Page 142 of Decadence

“Can I go and see her? She’ll be scared out of her wits, and Eva… she can get a little, uh, difficult when she’s surrounded by strangers. She can be a bit of a firecracker. Totally the opposite of me. I can’t even imagine what she’ll be like when she wakes up in a room full of aliens.”

“Your friend is in no condition to be afraid right now. She is heavily sedated. Of course, you will be able to see her when she has recovered. First thing. I promise.” He inclined his head in that typically Kordolian way of his. Pale brows drew together. She melted a little more, her worry for Eva chased away by Ikriss’s simple reassurance.

Stars, this man.

Even when he frowned like that, he was impossibly sexy.

“What?” Sienna demanded, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

“Are you trying to imply that you’re not difficult?”

“Are you trying to suggest that I’m difficult?”

“It is a compliment,” Ikriss rumbled, his deep voice reverberating right through her bones. Her arousal roared to life, making her want to jump him right then and there. “The very first time I found you, you were being difficult. Against me, you were difficult.” He moved forward and drew her into his arms; gently, effortlessly, irresistibly, as if she were an extension of his own sinuous form. “And by the sounds of it, you do not plan on complying with your ruling Federation’s decree on these evil Kordolian rebels.”

“Evil? But you’re the ones they were talking about…” Her jaw clamped shut as she took in Ikriss’s expression—he was freaking toying with her.

“I know you saw the broadcast.” One eyebrow arched wickedly. She got a glimpse of his fangs as the corners of his mouth curved into a smile. “Our enemies have finally appeared, and they have found an unexpected way to irritate us.” He sounded surprisingly nonchalant given how serious and dramatic this Lord Agelus guy had appeared on the broadcast.

“But… there’s a whole bunch of humans that are going to swallow the lie without thinking twice. People are already freaked out by your presence, and now they’re going to be completely terrified of you. Honestly, I’m just pissed. I know how hard you’ve tried to keep a low profile here on Earth. You aren’t going to be able to go anywhere without people going crazy.”

Ikriss’s smile softened as he tenderly ran his hand through her hair, pushing stray stands back from her face. “Don’t worry so much, my amina. We are used to this sort of thing.”

She blinked. “You’re not bothered by it?”

His smile widened, revealing the twin points of his gleaming fangs. “It is not the way I would have preferred, but it is not the worst thing in the Universe either. Now we don’t have to worry so much about being careful not trying to terrify the natives. We can just do what we’ve always done.” He leaned in and kissed her gently. His lips tasted of sweetness and ice. “But thank you.”

“Whatever for?” Sienna shook her head and frowned, pulling away.

“You saw the broadcast.” Ikriss twirled a strand of her hair around his finger, appearing fascinated by it. “You saw what I do.” Golden eyes captured hers. “And yet you defended me without a second thought.” His brow furrowed. He looked so damn earnest and adorable she wanted to kiss him all over again.

So she did, capturing his lips with hers, relishing the taste of him, the feel of him; the contrast of his soft mouth and his hard, armor-sculpted body beneath her fingertips.

“Whoever he is, I’m sure he deserved it,” she said, more than a little fiercely.

Ikriss laughed; a deep, resonant belly-laugh that had the effect of filling her with uncontrollable lust. “Really, he did not. I was too easy on him.”

Heat rose in her cheeks. “What’s so funny?”

“My amina, I am supposed to be the vengeful one. Not you.”

She pouted. “Clearly, you’re rubbing off on me.”

Ikriss stole another quick kiss. “My mate is no fool.” He took her by the hand and led her through the ship, moving as silently and gracefully as a big cat. There was a lightness to his movements that she hadn’t noticed before. “Come, Sienna. The cursed Sylth can fly this ship by herself once we leave Earth’s orbit. We are alone now, and we have time.” As he stared at her, his nostrils flared ever so slightly. The playfulness disappeared from his expression, replaced with a look of pure hunger.

“Y-your horns are growing back again,” she said hoarsely.

“I know.”

Sienna’s heartbeat quickened as Ikriss led her into the cockpit. “I thought they weren’t supposed to.”

“They aren’t.” He guided her to her seat and watched as she sat; as the smooth obsidian restraints came down around her, pulling her into the embrace of the alien ship. “But perhaps that idea of yours--armor with horns—isn’t such an outlandish one after all.”

Ikriss eased into the pilot’s seat and uttered an order in Kordolian. The seat’s strange tendrils curled around him, and the dark controls slipped into his hand.

Sienna barely felt the ship move as she saw the neon lights and the snow and the tall grey buildings become a white-and-pastel blur through the window.

Suddenly, they were shooting through the clouds at impossible speed, breaking through to the perfect blue horizon beyond.

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