Trio of Seduction. Cassie Ryan
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my lord. There were a dozen more Cunts around the side of the building we had to neutralize. The other guards are keeping the perimeter clear.”
“Good thing you have confidence in my ability to defend myself.” Ryan rolled onto his back and sat up. Nausea roiled inside his stomach, and he widened his thighs to give his tender balls some room to recover.
“If I thought you couldn’t, I would’ve brought more men and not let you out of our sight. I figured you could hold your own against one old man, a few guards and a tiny wisp of a woman—until you tackled her, that is.” The guard stood and held out a hand to help Ryan up. “My lord,” Gavin added as an obvious sarcastic afterthought.
Ryan shook his head and laughed. He accepted the hand and stood, adjusting his jeans so they wouldn’t pinch his injured manhood. “Bastard,” he said with affection. Gavin had taught Ryan much of what he knew about fighting and spell casting—at least those portions that weren’t considered acceptable for a royal prince to learn. The rest he had learned from a royal tutor. Over the years, Ryan had forged a close bond with the guard, which he still appreciated today.
There had been many times over the course of his life that those “not acceptable for a prince” skills had kept him alive or unharmed.
Except for that once .
He traced his fingers over the bottom edge of his scar where it met the side of his mouth as he shoved the painful memories away.
He glanced back at Gavin and smiled, bringing himself back to the present. “If you were so sure I could handle it, why did you aim an energy beam at her?”
Gavin’s lavender eyes narrowed. “None of my guards sent that beam. Are you sure it was a Klatch beam?”
“Very sure. It was pink and came from your direction.” Unease tightened Ryan’s stomach. Perhaps there were even more Klatch traitors they hadn’t discovered when the Seer was found. If so, he had to settle things with the Healer quickly. The sooner the Triangle was instituted, the better.
“I’ll get to the bottom of it, my prince; you have my word.”
Of that, Ryan had no doubt. Gavin was an excellent captain of the guard and had held that position for the past forty years—although thanks to the regenerative powers of their home planet of Tador, the man still looked to be a very fit midthirties.
Ryan nodded in response and then grinned as he thought about the little blond ball of fire who had nearly emasculated him. “If that ‘wisp’ of a woman is the Healer, I’m in for a long, bumpy ride.” In his mind’s eye, he replayed the scene, enjoying both the passion in her eyes when she’d defended herself from the guards and the sensual wonder in those same blue orbs when he lay on top of her with their gazes locked.
Gavin grunted. “I think perhaps before we return to Tador, we should stop by the store and buy you an athletic supporter with a sturdy cup.”
“I don’t intend to give her another chance to rack me, but thanks.” Ryan brushed blacktop debris off his shirt and jeans.
“You did notice she’s part Cunt?” The guard’s voice was sharp as his gaze swept the parking lot, never landing on Ryan. “Or did that escape your notice while you were pressing against her softer parts?”
Surprise had Ryan turning to look at the guard. He had assumed she was human, and since she used no magic to defend herself, he hadn’t bothered to expand his senses to check.
The guard chuckled. “I didn’t think you’d noticed. You always have been a sucker for a pair of nice eyes and a shapely…form…my lord.”
Gavin had fought in Tador’s planetary civil war against the Cunts and still held some resentment—like most Klatch. After all, hundreds of Klatch died, unaware, the day Sela and the Cunt Council decided to try to overthrow the throne.
Ryan bit back a sigh. He and his generation had fought and even killed a few Cunt warriors over the years, as well. However, those were all in self-defense, as far as he knew. He wasn’t naive enough to think most Klatch would be content to wait until their lives were threatened to kill their old enemies.
As it was, he had a few Cunt resentments of his own. His fingers traced the roughened scar that ran from his temple to the right side of his mouth. Painful memories threatened to flood back, and he shoved them aside again. Lately, those memories had ridden much closer to the surface than was comfortable.
Grappling with the little Cunt spitfire definitely hadn’t helped.
If the Seer was right, and this blond beauty was the Healer for the Triangle, then he had much bigger problems than dealing with the past. The entire planet was in for an uphill battle. “Did you also notice she didn’t attack me and that the other Cunts didn’t seem too friendly toward her?” He thought back over their brief conversation. “She said the Cunt Council now thought she was a traitor.”
“Doesn’t mean we know where her loyalties lie,” Gavin said matter-of-factly, although he didn’t sound like he believed his own words, which surprised Ryan. “She’s the doctor who treats both Cunts and Klatch with no questions asked. Her mother was a Cunt, but the daughter has never allied herself with either side beyond that.” Even as he spoke, his gaze scanned their surroundings in a constant state of alert. Ryan had grown used to it over the years and took no offense.
“If she has been declared a traitor, she’s no longer safe here on Earth,” Ryan said softly as his mind filtered through all the ramifications of such a statement.
The old man, who still lay in a heap on the asphalt, groaned, cutting off their discussion.
Ryan motioned for Gavin to follow him and then headed toward the shadows before the man came to. The whole purpose in coming here tonight was to find the Healer, so there was no reason to stay longer. “Call nine-one-one for the old man, Gav. It looks like the Cunts aren’t coming back for him.”
“As you say, my lord.”
Ryan ignored the proper words, since Gavin’s tone showed he would’ve been more than happy to leave the man lying on the ground indefinitely. But Ryan also knew Gavin’s personal feelings on the subject wouldn’t affect his judgment or his job—or at least it never had. “For now, we have to get back to Tador. I think I need to have another discussion with the Seer.”
2
K iera slammed the front door of her house behind her and turned the deadbolt so hard, she was surprised the doorframe didn’t crack.
Emotions swirled through her in a rush that made her head swim. “Months of careful planning wasted!” She leaned back against the door and allowed herself a few deep breaths to calm the coursing adrenaline.
The entire Cunt council would think she was a traitor by now, which meant she wasn’t safe here. The days of them tolerating her for her medical skills were long gone if they thought she tried to hand over a council member to the Klatch.
Not that they would waste magical resources to terminate her. They would send their half-breed or outright human contingents to do their dirty work. But at least those two groups were susceptible to human weapons.
“Damn him!” The dark eyes of the Klatch prince burned through her mind’s eye, bringing with it each sensual memory of how his hard body had felt on top of hers. Angry with herself for noticing, she shrugged the sensation away. “Why did he have to show up?”
She glanced around the living room still decorated as her father had left it—an eclectic mix of United States Marine Corps military medals, sports memorabilia and old west collectibles.
Her heart ached at the thought of leaving this all behind.
Despite all the evidence to the contrary, she had held out hope that some day she would come home and find her father sitting in his favorite ratty recliner, laughing and joking like he used to. But it had been five long years since she had found him unconscious on the floor with all the indications of multiple