Awakened by the Giant Read online

  “So you’ll see him?” Liv lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

  “No, I’m fine.” Maddy nodded decisively. “I can handle it. You can send him in.”

  “I’ll have to get him down here first,” Liv said. “The poor guy was dead on his feet—I sent him to his guest suite to sleep a little. But he’ll come rushing back the minute you call, I’m sure.”

  “Okay, then.” Feeling a sudden flutter of nerves in her stomach, Maddy perched on the edge of the bed. “I’ll just…just wait here then.”

  “You do that.” Liv gave her a warm smile. “I have a feeling this is all going to work out—you’ll see.”

  Then she left and Maddy didn’t know what to do with herself. She felt the flutter of nerves again and realized that she wasn’t just nervous—she was hungry. Well, she still had plenty of cupcakes left, so that was all right.

  But it wasn’t the cupcakes that caught her eye when she looked at the little table to the right of her bed. It was the golden, peachy-pink cube fruits that seemed to call her name.

  As though it sensed her looking at it, the little plant’s silvery-green leaves rustled and the sweet scent of the fruit intensified.

  God, those really do look amazing, Maddy thought. But should she eat a fruit from Calden’s home world? Would it be safe? Well, Kat had certainly seemed to think so. She’d picked one of the fruits and taken it home to try, Maddy reasoned with herself. And besides, it smelled so good.

  She put out a hand, only meaning to caress the little plant’s leaves and was surprised when one of the cube fruits fell directly into her palm.

  “Oh!” Maddy looked at it in surprise. It was soft and warm, as though the little plant was growing in warm sunlight instead of the temperature-controlled environment of the Mother Ship. Intrigued, she brought it to her nose to smell and was overwhelmed by the sweet-tart aroma, something like a cross between ripe peaches and fresh mangos with a little hint of strawberry thrown in.

  Before she knew what she was doing, Maddy had taken a bite, right out of one strangely rounded corner of the fruit. Flavor exploded across her tongue—even better than the luscious chocolate cupcake Lauren had made her. The fruit tasted like it smelled—a mixture of peaches, mangos, and strawberries—with just a hint of something salty mixed in. Maddy frowned. Was that…buttered popcorn? That was crazy, right? But that was what it tasted like and the little bit of buttery-salty flavor seemed to enhance the sweet juiciness of the fruit.

  It was so good that Maddy ate it down to the seeds and stem—which she wrapped neatly in a napkin—and then reached for another…and then another. She was about to grab her fourth when the door opened and Kat came bursting into her room.

  “Oh, Kat!” Maddy was surprised but pleased to see her new friend. The fact that she was also a plus-sized redhead made her feel especially comfortable with the other girl.

  But Kat wasn’t looking nearly as relaxed as she had the first time Maddy had met her. Her hair was mussed as though someone had been running their hands through it and her clothes were disheveled.

  “Did you come to see how the dress fits me?” Tucking the napkin with the seeds and stems of the cube fruit behind the planter, she rose to display the green dress Kat had made her. “Because it’s wonderful—thank you so much!”

  “I didn’t come to see the gown, although it really does look great on you.” Kat gave her a distracted smile. “I just came to say, whatever you do, doll—don’t eat that fruit!”

  “What? Oh, no—why?” Maddy exclaimed, looking at the little plant, which still had plenty of the peachy cube fruit left on its branches. “Is it some kind of poison?”

  “Not poison—just incredibly concentrated,” Kat said grimly. “I’ve never had bonding fruit that strong—not even when I boiled it down to make concentrate.” She shook her head. “It made me so horny I thought I was going to die.”

  “It what?” Maddy shook her head, confused. “But…how can that be? Fruit can’t make you, uh, horny.”

  “Bonding fruit can!” Kat exclaimed. “That’s its whole purpose—well, other than making you stretchy enough to accommodate a Kindred who’s hung like a Clydesdale.”

  “What?” Maddy was shocked. Why hadn’t Calden told her what the fruit would do to her? Then again, the plant really hadn’t had fruit until recently and it had only become ripe since they had gotten to the Mother Ship. Still, he should have given her some idea…

  Then she remembered him hinting that he might have a way for them to get bonded and saying something like “I don’t want to tell you yet—I don’t want you to get upset if the idea doesn’t bear fruit…”

  Bear fruit—that’s exactly what he said! He must have meant the fruit on the plant, Maddy suddenly realized. But God, she wished he’d told her instead of being so mysterious about it!

  “What would happen to me if…if I ate that fruit?” she asked Kat, still not sure if she ought to admit to eating it.

  “Probably exactly what happened to me. Why do you think I look like this?” Kat motioned to her disheveled clothes and messed up hair. “I just came from a marathon sex session with my guys! We had to hire an emergency babysitter and everything to watch the boys—I absolutely couldn’t wait!”

  “Your…guys? Plural?” Maddy asked faintly.

  “Oh, I forgot you don’t know much about our kind of Kindred yet. I’m married to Twin Kindred—twin brothers who mate with the same woman—and I’m damn lucky I am,” Kat said. “I don’t know if one guy alone could have satisfied me—well, unless he was truly enormous in the schlong department."

  Maddy thought of how big Calden’s equipment was and found herself blushing.

  “Oh, um…all right,” she said weakly.

  “Anyway, I thought about calling you by Think-me but I didn’t want to freak you out by speaking directly into your head,” Kat went on. “My suite isn’t far from here so I thought I’d run over and warn you. I know you said you hadn’t eaten one yet so I hope I got to you in time.” She looked at Maddy anxiously. “I did, didn’t I?”

  “Oh yes,” Maddy said quickly, though she couldn’t exactly say why she was lying. Maybe because it was embarrassing to admit she’d eaten not one, not two, but three of the dangerous fruit. Still…she didn’t feel any different. Maybe the fruit didn’t affect everyone the same. Maybe she would be just fine.

  I probably will, Maddy thought. I’ve never had any food allergies before. Maybe Kat is just sensitive to that kind of fruit.

  “Okay, well…whew.” Kat mimed wiping sweat off her forehead. “I’m glad I caught you before you ate one. That could have been a big problem for you, especially since you’re on the outs with your guy at the moment.” She frowned. “Did you two ever make up?”

  “No, but I agreed to talk to him at least,” Maddy said cautiously. “In fact, Liv is getting him right now.”

  “Oh—then I’d better leave you alone!” Kat exclaimed. “Anyway, I need to get back to my own guys…I think I feel round two coming on. Man, that stuff is strong!” She eyed the little plant with its laden branches and shook her head ruefully.

  The plant rustled and for a moment, Maddy almost got the idea that it was laughing. Which was crazy, right? It wasn’t like a plant could laugh or think or tempt someone with its fruit…right?

  Right, she told herself firmly. And anyway, the fruit didn’t have any affect on me.

  “You better go get your, uh, situation taken care of,” she told Kat. “Thank you for warning me—and thanks again for the amazing dress.”

  “You’re welcome, doll—you look great in it.” Kat gave her a somewhat forced smile. “Okay, I really have to go now. Just keep away from that fruit and stick to Lauren’s cupcakes—they’re way safer!” Then she hurried out of the room, almost as quickly as she’d come into it, leaving Maddy to look at the door in bemused silence.

  Twenty

  Maddy didn’t have long to sit by herself. Only a few moments after Kat had made her r