“I don’t know about that,” Rep. Yariz said cautiously. “And anyway, it’s too late now. You gave her to Dragon publicly during the feast—you can’t go back on your word—it wouldn’t look good.”
“I know that—you think I don’t know?” the Komendant snarled. “But she’s ruining everything. If she was gone, I could put Dragon and Zerlix back on the same crew and things would go back to normal.”
Rep. Yariz frowned.
“I know what you’re thinking, Komendant, but if you try to get rid of her now, you’ll have Dragon to deal with. And he has become…quite formidable.”
His Advisor’s words mirrored his own uneasy thoughts in a way that made Vizlar wince.
“True,” he said, frowning. “But I don’t think we can allow her to stay and actually marry Dragon. The longer she’s here, the worse things get. We must get rid of her somehow—in some way that Dragon doesn’t suspect. In fact…” He knit his brow ridges together. “We need to find a way to make it look like her disappearance is another Clan’s fault—a rival we don’t mind going to war with.”
“Hmm…let me think about it,” Rep. Yariz said, wrinkling his brow. “I’m sure I can come up with something.”
“Just make sure it happens before Dragon actually marries her,” the Komendant ordered. “We can’t do anything after they are wed—wives are sacred.”
“I know, I know.” Rep. Yariz nodded. “Just give me a little time and I promise I’ll have a solution for you soon.”
40
Bobbi’s dreams of running away and hiding until the Kindred of the Mother Ship could find her were growing dim. Partly because she was watched day and night like a hawk and had no chance to get out of the Clan’s family compound. But also partly, she had to reluctantly admit, because she was growing more and more fond of her captor.
Dragon was kind and sweet and—aside from his patriarchal views about males owning females—surprisingly emotionally intelligent, she found. After the day was done and they were alone in his rooms, they had a wonderful time together—mostly just talking.
Sometimes the big Kindred told her about his day, but he seemed reluctant to go into too much detail. From the way his clothing was often spattered with droplets of dark green Saurian blood, Bobbi guessed that was because a lot of his “work” involved fighting and killing.
Maybe because of the violence of his job, he was much more likely to ask her about herself. The big Kindred was fascinated to hear about life on Earth—her home and upbringing and family. And he was especially interested in life aboard the Mother Ship.
He seemed hungry to learn about others of his own kind and Bobbi told him as much as she could, especially emphasizing the way that Kindred males viewed females as their equals. She kept hoping that the message would sink in and overcome the years of his Saurian upbringing, though so far he hadn’t offered to let her go.
She told herself she ought to keep her distance, but due to the enduring cold of Saurous and the fact that she needed a nightly dose of either his blood or his seed to keep from freezing, that was an impossibility. And—(she was embarrassed to admit this, even to herself)—she preferred getting the necessary compounds that kept her warm in the frigid temperatures by sucking him rather than taking his blood.
For one thing, she hated it when he had to cut himself to feed her. It made her wince every time he drew out that long, silver blade he always kept under his pillow. And for another thing, when she was taking him in her hands and mouth was the only time she felt powerful and in charge of the situation.
Why don’t you just admit you like sucking him instead of making all these excuses? whispered a snarky little voice in her head. Admit you like the way he feels in your mouth, the way he moans your name and strokes your hair and looks at you with those burning bronze eyes when he shoots down your throat…
Bobbi tried to push the guilty thoughts away, but the fact was, she was getting more and more physically addicted to Dragon’s big body. Not just because he kept her warm at night and gave her the means to regulate her own body temperature, but because it just felt right to be held in his arms. He was so much bigger than her that she could practically lie right on top of him—and often did—as they cuddled. And he was so tender and sweet, stroking her hair and telling her how he loved her curves and that she was the most beautiful, special female he had ever seen. It was really quite touching.
Despite the fact that he was her kidnapper and captor, he was more considerate and caring than any man she’d ever been with. And even Bobbi wasn’t immune to that—especially after getting out of a bad relationship only half a year before.