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One
“Can’t believe we have to bring Kindred bodyguards home with us just to be safe down on Earth. This is so screwed up!”
Jodi punched a message savagely into her cell phone, no doubt giving her fiancé, James, a heads up on the fact that she was bringing another man home with her, Melli thought, watching her big sister as she muttered and tapped.
Melli didn’t know what Jodi was so upset about—it wasn’t like James would care. He wasn’t the type to get jealous—even of the seven-foot-tall Beast Kindred who was currently riding in the front seat of their shuttle. Vorn, as he was called, would be dogging Jodi’s footsteps from morning until night, making certain the awful lizard aliens who had nearly killed them back at their mom’s house, didn’t get to her again. It was for her own safety, but Jodi obviously wasn’t happy about it at all.
Of course, Melli had a Kindred bodyguard of her own, too.
Liosh, the Blood Kindred, sat beside Vorn, who was piloting, the two of them talking quietly in low voices that Melli couldn’t quite make out. They were probably talking about bodyguard business or something—or maybe the best way to keep the lizard aliens—the Varians, they were called—away.
For her part, Melli was glad to have a Kindred protector—she honestly felt like she needed one!
All this had started when their mother had accepted a date with a Kindred warrior on Valentine’s night. He had taken her clear off planet for what Melli was certain was a more than platonic outing on their very first date—which was, of course, exactly the kind of thing their mother always lectured her and Jodi, never to do. How many times had she said, “Never, ever go off with a man you don’t know to an isolated place—it’s dangerous!”
And then she had gone and done exactly what she’d always told Melli and Jodi not to.
Unfortunately, their Mother’s much-younger Kindred boyfriend, who had turned out to be a master thief, had stolen a valuable artifact from the lizard guys which made them extremely grumpy. This had resulted in them penetrating the protective field the Kindred had placed around the Earth twice while searching for said artifact. And since they seemed to believe that either Melli and Jodi or their mom still had it, none of them were safe until the hole in the security system was patched and filled.
Their mom, Vicky, was just fine—she had elected to stay on the Kindred Mother Ship with her new guy, Chain. They had already bonded—although that was another thing their mother always lectured about, forming attachments too quickly—and had decided to start a life together up there.
Melli was grateful her mom was safe and happy, but she and Jodi were still in danger. And it wasn’t like they could just decide to move to the Mother Ship with their mom. Melli was still in her sophomore year at USF and Jodi was in grad school at the same college. Pulling up roots and moving off planet just wasn’t practical for either sister right now.
Which was why Melli was so grateful to have her own bodyguard—the Blood Kindred, Liosh.
He had come to her rescue when the Varians attacked her mom’s house and Melli had fallen out of a tree and broken her leg. He had fought off the disgusting, lizard-like aliens—blasting them into grease spots—and then examined Melli carefully before gathering her into his arms and holding her close to comfort and protect her.
It was the closest Melli had been to a man in a long, long time and she was surprised that her panic response didn’t kick in when the big Kindred held her. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn’t human and her body responded to him on a visceral level because of it. He didn’t even smell human, Melli thought—he smelled amazing—fresh and clean like the Arctic ocean with a warm hint of masculine spice underlying it.
Her bodyguard was tall too—nearly seven feet to her five-six, which meant they had a significant size difference. He had lifted Melli with no problem, even though she had put on a little weight since moving out of the house and starting college. And the way he looked at her with those pale, husky-blue eyes of his made Melli want to reach out and touch him—made her wish to be wrapped in his arms again.
Stop it, she scolded herself, forcing her eyes away from the front seat where she could see Liosh’s profile as he talked to Vorn. You know nothing permanent could come of it so you might as well not start in the first place.
Inwardly, she sighed. Yes, that was true enough. She was probably going to be single and alone forever, no matter how many handsome Kindred warriors came into her life. It was time to just admit that to herself and try to keep things light and casual between her and Liosh.
