“You can’t stop—you agreed to the test,” V’rone growled. Stepping forward, he offered her his big hand in a challenging way. “Or are you afraid, little Terra?”
“I am not little.”
Terra put her still-tingling hand on her full hip, sizing him up. He seemed bigger than the other two, though all of them were tall and muscular. Also, the tattoo-like marks on his arms were thick, black slashes, unlike the curving script-like markings on Tem’s arms. His features were fierce—a nose that had been broken more than once and thin but sensual lips.
“I’m not little,” she repeated. “And I’m not afraid,” she added.
Reaching forward, she grabbed for his hand as though she was going in for a very aggressive handshake.
V’rone’s long, strong fingers closed over hers and he pulled her close—right up to his broad chest.
Terra gave a little gasp and his scent filled her nose—hot and wild like flames burning some dark, spicy wood. At the same time, she felt the strange tingle again, tightening her nipples and making her feel suddenly swollen between her legs. This time, however, she refused to give any acknowledgement of the outlandish feeling. She simply held the handclasp and stared up into the big Monstrum’s black compound eyes.
“You feel it, don’t you? I know you do,” V’rone growled. “Don’t lie to me, little Terra, because I sure as all Seven Hells feel the sign—the sign that means you’re our Queen.”
Then, suddenly, the black, multifaceted eyes changed—they seemed to flip up, like an extra eyelid, revealing human-looking eyes beneath. Well, human-looking except for the fact that his irises were a deep maroon color, a shade darker than his skin.
“Oh!” The change startled Terra and she snatched her hand away. “How did you do that—what did you do?” she asked, gesturing to his eyes.
“What—you mean my compound lenses?” V’rone asked, frowning.
“Whatever you want to call them—you had insect eyes a minute ago and now suddenly they look human. Well, almost human,” Terra amended.
He shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling.
“I wanted to have a look at your through my binocular vision. Compound vision is excellent for battle or surveillance, but not fuckin’ great for up-close encounters.”
“Can…do all of you have those, uh, lenses?” Terra asked, looking at all of them.
“We do, but you won’t usually see them unless we’re confronted by some kind of danger or feeling, er, aggressive.” Tem shot V’rone a pointed look. V’rone looked back for a moment, then away.
Terra had the idea that some kind of nonverbal communication had passed between the two big Monstrum. Something like, Don’t frighten her off! And, Sorry—didn’t mean to!
“That’s very interesting—your eyes, I mean,” she said, gesturing to the red warrior’s face. “It seems to be one thing you three have in common despite your differences.”
“We are all very different, but we are united in our quest to find our Queen,” Rive said in a low voice.
Terra turned towards him, intrigued all over again by the green warrior. He stood there silently, staring at her from behind those black rimmed glasses of his. They reflected her own image back to her, making it impossible to see his eyes or read his expression.
“Should I touch you, too?” she asked, walking over to him.
He shrugged, as if what she did didn’t matter to him.
“If you wish to.” But he didn’t put out a hand like V’rone or beg for her touch the way Tem had. He just stood there, looking down at her, an unreadable expression on his face.
The markings on his bare, muscular arms were more angular, Terra thought. They looked almost like an equation written in an alien language she couldn’t read. And his scent…his scent reminded her a little of the library or the book store, with a deep, alluring, masculine spice underneath it.
She was reminded abruptly of hiding in the stacks of the public library back when she was a kid, avidly devouring the spicy romance book she’d found in the adult’s only section and hoping like hell a librarian didn’t walk by and catch her with the forbidden reading material.
What a strange thought—such an odd memory to come up with! But she couldn’t help it—that was the feeling she got from Rive. He looked cool and superior on the outside, but she couldn’t help imagining there was a fire under that calm façade—a fire only the right woman could bring out.
Not that I’m the right woman, she told herself hastily. But still…she did like a challenge.
“If I’m supposed to be your Queen, then let me touch you,” she said to him.
Wordlessly, the big Monstrum dropped to one knee, just as Tem had. Terra wished she could see his eyes, but they were still hidden behind the glasses, which she could now see definitely grew out of his temples and met at the bridge of his aquiline nose. He had the most beautiful mouth, she thought, his lips molded perfectly.