Page 140 of Decadence

“But he didn’t kill him,” Sienna countered.

“Not on screen, anyway.”

“Well, he probably deserved what was coming to him.”

Emmett gave her a strange look. “You’ve changed, my friend.”

Sienna folded her arms and glared. “Have they done anything bad to you since they got here? Have they abducted Cleo and forced her into one of these supposed terrible breeding programs? Does Alexis look like she’s terribly oppressed? Do I?” Now she was furious. She knew very well what her Kordolian was capable of. After all, Ikriss had never tried to hide anything from her. He would fight and even kill to keep her safe.

How dare they twist that and use it against him?

“Point taken,” Emmett said, sounding uncharacteristically meek. “But only because I trust you. And also because Zarken, despite being a grumpy old bastard, did not impale me in the eyeball with his sword when I was asking him a lot of annoying questions.”

Cleo snorted.

“Still,” Emmett continued, “I was doubting myself for a moment there. Imagine what the ordinary folk of Earth must be thinking right now.”

“There’s going to rioting in the streets again,” Cleo said dryly. “Where the hell is the President, anyway? Isn’t he supposed to make a speech to calm us all down or something?”

As the holo switched back to Ed fucking Markey for the post-Kordolian analysis, a weird little sensation danced down her neck.

A pleasant little shiver; the same sensation she got whenever Ikriss’s warm breath feathered her skin.

Her friends were staring at something behind her. They both looked a little bit horrified—as if they’d just seen a ghost.

Slowly, Sienna turned around, unable to shake that warm, tingly feeling.

Ikriss stood there in all his silver glory, and the very same golden eyes that had captured her through the holo were now burning right through her, turning her warm little tingle into an inferno, and she couldn’t focus on anything else.

Just him. She looked him up and down; took in his battle-armor, his messy longish hair, which fell to just past his ears—curiously, it wasn’t as long as before—and the tips of his horns, which were just starting to break through his skin.

What the hell happened to you, Ikriss?

He beckoned to her with one hand; a little imperious, a little demanding, a little impatient, and very possessive.

So very Ikriss.

“Come,” he rumbled. His eyes were locked onto her—only her—with that crazy Kordolian intensity. He paid no attention whatsoever to Cleo or Emmett. It was almost as if they didn’t exist.

There was an urgency about him; a sharp, crackling energy that infused into her, making her restless.

The heat was there again, pooling between her legs.

Stars, this man. All he had to do was say one word and she went weak at the knees.

“Ikriss…” she said, suddenly breathless. “Are you okay?”

“I will be fine.” He leaned in a little, letting his familiar scent wash over her. For some reason, he refrained from touching her. His expression softened. “I told you that you should not worry about me, but I know you will anyway.”

“Nobody else will. Not like I can, anyway.”

“Huh.” He shook his head.

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re fine. I couldn’t help but worry. They’re telling all these lies about you and your guys on the broadcast.” She froze, worry gnawing at her insides. “Did you find my friend?”

“We have her. She is safe now.”

Sienna let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

---