“Can you see me now?” Gweneth asked.
“I certainly can,” the dark-haired man said. “I never realized our visitors included a woman.”
“I’m Gweneth Swithin, and I’m traveling with Ellard Tetsu. I’m sorry we’re late. Our ship suffered mechanical problems. They’re fixed now, and I believe we should arrive on the morrow.”
“Excellent,” the man purred. “I am Gryffnn Drake, brother to the chieftain.”
Ellard caught the narrowing of the man’s gaze and the shift of his pupils. A dragon shifter. Ellard hated the way the male eyed Gweneth like his next dinner.
“We’re looking forward to visiting your planet,” Gweneth said in her melodic tones. “Will your chieftain still be available to meet with us?”
“Yes, of course. We welcome the chance to trade beyond our borders.”
A feline snarl burst from Ellard and his claws dug into his thigh. The dragon wanted to meet Gweneth. That was clear from his drool and his oozing sexuality.
“Problem?” Gryffnn asked, one dark brow arching.
“My pilot requires his dinner.” Gweneth smiled sweetly at Gryffnn. “He gets cranky if his blood sugar is low.”
Another growl escaped before he could contain his feline. The woman would drive him to madness, and his cat disliked this Gryffnn character and his flirtation with Gweneth.
“You had better make sure he eats then. My brother will interpret his growls as rudeness.” Gryffnn’s eyes shifted even farther to dragon. “I look forward to the morrow. Over and out.”
Ellard growled without restraint as the male’s visage blinked off the communications screen. “I dislike that man.”
“Control yourself. We’re not going to achieve our objective with you grunting and growling all over the place. This is important to me, Ellard. This is my idea, and I want my new home to prosper. Ry and Camryn and the rest of the Indy crew feel the same. Most of us have never had a permanent home before, and we want to fit in.”
Ellard stared at her impassioned face, and guilt slithered through him. She thought of her friends and of others—strangers—who would look down on her because she couldn’t shift. He thought of himself.
“I’m sorry.” He tried not to choke on the words. “My feline is rattled and unsettled because of the sabotage. You’re right. This is an important mission. I promise I’ll do my best to help you.”
Gweneth gave a clipped nod and released her safety harness. “Would you mind if I take the first rest break? I’ll bring you something to eat before I retire.”
“You don’t have to wait on me.”
“I know. I’m getting myself something to eat, and it will be no trouble to prepare food for you at the same time.”
“Thank you.” He turned back to the navigational equipment, scanning and rescanning the instruments even though he knew the ship was flying in the right direction now. Although the Gallant limped at half-pace after colliding with pieces of debris, he felt confident they would make their destination on the morrow. Whether he’d arrive with all his hair intact was another matter, since he couldn’t stop thinking about Gweneth and her kisses. Surely she wouldn’t expect him to kiss her tomorrow?
His feline shoved a growl past his restraint, and Ellard groaned in sympathy. The woman had thrown him off balance and had his feline in a tempest.
Back at the castle, it had been easier to ignore her. But here…here on the Gallant the tighter quarters offered no escape from her determination, her force-of-nature personality, her beauty.
“I brought soup.” Gweneth appeared, following the silent float table that bore his meal. “I’ll set my comp pad alarm for three parts of a cycle. You should have some rest too. I know how to fly the ship, and you’re close if I have any difficulties.”
Ellard nodded agreement since it beat arguing. His feline registered her retreat, listening until her footsteps entered the sleeping chamber. His shoulders slumped in relief. Anything to get her away from him, to give himself a chance to think, to regroup. Maybe he’d contact Jarlath and plead for advice. He didn’t trust his thoughts or his emotions any longer, not after Mareeka and Marjo.
Betrayal.
No. He couldn’t compare this situation with Gweneth. She was young, not far into womanhood, and she didn’t seek to overthrow the House of the Cat.
Ellard commed Jarlath and prayed his friend would answer. A sleepy Keira came on screen, her brown hair tousled, the cheeks of her pale green face flushed with a darker green and her lips swollen. An equally disheveled Jarlath popped into view beside her, his chest bare.
Ellard groaned. “I’m sorry. I’ve interrupted. I’ll call another time.”
“It’s all right,” Keira said.
“What do you want?” Jarlath growled. His friend refrained from using the same niceties as his mate.
“I…” Ellard swallowed and wished he’d thought twice before contacting his friend.
Keira cocked her head, reminding him of her crow status with the birdlike movement. “Did you want to speak with Jarlath alone?”
“I did but I’ve changed my mind,” Ellard blurted when Keira started to back away. “I…I’m confused.”
Jarlath and Keira stared at him, and why shouldn’t they? He’d never admitted to anything like this before.
“Gweneth?” Keira asked with a smile that held a healthy serving of amusement.
“Yes! I kissed her, and I don’t want to do that again.” He rubbed his hands over his face and tried again. “I mean I do, but I shouldn’t.”
“What does Gweneth say?” Keira asked.
At least she’d reined in her laughter. Jarlath didn’t even try, his chuckle unrestrained.
“I’m glad I amuse you.”
“Gweneth is a confident young woman. If she hated your kisses, she’d tell you so,” Keira told him. “Has she refused?”
Ellard sighed. “She expects me to kiss her every day.”
Keira’s grin widened, her eyes sparkling in echo of the humor. “Then why do you have a problem?”
“Why would she want to kiss me? No one else does,” he added miserably. Talk about embarrassing. Difficult to admit the truth. “I seldom compare well with the other single feline males.”
“Not true,” Jarlath barked. “You are worth double those useless nits.”
“Jarlath, that isn’t what Ellard means. He’s worried about his appearance and the fact he has lost his arm.”
“He’s a hero,” Jarlath said bluntly. “If Gweneth and the other women don’t recognize that fact, then they are dense.”
Keira’s gaze took on a crow sharpness. “I doubt Gweneth is toying with you, Ellard. She is a beautiful woman.”
“My point,” he blurted. “Yet she made a bet with me, and now that she’s won, she expects me to kiss her every day.”
“Clever girl,” Keira said. “She’s managing you nicely.”
“I don’t want to be managed,” Ellard snapped.
“You need to think about what you do want.” Keira ignored his testy tone. “What about your feline? Does he want her?”
Ellard slumped. “Yes.”
“Did your feline want Marjo and Mareeka?”
“I thought he did, but…” He shrugged in helplessness.
Keira sighed. “None of that was your fault, Ellard. You have a big heart. You’re loyal and true to your friends. Would you like my advice?”
He nodded, each of his muscles tensing as he waited.
“Give Gweneth her kiss every day. Enjoy spending the cycles with her and being away from the prying eyes at the castle. Take each cycle one at a time instead of worrying about the future. Relax for once and think of yourself instead of duty to Jarlath and the other royals. Treat this assignment as a holiday away from your responsibilities. Do you understand what I’m suggesting?”
Give Gweneth her kiss every day.
He shuddered while his feline issued a purr.
“What if I want more than kisses?”
&nbs
p; “Remember what I suggested about taking each cycle one at a time?”
“Yes,” Ellard said.
Jarlath smiled at him, and this time his grin lacked any joke-at-your-expense humor. This smile held approval, something pleasant and reassuring, and Ellard felt the tension in his shoulders shifting.
“Keira is right. One cycle at a time,” Jarlath agreed. “Use this journey to get to know her, the things she likes and enjoys. Trust your feline to steer you in the right direction. What do you have to lose? At the very least you’ll make another friend.”
Ellard nodded again. “Thank you.”
He thought about their advice during his cycle portions alone. One cycle at a time. He could do that. Break his fears into manageable slices. A workable plan. His only plan. He just hoped it didn’t come back to bite him in the arse.
Gweneth burst onto the bridge at a skip, her long black hair confined in a bouncy ponytail instead of one of her complicated twists that she piled on top of her head. It made her appear younger and mischievous.
Ellard swallowed, his stomach muscles quivering as his gaze shot to her pouty lips.
A float table sailed toward him and the control panel.
Gweneth plonked down in the seat beside him, glanced out the viewscreen and at the instruments before shifting her attention to him. “Do you want to have a snack before you go and rest? It’s nice to share a meal.”
He found himself nodding when he hadn’t intended at all. “You’re a witch,” he grumbled.
She blinked. “No, I’m a feline. A failure of a feline, but a cat nevertheless.”
“Before you and the rest of the Indy crew arrived on Viros, before and during the war with the House of Cawdor, many of our shifters lost their ability to shift. And without regular shifting our cats suffer. Some die.”
Her white teeth caught that pouty lip and worried it. Ellard stared at her until the stirring of his feline warned of his idiocy. He shouldn’t stare at her or encourage her because despite what Jarlath and Keira thought, he was older and damaged. A young, beautiful shifter like Gweneth could have anyone she wanted, and he feared another joke at his expense.
Phrull.
He puffed out a hard breath, every muscle in his body tensing at the memory of the way Marjo and Mareeka played him. Because of his mistakes, Jarlath had faced great danger, and he’d lost an arm.
“Ellard. Ellard.” Gweneth reached out to touch his artificial arm. He couldn’t truly feel her touch, but the sensors built into the limb transmitted to his brain and told him he should. His cock started to fill.
“What?” he snapped.
“You were telling me about the shifters who couldn’t transform. What happened?”
“The House of Cawdor managed to place an additive in the food supply and that worked to stifle shifting. Some were lucky and never succumbed. My feline remained, but Jarlath’s didn’t. Until he met Keira, his feline was dying.”
“He’s all right now because I’ve seen him shift.”
“Most recovered, but a few…” Ellard trailed off, the horror of a part of him dying even worse than losing his arm. Something to remember. Some of the Virosian citizens had it worse than him. Gweneth, for example, had never shifted, yet she embraced life and new experiences. He could learn something from a friendship with her. The thought, the decision, made a weight lift off his shoulders. “Thanks for the food.”
She wrinkled her nose. “It’s not much. I didn’t bother stocking much since the voyage to Narenda shouldn’t have taken this long. You should take a break once you’ve eaten. We need to be in top form once we arrive at Narenda. Lynx and Shiloh are counting on us to woo the people into taking part in our festival.”
“No one knows much about the species who live on Narenda.”
“I know. I attempted to do some research since Lynx and Shiloh told me they’d visited once. The ship’s data banks tell of the atmosphere and the composition of the planet. It’s tropical—much warmer than Viros, so I’m glad I brought my shorts and T-shirts with me—clothes to relax in—as well as suitable gear for meetings.”
“Shorts are an Earth garment?”
“Yes. Very comfortable. Anyway, that’s the extent of my research. Nothing else showed up, apart from the fact the people weren’t friendly.” Gweneth glanced at her timepiece. “Ah.”
The wealth of satisfaction in the sound raised a warning signal in Ellard. His feline went on alert, senses stretching outward.
“I believe you owe me another kiss.” She beamed at him. “We’ll take care of that before you go and rest.”
Take each cycle as it came.
Right then.
Ellard calmly ate his meal—a tasteless dehydrated meal of malpack strips and perknoods, a type of soft dough cut into long pieces. The gravy should make the meal taste better. Instead, it clogged up his mouth.
Gweneth pushed hers away. “As I said, not much to eat.”
Ellard set the remains of his meal back on the hover tray, and Gweneth sent the tray back to the galley. He scanned the instruments one final time to satisfy himself they appeared to be heading in the correct direction before standing.
“I’ll take care of that kiss now.” The words and the idea came easier now that he’d considered and discussed the matter. Friends. Someone to stand with during court functions and to laugh with instead of appearing a ninny. Jarlath and Keira were right. There was no downside to Gweneth’s proposition.
“Ah, all right.” Instead of appearing pleased, Gweneth’s dark brows drew together. She stood, her uncertainty clear.
She’d thought he’d keep objecting and his acquiescence confused her.
“Come here,” he said, confident now that he had the upper hand. The thing was—if he aimed for honesty—and he tried not to lie to himself, he’d enjoyed kissing her.
Gweneth advanced, closing the distance between them. When they were almost touching, she lifted her head and met his gaze. An instance later, her chin lifted, and he smiled at the sight.
She reached up and skimmed his jaw with her fingertips.
His feline twisted beneath his skin, the leashed power of the beast almost breaking past his control, all because of her innocent touch.
“Is that your feline?”
He nodded since a lump had lodged in his throat, preventing him from speaking.
She ran her palm over his cheek, and heat roared through his body. Not his cat this time, but the man’s body reacting to the proximity of a beautiful woman. One who wanted a kiss.
“Come here,” he said gruffly, reaching for her and pulling her against his chest.
They both sighed then grinned.
Friends who enjoyed kissing each other. It couldn’t be that bad, he thought as he claimed her lips. He’d wanted to keep the kiss quiet and friendly, but the elvetine flower-soft touch of her lips responding to his roared through him in a flash flood of emotions. He wrapped both arms around her slender form and deepened the contact, sliding his tongue into the warm softness and falling into a world of feminine mysteries. Heat and pleasure.
He’d meant to kiss her and go on his way, but the sec his brain thought about ceasing the contact, his arms locked in position. In urgent need of a breath, he parted their lips and nuzzled the fragrant flesh of her neck.
“Ellard,” she whispered.
He licked across the rapid-beating pulse below her ear, and wonder filled him. This storm of lust and longing affected her too, since she appeared just as lost.
He sighed again and pressed his forehead to hers. “I should probably go and get some rest. You’re right about us both needing to stay alert once we land on Narenda.”
“One more kiss?” The hopeful gleam in her beautiful green eyes unmanned him. No one ever looked at him this way. Not a woman.
Their lips met again before the thought registered in his mind. The last bit of his sanity told him to place distance between them since his cock was reacting in a predictable manner. He’d hate to frighten he
r, not that she seemed the nervy type, but he distrusted his instincts when it came to females. He forced his lower limbs to obey the order to move and made room between them.
She groaned and reclaimed the space. Firm breasts pushed into his chest, and she didn’t seem to mind his shaft digging into her belly. The thought shot pleasure through him and drew his balls so tight he thought he might burst.
“Enough.” He pulled away with a tortured groan and took an additional two steps back to negate temptation.
She nodded. “Thank you for the spectacular kiss.”
“Two kisses,” he corrected, his voice croaky and strained.
“You still owe me one tomorrow,” she said. “It’s not my fault you decided to steal an extra one.”
He stared at her, nonplussed by her casual manner. Just as he thought he understood her, she said or did something that jolted him out of rhythm.
“Call me if you have a problem.”
She sat in her seat and fastened the safety harness. “I might call Lynx and Shiloh and tell them we’ve made contact and should arrive on the morrow as we predicted.”
Ellard glanced down at his erection and back at Gweneth, calmly pushing buttons on the controls. The last thing he wanted was for Lynx or Shiloh to see the results of Gweneth’s kiss. “See you later.”
She lifted one hand. “Sure thing.”
Ellard sighed and left the bridge. Women. He’d never understand them.
Chapter 4
Planet Narenda
The Gallant thudded onto the landing pad late in the next cycle, and without warning, listed to the side. Gweneth, who had already unbuckled her seat harness, flew off balance, and Ellard’s arm snapped out to grab her. An arrow of pain transmitted from his artificial arm and down his shoulder, then Gweneth plopped into his lap, jolting the discomfort from his mind.
“As much as I enjoy cuddling with you, I think the delegation from the chieftain’s office is waiting for us.” Her eyes twinkled at him and her warm weight felt so right he had to bite back a groan and resist dragging her even closer. She smelled of flowers and sunshine, but he caught a hint of feline, and his cat took notice. Stronger than the cycle before, it called to him, tempted him to wallow and play with the scent. “Ellard, are you listening to me?”
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