Page 17 of Red King
Several of the others giggle. Carter all-out laughs.
“You can’t be serious,” the new doctor splutters. He’s an older man who keeps very much to himself.
Marcel looks a little shell-shocked. “Um…well…um…” He shrugs. “You may not date anyone you work with directly.”
“I’m talking about them.” She uses her thumb to point out the window.
“Um…well…” He shrugs again. “There are no rules in place that I know of, but as I mentioned earlier, this is a pilot program, so we’re in unchartered waters. I will have to get back to you on that.” He winces.
“Please do.” Maggie is still looking at the shifters.
“They’re pretty good-looking.” Julia sounds a little out of breath. “Nothing like I imagined they would be.”
“I wouldn’t recommend dating them or anyone,” Marcel says, looking worried. “That kind of thing tends to cause complications. You’re all here to do a job.”
“Yeah, but we’re not on the job twenty-four-seven, and we are here for a whole year, Marcel. Life is too short,” Maggie tells him. “I mean, we’re on an island with gorgeous men…” She clears her throat. “Make that, shifters, where there is an under-supply of women. If there was ever a chance to live a little…this is it.” She licks her lips. “I think I died and went to man-heaven.” She clutches a hand to her chest, staring outside at where the men are standing.
We all follow her gaze. Just then, a fancy car pulls up. Within seconds, the tinted window is lowered. My breath catches as a man leans forward. He removes his sunglasses and looks up at the aircraft. It feels like he is looking straight at me.
I think he has to be the most beautiful man I have ever seen. It might be his eyes; they’re a bright blue. The brightest blue I have ever seen. They’re intense and seem to stare right into the heart of me.
His hair is so blond it’s almost white. His face is…it’s beyond masculine, and yet there are things on it that don’t quite belong on such a manly face. His mouth is full. His lashes are another feature that seem a little out of place but work, nonetheless. They’re long, thick, and black, in complete contrast to his hair. He’s wearing a full suit, complete with a tie.
Gold cufflinks glint in the light as he pushes his Ray-Bans back over his eyes. He pulls back into the shadows, and a second later, the window closes, breaking the spell. I realize I’ve been holding my breath the whole time. I suck in some air, my eyes wide. My mind is reeling because… Holy hell. I’ve never felt sucker-punched just looking at a man before… Only, he’s no man. That much, I can tell. No, I can sense it, just looking at him.
6
Arctic
We’re standing at the entrance to the human accommodation as the new staff members pour into the room. They are looking around and talking among themselves.
“This place is unreal,” a female says, her eyes moving about the large room.
“I can’t believe we have a gym,” a male says. “Did you see the—?” he starts to say when Marcel turns and claps his hands.
“If I can have all of your attention, please.”
It takes a moment or two, but everyone is soon silent.
Steel, Thorn, and I move into the room, and all eyes fall on us.
“I will be leaving first thing tomorrow to collect the Tributes. That means that you have twenty-four hours to settle in and become familiar with your respective positions, work conditions, and living arrangements.” He pauses and smiles. “Before we continue…” He turns to us. “My apologies, Your Majesty…Sire.” He bows first to me and then to Frost before turning back to the humans. “I need to introduce you to some important people. The dragon shifters on Mistveil—”
The humans start whispering among themselves. I catch snippets of conversation, trying to drown them out.
“They’re shifters…”
“…hot…yowza…”
“A king…he’s a king…”
“I wonder if their hair color is natural.”
“…do you think…?”
Everyone speaks at once except for one female, who doesn’t say so much as a word. Her eyes are trained on me, but she looks away as soon as she catches me staring. But not before I discover the color of her eyes; they’re moss green. Her fiery red hair is swept back in a ponytail at the nape of her neck. All of her visible skin is covered in tiny freckles, from the bridge of her nose right down her neck. I suspect that if you stripped her naked, you might find them everywhere.
The human is very unusual looking and yet not unattractive. Just so damned small. Then again, they all are. Are most human females this tiny? Since the males aren’t very impressive, either, I think it must be a human trait.
