Pairing with the Protector Read online

  “Hello, Dr. Washington.” Sylvan nodded back. He was unfailingly respectful of her degree and in fact, it was he who had recruited her for the BEGI in the first place. “Hello, Commander Rafe,” he continued, nodding again.

  “Commander Sylvan.” Rafe nodded back. “To what do we owe this honor?”

  “I’m coming to tell you that your assigned flight has been changed,” Sylvan told them.

  Whitney’s heart fell.

  “Oh, tell me it hasn’t been cancelled!” she exclaimed. “I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks! My first solo mission to a Class 2 planet!”

  A Class 2 planet actually had predators, albeit small ones. So far she had only been allowed to visit Class 1 planets, where all the life forms were small and non-threatening, which was why the pea-duck was the most dangerous thing she’d encountered. And she was always in a group of other scientists when she went. This was supposed to be her first solo mission—it would break her heart if it was cancelled.

  “No, no—don’t worry it hasn’t been cancelled,” Sylvan hastened to reassure her. “Just pushed up a little. The head of the Mother Ship Nav-Com tells me that we need to fold space sooner rather than later. There’s a solar storm coming which could make it difficult otherwise. ”

  “Move it up? By how much?” Rafe asked, frowning. “I need to be certain Dr. Washington will be safe if we go at a different time in the planet’s cycle than we have planned.”

  But Whitney was ready to go.

  “I’m already packed!” she exclaimed. “I’ve had my specimen collection articles ready for the past month—when can we leave?”

  Sylvan grinned.

  “That excitement and enthusiasm are exactly why I recruited you in the first place, Dr. Washington,” he remarked. He looked at Rafe. “And your caution and consideration for your charge’s well-being are the reason I chose you to be part of the Bio-Genetic-Engineering-Initiative,” he added. “Together you make an excellent team.”

  “That doesn’t answer my question about the safety of moving up our mission,” Rafe growled, frowning.

  “Have no fear, Commander Rafe, it should still be perfectly safe for you to visit Vesuvius Two,” Commander Sylvan reassured the scowling Beast Kindred.

  “Vesuvius Two? Is that what they’re calling it now?” It was Whitney’s turn to frown. “I knew there was a lot of volcanic activity but that name—”

  “Is just a name,” Commander Sylvan said soothingly. “And most of the volcanic activity is at the poles. You two will be visiting the equator where we believe some very valuable if somewhat simple life forms are to be found.”

  “I’ll collect as many specimens as possible,” Whitney promised. She was getting excited again. A whole new planet just for her to explore! What scientist wouldn’t get excited about that? “So when do we go?” she asked impatiently.

  Sylvan smiled. “At once, if it’s convenient. Your ship is provisioned and ready to take off. The sooner you get going the better.”

  “Now?” Whitney exclaimed.

  Commander Sylvan raised one blond eyebrow.

  “Too soon? I thought you were packed and ready to go?”

  “I am, I am!” she exclaimed. “I just have to run to my suite and get my carry-all cube. I can be on the ship in fifteen minutes. Ten if I run!”

  “Hold on.” Sylvan put out a hand to stop her. “I appreciate your willingness to get right to this mission but there is something I must do before the two of you can take off on a possibly perilous trip.”

  “What would that be?” Rafe asked, frowning.

  Sylvan gave the other warrior a serious look.

  “Commander Rafe, this is the first time you and Dr. Washington will be visiting a Class 2 planet and also your first solo mission. Though the danger is minimal, it is there. Therefore, I must ask for your oath before I can let the two of you go.”

  “His oath? What oath?” Whitney asked, mystified. Was this some kind of Kindred loyalty thing she’d never heard about before?

  But before she could get any answers or ask anymore questions, Rafe shocked her completely by dropping to one knee before her and holding out his hands.

  “Um…what’s going on?” she asked uncertainly, looking down at him. He looked like a man about to propose, which made her heart start beating faster, even though she knew it was silly.

  “Give Commander Rafe your hands please, Dr. Washington,” Sylvan said quietly. “He has something important to tell you.”

  Her heart beating about a thousand miles a minute, Whitney put her hands in the big Beast Kindred’s. She couldn’t help noticing the difference in their skin tones—hers was creamy chocolate and his was dark caramel—or the way his much larger hands seemed to swallow hers up completely. But when he spoke her name, her eyes were drawn from their clasped hands to his intense golden gaze.

  “Dr. Washington…Whitney,” Rafe began, looking straight into her eyes. “I swear to you now that I will protect you from any dangers we might encounter on our travels together. I will stand between you and death and, if necessary, spill every last drop of my blood to keep you from harm. You are more dear to me than my own flesh—your well being is my first, last, and only concern from now until our partnership shall end.”

  “Oh,” Whitney breathed, not sure what to say. The oath he had sworn to her was more beautiful and more binding than many marriage vows she had heard. And the expression in Rafe’s blazing golden eyes was so fierce and intense she couldn’t look away. She thought about making a joke—something like, And here I didn’t even think you liked me! But the moment seemed too solemn somehow. So she found herself standing there, tongue-tied, though she was usually never at a loss for words.

  “Do you accept Commander Rafe’s oath?” Commander Sylvan asked softly. “Will you allow him to protect you and care for you until your partnership is ended?”

  “I do. I mean, I will,” Whitney whispered, feeling more than ever like she was participating in some kind of wedding ceremony. “But…” She tore her eyes away from Rafe’s and looked at Commander Sylvan. “Should I swear an oath in return?”

  “If you wish, though it is not your duty,” Sylvan said. “In the Kindred culture it is the male who protects the female, not the other way around.”

  Whitney frowned. “Well, I might not be as physically strong as Rafe, but I still have something to contribute. Just because I’m female doesn’t mean I’m weak!”

  “By no means,” Sylvan said quickly. “That is not my meaning at all. It isn’t that females are weak—it’s that they are precious. In swearing his oath, Rafe wants you to know he will cherish and honor you as well as protecting you from any possible danger or harm.”

  “Well…thank you.” Whitney nodded, somewhat mollified.

  She looked back at Rafe, who was still holding her hands in his. His grip was firm and his hands were warm. He was so tall that they were still nearly eye-to-eye, despite the fact that he was down on one knee.

  “Rafe,” she said, her heart racing as she looked into the molten gold depths of his eyes again. “I want you to know that I’ll try to keep you from danger, too. I know I’m not as strong as you but if I see something strange, I’ll try to warn you. And…” Her mouth was almost too dry but somehow she went on. “And I want you to know that your oath means a great deal to me. I won’t take it lightly.”

  He nodded seriously. “Thank you. It was not made lightly. I meant every word.” Then he rose smoothly, moving with surprising grace for such a big man, Whitney thought, and turned to Commander Sylvan. “Now, I believe, we are ready to go.”

  Sylvan nodded thoughtfully.

  “Yes, I believe you are. Go to your ship and I’ll tell Control to fold space for you at once. And may the Goddess go with you.”

  “Thank you.” Whitney felt her heart start racing again. Despite the serious scene they had just gone though, she felt an irrepressible smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Race you to the ship,” she told Rafe. “Bet