Festive & Seduced

by Shelley Munro

  “You should have seen the look on Marcus’s face when Nanu kissed him under the mistletoe,” Gweneth said wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

  “Or what about when we went into a chocolate shop and Kaya gobbled down all the samples,” Jannike added.

  “Hey, you helped me eat the chocolate. I wish I had some now. The fudge stuff we made didn’t taste quite the same.”

  “What else do you do?” Sheera asked. “We don’t have anything like your celebration.”

  “We went to the beach. I loved the beach,” Kaya said.

  “But didn’t the Earthlings notice your ears?” Sheera asked.

  “Mogens made a spell for those of us who would have attracted attention,” Kaya said. “So much fun. Barbecues and picnics. Swimming and volleyball.”

  “What else?” Sheera asked, leaning forward in her eagerness to learn more.

  “We sing songs and buy each other gifts. We put up trees and decorations. The area we visited holds a Christmas parade and everyone joins together to sing Christmas carols. Everyone cooks special foods. Some people go to church since the holiday originated as a religious one. It’s a time for family and friends,” Camryn said, and a twinge of longing pinged her. Despite their rocky start, she couldn’t imagine sharing her life with any other male. She loved Ry and their son and daughter.

  Ry had saved her, and somehow, she had to fix the wrong between them now.

  “I’d better get back to the twins.” Camryn stood. “No, you stay.”

  “We’re finished.” Jannike stared past Camryn through the open doorway. “That guy is checking out the ambling woman and not in a good way. He’s going to steal her bag. We have to stop him.” She set off at a fast waddle before the others could so much as blink.

  “Kaya, do something,” Camryn ordered because the waitress, bearing a tray of drinks, stood in her way. “The king will never forgive us if we let Jannike get hurt. Where is her bodyguard?” She hurried after Jannike once her path cleared.

  Gweneth shot out the door and Kaya sprinted after her. Camryn darted outside and raced to catch up, her feet pounding the cobblestones of the street.

  “He’s going to grab her bag,” Jannike said, breathing hard. “Shift, Camryn. Bite his arse.”

  Camryn hesitated, then centered her mind, pulling up her cat in her imagination. The two male owners of the nearest business, a shop selling boots, gaped from their open doorway. Camryn heard their loud whispers as her shift to feline advanced.

  “I’ll trip him,” Sheera said and blinked from sight before anyone could talk her out of the dangerous maneuver.

  Camryn embraced the wash of pain as her body transformed to feline. Secs later, she raced after the thief, past a pair of speechless matrons laden with baskets of shopping, her tunic top and the remnants of her bra flapping around her shoulders. Damn shift. She should have stripped before she morphed, but Ry didn’t like her stripping in public.

  As she raced to the rescue, the man ripped the woman’s purse off her shoulder. The woman attempted to hold on to her belongings, her shoes skidding on a cobblestone worn smooth by numerous feet. She screamed, but she must be one of the felines who wasn’t able to shift. Two more strides and Camryn gathered herself to leap, relieved when the last of her clothing finally fluttered free and fell on the cobblestones.

  Before the thought fully formed, the man flew through the air, arms windmilling as he tripped on Sheera’s foot—the only visible part of her body. He hit the ground with a solid thump, cursing and swearing and attempting to crawl to his feet. Probably intended to escape down the narrow alley leading between the butcher’s shop and a talisman stall.

  Kaya grasped the man’s leg before he could scrabble away like a furtive bug. He screeched, the sound becoming progressively louder and louder, his dirty face turning redder and redder with anger.

  Camryn backed up and shook her head but the man’s screeches seemed to affect her thought processes. She shook her head again and retreated farther back. Grinning, the man scrambled to his feet. He scooped up the handbag and sent her a smirk, but when he picked up speed to retreat toward the central staircase, Sheera stuck out her foot again.

  He hit the ground, but this time he tucked and rolled and Camryn could see he intended to start screeching again. She didn’t know which race the man belonged to, but he reminded her of the legendary banshee with his wailing.

  Camryn gathered herself to pounce but Jannike puffed up to them and sat on the man. An audible rush of air roared from the man, but Jannike’s weight seemed to do the job. He couldn’t get enough air to shriek.

  Gweneth retrieved the flower-embroidered bag and offered it to the feline woman.

  “Th-thank you,” the woman sobbed, her black hair mussed from the encounter. She glanced along the street, away from the central staircase, a wash of bright red highlighting her cheekbones when she noticed the noisy interest from the passersby. “Thank you so much for helping me. My husband would be so angry if I lost the housekeeping money.”

  “Are you all right?” Gweneth asked. “Did he hurt you?”

  “Let me give you a reward,” the woman said.

  “Jannike get off the man,” Kaya said. “Let me take charge of him. And you’d better find something for Camryn to wear. Ry will go crazy mental if he learns she’s wandering around topless.”

  “Take my jacket,” the woman said. “Please.”

  “Thanks.” Camryn sighed and accepted the jacket. This was another feline shifter anomaly. Her tunic and bra never survived a shift while her trews and footwear melted into her body and reappeared once she morphed back to human. She’d asked Ry why this happened but he didn’t know. It just was, so everyone dealt with the fact.

  Jannike rose with the grace of a drunken duck, and Gweneth’s hand shot out to steady her.

  “You…you’re…” The woman sounded terrified. She bobbed a brief curtsy. “Please don’t tell the king.”

  “Why would I tell the king?” Jannike demanded. “That’s the most fun I’ve had for ages.”

  Jannike’s bodyguard ran up to them, his hands on his trews as he attempted to fasten them. “I’m sorry. Please don’t tell the king.”

  “I don’t lie to my mates.”

  The man dipped his head. “I’m sorry. Please give me another chance. I couldn’t wait any longer to use the necessary.”

  “I don’t tell tales,” Jannike said. “Besides, my friends are capable. We can look after ourselves, despite what our mates might say.”

  “But the king said you carry the heir.” He shot her a look of disapproval. “You were puffing. You sat on the Shrieker.”

  “Is that what they’re called?” Camryn fastened the toggles of the white jacket over her naked breasts. “His screeches hurt my head.”

  “They’re not meant to use their voice as a weapon,” the bodyguard said with a disapproving glower in the direction of the Shrieker.

  “Take him to the dungeon,” Kaya ordered. “One or all of us will be along to interrogate him later.”

  “But I’m meant to keep an eye on the queen,” the bodyguard said, staring at them aghast. “The king has…” He paused to swallow and shuffled from foot to foot.

  “Another example of our mates’ highhandedness,” Jannike muttered. “Please deliver the prisoner to the dungeon. We will question him later.”

  The bodyguard hunched his shoulders, his steps slow and unwilling as he marched the prisoner away.

  “Fun times,” Gweneth said, her green eyes bright and a delicate pink tinging her cheeks.

  “Sure beats sitting around with cups of tay,” Camryn agreed. “We need to find something to do, something in addition to looking after children. I’m going to go crazy soon. If the news hits one morn Ry has been murdered in our bed, you’ll know I’ve snapped.”

  Jannike planted one hand on her right hip and smoothed the other over her bulging stomach. “Huh! When you’re finished you can come and help me bash Lynx and Shiloh over the hea
d.”

  “I don’t think that’s the right way for a queen to talk,” Kaya said in a reproachful manner. When Jannike swung for her, she danced out of reach with a delighted laugh. “Knew I could get a rise out of you.” Eyes full of devilment, she sketched a curtsy and laughed again when Jannike growled. She wagged a finger. “Now, now. Careful of your blood pressure. You’ve got the heir stuffed in there.”

  “I’ll hold her down,” Camryn offered as they made their way up one level to the square.

  Gweneth chuckled. “I don’t know which side to take since I see both points of view.”

  Jannike turned to Sheera. “Pick a side. Maybe conjure a weapon to still her tongue.”

  “Against the rules,” Sheera said. “We choose what items to conjure.”

  “I’m the queen. I must be able to change the rules,” Jannike snapped.

  Camryn grinned as they walked past the guards on the castle gates. The two somber guards scarcely blinked at their appearance or their arguing. Things had changed around the castle since their arrival, and even the local storeowners and the stallholders in the market didn’t double take when the queen and her friends wandered into their sphere. They had a good life here on Viros. Good friends. A safe place to bring up their children, so why the hell did she feel the urge to scream?

  Chapter 2

  Ry forced himself to walk away from Camryn, forced himself to traverse the busy square outside the castle. Forced himself to work against his feline who bombarded him with dire messages. Keep. Protect. Don’t let our mate out of our sight.

  Claws bled from beneath his fingernails, dug into his palms as he pushed his limbs to do his bidding. One step after another. One step after another.

  A brief smile pursed his lips as he felt Camryn staring after him, literally felt her ogle his butt. Then he turned the corner, passing the guards at the castle arch, and cursed under his breath as his shift to feline progressed a fraction further. Sharp canines pushed through his gums and a snarl forged up his tight throat, burning and clawing the entire way.

  The man in him knew this overprotective streak repelled Camryn and pushed her on the offensive, but his fear took on a will of its own, shoving, driving, nagging him like a sore tooth. The birth of the twins had knocked her around. So much blood. He shuddered at the memory. So much blood.

  He’d thought he’d lost her. She didn’t seem to remember, but after she’d threatened to cut off his dick during the delivery of Azura, their daughter, she’d faded fast, and the medics had warned him her survival depended on luck and grit. Even with the modern Virosian facility he’d insisted on, she’d almost died, would’ve if he hadn’t threatened murder and forced the medic team to allow Mogens’s help.

  Inside the castle, out of sight of the second set of guards, Ry ceased walking in the middle of the cool corridor, eyes blind to the paintings of past Virosian kings lining the walls. Instead, he dragged in a shuddering breath as he relived the horror. Thanks to Mogens, the twins had survived and Camryn had slowly recovered, healing quicker than medical advice indicated she should. She’d placed the trauma behind her and his cock seemed safe, but he recalled every terror-filled sec. Experienced the never-ending loop of it in his nightmares. As much as he loved the twins, he loved his mate more.

  Thanks to Camryn, he’d become a functioning adult, no longer at the mercy of his sex-drive.

  Thanks to Camryn, he had a purpose.

  Thanks to Camryn, he experienced love and a family.

  If he lost her…

  A vision of her face, her tempting smile, flashed through his mind. Instantly, his cock lengthened and pushed against the fabric of his black trews. His mate and sex in the same thought. He wanted…

  No!

  Too bad what he wanted. He couldn’t risk losing Camryn.

  Mogens, the Indy’s seer and medic, took care of their medical and birth control needs, and until they’d reached Viros, his medical potions had worked with precision. Now Jannike and Gweneth were expecting offspring, even though they’d both been on birth control. Both. Jannike had taken Mogens’s potion and Gweneth used a birth control implant from Viros since she and Ellard had wanted to wait for children. Didn’t happen. Everyone joked it was the water. Ry didn’t see the joke’s punchline.

  “Hey.” Nanu, the Indy’s pilot and engineer gestured with his chin. A riot of braids covered his head, framing a broad nose, intelligent amber eyes and sensual mouth. At least the women called it sensual and sexy. Ry didn’t see it himself. “Why are you standing in the corridor staring into space? We’re meeting in the war room for drinks.”

  Ry barked out a quick laugh. He cut it off abruptly since humor didn’t sit right, given his turbulent thoughts. “Camryn calls it our man cave.”

  Nanu gave his head an abrupt shake. His black braids, which he’d fastened with rainbow-colored beads, clicked and rustled in a musical tune. A furrow appeared between his eyes before blinking out of sight. “It’s one of those human-speak things.”

  “Yes.”

  “Definition?”

  Ry recommenced his steps and Nanu strode at his side. “It’s a room with a big-screen television and other forms of entertainment like a pool table or card tables. Some have a bar. Camryn says it’s a place where men can swear, talk trash and scratch their arses.”

  Nanu flashed a white, toothy grin. “We have a man cave.”

  A roar of masculine laughter rippled from a room at the end of the corridor.

  “Can’t argue,” Ry said.

  “What do the women have?” Nanu asked.

  “According to Camryn, women wouldn’t do anything so undignified. They lunch and drink cocktails.”

  “What about shopping?”

  “Yeah, I think she mentioned visiting stores.” Ry considered his stand against unnecessary shopping, mainly because they’d traveled from planet to planet, job to job, in their spaceship, the Indefatigable. “I suppose they could do more of it now that we’re based in Viros. We don’t have to worry about storage on the Indy.”

  “I don’t know,” Nanu said. “They sure shopped a lot when we visited Earth for Christmas. All of Kaya’s chocolate made the Indy sluggish on take-off.”

  Ry scanned the room as they entered, the huge vid and entertainment center, the tray of meat chunk snacks from the castle kitchen and the open bottles of reeb, a Viros version of grain alcohol sitting on a selection of hovering float tables. Hunting trophies covered the wall—a lake beast with horns and a creature as high as his knees with long floppy ears, its mouth wide open to reveal sharp, jagged teeth. The usual crowd relaxed on gel-couches and leaned against big, heavy furniture. Men who he now counted as good friends. Lynx and Shiloh, Jannike’s two mates, both big powerful men with the typical feline coloring of pitch-black hair and green eyes, and the even bigger, silent Ellard who had finally succumbed to Gweneth’s determination. Ry covered his amused snort with a cough. Not that the poor feline had ever had a chance once Gweneth spotted him.

  Also present was a new arrival to Viros. Leeam was an Incorporeal and the youngest of their group. A smile curved his pale lips as he listened to Ellard telling him about Gweneth’s latest hobby of stitching baby clothes. According to Ellard, she radiated danger with a needle and no finger was safe. Everything about Leeam screamed cold since his complexion and hair, his eyes, apart from the pinprick glacier-blue pupils, were white. His clothing, however, told of the Earth influence in his life—tight denim jeans, a black T-shirt with a lime-green and scarlet slogan about beer, purple sneakers and a ball cap. Leeam and his female, Sheera, never failed to make him smile, no matter how miserable he felt.

  “Good, you’re here,” Lynx said when he spotted Ry and Nanu. “We have a problem. Shiloh and I need your help.”

  Ry perked up, the idea of having something to do, something to fix, easing the itchy restlessness that plagued him these days. For many rotations, he’d wanted to find his roots and family. He’d thought having a base would be better than roaming throu
gh space, assignment after assignment. Safer.

  Be careful what you wish for.

  He had it all. Friends. Family. Security.

  So why the phrull did his soul scream out for a challenge?

  “Both of us?” Nanu asked, a thread of eagerness weaving through his voice.

  “Yeah.” Shiloh slung an arm around Lynx and drew him close.

  Ry had become used to the idea of Jannike and her threesome, so he no longer blinked at the easy intimacy between the king of Viros and his male mate.

  “Since Jannike became pregnant, she’s started to dream a lot. She talks in her sleep and keeps muttering about Christmas.”

  Lynx growled, a distinct sound of feline displeasure. “It’s not another man. I know that because I’ve heard you mention spending Christmas on Earth.”

  Ry smirked, aware of the contradictory nature of his reaction. If it were Camryn dreaming, he’d growl to rival a city of felines.

  Beside him Nanu chuckled, setting his braids chattering as his humor escaped. “You’re right. It’s not a man after her affections. What else did she say?”

  Shiloh frowned at his older brother, Ellard, when he dared to laugh as well. “I didn’t poke fun at you when Gweneth had you in her sights.”

  “Your point?” Ellard demanded, still grinning.

  Ry took pity on them while thinking that despite their social standing—king and duke of the planet Viros—the two men never put on airs or treated anyone as inferior. They were great with Jannike and looked after her without dampening her independence. Something he used to pride himself on until the birth of the twins. Now, he smothered to the best of his ability. Anything to keep his mate safe. “Tell us what she said, and we’ll attempt to interpret. We’re not from Earth, but we picked up a bit of the lingo while we were there.”

  “What did he say?” Lynx asked Shiloh.

  “Stop being a smart arse,” Shiloh said, cuffing Lynx over the head. “They might decide not to help us, and we can’t ask any of the women. They’d tattle to Jannike.”