Falden held back his groan of frustration as Isabella shifted nervously. Dungeon 6 rested deep below the Caldorian base, and the security was handled by his own men, the Lumerian Knights. No one got in or out without permission, not even King Dagan.
No one.
So why was he ready to jump out of his skin? Why was his body clawing at him with so much pent-up energy that centuries of discipline deserted him and he found himself unable to stand still? And unable to resist walking behind the sofa to Isabella so he could touch her hair, gather her scent, feel the heat of her skin? Whether or not she knew what he was doing, he had no idea. She didn’t react to his featherlight touch, nor his nearness. Both facts that drove him to distraction.
He was a warrior. A Knight. A fucking Lumerian. He’d survived wars, assassins and more battles than he could recall. Always, he remained calm. In control.
Until now. Until her.
She was a problem. A very serious problem. He knew she would finally reveal her true purpose to the king, tell Dagan everything she had not trusted him enough to reveal.
And that bothered him as well.
She was his to protect.
No. Not mine.
He could not afford those kinds of thoughts. Just because his skin glowed like a male who’d been claimed repeatedly did not mean this female had actually taken him for her own. He was as he had always been. Alone. Strong. Leader of the Knights and protector of the Caldorian and Lumerian royal bloodlines.
He did not have time for a female.
But fuck all, his body craved more. His skin ached for her touch, the feel of her hands on his body. The hot, wet paradise that clamped down on his cock like she would never let him go. The feel of her legs around his hips, her soft cries of pleasure in his ears. The sound of her ragged breathing as she surrendered to him. The scent of her heated arousal. The sound of her voice calling his name was already engraved on his senses like she’d taken an anvil to stone and carved her name inside his very bones.
“Falden!” King Dagan’s abrupt call made Falden jump back in surprise. He’d been standing still as a statue behind Isabella, his fingertips poised to tangle in her hair, wrap the silken strands around them and tilt her head back for his kiss.
He wanted her there, on the sofa facing away from him, her neck arched back for his possession, her body open and ready for his exploration. He would place her hands behind her head and pull her hips forward, drop to his knees, remove her clothing and feast on her…
Taking the glass of water someone brought for Isabella, he handed it to her and made sure she had a few sips before nodding at Dagan to continue.
“I am glad Falden kept you safe. We saw the video of the incident at the restaurant and debriefed the others. They seemed to think you were involved? Would it be easier for you to start there? Tell us what happened?”
Isabella blushed as Queen Sasha sat opposite her in a comfortable chair. Dagan came to stand behind her, his hands on either side of her head, fingers curled around the chair’s high back. This had turned into an interrogation. A gentle one, but still an interrogation.
Falden’s hands balled into fists at his sides, and he actually ached to draw his sword, the instinctive need to protect Isabella pouring into him with a rage he’d never experienced before and had a difficult time controlling. What the hell was happening to him?
Isabella fidgeted on the sofa. “I’m sorry about that. I wasn’t expecting Falden to show up.”
King Dagan narrowed his eyes. “So, you were expecting the attack?”
Isabella sat back, her palms moving rhythmically up and down on top of her thighs. “No. The attack was a shock to me as well. I was expecting to meet a potential buyer. Sevron has been supplying me with Caldorian goods to trade on the black market for months.”
That got Falden’s attention. Sevron and his mirror twin, Torrin, had been raised on Caldor, but they were Lumerian royals, their identities hidden even from them. Falden had secretly kept an eye on them, ensuring they were safe and had the proper skills to someday lead the Lumerians should they choose to do so. “Sevron would never betray the Caldorians.”
Queen Sasha glared at him in disapproval, but he didn’t care. Sevron’s honor was above question. His gut clenched. Could he have been wrong about Isabella?
Isabella turned to look up at him over her shoulder. “He did not betray anyone. He only gave me things of value that would heal or make life easier for people. He never gave me weapons or information to sell.”
“That’s why you had the maju water and maju paste, as well as the other”—he did not want to say sex toys, so he quickly changed his choice of words—“other items.”
“Yes. I had to have a steady supply. It took me months to make contact with the high-ranking members of the smuggling operation. At that point we were really getting somewhere in our search. That’s when I began to hear rumors about the others.”
“What others?” Falden asked.
“The really bad guys, the aliens who run the Blood Market.”
King Dagan froze as if stunned. “What did you just say?”
“Slow down and start at the beginning.” Queen Sasha reached for Isabella’s hand and she welcomed the gentle assurance. The king walked around his mate’s chair and settled on the thick arm. “What search? What were you and Sevron looking for?”
“Sevron contacted me months ago and said he needed help—a human’s help. He was searching for his brother, his twin brother. Sevron had heard rumors about a black market on Earth and suspected that they had off-world contacts that might help in the search. But he needed someone they wouldn’t suspect. He was Caldorian. They never would have trusted him.”
All the air left Falden’s lungs in a rush. “This was about Torrin? He escaped from a Vilitos ship shortly after Sevron disappeared. This whole situation could’ve been avoided,” he said gruffly. “Torrin isn’t missing.”
“Well, I didn’t know that. And neither did Sevron.” Why she felt the need to defend herself, she wasn’t sure. But she did. “I was trying to get information that would lead us to Sevron’s brother. And I did. I also found a trail that will lead me to whoever is running the Blood Market.”
“No. You will drop the matter at once,” King Dagan ordered. “You will give me what information you have and walk away. It’s too dangerous.”
“This is my story. My investigation. I don’t have to stop anything. I’m about protecting planet Earth. And no offense, King Dagan, but you aren’t my king.”
“Isabella.” Falden’s low grumbled warning irritated her all the more. Her head was about to split in half. She needed caffeine. And a bed. And some god damned quiet.
“Agreed. I am not your king, Isabella. But I will protect you.”
Isabella remained silent. What was it with these alien men and their chest-pounding, caveman routine? She was a fully functional adult—most days, when her eyes weren’t aching her head didn’t feel like it was about to implode. She could take care of herself. She’d been doing it for a very long time.
When she remained quiet, King Dagan turned to look at Falden. “At least we captured one of the attackers from the bar. Gareth brought him in. He’s still in the interrogation room.”
“I’d like to speak to him.” Isabella didn’t mince words. Whoever they were, they’d arrived guns blazing. If they had been there to attack her, that meant her contact had set her up. She needed to know the truth.
“Whoever he is, he’s no concern of yours.” Falden refused to acknowledge her request. Let her talk to their prisoner? The man was going to die, there was no question about it. She didn’t need to see how Falden would accomplish the task. Or how he was going to get the information he needed. Before she could voice the protest he could see brewing in her eyes, he added, “So Sevron asked you? A female? A small, defenseless human female, to infiltrate a gang of criminals and killers? That doesn’t sound like him.”
Isabella straightened defensively. “I’m an i
nvestigative reporter. It’s what I do. Commander Bashall chose me because I have a reputation for getting results. Other reporters have contacts. I have friends, some of whom I knew would have connections with other people dealing in the black market. That’s who I was meeting the other night. The plan was to get one of them to trust me so that I could get information about the black market and, hopefully, his twin brother. But it didn’t work out like I planned.”
“In what way?” the queen asked.
Silence filled the room. She turned to look at Falden. “I found out about the Blood Market instead. And someone on the inside, someone on the Caldorian base, is selling them weapons and tech and…” she shuddered. “And people. They drink blood and eat people.”
“I know what a Blood Market is.” The king rose to pace the room once more. “But not how you managed to track one on this planet.”
“I told you, I have friends in low places.”
“Who are these friends? I would meet with them myself,” Dagan demanded.
“No. I don’t give up my sources.”
“Then I will throw you in an interrogation room until you change your mind.”
Falden stepped between her and the king even as Sasha stood and placed a hand on her mate’s shoulder. “She’s had a shock. She’s in pain. She’s afraid. Leave her alone for a few hours. Give her some time.”
Isabella knew the king was studying her, but she could not tear her gaze from the fascinating flickers of light she could see dancing along the surface of Falden’s skin.
“You will not harm her.” Falden stood toe-to-toe with the king, and if her head hadn’t been aching so badly, she would have cried. No one had ever stood up for her like that. Ever.
“I’m sorry, Falden. I’m sorry I can’t reveal my source. That’s not how it works. Sevron told me to trust no one but the king. Now I have told you everything I can. Sevron suspected there was a traitor on the base, more than one. He said the bad guys knew the Caldorians’ surveillance schedules, where they would be and when. He said someone was fudging the numbers on your inventory counts, taking weapons and anything else they can sell.”
“Why did he not come to me?”
“I don’t know. I think he was afraid you would interfere in his search for his brother.”
“I would have. The safety of the many comes before the needs of the one. I must protect my warriors and this planet. He had no right.”
“I know. I understand. You would have tried to stop us.” She looked up at Falden, hiding nothing. She needed him. She was in pain. She felt weak and scared and nothing was going the way she had planned. Which would have been fine, she could deal, but the migraine was literally making her see spots. And flames. Blue, dancing flames teasing her vision like mystical sprites. “I really need to talk to the prisoner. If I can talk to him, I might be able to get him to talk.”
“No.” The king was adamant.
“You won’t even know what to ask him. Neither one of you. You live here, on the inside, in your little bubble. You don’t know how to exist on the outside.” She looked at Falden, an apology in her gaze as she spoke the truth. “Your warriors don’t know how to blend in, how to shop, how to drive a car. We can spot you guys a mile away. You need me. I can get answers for you.”
“It’s too dangerous, Bella. No.” Falden understood her desire, but he didn’t like it. No fucking way was she getting anywhere near their prisoner. The thought of Isabella putting herself in such a precarious situation made him want to kill something. Fear gripped him with cold, hard talons. Only centuries of self-control kept him from throwing her over his shoulder, taking her off planet where she would be safer and pounding his cock inside her until she couldn’t remember her own name. How had his small, fearless female managed to discover an intergalactic Blood Market? She had no idea how much danger she was in. None.
Falden took her hand and began pulling her out of the room, his need to protect her boiling over into anger. “Dagan. Sasha. We’ll get back to you. Isabella and I need to talk.”
“Certainly,” the queen responded, her blue eyes filled with worry. “It was nice to make your acquaintance, Isabella. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”
“Thank you,” Isabella shouted to make sure the queen heard, cringing at the volume. Falden had whisked her out of there so fast she felt winded.
Chapter Eight
Fury wasn’t the correct word for the simmering heat hiding just beneath her overheated skin as Falden escorted her to another safe area of the base.
She knew a prison when she saw one. Even if it was a very nice prison, with a fluffy sofa, a large—very large—bed and a television screen on a swivel mount so she could watch mindless fluff while seated on either piece of furniture.
Falden stood behind her as she looked her fill of the room. It was about the size of a large hotel room, and there was one door, behind which she assumed she would find a bathroom with all the necessary facilities.
“So I’m to wait like a good little girl while you go talk to the bad guy?”
“You will be safe here.”
“I want to talk to him.”
“You will not—”
She was too angry to allow him to finish. “The bad guy you only caught because of me, I might add. I would bet anything he was there that night to find me, not you. I lured them out of hiding. I did the months of work to find him. To make them trust me. I am the one who risked everything to help Sevron track down those assholes.”
“And if I had not been there, they would have killed you and your friend, Jessica.”
That stopped her cold and made her shiver. She wasn’t an idiot. He was right. She’d probably be dead if not for him. But why keep her from talking to a prisoner? The bad guy had to be surrounded by guards. How dangerous could it be? “I never thanked you for that. I would be dead if not for you. It’s true.”
“Isabella.”
She didn’t turn around at the entreaty in his voice, sensing him behind her. Closer than he’d been before, his heat at her back. The fact that she ached for him to wrap his arms around her and make her feel safe, cared for, protected, just made her angrier. She’d been a fool. The sex had been good. Great, actually. But now that he’d betrayed her trust at the first opportunity, she realized that she’d just been a job to him. A stopover on his mission. He didn’t care what she wanted. He didn’t care about her story, her investigation into this Blood Market, or her desire to protect her friends. People were disappearing off the streets. Good people. But that was irrelevant in the world of Falden and his king. The truth was, if he hadn’t been injured, he never would have stayed with her. Never spoken to her.
Never touched her.
Why did that thought hurt so much?
The room spun for a moment, and she swayed on her feet, hiding her weakness by grabbing the back of the sofa.
“I want to talk to him.” Her chest ached from breathing too hard, too fast, and her head was spinning its way down to her stomach. With every breath she took, nausea rose and fell like a tide with the moon. “You won’t know what to ask him. You don’t even know who he is.”
The headache she’d been holding at bay settled into a pounding hum in the background of her mind as she fought back the wavy lights that her rage had brought to life in her vision. Curling her free hand into a fist, she pressed it to her temple and took a deep breath. “He won’t talk to you. He won’t talk to any of you.”
“He will.” The grim determination in Falden’s deep voice made her tremble. There was resolve in his tone. “I promise you, he will tell me everything.”
Spinning to face him, she lifted her chin to stare up into his ice-blue eyes with every ounce of fire she could muster. She would not back down. Not about this. “Did you know about the Blood Market?”
“On other worlds, yes. But not here.”
“So, what is it? How do we shut it down? I have to tell the police. Or the government. They can’t just take people and e
at them. Vampires aren’t real, Falden. Aliens, fine. But vampires? Why do they want human blood?”
“That information would place you in even greater danger, Bella. I cannot say.”
“Can’t? Or won’t?” Good God. More secrets. More bullshit. More proof that he didn’t trust her, that he didn’t feel the same way about her that she was afraid she was feeling about him. One more person in her life who didn’t find her worthy. Who would use her and throw her away. Why had she hoped for more? “Fine. Keep your secrets and get out.”
Even as the words left her mouth, her body screamed a denial. Her heart broke as if someone squeezed the fragile organ in an iron fist, ground it into mush with no strength and no form. There were no broken bits or shattered pieces. Only pain.
He stepped closer. “No. You are in no condition to be left alone. I will summon a doctor and stay until she arrives. You swayed a moment ago. Your headache is worse than you are saying. I can see the pain in your eyes.”
“You see nothing, Falden.” With a sigh, she turned away from him, unwilling to continue the fight now that she had realized exactly how little she meant to him. “Absolutely nothing.”
Her denial only fueled his frustration. Seeing her shoulders slumped, her skin flushed, the stark lines of pain around her eyes, stirred a protective instinct within him the strength of which he had never dealt with before. He protected the royal Lumerian bloodline. He’d done so his entire life. But this was different. Darker. Irrational.
And only for her.
Something deep within him stirred, hungry and feral and completely lacking in reason. An irrational part of him wanted what he could not have, a full bonding with her, a mate. He wanted the soul-searing experience of a full Lumerian Yielding, yet knew that was not his fate. Not ever.
Still, he wanted her. Naked. Exposed. Submissive. He needed release, and she was the only one who could ease his suffering.
Alien Knight Blind Date Disaster (Lumerian Knights Book 3) Page 13
