Brides of the Kindred Volume One Read online

  “Remember, stick to your guns,” she reminded Liv in a whisper. “And if you don’t and we never see you again, you better at least send me an e-mail telling me all the dirty details.”

  Liv half laughed, half cried. “No, chance. Look for me in thirty days, not any stupid e-mail, Kat.”

  “I’ll be here with bells on to pick you up,” Kat promised. “We’ll go straight to Magaritaville and the drinks are on me all night.”

  “I’ll hold you to that,” Liv warned her. Then, knowing she couldn’t delay any longer, she turned with as much dignity as she could muster and looked up at Baird. “I’m ready,” she said.

  She had never told a bigger lie in her entire life.

  Chapter Five

  He took her to a small back door that led to an outdoor space as big as a parking lot. It was enclosed by a high electric chain link fence with warnings in three different languages about the voltage and there was razor wire looped along the top of it. Inside it were parked a number of small, unassuming electric cars, similar to the one she drove herself.

  Liv stared with wide eyes. Geeze, they sure take themselves seriously. All this security to protect a few Nissan Minisports?

  “This is our ride.” Baird’s deep voice reminded her that she was supposed to be following him. She stepped out confidently enough toward the small, nondescript vehicle he was pointing to. The asphalt outside was hot and a lot harder than the bland grey carpet inside the HKR building, but she was a Florida girl and it wouldn’t be the first time she’d walked barefoot on hot concrete.

  Unfortunately she forgot about the shard of glass still embedded in her heel. She’d mostly stopped bleeding during the ceremony and had more important things than a minor injury on her mind anyway but one step was all it took to remind her. The minute her hurt foot connected with the hard black surface Liv yelped.

  “Ow! Son of a—” Before she could complete the expletive, Baird was there, staring at her with concern.

  “What happened? Are you hurt?” he demanded even as he scanned the area with those inhumanly golden eyes, obviously searching for a threat.

  “I’m fine. I just…” Liv gestured to her wounded foot with irritation. “I dropped my orange juice when those goons came to get me and I stepped on a shard of glass.”

  His face fell. “You were hurt all this time and I didn’t notice?”

  “I didn’t notice half the time myself,” Liv assured him. “I had, uh, other things on my mind.” Like finding out exactly what I was getting myself into with you. “I’ve stopped bleeding so I guess I forgot until I stepped on it out here.”

  “You’re bleeding?” He looked even more alarmed. Getting down on one knee he gestured her forward. “Let me see.”

  “No, honestly, it’s all right.” Liv felt both annoyed and shy. Why was he making such a big deal out of this? She’d seen people with foreign objects imbedded in their bodies every day of the week as a nursing student in the Tampa General ER. Didn’t they ever step on sharp things where he came from?

  “Olivia, come here.” His voice was a low growl—not menacing so much as stern. To her intense irritation, Liv found herself obeying him.

  “It’s just a piece of glass,” she protested even as she allowed him to settle her on his knee and lift her foot. “If you’ll just give me a first aid kit I can take care of it myself.”

  “No you won’t.” He examined the heel of her foot with care as though assessing a grave and dangerous injury. “Wait until we get up to the ship and let Sylvan look at it. He’s a medic.”

  “And I’m a nurse,” Liv protested, feeling even more irritated. “I can handle myself, thank you.”

  “Even a small injury like this can get infected and it’s hard to work on yourself.” The growl had come back to his voice again and his eyes flashed from dark amber to pale gold in a second. “You need a medic and that’s what you’ll get, Lilenta.”

  “My name is Olivia,” Liv stormed. “And I’d rather not go to a hospital, or whatever your version of a hospital is, and have everybody and their brother see me dressed like this!”

  “I know your name. You have no idea how many times I said it over and over to get through the night.” Baird’s hard expression softened. “Lilenta just means little one or dear one in my language.”

  Liv had no idea how to respond to his remark about saying her name to get through the night so she skipped over it. “I still don’t want anyone else seeing me until I get my clothes from home,” she protested.

  His eyes raked over her again and she realized this was the closest she’d been to him yet. Even when they’d kissed, there was some space between their bodies. But now she was sitting on his knee with her hands resting lightly on his broad shoulders for balance. She wanted to draw back but he had her in an awkward position with one large, warm hand encircling her ankle and the other cupped firmly at her waist.

  “Don’t worry about your outfit,” he murmured, nodding at the thin black nighty. “Sylvan is the warrior who witnessed our ceremony—he’s my half brother and he won’t touch you the wrong way.” His eyes blazed for a moment. “No one will.”

  Liv blew out a breath. “You’re not going to give up on this, are you?”

  “You’re my responsibility now. Mine to care for, to cherish, to protect.” He said the words simply as though it was the most normal thing in the world to have complete accountability for a woman he’d never met before that day. “If you’re hurting I can’t rest until I ease your pain. Understand, Olivia?”

  “All right.” Liv felt like she was setting a dangerous precedent letting him have his way but there didn’t seem to be anything else she could do. “As long as I don’t have to see anyone else besides, uh, Sylvan until I have decent clothes on,” she added quickly when he smiled.

  “Don’t worry. I don’t want other males looking at you in that little bit of nothing either,” he murmured. “Now let’s go.”

  Before she could protest, Baird swung her up into his arms and rose in one smooth motion, as though she didn’t weigh a thing.

  “Hey, I can walk you know!” She wanted to struggle in his arms but the ground was suddenly a long way down and she had no desire to fall on her ass on the tarmac.

  “No you can’t. You’re injured.” He strode easily along, heading for the small car he’d said was their ride. Liv wondered how he was going to fit his huge frame into its tiny interior and also how he planned to drive it out. The enclosed parking lot didn’t have any entrance or exit that she could see. Then he let out a low, guttural growl that might have been a word in another language and suddenly the outside of the car began to shimmer.

  Liv blinked, trying to get her eyes to focus on what was happening. The car was changing right in front of her, becoming larger and more roomy as well as streamlined. When it was finished, something that looked like a sleek silver rocket turned on its side was in front of them.

  “Password protected,” Baird explained as a door popped open and he deposited her gently inside. “A necessity since the humans are always trying to get their hot little hands on our technology.”

  “I’m a human,” she reminded him pointedly. “And would it kill you to share some of that technology with us?”

  Baird looked surprised. “We’ve given you cures for most of your diseases. You don’t need the secret of interstellar flight.”

  “Why not? Did it occur to you we might like to reach for the stars too?” Liv didn’t know what she was getting upset about. Maybe it was just a reason to fight and work off some of the tension she’d built up being so close to him.

  “You can’t, not right now anyway,” Baird growled. “The Scourge is still up there, Olivia. You may have missed it down on your peaceful little planet but there’s a war goin’ on right over your head.”

  “And you’re taking me up into it?” Liv felt a sudden surge of panic. No one knew exactly what it was the Scourge did to their victims but it was supposed to be pretty nasty.

&nbs