Page 49 of Protected By the Convicts
“I’m not climbing through that mud to kiss you no matter how many times you swear,” Hannah shouted from her seat on a boulder.
“Wait one minute,” Sersie said, wading toward the edge of the pit. He was up to his chest in mud, but that didn’t seem to slow him. “You kiss Ren every time he swears? When did that become a thing? And why doesn’t it apply to the rest of us?”
“The rest of you don’t swear that often.”
“So, he gets rewarded for swearing? Where’s the incentive for him to stop?”
Hannah thought about it for a minute. “Oh, right. . . Hey, Ren, how did you manage to turn that around? You were supposed to kiss me each time you had a desire to swear, not get a kiss from mewhenyou swear.”
“Trade secret and it’s too fucking late, Princess. You’re locked into it. And now you owe me another four kisses. I’m counting.”
“Uh, nope. . . I’m not getting into that mud-pit.”
“You promised.”
“If you want a kiss so bad, Sersie can kiss you. He’s feeling cheated, apparently.”
“I’d rather kiss a kuvak.”
“I can arrange that,” Ky’Li said. They captured one near Mine 17 the other day. It’s caged and quite hungry. But first. . .” Ky’Li upended the plank, sending both Ren and Vaughn into the mud.
“This is the brotherly bond you were speaking of?” Ren again, when he surfaced thoroughly soaked in mud.
Ky grinned. “No, that was to teach you not to be such a brat. But the ceremony is complete. We merged with earth and water, two powerful elements. We are brothers now.”
“How—”
“We survived being in the mud together. Two powerful elements that combined to form another force of nature that can be dangerous. A mudslide would have been preferable, but it is only a ceremony, after all. We only needed the elements, not true danger.”
“You mean all we had to do was get in the mud at the same time? The plank, the berries, stripping. . . All that wasn’t needed?”
“It wasn’t needed, but it was fun.” Ky’Li smiled, which was rare for him.
Hannah’s laughter carried over to him, lifting his spirits, and yet it felt all the more complete now that he had bonded with the other men that she had chosen. Dark green eyes sparkled. Despite the men cursing at him, he felt lighter. The curses were not mean spirited, but merely a reaction to the fun he’d had with them.
“I didn’t know you could be so devilish,, Ky!” Hannah said. “Want to cut out early? Leave Ren, Sersie, and Vaughn to their fun while we have a little fun of our own, in the shower?”
Ky surged to the shore. He needed to claim his female.
“What about this looks like we’re having fun, Princess?”
“You’re frolicking in mud. People pay good credits for a mud bath like that on Argus. You should be thanking Ky’Li right now.”
“Thank him? I’d rather knife him,” Ren said as he dragged himself out of the mud behind Ky’Li.
Without turning around, Ky’Li reached back and shoved Ren back into the pit. “Stay away from the house for a while.”
“Hell, I knew I was going to regret this so-called ceremony,” Ren said as he accepted Vaughn’s hand and let the man pull him up the steep side.
“Why are you so calm?” Ren asked Vaughn as Ky’Li scooped up Hannah and headed down the trail.
“I have a stash of sedatives at my disposal.”
“I like that train of thought. . .”
