The Alion King: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Paranormal Dating Agency Book 6) (4 page)

SEVEN

Alyx glanced at the men surrounding his dinner table. The wolves had shown up unexpectedly. They wanted to talk to him about giving them back the river territory, but he’d already assured the Dragos it was theirs. The Dragos were the dragon species inhabiting the south central part of the planet which bordered with the Ice Mountains.

“Brecc and Eros,” Alyx sighed. “I can’t give you the White River.”

The Alpha and Omega glanced at each other. Used to getting their way, they didn’t understand what his issue was with returning their river.

“We’ve had the White River for a long time,” Brecc said.

“I understand,” Alyx assured him. “But the Dragos are in need. They don’t have the ability to withstand the temperatures your people do. They are in hibernation until they find a mate for their leader. They need use of it.”

Brecc frowned. His white hair floated over his shoulders and coupled with his white coat of fur; he appeared to be straight out of a blizzard. “We will share.”

Alyx nodded. “This we can do. I can give you both access, as long as you don’t attack them for using it. It is their right as much as yours.”

Alyx wished he could read Brecc’s and Eros’s minds. He knew they wanted a mate badly, but couldn’t find the right female. He snorted internally. Join the damn crowd. It appeared they were all having shitty luck in love.

Karel entered the dining room with a massive grin on his face. “Excuse me. We have an additional guest for the evening: Mrs. Gerri Wilder.”

Ah, shit.

“The matchmaker?” Brecc and Eros said in unison.

Gerri walked into the room with the air of a queen. Alyx saw the twinkle of triumph in her eyes the moment he met her gaze. He stood, along with the others, to show respect.

“Gerri.”

“Alyx,” she grinned, “Brecc and Eros, right?” she asked the wolves.

“Our pleasure,” Eros said. He glanced at Brecc with interest. “We were not aware you would be here so soon since your last visit.”

Gerri shrugged. “It was a bit unexpected.” She made her way up to the seat Alyx pulled for her. “Thank you.”

“Glad to see you made it back well,” he said.

“I’m great,” she said.

“How long will you be here?” Brecc asked.

Gerri glanced at Alyx. “I’m not sure. As long as it takes, I guess.” She turned to smile at Brecc. “Sometimes, people have a hard time seeing things.”

Alyx opened his mouth to speak when his cousin, Nadeeya, showed up. She wore a traditional, Aurora-silk scarf in a shade of gold twined into a dress.

“Alyx.” She nodded at him. Then she turned to Brecc and Eros. “Welcome back.” Her gaze narrowed, and the smile faltered when she saw Gerri. “Wilder.”

Gerri lifted a brow. “Lioness. How are you?”

Nadeeya smiled. She proceeded to sit in a chair to Alyx’s right across from Gerri. “Can’t complain. Alyx does a great job of taking care of me.”

Gerri’s lips tipped in a wide smile. “Then I am sure it will make it so much easier to find him a bride.”

“What?” Nadeeya screeched, her eyes shooting daggers at Gerri. “He’s already searched high and low. None are to his approval,” she said with disdain. “What can you possibly do?”

Gerri glanced at Alyx. “I can give him what he wants. A mate. A queen.”

“Will you be here awhile?” Brecc asked with interest. “We want to ask you some questions.”

Gerri nodded. “I’d be happy to speak to you after I handle what I came here for.”

“But, Alyx,” Nadeeye hissed, “why are you doing this? I already told you—”

Alyx glared at his cousin. “What I do is none of your business.” His voice grew deep and angry with his animal. “Don’t question me again. You
will
regret it.”

Nadeeya slumped back in her seat. She shut her mouth and continued to glare at Gerri.

She was the youngest of his female cousins and prone to outbursts, but he wouldn’t tolerate them when he was conducting business.

“Tell us how you’ve been doing, Gerri. I love that you’ve given us the ability to send our guys there to get time on Earth,” Karel said. He looked at Brecc and Eros. “You might consider visiting. I had a great time the days I spent there.”

The wolves glanced at each other. “We will discuss it within the pack.”

Alyx was glad something had taken the angry look off their faces.

“Gerri, we need to talk,” he said.

Gerri’s eyes glowed the gold that said her wolf was close to the surface. “Alyx, I’m here to help you. Would you prefer we discuss this in your office?”

He nodded. “Later tonight. We’ll sit down and see what we can decide.”

Karel motioned for more food to be brought out.

EIGHT

Bella woke with a start. Her heart raced, and she was sweaty, her clothes clinging to her body. She glanced down at the bedding. This wasn’t her room. Then she remembered. She was on another planet. Holy crap! The room lights brightened the moment she sat up. It was weird as hell to have a room adjusting to her moods and emotions.

She wondered what the room would do if she got horny. Would a TV pop out of the walls showing a porn video and vibrators fall from the ceiling?

She laughed at her own stupidity. Vibrators. Right. This was a more advanced planet. She bet the damn room would send her a man.

There was no sense of time, and she couldn’t figure out how late it was. All she knew was that she was hungry and supposed to check out the library. She threw on a robe she found in the closet. It had an awesome monogram of her initials, along with a lion on it. She had no idea how Gerri had arranged for her to get monogrammed clothes in two days’ time.

She threw on a pair of slippers and peeked out her door. There weren’t any sounds she could make out. She hurried down the hallway to the stairs she’d come up with Gerri and went down one level. Instead of taking the turn that brought her to the second set of stairs, she made a right and went down a hallway with giant windows to the outdoors. She stopped and glanced out. Her breath stilled in her chest. There were two moons. How the hell were there two moons?

“This is some Twilight Zone type shit I got myself into,” she mumbled.

When she got to the area she felt was right around where the room she’d been sleeping, she saw two double doors with the same lion emblem on them. She knocked. No noise came from inside. Slowly, she turned the knob and pushed one of the doors. The room was like a museum.

Giant in size, filled with books and artwork she’d never seen. She rushed in and closed the door behind her. Immediately, she browsed the cases of leather-bound books. Shit. They weren’t in English. Careful not to hurt any of the bindings, she pulled one out of its spot on the shelf and glanced at it. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear it was ancient Egyptian. How could they have ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs in books?

The scent of food caught her attention. She turned to her left and saw a tray of meat, bread, and fruit sitting there. Gerri must have arranged for her to eat. Thank goodness, she’d been starving.

She took the book with her to the massive, wooden desk and sat on the biggest chair she’d ever seen, which sat across from an even bigger one. She felt like Goldie Locks, except she was dark as chocolate and her hair was definitely not golden.

The food didn’t look familiar, but her stomach growled and her mouth watered. She knew she was hungry. She might get sick later, but she needed food now. There was a note next to the food.

Enjoy. -G.

Gerri was just awesome. At first bite, flavors exploded on her tongue. She chewed and moaned with each bite. That whole travel thing had taken a lot more out of her than she realized. She picked up a glass of what smelled like fruity wine and took a gulp. It was delicious. The flavors of different fruits combined with what she could only assume was a different kind of liquor and shot straight to her head. She couldn’t stop drinking it. It was addictive and so delicious. Once she’d had a glassful, she put the empty cup down and picked up what looked like a strawberry, but of a deep blue color.

“What are you doing in here?” asked a deep, male voice that scared her half to death.

She dropped the berry and shot to her feet, her heart pounding so hard she swore it was going to pop out of her chest. “Are you out of your fucking mind?” She didn’t bother looking at the man who scared her. Instead, she bent down to pick up the fruit from the expensive-looking carpet before it stained. “I can’t believe I almost messed up this carpet. It looks like it’s worth more than my entire life savings.”

“Did you just curse at me?” asked the same voice, now with a note of shock.

She rolled her eyes and got up. “Yes, I cursed at you, but to be fair, you deserved it after scaring the shit out of me. Hasn’t anyone ever told you to make noise so you don’t give a person a heart attack?” Finally turning to glare at the man. “You shouldn’t…”

She gulped, forgetting what she was going to say momentarily when her gaze collided with a giant. Holy shit. It was Bigfoot! And Bigfoot was sexy as hell. Weren’t giants supposed to be ugly? She could tell the man was so tall she’d need a ladder to get up close and personal with his face.

With big broad shoulders and a mane of long hair the color of sand, he would not be someone anyone could forget. Then there were his eyes, flashing a bright, golden hue she’d never seen in all her thirty-five years. Unlike her dark chocolate skin, his was pale and glistened with sweat. Like he’d been running around in his almost-see-through shirt.

Her gaze dropped to his crotch and stayed there. She should look away.
Look away
. He was staring at her, and she was staring at his dick. What the fuck was wrong with her?

“I shouldn’t what?” he asked. The soft rumble of his voice gave her goose bumps.

She fought her hormones for dominance, trying to remember why she’d been annoyed. The hint of a grin on his face pissed her off even more. He knew she’d been staring at him.

“I almost destroyed priceless heirlooms. You shouldn’t scare people. I could have choked on my food,” she snapped, glowering at the sexy bastard.

He raised a dark brow and glanced at the almost-empty plate. “Your food?”

“Are you hard of hearing? Because if I have to repeat everything I say, it’s going to take all night telling you to make some noise so you don’t kill a person by scaring them half to death.”

He nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets, and took a careful step forward. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

She pushed the uneaten food away from the book she’d been glancing through. “Is it your turn to use the library?”

He blinked, his gaze filled with amusement. “I don’t usually ask for a turn.”

“That’s right. It’s probably available for people to come in and out at all times, no?”

The way he stared at her made her hot and uncomfortable—like she was a glass of that wine she’d been drinking, all tasty and delicious. Men didn’t usually look at her like that, and it was kind of scary and exciting at the same time.

“I have access all the time. Day or night,” he said slowly.

She took a step back, adding some space between her and the big, sexy man. “Well, uh, this is a really nice library. Gerri told me to check it out. I think she’s probably off doing some serious matchmaking already. I sort of feel bad for the king, though.”

He stopped mid-stride and frowned. “Why? He’s able to take care of himself. There should be no need to feel bad for him.”

She snorted a giggle. “Have you seen Gerri? She’s going to make it her business to get that guy a woman, whether he likes it or not.”

His lips pressed into a tight, thin line. “I know. She’s very hardheaded.”

“Ah, don’t be angry. I’m sure whatever she does, he’s got coming. She mentioned he was a pain in the ass.”

“Oh, the king is definitely a pain in the ass,” he agreed.

She nodded, feeling more at ease talking about a king to someone she didn’t know. “I see you agree with Gerri. She said he’s difficult. Do you think he’s difficult?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. I guess it depends what it is you want from him. He likes things his way. Without any excuses. He feels he could find his own mate without any help.”

“Did it work?” She blinked.

“No. Gerri was right. He needs help.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Can you imagine him thinking he could find himself a wife and then failing?” She winced. “Ouch. I bet that didn’t sit well with him. Some big, macho guy failing at what he was so sure he could do without any help? That’s gotta hurt.”

He continued watching her as she backed away farther, putting the giant desk between them. “Are you afraid?”

She stopped and slapped her hands on her wide hips. “Hell, no! Why should I be afraid? Not like you all eat humans.” She bit her lip and felt her blood run cold. “Do you eat humans?”

He barked a laugh that changed his features from darkly sensual to gorgeous and smoking hot. “Maybe we do. You are tiny.”

She tapped her foot on the carpet. “I am not tiny. I’ll have you know I’m a big girl, thank you very much. I’m considered quite big on Earth. In fact, most men don’t want a girl as big as me, because this is not what society deems to be beautiful or sexy. So don’t you call me tiny.”

Another wide smile spread over his lips, sucking the air out of her lungs. “You’re growly and feisty. I like that.”

Oh, brother. “I should go.”

He shook his head. “Why? It doesn’t bother me to have you here. Stay.”

She was so damn tempted, especially with the way he pushed the rest of the fruit to the other side of the desk—the side with the massive chair lined with gold and a big lion’s crest in the center.

“I guess I can stay for a little while.” She offered her hand to him and smiled. “I’m Isabella. Everyone calls me Bella.”

“Trey.” He said, grabbing her hand and lifting it up to his lips.

A hot shudder raced down her spine and shot straight to her pussy. “Nice to meet you, Trey.” Thank god he couldn’t read her mind, or he’d know she was having some downright filthy thoughts about getting his gorgeous face between her legs.