Claimed & Seduced (22 page)

He needed a storm.

He needed cold weather.

He needed freezing conditions, which would make fire a necessity because Virosians clung to their old ways instead of embracing technology.

A knock on his door signaled a visitor, and his mother hopped into his private quarters.

“How goes the plan, Razvan?” she chirped, her face radiating curiosity. “Tell me. Tell me. Tell me now.”

“My plan is moving as predicted,” Razvan said, striving for patience. “Where is Carrick? I require his help.”

“Com him,” his mother said. “Com. Com. Com him.”

“It would help if you located him, Mother,” Razvan said. “Please do this for me.”

Her narrow lips formed a pout, incongruous on her lined face. She studied him for an instant longer then gave a little jump. “I find him. I find. I find.”

Razvan held his breath until she hopped from his rooms. Once she’d vanished, he strode to his door and locked it to prevent another interruption. He needed to concentrate in order to make this a big magnitude storm.

He smiled, and this time the action felt more natural.

Keira Cloud would pay for rejecting him.

And her adopted world would pay for giving her shelter.

Of that, he was confident.

* * * * *

J
arlath stared at Ellard, now in a medically induced coma to speed healing. Despite, medical advice, they’d brought him to Keira’s farm and now they waited for Ellard to rouse.

Keira tugged his arm. “Jarlath, the medical man said Ellard won’t resurface until morn. You need to rest. Hortese said she’d sleep on the other bed and keep watch over him. Please, you can’t help Ellard or your people if you don’t rest.”

His people. A bitter laugh escaped. “None of my people recognize me. They know Ellard, but not me. That tells me I’ve been a miserable prince. Yes, I attend official functions, but they’re for the upper class.”

“Feeling sorry for yourself isn’t productive,” Keira said. “You want the people to recognize you, then take charge and send Razvan off squawking.”

Her blunt words made him laugh, the sound emerging with ease this time. “You’re right, sweetheart. Sleep now, worry later. In the morn, Ellard will regain consciousness. He’s going to be pissed we saved his life.”

“The loss of his arm will be a blow. You’ll need to distract him. Put him in charge of the battle plan. Ask Cristop, Nasir and Ollie to act as his assistants. Maybe if you chuck orders at him and don’t let him think, he’ll feel useful. The meds will keep his pain under control. We need to keep his mind busy, and I think this will speed his healing.”

“Clever and pretty. When did I get so lucky?” Jarlath reached for her and tipped up her chin in order to steal a kiss. She melted against him, giving and taking in equal measure. His heart swelled as he explored her mouth, took the kiss deeper.

“Right, enough from the pair of you,” Hortese said. “Off to bed with you. I will watch Master Ellard. The min he wakes, I’ll call you.”

Jarlath pulled back but retained Keira’s hand. He walked to Hortese and kissed her cheek. “Thank you.”

Hortese flushed, her pink skin burning even brighter. “I’m happy to help. Now off to bed.”

“You’ve won her heart,” Keira said as she led him up the stairs to the second floor of the manor house. “And she’s no pushover. If you can win Hortese, you can win the rest of the population.”

“You make it sound easy.”

“Nothing worthwhile is simple but you can do this, Jarlath.”

He hoped she was right because the last few days had shown him how badly his father was failing the Virosian people and him, by extension.

Keira led him into her chamber. “You will sleep with me.”

“Yes.” His feline rumbled a soft purr of encouragement.

Keira slid a knife from her boot and placed it on the dresser before she sat to remove her footwear.

“Let me do that for you.”
Cristo
, she was beautiful. His warrior. He pushed the button to release the snaps on her boots and tugged them off her feet. Next, he removed her tunic and the rest of her garments until she stood before him, naked. “I want you, but I don’t want to hurt you. You have bruises on your hip and more on your legs.”

“I’m alive. We’re both alive. Others weren’t so lucky.”

“I know. Wait, let me remove the plaster from your face.” He peeled the dressing away and traced the crow tattoo with his finger. She shuddered. Jarlath smiled at the reaction and turned his attention to his own apparel. He yanked at his footwear and hopped around like an ungainly bird while removing his boots.

“I haven’t thanked you for talking me through the change from crow to humanoid. I…it was terrifying. Actually.” Her smile bore a trace of irony. “That’s an understatement.”

Jarlath paused, his hands at his tunic. “You had no idea you could shift?”

“No, the medical men on Gramite said it was impossible. Only full breeds are able to transform.”

“Shifting might come in handy for you,” Jarlath said.

“Maybe. I didn’t realize the transformation hurt so much. You and Ellard make the process appear effortless.”

“We’ve both been shifting for cycles. It becomes second nature.” Jarlath pulled his tunic over his head and rapidly removed the rest of his clothes. Nude, he strode to Keira, his chest tight with emotion. “I’m so glad I decided to take a different path during our cambeest ride. Meeting you is the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

She ran her fingers over the stubble on his cheeks. “Come to bed. Make love to me.”

He raised her fingers to his lips and kissed the delicate skin of her inner wrist. Their gazes meshed, and he was lost.

Their lips met and he swung her into his arms. He placed her on the large bed and crawled over her body. Softness and hardness pressed together. She sighed and clung, offering her lips again.

He explored her breasts, her waist, ran his fingers over the smooth skin of her belly. He nibbled at her neck and let her feel the sharpness of his canines before soothing the sting with the caress of his tongue.

“You are beautiful and strong. My warrior,” he said.

She ran her fingers over his back, let one hand come to rest on his butt. She sighed and made tiny
caw-caw
sounds at the back of her throat. His feline rejoiced in the encouragement and purred louder than Jarlath had ever heard before.

He urged her legs apart and moved down the bed to taste the heart of her. His tongue curled around her clit and she shivered.

“Good?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

Her taste was honey and sweetness, and her quim quivered when he pushed a finger inside her heat. She was hot and ready for him and it made him feel powerful and yet humble. There was no pretense here, no pandering to him because he was a royal prince, and that made their loving even more special.

Jarlath rose up her body and kissed her tenderly, twining their tongues together in a replication of their loving to come.

“Jarlath,” she said when he lifted his head.

He smiled and guided his cock to her entrance. With his gaze on hers, he pushed deep in one forceful stroke. The heat of her quim seared his cock as she gloved him perfectly. She lifted her hips, taking him deeper until he wasn’t sure where he ended and she began.

He kissed her, unhurried and tender, trying to tell her without words how much she meant to him. They mightn’t have known each other for long, but his heart knew, accepted. His feline embraced her too.

Breaking the kiss, he pulled back and set up an easy pace of invade and retreat, invade and retreat.

Keira moved with him, her hips rising with each inward stroke. Pleasure soared through him, starting in his balls and increasing to the point of pain. He gasped as the sensation rose up his cock. His seed exploded from him in hard spurts, the pleasure sweeping to all corners of his body, and he bit her neck, right on the fleshy part where neck and shoulder met. He tasted her blood and shock hit him.
Grata
, he’d bitten her again.
Savage
.

Instead of protesting, Keira keened—a reassuring cry of acute pleasure. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders, her gasps loud, frantic. Mindful of last time, he reached between them to give her the extra pressure she required. Her gasps turned to moans, and it was the sweetest music he’d ever heard.

“Keira,” he whispered, his finger doing another sweep across her nub while his tongue lapped the wound he’d made on her neck. It had healed last time, and he hoped this would happen again. Biting seemed so savage, yet contrarily, the instinct to mark her felt right and pleased his feline.

Another moan slid from her throat, and he felt the rhythmic surge around his cock. He rubbed her clit again and she screamed. His Keira screamed.

“Pure magic of the good kind.”

“Yes.” Her mouth cracked open in a yawn. “Sorry. It’s been a long day.”

“An eventful one,” he agreed, some of the joy dispersing from him at the reminder. “Maybe you should soak in your heated pool to help with your aches and pains.”

“Go to sleep,” she ordered. “Tomorrow we will make a plan to best Razvan, but now we require rest.”

“Yes.” He parted their bodies, too tired to do anything except draw her into his arms.

J
arlath came awake without warning, his heart hammering in alarm. A masculine voice rose in anger, and he sighed. He’d recognize the shouts anywhere. Ellard was conscious and bellowing like a bull-steer forced to do something against his will.

“What is it?” Keira asked, her voice laden with sleep.

“Ellard is awake. I need to go to him, explain.”

“I’m coming with.” Keira slid off the opposite side of the bed. “You might as well sanitize first.”

When he opened his mouth to argue, she grabbed his hand and led him into the adjoining room. She turned on her sanitizer unit and pushed him inside.

“I’ll get your clothes,” she said.

Jarlath sighed and reached for cleanser liquid. She was right. At the very least, it would wake his sluggish mind. He needed to gather fortitude to deal with Ellard.

Keira appeared secs later, his clothes in hand. She set them on a chair and padded over to join him.

Unable to help himself, he kissed her, seeking calm and comfort from her touch before he faced the waiting ordeal. The skin where he’d bitten her was pale with her normal tinge of green. Smooth and unblemished. Unusual, but then he’d never bitten a woman before. She kissed him back then withdrew, reaching behind him to pinch his bottom.

“Off you go,” she said. “I will join you shortly. Ellard can shout at you before he takes shots at me.”

Jarlath laughed, even though her words weren’t funny. Ellard would hate him for this. He knew his friend would rather die than live with one arm. Danion Tetsu would kick him off the security force. He’d reject his son as disabled, and Ellard would blame him. But
grata
, he’d make the same decision again. Allowing his friend to die wasn’t an option.

Once dressed, Jarlath straightened his shoulders and marched toward the loud, furious shouts. He entered the guest bedroom to see Ellard propped up against the pillows, his face red with fury.

“You,” he thundered on seeing Jarlath. “You let them do this to me.”

Hortese sniffed. “Rude man. Look at this mess you made.”

“She tried to feed me like a child.”

“That’s because he’s acting like a youngling,” Hortese snapped.

“You must have other work to do,” Jarlath said. “I’ll clean this up.”

Hortese scanned his face, her irritation fading from her expression. “Cleaning materials are in the kitchen. I’ll send them with one of the boys.”

“Thanks.” Jarlath waited until she left before taking another fortifying breath and turning to his friend.

“Why?” Ellard’s eyes shone with unshed tears. “It’s my weapon arm. I can’t do anything without my arm.”

“What about all the other men and women who were injured by the bombs. People have died. I need your help to plan our way out of this, Ellard. I know you’re angry, but I did what was best for Viros. We need you, one armed or not. You’re my friend. I couldn’t let you die. You’re my friend,” he repeated.

“I thought my arm was all right. I thought I’d imagined Mareeka firing at me.” His voice caught and his throat worked as he swallowed. “This is my fault. She played me. I recruited her and…and we became close. She played me.”

Jarlath sat on the edge of the bed. “It doesn’t matter. We learn from our mistakes, and you won’t make the same one again.”

Ellard snorted, pain clearly written on his plain features. “Father will relieve me of responsibility. I won’t have the chance to make the same mistake. Besides, what woman would want me now? I’m not pretty like you, and now I’m missing an arm. What woman would want me?”

“That’s fodo crap. Everyone recognizes you. They know who you are and of your position. Not one recognized me. You will help me, Ellard. I don’t trust anyone else.”

Ellard was quiet for a sec. “Hortese said I’m confined to my bed, that if I attempted to move she’d drug me. She meant it, so what help can I be?”

“If you feel up to it, you need to shift. That will speed your recovery. Then we’re going to make a plan. I’ll go out with the boys and scout the city.”

“I’ll go with you,” Keira said, appearing in the doorway.

“No, I want you to stay—”

Keira stopped beside him, her scent distracting him. “I’m going with you.”

Jarlath didn’t argue because her expression told him he’d lose. Besides, he felt easier if she was close. He turned back to Ellard.

“I will be king soon. My father intends to stand aside and let me take charge.” With conditions attached. Somehow, he’d get around this obstacle because he wasn’t interested in anyone except Keira. “We need to make the kingdom safer and improve conditions for those who live in the lower city, but first we need to get rid of Razvan.”

“You trust her?” Bitterness turning Ellard’s features hard. “Mareeka strung me along. She was a traitor. Keira wears the mark of the crow on her cheek, and she told Mareeka she was one of Razvan’s team.”

“I’m no traitor,” Keira snapped.