Bonded by Accident

by Evangeline Anderson

  Chapter Seventeen

  Slade went to her without thinking—though if he would have considered it first, he might not have. He would have assumed that Brandi wanted him to keep his distance. But all he could think of now was her fear—all he could see was that she needed comforting and he needed to comfort her.

  Kneeling beside them, he gathered both Brandi and Emmie into his arms.

  Both of them clung to him, Brandi with an arm around Emmie too, while their canine, Charlie, pranced and barked excitedly around them.

  For a long time Brandi simply sobbed into Slade’s shoulder but finally she managed to put her thoughts into words.

  “Oh, Slade,” she gasped, her brown eyes filled with tears. “If you hadn’t heard me through our link…if you hadn’t come just when you did…’

  “It’s all right, sweetheart. It’s all right,” Slade soothed her. “I did come. And everything is going to be okay.”

  “But after I sent you away…after I told you to leave us alone…” Brandi shook her head. “Why? Why would you still come?”

  “Told you,” Slade said roughly. “You’re mine to protect. I couldn’t let anything happen to you or Emmie.”

  “Daddy-man!” Emmie, who appeared to be over her fright, placed a smacking kiss on his cheek. “I knew I’d find you here—even though I didn’t find the river.”

  “Why would you come out here in the first place, Emmie?” Brandi demanded, her eyes still swimming with tears. “You scared Mommy so bad. It’s really, really dangerous out here!”

  “I know that now.” Emmie hung her head. “But you kept saying that daddy and Daddy-man got sent down the river. And I thought if I followed the river into the woods, I could find them. And look—I did!” She pointed at Slade as if confirming her find.

  “Emmie,” Slade growled. “I wasn’t in the woods—I came down from the Mother Ship to find you because your mother was very, very frightened for you. Never come out here again.”

  “Okay.” Emmie looked suitably chastened. “I’m sorry Daddy-man. I won’t.”

  “I’m just so glad you’re safe.” Brandi hugged her daughter tight and then put one arm around Slade as well. Looking up into his eyes she said, “How can I ever repay you?”

  “By giving him another chance!” Emmie shouted, right in her ear, making both of them jump.

  “Oh! Emmie-bear!” Brandi put a hand to her ear and winced. “Not so loud!”

  Emmie shrugged. “Sorry, Mommy. It’s what the Goddess-lady told me to tell you. And she said to make sure you heard me so I had to shout.”

  “All right.” Brandi looked around. “Can we get out of here please? There might be more gators in that pond.” She shivered.

  “Wouldn’t be surprised. With a grunt, Slade rose to his feet and helped her up as well. “Come on—let’s get back to your place.”

  “I’d like to go to your place, too.” Brandi looked at him shyly. “I mean, not right away but soon, maybe.”

  Slade was startled.

  “You want to come up to the Mother Ship?”

  “Maybe just for a tour?” Brandi suggested. “Just to see what it’s like? I was, uh…” She coughed and her cheeks got red. “I was kind of distracted the last time I went up there.”

  “I remember, sweetheart,” Slade sent through their link. “But do you mean it? You really want to come up?”

  “I want to get to know you better—all of you,” Brandi told him. “I want to take Emmie’s suggestion and give you another chance—if you’ll give me a chance too, that is.”

  Slade couldn’t answer in words. Pulling her close, he kissed her—not caring that both of them were wet and muddy and dirty and there was a giant dead gator lying only a few yards away.

  Brandi reached up to tangle her fingers in his hair and stood on her tiptoes, kissing him back as hard as she could. Around their feet, Emmie and Charlie danced and barked and Emmie kept saying, “Eeeww, kissing!” in a tone of horrified delight.

  At last they broke the kiss and Slade looked down into her eyes.

  “Baby, you’re welcome on the Mother Ship anytime you want. Or I’ll come here. I don’t give a damn where we are as long as we’re together.”

  “The Mother Ship…the Mother Ship,” Emmie sang. “Can I come too, Mommy? Can I? Huh?”

  “We’re not going today,” Brandi said. “I’m too shaken up to go anywhere except for home to get a shower.”

  “And some galaxy pancakes?” Emmie’s eyes widened. “Please, Mommy—say you’ll make galaxy pancakes! And say Daddy-man can have some too. Pleeease?”

  “Galaxy pancakes?” Slade frowned. “I don’t think I’ve heard of that Earth food before.”

  “Well…” Brandi laughed self-consciously. “That’s because they’re something I kind of came up with by accident. I wanted to make blueberry pancakes but I couldn’t afford the fresh berries so I used the frozen ones—they’re cheaper and they last longer. But I didn’t rinse them first so the pancakes turned out to be this bluish-purple color. They looked awful but Emmie loved them so I kept making them that way. Anyway…” She looked at him uncertainly. “Do you want some?”

  At that point, Slade would have politely agreed to eat dirt and rocks if she’d said they were on the menu.

  “They sound delicious,” he said, smiling at her. “Do they taste good with wasabi?”

  Brandi laughed. “I don’t know about that—we usually eat them with maple syrup but to each their own.”

  “I’m sure they’re wonderful,” Slade said. “I can’t wait to try them.”

  “So you’ll stay for breakfast, Daddy-man?” Emmie demanded. “Say you will, say you will, say you will!” she chanted, seizing his hand and jumping up and down.

  “I will,” Slade said, smiling down at her. “But we have to get out of here first.”

  “Yay!” Emmie jumped at him and he caught her in one arm and wrapped the other around Brandi.

  “Come on,” he said, squeezing them tight. “Let’s go home.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Oh, you must be Brandi—Slade’s mate.” The girl with long blonde hair and silvery-gray eyes stuck out a hand to Brandi who took it uncertainly. “I’m Liv,” the girl said, smiling at her. My husband Baird knows Slade,” she added, nodding at a big Beast Kindred who was talking to Slade.

  Brandi and Emmie and Bud were up at the Mother Ship for a “day date” as Emmie called it, just getting to know each other more fully. Her mother wasn’t with them because Ida-Mae had finally agreed to go into rehab again and this time Brandi had high hopes that it would stick.

  For their day date, Slade had taken them all to a wonderful kid’s park aboard the Mother Ship called “Rainbow Mountain.” It had what looked like a miniature volcano erupting with rainbow “lava,” which was actually streams of colored water, flowing down its sides. The volcano was surrounded by a vast expanse of beach where kids could splash in the water and build sand castles and bury each other in the fine, white sand.

  And apparently, in addition to the wonderful amenities aboard the Mother Ship, the people were nice too, Brandi thought as the nice-looking blonde girl named Liv smiled at her.

  “Oh—nice to meet you.” she smiled back as they shook hands.

  “And this is my sister, Sophie and our best friend, Kat,” Liv continued, introducing two other women. One of them looked just like her in the face but had long brown hair and green eyes and the other was a full-figured redhead with friendly blue eyes. “We’re all Kindred brides and we usually try to greet the new girls as they come aboard the Mother Ship. But we seem to have missed you,” she said.

  “Oh well, I’m not exactly living on the Mother Ship,” Brandi explained. “But I am considering it.”

  In the month since Slade had saved Emmie from the gator, she and Slade had begun a careful kind of dating. Brandi had a better understanding of the fierce rage that lived inside the big Kindred now. Without it, he would never have been able to kill the monstrous alli
gator that had attacked Emmie. It was frightening but she finally understood that it would never be directed at her or Emmie—it only came out when Slade felt that someone he loved and cared for was threatened. Or, as was the case with the memory she’d seen, when he had to defend himself against a threat.

  For right now, she was still living in the double-wide with Bud and her mom but the idea of moving up here to be with the big Kindred was really growing on her.

  “Oh, you should come up!” Kat told her, smiling. “It’s wonderful up here. Where else can you go to the beach and not have to worry about insects or sunburns?”

  “My daughter Emmie does seem to love it,” Brandi admitted. “But…how are the schools up here?”

  “They’re fabulous,” Sophie assured her, beaming. “Of course, I might just be saying that because I teach art at one of the Mother Ship elementary schools.”

  “She’s being modest—the schools really are wonderful,” Kat assured her. “Kindred are very family-oriented—they spare no expense when it comes to kids and education.”

  “There’s also free healthcare,” Liv said. “Excellent quality too, if I do say so myself.” She smiled.

  “That would be wonderful,” Brandi said. “Insurance has gotten so expensive lately. But speaking of healthcare and schools, I was about to go back to school myself for nursing. How hard do you think it would be to get from the Mother Ship down to Earth for school and back again every day?”

  “Oh, you don’t have to go to school on Earth,” Liv said, smiling. “We have a training program for nurses here on the Mother Ship. We’re just starting it up, actually—I’m one of the instructors.”

  “You are?” Brandi was immediately intrigued. “Are you a doctor or a nurse?”

  “A nurse,” Liv said promptly. “But we have a need for more nurses and healthcare professionals up here so Sylvan and I—that’s my brother-in-law and Sophie’s husband—decided it would be a good idea to start a program.”

  “How hard would it be to qualify for it?” Brandi asked cautiously. “I’ve been taking night courses whenever I can and I think I have enough for the program I was looking at down on Earth but I guess the Mother Ship’s standards are probably pretty strict?”

  “If you qualify on Earth, you should qualify here,” Liv told her. “Do you want me to send you an application?”

  “Oh yes—I’d love one. Thank you!” Brandi exclaimed. “When are your classes starting?”

  She and Liv talked for a little longer about the new training program and she was getting really excited when Slade and Emmie came up to her. Emmie was sitting on the big Kindred’s shoulders and crowing excitedly.

  “Look at me, Mommy! I’m higher than the sky!”

  “You certainly are high up, sweetpea.” Brandi shaded her eyes and grinned up at her. The mellow green sunshine which came from the Mother Ship’s artificial sun overhead gleamed on Emmie’s hair, which full of sand.

  “Hey baby,” Slade rumbled, smiling at Brandi. “Emmie was just saying that she’s hungry and I think your second father, Bud, is too. Want to eat now? Bud is laying out the nic-pic.”

  “You mean the picnic,” Brandi corrected, laughing. “I’ll be right there—just let me say goodbye to my new friends.” She gestured to Liv and Sophie and Kat who smiled and introduced themselves.

  “We heard that you two met in a rather…interesting way.” Kat smiled slyly.

  “But if you’d rather not talk about it, you don’t have to,” Liv added quickly, nudging her friend in the ribs with an elbow and giving her a reproving look.

  “No, it’s okay.” Brandi blushed but kept her head high. “I was looking for something that was no-strings attached when I met Slade…”

  “But it seems the Goddess had other plans for us,” Slade finished her thought. “So we got bonded by accident, but I don’t regret it.”

  “I don’t either.” Brandi smiled at him. “We’re just still…getting used to it. That’s all.”

  “It takes a little time getting used to being bonded to a Kindred,” Sophie said, smiling. “But I think you’ll find it’s the best thing you ever did.”

  “I’m finding that out.” Brandi smiled at Slade who reached for her hand, while keeping the other planted securely on Emmie’s knee to keep her in place.

  “We have another friend who met her Kindred mate the same place you and Slade met,” Kat told her. “Just so you know, you’re not the only one, I mean.”

  “Really?” Brandi frowned, remembering Crystal’s story. “Um, did she end up with a Kindred who could turn into a dragon? I mean, is there such a thing?”

  “Sure, a Rai’ku Kindred—they’re pretty rare though,” Liv said. “And yes, our friend did end up with one. They live down on Earth though—it gives him more room to fly.”

  “He can fly?” Brandi’s eyes widened. “Wow!”

  “You regretting all you got was a plain old hybrid, baby?” Slade rumbled, giving her a lopsided grin.

  “What? No! No, of course not.” Brandi squeezed his hand. “I wouldn’t trade you for a million dragons.”

  “A million dragons!” Emmie sang out. “Daddy-man is better than a million, trillion, ba-jillion dragons!”

  They all laughed and Brandi felt a warm glow coming from Slade through their link.

  “Well, we’d better let you get to your picnic. I’ll send that application to the email address you gave me and I hope to see you again soon,” Liv told her, smiling. “It was nice meeting you all.”

  “Hope to get to know you better in the future if you move up here,” Kat added and Brandi could tell she really meant it.

  What a nice bunch of girls—they’re not snobby or cliquish at all, she thought as the three of them waved and walked off, calling for their children. It was another positive mark in the Mother Ship’s favor—good schools for both her and Emmie, check…excellent free health care, check…nice people, check… But of course, the biggest check-mark was walking right beside her, holding her hand and balancing Emmie on his shoulders.

  She couldn’t help admiring how good Slade was with her daughter whenever they were together. He seemed to genuinely love the little girl and enjoy spending time with her. In fact, Brandi had walked in and found them playing “tea party” with Mr. Bear and various dolls just the other day.

  It wasn’t a sight she was likely to forget. Slade had been sitting criss-cross applesauce on the floor, wearing a pink hat and cape from Emmie’s dress-up box and sipping purple Kool-aid “tea” from a miniature plastic cup with perfect composure.

  “No, no—you haveta hold your pinky-finger out—like this!” Emmie had been demonstrating the correct tea party form and Slade copied her obligingly. When he caught sight of Brandi watching, he just grinned and shrugged his broad shoulders.

  “Well, don’t you just look gorgeous, all dressed up like that?” Brandi had teased him, using their link.

  “She wanted to play tea-party,” Slade sent back. “Actually it’s kind of fun but I think this hat is too small for me. Maybe we could order one in my size?”

  Brandi laughed which got Emmie’s attention and then, of course, she was asked to join too. The tea party was a huge success and not just because Slade was getting along so well with her daughter. It was also a family moment, Brandi realized later. A time of unity and belonging—a good memory all three of them could cherish.

  The tea party had melted something inside of Brandi—some last little bit of uncertainty about the big Kindred. It was then, she thought, that she finally allowed herself to completely give in to her feelings for him. It was then that she really started letting herself fall in love.

  “I’m in love with you too, you know,” Slade rumbled in her head as they walked over the sand together.

  “Oh, Slade! I’m sorry—I’m trying not to project so much,” Brandi sent back quickly.

  “It’s okay.” He squeezed her hand and gave her a smile. “I don’t mind overhearing your thoughts—especially that one
. I want to ask you something important tonight but I’d like it to be private. How would you feel about sending Bud and Emmie down on an earlier shuttle so we could have some time alone?”

  “I think that would be fine.” Brandi’s heart started beating a little quicker. During this month of dating and getting to know each other, she and Slade had rarely been together alone. They almost always had Emmie and Bud with them because Slade had said, “We went too fast in the beginning, baby. Let’s take it slow for a little while.” So there have been no sex and just a few quick, stolen kisses that only made her hungry for more.

  “Hungry for you too, baby,” Slade murmured through their link. “But later for that.”

  They had come to the blanket-sized beach towel Brandi had brought and spread on the edge of the sandy circular beach. Bud had gotten into the cooler and laid out the sandwiches, fruit, chips and drinks and for Slade, an extra large jar of wasabi paste, which the big Kindred loved on just about everything.

  “Mmm, I’m hungry!” Emmie exclaimed, clambering down from Slade’s shoulders with a little help as he settled on one side of the blanket.

  “I thought you might be, sweetpea.” Bud smiled at her. “Come on and dig in.”

  They did. And as they ate, Brandi couldn’t help looking sidelong at the big Kindred and wondering what he wanted to talk to her about. Whatever it was, she promised herself she would be open to it.

  * * * * *

  “Well, alone at last.” Brandi smiled and settled herself on the plush leather sofa in Slade’s living quarters.

  “Yes, we are.” Slade smiled back and settled next to her. She looked fucking gorgeous today, he thought. She was wearing a deep red sundress that complimented her creamy skin and lush, full figure and looked amazing with her hair and eyes. But then, his mate could wear a paper sack and make it look sexy, in Slade’s opinion.

  “Slade, stop it—you’re making me blush,” she sent through their link and Slade realized she had caught his thought.

  “Sorry baby but it’s true,” he pointed out, grinning. “You’re so fucking beautiful I can’t keep my eyes off you.”