Page 2 of A Delicate Conquest
If Jerik hadn’t ordered him to stay put and keep the peace, he would have dealt with them by now.
“Don’t worry about a thing,” he murmured as she passed, gracing the air with a hint of her intoxicating floral-and-musk scent. “This will be over soon, and all will be well.”
“Quiet,” the merc snapped. Now, she wasreallytesting Mavrel’s patience. “And you. Admin woman. Get the fuck out.”
Bea gave Mavrel a conspiratorial look.
Her lips quirked.
She rolled her eyes.
The mercs couldn’t see. Her back was to them, after all.
A silent communication passed through them—as if to say,this is tiresome.
He liked that.
As she walked away, he wanted to go after her, to reassure her that everything would be fine. Because no matter how confident she appeared on the outside, he could sense a hint of fear in the faint trembling of her hands and the change in her scent.
Don’t worry. I won’t let them harm you.
After she was gone, the glass doors closing behind her, Mavrel calmly looked at his human enemies.
“You do anything to harm her,” he said slowly, in Kordolian,“and I swear on Kaiin I will make sure you all suffer a slow and painful death.”
“Fuckin’ space-elf. What the hell are you going on about?”
You have no idea.
Mavrel chuckled softly.
They had no idea, did they?
Jerik would be here soon—once he’d secured his mate.
And this would all be quickly resolved, whether Garner and his lackeys liked it or not.
ONE
You are cordially invitedto a special event.
Please activate the holo-device for further information.
Bea stared at the invitation, turning the black card over and over in her hands. It was made of thick, textured card and embossed with silver lettering—the sort of thing that was rare to see these days, as everything was done electronically.
She’d already watched the holo several times. It was surreal to find herself sitting in front of a fully realized, horned, elegantly attired Kordolian, complete with long white hair and golden eyes and a regal manner about him.
ThisXalikian Kazharan,who Bea understood was some sort of imperial prince from the bad old Kordolian days—before their own military staged an almighty coup and changed the Universal Order big time—was surprisingly polished for a representative of an alien species that was supposed to be brutal and ruthless.
But after her recent dealings with Kordolians, she knew they weren’t what most humans thought.
They were more layered, more complex.
Like practically everything that existed in this Universe.
Bea sighed and leaned back against her soft, comfy couch. It was a family hand-me-down that she’d had reupholstered inemerald green velvet to fit in with the eclectic interior of her small apartment.
Her little sanctuary of normalcy, so far removed from the madness she’d witnessed a few days ago at her workplace—Garner Tower, headquarters of Garner Corporation, a big, powerful entity that was now...fucked.