Forsaken Realms (Bounty Hunters United Book 1) by Katalina Leon Read Free Book Online

would be for me to get involved even in the most casual way with a retrieval? It’s never going to happen.”
    Syan’s gaze sharpened. His thoughts streamed even faster into her mind. “It might take a couple days to fully develop, but it will happen. If it’s any consolation, I’ll suffer from the bite as much as you, if not more.”
    “Oh, you’ll suffer! I feel like kicking you in the head for even messing with me and suggesting these stupid things. Stop it.”
    “Head kicking is not a respectful way to treat a mate. I would never lay an angry hand on you.”
    “That’s lovely, but I’m not in the market for a life mate. I don’t want one, and I won’t be manipulated!”
    “Neither was I, but it is done and I will honor the mate bond.”
    “Dude, you’re being so somber about this. I think I liked things better when you were being tricky. At least I know you’re up to something. This earnest face thing is really disturbing. ”
    “That is behind us now. Over the next hours our bond will intensify. It can become difficult to handle. I will try to be a comfort to you.”
    “God, I feel so thirsty all of a sudden. Is the bite doing this?”
    “No. It is because I am thirsty. You are feeling my thirst.”
    “Holy crap. Am I going to have to feel what you feel? Is that what the bite does?”
    “Yes.”
    “Is this for real? I have to share thoughts with you? I suppose I have no say in this matter?”
    “I apologize. Our situation is highly unusual. In my culture, a claim bite is only shared between consenting parties who know each other well. This was an emergency.”
    “You’re a fucking opportunist! How dare you.” She landed in the captain’s chair with a hard plop. “I did not consent to this, and you’re crazy if you think I’ll go along with your outrageous statements without putting up a fight. I’m taking you straight to X57, dropping you off, and washing my hands of all this Kironian nonsense. I’m a professional. I won’t freak out or fall for any of your bullshit.” Gemmina dug through her pocket to retrieve the handheld scanner, punched the activation button, and waved the device across her throat.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Taking a reading on whatever the hell was in that bite of yours. I want to know if it’s toxic.”
    “It’s not.”
    “How do you know? Have you ever bitten a human?”
    “I can tell by your scent that we are a match.”
    “Don’t get your hopes up, Romeo. There could be an antidote.”
    “Not once my pheromones mix with yours. I am certain this has already happened. You and I will have to ride it out.”
    “God damn you! The scanner isn’t even picking up on anything unusual. There’s nothing in its databanks about Kironians. I don’t know what to do.”
    “Remain calm. You will soon see that I am not only innocent of harming others, but I would be a good choice of mate for you.”
    “Whatever. You do have confidence and think highly of yourself, I’ll give you credit for that. However I insist you not engage in mental chatter and allow me to finish the systems safety checklist on old Rudra here or else we are going to be Jason Naveen’s long-term houseguests or, worse, turn into flaming confetti falling from the upper atmosphere and I don’t want to be either. You’re going to X57, no arguments, so let’s get this show on the road and get it over with.”
    Syan lowered his face and did his best to not communicate telepathically.
    She experienced every painful moment of his enforced silence. It was difficult to concentrate on the task at hand. Within minutes, she had zipped through a systems check. A few annoying anomalies were spotted, but nothing that would ground them. The worst-case scenario was that Naveen had installed spy programs all over the ship to watch and listen to everything that transpired during transit. It wasn’t a big deal, especially with a triple-triple fee. After this she could afford to replace all the aging parts