Act of Mercy (PSI-Ops / Immortal Ops) (20 page)

Book One in the Masters of Pleasure Series

On a quest to find his brother, King Kritan of Katarius on the planet of Panucia finds himself ambushed, beaten, tortured and then sold to fight in the arena games. The people of Tamonius—his rival kingdom—condone slavery, take public sex to new lows and try to turn a profit off anything they can. Nothing can change his hatred for everything Tamonius… That is, until he meets the most breathtakingly beautiful woman he’s ever laid eyes upon. Surina of the House of Argyros, daughter to a powerful senator, stirs the beast within him, making it want to lay claim to her as badly as the man does.

Free or not, Kritan is a master of seduction, and has selected Surina as his newest prey. But this virginal beauty has secrets of her own—ones that change everything. And destiny just might have the last laugh.

Excerpt from A King’s Ransom (Masters of Pleasure)

City of Vesta in the Kingdom of Tamonius on the Planet Panucia…

Kritan of Katarius walked through the streets of Vesta, a city known across the planet for its corruption and wickedness. He drew his black cloak around him more—to hide the sword at his side and the dagger in the top of his left boot. The clothing he wore was appropriate for the area, though nothing he’d normally want upon his body—the material was something a commoner would wear and not to his liking. He preferred trews to the tunic with a roped belt. He liked his boots, not the ones he wore now that were more of a sandal, leaving some of his foot exposed. He disliked, too, the ring that held his sword, preferring his sheath. He had not dared to bring his personal sword and shield. They were things that would give his origins—and his role—away.

It was important to blend. At least for now.

Cool wind from the north, from across the Ice Seas, blew past him. It was welcome against the heat of Tamonius’s summer. Kritan preferred slightly cooler weather. While he could warm his body naturally by allowing his beast to rise, he could not cool it as easily.

His lip curled at the sight of three women standing, their breasts hanging out of the tops of their tunics. They were whores. His homeland, Katarius, was not without pleasures of the flesh, but they did not openly display their sexuality as the people of Tamonius did. While Katarius had whores, the guards there policed the streets better, making sure the women who charged were corralled into taverns or brothels, not left to wander the streets aimlessly for any and all to see. So far Kritan had lost count of the number of women he’d seen since entering the walls of Vesta who were selling their bodies for a few measly coins or even stale bread.

Such a state of things. And the Tamoni thought they were so superior to the six occupied countries on their home planet.

Kritan walked with his head up, moving with purpose, though he was not yet sure of where he needed to be. His informant had spoken of a tavern four roads within the gates of Vesta. As Kritan walked the length of the fourth row, he could count at least five taverns directly around him, each filthier than the last.

Unease settled over him. He had known this would be a fool’s mission. One he should not have undertaken himself, but he’d had no choice. He had to find his brother. He had to make amends, and he would walk through the cesspool called Vesta a thousand times over if he thought it would give him a chance to make things right. Banishing Jaelyn all those years ago had been a mistake. One he’d lived with for nearly two decades. Lies and a woman—a woman Kritan had believed meant more to him than she did—had fostered an environment that left him speaking words he could not take back, and sending his brother far from home. So long had gone by with no word on his brother’s whereabouts, that when a missive arrived telling a tall tale—one that spoke of Jaelyn not only being alive but in grave danger, so much so that his brother was suddenly on borrowed time, Kritan could not stop himself. He’d mounted a steed and set forth on a quest to find the man—to hell with the cost. Regardless that he had men to do such things for him. That, as King of Katarius, rushing alone into the kingdom of Tamonius was not simply reckless, it was suicide. This was his brother and he would right the wrong he’d committed long ago.

“You look like you like it rough,” a whore said, cupping her unimpressive breasts as she wiggled for him. It was clear to see the woman had serviced many cocks in her days and life had not been kind to her.

Her friend and fellow whore slinked her arms over the woman’s shoulders and flicked her tongue, as if being offered a threesome would create a more appealing sight for him to behold. Kritan was no stranger to threesomes, foursomes and more. But he would never soil himself with the likes of these women. All the face paint in the kingdom could not hide the signs of disease on their skin, and the reek of strong spirits they’d been drinking could not mask the fact they had not bathed in months. Maybe more. Both looked heavily used and past their prime. Neither motivated his cock.

He had been too long between fucks and should have felt his beast stirring, wanting release. As a Katarian male shifter he was immune to the diseases that plagued the non-shifters—sexual or not. Though dirty whores never tempted him. He had certain standards, ones belonging to a king. There were many women who begged to be at his service within his castle, ready to ease his cock should he but click his fingers. All were screened by him before being granted such a coveted position. And sometimes, when he felt randy, he would sneak away to the buttery with a serving wench or two.

Regardless how long it had been since he’d fucked, his focus remained firm—find his brother.

Find Jaelyn.

Nothing else mattered.

For more information about these titles and other bestselling Mandy M. Roth titles please visit www.MandyRoth.com
             

Bestselling Dragon Shifter Romance

An unlucky bride…

Riona Grey lives life on her own terms, traveling wherever the next spaceship is flying and doing what she must in order to get by. When her luck turns sour, she finds herself on a bridal ship heading to a marriage ceremony. A planet full of dragon shifters seeking mates wasn't exactly what she had in mind as a final destination. Just when she thinks things couldn't possibly get worse, she wakes up months later in an isolation chamber with a sexy, hovering dragon shifter by her side telling her they're meant to be together...forever.

The impatient groom...

After years of failed marriage attempts at the Breeding Festivals, the gods finally revealed Lord Mirek's bride...a day too late. Eager to have her, he defied tradition and laid claim. But it is a mistake to go against the gods and his new wife was the one to pay the price of his impatience.

Now almost a year later, his bride is finally waking from her deep sleep. With one look from her, he feels the eagerness to claim her overtaking him once more. Fearful she'll slip through his grasp once again, he's hesitant to anger the gods by taking her to his bed too soon. But, how can he resist the one thing that would make his life complete, especially when she looks at him with eyes of a seductress? This is one test he can't fail, and yet with one of her sweet kisses he knows he may already have lost.

The Impatient Lord (Dragon Lords) Excerpt

“What happened to you?” Alek eyed Mirek in concern. “Did you have to wrestle negotiate with the Syog again?”

“My wife.” Mirek stopped his slow, ambling walk and leaned against the corridor wall. Not that he would complain, but Riona had taken to intimacy with a vivacious force he’d ever dreamed possible. “She’s, ah, fully recovered now.”

Alek quirked a brow. It took him a long moment to understand what was happening. His concern turned into hard, full laughter. He clutched his stomach and bent over, struggling to breathe.

“What’s going on out here?” Bron appeared from the scroll room, holding a stack of yellowed parchments. He eyed his brothers curiously.

“Lady…learned…sex…balls,” was about all of Alek’s answer they could understand.

Mirek grimaced. He should have known better than to admit soreness to one of his brothers. Why hadn’t he lied and said he’d been getting his privates kicked in a Syog ball racking negotiation? It would have been an easy lie. Those aliens were rough on the manhood, even if they used a semi-protective plate. No one would have questioned his claim. They would have still laughed at him, but they would have believed him.

“Mirek?” Bron asked in concern.

“Riona, ah—” Mirek began.

“He can’t handle…his wife,” Alek interrupted in merriment. “He’s walking like this.” Alek ambled around the hall like an old man with a cane, stumbling all the more in his fit of laughter.

Bron arched a brow and nodded his head. “Nicely done. We’ll have another nephew to add to the family soon. Well done, brother.”

“If she didn’t break him,” Alek inserted. “I always suspected you were a little soft, Ambassador. All that flying in space and drinking lady wine with the aliens.”

Mirek shoved Alek into a wall. It didn’t stop the laughter as the man slid to the floor. “At least I don’t smell like a ceffyl herd.”

“I deserve that,” Alek admitted, not bothering to stand as he grinned up at them. A change had come over him since his marriage. He was happier and smiled more. Whatever Kendall had done to her husband, she’d managed to tame the stubborn man.

“You’re going to tell everyone, aren’t you?” Mirek sighed, not really worried. His wife wanted him. That was a good thing. Actually, she wanted him…and wanted him…and wanted him…and—

“Oh, yeah,” Alek nodded. “Everyone.”

“Alek,” Bron broke in. “Maybe we should keep this to ourselves. If my wife is any indication of how the women were raised, her sister will not like being talked about in such a way. She will consider it insulting.”

Alek instantly agreed. “Of course, I didn’t think of it like that. I would never gossip about my sisters if it made them uncomfortable.”

“Thank you,” Mirek mouthed. Bron nodded once.

“Have either of you seen the updated communications plans?” Bron asked, nodding at his armload. “We’re having a hard time locating some of the buried mountain lines to see if they’re salvageable. Aeron wants to get the construction plans finished before the baby arrives and keeps asking if they’re lines or transmit boosters. I honestly have no idea how they work.”

“Why don’t you just grab a line on one side and pull?” Alek asked, shrugging. “See where it leads. If it doesn’t lead anywhere, I’d say we have transmit boosters. I don’t know what a transmit booster looks like, but we can send the boys out to look for one in the trees or wherever.”

“Apparently checking the line that way will take longer. Aeron ordered a ground imager but it won’t be here until after the baby comes. She is
very
focused on getting this done. Now.” Bron looked at them hopefully, an almost desperate plea on his face as he wanted to please his pregnant wife. “So have you seen the updated plans?”

“Updated as in the ones from fifty years ago?” Mirek frowned. “Did we even have plans? I don’t ever remember seeing them. I seem to remember Sper just making it work. He’d go out with tools and come back later with everything working again.”

“Alek?” Bron prompted.

“No clue,” Alek said. “I think Sper kept all the plans in his head. When he died, he took the information with him. Though, come to think of it, after he died the network stopped breaking down so much. I wonder what that man was doing?”

“Intergalactic transmissions,” Mirek answered. Sper never married, never even tried to marry. He was a very rare exception to the Draig culture in that way. “Something he called moving, moodies, movies?”

“Blast!” Bron frowned. “That’s what I was afraid of. Aeron is not going to be pleased. She is a very organized woman.” To Mirek, he said, “She was always like that, but it’s getting worse. At first, she just arranged clothing in the closet according to styles and color. But then I caught her trying to alphabetize your giant trade agreement reports in my office in the middle of the night.”

“Wait until your bride starts hiding your favorite throwing knives,” Alek said. “I wish Kendall would merely reorganize reports.”

“I believe that is part of the joys of pregnancy,” Mirek offered. “I’m told women do that kind of thing.”

“Kendall is doing many strange things. When I threw a couple knives in the house she scolded me for ruining the wood on the new throwing post. Then she tried to take away all the sharp objects and put them really high in the home so not even I could reach them. How’s it going to be a throwing post if I can’t put weapons in it and soften it up for my boy to learn? And how is my son going to reach the weapons if they’re glued to the ceiling? You’d almost think she didn’t want the child to have a sharp blade.” Alek took a deep breath and lowered his voice to a near whisper. “Then, as I’m rubbing her wonderful giant belly and tell her I want at least thirteen children, she tried to hit me with a plate of chocolate and an ore sample she was looking at. My Kendall is not a violent lady.”

The fathers-to-be shook their heads, completely at a loss.

“One visiting dignitary told me he and his wife called it nesting,” Mirek said. “Toward the end time women start doing strange things to the home. They can’t help it. You should probably help them. I don’t like the idea of my pregnant sisters climbing high and lifting heavy objects. They seem a little off balance of late when they simply walk down the hall.”

“Like a baldric slaughtering prey to make nest bedding,” Alek concluded. “That actually makes complete sense. Perhaps that is why she is putting the knives up high. She’s building a nest.”

“Nesting. Aeron has been taking all the covers and pillows and surrounding herself with them at night. And quite frankly, some of the strange things she’s been eating resemble food a baldric might enjoy—not in taste so much, but it looks disgusting. I think you may be right, Mirek. We should find a way to help them with this nesting process.” Bron shared a determined look with Alek.

“At times like this I miss our mother. She would have told us what to do,” Mirek said.

“How hard can it be to build a nest?” Bron’s bearing seemed lighter than before. “Mirek, thank you. I’m glad someone in this family understands these women things.”