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Areyou sure you’re in such a hurry to get back to theThielgoods?whispered a little voice in her head.Afterall—if you were still down onEarth, you’d probably be slaving away in the kitchen, hoping to get everything to the table on time while nobody helped you at all.AndIbet they wouldn’t thank you or acknowledge your hard work either.
Shepushed the disloyal thought away and looked across the table to whereFierceandHoldwere sitting side-by-side.WhenFiercesaw her looking at them, he caught her eyes with his own dark ones.Werethey black or just really dark blue?Celiacouldn’t quite tell…but she found she couldn’t look away once the dark warrior had captured her gaze with his.Fiercedidn’t say a word, but his eyes were so intenseCeliafelt positively naked.
Liftingher chin, she stared back, determined not to be intimidated.Butthe longer she looked, the hotter her cheeks felt and the harder her heart pounded.
“Uh, doll—you okay?”Katmurmured in her ear, which finally made her look away so she could talk to her new friend.
“I…Ithink so,”Celiamuttered.Shewas almost panting.Dios!Noman had ever looked at her like that—like he could see into hersoul.Petertalked about how pretty she was, but he never really looked into her eyes.Shewondered if the big warrior was still staring but she was afraid she’d be caught in his dark eyes again if she looked across the table to see.
“Thatwas quite an intense little staring contest you were having withFightsFiercely,”Katremarked in a low voice. “Arehe andHoldsTightlyyour guys?”
“They’rethe ones who came to ‘Claim’ me at my fiancé’s house,”Celiasaid, nodding. “Theysaid we’d been, uh,Dream-Sharingfor months and thatIbelonged with them, even thoughI’mengaged toPeter.”
“Andhave you been?Dream-Sharing,Imean?”Katraised her eyebrows.
Hesitantly,Celianodded.
“Yes, but it doesn’t mean anything.I’mstill engaged to someone else.”
“Hmmm,” was allKatsaid.Thenshe added, “Readyto try thosegriezaworms yet?”Andthe conversation moved on to other topics.
Allin all,Celiahad to admit it was a lovelyThanksgivingdinner—much nicer than the one she’d been expecting to have withPeter’sfamily.Andafterwards,Kattook her around and introduced her.
Itwas lucky thatCeliawas an extrovert, or meeting so many new people would have been terrifying.Butshe had to meet new people and explain her ideas all the time when she was talking to prospective clients, so she didn’t find it difficult or intimidating.
Ithelped that everyoneKatintroduced her to was extremely nice.Thetwin looking women turned out to be actual twins—SophieandLiv.Theywere best friends withKatandLaurenwas their cousin.Allof them were friendly andSophiesaid,
“Oh,Iknow who you are!You’rethe fiancée ofPeterThielgood, right?”
“Uh, yes—how did you know?”Celiaasked uncertainly.
“Oh, because your fiancé and his lawyer have been talking to my husband,Sylvan,” she explained. “They’vebeen trying to get you out of yourClaimingPeriod, butIdon’t think it’s going to work.”
“What?Butwhy not?”Celiaasked, frowning.
“Wellbecause—if they let you out on a technicality, they’d have to let out everyone who doesn’t want to be here,”Livsaid practically. “Believeme,Itried to get out of myClaimingPeriod, too,” she added, smiling. “ButI’mreally gladIcouldn’t.”Shelooked at the bigBeastKindredwho had cooked the turkey. “Sometimesyou just have to give yourKindreda chance.”
“That’sreally nice butI’malreadyengaged.I’mgetting married onChristmasEve!”Celiaprotested.
“Well, if you’re that madly in love with your fiancé, a month apart shouldn’t make a difference, doll,”Katpointed out. “Andyou don’t have to worry about your guys hurting you—Kindredare extremely protective of women.Theywon’t do anything you don’t want them to.”
“Yes…Holdalready promised me that,”Celiasaid.Butshe couldn’t help thinking of the staring contest she’d had withFierceand the intense desire she’d seen in the dark warrior’s eyes before she dropped her own.
“Look, here’sSylvannow.I’llask him for you, if you want,”Sophieoffered.
“Oh, would you?Thankyou.”Celiasmiled gratefully.
Buther smile didn’t last for long.
“I’mtruly very sorry,”Sylvantold her, frowning afterSophieasked aboutCelia’ssituation. “ButI’mafraid ourLawof theClaimingPeriodis airtight for a reason.Wecannot start making exceptions for the rich and famous down onEarth—it will seem as though we have a different standard for those with wealth and those without.Hereon theMotherShip, we believe that everyone is equal.”
“Oh.Did…didPetertry tobuymy way out of theClaimingPeriod?”Celiaasked, feeling embarrassed.Herfiancé thought there was no problem onEarththat couldn’t be solved with money.
“I’mafraid so.”Sylvannodded. “Heoffered quite a large sum, butIhad to turn him down.Ido understand that you’re trying to get ready for your wedding though, so if you’d like to go back toEarthfor dress fittings and cake tasting and that kind of thing, we can arrange some day trips as long as the two warriors who called you,HoldsTightlyandFightsFiercely, go along with you.”
Celiacould just imagine how wellthatwould go over—trying on her wedding dress whileMotherFranceslooked on disapprovingly andHoldandFiercestared daggers atPeter, who would no doubt try to bribe them to go away.Itwasn’t going to be much fun.
“Thankyou,” she said, nodding her head. “Mostof the wedding preparations are being taken care of byPeter’smother, butI’llkeep that in mind in caseIhave to go get something done onEarth.”
