“Yes! I hope they like it. Do you want to know what it is?” Sonja’s eyes were sparkling again.
“No, I don’t,” Melanie said firmly. “Nobody is supposed to know. We’re not even supposed to open the presents until Christmas day—you know that!”
She suspected that her supervisor—a kind older woman named Carol—had made that rule in order to avoid any hurt or jealous feelings. And also so that everyone—even people who were brand new to the Mother Ship and had no family aboard—would have at least one present to open on Christmas.
“Please! I’m opening mine the minute I get it back to my suite!” Sonja declared. “I can’t wait to see what naughty little gift my man got me.”
“So you’re sure that Sahran is your Secret Santa?” Melanie asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Positive.” Sonja’s face glowed. “I got him to admit it the other night, although he still won’t tell me what he got me.”
Melanie laughed.
“Well, whatever it is, it sounds like it’s better if you open it in private. So it’s a good thing Carol is making us bring the gifts home.”
“You’re probably right. I just hope I can hang onto my V card a little while longer after I see it,” Sonja said. “I will though—I want my wedding night to be special. But I just know I’m going to want to jump his bones the minute I rip open that package!”
“You only have a little longer to wait,” Melanie reminded her, smiling. “Just hang in there.”
“You hang in there too.” Sonja got up and dusted the crumbs off her lap. “Well, I’d better get going. I still have to wrap my gift.”
Melanie rose and gave her friend a hug.
“Thanks for coming. I appreciate your insight into this whole…” She waved a hand vaguely. “Thing.”
“This ‘whole thing’ is my specialty,” Sonja told her. “I just love matchmaking. Not that you need my help—I think you’re doing just fine by yourself.” She grinned.
“Yeah well, we’ll see,” Melanie said, smiling back. Again, she wished she could be as confident as Sonja. But despite her friend’s support, she still wasn’t exactly sure what to do.
She really liked Clear, and Strong was also incredibly handsome and attractive, but both of them were so young. What if she let herself get involved with them and they got tired of her, just like Steve had? Oh sure, she knew that the Kindred weren’t supposed to do divorce, but the idea of fidelity and true love for life sounded just too good to be true.
Also, the idea of being with two guys at once—especially such big guys—really was pretty intimidating. How would that work, exactly? She wasn’t a virgin like Sonja, but she was still reasonably tight and she’d heard that pretty much all Kindred warriors were hung like horses. So how would she take on two of them at once?
You’re getting ahead of yourself, she told herself firmly as she saw Sonja to the door and watched her friend walk down the long metal corridor that led back to her own suite. Just wait until the Christmas party and see how things go. Surely you’ll get more of an idea if Strong and Clear are seriously interested and then you can decide what to do.
She hoped.
8
“Are you almost ready to go? The party starts in an hour.” Clear frowned at his twin. Strong was still in his Med Center scrubs and while the dark maroon color did look good on him, they were supposed to be wearing their uniforms to the party.
“Just need to finish these reports,” Strong said distractedly. “Maybe you should go without me, Brother.”
“What?” Clear exclaimed. “You said you would come! Don’t you want to see Melanie again?”
“Of course I do.” Strong looked up and frowned. “But the question is, does she want to see me again. And I very much fear the answer is ‘no.’”
“What makes you say that?” Clear demanded. “I thought the two of you got along just fine.”
“No, you thought I scared her. And on thinking the matter over, I’m pretty sure I did.” Strong sighed. “I don’t know what got into me, pushing her like that. She’s just so fucking gorgeous that I couldn’t help wanting her.”
“Which is precisely why you need to come tonight,” Clear said firmly. “To get a second chance at meeting her. That way you can show her how non-threatening and gentlemanly you can be.”
“You’re better at that than I am,” Strong growled. “Even around females we aren’t interested in. But Melanie…” He shook his head. “I’ve just never met a female who moves me like she does. It’s like she’s got this gravitational pull and the minute I met her, I was sucked into her orbit.”
“Then come and see her again tonight,” Clear pleaded. “Please, Brother—you know I’m not complete without you. If we’re going to have any chance at all of winning her heart, I need you by my side! I can’t do this alone.”