Shadowed: Brides of the Kindred book 8 (24 page)

“Give yourself the night,” Kat advised. “And spend it with Saber. Take some time to remember how much you love each other and promise to stay strong before you go.”

“Reaffirm your relationship,” Liv said, nodding. “You guys are going into a really tough situation. Give yourself some time to prepare for it.”

Lissa sighed. “I feel like all we’ve been doing is preparing. We’ve been talking about this—going back—since the first night Reddix showed up in our suite.”

“And how does Saber feel about it?” Sophia asked.

“He knows it’s the right thing to do.” Lissa looked down at her hands. “I just wish it wasn’t such a
hard
thing to do.”

“Oh, hon…” Kat gave her friend a big hug. “I don’t know how, but I know everything is going to be okay. You and Saber were made for each other and don’t you let anyone tell you different.”

Lissa hugged her back. “Thank you, Kat. I’m just sorry I’m leaving you in the middle of the preparations for your joining ceremony. I promise I’ll try to come back for it.”

“Don’t worry about a thing,” Liv told her. “Sophie and I will pick up the slack. Just do what you have to do and come back if you can.”

“If I can,” Lissa echoed and swiped at her eyes again. “Thank you. Thank you all, so much.”

“Any time, doll.” Kat smiled at her. “Now come on and help us choke down some of this fruit.” She nodded down at the overflowing platter on her coffee table. “I’ve been trying to eat healthier because I’m pregnant, but nobody seems to be interested in helping me.”

“It has been a long time since I’ve eaten,” Lissa admitted, giving her friend a wan smile. “And I love exotic fruit—what’s this green stick?” she asked, pointing.

“Ugh—that’s celery.” Kat shivered. “Can’t recommend it myself. Tastes like crunchy cardboard, and the strings get in your teeth.”

“Well…what about this one?” Lissa pointed at an orange stick this time.

“Carrot,” Kat said blandly. “It’s good—if you’re a bunny rabbit.”

“Don’t listen to Kat,” Liv said. “Try some of the fruit—it’s on this side of the plate.” She pointed.

“All right. This one looks good,” Lissa decided, picking up a yellow piece.

“That’s pineapple,” Sophia said. “Try it—it’s delicious.”

“Tastes better upside down in a cake,” Kat grumbled.

“Upside down? Lissa frowned and turned the small yellow chunk over. “Am I holding it wrong? Will it make me sick if I eat it the wrong way?”

Liv laughed. “No, no—Kat just has an awful sweet tooth now that she’s got a bun in the oven. There’s a dessert we make with this fruit, but it’s much more fattening than the fruit itself.”

“And much more delicious.” Kat brightened. “You know, I think Lauren was baking a batch of pineapple upside down cupcakes with cream cheese frosting earlier.” She waved a yellow chunk of fruit at Lissa enticingly. “Hang around the Mother Ship one more night, and we’ll go get one. What do you say?”

“Well…” Lissa wavered.

“That sounds perfect!” Sophia declared, throwing down the piece of celery she’d been toying with. Come on—let’s go get some
now.”

Liv laughed. “Instant cravings—how well I remember those days. Mention the food, and you’ve suddenly
got
to have it.”

“Even if it’s a peanut butter and kelp sandwich. As if you could talk about anyone else’s cravings,” Kat scoffed. “Come on, Lissa,” she said, getting off the couch. “Let’s go get something good to eat. You need to build up your strength for the ordeal ahead.”

“Translation: Kat needs cupcakes,” Sophia laughed, hauling herself out of the couch with her sister’s help.

Lissa smiled. “Well, I
do
love to try new foods…” She popped the pineapple into her mouth. “Mmm, and if it’s better than this, I
really
need to try it.”

“Then it’s settled,” Liv said. “Kat, lead the way. And somebody bespeak Lauren to know we’re about to descend on her like a pack of hungry hyenas.”

“Hungry,
pregnant
hyenas,” Kat corrected, grinning. “Which is about twenty times worse. Come on, Lissa.” She grabbed her friend’s hand. “Let’s go get cupcakes.”

Chapter Nineteen

“And this is what you’ve been living on the whole time I was out?” Reddix looked at the bowl of grayish-purple mush in his hands uncertainly.

Nina shrugged. “I had to. The ship doesn’t have enough power to use the rehydrator-thingy so it was eat this or starve. Besides, it’s not so bad. It looks like purple oatmeal, but it tastes like whatever you put on it.”

He frowned. “And what do you put on it?”

“Depends. Do you want a savory flavor or a sweet one?” She nodded at an array of much smaller bowls, all filled with different substances, some of which looked like spices and some which looked like flowers or bugs. “They’re all different.”

“So I see. Uh…I’ll take savory,” he decided.

“Great! Hand me your bowl, and I’ll fix it up.” She took his bowl and started sprinkling different toppings on it. “Now this one tastes kind of like barbequed potato chips. And this one kind of reminds me of fried catfish…”

Reddix watched as she fixed his bowl, grateful that she was being so gracious after his angry words during the shave.
Shouldn’t have yelled at her like that,
he thought, still upset with himself.
She’s been nothing but kind to me, and I’m such a prickly, ungrateful bastard. She deserves the truth—all of it.

But he couldn’t bear to tell her what had really happened the night he’d gotten the scars on his face. Or the deeper, darker truth about why he had kidnapped her in the first place.

How can I take her to the swamp witch?
he thought, glancing at the
lthss
which had grown longer, encircling half his wrist now. But then again, how could he not? Time was running out. Because despite the fact that he had found a woman he could touch and who seemed to suppress his RTS when she touched him, he still needed a long term cure for it if he was going to do what was expected of him back home.

If only I could take Nina as my mate—declare her as my female and bond her to me,
he thought longingly. Of course, that was impossible on many levels. Other than the fact that he had an inverted Touch Sense and couldn’t bond
any
female to him at all, his people were also traditionalists. They wouldn’t accept him as ruler if he married outside the Touch Kindred Clans. Any child born of such a union would be considered a half-breed bastard…an interloper.

Not that Nina would have him if he ever asked her…though the very idea of being able to claim her as his female made blood surge to his shaft and his throat tight with longing. Gods, she was perfect. Gorgeous, kind, and
touchable.
So incredibly
touchable
. Reddix’s hands itched to explore her curvy body, to cup her full breasts and generous ass. His mouth watered to taste her sweet pussy while she called his name and begged for more…

“Oh, and this one is the
best
. It tastes almost exactly like Mehoo-Jimmy’s frybread…” Nina frowned and looked up at him. “Are you hearing anything I’m saying? You have this faraway look in your eyes.”

“Forgive me,” Reddix said roughly. He reached out a hand to accept the bowl she was holding out to her. “I’m sure it’s all delicious.”

“It is—mostly,” she said, smiling. “Although I haven’t had the nerve to try the
chu-chu
bugs yet,” she added, nodding to the small bowl of tiny, many-legged creatures that had been dried until they were stiff and crispy.

Reddix made a face. “Ugh. Well, they don’t look very fucking appetizing.”

“No bugs do—at least to me. I know lots of other cultures eat them but I’m just not brave enough.” Nina finished fixing her own bowl and then dug in with a strange lumpy implement that looked a little like long handled a spoon with multiple rounded bowls all up and down its stem.

“What’s this thing?” Reddix asked, picking up a similar implement himself.

“Oh—that’s an edible spoon. It’s really good. You bite off a piece with each scoop of nutra-mush you eat.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Nutra-mush?”

She smiled and shrugged. “That’s kind of my name for it. According to Healing One, it’s a natural completely balanced meal with everything you need in it. At least, everything the Feeling People need. Though so far I feel fine eating it too.” She scooped up some mush and bit down on the spoon, biting off the bottommost bowl with a crunching sound.

“Let’s hope it has everything Kindred and Earthlings need as well,” Reddix muttered and followed her example. To his surprise, the flavor was quite good. The mush had a smooth texture offset by the crunchiness of the spoon which had a mild, nutty flavor. The taste of the mush was harder to describe. Reddix had never tasted any of the Earth foods Nina had talked about as she flavored the stuff, but the different toppings reminded him of flavors from his own planet as well. He especially liked the section of mush Nina had said tasted like her grandmother’s fly bread—whatever that was. He quickly ate it all and asked for more.

“See—I told you its’ good,” Nina said, scooping out some more mush as well as the dry topping which flavored it.

“And you said it tastes like fly bread?” Reddix asked, taking the bowl back from her. “But I thought a fly was an Earth insect, and you said you don’t eat insects—not that I blame you.” He took a big bite.

“No, no—
fry
bread. As in, you fry it. It’s horribly fattening of course but amazingly good.” She sighed and put down her spoon.

“What is it?” Reddix looked at her in concern.

“Nothing. I just…I miss Mehoo.”

He felt a surge of guilt. “Nina—”

“Never mind.” She blinked rapidly and shook her head, as though trying to dispel her unwanted emotion. “Try some of the sweet kind too. Here…” She pointed at another bowl with little brown crumbles in it. “I swear this one tastes exactly like buttered toast dipped in hot chocolate. It’s
amazing
.”

“I don’t know what any of those things are, but I’ll try it.” Reddix reached for the mixture and then winced as a sudden muscle spasm traveled down his arm. “Goddess damn it!” he cursed under his breath as he rolled his shoulder, trying to ease the ache.

Nina was instantly concerned. “What is it? What happened? Did one of the Feeling People pass by outside the door or something? Did you feel their emotions?”

“No—nothing like that.” Reddix shook his head. “I’m just still stiff—from being out so long, I guess.”

“Oh.” Nina relaxed. “Well, of
course
you are. And not just being unconscious for so long—don’t forget that before that you were pretty much chained up in the kitchen for most of a day and night.”

“Not that I didn’t fucking deserve it.” Reddix sighed and rolled his stiff, aching shoulder some more. “Never mind. It’ll work itself out.”

“No it won’t—not without some help.” Nina put down her bowl. “I’m about finished—how about you?”

“I guess so.” Reddix put down his own bowl as well. Despite the fact that he hadn’t eaten very much, he was surprisingly full. Either his stomach had shrunk in the time he had been unconscious or the mush was surprisingly filling.

“Good.” Nina reached down and grabbed his hand.

Reddix jerked, startled. After so many years of being careful to keep his distance from everyone, he was still getting used to being touched casually.

“Uh, what are you doing?” he asked, trying to cover his knee-jerk reaction.

“Trying to get you to come to the bed.” She tugged on his hand. “Come on.”

“What?” Suddenly, his heart was pounding, and his shaft was achingly hard again. “And why exactly are we going to bed?” he managed to get out.

“Oh…” Nina’s cheeks went pink. “No, nothing like that,” she assured him hastily. “I just…I meant I’ll give you a massage.”

“A massage?” he asked, still not understanding.

“I’ll rub you all over.” She got even pinker. “Oh God, that came out really wrong. I mean I’ll rub your
muscles
to release tension. It’s strictly therapeutic, I swear. I’ll just do your back and shoulders and legs.” She cleared her throat. “Maybe…maybe work on the glutes some too.”

“And this…you, uh, rubbing me all over is supposed to make me
less
tense?” He raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief. Did she have any idea what she was saying? The idea of having those soft little hands of hers all over his body, even in a non-sexual way was enough to make him half-crazy with desire for her.

“That’s the idea. Now come on,” Nina said firmly. “You’ll never get all those kinks in your muscles out without some professional help.”

Reddix was still dubious, but he wasn’t about to refuse the chance to have her hands on his body. With a little direction from Nina, he lay face down on the bed with the blanket covering only his ass. Then she knelt beside him and began to work.

To his surprise, those soft, small hands were actually quite strong. He nearly groaned in relief as Nina found the hard knot in his stiff shoulder and worked it until it loosened. Then she started working on the rest of his back, but soon she made a noise of irritation.

“Problem?” he asked, turning his head to the side to look at her.

“Yes—you’re too big. I mean, your shoulders are so broad it’s hard to reach. Do you mind if I straddle you?”

Reddix’s shaft hardened even further, pressing against the bed. He shifted, trying to get more comfortable. Somewhere inside he knew this much intimate contact with Nina would be pushing his limits, but somehow he couldn’t say no.

“Go ahead,” he said hoarsely.

He’d barely finished speaking when Nina hiked up her dress and threw one leg over his hips. Though he was lying face down, Reddix couldn’t help imagining what it would be like to have her straddle him while he was face up instead. To have that soft, sweet pussy settling down on his aching shaft, enveloping him in her hot, wet depths, her full breasts bouncing as he fucked up into her. He squeezed his eyes shut, fighting the vision. Gods, how could he stand this? He was going to die from desire!