Free HeroUnleased by Anna Alexander Page A

be fine here with me.”
    Dhavin was going to have to stop linking himself and the
princess together or else the vein pounding in Lucian’s forehead was going to
explode.
    “What happened?” his brother asked. “Why the change?”
    Lucian glanced up at the three spectators watching them from
the porch and switched to their native language. “Dhavin has violated the
princess, and I think it best to keep them separated.”
    “What?”
    “We had sex, and it was mutual. I did not violate her.”
    Kristos rounded on his cousin. “You touched the princess?”
    “She needed me!”
    “That’s grounds for execution!”
    “Enough,” Lucian roared. “Regardless of your past, the truth
of the matter is she has you wrapped around her delicate little finger. I
believe your focus has been compromised.”
    Dhavin let loose with a bark of laughter. “This from the man
who wants to fuck her so badly, I can taste your lust for her.”
    To hear his deepest shame blurted out with such crudeness
smacked him like a metal gauntlet across the cheek. “That is not true.”
    Amaryllis let go with a peal of laughter that brought all of
their heads around. The low, flirty notes gripped him by the balls and shot
down his shaft, as if to punish him for spouting such a blatant lie.
    “What are you really worried about, Lucian? Do you think
that in the middle of the night Amaryllis is going to remember the pleasure she
found in my arms and seek me out? That it will be me holding her by her silken
hair while I feed her my cock? She likes it hard and rough, and I know just how
to satisfy her.”
    Only Kristos’ strong arm banded across his chest kept Lucian
from taking his cousin to the gravel and striking a killing blow. “Don’t you
speak of her in such a vulgar manner.”
    “She likes it vulgar.”
    “Dhavin,” Kristos shouted. “Do you want to die?”
    “You didn’t have to spend the entire day trapped between the
two of them, snipping and bitching at each other when all they wanted was to
strip naked and fuck. The tension was unbearable. I was tempted to leave them
in the car all day until they finally jumped each other so we could all move
on. Perhaps now you will get over yourself, Lucian, and go to her.”
    Lucian clamped his teeth together. Damn, he thought he had
controlled his emotions better. Nonetheless, he would not give in to the
temptation.
    “If you continue to speak of the princess with such
disrespect, I will gut you where you stand.”
    Dhavin rolled his eyes at the threat. “I speak the truth. Do
not worry about me keeping my focus. I will lay down my life to protect Amaryllis,
as I have since the day I made my oath to the House of Rosenorn.”
    “And what of you, Lucian?”
    He looked at his brother as if he’d grown a second head. “I
will protect her ’til my last breath. I am Llanos . Never question that.”
    “I mean, do you desire her for your own?”
    With every beat of his hearts, but admitting that was not a
good idea at this time. Possibly never.
    “My feelings for the princess are irrelevant. It is my honor
to protect her and protect her I will.”
    The two men shared a look that said they weren’t buying his
bullshit.
    “What is wrong with you wanting her, Lucian?” Dhavin asked.
“She’s a beautiful woman. Vibrant. Passionate. And she desires you too. What is
stopping you?”
    Dhavin was the devil sitting on his shoulder, seducing him
with what he shouldn’t covet, yet craved more than anything he ever wanted.
Only his honor kept him from crossing the line he had spent his entire life
defending.
    “I am her servant and always will be. I will stand by her
bed, but never warm it.”
    His cousin shook his head. “You are a fool.”
    Then a fool he shall be.
    The high-pitched wail of an engine rent the air. Lucian
turned toward the sound in time to see a streak of red with silver hair
trailing behind like a flag disappear into the tree line.
    “Harlan! What have you done?”
    The older man