He startled when he saw me. Only then did I notice the giant mahogany desk, and the even more impressive chair at the far end of the room. Had I walked into this office?
He could kill me for this offense, and no one would ever know, if His Majesty did his own dirty work. I prayed he didn’t.
I kicked my shoes off, and used one foot to push them under the chair.
“You’re bleeding.” His voice was as soft as his jacket looked. I didn’t expect that. Everyone knew of King Adalai’s brutality. An omega like me, thought of it daily. But the tender way he sounded now only increased the strange pulsing in my body.
I nodded, hoping it disguised my trembling. The animal that was rumbling just below the surface of my skin. And that pulsing. I crossed my leg over the one with the cut to calm my inner muscles.
He frowned at my feet. There was no way he wouldn’t see the dirt, or the telltale omega slippers that probably weren’t hidden after all...
He’s never been this close to an omega, my wolf said. He doesn’t understand what you are. You have a chance of getting out of this alive.
I had to hope she was right.
“Some dancers bumped into me.” Here I was, telling the king the same half truths that got me into this mess. “I dropped my glass. My shoes got ruined. I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize,” he said. “But I don’t understand why you weren’t dancing too.”
Clever royal. He’d just asked me who I was here with, thinking it would reveal who I was. My mind worked to whip up another of my half-truths in the hopes that when I pieced them together, they would somehow become whole.
“My girlfriends are dancing.” I had no idea if this was how a beta was expected to speak to royalty. All I knew was that omegas never did. And there was the issue of eye contact. I risked everything and looked him in those beautiful onyx eyes. “I don’t have a mate.”
He laughed. My heart stopped beating as it plunged into my stomach. The only movement in the room was my pulsing muscles. This man had an effect on me. Maybe it was his power, the danger of being so close to him, but my body was going absolutely haywire.
“I don’t have a mate either,” he finally said. “But I’d like to dance with you.”
Oh.
He held out his hand. It wasn’t smooth as I might have expected. The king was a warrior who led his armies into battle against the humans. His hands were rough with callouses that would feel good moving along my skin. His nails were short and smooth with no signs of desert dust. He didn’t wear any rings, but his leather cuff was held closed with a diamond link. My own hands were balled in my lap, clammy from fear, and ragged from years of hard work. If nothing else had given my status away, my hands would seal my fate.
Maybe he doesn’t care. My wolf was begging to live on the wild side tonight. And no one denied the king.
I put my hand in his, and he brought it to his lips to kiss it. The soft contact jolted me.
The electric current that shot through my body was enough to make me shift. I squeezed my eyes closed, silently negotiating with my animal as His Majesty pulled me to my feet. His other hand was behind my back, pressing me against his body. Everything about the king was hard and ready for action. The heat that rose from his pants was enough to melt my skin. An image of the two of us naked, showered in moonlight, his lips all over my skin, flashed into my mind.
I took a deep breath, focusing on the roses beside us.
“You like those,” he said. “I saw you admiring them earlier.”
“They remind me of my mother.” Finally, I could tell the truth.
“Mine loved them too. Now look at me, my rose.”
Now that I had his permission, I met his gaze boldly. He had yet to ask me my name, and I wondered what I’d tell him. If now that I was this close to him, I would ever lie again.
The truth was as deadly as not telling it.
Another image flashed before me, of the king in his wolf form. A form that had been ripped away from him. He was even more beautiful as an animal. I steeled myself, like I had to protect him from what was happening in my head. Hardly.
He stepped forward, just missing my bare toes, when the band started their next song. Shit. A beta would know these formal dances.
“You want to dance here?” That was a good save.
“Yes.” The next step came from his hips, and pure instinct took over. I moved in time with his body. “Now that I’ve found you, I want to keep you all to myself.”
Maybe it should have sounded like a threat, but to me and my pulsing body, it somehow sounded like… a promise.
Chapter Five
Adalai
I didn’t have to go far to find my female. Escaping through my office to avoid any unwarranted questions led me right to her. Except she’d been injured and was shaking like a leaf, and the instinct roaring in my chest demanded that I comfort her.
I didn’t understand it. But I wasn’t in the business of questioning my gut. Those instincts had led me down the right path too many times. In war. And pulling this woman close to calm her, definitely felt right.
“I haven’t seen you around here before,” I murmured, not wanting to scare her. She seemed like she was seconds away from running again, even though I held her. There was a strength in her eyes. I could see it there, perhaps even her most admirable trait.
So then why did she seem like sand that could slip through my fingers?
“I don’t attend these celebrations often, my King,” she answered quietly.
“That’s a shame.” I swayed with her to the faint music that drifted through the walls from the ballroom. “I believe you’re the exact delight all my celebrations have been missing.”
“Delight.” She laughed lightly, and still, she trembled even as her gaze remained steady. “No one has ever called me such before.”
“A crime.” Bending forward, I breathed in her scent. Sweet cinnamon and something earthy and unfamiliar. My unshiftable wolf stirred in my chest, loving the smell. “Shall I declare it punishable that a beauty like you isn’t appreciated enough?” I asked. Reminding her of my power didn’t seem like a terrible idea. Seemed necessary even. “Shall I demand that heads roll, my rose?”
She went stiff in my arms at that. “No.” Her voice came out strangled before she quickly cleared her throat and tried again. “No, it isn’t necessary. Of course it isn’t.”
I pulled back, frowning down at her as she lowered her eyes once more.
Any other female would have laughed at the joke. Or at least blushed and swooned at my attempt at romance.
Fuck. I was no good at it. Never had been.
Usually didn’t bother trying. But this time felt different. I wanted her to trust me.
“What is your name?” My voice was rough with desire. It was obvious, but I couldn’t care.
She met my gaze again as her small tongue slipped out to wet her lips. “You first,” she breathed, “Tell me something about you that no one else knows.”
Her eyes were blue. Like sapphires. Looking so deeply made me feel lost for several breaths. Mine, my wolf rumbled inside.
“I worry I will always be alone,” I blurted. “That no female is strong enough to be mine, to walk beside me as a queen should. That this world is too twisted. Too fucked up for me to ever find someone to be one with, as my father before me did.”
Shit.
I slammed my mouth shut. It was the only way to stop the waterfall of secrets from tumbling out.
The music faded.
We went still.
And my female stared at me with so much emotion in those cerulean eyes. Questions and fears of her own. And understanding.
Was she as alone as I was? Surrounded by others, but utterly isolated.
Our dance was finished.
“Your name.” My breath chugged in my chest, every inhale causing her breasts to press against me. I swore I could feel the heat of her skin through the leather of my fine uniform.
<
br /> “You are the king,” she murmured instead, her palms flattening against my chest. “There is no reason you should be alone. You have servants at your call. People who adore you. Any beta in the city would be honored to be yours.”
“None of them feel right. What’s to be done about that?”
She cocked her head to the side, the corner of her luscious mouth twisting ever so faintly upward. “You should probably keep looking.”
A new song started and she swayed, forcing me to move.
A new dance. I’d take every advantage of it. Because I didn’t want her out of my sight. Not now, after I’d stupidly allowed her pretty eyes to drag my innermost thoughts from my lips.
Maybe not ever.
I was the king. I could do that, keep her for as long as I wished.
But that wasn’t what my chest was pounding for. What had my throat dry and my palms sweating like a teenage boy who knew nothing of women or battle.
I wanted her to want what I wanted.
Which was what, exactly? Fuck.
A million betas could say yes to me tonight, and would, like she said. But only her yes would mean anything at all.
“Keep looking, huh?” I spun her carefully around my office, pretending the rug was our dance floor. “Just go through all the beta females one by one until there are no more. And then what? When I run out of betas and none of them are mine, what should I do then?”
The fantasy I had before, of mating with an omega female slammed into my mind, unwelcome and riling my animal even more. I blinked it away, but it grew into something new. A vision this time.
My nameless female beneath me, driving me mad with her scent. Her pheromones turning me into a crazed beast for her body. Her moans like music to my ears. Her claws raking down my back, begging me to ease her as I pounded away, desperate to fill her, to cool her heat.
In my arms, my rose shifted closer, pressing against my aching erection as we swayed. “Hm, running out of betas could be a problem. But I bet you’d find one you like first.”
I eyed her. My wolf was trying to tell me something about her, but I couldn’t grasp it.
“Maybe one I’d never seen before. One who won’t tell me her name. Like you?”
She laughed, softly. Like she didn’t do it often. “Me? Oh, I don’t think you’d find what you’re looking for with me either, my King.”
“No?”
She pressed her lips together and gave a small shake of her head.
“What is it you suppose I’m looking for, exactly?”
“Well…” Did I imagine the way she stepped even closer? We were practically painted together now. She could feel my desire for her, pressing against her belly. “Let’s see… you would need a beautiful female to be your queen. So beautiful that you’d never grow tired of waking next to her in the morning.”
“Mmm.” I let my thumb graze across the skin of her cheek. “One who blushes like a bloom under the morning sun.” The pink of her cheeks spread all the way down her neck with my touch.
Her reaction gave me immense satisfaction.
“What else?”
She narrowed her gaze, studying me as if she could know what I wanted just by looking hard enough.
“A female who was worthy of you. One born into similar ranks.”
I frowned at that, but she tipped her chin up, indicating she was such a female.
“What family are you from?”
“None that you know, my King.”
“I know them all.”
“Not mine.”
“Were you born inside these gates?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
My lips seemed to inch closer to hers with every word. I wanted to taste them. I would before the night was over.
“Tell me who you were born to.”
Closer.
“Not yet.”
Her hot breath mingled with mine, and still, I needed to get closer.
“What else?” I asked.
“You would want a female who does what you tell her.”
“Only sometimes,” I argued. “Like when we make love. I like to be in charge of fucking. I demand a lot, and I give a lot in return.”
Her eyes went wide.
“Any other time, I want my woman to be bold.” I tapped a finger softly at her temple. “I want her to challenge me, with questions.” I moved my finger to her lips, tracing her mouth until she trembled with need. She wanted my kiss as much as I wanted hers. “I want her to tell me when I’m a pain in the ass.”
“You’re a pain in the ass,” she blurted, and then slammed her mouth shut, eyes wide.
The expression on her face was so fucking adorable, I couldn’t even be mad like she clearly expected me to be. Instead, my cheeks spread with a smile I couldn’t keep back. When had anyone ever spoken to me so easily, anyone besides my men?
A chuckle rose in my chest as the music we danced to faded. In response, her smile grew too, until we both laughed freely. Hers sounded like morning bells announcing the sunrise.
Damn.
If anyone saw me now, like this, they’d wonder if I’d gone crazy. And maybe I had. But my rose made me feel…
Free.
Free, when I hadn’t even known I was in chains.
She blinked, the teasing twinkle fading from her eyes until she looked… sad. “My name is—”
But I didn’t want her feeling sad.
I didn’t want the moment to end.
I wanted to forget about duty and my station, and be free a little longer.
So I kissed her.
My mouth crushed hers, too rough at first, but she didn’t pull away. And when she gasped in surprise, I plunged my tongue inside to finally get the taste I’d been aching for. She was sweeter than honey. Hot and sultry, like summer used to be before everything beyond the walls turned to dust.
Her hands moved from my chest to around my neck, tentative at first but when our tongues tangled and danced, she grew bolder, winding her fingers through my hair to demand more. Asking things of me no one else had ever dared.
Easy answer: I’d give her fucking everything.
Feasting on her hot mouth, I backed her all the way up to my desk, her moans guiding me the whole way. Breaking the kiss, I pressed my lips across her jaw and down the column of her neck until I reached the delicious curves that were exposed at the top of her dress.
“I… my King… I…” Her words were breathy. She was losing her mind as fast as I was. “Something is… happening.”
“Mmm, yes, my rose. Something is definitely happening.” Her nails pricked my scalp as I kissed every inch of exposed skin. “You’ll be mine tonight.”
A helpless whimper left her throat. And gods, her scent. I couldn’t get enough of that cinnamon earth. What was it? Why had I never smelled it before?
Her needy hands clamored at my leather, wanting skin. But she was either unfamiliar with undressing a male or too impassioned to work my clothing loose.
Either option was just fucking fine with me.
I released the clasp on my uniform and let it fall open. My rose pressed her palms to my chest, smoothing downward over the ridges of my stomach. Her touch was like flying to heaven, and I closed my eyes to savor it.
A soft growl rumbled from her, and my eyes came open to find her hungry expression staring down at my cock where it bulged the front of my pants.
Yes, female.
“You’ll be mine tonight.” Forever, my animal argued, but I ignored it.
I watched her eyes. Watched her pupils flare until they were almost all black.
“Mm, my King… I…” Her voice had changed. It was smooth and melodic with hints of desperation. She nearly writhed in my arms. “I need… I need something.”
Her scent was growing stronger. I could smell her sweet arousal. She must be nearly dripping between those lithe legs.
“I have everything you need, female. Everything.” I pulled her close to kiss her mouth again, this time
gently, but she wouldn’t have it. She nipped hard at my lips, growling as she pulled back, eyes wide with fear.
Fear?
Definitely fear.
“I have to go,” she hissed, voice ragged. “I have to leave. Command me to.”
I frowned. Command her to leave? When she was so needy, and I’d yet to pleasure her.
Never.
As if she hadn’t just spoke, her lips pressed to my chest, kissing a path downward.
Yesss—
She pushed backward, putting space between us.
“I have to go, I have to go now,” she whispered. “Right now. Leave, just leave.” Was she talking to herself?
She whimpered as I tried to close the distance again.
Need.
Want.
Take.
Have.
Mine.
My wolf roared behind my sternum, and I was nearly drunk with her scent.
She reached for me once again, but jerked her hand back before making contact.
What the hell was happening? What was wrong with my female?
Needs you. Needs you badly.
Then why was she moving so far away? Why was she inching closer to the door?
“My… my King,” she almost whined, her face crinkling into a mask of despair. “I must go now. And you must let me.”
I shook my head, feeling like I was in a great fog. Moving through jelly. Nothing was working anymore, least of all my wits.
I watched a single tear streak down her soft cheek, leaving a tiny trail of lighter skin beneath it. I knew what it meant, even if I couldn’t bring myself to admit it yet.
Not yet.
I had to hold her. Keep her. Until I could think straight. Sort out what was happening with us.
But before I could reach her, she turned, holding her stomach like she would be sick, and ran out of the office.
Ran away. Slipping through my fingers like desert sand.
Chapter Six
Zelene
This throbbing in my body, the crazed snarling of my inner wolf. I recognized what it was. I was in heat. A complication I hadn’t seen coming. Now I had to get out of the castle before I seduced His Majesty.
His Forbidden Omega (The Royal Omegas Book 1) Page 3