Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
“I’m not,” she said.
“You might want to think about it,” Jonathan noted. “The females trust you. If they know anything, they’ll tell you.”
She guessed that was true.
Tingles slid up her side, and she knew Vero was looking at her. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did. She swallowed and forced a bright smile on her face. “So the next female you meet, what are you going to say?”
Jonathan rubbed his smooth, shaven jaw. “I’m going to say that…I don’t know. What am I going to say?”
Lyrica sighed. “Give her a compliment that has nothing to do with hips and bearing sons.”
“Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. What about eyes? Can I remark upon her eyes?”
“Yes, that’d be perfect.”
“Excellent. You have stunningly beautiful chocolate-brown eyes. There’s a sweetness to them I can’t describe,” he said.
She sat back and heat filtered into her face. “That’s about perfect.”
“I can do this,” he said. A buzzer rang and he stood. “I enjoyed our chat,” he said formally.
“As did I.” She had purposely set up the evening so the males had to move and not the females. It created a different dynamic than they had grown accustomed to, and she remained determined that they begin to see females as equals. Even human ones with their lower-than-two-hundred IQs.
Hunter sat across from her. “Hi, Lyrica,” he said dryly. “Great night.”
“I’m so glad you decided to attend.” She tried not to smile. Even with the implants in his face, he appeared disgruntled. What did he actually look like? She caught the glares of a couple of other Kurjans in the room focused right on him. He didn’t seem to notice. She sighed. “They won’t forgive you, will they?”
He lifted powerful shoulders. “Why would they? I lied to them for years. Ever since I was a kid.”
She leaned forward. “It’s surprising to me that the king of the entire Realm sent his own son into the enemy camp as a spy.”
Hunter nodded. “Yeah, exactly. No one suspected it. I just showed up, saying that my small group of Kurjans had been in a battle. They took me right in.” He glanced at Vero and then looked back at her. “I understand why some people are pissed. I would be too.” He rubbed his jaw and winced as if in pain.
“Do the implants hurt?” she asked.
“They are not comfortable,” he noted, “especially as I’ve grown through the years.” There was no doubt Hunter Kayrs had an impressive physique. Incredibly tall and broad, he likely resembled his father, the king of the Realm. She’d heard rumors from Kurjan mates about the king’s striking handsomeness.
She couldn’t imagine living with foreign objects in her face. “When are you undergoing the surgery to get all that removed?”
“Soon,” Hunter said. “Apparently, my face just ticks people off, so I wouldn’t mind going back to myself. Although,” he grinned, widening his eyes that swirled an odd purple, “I kind of don’t remember what I looked like before. You know?”
“No.” She couldn’t even imagine.
He leaned in. “You know most Kurjan soldiers aren’t really looking for mates, right?”
“I do,” she said, “but these females were given a choice whether they wanted to just go free or if they wanted to talk about immortality, so we had to fill the chairs.” To her right, Jonathan laughed across from an accountant from Russia. The woman was named Sasha and she had long blond hair and startling green eyes. She laughed and patted his hand. Lyrica smiled. This may work out after all. Even if she got just one couple to start dating, she’d take it as a success.
“If you say so.” Hunter shook his head. “I am not going to mate for a long time. Last thing I want to worry about is taking care of somebody else.”
She leaned forward, curious. “What are you looking for in a mate?”
He blinked. “I don’t know, probably somebody like my mom or my aunts. Brilliant.”
She had heard many things about the Queen of the Realm. The woman was known to be a genius and an obsessed scientist. She wanted to cure every disease out there. It made sense that Hunter would be interested in somebody similar. “You know that what we want in our heads and what we actually get in our hearts is usually different, right?”
He chuckled. “I have no doubt. I’m sure my dad as the king had a much different idea in mind than a female who is constantly wearing a lab coat, forcing everyone to give blood samples, and driving herself to exhaustion. But you love who you love.”
“True,” Lyrica said. She wished she could keep Hunter here talking to her. He felt like he could be a good friend. Next, she’d have to deal with Vero.
Her body flushed at the thought. The buzzer went off much too soon. Hunter patted her hand and stood, looking to follow Jonathan.