A King's Revenge: Warlords Series Book 2 by Michelle Howard Page A

the nicked wood. She reminded him so much of his wife that it was hard
to look her in the face.
    Pert lips curved in
the corner in a constant grin. She claimed to be bad company but he’d been more
relaxed in her presence than anyone elses for months. If he thought the dead
could rise Tarik would have sworn on the holy Goddess that ‘Lea’ was his
Maliya. Granted the red gold waves he adored were missing but the spiky short
cut suited this woman’s face. Up close there were minor differences he could
now detect sitting across from her.
    Her cheeks were sharp
not full, a slim neck smoothed down to rounded shoulders simply dressed in a
one piece navy jumper that was common wear in the space station. There was a
patch or logo of some sort on the upper right sleeve but he couldn’t read it
and didn’t want to scare her off by staring.
    Other differences
stood out to him. Lea had a slender figure from what he could see. Maliya had
been lushly curved and proud of her body. Tarik had often excused himself from
meetings to make love to her or sneak off to the gardens he’d commissioned in
her honor to steal a kiss. Always she had a ready smile for him. A loving
caress.
    Tarik sighed. He
wanted to remove the dark visor this woman wore. One defining characteristic,
one physical aspect would have shut down his foolish wishes. Maliya’s unique
eyes were easily identifiable and she too wore eye covering to minimize their
impact. No other in his lifetime possessed orbs of glowing white with no color
in the pupil or iris to separate from the sclera.
    Maliya would laugh and
shush him whenever someone’s comment drew attention to them. Her eyes were part
of her. A genetic anomaly presented every few generations according to her.
Tarik never had the pleasure of meeting Maliya’s parents. Both died before they’d
met but she’d told him during one of their late night talks as they rested in
bed together
    “Are we drinking or
waiting?”
    Her tinkling laugh
shook away his thoughts of the past. Tarik reached for his drink noticing she
already held hers. “To peace among the stars.” After all he was here to meet
with the Alliance and other leaders to keep their part of the galaxy in order.
    “To peace,” she
agreed, enchanting him again with her bright outlook.
    Tarik blew out the
flame on the sword and tossed back the drink. Surprise almost had him choking
when she mirrored his actions and slammed her glass on the table with a heavy
sigh. The little witch. She didn’t look the least disturbed by the burning
drink. Noticing his stare, she arched a brow and he gave in to the rich humor
of the moment.
    “Well met, Lea.” He
signaled the waiter for another having the oddest feeling that he was about to
be bested at his own game. Then again, the kiss was prize enough despite the
outcome.
    The smoking drinks
arrived in seconds. This time she didn’t wait for him. She emptied the glass
and gave him a challenging smile. “You better catch up.”
    His groin tightened
and Tarik caught up.
    By the fourth drink,
Tarik knew he was done. Lea matched him drink for drink and they were both
smiling at one another refusing to give in. She raised her hand to get the
waiter when he hesitated. There was drunk and there was out cold. He wanted her
awake for what he had in mind.
    Tarik lightly clasped
her wrist stopping her mid-motion. “I forfeit. You are by far the superior in
this game of mine.”
    Her nose crinkled and
Tarik adored the expression.
    “Should we kiss?”
    She didn’t slur her
words or anything as obvious but an appealing accent was creeping into her
words. A familiar accent that had him hardening beneath his pants. The slight
drawl of her words reminded him of Maliya when she was aroused. He’d battled an
erection from the moment Lea lowered the zipper on the front of her jumper to
cool off. The action revealed hints of plump cleavage which he imagined filling
his hands. Her cheeks pinkened each time their gazes