“Yoo-hoo,” he cooed again.
Kat stopped and willed herself to give Ramir a polite smile.
“Hiya, Ramir.”
“Ah, my lovely Kat. How wonderful to see you. We haven’t spoken for such a long time. Where have you been?”
Ramir stood right in front of her, blocking her view of the square. His long blue hair hung loosely on his shoulders, shining in the sun. He was tall and lean, much like her brother and Mitha, only his movements were more like a dancer’s, elegant and flowing.
Kat shrugged and moved a little to the left as discreetly as possible in an attempt to see the square out of the corner of her eye.
“Well, you know, around.”
She sighed. She didn’t have time for this.
“I’m really sorry, Ramir, but I’ve got to go. We’ll talk later, okay?”
Kat tried to step around the Cassidi, but he also stepped aside, blocking her exit.
“I’m giving a small get-together tomorrow. Just me and some close friends. In my garden, of course. Nothing fancy. I was hoping you’d grace us with your presence.”
Kat sighed and gave him a fake look of regret. “Sorry, Ramir, but I can’t make it. There’s a good chance I’m going off-world for a few days. You have fun tomorrow, though.”
Kat shuffled to the right in an attempt to pass Ramir, pushing her back alongside the wall. At the same time, Ramir lifted his hand with the intention of placing it on her shoulder. Due to Kat’s movements, the hand missed her shoulder and landed on her chest. Straight on top of her right breast.
Ramir uttered a girlish squeal, apparently shocked by his own actions, and his whole body froze like a deer in the headlights. He didn’t move his hand; it just lay there. Doing nothing.
Kat frowned, looking down at Ramir’s hand on her chest. “Um, Ramir? If you haven’t noticed yet, your hand is on my boob.”
Even though Cassidi were very sexual, that didn’t mean you could just touch someone on their private parts without their permission. Doing so was seen as a very serious offense. Kat knew Ramir hadn’t done this intentionally, but this was still an extremely awkward situation. She couldn’t step back because she was literally standing with her back against the wall.
“I…I don’t know what happened. I didn’t mean to. It…it landed there… unintentionally,” he stammered, mortified, still not moving his hand, just staring at it and her boob in horror. His face turned bright red. The color clashed with his blue hair.
Even though she was the one being fondled, Kat felt sorry for Ramir. She was probably the first woman he had ever groped, and even that was by accident. She could see how utterly appalled he was by his behavior. Kat wanted to reassure him, telling him it was okay. Because aside from feeling sorry for Ramir and awkward about this situation, his touch did nothing for her. She felt absolutely nothing. Not anger, not joy, not excitement, not even repulsion. If Kat had to compare it to something, then an examination by a medic came closest.
Kat moved her arm in an attempt to remove Ramir’s hand—slowly so she wouldn’t startle him too much—when a black flash pulled Ramir away from her. The next moment, Ramir was pinned against the wall, his feet dangling in the air.
“Don’t you ever touch my female again,” a very pissed-off Makaen growled at Ramir, holding him up with one hand and choking him. Dykan’s claws and canines were extended, his eyes a feral glowing red. He was almost foaming at the mouth.
“Unhand…me…you…brute,” Ramir managed to utter with utmost difficulty. Every word seemed to cause him pain.
“She is mine!” Dykan growled, squeezing a little harder.
Kat blinked and flung her head toward the square, back to the two men and once more to the square. The chair Dykan had been sitting in only seconds ago was empty. Looking back at Ramir, it took her a moment to process what was happening in front of her. Dykan must have seen Ramir touching her and had darted all the way from the spot he had been sitting to the alley in record time. And now he was choking the living daylights out of Ramir. And he had called her his female. His female. Was he always so possessive of the women he’d had sex with, Kat wondered, or was she special to him? No, that couldn’t be. He had been very clear about his feelings, or lack of feelings, for her.
The gurgling sound escaping Ramir’s throat made her snap back to reality. Ramir’s face was turning as blue as his hair. Right, angry Dykan strangling poor Ramir. She had to do something before it was too late. Kat pulled the stun gun from her back pocket and aimed it at Dykan’s broad back. Then she realized that she couldn’t stun Dykan without also shocking Ramir. And she doubted if Ramir would survive the maximum setting.
Kat put the stun gun back in her pocket. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Astir gazing at her, an anxious expression on his face, clearly wondering if he should intervene. Kat lifted a hand and shook her head to indicate he should stay right where he was. She didn’t want this situation to escalate any further. She needed to get Dykan to let Ramir go before he killed him.
“Dykan, let this man go, now,” Kat called out to Dykan’s back, but he didn’t respond. His rage-clouded mind was too focused on Ramir.
Kat swiftly moved to Dykan’s side, jumped up and grabbed the arm that was holding Ramir off the ground. She tried to pull it down by throwing her bodyweight in the mix. Instead, his arm remained in place, causing Kat to dangle on Dykan’s arm like a drunk, out of shape gymnast, her feet no longer touching the ground. Boy, this guy was really strong.
“Let him go!” she tried again, a little louder.
Now he did respond, but it wasn’t the reaction Kat was going for. “He touched you,” Dykan said with a low growl.
“He didn’t mean to. It was an accident,” she explained, still hanging on his arm.
He snorted. “Really? And what is next, him accidentally thrusting his cock in your cunt while sneezing?”
Kat huffed, offended. “No, of course not. That’s ridiculous. And you don’t have to be so crude about it.”
“Help…can’t…breathe…” Ramir squirmed beneath Dykan’s hand and gazed at Kat in desperation. It looked as if his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets any second now.
“Dykan,” she yelled, this time with vigor, “I swear, if you don’t let go of Ramir this instant, I’m going to kick your fucking ass!”
Immediately, Dykan loosened his grip, dropping Ramir to the ground like a badly tossed pancake. Kat would have fallen too if Dykan hadn’t flung his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him.
“Who’s being crude now?” he asked mockingly, his ridges raised. The corners of his mouth twitched. “It only took a few rotations on my ship to make you curse like a real pirate.”
“Not funny.” Kat pushed against Dykan’s chest to free herself. He released her with a regretful sigh.
Kat spun on her toes and knelt down next to Ramir, who was still lying on the ground, panting and coughing.
“Ramir, are you okay?” She put her hand on his shoulder.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Dykan stepping forward threateningly.
“Don’t you dare come closer,” she warned him over her shoulder, lifting a finger up in the air. “I meant the ass-kicking part. I’ll go premenstrual on you, believe me.”