“No need to sound so accusing.” He smoothed a warm hand over the back of her leg as she moved. “I’m doing this purely for your benefit, out of the goodness of my heart, the milk of human kindness that runs-”
“So it’s not payment for helping me?”
He grinned at her. “Call it more of a reward.”
She was silent for a moment as he stroked the warming ointment into her skin. He had good hands, strong and gentle hands, and a careful touch. He never pressed too hard or skimmed too lightly.
After a minute or two she asked, “Is that why you’re massaging bits of me that don’t need a massage?”
His fingers caressed her buttocks. “I’d say they’re crying out for it.”
She smiled despite herself. “Tell me you never trained to be a doctor.”
“Well, I do have an excellent bedside manner.”
His fingers stroked the sensitive skin inside her thighs, which Kett was pretty sure didn’t need any massaging at all, and she let out her breath. Okay, maybe she was enjoying it a bit. It had been a long time since anyone else had stroked her legs, that was for sure. In fact, there hadn’t been anyone since before the tiger had taken a chunk out of her. Three years! No wonder she’d jumped him last night. No wonder his magic hands were making her muscles turn to liquid and her heart flutter in her chest. It had been awhile and she was horny and he was hot as all hell.
Kett looked back over her shoulder at him. He was clean, but he still looked scruffy as hell. A day or two of stubble and hair that went all over the place, eyes bracketed by lines that said he laughed a lot. A good mouth. A great mouth. Kett had a minor fantasy of that mouth on her pussy, that stubble scraping her inner thighs, and lost her breath.
“You okay?” Bael asked, his voice low and husky. “Did I hurt you?”
“No,” Kett breathed, and his eyes met hers. A slow smile came over that great mouth of his.
“Maybe,” his thumb drew circles on the back of her thigh, “I should kiss it all better.”
“Not unless you like the taste of liniment,” Kett said, but otherwise the thought had great appeal.
“That’s a good point. Perhaps if I kiss other places instead it might take your mind off it?”
A roll of heat surged over her and she nodded, unable to speak. Bael grinned, dropped his head and licked her hip, and she let out a hard breath.
Then the door burst open. Kett’s head came up so fast her neck made a snapping sound, and her cousin was standing in the doorway, hand to her mouth.
“Oh, sorry,” she exclaimed, but she didn’t sound it.
Once again, Kett couldn’t quite manage to speak. She could feel the heat of Bael’s breath on her hip and thought about his tongue licking her somewhere else and nearly sobbed because she wanted it so much.
She swallowed and found her voice. “Chance,” she managed. “Don’t you knock?”
Chance grinned. “It’s more fun this way.”
“Oh, you are so your father’s daughter.”
Chance rolled her eyes, and Kett wondered if her cousin had undergone a lobotomy. Being reminded she was the daughter of the Realms’ most evil man wasn’t usually something Chance enjoyed.
Kett frequently thanked whichever gods might be listening that she wasn’t related to him by blood.
Then the doorway was filled from top to bottom, side to side, with the imposing frame of Chance’s-boyfriend? Lover? Fuck-buddy? Kett decided lobotomy was definitely the answer. It seemed to have the same sort of effect as falling in love.
And what a man she’d chosen to fall in love with. Kett wasn’t given to fits of jealousy, but surely it wasn’t fair that Chance had found a man who was not only potently delicious, handsome, strong and kind, but also bona fide royalty, the king of his people. The Nasc, who were born with an animal twin with whom to share their soul, worshipped their ruler.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Chance asked as Bael moved away from Kett’s hip. He was staring at Chance, but that was only to be expected. Her cousin was the most beautiful woman Kett had ever seen, all ash-blond hair and cheekbones, her perfect figure caressed by a green silk kimono. It should have looked stupid on someone with her coloring, but Kett had never known Chance to look stupid in her whole life.
She sighed. “Yeah,” she grumbled, pulling the sheet over herself. “This is Bael. Bael, this is my cousin Chance, and Dark, her…er-”
“Majesty,” Bael said, bowing his head, and for the third time in as many minutes, Kett was lost for words.
Chance giggled. “You got yourself a Nasc lover,” she said, and Kett stared at Bael. Nasc? Well, why not? This was shaping up to be one of the weirdest days in her considerably weird life.
“Right,” she said. “Uh, Chance, what are you doing here?”
“I came to see you. Of course, I wasn’t expecting to see so much of you.”
Kett scowled. “Well then, you should have knocked. How did you know I was here?”
“I know everything,” Chance said airily. “Plus Miho called me.”
Bael was still staring at her. Kett reached over and closed his mouth, and he blinked.
“Yes, she’s beautiful,” Kett said. “She’s also boffing your king.”
“I forgot what a charming turn of phrase you have,” Dark said in his rumbling, deep voice, reminding Kett that at any moment he could switch forms with his animal twin, an eight-foot, dark-maned lion.
“The correct term is ‘mate’,” Chance said, leaning against Dark and looking up at him with a smile. Kett figured the correct term for it was “soppy”. “Which does actually make me the queen.”
“Well, whatever,” Kett said. “Why did Miho call you?”
“Said you might need my help. Naked in the woods and all that.”
“My being naked in the woods is cause for concern now?” Kett asked, and Chance grinned before her face sobered.
“No, but that cut on your wrist is. She said you were having trouble walking too.”
So much for hiding it. “I’m fine,” Kett said automatically. “Five by five.”
“Yes. Well, I don’t believe you.” Detaching herself from her “mate”, Chance walked over to the bed. “Dark, could you go tell Miho to hold off supper for a bit, please?”
Dark nodded, verbose as ever, and left the room, closing the door behind him. Chance picked through the tray of medical supplies. “So what happened?”
“Fuck if I know,” Kett said. A cave in the mountains. Symbols on the walls. Burnt bodies.
The sad thing was that on Kett’s scale of weird shit, this barely rated a five.
“Right. Excellent. How long have you two been together?”
She snorted at that. “About five minutes.”
“Wonderful.” Chance, wisely, stopped asking personal questions as she picked up Kett’s wrist to look closer at the jagged cut there.
Then she dropped it, Kett’s hand thudding on the mattress, and recoiled. “Bloody hell!”
“What?”
Chance peered at Kett’s eyes, visibly shaken. “What kind of mojo are you under?”
A prickle ran up Kett’s spine. The sort of mojo that repressed her shape-changing abilities, she’d bet. Ritual magic. They’d wanted her alive when they strung her up.
She shook her head wordlessly.
Chance transferred her attention to Bael. “Did you do it?”
He shook his head, clearly still under her spell. Kett clicked her tongue in irritation. She was used to watching grown men reduced to quivering teenage boys by Chance’s phenomenal beauty, charm and grace, but that didn’t mean she particularly enjoyed it.
Bael was looking at her as if she was coated in whipped cream and dispensed beer from her nipples. Five minutes ago he’d been about to lick Kett’s pussy and now she might as well be part of the furniture.
I was desirable until she walked in.
“You mentioned supper?” she asked, beyond irritation.
“Er, yes-Miho said it was just about ready…” Chance was regarding Bael with a slight frown.
“Right. Good. I’m fucking starving.” She shoved back the covers and tested her leg. Hurt like hell, but it was holding. “And can I get some bloody clothes?”