Chapter 9 #3
I moved. Not with the pool noodle. With the horse. I paddled hard with my legs, pushing the inflatable steed forward. Water churned around us as the pink horse surged toward hers. The impact was just enough to knock her balance sideways.
Jessica wobbled. Her arms windmilled wildly as she tried to stay upright. For a split second, she was completely exposed. I lifted my pool noodle. Gave her a gentle tap right in the center of her chest.
Jessica toppled backward with a furious scream, splashing into the bright blue water in a wave big enough to soak half the contestants standing at the pool's edge.
Silence fell. For one strange moment the entire set froze. I sat alone on my ridiculous pink horse in the middle of the pool, water dripping down my arms and legs, my heart pounding from the sudden burst of adrenaline. During our spat, every other contestant had been eliminated.
"And the winner is—" Chet's voice cracked through the speakers, breathless with excitement. "Victoria!"
The crowd exploded. Cheers. Applause. Camera flashes popping like fireworks. Confetti exploded from launchers placed around the edges of the pool. I barely noticed. Because I was looking at Egon.
He had risen from the throne. The movement had been immediate, instinctive, like something inside him had pulled him to his feet before he could think about it.
His golden eyes were locked on me. And even from across the pool, I could see everything written there.
Pride. Hunger. Possession. And something deeper that made my breath catch in my throat.
Something that looked dangerously close to love.
An hour later, I was showered and changed.
The ridiculous bikini was gone, replaced with a flowing floral skirt that brushed my calves and a snug little tank top with thin spaghetti straps.
Simple sandals completed the look. It wasn't fancy.
But judging by the way Egon's gaze slowly moved over me, I was pretty sure he wasn't evaluating my footwear.
The after-party blurred together in a swirl of noise, music, and forced smiles.
Contestants drifted past me offering congratulations that sounded suspiciously like insults wrapped in glitter.
A few of them smiled too brightly. Others didn't bother hiding the irritation in their eyes.
Jessica had disappeared almost immediately after the competition ended.
Stormed off, actually. Her mascara had been smeared halfway down her cheeks, her hair dripping pool water, the last shred of her dignity floating somewhere in the blue-dyed water behind her. I didn't feel bad. Not even a little.
I'd won. Which meant the private dinner with Egon belonged to me. Hours alone with him. Hours where we didn't have to sneak glances across crowded rooms or pretend we barely knew each other.
"Ready to go?"
Egon appeared beside me like he'd materialized out of the warm tropical dusk.
He had changed out of the barbarian king costume, and the transformation should not have been as devastating as it was.
Jeans. A simple dark t-shirt stretched across his chest, clinging to the powerful lines of muscle beneath it.
The man somehow looked even more dangerous without the theatrical armor. More real. More mine.
"More than ready," I said.
We slipped quietly away from the party before anyone could stop us.
The path leading away from the main resort wound between tall palms and flowering tropical shrubs.
The sky above the ocean burned in streaks of orange and pink as the sun dipped toward the horizon.
The air cooled slightly as evening settled in.
"You were magnificent," Egon said after a few moments, his voice low and rough beside me. "I did not expect…"
"Didn't expect me to take it seriously?" I finished, my tone turning slightly defensive before I could stop myself.
"I know it looked ridiculous. I know the whole thing was stupid.
" I kicked a loose pebble off the path. "But I couldn't let Jessica win.
I couldn't let any of them think they had a chance with you. "
Egon stopped walking. The sudden halt made me turn toward him. His hands rose slowly, cupping my face with a gentleness that still surprised me every time. His thumbs brushed across my cheekbones.
"They never had a chance," he said quietly. The intensity in his voice stole the breath from my lungs. "Not from the moment I smelled you. Not from the moment I knew." His golden eyes locked onto mine. "I am yours. My beast is yours. We desire no other."
Something soft melted in my chest. I leaned into him without thinking, my hands closing around his wrists as if anchoring myself there. "I know," I whispered. "I just… I needed to kick her ass."
"You succeeded."
I hesitated. "And I couldn’t stand the thought of you being alone with any of them." Jealous much?
His gaze warmed as he kissed my forehead. Then my eyelids. Then the tip of my nose. "You were magnificent."
We started walking again and I noticed the small signal he gave my two Prillon shadows. I had to give it to Chet. Egon said he didn’t want me to be alone. I was never alone. Those two were either right next to me or parked right outside the door.
My entire life I’d been hyper aware of my surroundings. Watching for attacks. For danger.
Being protected every moment was… liberating in a way I found difficult to describe. I liked it. A lot. Never thought I’d say that about being surrounded by seven foot tall, ultra protective, alpha-male aliens, but it was true.
The path curved away from the bright lights of the resort buildings, leading deeper into a quiet grove of palm trees and flowering bushes.
The distant sounds of the party faded behind us until all that remained was the soft whisper of wind through leaves and the steady crash of waves somewhere beyond the beach.
My pulse still buzzed from the competition.
From the adrenaline. From the knowledge that in a few minutes we would be secluded in one of the resort’s exclusive, 5 star restaurants.
Completely alone. I was starving, and not just for food.
The awareness of Egon walking beside me hummed through my body like a live wire.
Then— I heard it. A footstep. Behind us. Not on the path. In the brush.
I froze. "Egon—"
"I smell them." His voice had changed instantly. Lower. Darker. Predatory. His body went rigid beside me, the easy warmth vanishing as every muscle in his frame tightened. The beast was rising. "Three males," he growled quietly. "Human. Armed."
Fear shot through me like ice water. "What do we do?"
"You do nothing. I kill them for threatening my mate."
Before I could react, his arm wrapped around my waist. The ground disappeared beneath my feet as he lifted me effortlessly and placed me behind him. His massive frame shifted forward, blocking me from view. I peeked around his shoulder, my heart hammering violently in my chest.
Three men stepped out of the shadows. Large.
Broad chested. Dressed in dark clothes that blended easily with the dimly lit trees.
The one in front carried a baseball bat.
Another held something that caught the fading light.
A knife. The third positioned himself at an angle behind them holding a gun. Pointed it at Egon’s head.
"Well, well," the leader said, his voice rough. There was something strangely familiar about it. "The alien freak and his little girlfriend."
Egon didn't move. "You are fools." The words carried the weight of a death sentence. "Leave or die. Your choice."
The man laughed. "Boss said to rough you up," he replied casually, rolling the bat against his shoulder. "Make you understand the lady isn't yours to take."
Boss. The word hit me like a lightning strike. Derek. This had to be Derek. He'd sent them. Sent them to scare us. To hurt Egon. To force me to go back to him. But why?
The leader lifted the bat. Swung. Egon moved.
I had never seen him fight before. At the church, when he had tossed Derek aside like a ragdoll, that had been controlled.
Measured. Restrained, as if he had been deliberately holding back the monster everyone feared Atlans could become.
This was something else entirely. This was the beast. And he was furious.
The bat never even reached him. Egon's arm shot out, impossibly fast, catching the wooden weapon in one massive hand.
His fingers closed around the bat with crushing force.
The man holding it froze. Shock flashed across his face.
Then Egon twisted. The wood bent with a sickening crack, folding in his grip like a cheap twig.
The broken pieces clattered to the ground.
Before the man could even react, Egon's other hand shot forward and closed around his throat. He lifted him. Just… lifted him. One-handed. The man's feet left the ground as Egon held him suspended in the air like he weighed nothing.
The idiot with the gun moved to get Egon in his sights. “Put him down, freak. Or I’ll shoot.”
Egon turned to face the gunman. “You will get one shot. Your tiny human bullets will only piss me off. Then I will allow the beast to remove your limbs from your body before he kills you.”
Whoa. I believed him. Apparently, so did the bad guy. He lowered the gun and I dragged air into my lungs. “Fuck man. He didn’t pay us enough for this shit.”
"Who sent you?" The words came out as a growl, low and dangerous. Even in the dim light filtering through the trees, I could see Egon's eyes glowing. Amber. Bright. The leader clawed at Egon's wrist, his boots kicking uselessly in the air. His face was already turning red.
"Answer me!" Egon roared. The sound echoed through the trees like thunder.
"D–Derek!" the dangling man gasped finally, choking on the words. "Derek Sterling! He paid us! Five grand each! Please, man—we were just supposed to scare you, not—"