Read Online The Kraken King by Meljean Brook - Free Book Online Page A

much, it was possible that the town was so orderly because the Kraken King governed it with an iron fist. But even if that was true, Zenobia had known many sorts of fists. Some only looked to hurt, some only defended. Others gripped tight and held on.
    She’d have liked to see which it was. But she owed her friend, so they would not be staying long.
    Even if one reason to stay longer was walking through the town gates toward them. Though both Lieutenant Blanchett and Helene outranked her in importance, the governor’s dark gaze fixed on Zenobia and held steady, as if there was no one else worth his notice.
    She suppressed the urge to smooth a hand over her tangled hair and to blot the sweat from her brow.
    This was so absurd. Knowing who he was, she simply couldn’t account for her reaction to him. He’d rescued her, but so had Mara and Cooper—several times over—and her stomach didn’t flutter and tighten with nerves when she looked at them.
    If anything, that awareness should have served as a deterrent. The last person for whom she’d felt a stirring of attraction had been her brother’s business partner and friend. She’d known Bilson for years; she’d thought he would be the perfect companion. A charming man with engaging manners, he’d always provided entertaining company.
    He’d also been behind Zenobia’s first kidnapping—an attempt to blackmail her brother and his wife.
    And so what if the governor had shown interest? Surely she wasn’t so desperate for attention. If she had been, her heart would have fallen prey to one of the many men who’d arrived in Fladstrand after her identity as Archimedes Fox’s sister had been revealed. Some of them had been quite adept at pretending their attention had nothing to do with her brother’s fortune or her own writing fame. Many had been as handsome as the governor, too, with strong stubborn jaws and wide shoulders. Others had possessed dark brooding eyes beneath brows that hovered like thunderclouds.
    And none of those men had reputations as dangerous as the Kraken King’s. She should have been frightened. It was a failing of practicality on her part that, instead of fearing him, she was only a little wary.
    So it was absurd. But she would continue to enjoy his attention for now, and the way her heart beat a little faster when he was near.
    Quite a bit faster. And she couldn’t seem to focus on anyone else, either. When he joined them, standing almost directly to her right, she was aware that the governor nodded in response to Blanchett’s greeting, yet she didn’t have a clue what the lieutenant had actually said.
    But she knew the governor’s gaze had never left hers.
    He didn’t begin with niceties. “You’ve found your residence?”
    “Yes, thank you. Cooper showed us. It’s lovely.” Not a single house as she was accustomed to, but a collection of structures with graceful, tiered roofs, all sharing a private garden. “I hope your arm is feeling better?”
    The bullet wound no longer bled, at least—or it had been bandaged. He’d changed into a clean tunic, and no red stained the white sleeve.
    “It feels as if I was shot,” he said.
    “I supposed hauling me out of the water didn’t help it.”
    “No.” His gaze swept her length. “You were much heavier than you look.”
    Helene gasped softly, her eyes widening, but Zenobia had to laugh. While smuggling Horde technology and weapons, he must have concealed many valuables inside other items. He could probably guess with fair accuracy how much gold made up the difference between her apparent weight and the weight that he’d lifted.
    “It was the seawater saturating my clothes,” she said.
    “Of course.” His brief smile made her want to laugh all over again before he looked to the lieutenant. “You’ve found the accommodations for your men, as well?”
    Blanchett inclined his head. “We are in your debt.”
    “So you are.”
    With a nod, the governor continued on toward the