Fighting Lory (English Edition) (Lords Of Arr'Carthian 2) by Cathy McAllister Page A

laughing. “I probably wouldn’t be particularly happy either if someone was to drag me to a damned alien planet. I love my homeland.”
    “So why are you here and not on your planet?” Lory asked inquisitively.
    Farron sighed.
    “My older brother claimed the woman that I love so I left to spare myself the pain of seeing the two of them together.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry,” said Lory sympathetically. “That must be hard.”
    “And what about you? How come you’re down here? Are you hiding?”
    “Yes, from a big, stupid bull,” snarled Lory.  
    Farron laughed.
    “That must be Kordan. Am I right?”
    “Exactly!” Lory confirmed sullenly. “That man is a conceited   arrogant lump of ice.”  
    Farron roared with laughter, throwing his head back.  
    “Yes, that’s what he’s like, the general. But it won’t be much use to you hiding here. He’ll find you if he wants to. He just needs to ask the computer where you are. As you were in the medical unit your DNA is stored in the central computer. There’s no part of the whole ship where the computer won’t trace you.”
    Lory turned pale. These swines had her DNA! She could be found?  
    “Could someone else claim me? You, for example? Just pretending, of course.”
    “I could claim you officially, then you’d be under my protection and even the general would respect our bond, but …” replied Farron.
    “Lay one finger on her and you’re a dead Dragon,” came Kordan’s icy voice and Lory screamed in fright.
    Horrified, she looked past Farron to Kordan, who had walked up behind them menacingly. Farron turned to face him and did not appear to be bothered by the blond man.  
    “You don’t want a mate anyway,” he said calmly. “Why don’t you just leave her alone?”  
    “Wrong!” snarled Kordan. “I herewith claim Lory Andersson from planet earth as my mate.”
    “Like hell you do!” hissed Lory. “I don’t want you, you big, stupid lump of ice! Do you understand me? Go to hell!”
    “I accept your right to her and I will not interfere. But take some advice from a friend: give her a chance to calm down. I’ll take her to the canteen now and drink a sanis with her. Later I’ll bring her to your quarters when you’ve both calmed down. OK?”
    Kordan nodded, expressionless, then turned and left. Lory watched him, her heart pounding.
    “Thank you,” she murmured.
    Farron turned to her with a big smile.
    “No problem. It was a pleasure. I must say that I’m impressed. I would never have thought that a woman would ever manage to melt the ice block.”
    “Melt? He’s still as cold as ice.”
    “I know him better than anyone else here,” said Farron. “If I tell you that the huge iceberg is thawing, then it is. Come on. Let’s go and drink a sanis together.”

    To her surprise a sanis was not an alcoholic drink, as she had expected, but a pretty good tea that would almost work as a coffee substitute. At least she had not drunk anything since her abduction that came closer to her favorite drink. The lack of coffee was part of the reason why she was permanently in a bad mood but she may well get over that with this stuff - at least until she found another way of getting home.  
    “Do you like the sanis ?” asked Farron.
    “Yes, it’s delicious. I feel a lot better already. Thank you again for your help. “
    “We ought to get going. Kordan will be waiting for us.”
    “But I don’t want to go to that pig. Can’t you please take me somewhere else?”
    “But I’ve already told you that he’ll find you anywhere. So there’s no point trying to avoid him. It would only show him that you’re afraid of him.”
    Lory tensed up. “I’m not afraid of the big bull,” she snarled.
    “That’s better,” said Farron and, with a smile, took her hand in his. “Believe me, I know Kordan very well. He is not a bad guy. He is loyal and reliable. He will protect you with his life and he will definitely never harm you. Carthians are men