Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 190(@200wpm)___ 152(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 190(@200wpm)___ 152(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
“Well, you were a, er, massive shaft, as you put it.” Kelli tried not to giggle at his phrasing—she sensed this was very important. “So please, do explain.”
“I…” He took a deep breath. “I had a wife, ten years ago. Miranda was her name. I loved her so much.”
He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and Kelli felt her heart throb in her chest. Oh no—she thought she knew what was coming but she didn’t want to interrupt him.
“She came up with the very first Bride Draft,” Klaus went on. “When the Kindred had first come to Earth and all the humans were still scared of us. But not Miranda—she was fearless. And beautiful and kind and…” He shook his head. “Anyway, she…she got sick about ten years into our Bonding. It was cancer—the really fast kind. Kindred medicine can cure most cancers now but back then, human physiology was still new to us and it ate into her so fast…”
“Oh, no. Oh, Klaus, I’m so sorry.” Kelli reached out tentatively to put a hand on his arm. She could feel how tense he was—his muscles were all bunched up.
“It’s okay. It’s been over ten years since I lost her. But you see, after she died, I made a vow—a Sacred Vow before the statue of the Goddess.” He looked up at her. “I vowed I would never take another bride again—that I would never Bond another woman to me.”
Sudden understanding flooded Kelli.
“No wonder you didn’t want to do…the things the Christmas cabin made us do,” she said, nodding sympathetically. “Klaus, please forgive me—I never meant to make you break your vow.”
“No, I’m the one who needs to beg for forgiveness,” he said harshly. “I treated you shamefully, Kelli. I should have explained about the vow, about why I was acting the way I was acting. But it was just…” He squeezed his eyes shut again briefly. “So hard to talk about.”
“Of course it was, I understand.” Kelli nodded. “Thank you for explaining it to me. At least now I know why we can’t…can’t ever be together,” she added, feeling a lump in her throat.
“No, baby—that’s not what I meant at all.” Klaus looked at her earnestly. “See, I went to the Sacred Grove tonight—it’s the first time I’ve been there since I took my vow. And the Goddess…” He cleared his throat. “She spoke to me.”
“She did?” Kelli looked at him with wide eyes. What he was saying was amazing but not crazy. Since moving to the Mother Ship, she’d heard several stories of the Goddess all the Kindred worshiped communing and communicating with her people. She appeared to be a very hands-on deity, which was nice because she seemed to really care about her people.
“She did.” Klaus nodded gravely. “She helped me understand that I made my vow out of hatred…not a real desire to serve her. And she released me of it and told me to replace it with love.”
Kelli felt her heart leap in her chest, but she tried to control it.
“So…you came to me to tell me this because…?” she let the sentence hang.
“Because I fucking love you,” Klaus growled. Reaching out, he took her hands in his. “I think I’ve loved you from the moment we were paired together at work,” he admitted. “But I’ve been trying to keep my distance, because of that damn vow. I probably never would have given in to my feelings for you, if it wasn’t for that fucking cabin.”
Kelli smothered a smile.
“Yes, the Christmas cabin with ulterior motives,” she said.
“So will you forgive me?” Klaus asked earnestly. “Will you give me a chance? I swear I’ll be more open from now on. I’m sorry I was such a massive shaft.”
This time Kelli couldn’t help laughing.
“Yes, of course I forgive you!” she exclaimed. “Because I love you, too.”
“Come here, sunshine.” Klaus reached for her and she found she was in his arms, laughing and crying at the same time because she was so happy.
“Oh, Klaus,” she sighed, snuggling against him as he cradled her in his lap. “I’m so glad you’re free of your vow.”
“Me too, baby. But what are these for?” He cupped her cheek and swiped a thumb under her eye, collecting the moisture that had collected there.
“They’re happy tears, I promise,” Kelli blinked and sniffed. “I just…I was thinking what a sad Christmas this was going to be. And then you showed up and changed everything.”
“Neither one of us is ever going to have to spend Christmas alone again,” he promised. “Because from now on, we have each other.”
Kelli smiled and kissed him…and then the kiss deepened. His mouth tasted like rum and eggnog and a special spice that was just him—just Klaus.
“Mmm, baby…” he growled, kissing her back. “Gods, I missed you so much!”
“I…I missed you too,” Kelli admitted breathlessly. She began pulling at the tight red t-shirt he was wearing. “How fast can you get this off?”