Accidental Acquisition by Evangeline Anderson
24
“It’s good to meet you in person, Brother,” Commander Sylvan said, offering his arm for a warrior’s clasp.
“Good to meet you as well.” Kalis nodded and took the other male’s arm, but his eyes were following Jillian as she and the female doctor walked away.
Sylvan’s gaze followed his own and he frowned.
“Is there a problem? Are you worried about Ms. Marks?”
“About Jillian?” Kalis shrugged. “No problem on my end. But she’s been through a lot today and…” he hesitated, hating to admit it. “Er…”
“And what?” Commander Sylvan prompted gently.
“And she saw me in my other form,” Kalis said heavily.
He hated to admit it, but as many times as the little female denied it, he knew she feared his Ursus—he could smell the terror on her when she talked about it.
“I didn’t want to change in front of her,” he told Sylvan. “But I had to fight for her—a fucking Trollox had claimed her and another was holding her for the first. I had no choice.”
“It sounds like you couldn’t help it,” Sylvan said sympathetically. “But am I right in guessing that she fears you now?”
Kalis sighed morosely.
“Just like my last Mistress,” he admitted. “She saw me change and then she couldn’t wait to get rid of me.” He shook his head. “Only I hadn’t been dreaming of my last Mistress for two years. When I saw Jillian today—finally saw her in person—well…” He shook his head. “I knew I’d do anything for her—anything to protect her—but now she fears me and doesn’t want to be anywhere near me.”
“Do you know if she’s been dreaming of you, too?” Sylvan asked. “Or was it a one-way Dream Sharing? Such a thing is rare, but not unheard of.”
Kalis shook his head.
“Don’t know. I told her I had dreamed of her, but she never said anything about dreaming of me, so one-way is possible, I guess.”
“Or she might not be the type to remember her dreams,” Sylvan said thoughtfully. “My advice would be to just give her a little time and space. You said that she’s been through a lot today—she’ll need to process everything before she can really understand how she feels.”
Kalis shook his head.
“She already knows how she feels—she doesn’t want me anywhere near her ever again.”
“Give her time,” Sylvan counseled again. “You know, before we were Joined, I foreswore my own mate, Sophia, at one point, because she feared me so much. Well, I should more accurately say she feared my fangs,” he added, smiling to reveal the sharp, double set of fangs all Blood Kindred had on either side of his mouth.
“Feared your fangs?” Kalis looked at the other male in surprise. “If she feared to be bitten, how did you ever bond her to you?” He knew that biting was an intricate and essential part of bonding sex for Blood Kindred.
“The Goddess had a hand in it,” Sylvan told him. “And since she’s been sending you dreams of Jillian for the last two years, I believe she’ll take a hand in your situation as well.”
Kalis sighed.
“I can only hope and pray you’re right about that. In the meantime, do you have a place where I could bathe and change?” He nodded down to the too-tight uniform clothes he was wearing. “I had to change into these, which I found in the back of the shuttle, before we flew here, because I burst out of my other clothing during the shift to my other form.”
Sylvan grinned.
“Those are a bit small for you, but never fear—we’ll find you some that fit. Come on, I’ll take you to a guest suite and get you something more your size along the way.”
“Thanks, Brother.” Kalis nodded, more grateful for the hospitality than he could say. It had been years since he’d lived in the company of his own kind and he had to admit, boarding the Mother Ship felt like coming home.
It had also been years since he had been free, with no Mistress to answer to, but Kalis found that didn’t make him nearly as happy as he had once thought it would. He missed Jillian fiercely—though he had only known the curvy little Elite in person for one day, he’d been dreaming of her for years.
Never thought that once she got to know me, she’d want nothing more to do with me, he thought morosely. Still, maybe Commander Sylvan was right and she just needed some time.
Kalis prayed it was so, for Jillian Marks held his heart in her hands. He only hoped that in time, she would be willing to give him another chance to explain that his other half would never hurt her and that he wanted only to make her happy.
