Barbarian Brides. Cecily Royce

      Published by Blushing Books

      An Imprint of

      ABCD Graphics and Design, Inc.

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      ©2020

      All rights reserved.

      No part of the book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The trademark Blushing Books is pending in the US Patent and Trademark Office.

      Cecily Royce

      Barbarian Brides

      EBook ISBN: 978-1-61258-559-8

      Print ISBN: 978-1-61258-618-2

      Audio ISBN: 978-1-64563-443-0

      v2

      Cover Art by ABCD Graphics & Design

      This book contains fantasy themes appropriate for mature readers only. Nothing in this book should be interpreted as Blushing Books' or the author's advocating any non-consensual sexual activity.

      Chapter 1

      Linira Ander had only just walked in the doors of the hotel in the new resort when she was shoved aside to the right. Almost a dozen girls came blasting in while laughing and carrying on, making no effort to find out if their explosive entrance had inconvenienced anyone. The girls were dressed in sparkly bikinis, with their designer luggage being escorted in behind them. Linira, having been thrown against a woman who had entered just ahead of her, had no intention of being just as uncaring.

      "I'm sorry about that," Linira said to the woman who had actually kept her from falling. "I hope I didn't hurt you." Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. She'd been forewarned that the resort was ripe with young women who loved to party. Much like spring break for adults. She was not surprised, only startled by the girls making their entrance.

      "No, I'm not hurt, but if I was it would hardly be your fault," the woman answered, frowning at the flock of insensitive idiots who had gone straight to the registration desk.

      She'd known there was a chance she'd come into contact with such foolish adults who spent their time partying instead of acting like the adults they were. It was common knowledge that the resort catered to everyone, including the young crowd of wealthy elites who had money and no thought with what to do with it. Spending it on a vacation that was indefinite sure sounded nice, but Linira didn't have the funds for it.

      "Every one of those little bitches ought to know better than to behave like that, but it's perfectly obvious that they couldn't care less. If it was me one of them shoved like that, that one would not start out enjoying her vacation."

      Linira laughed under her breath. How right this stranger was, but she knew a vacation at the resort could only bring about a certain level of partying that she had secretly hoped to achieve. She'd never been one to party or really let loose. The idea fascinated her, even if it was with a group of young women who were quite a few years younger than her. Besides, that wasn't why she had come to the resort. Her trip had nothing to do with partying or hanging out with a bunch of wild young women.

      "I know how you feel," Linira admitted, even though the words brought her the memory of pain not nearly distant enough. "I'm Linira Ander, and it looks like we'll have something of a wait before we can register."

      "Getting rid of that bunch faster will be worth the wait," the woman said, changing her frown to a smile. "And I'm Casi Tolmin. It's nice to meet you, Linira, although I almost said it was nice running into you."

      "Oh, Casi, that was awful," Linira said with a laugh of appreciation for the terrible pun. "I don't think I would have had the nerve to say something like that." She never had been very punny or funny. Her upbringing had been quite strict and unpleasant in many ways. She blinked those thoughts aside. She was far from her home on Cosimia, which made her feel a lot better.

      "It doesn't take nerve, Linira, just a warped sense of humor," Casi returned with a grin. "Let's go and sit down for the wait, and maybe they'll take pity on us and offer coffee. I don't do well without my five gallons of caffeine a day."

      Linira chuckled as she agreed, then followed Casi to a couch on the right. Casi had light brown hair and green eyes, a pretty face, and a good figure. She was also taller than Linira, but only by a few inches. Linira felt embarrassed by the thought, but she knew her own blonde hair, blue eyes, and slender figure helped to make her more attractive than her new acquaintance. Not that she expected the advantage to do her any good.

      "Ah, that's better," Casi said once they were sitting on the couch. "We reached this planet in the middle of the liner's night, so I had to scramble to reach the shuttle before it left without me. Then, once the other passengers and I landed, we were all sent in different directions to get ground shuttles. For a resort that's only been open a little more than a year, this place is really spread out and incredibly big."

      "I'd never even heard of this place before I was sent here to attend a business meeting that will start tomorrow," Linira admitted with a shake of her head. "The meeting is important, but I was told that more time would be spent enjoying ourselves than conducting business. The trip is supposed to be something of a special bonus, I think. Are you also here for business, or just a vacation?"

      "I'm here for a vacation I was talked into," Casi said with a rueful smile. "It's been a while since I took the time to actually go somewhere on vacation, and a good friend couldn't say enough about how great this place is. I finally agreed to check it out, but I'm not expecting to find more than any other resort has to offer. Especially since there don't seem to be many men in sight."

      Linira raised her brows as she looked around, wondering how she could have missed so obvious a point. There were any number of women of all ages in sight, most of them just passing through the lobby, but there were only three men, all of them old enough to have some gray in their hair. They weren't the least bit attractive either. Perhaps the resort ensured that women weren't to be hit on by men. Though Linira had never known such a vacation establishment to exist.

      "That's kind of odd, but I don't mind at all," Linira said, motioning to a waitress who seemed to be asking if the new guests wanted anything. Where were all the men? Did they have an entirely different wing at the resort? "Here comes your chance to get that coffee you mentioned, something I think I'll join you in."

      When the waitress reached them they ordered their coffee, and not five minutes later another waitress appeared with a cart. Once they had cups in their hands they sipped in companionable silence. Just as the lack of men her own age made this trip a bright spot in an otherwise dark episode of her life. Men were a hassle. She would gladly live alone for the rest of her life, if given the choice.

      But she'd decided not to think about what had happened, so she firmly pushed away the memory of it. After all, she'd probably get a lot of practice pushing away bad memories during the rest of her life.