Cover Reveal: Knighthunter and Eon Warriors

“Going to ignore me?” She heard him cross the mats. “You can’t ignore me for the entire mission.”

“I can try.” She drank, taking her time. Then she set the cup down and turned.

He was always a hit to the system. She hated that her body noticed how he looked and reacted to it.

She let herself take in the near-white hair, the sharp cheekbones, the strong jaw, and the full lips. Lips far too sensuous for such a harsh face.

And those ice-blue eyes.

He’d been a bully at the Academy. He’d taunted her for being too studious, too serious, and always following the rules.

Kaden had always broken the rules and gotten away with it. She’d hated it.

He annoyed her on the deepest level.

“Come on now, Nea,” he said. “We’re adults, Oronis knights on an important mission.”

“Saving Knightqueen Carys is all that matters. I’ll work with you, I’ll do my job. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

He stalked closer, and she fought not to tense, or take a step back.

Don’t let him get to you.

He circled her, his voice a low drawl. “Maybe you will like it, Nea.”

His deep voice shivered through her, and she lifted her chin. “You break the rules when it suits you, you disappear in a blink, you lie, you omit the truth. I don’t trust you, Kaden.”

“I’ve grown up. I’m not the boy who used to pull your braids at the Academy anymore.”

“Who tormented and teased me, you mean. I don’t think you grew up. You still do whatever you want.”

He stepped even closer, their bodies barely a whisper apart.

She smelled him—a dark and spicy scent. Her belly clenched.

Ignore him. Ignore him.

“I do my duty,” he said. “I do it my way. I fight in the dark and the dirt so people like you don’t have to.”

She frowned. “People like me?”

His eyes darkened, leaking a lethal intensity. “People who follow the rules. Who are all light and goodness.” He stared at her for a beat, then stepped back. The intensity bled away from his eyes, and he grinned. “You wouldn’t last one day in my world.”

She snorted. “And you wouldn’t last one day in mine.”

“Regardless, we have to work together to find Knightqueen Carys, and bring her and Sten home. And while we do that, I’ll keep you safe.”

Her pulse skittered and she frowned. “I don’t need you to keep me safe, Galath. I do that for myself.”

He just smiled. An infuriating curl of those sensual lips.

She shoved him. “I mean it. Don’t get in my way.”

He grabbed her wrist and yanked her close. “Maybe I want to get in your way.”

“I detest you, remember?”

He made an unconvinced sound, and it triggered her temper. Nea broke his hold on her wrist and attacked.

Of course, he was a well-trained, sneaky knighthunter, so he dodged. The man was a talented fighter.

They traded blows, moving across the mat. She kicked at him, and in a blinding-fast move, he caught her leg and yanked.

She went down. She’d half rolled when his body hit hers, pinning her to the mat on her back.

“You always fight dirty,” she snapped.

His face was close to hers, his big, lean body pressed against her.

“I always fight to win. No matter what.” His gaze traced her face.

Nea rolled and executed a quick flip. She pinned him down and straddled his hips. “We will do our duty and find the knightqueen, but other than that, stay out of my way.” She glared at him, then rose.

Kaden smiled at her, staying sprawled on the mat like he was taking a nap. He tucked his hands under his head. “No promises, Laurier. I never make them.”

“Because you never keep them.” She headed for the door.

She needed some space between her and this man.

“Maybe because I’ve never wanted to make them. Before now.”

She had no idea what he meant, but she refused to look back.

Nea strode out of the gym, determined not to let the annoying knighthunter under her skin.