Hunted & Seduced

by Shelley Munro

  While it was true there were more handsome men, some of whom had shown interest in her, something about the large, hulking presence of Ellard pushed her to explore what might be. She drew in a breath, pushed it out and began to expound on her idea.

  “I think we should organize a festival. We can use it to showcase the food and drinks native to Viros, but we should also invite all the neighboring planets to have a stall to display and sell their goods and produce. The festival could run for maybe seven cycles with concerts and shows. Maybe organize city tours and show off everything Viros has to offer.” Whew! That perfume stunk with the sharp piquancy of a well-fed hell-horse. No wonder Kaya had donated it to the cause.

  Ry tapped his chin in a thoughtful manner. “Not a bad idea.”

  “Why should we invite our neighbors when we’re doing all the work?” the councilor with the painted nails demanded.

  “Because if we work together, we’ll have more to offer tourists.” Gweneth started speaking faster and with enthusiasm. “It will foster closer relations between you all, and if you invite them to take part, spreading the word will become easier. With more planets involved, it will give us a bigger reach. Also, if we host the festival, it will mean the visitors will spend currency, stay in our hotels, and use our spaceport. If it works well, we could make this festival an annual fixture, and in time, it will grow and extend our reach. You should get all businesses to do proposals as to what services they can offer. Some of the craftsmen and women can have stalls selling their wares. Charge the locals a smaller fee to have a stall. Put the currency raised back into rebuilding the city and for public facilities. If you get everyone involved, the enthusiasm generated will go a long way toward building bridges for past problems.”

  The king and his mate exchanged a glance, but Gweneth never relaxed until she saw them start to grin.

  “That is an excellent idea, Gweneth,” Shiloh said.

  Lynx nodded. “Yes, I think that will work well and make us popular with our neighbors.”

  Pleased, Gweneth inhaled again to settle the nerves that buzzed around the pit of her stomach. She’d done it. Now to set the next bit of her plan in motion. She took another breath and sneezed. Ugh, perhaps they’d overdone the perfume. “I believe your best weather—the most settled times—occur soon. We should be ready. I believe the House of Cawdor have a big gambling tournament then. We need to organize our festival to coincide with that to increase our chances of more visitors.”

  “But that won’t give us enough time,” Jarlath said.

  Gweneth shook her head and surreptitiously pressed a hand against her stomach to still her renewed anxiety. “It will if we split into teams and visit each of the neighbors as soon as possible.”

  “I can’t travel at present,” the secretary protested. “My mate is ill.”

  She ignored the interruption. “Ry, the Indy crew could pitch in and help. I’d welcome a chance to visit a neighboring planet.”

  “I approve of the idea. This is what we’ll do.” Lynx rattled off assignments for the councilors. “Report back on the morrow. We’ll have a meeting each morn. Shiloh and I will consider which of our neighbors to approach and will announce further division of labor at our next meeting. I want you to all think about the local businesses and services that would want to avail themselves of the opportunity. Make a memo.”

  Everyone started to file from the meeting room, but Gweneth remained seated. Ellard strode out with Jarlath and she took the opportunity to ogle his backside. The male might not possess the pretty face of his brother or friends, but his body rated top marks. Not even his cybertronic arm disturbed her. She sighed as he disappeared. Such pretty and kind green eyes when he forgot to scowl. What she wouldn’t give to see him smile at her.

  “Gweneth?”

  She started to find herself alone in the council room with Lynx and Shiloh.

  “Was there something else?” Lynx asked.

  “Yes,” she blurted before she thought better of the action. “I want to be partnered with Ellard. I want to visit a neighboring planet with Ellard so I can get to know him better.” Seduce him, actually, but she wouldn’t confess that little snippet to the king of Viros.

  “I see.” Lynx shared a speaking glance with Shiloh.

  Shiloh—big like Ellard, but much prettier—fixed her with his gaze. “My brother is much older than you.”

  “Yes.” She nodded in agreement. Her feline remained unconcerned about the age difference. Instead, she’d come alive the sec she’d glimpsed Ellard Tetsu, when she’d thought she’d remain in a humanoid form for the rest of her life. It hadn’t mattered. Ry had told her so. Camryn and Mogens had backed up Ry’s statement. She was important, no matter what form her body took, despite how little her father thought of her.

  “You realize Ellard doesn’t want a mate,” Lynx said.

  “Yes.”

  “Yet you want to visit another planet with him, even though he’ll behave like a grouchy bear-sloth,” Shiloh added.

  She nodded. “I have no idea what a bear-sloth is, but yes, I still want to spend time with him.” She hesitated and after a lengthy pause, went with her gut instinct. These were steady felines, honest and kind males, otherwise Jannike wouldn’t have mated with them. “I think he is my mate, and I want him to stop his mental struggles and get used to the idea.”

  Shiloh scowled. “What makes you think he’s your mate?”

  “My feline came to life within me. She wriggles and writhes until I think my skin might burst. I’ve never shifted before, but the instant I saw him, I felt this. I can’t shift since I’m half feline, but I want Ellard.”

  Lynx and Shiloh shared a glance. Probably speaking to each other via their minds. Jannike possessed the ability now, and she knew Ry and Camryn spoke via telepathy at times. As she watched them, Shiloh grinned and nodded then they both focused on her.

  “All right. We’ll team you with Ellard,” Lynx agreed.

  “But take heed, Gweneth, you had better not toy with him. Be very sure because he has suffered enough in the past. I’d hate to see my brother hurt again,” Shiloh warned, his eyes edging toward kitty-cat in the same way Ry’s did when his emotions ran high.

  “I won’t. I promise. I’ve heard the gossip, and I would never hurt him. In my eyes, he is a hero.”

  Shiloh softened. “He is at that. You realize my brother is stubborn. He won’t take your maneuvering well.”

  A snort burst from her, and she clapped her hand over her mouth in consternation. “I’m sorry.”

  “What were you thinking?” Lynx asked.

  “That Ellard seems slow on the uptake. Flirting and feminine behavior isn’t working.”

  “So you’re taking things to the next level.” Lynx’s grin widened to toothy.

  “That’s my plan,” she said primly.

  “I think he is a lucky man.” Shiloh laughed at Lynx’s tetchy growl after his compliment. “We’ll try to point my stubborn brother in the right direction. The rest is up to you.”

  Later that eve in the king’s private apartments.

  “Are you sure we’re doing the right thing?” Lynx asked as he and Shiloh strode into the royal suite—a place of easy comfort where the three of them could cast off their royal status and duties and be themselves. They’d cleared out most of the furniture used by Lynx’s parents, the former king and queen, and had gone for the minimalistic look they all favored after living in cramped conditions aboard spaceships.

  “Problem?” Jannike, formerly from Manx Two and their mate and queen, handed them each a glass of apecot port. Her blonde hair hung down her back these days, longer and arranged in a messy braid. Her face and body were also rounder since she carried the royal heir, a fact that still amazed Lynx. They were going to be parents. Mind-blowing and a little scary.

  “Gweneth.” Shiloh summed up their discussion in the one word.

  “Ah.” Jannike poured herself a cajuice, activated a hover-table to rest her drink, then
flopped onto the nearest gel-chair and propped up her feet on a sturdy yet priceless antique table from Septius.

  Shiloh bent over to pat her rounded tummy. She batted his hands away.

  Lynx chuckled as he sank onto a gel-seat opposite her and set his feet on the same sturdy table. Shiloh joined him, his mates’ proximity pleasing his feline.

  “Well, is that it?” Jannike fixed them both with an intimidating stare. “I’m the queen. You can’t keep secrets from me. What has Gweneth done now?”

  “She organized us all to get sprayed with perfume.”

  Jannike’s lips twitched, and her shoulders moved in tiny, jerky increments.

  “But you knew that,” Shiloh said, cuddling into Lynx. “I’m wagering you helped with the spraying.”

  Her eyes glowed, her feline pushing to the surface. She stood and sauntered over to the gel-seat he and Shiloh sat on, squeezing between the two of them. “I might have. Tell me what happened with Gweneth.”

  “She asked us to pair her with Ellard,” Shiloh answered.

  “She came up with a brilliant idea to attract visitors. A festival that spotlights food, the arts and attractions here on Viros. In order to move on the idea, she suggested we visit neighboring planets in pairs to solicit other races and make it a combined effort.”

  Jannike leaned into Shiloh and smiled. “She wants to have some alone time with Ellard. A bold plan.”

  “It’s a gamble,” Shiloh agreed, his hand coming to rest on Jannike’s stomach. “My brother is stubborn and edges toward inflexible about some things. He’s decided to do without women.”

  Jannike gasped with exaggerated horror. “No sex at all?”

  “I never alleged that,” Shiloh said dryly. “I believe he visits the whorehouse on occasion.”

  Jannike tugged on Shiloh’s ears. “I’d better not discover you and Lynx visiting the whorehouse.” She paused and Lynx could practically see her thoughts whir. “In fact, I think I’ll outlaw them. I’m the queen. I can do that, right?”

  “No, you can’t,” Lynx said. “Some of the soldiers would revolt. But back to Gweneth. We told her we’d honor her request, although I’m not sure how to pitch it to Ellard.”

  “Make it impossible for him to say no,” Jannike suggested. “You say others are going to visit neighboring planets? Send Ellard away to do something for you that will keep him out of the city while you arrange the rest of the visits. Keep one aside for Ellard and Gweneth, and once everyone else has left, pitch it to Ellard that Gweneth deserves a spot since it was her idea, but you’re worried for her safety. Appeal to his chivalry and his bodyguard profession. Make it so he can’t refuse.”

  Lynx shared a glance with Shiloh before turning his attention to Jannike. “That is plain sneaky.”

  She grinned. “Yep.”

  Shiloh brushed a lock of black hair away from his green eyes. “I think it will work. Let’s do it. We’ll make a list of suitable planets—those with peaceful inhabitants, and meantime, I think Ellard and Jarlath could go to the colored sands on the other side of Viros to check on suitable building sites. The perfect place to build another hotel.”

  Jannike sipped her cajuice. “Excellent, now that we’ve organized Gweneth’s love life, do you think we can focus on our own?”

  Lynx’s office, House of the Cat castle

  “No.” Ellard bunched his hands to fists. Even his artificial fingers flexed more than usual, such was his determination not to agree to the king’s assignment. “Can’t someone else go with Gweneth?” No way in this universe he was going anywhere with the bewitching woman. Bah! The idea of being alone with temptation… No. Just no.

  Lynx sighed with exaggerated patience. “I’ve told you. We’ve already sent everyone else off in pairs. The dragon shapeshifters on Narenda were the last to reply. Originally, Gweneth wasn’t going to go, but she has done so much of the organization. She deserves a trip to Narenda, but I can’t send her by herself. It’s not safe. You’re a capable bodyguard, and the only trustworthy male free to undertake the task.”

  “My job is to watch Jarlath. I can’t leave him,” Ellard protested.

  “Jarlath is going to help us with matters on this end.” He gestured at the silent Shiloh standing at his side. “He and Keira are staying at the castle for the duration.” Lynx looked as if he fought a smile. “He’ll be quite safe with us. Besides, he’s been training with Ry and Jannike. He’s not the same pompous upper-class jibberjabber he was when Shiloh and I left Viros.”

  A smile curved Ellard’s lips, despite his bad temper. True. These days Jarlath held responsibilities, a worthy man, and Keira, his mate, was perfect for him even though Ellard had thought otherwise at the onset of their relationship.

  “So you’ll do it,” Shiloh said. “Good, that is one thing off our minds.”

  “What? No,” Ellard snapped. “Gweneth is a troublemaker. And the clothes she wears…” His mind slipped to her tanned legs and her cleavage—the vision she’d appeared in the dress thing. Appalled at the direction of his thoughts, he shook his head. Hard.

  Lynx grinned. “Jannike told us there is nothing wrong with the way she dresses. That’s the way they dress on Earth.”

  “Jannike and Camryn never wear clothes like that,” Ellard pointed out, his voice emerging clipped and disapproving. But his mind slipped to a memory without permission. One of Gweneth in a brief red thing at the swimming hole. Two pieces of fabric to screen her breasts and her…female parts. Never mind that the other women who’d arrived with Ry Coppersmith aboard the spaceship Indefatigable had worn similar apparel. Gweneth had made him stare. All those curves…

  “Jannike wears Earth clothes sometimes,” Shiloh said with approval.

  Lynx chuckled. “She says she prefers clothes she can fight in, although now that she is expecting our first child she won’t be able to train, and Camryn is almost ready to give birth.”

  “She looks as if she might pop,” Ellard said.

  Shiloh thumped him on the shoulder. “Don’t tell her that.”

  “Back to Gweneth.” Lynx scanned his comp pad. “We’re short of transport. You’ll have to take our ship.”

  “What?” Ellard realized he was gaping at his brother and Lynx. He snapped his mouth shut. “You never let anyone fly the Gallant.”

  Lynx thumbed to his next page of notes. “You’ll need to leave on the morrow. Let us know this eve if you agree to take Gweneth with you, otherwise we’ll have to choose a senior soldier.”

  “Who?” Ellard demanded, his fingers flexing again.

  “Durant might be suitable,” Shiloh suggested. “Or perhaps send Councilor Chewang. He’s sensible and would make sure Gweneth stayed safe. He sounded keen when I mentioned the task to him earlier this morn.”

  “No!” Ellard snapped. “Durant is an idiot, and Chewang has so many females I’ve lost count. He’d seduce her. He’d hurt her.”

  “Chewang has a steady business. He comes from an excellent family. Gweneth might be the woman to capture his interest.” Shiloh shared a quick glance with Lynx. “She bears the feline mark on her cheek, even though she can’t shift. She would make any Virosian male a fine mate.”

  Phrull. He couldn’t let Gweneth go to Narenda with either of those males. His shoulders slumped momentarily before he straightened. “All right I’ll do it. But Gweneth has to listen to me and not do anything stupid. She needs to follow my orders, instantly with no argument.”

  Lynx nodded. “Of course. We’ve already spoken to her.”

  “I’ll go and tell Chewang his presence isn’t required,” Shiloh said. “He’ll be disappointed.”

  Ellard grunted and turned to Lynx once his brother disappeared. “All right. You’d better give me specifics of what you want me to do. At least that way the assignment will get done correctly.”

  A sound came from the corner of the room, and Lynx coughed, clearing his throat. “Beg your pardon. I believe Jannike told us the Earth expression is a frog in my throat.”
<
br />   “What is a frog?”

  “A type of creature that lives near water, ponds and such.”

  Ellard grimaced, none the wiser. “This Earth place is weird. I can’t understand the women half the time and Ry and their pilot, Nanu, are just as bad.”

  Lynx grinned, his feline-green eyes glowing with a private thought.

  Ellard decided not to ask about the cause of the humor. “Tell me what we need to do on Narenda and who we need to speak with.”

  He listened and nodded.

  “I’ll send the full details to the shipboard comp pad,” Lynx said once he finished talking. “But those are the basics.”

  “I’ll go and pack.” Ellard left the king’s office, his mind full of all he needed to do. It wouldn’t be that bad. Most of his cycle would be consumed with piloting the ship and plotting the course. They’d speak with the dragon shapeshifters on Narenda, get their cooperation, or not, and fly back to Viros. No problem.

  Chapter 2

  On board Gallant spaceship, heading for Narenda

  Gweneth slanted a glance at Ellard as their ship plunged into the darkness of space and the green-and-brown planet of Viros grew smaller. His stubborn jaw appeared hard enough to break her fist—should she decide to hit him, and the thought had crossed her mind. His pretty green eyes remained glued on the instrument panels. His conversation nil.

  Her own mouth firmed while her brain busily played the angles. Somehow, some way she had to get him to talk. Something more and better than manly grunts. Flirtation, but nothing too overt. But that needed to come after he started conversing.

  An entire cycle portion passed in silence, and she thought back to the advice she’d received from her friends, those who had become her family.

  Ry had told her not to prattle at him too much because males didn’t enjoy useless conversation.

  Camryn had warned her not to let him bully her because that set a bad precedent.

  Jannike had suggested taking him by surprise and tying him up until he succumbed.