Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Grath closed his eyes for a moment as regret filled him.
Gods, Ar’leenah…I’m so sorry…
She had been the female who was meant for him—or so he thought. The tingle that ran from her slim hand, right up his arm to his heart when he touched her had told him so. But he was a Hybrid—a triple Hybrid at that, since his Mother had been pure Blood Kindred but his Father was half Beast Kindred and half En’fuego or Flame Kindred.
The odds against any kind of Hybrid being able to form a bond with a female were slim to none and the odds of a triple Hybrid like Grath, who had the characteristics of not one, not two, but three different branches of the Kindred family tree were vanishingly nonexistent.
But his father had beaten the odds, so Grath had thought he might be lucky, too. He had believed the tingle or “sign” which a Flame Kindred warrior sometimes received when he touched the right female, meant he too could have a successful bonding. He had pursued Ar’leenah—who was a Blood Kindred female—with everything he had, and eventually she had agreed to bond with him.
Grath supposed he should have expected what came next, but he had been so sure of himself—so arrogant in his love that it had taken him completely by surprise. So when their bonding failed, hurting them both in the process, he had been both shocked and horrified.
A failed bonding is a painful thing—a psychic scar on the heart that never completely heals. After such a disaster, the Kindred male and the female involved almost always part ways. They simply can’t stand to be around each other, since every time they touch, they get an echo of the failed bond, like reopening a dangerous and painful wound.
Ar’leenah had moved to the other side of Tranq Prime, the Blood Kindred home world, and Grath had come to the Mother Ship to try and forget his past. For a time, he had been successful, but then he had entered the Protector program. He hadn’t entertained any notion of trying to find love—he’d just liked the idea of traveling around the galaxy, exploring new planets.
But then he was assigned to Dr. Porter—to Madeline. And he’d felt that treacherous little tingle again, the moment they touched…
Why did it have to be her? Why couldn’t I be assigned to a female I wasn’t so fucking attracted to—to one my body didn’t yearn for every damn time I’m near her, every time I smell her sweet scent and watch her gorgeous curves. The way her full hips sway as she walks…
Grath shook his head, trying to clear it. The truth was, he was so fucking attracted to the little human female it hurt. But he was determined never to show it—never to let himself get close enough to start anything. He’d taken a vow never to try to bond a female to him again—he didn’t intend to break it and repeat the mistake he’d made with Ar’leenah. So he kept Madeline at an arm’s length, which seemed to irritate her greatly.
Well, he had been keeping her at an arm’s length, anyway, Grath reminded himself ruefully. But now he’d just agreed to bring her closer. Because there was no way they could fool her family into thinking they wanted to be Joined and bonded without him touching her, at least a little.
This doesn’t have to be a big deal, Grath tried to reassure himself. I’m a fucking adult—I can put my arm around her and call her those sweet nicknames the humans are so fond of without losing control or breaking my vow never to try and bond a female to me again.
He hoped, anyway. Because every part of him wanted her—ached for her—which was going to make this fucking hard. When he was near her, the fangs from his Blood Kindred heritage got sharper and he longed to bite her and inject his essence. The Mating Fist at the base of his shaft—a part from his Beast Kindred side—throbbed, longing to fill her and bond the two of them together. And he could feel his internal temperature rising as the part of him that was Flame Kindred longed to bring her close enough to be protected by his flames.
Not that he had any flames though, Grath reminded himself. Since he was only a quarter Flame Kindred, he’d never had a “flame up” before. The most he could manage was to produce extra heat when he concentrated—which at least meant he was never chilly. Even in the freezing temperatures of the icy Tranq Prime, where it was so dangerously cold everyone lived in underground grottos, he could comfortably stand outside in a howling ice storm and never lose even a degree of body heat.
It was an excellent power to have if you lived somewhere like Tranq Prime, Grath thought wryly, but not much use aboard the Mother Ship, where the temperature was regulated and moderate year-round. He wondered how cold or hot it would be on Earth, when he visited with Madeline. He really ought to ask her before he packed, he supposed. Though it would be awkward having a face-to-face conversation that didn’t involve the two of them sniping at each other the way Grath made sure they did, so he could keep some emotional distance between them.