LostwithLeo

by Shelley Munro

  Higher and higher, he drove her, and with a snap of tension she fell into ecstasy, the pulses shooting through her body sheer indulgence.

  Leo must have felt her climax because he stroked into her with three hard thrusts then stilled, his breath coming in harsh gasps. After long moments, he separated their bodies and drew her against his chest.

  “That is a much better way to use our time,” he purred in her ear.

  “Yes,” she whispered in agreement, but a worrying thought settled in her mind. Why would Leo want to involve himself in her problems? By the Goddess, she needed to read her cards to find her way.

  Chapter Nine

  Iseult scrambled along the white passage leading to her central web, her eight legs working in concert for a change. The vibrant colors remained on her torso, but she still couldn’t maintain the humanoid form—not with her usual competence.

  Ever since the last man.

  Yes, since she’d taken Pretty she’d been off kilter, the drunken euphoria that engulfed her leading her to space out and lose moments of reality.

  “You,” she snapped at one of her guards.

  “Yes, lady?”

  “I want to speak to all the guards who tasted the man’s blood. Tell them to assemble in my web. I await their arrival.”

  “Yes, lady.”

  She paused to watch the guard scuttle away. Strong legs, she mused. Curvaceous and pleasing torso. Perhaps she should add him to the breeding roster. It never hurt to have spares on her list since she was a vigorous lover.

  Iseult inhaled to center herself and visualized her other form. The familiar tingles of transformation brought a sense of satisfaction. She was becoming stronger again, yet still, unease lurked in her mind. Something was wrong, something odd that her ingrained awareness failed to acknowledge.

  Her mouth twisted as she took a mental trip to the past. The females of their species didn’t play nice together, and on reaching sexual maturity they left to set up on their own. Everything was instinctual, but in this case, she was coming up with nothing. Not one of her innate senses was helping to choose one path over another.

  Instead emptiness filled her, a sense of loss, and she had no idea of what she’d misplaced.

  * * * * *

  Leo woke at his normal time. Early. He didn’t move, didn’t so much as twitch a muscle. One moment he was asleep then he was wide awake and staring at Betrys.

  She wasn’t beautiful, yet her strength of character attracted his attention. His cock stirred, exerting a say on his thoughts. Oh yeah. He enjoyed her body too. He liked the way her smile lit up her face, and he’d witnessed firsthand her love for her son. He’d seen the helplessness on her face as she’d spoken of her situation, her desperate need to protect Ricci and keep him safe. Despite the danger to herself and her son, she’d helped him leave Spiderus Mansion. She’d said if Iseult had discovered he was alive she would’ve kept him at the mansion. Leo was inclined to believe Betrys’s supposition.

  Yeah, gradually he’d changed his mind about her, coming to admire her without knowing how or why regarding his difference of opinion. Despite his words to Saber, he’d stopped yearning for revenge and started to wonder why Betrys was working for Iseult.

  Now he had his answers.

  The problem was how to deal with Iseult.

  He slid from the bed, and Betrys murmured a sleepy protest. Leo ambled to the kitchen area and wondered about coffee. No sooner had the thought occurred than a coffeemaker appeared, prepped and ready to go. While he blinked, water started dripping through and the scent of coffee filled the air.

  “Score,” Leo said, and a rich chuckle sounded in the corner of the room. Leo grinned and found a mug to stick beneath the flow of coffee. With a coffee in hand, he grabbed his com-circle and wandered outside to call Saber.

  “Bro,” he said when Saber answered.

  “You sound happy.”

  “Yeah. I’ve met Caspar in person. Top man. Thanks to him I know way more about Betrys.” He told his brother about Betrys, her son and her employer Iseult.

  “Ah, I knew there was more to the story than you told us. Iseult Orna, her employer, right?”

  “Yeah. That’s the one.”

  “She’s booked in for the next intake at the resort,” Saber said in a cool voice. “She wants to bring six guards with her.”

  “We don’t want her here or her minions,” Leo snapped. “She’s dangerous, and any man she fucks will die. Betrys says they all perish, that I’m an oddity in this respect.”

  “Betrys doesn’t know why you lived?”

  “She has no idea. Apparently it’s never happened in all the years she’s worked for Iseult.”

  “If we let Iseult come to the resort that might open an opportunity for us to snatch Ricci while she’s not at home.”

  “Betrys can’t go,” Leo said, thinking aloud. “She’d need to stay here and let Iseult think she’s searching for another male. The woman is dangerous, Saber. We need to have a solid plan in place. We can’t risk any of the men or let Iseult get her hooks into them. She’ll kill them. Saber, she’ll abuse and torture them. We can’t let that happen to anyone else.”

  “Steady, Leo. We’re not going to let her touch anyone. We’ll drug her if we have to and keep her subdued. Betrys will know her favorite foods. Don’t worry. We’ll talk to Betrys and formulate a plan to keep her and her son safe. And if what Betrys says is true, we need to keep you out of sight. You’ll need to stay in feline form for the duration of Iseult’s stay or at least until we’re able to make sure Betrys’s son is clear of danger.”

  Saber’s calmness soothed some of the angst riding Leo. He set his empty coffee mug aside and rubbed at the scar on his belly. The damn thing was throbbing again and it made him even more determined to best Iseult.

  “Leo, you said Iseult is having trouble keeping her form. If we give her something to make her sick or incapacitate her she might think the illness is another mysterious symptom.”

  “That might work. I’ll talk to Betrys. Maybe she has other info we can use. Will you come and pick us up today?”

  “No,” Saber said after a pause. “I’ll come and collect you tomorrow. It’s not as if we can do much today, not before we do some research. I’ll get Scarlett on the job. She’ll obtain the information we need, but it will take time.”

  Leo nodded, even though his brother couldn’t see him. Spending more hours with Betrys wasn’t a hardship. “All right. I’ll contact you if Betrys can think of anything else that might help us.”

  “Right. I’ll be there around mid-morning. Tell Betrys not to worry. We’ll get her son.”

  “Thanks,” Leo said.

  “Anytime,” Saber replied and cut the connection.

  Leo idly rubbed at his scar, his touch easing the ache. He frowned and looked down at his naked form. Either he was putting on weight or there was something wrong with his stomach. He should be getting better, the pain lessening rather than increasing.

  “Take more of the tonic,” Caspar said from the doorway.

  “Do you know what is wrong with me?” Leo asked, turning toward the familiar voice.

  “I am no medical man, but I suspect you’ve picked up a parasite. It happens. The tonic will help to kill off the organism.”

  “Crap,” Leo said. An understatement. He scowled at his puckered scar and prodded at the swelling. More questions for Betrys and more research for Scarlett.

  Caspar smiled. “I like young Ricci. Betrys has an intelligent son. He was full of questions during the journey back to his sleeping body.”

  “Most children are curious,” Leo said. “I remember my younger brothers asking questions, and I’m sure I asked my share.”

  “There are more of you?” Caspar asked in clear interest.

  “I have four brothers and one sister,” Leo said.

  Caspar’s grin held joy and expectation. He rubbed his hands together. “I can’t wait to meet the others. Do they have mates?”
/>   “Not all of us. Saber and my second brother Felix have mates.”

  “I’ve met Saber and the beautiful Eva. Perhaps your siblings could come to visit.” Caspar peppered him with more questions.

  Leo answered Caspar’s queries until Caspar halted him.

  “Betrys is awake,” Caspar said. “I will inform her I escorted Ricci home then leave you in peace.”

  The man poofed out of sight, and Leo ambled back inside to grab more tonic and start making breakfast.

  “Good morning,” he called.

  Betrys looked adorably flustered, and his heart did a flip-flop, sort of like a landed trout. The thought made him smile. The more he learned about Betrys, the more he overcame his lingering dislike of her actions.

  “I’ll make breakfast. What would you like?”

  “I’m hungry,” she announced, her tone loaded with surprise. “I don’t have a chance to break my fast at the mansion. Iseult keeps me busy.”

  “Caspar tells me I have some sort of parasite, which is why my scar is giving me so much trouble. Do you know if this has happened before?”

  “You think this came from Iseult?” Betrys slid off the sleep-bed, glanced around for a robe. “Let me see.”

  Leo stood still while she ran gentle fingers over the scar.

  She glanced up at him. “Does it hurt if I push on it?”

  Leo sucked in a harsh gasp and stepped from her reach.

  Betrys frowned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. The area looks swollen.”

  Leo opened the cold-box and grabbed a vial. He removed the stopper and knocked back the liquid inside. “This tonic seems to relieve the pain and the swelling subsides, for a while at least.”

  “Can I touch you again? I’ll try not to hurt you. I promise.”

  Leo dipped his head in assent and steeled himself for Betrys’s caress.

  “Something is moving under there.”

  “Great,” Leo said. “Caspar, is there something I can take to kill it?”

  Caspar materialized beside Betrys and Leo saw her start at the suddenness of the man’s appearance. “If the parasite was in your digestive tract I could help, but since it seems to be embedded in your flesh someone will have to cut it out.” He waved a hand and a display of knives—both plain and ceremonial appeared on the wall. “Take one of those. They should do the job.”

  “Iseult did this to me.” Leo ignored Caspar’s suggestion.

  Betrys took an involuntary step back, regret and guilt chasing across her features. “It’s never happened before. I don’t know what to tell you. Everyone else died.”

  “Maybe Scarlett will turn up something in her research,” Leo said. “I talked to Saber. Iseult has made enquiries about booking in at the resort.”

  “But she seldom leaves the mansion. I think she’s attended two parties since I started working for her. She hired me because she doesn’t leave Spiderus Mansion. Her men never leave either.”

  “From what Saber told me it sounds as if she wants to bring six of her men too.”

  “That’s out of character,” Betrys said. “I wonder if she’s tried to contact me.”

  “Saber never mentioned anything.”

  “She would’ve called my personal com-circle. It’s in my room at the resort.”

  “Will she hurt Ricci if she can’t contact you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Leo pulled out his communicator and called Saber.

  “Bro, it’s me again. You need to go to Betrys’s room and check her com-circle. We need to know if Iseult has tried to contact her.”

  “I’ll get back to you,” Saber said.

  A sudden sharp pain drove Leo to his knees. He clutched his stomach, his hands pressing against his scar.

  “Leo.” Betrys crouched beside him.

  “Shift forms,” Caspar said in a sharp voice. “Stand back, Betrys. Give him room.”

  The agony came again, sharp and breath-stealing. He groaned and pressed against the scar in the hope of pushing back the torture. His flesh rippled beneath his touch.

  “Shift forms,” Caspar barked at him like a drill sergeant. “Basics, son. Picture the cat now. Do it.”

  Leo pictured the cat in his mind, focused on it hard instead of the pain radiating from his middle. Cat. Cat. Black cat. Part of him was aware of the transformation beginning. He heard a cry from Betrys, stifled when Caspar snapped a command. He struggled to hold the cat in his mind, struggled to focus, struggled to complete the change.

  “Keep going, Leo.”

  Caspar’s calm voice was a beacon. He focused on each instruction and willed his mind and body farther into the shift. He reached the point of no return and relaxed a fraction, knowing instinct would do the rest. A long moment later, he crouched in feline form, harsh pants rasping up his throat.

  “Here, drink some water, lad.” Caspar waved a hand and a bowl of water appeared beside him.

  “He…you…oh my goddess,” Betrys muttered.

  Leo was too exhausted to bark out a laugh. He lapped at the water, just thankful the excruciating pain had subsided enough for him to think.

  His com-circle buzzed.

  “You’d better answer that,” Caspar said to Betrys.

  Leo couldn’t have changed back if he’d wanted, not with his limbs shaky and weak.

  “Hello, this is Betrys. Leo’s stomach is giving him trouble, Caspar says he has a parasite and it needs to be cut out. No, you can’t talk to him. He…he…he changed into a black cat. He can’t talk. No, no he seems better now. Yes, I think you should come and collect us. Leo needs help.”

  “Tell Saber, I cannot aid Leo,” Caspar said.

  Leo heard Betrys relay Caspar’s words.

  She paused and nodded. “We’ll be ready for you.” She ended the call. “Felix and Casey are coming to collect us. Casey has a little medical training and has seen this happen before to one of her men.”

  Leo growled in acknowledgement, too exhausted to move. This wasn’t the way he wanted to expose his other self to Betrys.

  Betrys gaped at the black cat. At Leo. No other word for it because her mouth was hanging wide open.

  “I take it you didn’t know,” Caspar said, his rich voice full of amusement at her expense.

  “He followed me around from the moment I arrived at the resort. I scratched him behind the ears and told him he was beautiful. I…I rubbed his belly!”

  Caspar chuckled. “I’m sure he appreciated you running your hands over him. Don’t fear, lass. The boy is fine. The parasite doesn’t appear to enjoy him in his feline form. He hasn’t hurt you, has he? At least that wasn’t terrified screaming I heard earlier, and my appetite is satiated.”

  Betrys lifted her chin, despite the embarrassment heating her cheeks. “You, sir, are not a gentleman.”

  Caspar laughed again. “My race are voyeurs, and I don’t intend to apologize for our foibles. You should try it some time. The erotic sights are most invigorating.”

  Aware of Leo’s gaze on her, Betrys crouched beside him and ran her hand over his silky black coat. “You are beautiful,” she whispered. “How are you doing? Do you feel a little better? Can I see your scar?”

  He flipped over onto his back in acquiescence and displayed his belly. Betrys drew in a swift breath. The scar bulged and…and it moved.

  “Can I touch it?” she asked, deciding the best path was to request permission.

  When he didn’t offer an objection, she reached out and placed her hand on top of the bulge. It pulsed under the press of her fingers.

  “Can you feel something in there?” Caspar asked.

  “Yes, it’s moving, although it doesn’t seem as vigorous. I don’t understand. It’s obvious Iseult has done something to you, but this has never happened before. Leo, are you still in pain? Grunt once for yes, twice for no.”

  Leo let out three gruff barks.

  Betrys wrinkled her nose. “What does that mean?”

  Caspar chuckled and Bet
rys shot him a glare.

  “I think he means that it still hurts, but he’s more comfortable in feline form,” the irritating man said.

  “Leo?”

  Leo grunted.

  “Okay then. I’d better tidy up before Leo’s brother arrives to take us back to the resort.”

  “Have something to eat.” Caspar gestured toward the cold-box and the kitchen area. “My people will take care of cleaning up.”

  “Thank you for letting us stay here,” Betrys said. “And despite your annoying ways, I’m thankful for you bringing my son on the dreamscape to visit and returning him safely to the mansion.”

  “Lass, the pleasure is all mine. You can thank me by visiting again with your young man.”

  Betrys shot Leo a quick look and saw him resting, his head relaxed on his front paws. “I don’t think Leo feels that way about me,” she said in a soft voice. “I think this is a casual thing between us.”

  Leo lifted his head and grunted twice.

  Caspar grinned in his annoying way. “Maybe the two of you should discuss the matter so you can present a united front.”

  * * * * *

  Betrys stood beside Caspar and Leo and watched the shuttle land. A dark-haired man jumped out and a tall slender woman with short black hair leaped out behind him, landing lightly on her feet. He nodded in acknowledgement of her and Caspar then focused on Leo.

  “Leo,” the man said and crouched beside his brother. “How are you doing?”

  Betrys studied the new arrival and would have picked him as one of Leo’s siblings or a relation. They possessed identical black hair and bright-green eyes and they both moved with the same lazy confidence.

  “You must be Betrys,” the woman said. “I’m Casey, Felix’s mate. Hi, you must be Caspar. You’re looking very well.”

  “Thanks to the Mitchells all my friends and family are doing well,” Caspar said.

  “Do you think you can help him?” Guilt was knocking Betrys over the head, and emotions swamped her without warning. She inhaled in an effort to regain her equilibrium. “This is my fault.”

  Leo growled in two distinct sounds.

  “It is, Leo. If I hadn’t approached you in the market…” Her shoulders rounded into a hunch. If it hadn’t been Leo, she would’ve signed another willing male.