Accidental Acquisition by Evangeline Anderson

52

“Had another long night?” Suzanne asked sympathetically, as she looked at Jillian’s face. “I swear you’re getting less sleep than I am lately and I have three fussy babies at my place!”

“I think I’d rather deal with fussy babies than these nightmares I keep having.” Jillian rubbed a hand over her face tiredly. It was her left hand and the fingertips of her three new fingers tingled a bit as she did so. It was just another reminder of the trauma she’d been through and she was damn tired of it.

“They’re still that bad?” Suzanne asked.

Jillian nodded.

“It’s funny, I never had bad dreams about what happened with that Trollox bastard at the Buy-All-Sell-All market, but I just seem to keep replaying that night with Brad and ‘Jimmy the Knife’ over and over again in my sleep.” She shivered and put her arms around herself, trying to stop the cold chills that climbed down her spine.

“God, Jilly—I’m so sorry!” Suzanne put an arm around her shoulders. “Maybe you should think about therapy.”

Jillian laughed.

“I’ve had therapy—I told you the whole thing.”

“Yes, but I’m not trained to know what to do or say to help you,” Suzanne protested.

“You listened—that was what I really needed,” Jillian assured her. “And at least when I wake up screaming, I have Kalis there to hold me.”

After that awful night with Brad and Moreno, the big Kindred had brought her straight back up to her suite on the Mother Ship and he had simply never gone back to his own. Well, except for once, to get his possessions, but after that he had moved in with Jillian completely—which was exactly what they both wanted.

“You’d think that bonding with him would help you with your bad dreams,” Suzanne remarked. “He seems to be so steady and calm—having a bond with him seems like it ought to help settle you.”

“Maybe it would—if we were bonded,” Jillian said, frowning.

“What?” Suzanne stared at her as though she’d grown another head. “You mean to tell me he rescued you from that awful situation down on Earth and you’ve been living together for the past two weeks and you two still aren’t bonded?”

“Not by choice!” Jillian exclaimed. “It’s because when Kalis took me to the Med Station to get checked out, Dr. Liv said I should wait ‘a little while’ just to be sure I was completely healed internally before we had bonding sex.”

“But it’s been two weeks!” Suzanne protested. “You must be all healed by now—right?”

“Now you sound like me, trying to convince Kalis,” Jillian said glumly. “I feel perfectly fine, but he’s still worried and wants to wait.”

Suzanne frowned.

“Well that is a problem.”

“You’re telling me! It’s driving me crazy.” Jillian sighed and raked a hand through her hair. “Ever since I met and tamed his Ursus, all I want to do is bond with him. I feel so…so incomplete. But he won’t even consider the idea.”

“But you’re sure that you’re all better?” Suzanne asked.

“Positive,” Jillian said certainly. “I could run a marathon. Well, if that was a thing I did, anyway. I feel perfectly fine, but I think he’s determined to wait for six weeks or six months or some ungodly amount of time like that.”

“Oh God, Jilly—I’m sorry.” Suzanne gave her a sincere look of sympathy. “You must be going crazy.”

“I really am,” Jillian admitted. “I think it has something to do with the fact that I tamed his Ursus. The next logical step is bonding and my body knows that—it’s just urging me to do what comes naturally. Only Kalis is so afraid of breaking me or hurting me, he keeps putting it off.”

Suzanne got a thoughtful look on her face.

“What if there was a way to convince him not to put it off any longer?”

“How? I’m all ears,” Jillian told her.

Suzanne gave her a sly smile.

“Well, remember how I told you that Bonding Fruit has aphrodisiac qualities? And if you eat some, you pretty much have to make love with your guy?”

“I do remember something like that,” Jillian admitted. “But I don’t want to force Kalis’s hand. He’s just doing what he thinks is best for me.”

“Well, clearly he’s wrong,” Suzanne said firmly. “Your body is reacting badly to not taking the next step and bonding to him. Your sleep is all messed up—”

“And I’m really tender in some, uh, pretty private places,” Jillian admitted, wincing as she adjusted her bra strap.

Ever since she’d met and tamed Kalis’s Ursus, her nipples and pussy had felt swollen and needy. But the big Kindred hadn’t wanted to rush anything, so most nights he just held her. Jillian was getting damn tired of all that holding, though—it was time for some action. Suzanne was right—her body was begging for it. And she couldn’t help feeling like bonding with her Kindred really would help the nightmares she kept having.

“Well, there you go,” Suzanne said. “Tell you what, I have some new bonding fruit chocolates I’ve been working on. I’ve been thinking of opening up a chocolate shop and patisserie with a special section just for couples—all the chocolates and pastries made with bonding fruit.”

“That’s a wonderful idea!” Jillian said admiringly. “Who knew you had such a great head for business, Suze?”

“Thanks.” Suzanne smiled modestly. “Anyway, why don’t I give you some of the chocolates to ‘try’ for me? You eat one when you feel like you’re ready and let me know how it goes.” She winked at Jillian, who grinned back.

“Hmm…that’s really tempting…” she admitted.

“I happen to have some with me now,” her friend told her. “I was going to have Lydia and Lor try them out, but you seem to need them a lot more than those two do.”

She nodded at the two line cooks who were standing as close together as possible while prepping for the night’s dinner service. They kept stealing kisses and whispering to each other—clearly they were lost in their own little world.

That’s how I want to be with Kalis, Jillian thought longingly. If only the big Kindred would stop treating her like she was made of crystal and might shatter at the slightest touch! But ever since the night when he’d found her so horribly wounded and his Ursus had healed her, he seemed almost afraid to touch her because he might break her somehow.

Jillian wondered if that had anything to do with the fact that his Ursus had crushed Brad to death accidentally. He had mentioned several times that he hadn’t meant to do it and had also stated that he hadn’t realized what “fragile creatures” humans were before. So maybe that had something to do with his reluctance to finally finish the bonding process. Jillian didn’t know—she only knew she was going half crazy with wanting him and she was tired of waiting.

But she decided, reluctantly, that she ought to wait just a little while longer—until they were on the same page.

“You know, I’d better not,” she told Suzanne. “I don’t want to force the matter—that’s a bad way to start a new part of our relationship. But I’d still love to try your new chocolates—do you have any that don’t have Bonding Fruit in them?”

“Sure—I have some with passion fruit,” Suzanne told her. “They’re almost as good. Here—let me get some.”

She went off to the pantry and came back with a small box filled with white and dark chocolates.

“These look wonderful—you really got the tempering on the chocolate just right.” Jillian looked at them admiringly. “Which are which?”

“The white chocolate ones are the Bonding Fruit and the dark chocolate are the passion fruit,” Suzanne said promptly. “Try one and tell me what you think.”

“Okay.” Selecting an oval-shaped chocolate as big as her thumb, Jillian bit through the dark chocolate and into the gooey center. At once the flavors of deep dark chocolate and the tangy taste of the center flooded her tongue.

“Well—what do you think?” Suzanne looked at her anxiously.

“Mmmm!”Jillian rolled her eyes back in delight. The dark chocolate was delicious, but the passion fruit center was the best, she decided. It had a tangy sweetness that was addicting. It was also different from any passion fruit she’d ever had—there was an almost buttered popcorn aftertaste that was surprisingly delightful. “Oh my God—so good,” she moaned.

“I’m so glad you like it!” Suzanne smiled.

“Like it? I love it! If the Bonding Fruit chocolates are half as good as the passion fruit ones, the new place is going to be a big hit. Can I have another?” Jillian asked.

Her friend shoved the box at her.

“Help yourself! I’m just so happy you like them—your good opinion means so much to me—especially with anything remotely culinary.”

“Aww, you’re sweet to say so.” Jillian smiled at her friend and helped herself to another chocolate—and then another. “That’s enough,” she said, making herself stop after a fourth. “The centers of these are so intense they’re addicting! You’re going to make a mint, Suze.”

“Thank you.” Suzanne smiled. “I’d better put the rest back for now so we can finish prepping.”

“Yes, put them where I can’t see them so I don’t eat the whole box,” Jillian said, laughing.

Suzanne laughed too, and bustled off to put away the chocolates.

As she went back to prepping that night’s ingredients, Jillian eyed Lor and Lydia again, who were still whispering together. She sighed and hoped that she and Kalis would be as close when they finally got around to bonding…