smell like sex into the sterilizer, finding fresh bedding and remaking it with military precision earned fair and square after my years with the Federation. It’s kind of nice, actually, the routine, the familiar thrum of the deep-space engine… as long as I systematically forget the fact I’m on a Roth ship and that the Roth King fucked the daylights out of me with his mouth and hand alone.

The door hisses open and I jerk up guiltily, patting the pillow.

Nothing to see here!

“Hey,” Billie says, lugging a tote, her muscles bulging at the effort.

“What’s in that?” I ask, foregoing a greeting.

“All the stuff you had sent back to the ship for the three of us,” Piper announces, filing in behind her with another tote, although this one doesn’t seem to be as heavy, seeing as how she’s beaming and as fairy-princess as always. We used to tease Piper that she was a total princess, until she told us she actually had played a princess at a theme park during the summer before the Roth invaded.

I swallow hard, the stakes running through my mind.

And now we’re all playing at it.

“You don’t look good,” Billie informs me. She tosses the crate on the bed, and it leaves an indentation.

Piper frowns at me. “It smells like sex in here,” she says, cocking an eyebrow. “Are you still having hormone issues?” Her tone is sympathetic, and I breathe a covert sigh of relief.

“Yep. Way to make it awkward,” I say.

“Nydo sent us in here so we could all get ready together.” Billie rubs her hands together. “Can’t say I’ve ever gotten all dressed up for a mission before.”

I choke on a laugh, and Piper and Billie cast me concerned looks.

“What?” Billie says, her brow furrowed in suspicion. “Something’s wrong, and it’s not your weird masturbation practices or your concussion. You’re worried.”

“Yeah, I absolutely am. Do we have any real idea what we’re walking into?”

“What do you mean?” Piper asks slowly. “I thought we were just going to see some Roth.”

“Yeah, but… I don’t know.” I brush my hair off my forehead, and a little thrill goes through me as I remember how Nydo raked his fingers through it. “He hinted that something bad happened to his mom, and we have to ‘dress the part’, and I just… we don’t know anything about how women in their culture are treated. The Suevans worshipped the ground their wives walked on, but what if the Roth are totally backward or, like, want to collar us or something?”

“We’re just here until we can get back to Earth,” Billie says, but it doesn’t sound like she believes herself, either.

Piper’s mouth pinches, and she runs her fingers through her long, blonde hair. “I trust Lyko,” she finally says.

I gape at her.

Billie looks between us, then throws up her hands.

“What do you mean you trust Lyko? You barely know him.” I frown at her, pacing in front of the door. “And it’s Nydo we should be worried about.” My face heats and my pussy tingles at the mere mention of his stupid name. “He’s… super-powered.”

“They all are,” Piper informs me, clearly perplexed I didn’t know.

“Of course they are.” My headache pounds behind my eyes. “I just… I have a bad feeling about this. It’s going to be dangerous, and if anything happens to you two… I feel like I made you come with me and—”

“This is just now occurring to you?” Billie snorts, one eyebrow raised. “You’ve been unconscious for nearly a day and a half. We saw what happened. We knew we would be targets too, that was the whole reason the Suevans wanted the three of them, the brothers, to act as a diversion—to divide the Roth Overlord’s forces. Why are you acting weird about this now?”

Because I fucked up and took things to the next level, I want to yell at her.

“Because we’ve already been through so much together and I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you two,” I say instead. It’s also true, but there’s a large part of me that knows I’ve crossed a line. I can’t unlick that particular stamp.

The door hisses open behind me, and I know, in every fiber of my being, that Nydo stands behind me.

“Nothing is going to happen to any of you. I’m the most powerful Roth in living history. My brothers are too. We will protect you. And you will play your parts, and then we will deliver you safely to wherever you want to go,” he says smoothly, walking inside.

The back of his hand brushes mine, and the barest contact makes me shiver. Yep, that stamp is definitely on the envelope.

“To Earth,” I make myself say. “That’s where we want to go. That was the deal.”

He turns back to me, arrogance lighting his eyes as he raises one cocky eyebrow. “I do know how you love deals,” he growls.

I glare at him, ignoring the way my whole body’s gone hot and cold at once. “To Earth,” I repeat.

Piper casts Billie an uneasy smile, setting her crate down on the small, bare desk attached to the wall.

“If that’s what you still want, my mate.” Nydo raises an eyebrow at me, ignoring everyone in the room.

Everyone but me.

His nostrils flare, and my cheeks heat, because I’m one hundred and one percent sure that he knows exactly how turned on I am, again.

“It turns out, I love your deals, too,” he says in a low voice, taking a step towards me.

“What happened to your mother?” I force myself to ask, my voice unnaturally high. It’s a low conversational blow, but I need to know. “We all deserve to know.”

I hold my chin high despite the guilt surging through me.

He stills, the orange flames in his eyes glowing hot before banking entirely. Billie and Piper freeze too, watching us with huge eyes.

“She was taken by the Overlord. Forced to serve him. She was already sick with the virus that took out most of the females of our species. She’d put us in hiding as soon as my father died, and if it weren’t for the fact the Overlord realized she was his brother’s wife, our mother would have at least been able to die of the virus, and not what he did to her.”

“His brother’s wi—”

He chuckles, and it’s a dark sound, devoid of any humor.

“That’s extremely fucked up,” Billie tells him, disgust written across her face.

“Our family history has always been bloody, and violent, and filled with pain,” Ayro’s massive body fills the door, and Lyko edges past him.

The room is way too full now, and Nydo steps closer to me. If I squint at him sideways, he seems… protective. No sooner has the thought crossed my mind than he drags his palm across my back, pulling me into his big, warm body.

I shiver against him, my eyes wide, my body sitting up and taking notice at his possessive contact. I like it… too much.

“We want to stop that history now,” Nydo says. “That is why you three are here. That is why we do what we must, to secure my throne and bring an end to the Overlord’s reign. No matter the cost, we will ensure he no longer hurts our species… or yours.”

Lyko nods in affirmation, his hands on his hips.

“You have agreed to help us. You knew it would be dangerous. Now you must appear every inch secure in the role of Roth royalty.”

“What if I do something wrong?” Piper asks, her voice high and reedy.

Lyko brushes his fingers across her wrist and she tilts her face up to him, worry creasing her forehead.

“You won’t,” Nydo assures her. “All you have to do is look the part and let the three of us handle everything.”

I snort. “Yeah, here’s the thing, sitting around and looking pretty have never been high on my list of attributes.”

Nydo tilts his head down, eyes devouring me, a small smile playing about his face.

“Oh, is it just lying around and looking pretty, then? That could be arranged.” Nydo smirks at me, his hand heating the small of my back.

I sidestep him, annoyed with him and even more annoyed with my body’s reaction to him.

“Yeah, here’s the thing,” Billie drawls. “Leigh and I have always been the mouthy ones. You’re likely to have really bad luck with this, considering the Federation barely reined us in.”

“How about this, then?” Nydo asks, scrutinizing her. “What if I give you permission to misbehave if anyone so much as appears to challenge your authority?”

“That’s the point, hoss,” I interrupt him. “We’ve never needed permission to misbehave.”

To my surprise though, Nydo’s smile turns even fiercer. “Good. Then you’ll be a nice surprise for our friends at the Roth settlement. They may not give us the warm welcome we deserve.”

Piper rubs the bridge of her nose, looking worried, and Lyko reaches out for her, only to drop his hand at the last second.

“I want a rifle,” I tell him. “I know last time I chickened out and only took the knife, but I want a gun this time.”

He nods once.

“Yeah, me too,” Billie says.

Piper’s face blanches, and she sits down heavily on the edge of the bed.

I mentally high-five myself for changing the sheets.

“Fine,” Nydo says. “You’ll be the perfect Roth royals then, prepared for bloodshed and armed to the teeth.” He pulls out a comms tablet, and I peer over at it as he triggers the hologram function. A woman, grey-skinned and gorgeous, appears above the screen, hovering in three dimensions.

“How the hell am I supposed to hide a rifle in that?” I finally ask.

“She’s nearly naked,” Piper objects.

“So Roth royalty dress their women up like… that?” Billie says, waving her hand at the skimpily clad woman. Her makeup is heavy too, her hair done in intricate braids and plaits that highlight how glossy and thick it is.

“How much time do we have?” I ask. “I don’t think we can do this fast enough.”

Piper’s already opening up the crate, pulling out a device I’ve never seen before in my life.

“What is that?” I ask.

“It will apply the face paint for you,” Ayro says. “It was hard to find, but I was able to secure delivery to the ship.” He grins boyishly at Billie, the expression at odds with his oversized frame and musculature.

“Huh,” Billie says. “Face paint?”

“Makeup,” Piper translates, and her expression has changed from troubled to pleased. “I’ll go first.” She even claps her hands, clearly excited about dressing up.

When was the last time I saw Piper excited about anything?

It’s nice. It’s nice to see my friend acting normal again. I can’t help smiling back at her, her sudden enthusiasm infectious. Even Billie’s grinning.

Lyko silently takes the machine from the box, hefting it as though it weighs nothing and placing it on the desk.

Piper studies the equipment for a second. “There it is,” she says, “Roth.” She points at one of the settings, and Lyko grunts his affirmation as she flicks a switch. Piper presses her face into the opening, and the machine whirs.

“That’s it?” she asks as it stops, then pulls back.

“Whoa,” Billie says. “That’s impressive.”

Piper gingerly touches her cheek. “How does it look?”

“Like the hologram,” Nydo says easily.

“Beautiful,” Lyko grunts.

In a matter of minutes, the three of us look like we’ve been paid a visit by the smokey-eye goth fairy. Dark, dark lips fight for attention with our black smudged smokey eyes.

“I don’t know how to braid,” I admit.

“I do,” Nydo says softly.

Piper’s blue eyes widen, and then Nydo’s behind me, expertly winding my hair into the elaborate braids the hologram woman wears. Lyko and Ayro watch in clear fascination for a moment.

“I think I see how to do it,” Lyko announces in his deep voice, and then turns to Piper. “I will arrange your hair for you.”

Ayro grins at Billie, who lets out a resigned sigh before plopping on the floor and motioning to him to go ahead. I pull the soft robe I threw on after the shower tighter around me, trying not to be affected by the feel of Nydo’s competent fingers in my hair, the warmth of his touch heating me from the inside out.

“This is some slumber party,” I finally say, attempting to break the weird silence.

Billie snorts. “Yeah, and we get to cap it off by trying to survive another Roth attack. We’re starting to make a habit of it.”

“As long as we don’t get captured and have hormones forced into us,” I try to joke, but it falls flat.

Piper clears her throat. “That’s not going to happen, right?” she asks, worry clear in her voice.

“No,” Nydo says shortly, and the heat blazing across my neck tells me he’s furious at the mere thought… which is strangely soothing.

“We will get the ships and aid we require, then move on to the other Roth settlements.” Lyro looks to Nydo, as his brother’s often do.

“We will split up,” Nydo announces. “It will be faster if we tackle each target separately.”

His words are met with utter silence, his brothers staring at him like he’s lost his damn mind.

“What?” Billie asks. “Why?”

“We need to present multiple targets. We will commandeer ships from this settlement, and it will be faster if we work to bring the other settlement sects into our fold separately. Lyko and Ayro, you will each take your princess and convince the sect leaders at the other, more populated settlements to follow us into battle against the Overlord. Leigh and I will head on to Roth to convince our home world to rise up.”

Lyko and Ayro nod.

Piper’s blue eyes fill with tears. “I don’t want to be separated,” she whispers.

“You’re going to look like a raccoon if you cry,” Billie tells her. “It’s already raccoon-y enough, okay? No trash panda!”

At that, Piper sniffles and lets out a reluctant laugh. “You’re right.” She raises her chin, and Lyko looks at her with starry eyes like… like she really is a princess.

When his eyes light orange, though, Nydo’s fingers tighten in my hair. “Ouch,” I yelp. “That’s attached to my head, my king,” I spit.

He gives a deep laugh, and Billie and Piper stare at me.

“You feeling alright?” Billie narrows her eyes at me. “Why are you calling him that?”

Ah, fuck.

“I thought I’d get into the role. You know, Roth queen, blah, blah, blah,” I sputter.

Nydo laughs again, then places his hands on my shoulders. “Done.”

So are the other males, in a matter of minutes, and I stare at the other women as Nydo picks through the crate of clothes from the tailor.

“These,” he says, and several layers of diaphanous black fabric puddle on the bed.

I sigh heavily. I want to tell him he’s a presumptuous asshole, but frankly, I didn’t want to deal with picking out what to wear anyway.

There’s too much riding on this little meet-and-greet to get anything wrong.

“Fine,” Billie says, then gestures at the males. “Now shoo, so we can get dressed.”

Ayro fixes her with a lascivious look, and she rolls her eyes when he licks his lips.

“Give us privacy,” I grit out.

Lyko is the first to obey, with Nydo bringing up the rear. “Ten minutes until you need to strap in for atmospheric reentry,” he says in a low voice.

His gaze skates across my face, and that familiar warmth dances across my skin. “You are stunning,” he finally says, and with that, he’s gone, leaving me cold in his absence.

“He’s into you,” Billie says, holding up a dress and handing it to Piper. “He wants to take you to pound town.”

“Of course he does,” I say, trying to play it off. My body is one hundred percent not trying to play it off. And I’m not completely sure if I can blame it on the stupid breeding hormones anymore.

OceanofPDF.com