House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)

He nodded. “Yes, there are some who know they’re not going to fare well in the justices, so they try to escape.”

My body brushed against his and I realized how close we were lying together on the bed. Lexen had a shirt on, but I could still feel every one of his rigid chest muscles pressing into my chest. My nipples, which were only secured in this thin sleep shirt, were saluting the world and letting all of us know they were happy with their current position.

I couldn’t bring myself to pull away, choosing to remain wrapped all cozy-like in the darkness. “I was afraid to go to sleep.” My voice was a low whisper. “I knew the dream would—” All that emerged after that was a croak, so I swallowed roughly.

Lexen surprised me when he brushed one of my long strands of hair out of my face. “I tried to wake you.” The low rumble of his voice had my disloyal body reacting even further. “But there was no way to bring you out of the dream. You only calmed down when I climbed in and held you.” He shrugged like it was no big deal. “I was worried you would hurt yourself. You were thrashing around a lot.”

Rational thought dropped away and instinct took over. I wrapped my arms around him, needing to show how grateful I was. “Thank you. I don’t know why you’re the one who keeps getting stuck with me during these moments, but I promise I’m not normally this broken.” I pulled away before things got uncomfortable. “It’s just been a long week. I’m not handling it very well.”

He pressed his hand into my spine one more time, sending flashes of heat low in my body. I almost rocked forward to try and relieve the pressure building inside of me. I managed to stop myself only because he released me and swung his long legs over the side of the bed. I watched, unable to look away. When he was standing, he met my gaze. “You’re handling it better than most humans,” he said, sounding much more serious than he had before. “You’re actually making a pretty compelling case for the treaty at this point in time. Your government should thank you.”

I swallowed roughly, knowing he was going to leave, but unable to think of anything to say that might keep him here. “Well,” I began awkwardly, “thanks again. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He held out a hand and I stared at it stupidly, wondering what he wanted me to do. He didn’t move, standing there hand out before him. I tentatively reached out, placing my palm against his. When his fingers wrapped around mine, I was pulled up and off the bed in a flash, Lexen catching me when I would have fallen, before he set me on my feet.

He wrapped one arm around me. “Come on, I need sleep. I have to be overlord minor tomorrow. You’re coming with me. I can keep a closer eye on you if we’re in the same room.”

My rapid blinking probably made it look like I was having a seizure, but I couldn’t understand exactly what he was saying. “You have another bed in your room here too?” I wheezed out.

Lexen shook his head, starting to walk and half dragging me along with him. “No, we’re going to have to share. I’ll figure something out for tomorrow night.”

“Share!” I tried to ground to a halt, but he was much stronger than me. When he realized I wasn’t walking, he let me go. We faced each other in the hallway.

“Yes, we’re going to share. I don’t bite or snore. Even better, I don’t have dreams to scare the shit out of you, dragging you from a deep sleep.”

Ah, there he was, my … the arrogant alien. “Apologies, Overlord Minor, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

He laughed, confusing me with his mood. Was he upset or happy that my screaming woke him?

“Overlord minor is my official title, and I hate it. I’ll be the overlord major one day, when my father is ready to step down. It’s not a position I want. It’s not one I asked for. But there’s very little choice in the matter for me.”

“Do Jero, Marsil, and Star have titles?” It was fascinating learning of this new form of monarchy.

He gave me a little nudge and my feet automatically started moving, following him along the hall again.

He answered me as we walked: “Marsil is next in line after me. He’s admiral major. Jero is admiral minor. Both of these positions have official duties, mostly to do with the warriors and the war between the houses. We’ve had peace for only just over a hundred years – since the treaty. It was part of the reason we formed a bond with Earth.

“Star is the youngest, so she doesn’t have an official title. Fourth in line has no title, but if she had been first in line, born with the marks, she would be the overlord minor. It has nothing to do with male and female here, and everything to do with order of birth.” I was extra glad to hear that. “Mother is the matriarch. An overlord rules with his matriarch. Together. A true partnership.”

I was so caught up in learning about his world that I didn’t even notice that we’d left the hallway and were now standing in his room. Beside his bed. Which was even larger and more comfortable looking than mine. The ivory blanket was rumpled from where Lexen had no doubt jumped up when I screamed. He dropped down onto his side and I remained standing there, staring down at the wide expanse he had left for me.

“Get in the bed, Emma,” he all but growled. “Don’t make me throw you in here.”

I snorted, glad his normal attitude was back. It helped me move past the nerves of sleeping next to a guy. I’d never slept in the same bed as anyone before, except my parents when I was a young child.

He might not snore, but I had no idea if I did. Shit. With my luck … I definitely snored.

“Emma…” he growled again.

Straightening my shoulders, I was about to gingerly slide into the bed when Lexen froze, his body going unnaturally rigid, eyes focusing on something behind me. I wasn’t sure whether I should say something or not – I quickly glanced behind to make sure there were no bugs – and thankfully he snapped out of it before I had to decide what to do. Leaping from the bed, he quickly crossed toward a nearby door, and when he opened it I got a glimpse of rows of clothing. He disappeared inside. Meanwhile, I was still in my position at the side of his bed, wondering what the hell had just happened.

Just as quickly as he’d disappeared into his huge cupboard, he reemerged fully dressed in worn, dark-denim jeans, and what looked like a ribbed, black, fitted Henley-style shirt. He also wore boots.

“Uh, going somewhere?” I asked, my forehead wrinkling as I took in his fully clothed form.

He had a thick dark garment in his hands, and when he tossed it my way I managed to catch it.

“Put that on, we have to go out for a bit,” he said, running a hand through his hair, leaving it in a messy disarray on top, sexy and tousled without even trying. Mine probably looked like someone had dragged me backwards through a hedge.

“Where are we going?” I asked, my voice muffled as I pulled the thick sweater down over my head. It was miles too big for me, hanging almost to mid-thigh, and it smelled delicious, like the combination of whatever they washed their clothes in here, and Lexen.

No answer, and by the time I had vision of the room again I realized I was alone. Lexen’s door was open. Did he just leave me? What the hell was the point of the sweater, then?

Just as my temper started to make itself known, along with some worry because whatever was going on was random and had taken him by surprise, he reappeared in his doorway, my tennis shoes in his hands. Every ounce of annoyance inside of me disappeared and I felt like an idiot.

But seriously, that was way more thoughtful than I’d expected.

“Thank you,” I murmured when he handed them to me. “Now can you tell me where we’re going? Remember the dog conversation…?”

The starlight in his eyes glowed as he said, “I just got a message from friends of mine. I need to meet them, and I don’t want to leave you alone here.”

I paused, halfway through pulling a shoe on. “Is everything okay?”