Page 85 of Decadence

The General was as good as his word, being the last to leave as he stepped into the dark antechamber.

Why did she get the feeling this was all planned somehow?

Suddenly, they were alone.

Together.

Her and this real-life, warm, intense, lethal, oh-so-delicious Kordolian.

Behind them, the dark pool of water beckoned; a mysterious, shimmering enigma that was as beautiful and forbidding as the Kordolians themselves.

Ikriss released her from his grasp and took a step back, his gaze slowly traveling across her face and down her body. She suddenly became aware of how stretchy and tight her workout top and leggings were.

Her nipples were clearly visible through the fabric. Her heart was beating out of her ribcage. Heat seeped between her thighs and spread through her body like wildfire.

“I want to see you,” he rasped, his voice hoarse. “All of you.”

Sienna stared back at him, the flames of her arousal fanned higher by his fierce golden gaze. This was crazy. With everything he’d told her about his condition, they shouldn’t even be doing this, and yet they couldn’t help themselves, because being apart was even more torturous.

And somehow, it felt like they had the blessing of the entire fucking ship, not that they needed it…

She didn’t care who approved of their union or not.

She wanted him.

She took in his hard, alien features; his sharp, sculptural beauty, his tousled platinum hair and otherworldly pointed ears and his strong, angular jaw, which was tense. He wore a simple black uniform that concealed the strange machines Zharek had implanted into his body to keep him alive.

He looked severe and intimidating and deliciously hot. His hands hung loosely by his sides, although she could clearly see the sharp black claws extending from his fingertips—the only real sign of the tension inside him.

His nostrils flared.

He swallowed and parted his lips a fraction to reveal his sharp, gleaming fangs.

Everything about him was sharp and deadly and honed, and it was focused all on her.

He made her feel safe.

Desired.

And incredibly sexy.

His hyper-intense attention was like an intoxicating drug.

“Show me, Sienna,” he growled, his deep voice sending an electric ripple across her skin.

She froze, caught between total surrender and hesitation. The old fear lurked at the edges of her mind, momentarily paralyzing her.

But then she remembered seeing Ikriss naked and helpless, suspended in that awful tank.

He had nothing left to hide.

And she held a lot of the power here.

“I need you,” he whispered, desperation seeping into his voice. “I can’t have you the way I want, but I need you more than anything. So for now, this torture will have to do.” She’d never heard anything like that from him before; never heard him sound so vulnerable. Ikriss stepped forward, his movements as fluid and graceful as always, even though his face was taut with tension.

As she slipped her fingers under the edge of her top, pulling it upwards, Ikriss reached her and placed his hand on hers. His claws were still out. She felt something sharp graze against her skin, but he didn’t hurt her.

He would never.

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