Page 33 of Decadence

Ikriss moved closer. He was half a head taller than Connor, and he didn’t have to do much to appear intimidating.

He just was.

“You have no inkling of who I know. Perhaps next morning you will find your face all over your infernal Networks.”

Ikriss might look half human and he might speak almost flawless English, but he still spoke like a Kordolian.

Connor looked to one side then the other, scanning the streetscape with wary grey eyes. His lips curved into a cold smile. “We’re going. But don’t think it’s because of you. I just don’t have time to deal with this shit right now. Don’t get too sure of yourself, boss and apprentice.”

Ikriss didn’t say a word. He just stared at Connor with icy, implacable eyes.

“Bye, Sienna,” Connor said slowly, deliberately, raising his hand in an insolent half-wave.

Then he and his goons walked away, disappearing into a sleek black hover-car that was illegally parked on the sidewalk.

The engine revved loudly, and moments later the hover-car rose and sped off into the slipstream of traffic, its darkly tinted windows reflecting the bright city lights.

The snow was falling harder now, forming a thin blanket of white on the sidewalk. Sienna looked up at Ikriss, who was standing with his head slightly cocked, his arms at his sides, his strange green gaze softening as the snow fell all around him, dusting his pale hair and his broad shoulders, making the moment feel all the more surreal, like a scene out of some crazy holo-movie.

A sliver of early morning light broke through the clouds, softening the harsh electric glow from the street signs and holos.

“It’s you,” she said softly.

“Yes, Sienna.” The hardness melted from Ikriss’s face.

Her heart flipped. A starburst of warmth blossomed in her chest and spread down through her belly and right into her core, snaking between her legs.

That feeling.

It made her tremble, ever so slightly.

When she’d first caught sight of him, she’d found his appearance striking, but now, upon seeing him again in the flesh, she had to admit that he was a fucking beautiful specimen of a man, even with the weird disguise.

“Why?” The world around them faded into nothingness. The memory of her unsetting encounter with Connor became little more than an insignificant afterthought, soon to be forgotten. “Why are you here?”

He leaned in, and his presence engulfed hers, sending a delicious shiver down her spine. She caught a tendril of his scent; crisp, fragrant woodiness entwined with a hint of smoke and male musk.

It was utterly intoxicating.

And that scared her.

Part of her felt compelled to ignore him; to turn to Emmett and Cleo and say something rational, to take charge of the situation, but she couldn’t.

“Sometimes, things that appear so simple on the surface can become complicated,” he murmured in Universal, too quietly for Cleo or Emmett to be able to hear. “I am here to protect you. And to know you.” Ikriss raised one snowy eyebrow. “You appear to be acquainted with some interesting characters, Sienna. The one called Connor is just fortunate that I am not interested in revealing myself right now.”

Before she had a chance to ask what the fuck he meant by that, Emmett swooped in, putting a protective arm around her shoulders. “I’m sorry, Si. This guy… I tried to stop him, but he told me that if any harm came to you because of me getting in his way, he’d seriously kill me. Naturally, I didn’t listen to him. I did what I always do and tried to deck him, but the bastard threw me down. Like, really fucking threw me down.” His eyes narrowed. “What are you, ex-military or something?”

“Something like that,” Ikriss replied frostily, his jaw hardening as he looked Emmett up and down.

In the face of a cold alien death-glare, Emmett stayed true to form and tightened his arm around Sienna’s shoulders. He returned the Kordolian’s glare with a scowl of his own.

Sienna could almost feel the air crackle with tension. Why did Ikriss look so angry all of a sudden? It was almost as if he didn’t like Emmett touching her.

Why?

She shifted uncomfortably on her feet as strange possibilities flitted through her mind.

He couldn’t possibly be… jealous?

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