“Men,” he called, his penetrating stare never veering from her face. “Escort the women to the dining hall. The ceremony will soon begin.”
“Ceremony?” she asked.
With an air of eager anticipation, the warriors leaped into action. One of them tried to grab her arm, but Valerian stopped him with a feral, “I’ll escort this one,” even as she slapped at the offender’s hand.
“As you wish, my king.”
King? King!
Footsteps echoed through the cavern.
Once again, the women were all smiles, happily trailing their captors.
“Who do you desire?” one warrior asked another.
“The redhead. Her breasts are...”
Their chatter faded.
A single man remained behind. Or perhaps he’d been waiting in the cave. He wasn’t drenched like everyone else, his white shirt and tight black pants completely dry.
Valerian released her from his stare to face the remaining warrior. “How are the prisoners?” he asked.
Prisoners? Her eyes widened, and she clutched at her throat, the barbed lump back in place.
The man gave a brusque answer in that odd language Valerian had used earlier, but he—the freaking king—shook his head. “Speak in the human tongue.”
“Alive,” the man responded with a frown.
Human tongue.
That wasn’t the first time he’d referred to her as a human, implying he himself was something else entirely. Like the creature of myth he claimed to be...
“Have they given you any trouble?” Valerian asked.
“None at all, my king.”
“Very good. Continue to see to their needs.” He waved in dismissal, scowled, then called the man back. “Has there been any word about our females?”
“None.”
“Very well.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “On with you.”
The man nodded and clomped off, leaving her alone with her abductor.
“What prisoners?” Shaye asked on a trembling breath. Would she end up in a prison cell?
“Dragon shape-shifters. Killers.”
Dragon shape-shifters. Valerian is insane, plain and simple.
He traced his knuckles along her cheekbone, and she shivered. The water in his hair had dried somewhat, lightening the locks to a rich, honey gold. Several strands fell over his forehead. Part of her longed to reach up and smooth those strands away.
Part of her was clearly insane.
“Do not fear,” he added, “for the dragons won’t be allowed near you. Some are to be gifts for my friend Layel, and some are to be used as bargaining chips.”
His delusions were more than her fragile mind could deal with right now. “The ceremony,” she repeated. “Tell me.”
In an instant, he radiated possessive intensity without a hint of amusement.
“The men,” he said, “will chose their lovers.”
She’d been right. Sex slaves. “And if the women protest?” she croaked.
“They won’t.”
Too cocky! “But if they do?”
His frown returned. “They’ll never be forced.”
Truth or lie? “What if they’re too scared to protest?”
He thought for a moment. “If you’d like to speak with every woman before she joins her warrior, to ascertain her desires for yourself, you may.”
The offer surprised her.
He flattened his hands on the boulder behind her, caging her in. Electric shocks skittered through her.
Icy rock at her back, pure heat in front.
“What are you doing?” She hated the breathless quality in her voice.
“Right this moment? Wishing you were kissing me. In a few seconds from now, showing you our world.”
He twisted his wrists, and the huge rock wall slid backward. She would have stumbled, but Valerian caught her by the waist and turned her, his chest pressing against her spine.
The contact delighted her body while irritating her mind.
She watched, flabbergasted, as the wall descended, a smooth, glassy crystal suddenly exposed. Her jaw dropped as water flowed behind the enclosure, and sand swirled at the sea’s bottom. Pink coral and multicolored fish danced a lazy waltz around emerald plants.
“Breathtaking, isn’t it?” Warmth fanned the back of her neck.
As she peered out, trying to come to grips with the bounty before her, a gorgeous woman swam up to the crystal. No, not a woman. Shaye gasped. A mermaid. A bare-chested, tail-wagging mermaid.
Her knees shook. The creature frowned...until her gaze latched on to Valerian. She smiled and waved, pleasure gleaming in her eyes.
“You know her?” Shaye managed to say.
He nodded but didn’t elaborate.
The woman—mermaid—had the face of an angel, innocent, lovelier than a long-awaited sunrise. Long black hair curled around delicate shoulders and lush breasts. Her tail glimmered like spun glass, different shades of violet, yellow, green and pink creating a kaleidoscope of color on every scale.
“Do you believe me now?” Valerian asked.
How could she not?
“I...do.” The admission left her on a ragged breath.
She had been transported to a mythical world. The man behind her wasn’t human but a nympho—oops, a nymph.
“What’s the difference between a nymph and a nympho?” The words trembled as they left her.
“Nymphs are—everything! Everything is different.”
Basically, they were the same. A sexual being, both seductive and irresistible. Obsessed with sex. Or rather, addicted to sex. Probably willing to sleep with anything that moved. Perhaps able to give pleasure to others with only a glance...or a whispered word. Definitely beauty personified.
Valerian fit the description completely, and that frightened her so much more than if he’d said he was a soul-sucking demon from the deepest depths of hell.
