Invasion Earth by Loribelle Hunt Read Free Book Online Page B

they’d been on the other
side of the ship she’d be able to see Earth and the vast Delroi
armada. These rooms had been chosen for that reason, a small
concealment of their real strength.
    He met her gaze, nodded, but didn’t speak.
After a few seconds she returned her perusal to the window before
her. She was as composed as any leader he’d ever met and that left
him uncertain. He hated uncertainty. He’d been on Earth for two
years, insinuating his way into the Earth Army. He’d had some
opportunity to study her.
    She was calm. Controlled. Brilliant.
Practically a legend to her own people. As far as the symbolism
went, there was no better choice than Sergeant Major Laney
Bradford. A well respected leader of Earth mating one of the ruling
sons of Delroi. Perfect. Except he couldn’t believe she would go so
peacefully, give in so easily. Not this woman. Not the Butcher of
Roses. Alrik wasn’t worried and that was fine. But it was Barak’s
job to think of these things. His job to stay one step ahead. Which
is why he’d been lurking in the hallway when she’d spoken to
Eldridge. That one was up to no good. Barak just hadn’t figured out
how yet.
    “I’ve seen you before,” she said, her voice
low, a little husky with an edge of steel under it. “Wearing the
uniform of one of my brigades.”
    He got the message. Sergeant Major Bradford
was not a woman to be taken lightly. She turned around to face him.
Her hands hung loosely at her sides, her chin tilted slightly up in
the air. He had a vision of her garbed formally for court standing
before the throne back home that nearly knocked him to his knees.
It wasn’t just her beauty or her composure. It was the fiery
intelligence blazing from her eyes that nearly did him in.
    She arched one eyebrow, her lips twisting
into a wry half smile. “What? Did you think I didn’t know I had
Delroi spies in my midst?”
    He stared at her, unsure how to reply. He
must be slipping. She chuckled and slid a finger down the side of
her face.
    “The tattoos are distinctive.”
    He nodded and rubbed his palm over the tribal
markings over the right side of his face. Of course they were. But
most people didn’t pay close enough attention to recall where
they’d seen them and he made a huge effort not to catch the notice
of the more observant ones. He’d underestimated her.
    She smiled, her eyes flashing a challenge.
“So what do we do about it? Spying on me on Earth. Spying on me
here. One assumes you aren’t operating without direction.”
    An accusation against Alrik? He bowed deeply
to her, as he would on Delroi when she was Alrik’s acknowledged
mate. Surprise flashed across her face before it was quickly
concealed. He grinned.
    “I am an insomniac roaming the halls at
night, my lady. Nothing more or less.”
    Again she raised one of those perfectly
arched eyebrows. “I must be the Queen of England then.”
    With those parting words she left the room
and he went in search of a computer to find out who this mysterious
queen was.
     
    ***
     
    Alrik woke hard and wanting. And alone. He
panicked for a minute before reason set it. Laney was on board a
spaceship in orbit; he felt her presence nearby. She couldn’t go
far. And they were bonded, which would hold her close even more
than the physical captivity. All the warriors on board knew she was
his der’lan . No one would aid her escape or dare harm
her.
    He crawled out of bed and into the shower,
setting the hot spray to pound in to his tense shoulders. His der’lan was going to be more difficult to woo than he
thought. He shouldn’t have been surprised and maybe a part of him
expected it. She was not the kind of woman who’d easily submit and
that pleased him. But as the humans would say, it chapped his ass
at the same time. There was the bond but there was also a different
kind of connection. Or was that just chemistry? Was his desire to
know her, know what made her tick a result of merging biologies or
something else?