Cougar Christmas Read online

  “Excuse me, um…Commander Terex? Is that you?”

  The soft feminine voice didn’t belong to any of the priestesses. Turning his head, Terex saw with surprise a figure heading towards him over the parkland that surrounded the Sacred Grove. It was a female with an hourglass shape, long dark brown hair, and light brown eyes, flecked with green and gold.

  Elaina…

  For a moment his heart stirred in his chest, like a lump of ice being nudged by the briefest Spring thaw. Then, for some reason, his double set of fangs, which all Blood Kindred have, suddenly seemed to grow longer and sharper. Terex frowned and sternly suppressed the sensation. It didn’t matter that he still found Elaina devastatingly attractive—much had happened since last he had seen the little Earth female—none of it good.

  “Hello, Ms. Benet,” he said, remembering her surname. “It is a pleasure to see you again."

  "Oh, I thought it was you. I just couldn't be sure because of…did you change your hair? And you grew a beard since the last time I saw you."

  "Many things about me have changed," Terex said grimly. "What brings you back to the Sacred Grove?”

  Elaina bit her lush lower lip in a way he found distractingly erotic. Terex forced himself to look away as she talked.

  “One of the priestesses, actually. She said there might be a way…something I could do to help…to help my little sister.” Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. “She…she’s very ill.”

  The pain in her eyes was intense—her sibling must be very ill indeed to evoke such emotion. It made Terex remember how he’d felt when his beloved Solange was dying. But no—he pushed the thought away.

  “I am sorry to hear that,” he said neutrally.

  “Why are you here?” Elaina asked, slipping off her shoes and coming up to him.

  Clearly she was trying to be friendly. They’d had a very cordial conversation on their first meeting—almost a flirtation. Which Terex saw now had been a grave mistake. She was too close—her scent was intensely distracting. He felt his shaft harden in his black flight trousers and took a hasty step back from her. What was wrong with him?

  “I am sorry but my business is private,” he said shortly. “Though I wish you much luck on your own endeavors.”

  “Oh. Uh, thank you, I guess.” Elaina looked taken aback at his cold reply but that couldn’t be helped. Terex told himself he wasn’t being rude—it was necessary to limit the information about his mission. After all, not everyone knew of the near-disaster the Mother Ship had avoided when Two had attacked…or the fact that the Dark Kindred had another scion on the loose somewhere in the universe.

  “Ah, my children! I’m so glad to see you here at last.”

  To Terex’s relief, the priestess Nirobe stepped out from the rustling leaves, saving him from further conversation.

  “Priestess Nirobe.” He bowed his head briefly in supplication.

  “Hello, priestess.” To Terex’s consternation, Elaina stepped forward, smiling. “I’m here,” she said. “What did you want to tell me?”

  “Excuse me,” Terex said. “I do not wish to be rude but I am the one the priestess called to a meeting.”

  Elaina frowned. “No, she specifically asked for me. She called me with a think-me and told me to meet her hear around eight o’clock—after Last Meal.”

  “Actually, my children, I have called you both.” The priestess nodded serenely.

  “I see,” Terex said, though he didn’t understand why the priestess would call them both at the same time. It would have been much more efficient to call one of them a half hour later or earlier. Not to mention much easier on his libido since his rebellious body continued to send signals that it found Elaina extremely desirable. “In that case, Ms. Benet may go first and I will wait,” he said, trying to be courteous and put more distance between himself and the little Earth female.

  “No, Warrior—I think you misunderstand.” Nirobe gave him a stern look. “I summoned you both to the same meeting. Your fate and Elaina’s are bound together like two strands in the same tapestry.”

  “What?” Elaina shook her head. “But you said…you didn’t say anything about, uh, Commander Terex. You said you could show me a way to help my sister.”

  “And so I can,” the priestess said, smiling serenely.

  “You also said nothing to me about Ms. Benet,” Terex protested, frowning. “You told me you could point me in the direction of Two’s scion…for a price.”

  “So I did.” The priestess gestured at Elaina. “Meet your price, Commander Terex. Where you are going, you must also take Elaina. Your mission must not be one only of vengeance but of mercy also.”

  “Impossible.” Terex glared at the priestess. “I am hunting a ruthless sociopath—a male who will not hesitate to slaughter anyone in his path. You cannot ask me to take an innocent, helpless female with me.”

  Beside him, Elaina bristled. “I’m hardly innocent—I’ve been married and divorced and I’m thirty-nine, not nineteen! And I’m not helpless either—I can take care of myself.”

  “Down on Earth where the worst threat you face on a daily basis is air pollution or the occasional instance of reckless driving, I’m certain you can care for yourself, Ms. Benet,” Terex said coldly. “But I am hunting a killer. I don’t want to put you in harm’s way or be held back from acting because of my responsibility to keep you safe.”

  “You don’t have any responsibility to me—I told you, I can take care of myself!” Elaina insisted, her eyes flashing.

  “Children, children…please.” The priestess Nirobe held up her hands for silence. “Commander Terex, I am afraid you have no choice in this matter.” Her voice went steely and she gave him a stern look. “The Goddess has revealed to me that without Elaina you will not be successful in your quest.”

  Maybe I don’t want to be successful! Maybe all I seek is a clean death—how can I find it when I am charged with the safety of another?

  The words rose to his lips but he somehow swallowed them back down. It wouldn’t do to inform a priestess of the Sacred Grove of his death-wish. She might try to keep him from his mission and that was the last thing he wanted.

  And there was another reason he didn’t wish to take Elaina with him—just looking at her made his fangs sharp and his shaft hard. These were clearly inappropriate responses but ones he couldn’t seem to help. Her light feminine scent, carried on the swirling breeze that rustled the leaves of the Sacred Grove, affected him strangely, making it hard to think. He didn’t need that kind of distraction when he was fighting for his life…or trying to lose it.

  But this was another fact he couldn’t disclose—how would it look if he admitted to being sexually drawn to one who was supposed to be under his care? He would have to keep his attraction to the little female to himself.

  “Very well,” he said to the priestess, trying to keep his tone even. “And where am I to take, Ms. Benet, as the Goddess is so set on having her accompany me?”

  “Listen closely,” Nirobe told them, frowning. “This is the prophesy I was given:

  Seek the little healer which cannot fail

  And the silver sphere which finds the trail

  These you will find within the Blind

  Submitting first to Ties that Bind.”

  Terex frowned. “Did you say you wanted us to go into the Blind? Really?”

  “What’s the Blind?” Elaina looked worried.

  “An uncharted area of the known universe,” Terex told her. “A dark sector—we call it the Blind because of the massive cloud of cosmic dust, thousands of light years wide, which blankets the entire area.” He frowned. “The cloud obstructs sight and hinders navigation. In fact, no ship which has ever entered the Blind has come out again.”

  “What?” Elaina looked concerned, as well she might. The Blind was uncharted territory and considered extremely hazardous. She looked at the priestess. “I don’t understand—how will going into this dangerous space cloud thing help Commander Te