In that moment she had been magnificent—a warrior woman that might have come straight from one of the warring tribes on his home world of Rageron. Then she’d twisted her ankle. But even after she did, she’d been trying to shield her sister with her body, before Vorn and Liosh had blasted the Varians who were after her into nothing but grease spots in the grass.
But was she grateful?
Not one fucking bit, he thought sourly, glancing back at her again. She’d gotten angry at him for picking her up and carrying her—even though she’d been injured and clearly needed the assist. She’d said something about being too big to lift—which was frankly ridiculous. Sure, she was curvier than a lot of Earth girls but just because she had deliciously thick thighs, wide hips, and a big behind didn’t make her difficult to carry.
But Jodi had refused to believe him when he’d said she was light as a feather—even though she was—at least to him. And she’d persisted in being irritated with him, even when he stayed with her in the Med Station while her hurt ankle was being healed.
All in all, Vorn decided, Josephine—“Just call me Jodi!”—Erickson was probably the most aggravating and contrary female he’d ever met.
So if she’s such a pain in the ass, why did you volunteer for this mission? a little voice in the back of his head demanded. Why not bow out and let some other warrior deal with her?
To be honest, Vorn didn’t have an answer for that. He tried to tell himself it had to do with honor. He had been the first on the scene at her mother’s house—he had rescued her from the Varians—and that made him responsible for her.
But deep down, he knew that wasn’t really true. Rescuing somebody once didn’t mean you had to keep on rescuing them—didn’t mean you had to follow them home and keep them safe even if they got under your skin like a Frenarian sand burr that itched and irritated until it made you crazy just being around them.
Gods, had he made a huge mistake? He was committed now and who knew how long this assignment might last? He and Liosh might be Earth-side for months and who could tell how badly he and Jodi were going to get on each other’s nerves in that time?
Sighing, Vorn tried to concentrate on piloting the ship and stop speculating about how long this new mission might be. Not thinking about it was the only way to stay sane, he was sure.
I wonder how long this assignment is going to last? Liosh thought, risking a look back at Melinda, who was riding in the back seat with her older sister, who was tapping furiously on her small communications device. He hoped it was a long time—maybe even a few solar months or even longer. As long as he got to spend it by Melinda’s side, he would be perfectly happy.
From the moment he’d seen the small, delicate Earth girl in danger from the Varian invaders, Liosh had wanted to Claim her.
Of course, he couldn’t tell Melinda that—it would frighten her off for certain. And there was already something fragile about her—something that made him want to be careful of her and protect her. He sensed instinctively that he needed to be cautious in their interactions—in the way he spoke to her and how he treated her.
But that was hard to keep in mind when all he wanted to do was sweep her into his arms and hold her close—when all he wanted was to breathe in her sweet, feminine scent and never let her go.
He closed his eyes for a moment, remembering how she had clung to him in fright after he and Vorn had disposed of the invading Varians. Those scaly bastards hadn’t stood a chance. The minute Liosh had seen Melinda injured on the ground with her golden curls all tangled around her shoulders and tears of fright in her big, blue eyes, something inside him had risen up and declared that he would kill or die to protect the little female.
After that it was just a question of which of the Varians died the fastest.
Afterwards Liosh had held her—taking her into his lap as naturally as though they’d known each other all their lives. And Melinda had held him right back, nuzzling against him like a small, wounded creature in need of comfort, making his heart swell as he cradled her against his chest.
She hadn’t wanted to let go of him. Even in the Med Center while Commander Sylvan had set her leg, she’d kept hold of Liosh’s hand, squeezing it with her own small one while she bit her lush lower lip to keep back a low cry of pain.
But that was then—she was injured, Liosh reminded himself. She’s almost better now. You’ve got no call to touch her all the time like that anymore. Remember what you learned about North American Earth culture—most humans like their personal space. She won’t want your hands on her all the time or wish to sit in your lap and cuddle now that she’s well.
But she wasn’t completely well yet, a little voice in his head pointed out. In fact, hadn’t Commander Sylvan told her to keep the weight off her leg for a little while yet? In which case, he, Liosh, would be perfectly justified in picking her up and carrying her wherever she needed to go—right?
Right, he told himself firmly. Though of course, if she asked to be put down or displayed any reluctance to having him carry her, he would certainly back off. Kindred were, above all things, respectful of a female’s right to choose what happened to her body and how and when and where she was touched.
But so far, he hadn’t received a single mixed signal from Melinda. Everything about her seemed to welcome him in and damned if he could keep himself from going to her when he wanted to hold her as badly as she wanted to be held.
I’ll be careful, Liosh told himself. I’ll…what is it the humans say? Oh, right—I’ll play it by nose.
He thought that was the expression, anyway. It certainly seemed to make sense— if he smelled any kind of anxiety or uncertainty on Melinda when he went to pick her up or touch her in any way, he would immediately back off. But if she wanted to cuddle and be held as much as he wanted to cuddle her and hold her, well then, Liosh was there for that.
He was there for that in a big way for as long as they were together.
Two
The Human/Kindred Relations building in Tampa was a big, well-staffed one that had vehicles to spare. This turned out to be a good thing, since they were apparently splitting up at this point.
“I’ll take one of the other shuttles,” Melli heard Liosh tell Vorn after they parked in the back of the building. “I understand our charges live in two separate areas so we’ll need two vehicles.”
Vorn nodded.
“Be well, Brother. Did you pack a Think-me?”
Liosh nodded. “I’ll be in communication with you if I see anything suspicious. You be-speak me if anything odd comes up on your end, too.”
“Absolutely.” Vorn nodded and Liosh turned to look at Melli.
“My Lady Melinda,” he said formally, “Just give me a moment to get a second shuttle ready for you and then I’ll come get you and help you into it.”
“Oh, thank you.” Melli felt her heart start pounding. “But…I can probably walk?” She made it into a question, a little uncertain if she really ought to put much weight on her newly healed leg or not.
Liosh frowned.
“Better not, my Lady. Commander Sylvan said you’re to take it easy on that newly mended bone for some time. If you don’t mind, I’ll carry you to the new vehicle as soon as I get it ready to go.”
Melli felt herself blushing harder and her heart started pounding double-time in her chest.
“No, I…I don’t mind,” she murmured, looking up at him from under her lashes. “If…if it doesn’t bother you to, um, carry me.”
Liosh’s pale blue eyes went half-lidded and his voice dropped to a soft, deep rumble.
“I don’t mind a bit, my Lady. In fact, it would be my very great pleasure to carry you.”
“O-okay,” Melli stuttered. “I’ll, um, just wait for you here, then.”
“I won’t be a moment,” he promised and left the shuttle to go get another ready.
“Listen to yourself, Melli,” Jodi whispered to her fiercely. “Falling all over him and letting him carry you a
ll over the place!”
“So what?” Melli hissed, frowning at her big sister. “Just because you don’t like your Kindred guard doesn’t mean I have to hate mine!”
Then she remembered that Kindred were supposed to have really acute senses—including a phenomenal sense of hearing.
“Oh, uh, sorry,” she said, sparing a glance for the front seat, where Vorn was staring straight ahead. “No offense.”
“None taken,” he growled, shooting a look over his broad shoulder. “I know exactly how your sister feels about me and I don’t give a fuck.”
“Nice language,” Jodi snapped, though she had been known to drop an “F bomb” of her own, from time to time, as Melli well-knew. “I’m just trying to warn my little sister to be careful and not fall in love with her Kindred guard just because he’s acting like the perfect gentleman right now.” She turned a piercing look at Melli. “You know what I mean, Melli. You’re going to be alone with this guy so be careful. Remember high school.”
The reminder made Melli feel like she’d swallowed a whole bucket of ice cubes. Her hands fisted in her lap and everything from the waist down seemed to clench painfully. She knew her big sister was just trying to look out for her, but why did Jodi have to dump cold water on her heart, just when she was feeling warm and safe and happy around a man for the first time in years?
“Actually, Liosh is a perfect gentleman,” Vorn growled from the front seat. “I’ve served with him for five solar years now and observed him in every situation. He would never harm a female—no Kindred would. So if you’re trying to warn your little sister to be careful of him because you think he’s not trustworthy, don’t bother. Liosh is one of the most steadfast and honorable males I know—he will give your sister the respect and deference that Melinda is due.”
Somewhere deep inside, Melli felt a knot that had begun to tighten, suddenly loosen again. Somehow the Beast Kindred’s words reassured her—maybe because they corroborated the feeling she already had—that Liosh was one of the good guys.
“See?” she said to Jodi, who was still frowning skeptically. “Liosh is okay—I’ll be fine, Jodi.”
“He’s okay according to his friend,” Jodi pointed out. “But you don’t really know either of them, Melli. Neither of us do.”
“Liosh is more than a friend—I consider him a brother, though we come from different branches of the Kindred tree,” Vorn growled. “And please don’t slander him before you get to know him—or me, for that matter. We’re here to protect you and as I said before, no Kindred will ever hurt a female.”
“Why is that?” Melli asked curiously. “I mean, is it just because you worship a Goddess? Is it a religious belief?”
“It’s more than that,” Vorn told her. “Protecting and caring for females—revering all that is feminine—isn’t just a religion—it’s in our fucking DNA.”
Jodi frowned skeptically.
“So you’re genetically programmed to protect women and never abuse them?”
Vorn nodded, but apparently seeing the skepticism in Jodi’s face, he continued to elaborate.
“Look—you see our race. We’re ninety-five percent male,” he pointed out. “Females are a valuable resource—they’re precious beyond measure.” He half turned in the seat and gestured animatedly as he continued to speak. “Think about what’s scarce in your own world. I know in some places, humans don’t have much access to clean drinking water. So if water is in short supply, you don’t go wasting it or polluting it, right?”
“Actually…we humans haven’t exactly done the best we could when it comes to conserving our natural resources,” Melli said, frowning.
“And human males aren’t always very good at treating females like they’re ‘precious’ either,” Jodi said dryly. “Ask just about any woman you run across—all of them have had bad experiences with men in one way or another. Hence the #MeToo movement and my very natural skepticism about men who just want to be ‘nice’ to women all the time.” She arched an eyebrow at him. “Though it is interesting to know that you consider us in the same light as a natural resource like fresh water or pig iron.”
“No, damn it—that’s not what I meant!” Vorn ran a hand over his tangled black and gold hair in obvious irritation. “It’s not just that females are vital to the survival of our species—although of course they are. We also believe that there’s a little piece of the Goddess within every woman—a little spark of divinity that deserves to be worshipped and protected.”
“I thought you said your attitude towards women wasn’t religious,” Jodi pointed out, frowning. “You can’t have it both ways, you know. Either women are a commodity, like fresh water or arable farmland to grow crops on—in this case, the crops would obviously be new Kindred babies—or they’re goddesses to be put on a pedestal and worshipped. Which is it?”
Vorn’s dark brows pulled down over his golden eyes and he looked so fierce Melli wondered how her big sister dared to bait him. But Jodi just looked at him coolly, her arms crossed over her full breasts as she tapped her fingernails, waiting for a response.
“They’re both, damn it,” Vorn growled at last. “Why should I have to choose just one reason to treat females the way they deserve to be treated?”
“Present company excepted?” Jodi asked, raising an eyebrow. “Maybe irritating bitches like me don’t quite deserve the same reverence nice ones like my little sister, do?” she said pointedly, looking at Melli.
“I never said that,” Vorn said, frowning. “Every female deserves reverence—even the ones that get under your skin and itch like a fucking Frenarian sand burr.”
His golden eyes met Jodi’s green ones and their gazes locked, both of them glaring at each other in a way that made Melli really glad looks couldn’t actually kill. Because if they could have, both Jodi and Vorn would probably have dropped dead on the spot.
“And on that note, I’m leaving,” she remarked, as a second Kindred shuttle, which converted to look like a car, pulled up beside them. Liosh got out and opened the passenger side door before coming around to open her door as well.
Jodi dragged herself away from the impromptu staring contest and gripped Melli’s hand.
“Be strong and stay safe, little sis,” she said, smiling briefly at Melli, though her eyes were serious. “Text me when you get home and let me know you’re okay.”
“Will do,” Melli promised, giving her big sister a smile. “You do the same. And cheer up, big sis—having a guard is for your own protection.”
“Right. I know,” Jodi said flatly. “Love you, Melli. Give me a hug.”
Melli—never one to refuse a hug—squeezed her big sister tightly. In some ways, she was closer to Jodi than anyone else in the world. Her sister knew things about her she hadn’t told anyone else—hadn’t even been able to tell their mother.
“Love you, Jodi,” she said, echoing her sister’s words. “Be safe and careful and watch out for lizard aliens.”
“Oh, I will,” Jodi assured her. “You, too.”
And then the back door closest to Melli opened and Liosh said,
“May I carry you to our new vehicle, my Lady?”
Melli’s heart fluttered despite her own uncertainty and her sister’s warning. And, contrary to the promise she’d made to herself earlier not to touch the big Kindred unnecessarily, she held out her arms eagerly.
“Yes, please, Liosh,” she said shyly. “And you can just call me Melinda, if you want. I don’t mind.”
“As you wish, my Lady Melinda,” he rumbled and then he was gathering her into his arms and holding her close to his broad chest. He kicked the door shut with his foot and then they were alone—just the two of them.
Three
Now I’m all alone with him. What am I supposed to do? Jodi thought, eyeing the still-glaring Beast Kindred in the front seat of the shuttle as the second shuttle with her little sister and Liosh in it drove away.
Vorn seemed to be wondering the same thing.
“Would you like to sit up front?” he asked at last, raising an eyebrow at her. “It would probably be easier for you to give me directions to your domicile that way.”
“Yeah, okay—sure,” Jodi muttered, though getting any closer to the big Kindred was the last thing she wanted to do. She started to get out of the back seat, only to have him come around quickly to open the door for her before she could get it for herself.
Jodi felt a flash of irritation.
“You don’t have to do that, you know,” she said, frowning up at him. “I mean, always open my door or pull out my chair. I’m a liberated woman—I don’t need to be treated like an invalid or a child.”
“I’m treating you with respect whether you want me to or not,” the big Kindred growled. “So if you want to get your own doors and chairs, that’s too damn bad.”
Jodi thought about arguing that he wasn’t respecting her wishes not to be respected, but even in her head that sounded too ridiculous—like she was picking a fight just for the sake of fighting.
Well, aren’t you? whispered a little voice in her head. Aren’t you fighting with him in order to put the way you feel around him out of your head?
Jodi pushed the little voice aside. It was ridiculous. She didn’t feel any specific way around Vorn except irritated.
But was it irritation that caused her to press her thighs together and shift in her seat when she was settled in the front of the shuttle beside him? Or was it that maddening, masculine scent of his, invading her senses and making her bra feel too itchy against her suddenly sensitive nipples and her panties feel too tight against the tender skin of her pussy?
Jodi didn’t know. She only knew the big Kindred affected her and the effect he had on her was bad. As she gave him curt, clipped directions back to her apartment just off the USF campus, she couldn’t help thinking that she really, really needed some alone time, damn it.
Taming Two Warriors: A Kindred Tales PLUS length Novel Page 2
