Page 146 of Decadence

Then he stood before her, naked and terribly aroused, his senses on fire, his cock fully erect, straining, its tip glistening with moisture.

Her eyes widened. He saw hunger in her face.

It was too much.

And then she opened her mouth. “Come here, Ikriss,” she whispered, her lips curving into a faint smile.

She was full of confidence, and the look in her eyes told him she knew that she owned him as much as he owned her.

Now he was the helpless one, stunned and frozen in place as she dropped to her knees before him and took his erection between her lips.

He raked his fingers through her hair and sighed as she took him to a place that existed far beyond his wildest dreams.

Who ever would have thought that a wretch like him would find his queen in this distant corner of the Galaxies?

She ran her tongue along his length and he almost died with pleasure.

Only she could do that to him.

Perfect madness.

Exquisite.

His.

And at last, Ikriss knew that had found his rightful place in the Universe.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Sienna sat by Eva’s bedside and held her hand, watching, waiting…

In sleep, her friend looked so peaceful. With her eyes closed, Eva’s normally fierce expression was perfectly serene. Her long black hair fanned out around her head like a wild halo, framing her elegant features. It was shorter in some places, though, having been singed from the plasma blast. The only other evidence of the terrible burns she’d sustained was a crescent-shaped patch of depigmented skin that encircled her left eye. According to Zharek, it was an unavoidable side-effect of the treatment she’d endured. Apparently, it would disappear once she spent some time in the sun.

Relief washed over her. Her friends were safe. Her mother and sister were safe. Her extended family on her father’s side—the side that carried this so-called ‘royal’ Kordolian gene—were safe. Ikriss knew her father’s identity, and he’d offered several times to reveal it to Sienna—and then go and threaten the bastard into some sort of submission—but she didn’t want a bar of it. Not yet, anyway. There was too much shit that she was trying to process right now.

At least her relatives were safe.

With his usual military efficiency, Ikriss had taken control of everything.

It was a little overwhelming having a mate that was so scarily competent, but at the same time, she was grateful for his overprotectiveness, because he made her feel perfectly safe.

And she’d been touched by how he’d fussed and fretted over Eva’s welfare, personally ensuring that Zharek and his medical team used their most advanced technology to heal her burns.

He didn’t even know Eva, but he’d treated her as one of his own. “It is simple, Sienna,” he’d explained to her. “Any human that belongs to your tribe is under my protection, and I do not do protection by halves.”

How could she argue with that?

As Sienna stroked Eva’s hand, her friend’s ridiculously long eyelashes began to flutter. She shifted this way and that, scrunching up the soft sheets that covered her body.

Then she sat bolt upright, snatching her hand out of Sienna’s grasp.

Dark eyes snapped open.

She whirled around in confusion and fear. “What the fuck…?”

“Eva. It’s me. Calm down. You’re okay. You’re safe now.”

“Sienna?” Eva looked around in alarm… at the dark, curving walls of the ship; at the embryonic sleeping pod. “Is this some crazy never-ending nightmare? Have I gotten stuck in some malfunctioning consciousness immersion sim?”

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