Page 17 of Stars in Umbra
The warrior in her recognized the cunning of a killer, and the patience of a sniper who wore silence like a blade and menace like skin.
The lethality in him slid and slipped around his aura. Rina saw it then, he would protect with savagery, but only if you’d earned the right.
His loyalty wasn’t a gift.
It was a vow, blood-bound, weathered by war, and held together by scars.
This was no mere man.
This was a weapon sheathed in flesh.
A hunter. A reaper.
Fokk.
She was a breath from dropping to her knees, throat dry, heat pooling, her pussy clenching, not out of submission, but out of a hunger that matched his.
She pulsed head to toe with one desperate, aching need: to be wrecked by him.
She wet her lips and glanced away, pulse erratic.
‘Get a grip,’ she muttered to herself. ‘He hasn’t even said a word to you.’
Yet.
She shivered because of the way he eyed her.
It wasn’t a matter of ‘if’.
It was ‘when’.
Under the star-drenched canopy of Dunia’s fertile highlands, the sit-down reception exploded into a raucous, radiant celebration.
The guests were served at tables set beneath massive silk tents, ivory as comet sails, billowing in the breeze and glowing from within.
The dinner was an elegant affair, as invitees were treated to stunning floral arrangements that sat at the table side.
The settings consisted of flutes filled with lilac liqueur, and the food was presented on plates of white and gold.
The long, feasting surfaces groaned under the burden of seafood, succulent steaks, and roasted meats.
They rested alongside roasted vegetable skewers and carved tropical fruit, all paired with a selection of fine wines.
Floating trays of glittering desserts appeared, shimmering like stardust.
The air was perfumed with the scent of flamed, sugared spice and flower wine.
Iridescent orbs floated among the rafters like small moons, changing color to match the beat of the tunes that thrummed through the soil.
Children shrieked with joy as they ran barefoot over the grass.
Dodging between the dancers who packed the floor beneath the central pavilion.
Mirage kept pumping up the music as her holo-cam drones zipped overhead, capturing the revelry.
Gorgeousness dripped everywhere one gazed, as did the incredible, immortal glamour uncommon on Pegasi.
Seated at her designated seat, Rina tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at a group of Sacran guests.
