Chapter 4
I followed the King, who looked very much like the warrior following behind me and gasped. No wonder he was so well known. He had a temper, was a cocky son of a bitch, and he was the King and Queen’s son. It all made sense now. There was no way in hell I’d get a sample of his blood. Ryan was out of his god damn mind if he thought I’d even try. The man was huge, and I had a feeling it wouldn’t be hard for him to snap me in two.
I felt the warrior behind me. My back stayed tense as he stared at me. He kept a good distance between us, but the heat coming from him was outrageous. I looked over my shoulder to see a strange flicker of orange in his eyes. It looked like the King’s but it didn’t last before they shifted back to blue. I blinked and faced in front of me so I didn’t keep making an ass out of myself. There was something about the giant that brought out the worst in me. I didn’t like how my heart raced or my pulse fluttered deep inside.
The King led me into a huge room with a huge table. It was filled with all sorts of food I had never seen before and my stomach dropped. Trying new things wasn’t really my thing. I brought food for myself that would last a year so I wouldn’t starve. Pyra seemed to sense my discomfort and he huddled close behind me.
“It’s okay. The food is actually a lot better than it looks,” he whispered.
He was too close. I could smell his scent. It was a bit spicy and my mouth watered. Suddenly I was hungry for something other than food. “I’m not hungry.” I was going to be stubborn as hell. No way would I admit anything going on inside of me right now. I couldn’t allow it to happen. It didn’t matter that he was the sexiest man I’d ever met, or that I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been with a man. No part of his body would touch any part of mine. I was here to study their land. Maybe I would be able to convince myself of that eventually.
He chuckled and I felt his breath whisper across the back of my neck. I clenched my teeth holding back my building anger. Anger was good. I could deal with being pissed. That was normal.
“Please get out of my space,” I hissed.
He didn’t move back. Instead he placed one of his giant fucking hands on my hip. If I didn’t want to look like a complete asshole I had to deal with it, but he would pay. I smiled at the thought of kneeing him in his groin again. This time I wouldn’t go easy on him. “If you want to keep that hand, I suggest you remove it from my body,” I whispered sweetly.
He leaned into my space even more. Damn he was arrogant. It didn’t seem to matter what the species was, apparently males were all alike.
“Make me.”, he taunted. He wanted me to lose my temper. I couldn’t—no I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“You’re gonna regret this, warrior.” I officially hated him. I couldn’t see why the women all wanted him. Sure I bet his body was unbelievable, but his attitude sucked. I didn’t appreciate men who thought they were god’s gift to women. He didn’t respect boundaries and that was a big thing for me. I couldn’t stand someone who thought they didn’t have to stay out of my personal space.
“Oh yeah?” He rubbed his finger across my hip bone, slow and intimate, too intimately. I was going to murder him. “I look forward to anything you dish out, angel.”
I chuckled. No one had ever accused me of that before. “We’ll see.”
Every word that slipped from my lips was met with a touch that threatened to bring me to my knees. I wouldn’t let him win. It was physical, that was it.
The King cleared his throat and his smirk in my direction was unsettling. It was as though he was waiting us out.
“Sit please dear.”
I gulped and pulled away from the hulking man behind me, but he stepped around me and pulled out the chair. My eyes widened in surprise. I didn’t think he had a gentle bone in his body.
He shrugged. “What? My mother raised me too.”
I nodded and sat down waiting for the King to tell me the rules. I knew he’d tell me, and I had planned to talk to him about my boss, but I didn’t want to do it in front of the warrior.
“I’m sure you know that we are graceful in letting humans invade our lands to run tests, and learn more about our species…”
I nodded.
“There are a few things we do not allow however, and under no circumstances are those rules to be broken. The paper you signed gives us the right to punish you within our laws if you break them in any way.”
Again I nodded. I hadn’t known that, but then again I should have read the fine print. If I made it home I was going to make Ryan sing soprano. He was going to wish he was dead by the time I was done with him.
The King’s eyes slanted. “Do you speak, Eden?”
I shrugged. “I’m not much of a talker, or a socialite for that matter. I speak when I have something important to add to the conversation.”
“I see,” he replied. He was curious about me.
“So I assume you won’t be causing problems. Other than the temper I’ve already witnessed.” With that he smiled.
I blushed. “I do have a temper. Usually it’s easier to control.”
“Ah, Pyra brings out the worst in you then, or maybe the best yes?”
I laughed I couldn’t help it. “I highly doubt my temper is to be considered my best, no offense.”
Pyra stiffened and when I glanced at him he was looking at me strangely. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking but he was focused on something. I looked down to see if I had gotten something on my clothes but there wasn’t anything there so I shrugged. He was strange. The fact that I was so aware of the giant man sitting silently at the table didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t like it, not even a little bit.