He’s a prince. She’s a bodyguard for the royal family. He’s off-limits, but for one night they’re breaking all the rules.
As an arctic fox-shifter and royal bodyguard, Kira Seaton lives to protect her queen, but the king's brother Max is the one who commands her desire. She longs for him with a feral sexuality and ferocious passion she can barely control. Her family has served the royal household for generations, making him forbidden fruit, but she's determined to cut free from those outdated traditions and go after the man she's wanted for years. Just this once.
Wolf-shifter Max Delacourt has always known that Kira was untouchable. Not because he’s a prince, but because he's a born killer. He puts those deadly instincts to good use protecting his people, but that doesn't wash away the blood on his hands. Kira deserves a better man than he'll ever be, and he's always known it.
But when an assassin targets the king and queen, Max and Kira need to work together to defend those they love the most. Including each other.
Note: This story was previously published as part of the NightShift anthology.
It was time to put up or shut up.
A spurt of adrenaline flooded Kira's veins, and she felt a feral smile pull at her lips. Her fangs pricked at her flesh, and she ran her tongue down one long canine to the wicked point.
The fox-shifter within her easily caught the scent of the man she wanted. He was a Between, like her. A shape-shifter. Max Delacourt. The rich male scent of human male edged with the animalistic scent of a red wolf. It was a smell she knew as well as her own, one she'd craved for far too long. And she would have him. Soon. Whether he knew it or not.
She was through waiting. Tonight she would have him.
A low moan sounded through the door she stood guard beside, and she smoothed her expression into a professional mask. If anyone knew how to wear a professional mask, it was her--she'd learned from her butler father. No one could poker face like a butler born and bred in England.
READ MOREKira's replacement turned a corner in the hallway to walk toward the royal suite. The Between king and his fiancée had been closeted inside for the seven hours since Rhiannon had returned to the palace. Kira had to work to smother a smile. King Elan hadn't been able to hide his impatience to have Rhiannon back on the island nation of San Amaro. He'd barely managed to slam the door in his Guards' faces before the carnal sounds of mating had begun filtering into the hall.
In many ways, it was a relief to have Rhiannon here instead of running her health club in Oregon. The stubborn woman had insisted that she didn't need to be followed around by security guards if she wasn't royalty yet, so Kira had had to arrange for more covert means to assure the future queen's safety. As second in command of the King's Guard, Kira had been pulling double duty for months taking care of her normal job assignment, plus handling her unspoken position as the head of the future Queen's Guard.
With all the details of her business tied up and the wedding the next day, Rhiannon was on San Amaro to stay. Finally. The only person happier about that than Elan was Kira. No more juggling jobs for her. No more pretending. She was openly in charge of Rhiannon's security detail, which would officially become the Queen's Guard after the wedding ceremony.
“Everything okay?” Her replacement for the next guard rotation stopped in front of her, his face serious.
They both froze when a pleasured female scream echoed out of the king's room. Using every one of the skills she'd learned at her father's knee, Kira cleared her throat. “Yes. Everything's going just fine.”
“So it seems,” the man quipped, a faint grin on his face.
Kira clapped him on the shoulder as she headed down the hallway. “Enjoy your evening. Or something.”
He snorted, and she glanced back to see him settling into place beside the door. Good.
Pushing open a side door, she stepped out into the cool night. The sea breeze off the Pacific carried the hints of salt and open water, mixing with the deeper scents of garden blooms and the people on the island. Even as the familiar environment encouraged her to relax, she did an automatic sweep of the area to make sure that the palace was as secure as it should be. They'd had several serious threat against the king's life recently--one in particular that had the entire Guard on alert--and it paid to be cautious. More than that, old habits died hard, and she'd been a cop for the LAPD before she'd joined Elan's Guard when he'd become king.
It had been a crazy time for the Between. The former king had outted their kind to the human population just before he died, which left Elan scrambling to protect the rights of Between all over the world. His family had owned San Amaro, an island off the coast of southern California, and the United States annexed the land as a sovereign nation for the half-animal shifters.
Kira thought Elan had done a better job for their race than his father Phillip ever had. Good riddance to the old bastard.
The hot smell of Max swirled through the air, scattering her thoughts. She automatically moved in that direction. It was like a Lorelei, that scent. Calling to her, tempting her, taunting her. Her heartbeat quickened, blood throbbing in her veins as her body readied itself for what she had in mind. Yes. All she needed now was Max.
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