Warden (Elemental Paladins Book 1) by Montana Ash Read Free Book Online Page B

hers. Although he was actually inclined to believe her original tale of ignorance in light of that animated face, he was also cautious by nature and he had never been a fan of coincidence or serendipity. The chances of his boys stumbling upon a stray warden were miniscule. So he was going to see what he could scare out of the female.
    Despite what his stupid dick seemed to think, he was most definitely not happy to see her. The foolish thing had been hard as a rock ever since she stepped into the room. Everything about her seemed to rev his engines, from her voice, to her sarcasm and her wit. He appreciated a woman who could hold her own in a conversation. But what grabbed at his gut the most were those eyes of hers. He most definitely did not think her eyes were the most expressive, the most magical eyes he had ever seen. They were turquoise. There was no other colour that described them. They looked like the colour of the clearest of bays in the warmest of seas. He wondered if they would darken with desire during sex or perhaps lighten in the throes of ecstasy. Stupid dick!
    “Perhaps it’s you who would like to take a picture, hmmm?”
    Ryker could hear the knowing smirk in her voice and it made his teeth grind. A pair of pretty eyes – and even prettier breasts – would not be enough to make him forget she was a warden with a very suspicious and questionable history. He crossed his arms over his chest and returned to the matter at hand, “Where are you from?”
    Perfectly shaped eyebrows rose over mocking eyes, “Australia. I figured the accent would give me away. Yours is fairly close but not that of a native. Pommy?” She questioned.
    He had actually been born in England but hadn’t lived there for over fifty years. His accent only came out these days when he was very angry, very stressed … or very aroused. At the moment he was all three so he supposed it made sense that she was able to pick it. She was very observant and astute, he realised. She was also quite adept at taking the focus away from herself.
    “Where were you born?” He didn’t believe in using twenty words when four were enough.
    “Australia.”
    She grinned and his dick twitched from the clear challenge in her eyes. She would rue the day she chose to take him on. He stalked forward, power in each step, until he hovered over her much smaller frame. “You are an unbound warden with no Order in my territory. I am within my rights to report you to the Council and let them deal with you as they see fit. Believe me, they would not be so accommodating.”
    That was a total and utter lie of course. The Council was made up of a bunch of self-righteous, pretentious wankers and would no doubt be thrilled with the discovery of a new warden. Warden births were few and far between and after the massacre half a century ago the numbers had dwindled drastically. It was why the wardens were safeguarded so zealously now. The Council would celebrate her appearance and grant her all the trappings her station afforded. He could see the frowns on the faces of Darius, Lark and Beyden but they were too well trained to voice their discontent. Beyden and Lark were the softest of the bunch and although they were fierce soldiers he knew they would have been content to never fight a day in their lives. Darius’s disapproval, Ryker knew, was due to him being a gentleman. A male just didn’t treat a female like Ryker was. He wholeheartedly agreed with Darius really, but lying would serve a twin purpose. Firstly, it would reveal if she already had knowledge of the Council and she had in fact been lying to them. It should also induce her to be more cooperative if she felt threatened. Axel and Cali didn’t seem too concerned, but then Cali was a practical woman and Axel was … well, Axel was a bit of a dick. Ryker really liked him.
    Max frowned, “There is so much I don’t understand in that statement. Unbound warden? Order? Council?” She rubbed her forehead with a