Queen of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms, #5)(32)

“Fucking hussy,” I whispered, which caused Greer’s head to lift.

“Peasant, so nice of you to call upon our king,” he shouted before a genuine happiness filled his eyes. “I hope you shan’t be too long away from us?”

My smile faltered at his choice of words, but the sound of scraping below distracted me from pondering it. When I looked down to see what was causing it, my jaw dropped. Knox was scaling the tower. Fear shot through me as the man literally scaled the tower to reach me.

“What the hell are you thinking? You can’t climb the damn tower, Knox!” I demanded in horror. “Are you insane?”

“Not at all, Little Monster,” he called up in a raspy tone of pure lust that enveloped me like a blanket. “It isn’t the first time I’ve scaled one to reach what I want. Is it?” His eyes sparkled with humor at the horror stamped on my face.

“Brander? Have you not told your brother that he shouldn’t be scaling fucking walls? He’s the king!” I shouted.

Brander shrugged indifferently before calling back, “He’s the king, Aria. No one tells a king what he shouldn’t do. Besides, it would only encourage him to do it more.”

Knox’s hands landed beside mine seconds before he leaped over the railing. I yelped as his palm connected to my throat, jerking me into the hardness of his frame. Butterflies erupted in a kaleidoscope of movement when his flesh pressed against mine. Then he forced my head back, smiling like a predator who’d captured his prey.

“Fucking hell, you’re beautiful, Aria. Here I thought I was imagining the sound of your pretty rattle at first. But then, I caught your lovely scent on the breeze,” he rasped even as he forced me to walk backward into the chamber. “Why the fuck do I smell another male on you?”

“Knox,” I whispered as an uneasiness washed through me.

“Aria?” he growled as his hand tightened on my throat. “Is there another man?”

“No one would ever be you, Knox,” I replied as honestly as I could.

“That didn’t answer my fucking question.”

“I’ve not been with anyone else. No other man has ever had me, except you.” His mouth crushed against mine in an earth-shattering kiss of possession. Knox’s fingers tightened on my jawline, forcing me to open to his deliciously brutal assault. With his kiss, Knox claimed ownership of more than just my mouth. He claimed my fucking soul.

Knox destroyed any resolve I might’ve had. The man was a storm that battered against my defenses and forced them to break into tiny shattered pieces. His other hand slid down my back to cup my ass before he lifted me as if I weighed nothing at all. I slid my tongue against his as a lusty moan bubbled from my lungs, only to be captured by his starving lips.

The moment Knox pulled away, he rattled until my spine arched. Sliding my fingers through his silky strands, I whimpered at the feel of his thick cock rubbing against my center. Closing my eyes, I allowed myself a moment to just feel the utter domination he held over my senses.

“I’ve missed you,” I admitted huskily.

“Have you?” he asked with something worrisome in his tone. “Because if I smell who I think I smell on your flesh, you and I are going to have fucking issues.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I pulled back, and he allowed me to slide down his frame.

“Who the fuck are you hanging out with inside that realm?” he demanded with anger churning in his oceanic depths.

“I’m not following you. Are you asking if I’m fucking someone else? Because I’m not. You’re the only man to know me in that way. Am I with others like me? Yes, but you know that already. So, what is it you really want to know?” Knox jealous, was a terrifying thing to behold.

“I would like to know why the fuck I can smell The Dragon Killer on your flesh, Aria. Tell me why Zyion’s scent is all over my woman.”

I frowned at the title he’d referred to Zyion by. The Dragon Killer. As in, Zyion specialized in killing them? Brilliant. Of course, I’d end up running right into someone Knox hated. Our family histories made it inevitable. When I stepped back, biting my lip anxiously as my cheeks warmed, he prowled forward. Sleek and lethal, like the predator he truly was beneath the veneer. The anger and betrayal stamped on his face forced my heart to race.

“I’ve met Zyion Vicious, Knox. But I didn’t allow him to do anything other than escort me to my room,” I explained with confusion whirling through my mind. “It wasn’t as if he walked up to me and introduced himself by that title when we met.”

“Did he do more than escort you into the chamber? Or was he a gentleman and left the pretty princess at the threshold to her private chamber?” His tone sent a chill racing down my spine. “Because I shouldn’t smell him on you at all if he escorted you to the door. Instead, I can smell his touch on your supple, smooth flesh.”

“I’ve already told you I haven’t fucked anyone.”

I seethed at the accusation he’d thrown at me. Was I completely innocent? No. I had eyeballs, and I’d checked Zyion out. But I wasn’t dead, which meant I could appreciate a hot body or man, without touching or throwing myself at him. I wasn’t cheating by just appreciating an attractive person. Fuck, I’d checked Esme out, and we were platonic—unless, of course, you asked Ember, who swore I was Esme’s best lesbian. If anyone said they didn’t look at someone as hot or as masculine as Zyion was, they were lying, even to themselves. It didn’t mean I wanted him, though.