Vision of Seduction by Cassie Ryan Page B

the table in
    front of her, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes as the distant
    thump of her previous headache slowly faded.
    A light breeze played across the second-story balcony and brought the lush
    scents of gardenias and roses that spoke of a garden nearby. The sounds of
    running water, the soft chirrup of birds, and the gentle whoosh of the wind
    through the trees all lulled her, sending a tendril of peace deep inside her
    as though she'd suddenly come home.
    The thought startled her.
    She was certainly comfortable with her life in Phoenix, but she had never
    experienced this deep, intuitive knowing of a place like she did with this
    one, as though she was created specifically to exist here. All her internal
    alarms told her this place was as real as Earth, and not only that—she knew
    she'd been here before, as improbable as it sounded.
    The thought irritated her. She had worked her ass off to carve out a life for
    herself in Phoenix. She co-owned her own business, she had friends—well,
    Rita, at least. She also had several steady customers and money in the bank,
    which offered her freedom to make her own choices. After all, that's what
    true freedom was.
    She looked around, bringing herself back to the present and her
    circumstances here, not that she had a clue in hell where "here" happened
    to be, other than a planet called Tador. She didn't even know why she'd
    been brought here. Holly insisted Grayson had brought her here to save
    her from the "Cunts"— whoever happened to be unlucky enough to have
    that moniker.
    All questions to Holly, the lady's maid, had only gotten Katelyn strange
    answers. Katelyn had given up finding out more until she recovered from
    her "energy hangover," as she had termed it. This morning she had gladly
    followed Holly through the winding halls of what the maid kept referring
    to as the "castle," and out to this beautiful balcony for breakfast.
    Katelyn's only worries had been her shop and Rita. Her meticulously
    organized partner would freak when she saw the destruction of the shop.
    But, even worse, she would worry when she found Katelyn's purse, but no
    sign of Katelyn.
    Hopefully Rita wouldn't panic. For someone who didn't believe in magic,
    crystals, Seers or anything "woo-woo," as Rita called it, the woman had
    helped Katelyn make her new-age shop a success. After all, what better
    place for a Seer to open?
    Besides, Holly had insisted that Grayson would be able to get word to Rita
    that Katelyn was alive and well and ... hmmm, maybe Katelyn was better
    off just sticking to "alive and well" for now. She didn't think telling Rita she
    was on another planet hiding from killer Cunts would go over real well.
    She opened her eyes and looked out at the panoramic view visible over the
    short balcony wall. Thanks to the food and drink Holly had provided,
    Katelyn felt almost human again. Which meant her questions had returned,
    along with her energy.

    She sat in one of the two surprisingly comfortable wooden chairs that
    almost seemed to contour to her body. The chairs sat around a small round
    table covered with a bright blue tablecloth. More food and drink than
    Katelyn could ever eat was spread before her, including tea, several fruits
    she recognized (and several she didn't), pastries, eggs, sausages, and some
    type of blue pudding that smelled like a vanilla milkshake. Everything was
    neatly arranged on what Katelyn's untrained eye took to be fine china
    edged in gold.
    She had sampled almost everything, rationalizing that someone recovering
    from any type of hangover needed something in their stomach. Besides,
    maybe the calories wouldn't count on Tador, or wherever the hell she was.
    A soft knock sounded against the frame of the open balcony door.
    Katelyn glanced over to see a stunning woman with dark hair that flowed
    nearly to her ass. Thin braids were scattered throughout her hair, and small
    lavender beads peppered the braids. Skimpy cotton boy shorts clung