Gena Showalter Bundle: The Stone Prince / The Pleasure Slave / Heart of the Dragon

“Jorlan en Sarr.” Jorlan regarded Nick’s proffered hand.

“Shake it,” Katie whispered in his ear.

“Ah, ’tis a form of greeting.” He took Nick’s hand and pumped up and down with the force of a level eight earthquake. “While in the garden, I watched many perform just such a task.”

Nick regarded him strangely, studied his facial features for a moment. His eyes narrowed. “You look familiar.”

Katie inwardly moaned. Then she paused. Relaxed. What were the chances of her brother linking Jorlan to the missing statue? Her guess: slim to none. Nick, the co-creator of Slip Through Time, a virtual reality game, might have a very high-concept imagination, but aliens, curses and magic spells went beyond the realm of perceived truth.

Still, she wasn’t going to take any chances. The redhead at the café had thought Jorlan looked like a self-help guru, but Katie knew her brother would never buy that. So, she opened her mouth to weave an elaborate lie involving an automobile accident, amnesia and psychotropic medication, but Nick’s next words stopped her.

“Hey.” He pointed to Jorlan’s chest. “You’re that guy on the cover of those romance novels.”

Ahh, even better! “That’s right,” she assured her brother with a nod. “Jorlan poses naked on book covers.”

Suddenly very intent on the conversation, Nick leaned against the door frame. “Do the women pose naked with you?”

Like Nick, Jorlan perked up at the mention of naked women. “Aye,” he said. “My women pose naked.” As he spoke, there was a hint of longing in his tone. He reached around and circled his hand over Katie’s waist. That strong hand slid lower and gently squeezed her butt.

The action sent another round of heat through her. Fighting a moan, she slapped his hand and moved to stand beside him. She slanted him a halfhearted glare that said, Behave—but only a little.

Nick barely spared her a glance. “How does a guy go about getting a job like that?”

“You love computers too much to switch jobs,” she reminded him.

“Who says I can’t do both?” her brother shot back. “Naked modeling and creating VR games.”

She frowned. “I do and that’s final.”

“I would do what the woman says,” Jorlan interjected. His gaze traveled from brother to sister. “She has a temper that nigh flays her opponent alive.”

“Very true, very true.” Nick shoved his hands in his slack pockets and jingled change. “Where you from, Jordie? I can’t place your accent.”

“Anguilla,” Katie rushed out before Jorlan could answer. “He’s from Anguilla.” Surely her brother knew nothing about the place.

“That’s an island in the British West Indies, right?” Nick asked.

“That’s right.” Katie decided then to nip all questions concerning geography. “Let’s go to the kitchen,” she said. “You can explain whatever it is you want from me over a bottled water.” With that, she stepped around Jorlan and pushed past her brother.

Behind her, Nick erupted into laughter. “Katie,” he called, “you’ve got a piece of linoleum glued to your ass.”

Of course, the two men were best friends after that. They entered the kitchen chuckling over something Jorlan had said. She was fairly certain that something involved breasts and thighs—and not the chicken variety. Nick had one of his arms around Jorlan’s shoulders. When their laughter subsided, her brother fired off a round of questions about Jorlan’s job.

“Do you get to hold them against you or are you put together digitally?”

“Do you undress in the same room?”

“Of all the models you’ve worked with, who has the biggest rack?”

Scowling, Katie hurled a bottled water at each man. Jorlan moved with lightning-quick reflexes and managed to catch the thing midair; Nick wasn’t so lucky. The plastic thumped against his stomach, hard, and he sucked in a breath. She sent him a smug smile.

He unscrewed the top and took a long swig. All the while, he gave her a brotherly, time-for-payback glare. Lowering the bottle, he said, “I thought you were dating Steve Harris, the detective from Gray’s unit.”

Katie had just taken a mouthful of the clear liquid; she spewed every last drop onto the floor. “What?”

“Steve Harris. Your boyfriend.” Nick practically sang the words to the melody of Katie and Steven sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

She slammed her water onto the countertop. “He’s not my boyfriend. Our brother would like me to date his friend, but I said no.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, really.”

“The way Gray talked,” Nick continued, “you and Stevie boy were already planning the wedding.”

Mouth agape, her gaze skidded to Jorlan.

He crossed his arms over his chest, a storm cloud of fury brewing in his expression. Nick continued talking, saying something about flowers and churches, but she barely heard him. She continued to watch Jorlan. He looked ready to pounce on someone—namely her—and he was soaking up every word Nick uttered as if it were gospel.

Her fists clenched, crushing the bottle. Just what kind of woman did Jorlan think her to be? Only moments before, she had kissed him, touched him, almost made love to him, and now he thought her capable of marrying another man?

Did he actually think her so lacking in honor? Obviously. Hadn’t he thought her capable of wanting him so that he could make her a queen?

Men were idiots!

“I’ve never even met the guy,” she told both her brother and Jorlan stiffly. “And I have no interest in meeting him, either.”

“Good. That’s why I came to see you.” Nick worried a hand over his clean-shaven jaw. “I wanted to tell you to keep away from Steve. I don’t want you to hook up with a cop.”

His tone made her suspicious. She placed her hands at her hips. “And just who do you want me to hook up with?”

“I was going to recommend a buddy of mine. Nice guy. Girls go wild for him.”

“’Tis enough!” Scowling, Jorlan advanced on Nick, willing to rip out the man’s tongue to keep him from saying another word. He felt…disbelief? Mayhap. Fury? Most definitely. Katie and her brother spoke so blithely of another man—of her marriage to another man—and he did not like it! In fact, the thought nearly drove him mad. He did not believe her capable of making love with one man while being promised to another, yet his fury did not lessen.

He needed her, and he would allow no other man to touch her. Not because the thought of another man feasting from Katie’s sweetness sent a cold rage storming through him, but because she belonged to him now, her time, her body, and her heart, and he would not share!

Jorlan had almost reached Katie’s brother, his intent to pulverize shining brightly in his eyes. Grinning, Nick held up his hands to ward off the oncoming attack. “I’ve since changed my mind, Jordie. You’re perfect for her. Honest. My buddy pales in comparison.”

Jorlan stilled. Nick’s retraction mollified him somewhat. Yet that wasn’t the reason he had stopped. He had just come to a startling revelation. He did not simply lust for Katie, did not simply need her to save him. He cared for her. Despite his efforts to prevent such a thing from happening, it had taken only a few hours for his obsession to deepen. He’d shared his life with her, had watched her writhe as he gave her body the ultimate pleasure, and now he had sunk deeper under her spell. The knowledge blistered through him, and he cursed his own stupidity. Why? Why had he allowed himself to care about this woman? Had he learned nothing from Maylyn?

At least he hadn’t been foolish enough to fall in love with her. Still, he cared for Katie and wanted her with him. If only for a time. He’d thought before of taking her home with him. He had discarded the idea because he had not wanted to make her his life-mate. But now, the idea held merit. He could wed her, not permanently, of course, but a temporary joining of mutual benefit.

On his world, a temporary joining had never been considered before. He was willing to make an exception, however. Katie was mayhap too bold, too outspoken for his homeland, but with the proper guidance such qualities could be corrected.

Never had a solution been simpler. He would wed her. She would confess her love for him, come home with him. Then she would come for him, again and again. When he no longer cared for her, he would send her home.

Perfect.