AllFreeNovel
Share Us
1
ANDI
“Areyou ready to go?Allbuckled in or do you need help with your harness?”
Dr.AndreaSmythshifted in her seat.Asalways, herProtector’svoice seemed to rumble right through her, making her tingle all over.Shewondered if she could get away with pretending that she couldn’t figure out the harness on the long-range shuttle one more time so she had an excuse to letCadetouch her.Shewasn’t stupid—she had aPhDinMedicinalBotany.ButherProtectoralways seemed willing to help her, even if her act might be wearing a bit thin.
“Oh, um…”Shenibbled her lower lip. “Wouldyou mind?Thesebuckles…”Sheshrugged helplessly.
“Idon’t mind,”Caderumbled and leaned over to help her.
Andisucked in a breath as his big hands fit the five-point harness together and clicked it in place.Shejustlovedit when he leaned over her like this—she could smell his spicy, masculine scent when he did and feel the heat of his big body looming over hers.Itwas all soprimal.Itmade her heart start pounding and her breath come short every time herProtectorbuckled her in—or any time he was close, for that matter.
“Thereyou go.Allsecure.”Fora momentCade’sgolden eyes met hers andAndifelt mesmerized.God, she still couldn’t believe she got to work with such a gorgeous male on a daily basis!
Cade’rex—orCadefor short—was aHybridKindred—halfBloodKindredandHalfBeastKindred,Andiknew, though he didn’t talk about it much.Hehad the golden eyes of aBeastKindredand the fangs of aBloodKindredwhich showed both halves of his heritage.
Healso had shaggy, golden-brown hair which he kept tied back with a leather string and a neatly clipped beard which framed sensual lips.Hestood over seven feet tall, so that she actually had to lookupto him—which was something she’d never experienced before with a man.Also, his broad chest and muscular arms were covered in the most amazing tattoos which made him look even more primal.Therewas something about him that just seemed tocalltoAndi…though she was sure her feelings would never be reciprocated.
Well,prettysure, anyway.
Thething was,Andididn’t think she was herProtector’stype.Thenagain, she didn’t seem to beanyone’stype.Orshe certainly hadn’t been, back when she’d lived onEarth.
Partof the problem was her height—Andiwas six foot one in her stocking feet.Thatwaswaytoo tall for most guys.Ifshe’d been thin and willowy like a model, it might have been okay.Butshe wasnotthin and willowy—she was thick and chunky all the way.
Shehad a big behind and wide hips and thighs that could have been mistaken for tree trunks.Herboobs were nice, she supposed, but her shoulders were too broad and while her face was mildly pretty, it wasn’t angular or exotic or beautiful enough to grace the covers of magazines.
InAndi’sopinion, her thick, wavy dark brown hair was her best feature.Shehad nice eyes too—at leastCadehad said so that one time…but she pushed the thought out of her mind.Itwas too embarrassing to think about it when herProtectorwas so close.
Thepoint was, modeling was out.Butthe other thing tall women are supposed to be good at—basketball—wasn’tAndi’scup of tea either.Thereason for this was that she was terminally clumsy.Shetripped over her own size twelve feet on a regular basis—it was like her limbs just didn’t want to coordinate with each other.Soany kind of career in sports wasn’t an option for her.
Sinceshe wasn’t good at anything physical,Andihad concentrated on her mental abilities.Sheloved science and had a green thumb—everything she touched bloomed.Shewas also interested in medicines made from plants soMedicalBotanyhad been a natural fit for her inGradschool.
Whichwas how she’d ended up working for theKindredand living on theMotherShip.Herjob was to survey new alien worlds and try to find useful plants that could be used in medical applications.TheKindredwere endlessly exploring and cataloging, which matchedAndi’sown curiosity and love of learning perfectly.
Aftershe’d completed her training, she had been paired withCade, who was to be herProtector—theKindredwarrior who guarded her when she went to new worlds and alien planets.Shestill remembered how her heart had pounded when he’d dropped to one knee before her and sworn to keep her safe or die trying.
“Andrea,” he had rumbled, looking into her eyes. “Mybody shall be your shield.Nota drop of your blood will spill unless all of mine has been shed first.Iwill protect you until the last breath leaves my body.”
“Ohhhh,”Andihad sighed softly, feeling lost in the golden depths of his gaze.Noman had ever talked to her like this in her life and she could have sworn she felt sparks flying between herself and her huge newProtector.Herheart was pounding and her nipples were tight little points.Itfelt like a moment right out of a romance novel…
Butthen, nothing had ever come of it.
SheandCadehad gone on twelve missions together so far and thoughAndicould have sworn she felt some kind of attraction between them, nothing had ever happened.
Oftenshe turned and found his golden eyes following her and sometimes he would hold her gaze with his…but he never spoke at such times.Hecaught her when she tripped and fell—which was embarrassingly often—and it seemed like he sometimes held her for a moment longer than was strictly necessary before putting her back on her feet.Butagain, he never actuallysaidanything.
Well, except for that one time onCle’bo’lotThree…
Cle’bo’lotThreewas a jungle world, which meant it got pretty steamy.Andihad been hip deep in a marshy area, pulling up huge purple plants that looked like giant pussy willows and her glasses had gotten all steamed up.
“Oh…crap,” she’d muttered to herself, as she tried to swipe at the foggy lenses with her forearm since her hands were all covered in plant muck and mud.Thismove wasn’t very successful and only smeared the lenses more.
“What’swrong?”Cadehad asked.Hewas standing right behind her with his arms crossed over his broad chest looking over the jungle landscape like a bouncer at a club keeping an eye out for trouble.
Andihad uttered a muffled curse as she tried to clean her glasses again.
“Nothing, it’s just thatIcan’t see,” she said grumpily. “Thishumid weather!Myglasses are all fogged up andI—”
