Baird stroked her hair away from her face. “I promise I’ll do everything in my power to relax you before I get on my knees before you, Lilenta. Your pleasure will be my first priority.”
Liv knew from experience he was telling the truth. After all, he made her come again and again night after night and never asked for a thing for himself. For all she knew he had the worst case of blue balls in history but he never said a word about it. All he seemed to care about was pleasing her, making her come and holding her as he did it—just as he was now. God, if he doesn’t let go of me soon I’ll be letting him to do it right here, right now and screw the conference he’s supposed to attend. She felt the familiar surge of frustration. Why couldn’t she just say no to him? Why did he affect her so much?
“I guess you won’t stop this time,” she heard herself saying. The words were meant to be bitter but they came out breathless instead. “If I…when I ask you to…to finish it.”
Baird nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. “I promised not to bond you during our bathing week but when I come back all bets are off. Sorry, Lilenta, but I need you too damn much. Need to be able to hold you and protect you. So yes, if you ask for it, I’m damn well going to give it to you.”
“Baird…” She didn’t know what to say. None of her arguments worked on him. “I…” She shook her head helplessly. “You’re going to be late.”
“Damn it.” He let her go to look at the chronometer on his wrist and Liv sank back down on the bed.
“I guess I’ll see you when I get back. Should I even bother to wear clothes?”
“Lilenta…” He dropped to his knees before her and took her hands. “Please, it doesn’t have to be like this.”
Liv lifted her chin. “Yes, it does. I told you before, I’m not giving up without a fight. Now go. I’ll see you later.”
He sighed. “I’ll be thinking of you every moment I’m away. Be well and be safe, Lilenta.” He cupped her cheek and kissed her once more—this time a gentle brush of lips on lips—before rising.
Liv sighed as she watched him leave and heard the front door of the suite hiss shut behind him. God, what was she going to do? She was trapped and the worst thing was, no matter how much she tried not to, she couldn’t help feeling for Baird just as he said. Couldn’t help the shiver of lustful fear that ran through her when she imagined him down on his knees before her, his face buried between her thighs…
Stop it, she scolded herself. You finally have some time to yourself so use it. Try and find a way out of this before it’s too late.
Getting off the bed on legs that were still wobbly from his kisses, she went to do just that.
Two hours later she had to admit that there didn’t appear to be anything in Baird’s personal library about getting out of a claiming contract. Other than breach of contract—which apparently almost never happened—most brides called by Kindred warriors stayed with the male who had called them for the rest of their lives.
“And they all lived happily ever after,” Liv muttered in disgust, shutting the last book that seemed to have any relevance to her situation. Baird kept a lot of his files on minidisks but, like humans, the Kindred had a fondness for handheld books. Of course, when one opened a Kindred book it showed moving pictures of whatever the text was about so it wasn’t exactly the same as an antique paper book from Earth. But it was still nice to be able to hold it instead of reading it off a computer screen.
With a sigh, Liv took off the translator which looked like a pair of wire rimmed glasses with green lenses. They were lightweight and made especially for a human sized head which was nice. If they’d been made on the Kindred scale she never could have kept them from slipping off. When she opened a book, the text was changed by the interface of the translator to her brain and the words on the page appeared in English instead of the strange spiky symbols that the Kindred used as their universal language.
Liv was just deciding to take a long soak in the bathing pool since she couldn’t think of anything else to do when the holo link buzzed. Frowning, she folded the translator glasses and walked over to take the call. Was it Baird calling to tell her something he’d forgotten? Or maybe Sylvan, looking for his brother?
The link wasn’t that different from the holo enabled PC she and Sophie had at their apartment back on Earth but Liv knew from experience that it wouldn’t call anyone off the Kindred ship. She’d tried numerous times and with increasing frustration after Sophie’s cryptic letter until Baird had caught her at it. He’d explained that the link wasn’t made to reach further than the ship so her attempts to contact her sister were futile. Liv hadn’t bothered with it after that because she didn’t know anyone besides Baird and Sylvan on board.
Or do I? The name flashing in the call box at the bottom of the small, square unit that projected 3D images of the caller’s head looked vaguely familiar. Jillian Holms…Jillian Holms. Oh my God! It was the head cheerleader from her high school days—the very one Kat had been talking about on the fateful morning Liv had been drafted and claimed by Baird. Hastily she hit the accept button, hoping Jillian was still there.
She was. Before Liv’s eyes a winking blue dot appeared about a foot above the black cube of the holo link and slowly expanded to show Jillian’s perfect features and flawless skin. There was a reason she’d been voted homecoming queen three years in a row and as she twitched her bouncy honey blonde curls over one shoulder, Liv was reminded why.
“Liv? Livvy, is that you?” the floating head asked, gazing at her.
“Uh, yeah. Yes, it’s me.” Liv suddenly wished she’d taken time to do her hair instead of just putting it back in a pony tail.
“Oh goody!” Jillian squealed, grinning. “I saw your name on the new bride roster and I was so hoping it would be you. It’s so nice to see a familiar face.”
“Likewise.” Liv grinned at her, deciding she didn’t care about her hair. It was true that she and Jillian had never been on much more than a nodding basis in high school but that didn’t matter now. She was another human and she was here, on board the ship. Liv felt a surge of excitement.
“You look wonderful,” Jillian gushed. “Just amazing. I’m so glad to see you again.”
“You look pretty fantastic yourself,” Liv said truthfully.
“Oh, please.” Jillian tossed her hair again. “I guess being bonded to two of the sweetest guys in the universe just agrees with me.”
“Oh, that’s right—you got Twin Kindred, didn’t you?” Liv remembered Kat’s bowlegged impression of the aftereffects of sex with two huge warriors at once and had to smother a smile.
“Uh-huh. Thinks Hard and Sees Much—don’t they have great names? They’re literal translations of their abilities and personalities. It’s a Twin Moons thing. But I just call them Grumpy and Happy—like from the seven dwarves, you know? They’re both just amazingly wonderful and I love them to death.” Jillian grinned. “So how about you? Who are you bonded to?”
“Uh…” Liv didn’t exactly want to admit that she wasn’t truly bonded. “I’m, uh…my guy is a Rager. A Beast Kindred.”
“Ooo!” Jillian shivered. “Omigod, is he an animal in the sack? They say sex with a Beast Kindred is so intense it leaves you sore for like, days afterwards.”
“Really?” Liv raised an eyebrow at her, feeling slightly irritated. “Because that’s what I heard about the Twin Kindred.”
“Well, I mean, it can be a little difficult at first. Especially if you’re not used to, uh, taking two guys at once. And they’re both so big.” Jillian blushed and giggled. “Look, you know I love to dish but this isn’t the way to do it. We need to get together and have some girl talk. What do you say?”
“Sure, I’d love to,” Liv said, thinking that maybe she could get Baird to finally take her out of the suite if she had an excuse to go somewhere. He could hardly deny her a visit with an old high school friend, could he?
“Great,” Jillian said brightly. “I’ll send my coordinates to your
suite. If you hurry up we can grab lunch together. Of course, I don’t cook—you remember that from that horrible home-ec class we had together.” She shivered. “But there’s this wonderful little place that does cuisine from the Twin Moons mountain region that’s just to die for and they deliver.”
“Oh, uh, I’m not sure I can today,” Liv said apologetically. “Baird is gone to a conference on the moon and he told me not to leave the suite. He seemed to think it wouldn’t be safe.”
“Pooh.” Jillian made a face. “Silly overprotective alpha males. There’s nothing that will hurt you on board the ship as long as you stay away from the unmated males’ area. Now, I’m looking at your coordinates and it looks like you’re directly across the ship from me. So the fastest thing would be to bring you right through the center. Ooo, have you seen the temple of the Mother of Life yet? Omigod, it’s just gorgeous. I’ll plot you a course that takes you past it so you can grab a peek as you go.”
“But…” Liv shook her head. “Look, Jillian, I hate to disappoint you but I don’t even know how to use the public transportation here. I mean, the ship is huge and Baird has only taken me to places around our area.”
“You don’t have to use the sub-tram,” Jillian said, sounding impatient. “I mean, you’ve got a Take-me, don’t you?”
“Sorry, a what?”
“A Take-me. It’s kind of like a little scooter-type animal thing you ride on? They’re used more in the center of the ship than the perimeter so you might not have seen one yet. I always think they look like that push-me pull-you animal from the Doctor Doolittle books, except for the green fur. Did you read those when you were a kid?”
“I—” Liv started but Jillian steamrolled over her.
“My mom was big into retro-reads and we had the whole set. Anyway, it rests when you’re not using it. Just look for a blue wall panel in the food prep area and push it. It lives off the stuff you put down the waste disposal unit in the sink.”
“Hang on.” Jillian’s chatter was making her dizzy. “Just give me a minute—I’ll go look.” She left the disembodied head hanging above the holo-link and went to the kitchen before Jillian could go off on another tangent. Really shouldn’t be doing this, she told herself as she searched for the wall panel. Well, I’ll just see what she’s talking about. If there is a form of transportation here, I need to know about it in case of emergency. She couldn’t actually imagine an emergency wherein she would have to climb on the back of a push-me pull-you with green fur to escape, but the justification sounded nice.
Sure enough, when she found a small blue square the size of her palm beside the sink and pushed it, a large wall panel, about five by five, slid out of place. Liv looked cautiously into the dim area revealed behind the panel and found herself staring into the big purple eyes of a creature about the size of a large pony—all three of them. The creature made an enquiring humming noise deep in its longish throat and shuffled out into the kitchen. Liv couldn’t help noticing that it had a neck like a llama—or make that two necks. Because right where the creature’s backside should have been, was another long, shaggy neck and head complete with three more large purple eyes. The second mouth appeared to be chewing something—probably whatever she’d shoved down the sink disposal following the breakfast she and Baird had shared.
“Oh, uh, hi.” Liv backed up uneasily but the strange, two headed creature followed her on its six, awkward looking legs. She couldn’t help thinking that the knees bent the wrong way but it seemed to move well enough. “You can…uh, you can go back to your little cave.” Liv made a shooing motion at it which the creature ignored. “I just wanted a look at you, that’s all,” she protested. Turning, she went back to the living area, hoping the Take-me would get the hint. Unfortunately, instead of going back to its home beside the sink, it ambled after her.
“Oh goody, you found it,” Jillian said as soon as the Take-me came into view of her projection. “Bring it here and I’ll give it the coordinates.”
“Jillian, I really don’t know. Baird said—”
“Poo—are you seriously going to let him tell you what to do? I tell you, Livvy, these Kindred guys are great but if you let them they’ll keep you locked away day and night. Mostly in bed.” She giggled. “I mean, they’re just so overprotective it’s ridiculous so you have got to take a stand and come see me. I’d come to you but our Take-me is having a check-up right now. I think maybe I shouldn’t have fed it banana peels but how was I supposed to know they could have allergies to Earth food?”
“Well…” Liv thought of how long she’d been cooped up in the small suite. The truth was she was dying to get out. Her first week with Baird, when they’d gone on so many dates, had been much less complicated and tense and a lot more fun. Besides, he’ll be gone to that conference until tomorrow and what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. “It would be nice to see more of the ship,” she said cautiously, thinking aloud.
“Now you’re talking!” Jillian beamed at her. “Great, I am just dying for some female companionship. I mean, my guys are wonderful but when I start talking shoes their eyes just kind of glaze over, you know?”
Privately Liv thought she probably wouldn’t be much better in that area since she didn’t have much of a shoe fetish herself. But maybe I can find out some other things from Jillian. She’s been here longer than me. That thought more than anything else completely made up her mind. “All right,” she said, smiling at Jillian’s disembodied head. “How do I get to your place in time for lunch?”
Chapter Eighteen
The Take-me was surprisingly fast. Despite its wrong-way bending knees, the six shaggy legs could really move, making it a bit of a challenge to hold on to. Liv had ridden a horse before but sitting on the sloping back of the Take-me was different in the extreme. It had a natural dip in its long torso that seemed to conform to her body and make a kind of saddle, so she didn’t really worry about falling off, but its swaying gait still took some getting used to. She did wonder how Baird could ride it though. He was so much bigger than her that his feet would drag the ground—why keep what amounted to a compact car when you were built for an SUV?
But her questions were soon driven out of her head when the Take-me finished navigating the twisting metal corridors and they reached the center of the ship.
“A sun—they actually have a sun up there.” Liv squinted in amazement at the round bright green ball casting emerald light over the large garden-like area that seemed to stretch for miles in every direction. There were eateries serving all kinds of food and hundreds of tiny, quaint looking shops edging the perimeter of the park-like center of the ship. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the huge Kindred warriors walking by and the green sunlight, it might have seemed like any tourist town she’d ever been to. As it was, Liv felt like Dorothy finally reaching the Emerald City. “Amazing,” she breathed as the Take-me trundled along the clearly marked pathway right through the middle of the center vegetation.
There were people in the park-like area too, hiking, picnicking on the green and purple grass, and generally enjoying themselves. It was mostly couples, Liv saw, although there were some families there as well. The children were all little boys—the Kindred gene that caused ninety-five percent of their offspring to be male was a dominant one that almost always bred true. Watching them play, Liv couldn’t help wondering what her son would look like, if she and Baird had one. Would he have his father’s golden eyes and dark hair? Would he be as big as the Kindred males from the other genetic trades or have more Earth-normal proportions? She’d always wanted a little boy, whenever she did get around to having kids and Baird would be a strong and patient father…
Stop it, Liv, she scolded herself. You’re supposed to be trying to get away from the guy, not planning to have his babies! Yet she couldn’t help sighing when she saw one of the Beast Kindred males who looked a little like Baird handling a tiny infant. He had the baby over one powerful shoulder and was patting and rubbing its back gently, obviousl
y trying to coax out a burp. Beside him his bride, a lovely Asian girl with almond shaped eyes, was smiling maternally.
The girl was extremely petite, probably not even five feet tall, while her husband was almost Baird’s size. After Liv peeled her gaze away from their baby she couldn’t help eyeing them uncertainly. How had such a tiny woman accommodated a man as large as her Kindred husband? He was a Beast Kindred so he must have the same equipment Baird did. Maybe it wasn’t as big? Of course, Baird had said his body could make chemicals that would help a female adjust and open for him. For his mating fist…
Just thinking about Baird’s unique anatomy made her blush and look away from the happy family scene but not before she saw the Kindred father noticing her. He had a frown on his face and he was sniffing the air, as though he smelled something in the air. Liv wasn’t sure what to think of that but by then she was already past them and into a different part of what she was beginning to think of as the Kindred version of Central Park.
The temple of the Mother of Life was, as promised, beautiful, although like no other place of worship Liv had ever seen. The trees with their many different shades of green and purple leaves were gorgeous and she wished she could get down and wander among them for awhile. Unfortunately, she had no idea how to stop the Take-me and she didn’t want to try getting off while it was ambling along at its deceptively fast rate so she remained seated on her swaying mount. I wonder if I can get Baird to take me here when he gets back? she thought wistfully as the lovely temple faded into the distance. Wish we could get out and do more instead of staying cooped up in the suite. Just because we’re fighting shouldn’t mean we have to stay in all the time.
Coming out on the other side of the park area she expected to see more shops and eateries—and she did—to her right, anyway. To her left was a decidedly different area of the Kindred ship. The shops were darker and closer together and there were various signs in the spiky, angular Kindred language that were flashing on and off, as though to draw attention to whatever they were selling inside. Liv also didn’t see any more families or couples. There were only males going into the shops and none of them looked particularly happy. In fact, if she had to characterize the look on their faces she would have called it hungry, although maybe not for food. What’s going on over there? Whatever it is I don’t think I want to know.