King of Eon by Anna Hackett ePUB)

Chapter Seven

God, he tasted so damn good.

Alea slid her hand into his hair, running her tongue against his.

Gayel yanked her closer, their bodies plastered together. He felt so hard against her, and this close, she realized how much bigger than her he was.

He groaned into her mouth, and she loved the sound.

“Cren.” His hands twisted in the skirt of her dress, and cupped her ass. “Alea, you drive me to the edge of my control.”

She bit his lip, and instigated another fierce kiss.

Desire pulsed through her—molten hot. When had anyone ever wanted her this much?

“Are you wearing my blades?” His voice was guttural. “I had them made for you.”

Her womb clenched. She didn’t stop to think about what it said about her that a man giving her knives turned her on. Or that the man in question seemed to know her so well after such a short time.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“I want to see.” The purple strands in his eyes were glowing neon. “I want to see them against your skin.”

Pulse fluttering and heat pooling in her belly, she nodded.

Gayel sank to his knees in front of her.

God. It nearly made her cry out. The king of the Eon was kneeling before her, raw desire stark on his handsome face.

He pushed aside the lush fabric and found the slit in the skirt. He bared her thigh.

Alea leaned back against the stone railing and watched him take in the two exquisite knives strapped to her thigh.

“Beautiful.” He stroked her skin.

She shivered, need arrowing through her. His touch ignited flames.

Then he groaned. “I can smell your arousal.”

Alea licked her lips, trying to get a hold on the riotous desire within her and failing.

His hands slid higher. He touched the edge of her panties and she jolted.

He looked up. All she could see were those neon-purple strands.

“Alea?”

She knew he was asking her permission. She looked up blindly. They were tucked away in a shadowed corner of the balcony. There was no one close, but she could hear the low murmur of voices, the distant beat of the music.

She slid her hand into his thick hair and urged him closer.

He made a raw male sound. His fingers slid up and brushed her panties.

She bit her tongue to keep from crying out.

“Alea.” A reverent murmur. He pushed the silk aside and stroked her.

Now she cried out, a low, husky cry. Her fingers clenched in his hair.

He shot her a molten look, then pressed his mouth to her. She jolted hard, his tongue lapping at her. She was so wet, dripping with need.

His mouth ravished, and she wrapped one thigh around his head.

He growled against her flesh. Her head fell back and he licked, tongue plunging into her. Then he shifted and his lips found her clit.

Oh. God.

She bit her lip so hard she tasted blood, then yanked on his hair, pushing him closer, but also needing something to hold on to.

He sucked and her world splintered apart in a kaleidoscope of pleasure.

“Gayel.” She bucked against him. Oh, oh. It was too much, not enough. She rode the wave of intense pleasure.

He rose, wrapping his arms around her. He held her pinned to him.

Alea panted, trying to control her breathing. She felt like she’d run a race.

He gripped her chin and forced her gaze to his.

Then he kissed her.

He tasted of her, and it was so erotic, intimate, sexy.

“You taste as beautiful and tart as I’d guessed,” he said.

She pressed her face to his chest. Partly because she felt good, and partly because she was embarrassed. She’d just let the king of the Eon Empire go down on her outside, in public.

She heard footsteps close by and she jerked back.

Gayel shot her an intense look, then resettled her dress and turned.

A warrior in a black, sleeveless shirt showcasing massive arms appeared.

“Your Highness.” The warrior bowed his head.

Alea swallowed and hoped that what they’d just done wasn’t written all over her face.

“Darilan,” Gayel said.

“There’s an urgent call from War Commander Malax Dann-Jad from the Rengard. It’s about the Kantos.”

She stiffened. It had to be really urgent for them to interrupt Gayel during a ball.

“I’m coming,” Gayel said.

“I’m coming, too,” Alea insisted.

He nodded.

Inside, she detoured briefly, and found Ben. “There’s an urgent call. Watch the women.”

Ben nodded.

She and Gayel swept out of the ballroom. She wasn’t used to almost running to keep up with the man’s long strides. He led her up some steps.

Alea fiddled with her hair and looked at Gayel. His hair clearly looked like someone had run their hands through it.

“Wait.” She brushed at his hair, and he tilted his head down. “You look like…” Hmm.

“Like I was just ravished by a delectable Terran on the balcony?”

Don’t blush. Don’t blush.“There, that will have to do.”

“It won’t matter,” he said.

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Eon warriors have enhanced senses, remember?”

She continued to frown.

He gave her a faint smile, then pressed his thumb to her jaw and stroked. “They’ll smell you on me.”

With that, he turned and strode into the room.

Smell her… Oh, God.

She rolled her eyes to the ceiling, then mentally locked what happened on the balcony away. She’d deal with it later.

She strode into the room. Eve and Davion, and Adlyn and Ryphen, were already there. There was a dark, pensive air to the room.

On screen was the image of War Commander Malax Dann-Jad. He looked like a typical, muscular Eon warrior. His rugged face looked grim.

“Malax,” Gayel said.

“Gayel, I’m sorry to interrupt the ball. This couldn’t wait.”

There was a hard edge to the man’s voice that made Alea’s gut tighten.

“Malax, this is Captain Rodriguez of Space Corps.”

The war commander nodded.

“What did you find?” Gayel asked.

“We were patrolling at the Suzor border. We received a distress call from an Eon cargo convoy en route to the Fennelore worlds. It’s best if I just show you what we found.”

An image appeared on screen beside the war commander. Large pieces of debris were hanging in space. Alea sucked in a breath.

The ships had been destroyed. Several bodies were floating in the vacuum of space.

Jesus.

“God,” Eve breathed.

A muscle ticked in Gayel’s jaw. “How many ships lost?”

“Seven.”

Then Alea saw Kantos bodies drift across the screen. Some looked torn up. The Eon freighters had clearly fought back.

“The Kantos,” she said.

“Yes. The cargo freighters managed to take down some swarm ships,” Malax said.

“The Kantos did this.” Gayel’s voice vibrated with rage.

Alea felt it fill the room. She knew his helian amplified the effect.

On screen, Malax nodded. “It had to have been a large force, but there was no sign of them.” A pause. “It looks like they moved deeper into Eon space.”

Davion cursed.

Alea stared at the debris.

No.

* * *

The next morning,Alea stepped out of the palace and into the bright, Eon sunshine.

This morning was the hunt.

She ran her hands down her brown leather riding breeches that had been left in her room. Nice. Without thinking about it, she’d strapped on the knives that Gayel had given her to her thigh. She wore a fitted blue shirt and boots up to her knees.

Excitement about riding filtered through her blood. Not quite as potent as the thought of seeing Gayel.

Blowing out a breath, she strode toward the palace stables. Soon, she heard excited voices ahead, and scented animals.

She turned a corner, and spotted the women from her group. Most were smiling, looking excited for the hunt. A few looked tired, and Natasha and Avril looked hungover. The delegates were dressed much like Alea and looked around with interest. When he spotted her, Jean-Michel gave her a smile and winked.

Alea ignored him and fought the violent need for a coffee. Again, she hadn’t slept well. After the conversation with Malax, Gayel had called a meeting with his top war commanders, and so she’d headed to bed.

And tossed and turned.

She’d alternated between worrying about the Kantos, and remembering what she and Gayel had done on the balcony.

Her stomach jittered, but she didn’t let it show.

Ben caught her eye and raised a brow. “Rough night?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“The Kantos.”

She lifted her chin. It wasn’t a lie, exactly.

She turned her head and saw Gayel.

A gentle wind was blowing, ruffling his hair. Today, he was dressed in all black and looked so good. He swung around and spotted her. He smiled.

God. She felt that smile in every part of her body.

She nodded at him.

“I hope you’re excited for the hunt,” Gayel called out to the crowd. “It’s an old Eon tradition. You’ll get to see more of the countryside and wildlife. We’ll all ride the drails. The famous hunting steeds of Eon.”

Stable hands were bringing the huge animals out. They looked like horses on steroids, but with smooth skin instead of fur. They had powerful, muscled bodies, much sturdier legs, and their heads were streamlined, narrowing down to a pointed snout. Instead of a long mane, they had a few small tufts of fur running down the back of their neck.

Alea noted some of the women shifting uneasily. Only Simone, the Olympic runner, looked excited.

“Don’t worry,” Gayel continued. “These ones are quite tame, and used to riders.”

He patted a gray one and it headbutted him with a familiar touch.

Gayel smiled. “Yes, Azek. Today, you’ll get a run.”

The drails were all shades of brown and black, with a few gray mixed in. They had a faint, iridescent sheen to their skin. Gayel’s was almost a silver-gray.

“Um,” Dahlia, the other model and designer, called out. “A hunt?” She touched her braided black hair. “I don’t really want to kill anything.”

Gayel’s smile widened. “You won’t. No one will.”

A pack of canine creatures were led out, accompanied by a chorus of yips and barks. They almost looked like wolves, lean and predatory.

“The throk hounds will track our prey, the hirah. The hirah are a small, fast mammal. It’s for sport. The hirah will be released unharmed at the end. There are predators in the woods, but it’s unlikely we’ll encounter any this close to Auris. And we have warriors on hand.” He waved an arm to the warriors already mounted on their drails. “Now, let the stable master match you to a drail steed.”

“Captain Rodriguez?” Adlyn stepped up beside her. “You have an urgent call from Space Corps.”

Damn. She looked to Ben, then Gayel.

Gayel frowned.

“Go,” she said. “I’ll catch up.”

“We can wait—”

She shook her head at Gayel. “Go. I’ll meet you. This shouldn’t take long.”

“I’ll take good care of the Lieutenant,” Adlyn drawled.

Ben’s gaze narrowed, but for once, he didn’t take the bait.

But the call took longer than Alea expected. It was a call to Space Corps Headquarters to speak with Admiral Barber.

Admiral Linda Barber’s ash-blonde hair was in its usual sharp bob. Her brown eyes looked serious. “Captain Rodriguez, how are the bridal candidates holding up?”

“Fine. Jenna Montgomery has pulled out after she was attacked by a Kantos bug, but she’s recovering well.”

The admiral’s brow creased. “Has King Gayel taken a liking to any of them?”

Alea thought of the balcony and fought to keep her face blank. “I couldn’t say.”

“Very well. Update me on the Kantos situation.”

Alea gave a brief run down, and did not mention the attraction between her and King Gayel.

After she ended the call, she headed out. When she reached the stables, it was quiet.

“Hello?”

She didn’t see any drails.

The stable master came out, scowling.

“I need a drail to catch the hunt,” she told him.

“I don’t have any good mounts left for a beginner.”

Damn. As if to emphasize the point, the drail in the closest stall kicked the wall.

“I’m not a riding novice,” Alea said. “I’ve ridden horses on Earth.” She’d been on several camps for disadvantaged children, and discovered a love for riding. She often rode on her rare vacations.

The stable master frowned. “Drails are unique, and this guy here is hard to handle.”

She had to catch the hunt. “I’ll take him.”

The man shook his head, but opened the stall. He led the animal out and Alea sucked in a breath.

He was gorgeous, skin a dark, pewter-like gray, but even bigger than the ones she’d seen earlier. She ran a hand down the pointed head and the animal snorted.

“No eyes?” she asked, glancing at the stable master.

The stable master shook his head. “The drail use all their other senses. They’re highly developed.”

The man led the animal to a platform. She stepped up, then mounted. The drail reared.

“Settle,” the stable master’s voice was commanding.

Alea gripped the reins and settled into the light saddle. “What’s his name?”

“Ston.”

After one of the original Eon warriors they revered like a god. “All right, let’s do this.”

The stable master led them out into the yard.

“Follow the main path to the meadows. You’ll spot the group. Listen for the throk hounds.”

She nodded.

“If you fall and break your neck, don’t blame me.”

“Don’t worry.” She urged the drail forward and set off.

The drail darted and pranced, and she almost lost her seat.

“None of that.” She pulled on the reins and kept her tone brisk, in charge.

They went out through the main gate and moved into a trot.

Soon, they picked up some speed, but Ston played some dominance games. It was then that Alea realized that the drail was restless, with energy to burn.

“Okay, big guy. You want to run, let’s run.”

She urged Ston to go faster.

He took off.

Oh, wow.

She leaned over the powerful neck, and they flew.

The beautiful landscape became a blur. To her right was a dense forest and to the left, rolling fields dotted with flowers.

Ahead, craggy mountains made a beautiful backdrop.

Alea laughed into the wind and let go of some of her worries. It wasn’t long before she saw the group ahead. They weren’t moving very quickly.

She tried to slow her drail, but Ston had his blood up and didn’t want to slow down.

Oh, well.She raced up to the group and saw some of the warriors turn to look.

When her steed finally deigned to stop, she was laughing and breathless. She patted his neck. “Stubborn, but gorgeous.”

She looked up. Gayel was riding like he’d been born doing it—and he moved up to her.

There was heat in his gaze.

God, the last thing she needed was to be turned on right now.

“You ride well,” he said.

“I told you I enjoy it.” She glanced at the women. “How’s the hunt going?”

“Nothing yet.” He frowned. She followed his gaze, and saw that some hounds had stopped and were staring into the meadow. Their bodies were stiff, alert.

“What’s wrong with them?”

A deep groove appeared on his brow. “Something has spooked them.”

She scanned the meadow. It was carpeted with beautiful, green grass, and dotted with tiny, yellow flowers, all drenched in sunshine.

“What?” she asked.

“I’m not sure. I’m not detecting anything.”

She didn’t like it. A skitter of concern slid down her spine.

Gayel frowned. “We’ll move on, then—”

A short, feminine scream filled the air.

Alea spun in her saddle.

Chloe had lost control of her drail. It sidestepped, then took off across the meadow.

The woman screamed, bouncing in the saddle, and holding on for dear life.

Oh, hell. Alea yanked on her reins, and Ston exploded into action.

She raced after Chloe.

A second later, Gayel’s beast was beside hers, and they raced across the meadow.