Racing Hearts (Shadow Quest 4.5) by Kiersten Fay Page B

length hair was tough as
well. As a game, he used to pluck a strand and challenge them all
to try and rip it apart with their bare hands. No one had ever
succeeded, but they continued to try anyway.
    Asher’s hypnotic silver eyes pinned her
with a dubious expression. “No tattoos, Priya. How about you?” He
wiggled his brows suggestively.
    “None that you’re ever going to get to
see.”
    Typical masculine curiosity covered
both their faces. She couldn’t prevent her impish grin. The third
man cleared his throat, drawing her attention. She gasped. Legura
royalty?
    Aidan introduced him. “This is Prince
Lear of the Legura Clan. He’ll be joining us.”
    Lear bowed respectfully. A black strand
of his hair fell over his face as he cooed, “My lady.” Seeing her
jaw locked in surprise, he added, “Now doona be intimidated by my
rugged good looks.” His accent was thick and sounded nothing like
Aidan’s.
    She scoffed and crossed her arms. “Have
you ever worked on a ship, kingy?” She recalled learning from Aidan
that the Dragons had been one of the first races to enter space.
Many of the known languages had branched off of theirs, and they
had connections or treaties with nearly every amiable
planet.
    Lear cocked his head and said
confidently, “I am no’ without skill. And I’m no king.”
    That was obvious by the way he stood.
He held himself more like a warrior than royalty.
    She faced Aidan. “Is this the whole
crew then?”
    Aidan took on a guilty expression and
ducked his head. A deep sense of foreboding dug a pit in her
stomach. She’d seen that look before.
    Scrubbing a hand over the back of his
neck, he stumbled over his words. “Uh…well…about that—”
    From within ship’s hatch, a deep voice
cut in, “The craft is tight, Aidan, but needs some
work.”
    Recognition hit her like a slap to the
face and she sank under a wave of nausea. Her heart twisted
painfully, and she unconsciously brought her hand over her chest as
if that would save her.
    Vin emerged from the hatch wiping
grease from his hands with a dirty cloth. His grey tank top was
equally stained, but no matter how ragged his clothing, it could
not detract from his awe-inspiring physique. He was built like a
machine. And made love like one too.
    She forced the thought out of her mind
and struggled to keep it from reentering.
    The moment Vin noticed her, he froze
mid-step. His arms dropped to his sides. He seemed to
deflate.
    She ignored the pang that caused in her
chest.
    “Oh, hell no.” Priya snatched her bag
from Aidan and stalked away. She didn’t quite know where she meant
to go. Anywhere but here would do.
    “Wait.” Aidan grabbed her by the arm.
“I won’t stop you if you really want to go, but take a day or two
to think about it. The entry deadline is in three days. I’d like
you both on my team.”
    She ripped her arm free and snapped,
“You should have told me he was here.” Her hand began to sting from
clenching the bag, and she forced herself to ease her
hold.
    “I wasn’t sure if either of you would
show,” he explained. “But if I had mentioned he might be here,
would you have come?”
    “No,” she said honestly.
    Aidan remained silent for a moment.
“I’ve rented you a room. Promise me you’ll go and sleep on
it.”
    She ground her teeth and tightened her
fist. How could Aidan ask this of her? This could end up being
detrimental to the entire group.
    Could she put away her past, the
heartbreak, and work with Vin? She could say no, she reasoned. She
could walk away right now and not look back. But, out of respect
for Aidan, she would take his advice and chew it over. It was the
least she could do.
    And the least Aidan could do was
provide free room and board for her to do it in.
    Without facing him, she slowly nodded.
“I’ll think about it.”
    From behind, came Vin’s low and—damn
it—sexy voice. “Priya, can we talk?”
    “Screw off, Vin. You’re good at that.”
Quick strides led her back