Free Calder by Allyson James Page B

with them because they’re shy,” the woman told Katarina as all three of them squeezed into the exam room. Then she laughed.
    “Right, Brianne, baby,” said the blond one, Aiden. “Ky’s about as shy as a rock.”
    Dark-haired Ky growled, “Fucking level ones.”
    He began stripping off without embarrassment, as though being naked were more comfortable for him than being clothed. Katarina supposed it was, since Shareem body temperature was higher than a normal human’s and Bor Narga was a hot place.
    “Hey, you like fucking level ones,” Aiden said.
    “Asshole.”
    “Exactly. Mine.”
    Katarina kept her face averted during this crude exchange. She’d gotten more used to Shareem, but their casual approach to everything sometimes caught her off-guard.
    “Get on with it,” Brianne said. “Dr. d’Arnal doesn’t have all day.”
    Aiden smoothed Brianne’s hair and gave her a tongue-filled kiss. “Sure thing, sweet baby. I know you like it when we get naked.”
    Brianne blushed rosy red but she didn’t look unhappy. Ky finished stripping his powerfully built body and stood under Katarina’s scanner. He kept muttering about fucking exams, fucking Ministry, fucking clinics.
    Aiden laughed at him as he slowly shed his clothes, conscious of his audience.
    Katarina kept her eyes averted but Brianne watched with enjoyment.
    Brianne unnerved Katarina even more than did her two Shareem. Brianne d’Aroth was not only a highborn woman but a member of the ruling family of Bor Narga. Last year she’d broken up with her fiancé, forsaken her luxurious lifestyle and moved in with not one, but two Shareem in the slums of Pas City.
    She’d made an official statement that she’d done it to look into the way Shareem were treated on Bor Narga. They were second-class citizens, and she’d set out to disprove some myths about them.

It had been the scandal of the decade. Brianne d’Aroth’s name wasn’t mentioned anymore in highborn ladies’ circles. Hypocrites , Katarina thought. The same ladies who went to Shareem in secret shunned women who openly sought them.
    Studying Brianne, Katarina decided that the lady hadn’t moved in with her Shareem simply to prove a point. She was besotted with them. Both of them.
    “Braden told me you met Calder,” Brianne said.
    Katarina jumped, nearly dropping the hypo she was preparing for Ky. “Yes. I did.”
    “More than met him,” Aiden said suggestively. “Braden says you spent some time in Calder’s lair and then went back for more. Interesting.”
    “Braden talks too damn much,” Ky said. “Leave her alone.”
    Aiden ignored him. “Calder never lets a woman in twice, I hear. Not even Judith.
    But he did you.”
    Judith again. Who was this woman?
    Ky growled. “Can we stop talking about Calder and finish my exam before I freeze my balls off?”
    Katarina turned on the full body scanner and watched the readouts to keep from looking at Ky’s muscled torso.
    Brianne regarded Katarina thoughtfully as she finished the scans of Aiden and Ky and inoculated them both. When Katarina went to her cubbyhole of an office to finish the report, Brianne followed her.
    “I’ve met Calder,” Brianne said. Behind her, Aiden and Ky were dressing, their gorgeous Shareem voices rumbling.
    “Have you?”
    “Not as a client,” Brianne said quickly. “He helped me when Ky was in trouble. He didn’t trust me at all, but he was willing to help for Ky’s sake. I have a soft spot for him for that. Calder’s had a difficult time.”
    “How did he get burned?”

Brianne shook her head. “I don’t know. The only one who knows is Calder himself and a woman named Dr. Laas, who healed him. Dr. Laas is a strange woman but she’s good to the Shareem.”
    “I’m glad someone is.”
    “You’re good to them too.” Brianne put a cool hand on Katarina’s shoulder. “Why do you think Ky came here today? He hates the clinics, but he was willing to come to this one. Your reputation for not