The Warlord by Gena Showalter (free ebook reader for pc .txt) 📕

“Yes, I can see you slaved over this delicious meal of—” he glanced at the different platters of food “—pineapple.”

So cooking wasn’t her strong suit. She’d gathered every pineapple in the kitchen. “I wasn’t sure how you preferred it, so I spent extra time preparing it multiple ways. Sliced, smashed, crushed, kicked, choked or smothered. Husband’s choice. And yes, I’m such a good wife. I know.” When she reached him, she realized she had a choice. Link her arm through his and escort him to the table, or walk past him, letting him watch.

When his pupils pulsed, she opted for the latter. She paused only long enough to drag a fingertip over his chest. “Come. Eat. You must be ravenous.” Strolling off...

A sudden vise grip on her arm spun her into him, smashing her breasts into his chest. An involuntary shiver coursed through her. Heat followed.

She swallowed, her bones threatening to melt. “Perhaps you have another meal in mind?”

Roc dipped his head and dragged his nose up her throat, sniffing her. As he straightened, his pupils pulsed again. A heartbeat in his eyes. “I accept your invitation to come and eat.” He sounded...lusty.

Uh, where was the rampaging beast she’d dealt with this morning? “You aren’t afraid I’ll poison you?”

“I’m sure you did, but it doesn’t matter. I’m immune to poison.”

“Yes, but which poison?”

“Every.”

How was that possible?

Gaze steady, he glided his hands up her arms. As she struggled to catch her breath, he settled palms against her nape and toyed with locks of her hair. “We can use the time to get to know each other.”

Seriously, what had brought about his attitude adjustment? “You want to know more about the pre-General you plan to kill?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” His voice dipped, his lusty smolder intensifying. “I’m fascinated by everything else I’ve learned about her.”

“You are?” No, she did not just ask that. And so needy, too! What was even happening right now? He was messing with her head, screwing with her plan, and she wanted it to stop. To get them both on the right track—her track—she asked, “What’s a gravita?”

He jerked and released her, looking to the table. “Let’s talk of more important things while we eat.” With three long strides, he reached the pillows and eased down.

Subject closed.

“May I prepare your meal?” he asked, already spooning multiple pineapple rounds onto her plate.

Now the Commander served her? “You may tell me what’s going on, that’s what you may do.” Taliyah marched over with a huff. “You are Roc-blocking yourself, and you don’t even know it.”

He blinked and said, “I’d rather you tell me more about your life. I’m willing to exchange information, however.”

“The big, bad Roc bargains with a lowly bride? I thought I had no leverage,” she quipped.

He hiked his shoulders, adorably sheepish and utterly unrepentant. “I distinctly remember you finding leverage in my pants.”

He did not just say that. “Okay, I’ll take the bait. We’ll exchange info.” She kinda sorta wanted to know more about him, too. For the cause...mostly. “Drama queen’s first. What do you want to know about my life?”

He flicked her a narrowed glance. “Tell me about your hobbies.”

Easy enough. “I don’t really have hobbies, because I don’t really have downtime. I used to spend my few days off bailing my sisters out of jail, but that’s a chore for their consorts now.” And she wasn’t jealous that the girls had found their other halves. She’d never let herself entertain the idea of a permaguy. Why waste time longing for what you couldn’t have?

Kaia, who’d grown up to be the cruelest, sweetest sister, paired up with a warrior possessed by the demon of Defeat. Strider couldn’t lose a single battle without suffering for days. Bianka, the wild one, shocked everyone by falling for a by-the-book Sent One of immeasurable power named Lysander. Her youngest sister, the indomitable Gwen, went for warmonger Sabin, keeper of the demon of Doubt. Odd pairings, certainly, but her sisters made it work. They’d never been more satisfied.

Since meeting Roc, Taliyah had sampled her own satisfaction. There was no denying it. But it was a temporary thing, and it meant nothing. Roc wasn’t her consort. A harpy had to trust her partner enough to sleep in his presence. The day Taliyah slept near Roc was the day she signed up for another beheading. But. Man, she really hated that word. For the first time, she almost saw the...appeal of a consort.

“Nowadays,” she said, picking up where she’d left off, “I stay busy running interference for my friend Neeka. She’s evading a phoenix king out to gank her.”

Roc handed her the plate he’d prepared, and she noted he’d chosen the best, most unmutilated slices for her. A surprisingly solicitous and respectful gesture.

“Shall I kill the phoenix for you?” he asked.

“What? No! Are you kidding? If I can’t take him out, I don’t deserve to be General. I protect what I love.”

He tilted his head. “Family and friends are important to you?”

Hold up. “If you’re about to threaten my family—”

“You’ll hear no threats from me tonight,” he interjected, all innocence.

Why no threats tonight? “Is family important to you?” Wait. “Do you even have a family? Besides twenty ex-wives, I mean.”

Did he flinch at that? “I have two sisters and a brother,” he said, his expression softening. The boyishness from before came into clearer focus. “You’ve crossed paths with my brother, a fellow Astra, as well as a sister.”

Who... “The witness.” Ahhh. His rebuke during the marriage ceremony suddenly made more sense.

“I miss her and the other,” he admitted.

Ugh, what was going on inside Taliyah’s chest all of a sudden, causing some kind of terrible, amazing tightening sensation? Realizing this larger-than-life enforcer might have a gooey candy center inside his hard outer shell? But, but...that was ridiculous! “You don’t get to see them often?”

“Not nearly as much as I’d like. I see them no more than a handful of times every five hundred years.” He popped