“Have you been thinking about my… big head, then?” His smile is lascivious, and I ignore the way my entire body tightens at the sexual tone.
“Fuck you,” I retort. Brilliant comeback.
“I would like that very, very, very much.” Nydo steps even closer, his eyes nearly glowing full orange now. The tips of his hair spark too, and I swallow hard.
It should freak me the fuck out, the way he turns to flames. The power that apparently just hangs out under his skin, the inferno inside that muscled body, the way the whorled pattern moves when he starts to ignite.
But it’s fascinating, the way a leopard’s spots are stunningly beautiful.
He’s a killer.
“Not gonna happen.” It comes out wispy, and I blink in shame and surprise.
“I may not have the senses of our Suevan friends, but I can smell your arousal,” he purrs, his nostrils flaring. “And I have a proposal for you.”
“Whatever it is, the answer is absolutely not. No. And don’t sniff me,” I nearly shout, my temper really getting the best of me. As usual. “You weirdo. The only reason I smell like that,” I stab him in the chest with my finger, and his smile only gets wider—“is because your asshole species pumped me full of drugs to make me aroused like, all the goddamn time, and it doesn’t even matter how many times I touch myself because nothing takes the edge off!”
Er.
I blink. I so did not just admit to that, did I? Shit.
He blinks, then smiles at me, the cat who caught the canary.
“Is that right?”
“Leave me alone,” I snarl and push past him, head held high despite the fact I just made a complete fool of myself.
Until he utters the only thing that could get me to stop.
“What if I could get you back to Earth? You and your companions, too.”
I turn on my heel, only to find he’s watching me with an ineffable expression on his face.
CHAPTER THREE
NYDO
I’ve got her.
Her stunning, delicate features are bright red, the spots the humans call freckles standing out even more than usual. Her breasts heave, and I long to see what her body looks like outside of those disgusting human clothes she insists on wearing.
Stubborn as a garwe.
My grin widens, and I inhale slowly, trying to hide my uncharacteristic nervousness. Say yes.
“What did you say?” she finally asks, smoothing her hand over her gorgeous red hair. It’s pulled into a tight bun, and my fingers itch with the need to pull it down, to undo her.
“Earth,” I manage, trying to sound casual. “Do you not wish to return to Earth?”
She narrows her eyes at me. Blatant distrust shines in her face, and I wish I could wipe our slate clean, start over.
That’s impossible, of course. What’s done is done, and the ends justify the means. Always.
“It can’t be done,” she says slowly, but her intelligent gemstone-green eyes watch me carefully.
“It can, and I could.” A half lie. Though, if I have my way, I will burn all thoughts of Earth from her mind, and she will not want to leave me.
Ever. Mine. Mate.
My hands fist at my sides, and her gaze flicks to them. I tuck them behind my back, trying to control my wild emotions. Always wild, around her.
She snorts, then sighs, her mouth twisting to the side. “And what’s in it for you? You’re just offering this out of the goodness of your heart?”
I cock an eyebrow at her, wishing she didn’t distrust me so.
Loving the way she fights me every step of the way.
Already, I am hard for her, my heart beating so fast I am surprised she cannot hear it.
“What’s in it for me? You,” I tell her, need and want racing through my body. “You will be my mate.”
She startles at this, and I inhale deeply as the perfume of her arousal heightens.
A lazy, cocky smile turns the corner of my mouth up. I have her.
She just doesn’t know it yet.
“No way,” she starts. A coarse laugh trips from her throat, irritation marring those delicate features.
I hold up a hand.
“You will pretend to be mine,” I tell her, lying. It hurts to even say it. Every cell in my body recognizes her for what she already is. Mine. I clear my throat and continue. “You will be proof that I, as the Roth King, through diplomacy—”
She interrupts me with a snort and a raised eyebrow. The sunlight catches the gold in her hair, and it’s so like firelight that I have to stop myself from touching her.
“Through diplomacy,” I continue, trying to focus, “have found a way to unite the Roth in a way the Overlord could never dream of. That through a way other than war and bloodshed, I have found my mate. I have found the one that will be the Roth queen and bear the newest fruits of our race.”
“I’m not an apple tree, you ass, and I am not bearing you anything.”
“You didn’t let me finish,” I tell her, stepping closer, unable to help myself.
Fear flickers in her eyes, and I hate it. I despise how she feels about our species. I despise that we deserve her fear and hatred, and that I deserve it most of all.
Still, I push on.
“As soon as I am king, and the Overlord is toppled through our work, I will send you and your companions back to Earth, should you choose to go.”
A vein ticks in her neck, the skin so translucent and thin there that it makes me want to hug her to me, to keep her at my side and safe so that no one else can see how delicate this creature is.
Mine.
“And I am supposed to believe you?” she asks. “That you would just let me go? Why should I?”
“Would you rather stay here?” I retort. A thought slams into me, and rage boils within. “Or is there another male? A Suevan reptile who has claimed your affections?”
She laughs, humor creasing the corners of her eyes. “Reptile? No. Not that it’s any of your business,” she hastily adds.
It is my business, I want to say. Everything about her is my business.
“Speaking of the Suevans, they’re cool with this? Us just leaving?”
“They want me and my brothers to be a distraction to the Roth Overlord,” I tell her.
Leigh’s face turns thoughtful. “You didn’t answer the question.”
“They don’t know I plan to take you.”
“And Piper and Billie,” she adds slowly. “And they’re going to have to pretend to be—” she winces, disgust plain on her face “—mated to your brothers?”
I nod. Are we truly this revolting to her?
I study her again. Not that it’s a hardship, I could stare for days and still be starved for her. She’s all fragile skin and soft curves, her arms and legs muscled from hard work, but still so, so delicate. She must find us disgusting, with our fuzzy grey hides and strange ash swirls, nothing like the human markings. I am huge compared to her, too.
I ache for a moment, imagining the feel of her body tight around me.
“How long do I have to decide?” she asks.
The question is so unexpected that I stare at her in surprise for a moment.
“One hour,” I tell her. “You will meet me with the other two humans at the furthest hangar. Do you know where that is?”
“I’m not an idiot,” she says stiffly.