“Hello, Dr. Washington.” Sylvan nodded back. He was unfailingly respectful of her degree and in fact, it was he who had recruited her for the BEGI in the first place. “Hello, Commander Rafe,” he continued, nodding again.
“Commander Sylvan.” Rafe nodded back. “To what do we owe this honor?”
“I’m coming to tell you that your assigned flight has been changed,” Sylvan told them.
Whitney’s heart fell.
“Oh, tell me it hasn’t been cancelled!” she exclaimed. “I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks! My first solo mission to a Class 2 planet!”
A Class 2 planet actually had predators, albeit small ones. So far she had only been allowed to visit Class 1 planets, where all the life forms were small and non-threatening, which was why the pea-duck was the most dangerous thing she’d encountered. And she was always in a group of other scientists when she went. This was supposed to be her first solo mission—it would break her heart if it was cancelled.
“No, no—don’t worry it hasn’t been cancelled,” Sylvan hastened to reassure her. “Just pushed up a little. The head of the Mother Ship Nav-Com tells me that we need to fold space sooner rather than later. There’s a solar storm coming which could make it difficult otherwise. ”
“Move it up? By how much?” Rafe asked, frowning. “I need to be certain Dr. Washington will be safe if we go at a different time in the planet’s cycle than we have planned.”
But Whitney was ready to go.
“I’m already packed!” she exclaimed. “I’ve had my specimen collection articles ready for the past month—when can we leave?”
Sylvan grinned.
“That excitement and enthusiasm are exactly why I recruited you in the first place, Dr. Washington,” he remarked. He looked at Rafe. “And your caution and consideration for your charge’s well-being are the reason I chose you to be part of the Bio-Genetic-Engineering-Initiative,” he added. “Together you make an excellent team.”
“That doesn’t answer my question about the safety of moving up our mission,” Rafe growled, frowning.
“Have no fear, Commander Rafe, it should still be perfectly safe for you to visit Vesuvius Two,” Commander Sylvan reassured the scowling Beast Kindred.
“Vesuvius Two? Is that what they’re calling it now?” It was Whitney’s turn to frown. “I knew there was a lot of volcanic activity but that name—”
“Is just a name,” Commander Sylvan said soothingly. “And most of the volcanic activity is at the poles. You two will be visiting the equator where we believe some very valuable if somewhat simple life forms are to be found.”
“I’ll collect as many specimens as possible,” Whitney promised. She was getting excited again. A whole new planet just for her to explore! What scientist wouldn’t get excited about that? “So when do we go?” she asked impatiently.
Sylvan smiled. “At once, if it’s convenient. Your ship is provisioned and ready to take off. The sooner you get going the better.”
“Now?” Whitney exclaimed.
Commander Sylvan raised one blond eyebrow.
“Too soon? I thought you were packed and ready to go?”
“I am, I am!” she exclaimed. “I just have to run to my suite and get my carry-all cube. I can be on the ship in fifteen minutes. Ten if I run!”
“Hold on.” Sylvan put out a hand to stop her. “I appreciate your willingness to get right to this mission but there is something I must do before the two of you can take off on a possibly perilous trip.”
“What would that be?” Rafe asked, frowning.
Sylvan gave the other warrior a serious look.
“Commander Rafe, this is the first time you and Dr. Washington will be visiting a Class 2 planet and also your first solo mission. Though the danger is minimal, it is there. Therefore, I must ask for your oath before I can let the two of you go.”
“His oath? What oath?” Whitney asked, mystified. Was this some kind of Kindred loyalty thing she’d never heard about before?
But before she could get any answers or ask anymore questions, Rafe shocked her completely by dropping to one knee before her and holding out his hands.
“Um…what’s going on?” she asked uncertainly, looking down at him. He looked like a man about to propose, which made her heart start beating faster, even though she knew it was silly.
“Give Commander Rafe your hands please, Dr. Washington,” Sylvan said quietly. “He has something important to tell you.”
Her heart beating about a thousand miles a minute, Whitney put her hands in the big Beast Kindred’s. She couldn’t help noticing the difference in their skin tones—hers was creamy chocolate and his was dark caramel—or the way his much larger hands seemed to swallow hers up completely. But when he spoke her name, her eyes were drawn from their clasped hands to his intense golden gaze.
“Dr. Washington…Whitney,” Rafe began, looking straight into her eyes. “I swear to you now that I will protect you from any dangers we might encounter on our travels together. I will stand between you and death and, if necessary, spill every last drop of my blood to keep you from harm. You are more dear to me than my own flesh—your well being is my first, last, and only concern from now until our partnership shall end.”
“Oh,” Whitney breathed, not sure what to say. The oath he had sworn to her was more beautiful and more binding than many marriage vows she had heard. And the expression in Rafe’s blazing golden eyes was so fierce and intense she couldn’t look away. She thought about making a joke—something like, And here I didn’t even think you liked me! But the moment seemed too solemn somehow. So she found herself standing there, tongue-tied, though she was usually never at a loss for words.
“Do you accept Commander Rafe’s oath?” Commander Sylvan asked softly. “Will you allow him to protect you and care for you until your partnership is ended?”
“I do. I mean, I will,” Whitney whispered, feeling more than ever like she was participating in some kind of wedding ceremony. “But…” She tore her eyes away from Rafe’s and looked at Commander Sylvan. “Should I swear an oath in return?”
“If you wish, though it is not your duty,” Sylvan said. “In the Kindred culture it is the male who protects the female, not the other way around.”
Whitney frowned. “Well, I might not be as physically strong as Rafe, but I still have something to contribute. Just because I’m female doesn’t mean I’m weak!”
“By no means,” Sylvan said quickly. “That is not my meaning at all. It isn’t that females are weak—it’s that they are precious. In swearing his oath, Rafe wants you to know he will cherish and honor you as well as protecting you from any possible danger or harm.”
“Well…thank you.” Whitney nodded, somewhat mollified.
She looked back at Rafe, who was still holding her hands in his. His grip was firm and his hands were warm. He was so tall that they were still nearly eye-to-eye, despite the fact that he was down on one knee.
“Rafe,” she said, her heart racing as she looked into the molten gold depths of his eyes again. “I want you to know that I’ll try to keep you from danger, too. I know I’m not as strong as you but if I see something strange, I’ll try to warn you. And…” Her mouth was almost too dry but somehow she went on. “And I want you to know that your oath means a great deal to me. I won’t take it lightly.”
He nodded seriously. “Thank you. It was not made lightly. I meant every word.” Then he rose smoothly, moving with surprising grace for such a big man, Whitney thought, and turned to Commander Sylvan. “Now, I believe, we are ready to go.”
Sylvan nodded thoughtfully.
“Yes, I believe you are. Go to your ship and I’ll tell Control to fold space for you at once. And may the Goddess go with you.”
“Thank you.” Whitney felt her heart start racing again. Despite the serious scene they had just gone though, she felt an irrepressible smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Race you to the ship,” she told Rafe. “Bet
I get there first!” Then she hurried out of the lab, throwing a laughing glance behind her as she took in the bemused expression on his normally dark face. This was going to be a mission she would never forget!
Little did she know how very right she was.
Two
Rafe shook his head as he grabbed his carry-all which held a few changes of clothing and a couple of tools from his room in the Single Males Area and made his way towards the Docking Bay. Dr. Washington—Whitney, as she had told him to call her—was what his mother would have called “enough and more than enough to handle.” And yet, her enthusiasm was catching—he found he couldn’t wait to see the new planet they would be the first to explore.
Though Vesuvius Two had been thoroughly scouted by Kindred drones, he and Whitney would be the first humanoids to step foot on its surface. No wonder she was so excited. Well, more excited than usual, he amended to himself. Because she was almost always in high spirits and good humor, which made her very pleasant to be around, though he refused to admit it, even to himself.
When he had first been assigned to guard one of the scientists in the BEGI program, he’d imagined he would be working with an older person—possibly even a frail senior who needed constant care because their body was weak, though their mind was still sharp. The Kindred were respectful of their elders and let them keep working as long as they were able, believing it promoted good health to stay active and busy long into old age.
But Whitney Washington hadn’t been a frail elder scientist—she was quite the opposite in fact. She was young—well, almost ten years younger than he was, anyway—as well as bright, vivacious, and bubbly. She was also devastatingly gorgeous with her big brown eyes and smooth, chocolatey skin. Not to mention her full curves and the fact that she had a voice that could make the Goddess herself weep tears of joy…
Watch it, he told himself, frowning as he strode down the long metal corridor. Just because she’s beautiful and you swore your oath to her doesn’t mean she’s for you. She’s not—no one is—and you know it.
Well, that was true enough. After the devastating pain he’d suffered in the past, he had no interest in ever getting involved with a female again. But sometimes when Whitney was dancing around her lab, laughing and batting those long lashes at him or telling him to lighten up or singing in that gorgeous voice of hers, it was hard to remember that.
You’d better remember it, Rafe told himself grimly. Remember Tenda and what happened to her. Remember how much a broken bond hurts—how it throbs like an empty socket when a tooth is pulled only a thousand times worse. Remember how you vowed never to go through that pain again.
Yes, he remembered. He wasn’t likely to forget—he’d endured ten years of that agony. And yet, the agony lessened when he was around Whitney. Sometimes when he was watching her laughing and singing or just working intently, her lovely face caught in an expression of pure concentration, he could almost forget the pain he’d been living with for so long.
Well don’t forget it, he told himself angrily. Never forget! Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.
That was an Earth aphorism but he found it completely appropriate to his own situation. And anyway, Whitney wasn’t the type to be interested in a gloomy bastard like him. She was light and happy and loving and he was all doom and gloom. What she needed was a male who was more her age—one with a sunny outlook on life to match her own.
I’m just her Protector—nothing more, Rafe reminded himself sternly, even as he rounded a corner into the Docking Bay and saw Whitney waiting for him. She had washed the golden cat makeup off her face and her eyes were bright and eager. In fact, she was practically dancing on the tips of her toes with impatience to be gone.
“Hurry up, slow poke!” she exclaimed, motioning to him with one hand—the other held her pink carry-all cube. “Let’s go—they’ve already folded space for us!”
Rafe allowed a rare smile to twitch momentarily at the corners of his mouth. Despite his lecture to himself, he couldn’t help liking her enthusiasm. And with her eyes so bright and her cheeks flushed with eagerness, she looked even more beautiful than usual.
She’s not for you, he reminded himself again. Just pilot her to the planet and keep her safe while she collects specimens—that’s all you have to do. Nothing more.
But if that was so, then why had he added the part in his oath about her being more dear to him than his own flesh? Such words were meant for a Joining Vow—not an Oath of Protection. From the thoughtful look in Commander Sylvan’s pale blue eyes, he had thought as much too, Rafe was sure of it. So why had he sworn such a strong oath to the curvy little female bouncing impatiently in front of him?
Rafe found he couldn’t answer the question, even to himself. He could only nod at Whitney and open the long-range shuttle which had been outfitted for them.
“In you go,” he told her shortly. “The sooner you strap in, the sooner we can be off.”
“I’m ready—let’s go!” She started to climb into the cockpit, but the shuttle they were using was one of the higher ones—built to the larger Kindred standards.
Seeing that there was no way she could climb up herself, Rafe put his hands around her waist and lifted her easily up to the cockpit.
“Oh!” Whitney gasped and looked over her shoulder at him. The expression on her face was one of wonder and surprise. “You…you didn’t have to do that,” she said in a slightly breathless voice as she fumbled with the straps of the safety harness.
“Of course I did. You couldn’t have gotten up on your own—the cockpit is too high.”
Leaning over her, Rafe took the straps and began buckling her in, since she didn’t seem to be having much success herself. Despite working together for the past six months, this was the closest they had ever been for an extended period of time and he found he liked it. He took his time fastening the straps, breathing in her warm, feminine fragrance as he did so. His sensitive Kindred nose detected the scent of adrenaline mixed with desire and his sensitive ears could hear her racing heartbeat.
Could it be that Whitney was reacting to his nearness?
Rafe pushed the thought away. Clearly she was just excited to begin their mission. That was the reason for her elevated pulse and the warm, aroused scent that clung to her lush, curvy body.
“There,” he said at last, finishing with the harness. “You’re as secure as I can make you.”
“Thank you.” Her voice still sounded breathless but she raised an eyebrow at him challengingly. “Already making good on your oath to keep me safe?”
Rafe looked at her seriously.
“Absolutely. For as long as our partnership lasts.”
“Oh…of course.” His answer seemed to deflate her a bit and she looked away and bit her lush lower lip. Rafe found himself wishing he could bite it too and then pushed the thought away. He didn’t need distractions now—they were going on a dangerous mission.
Well, not very dangerous, he amended to himself. It was only a Class 2 planet and considering that the Kindred Planetary Danger Scale went all the way up to 10, it wasn’t much of a risk. Still, you never could tell what might happen on a mission to a strange world and it paid to be alert.
That meant not letting himself be distracted by Dr. Whitney Washington, no matter how blindingly lovely she was.
Reminding himself of that fact sternly, Rafe buckled himself in and started the ship. They had a mission to complete and no part of it included him getting close to Whitney.
If only he had known how very wrong he was. But by the time he found that out, it was much, much too late…
Three
Whitney had folded space before but it was always exciting and a little terrifying flying through the red gash in the blackness that the Mother Ship created to send them from one part of the universe to another in the blink of an eye. She held her breath as Rafe piloted their little ship closer to the gaping crimson maw in space and wrapped her arms around herself protectively.
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br /> “Are you frightened?” Rafe glanced over at her, raising one black eyebrow in her direction.
“N-no,” Whitney denied but a little tremble in her voice gave her away. She couldn’t help it—jaunting millions of light years in a split second gave her the willies. It just didn’t seem natural somehow, although she understood the complex science behind it.
“Yes you are—I can smell your fear,” Rafe accused. “Believe me, there is no need to be afraid. The only persons who cannot safely fold space are pregnant females and I know you are not pregnant.”
“What?” His bold assertion drew her attention away from the gash in space and she stared at him, one hand on her hip. “What makes you say that? How would you know if I’m pregnant or not?”
He shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling under his crimson uniform shirt with the gesture.
“Because I would have smelled another male on you if you had been with one at any time in the past six solar months we have been working together. I haven’t smelled one, therefore, you cannot be pregnant.”
Whitney frowned.
“Hey—no need to make fun of my non-existent love life. And I’ve heard you Kindred have sharp senses but are they really that sharp?”
He nodded. “They are. But also…” He hesitated for so long Whitney wondered if he would go on. “Also I am attuned to you,” he said at last, just when she was about to prod him.
“What exactly does that mean—‘attuned to me?’” Whitney demanded, feeling intrigued. She was getting that warm, fluttery feeling in her belly again—the same feeling she’d had when he made his oath to her and when he’d lifted her into the cockpit of the ship and secured her straps. Could it be that her stoic Protector had just been waiting until they were finally on a mission alone together to make his move? She certainly hoped so!
But Rafe was frowning as he answered.
“My senses are razor sharp when it comes to you—but only because I was assigned to you,” he said quickly. “There is no other reason other than it is my duty to keep you safe.”
Pairing with the Protector Page 2
