Falling for Kindred Claus Read online

  I’m probably exuding my Mating Scent too, Asher thought—though of course he wouldn’t be able to smell it himself. But it would be clearly evident to Lisa and it would cause her to react to him if she inhaled enough of it.

  That’s probably the only reason she kissed me, he told himself. After all, she’d gone to a great deal of trouble to let him know she wasn’t interested in starting anything with him after getting out of the abusive relationship she’d had with her husband. Probably she wouldn’t be attracted to him at all if his body wasn’t trying so hard to draw her in.

  He ought to leave her alone as much as possible, Asher told himself. It was the only honorable thing to do. If only she wasn’t so damn gorgeous and he hadn’t had the first two Signs with her already…

  He sighed. Well, he would just have to do better at mastering himself and trying to ignore his own instincts. It might not be easy but he was already on shaky ground and he needed to be careful with the curvy little Earth female. No matter how beautiful and tempting she might be, she wasn’t for him. And even if she was, there was no guarantee he could bond her to him.

  No, the best thing was definitely to stay away from her—no matter how difficult or maddening that might be.

  Twenty

  “The first step in the purification process is purification of the mind,” Lambada announced as she led Lisa down the echoing tunnel and into a rose-colored lounge.

  There were padded pink couches all around and black vases as tall as Lisa’s head with even taller flowers protruding from them. The blooms were the Sacred Blue color and they exuded a sweet, refreshing fragrance that made her feel more relaxed at once.

  “That sounds wonderful,” Lisa told her. She took a deep breath, inhaling the soothing scents and sighed deeply. “Ahhhh…Are we going to be meditating then?”

  “In a manner of speaking. Come, choose a purification platform near one of the vases,” Lambada instructed. “Lie with your head towards the sacred blooms, close your eyes, and breathe deeply, allowing your mind to empty of everything.”

  Yup, that sounded like meditation all right. Lisa had tried it once or twice but she had never been very good at quieting her mind enough to find “inner peace.” Still, she reasoned, lying on a pink couch and breathing in the fragrance of the sacred blooms was a heck of a lot nicer than putting on the embarrassing underwear set she was still carrying in the little black carry-all cube Kat had packed for her.

  She chose a couch and lay down on its soft, rose-colored fabric. The light in the room was golden and diffuse, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere, and the floral scents in the air were lovely and refreshing. Somewhere, she seemed to hear soft, flute-like music accompanied by rhythmic drumbeats. The elusive music rose and fell in a hypnotic pattern.

  “There now,” she heard Lambada say quietly, from the couch she had chosen for herself. “Close your eyes and empty your mind. Repeat this mantra to yourself—‘All is well, all is well, and all manner of things shall be well.’ Say it over and over until inner peace finds you.”

  “All is well, all is well, and all manner of things shall be well,” Lisa repeated obediently. The words seemed to flow through her mind like a quiet stream flowing over pebbles, and she said them again and again as she let herself relax.

  It had been a long day for Lisa—she’d been up early to catch the bus she needed to get to the mall and then she’d worked a full early shift with a different Santa before doing two hours of the later shift with Asher. And after that, she’d had all the excitement of going to the Mother Ship, folding space, and landing on an alien planet.

  In short, she was exhausted, so it probably wasn’t surprising that she fell asleep.

  What was surprising, was the dream she had.

  * * *

  She was naked with Asher—naked and both of them had chewchies on their heads. Hers was bright pink and Asher’s was smoky gray.

  In the dream, this seemed perfectly right and natural and Lisa wasn’t embarrassed a bit. She was sitting with Asher on a couch and they were watching as their chewchies came together on the back of the couch and began copulating vigorously.

  “Oh my,” Lisa murmured, looking at the big Kindred. “Well then, if they’re doing it…”

  He shrugged. “I guess we have no choice.”

  “I guess not,” Lisa remarked. She climbed on his lap, thrusting her bare breasts and nipples right in his face. Again, this seemed perfectly all right. In fact, Lisa had the distinct feeling that she was acting on a desire she’d had from the moment she first met the big Kindred. Somehow all her inhibitions had been stripped away and now she was finally able to do what she wanted—and what she wanted was to have him inside her, filling her…claiming her.

  Asher took her up on her unspoken invitation and sucked one ripe tip into his mouth, making Lisa moan and writhe in his lap.

  “Oh God, that feels so good,” she gasped, burying her fingers in his thick black hair and pressing closer to him, wanting to offer him more. “I’ve been waiting for you to do this for so long.”

  Asher released her nipple for a moment and gave her a slow smile.

  “All you had to do was ask, sweetheart. I’m happy to suck your sweet nipples all night if you want me to. Though there are other places I’d rather taste…”

  As he spoke, Lisa felt his long fingers stroking between her thighs and a pleasure rushed through her. She looked down to see that he had spread her pussy lips with his ring and index fingers and was gently circling the aching bud of her clit with the pad of his middle finger. It was exactly the way she liked to touch herself but somehow when the big Kindred did it, it felt a hundred times better.

  “Oh God!” she moaned and arched her back so he could suck her nipples again while he stroked and fingered her. “Oh God, Asher, that feels so good! More…give me more…”

  * * *

  “Lisa? Lady Lisa, are you well?”

  Lisa came awake with a start to see an alien with blue skin and three eyes staring at her. For a moment she almost screamed before she remembered where she was and who the three-eyed alien was.

  “Oh, Lady Lambada,” she gasped, sitting up from the soft pink couch with a jerk. “I’m so sorry. The meditation made me feel so relaxed I think I drifted off to sleep.”

  “That is not uncommon,” Lambada said serenely.

  Thank goodness she wasn’t upset, Lisa thought!

  “It’s not?” she asked cautiously.

  “No, of course not. The fragrance of the sacred blooms often brings on short, refreshing sleep, as well as prophetic dreams of the future. Tell me—did you have any such dreams?” Lambada asked.

  Lisa opened her mouth to say no and then the embarrassingly erotic dream came rushing back to her in vivid detail.

  The copulating chewchies…climbing naked onto Asher’s lap…letting him suck my nipples while he stroked my pussy…

  Oh God, the whole thing had been so incredibly real she almost had a hard time believing it was a dream! In fact, her whole body still throbbed with desire when she remembered the big Kindred’s mouth and hands on her. But it was much, much too embarrassing to share.

  “No,” she said quickly. “No, I…I didn’t dream about anything. I just took a little power nap—that’s all.”

  “Really?” Lambada tilted her head to one side and regarded Lisa narrowly from all three eyes. “Because you were calling out something—I could have sworn that you were dreaming.”

  “Well, if I did, I don’t remember it,” Lisa said. “So tell me,” she went on, hoping to change the subject, “What’s the next part in the purification process?”

  “We must walk into the holy mists,” Lambada said. She looked at a small device on her arm which might have been some kind of a clock. “Your mate’s purification process is somewhat lengthier than yours but I think we have been resting and purifying our minds long enough that he and my Natillus will be getting to the mists soon.”

  “Okay, I’m ready.” Lis