Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88235 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88235 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Chain nodded. “Thanks for holding onto it for me. I’m sorry it brought trouble to your doorstep, though. I’m afraid your living area is a mess now.”
“My living room you mean? Let me see.”
She got off the bed rather shakily and nearly fell before Chain caught her.
“Let me,” he said, lifting her into his arms easily and cradling her to his chest. Gods, he liked holding her! Liked everything about the curvy little Elite, honestly.
“Oh!” she exclaimed breathlessly. “You don’t really have to do that—don’t have to carry me, I mean. It can’t be good for your back.”
Chain frowned.
“I don’t understand why you’re so worried about my back. You’re not at all heavy.”
“That’s not what my ex-husband said,” she muttered, looking away. “But thanks, I guess.”
“He must have been a weak male with no stamina,” Chain remarked contemptuously as he carried her through the hall and into the living area. “You say he is your ‘ex’? Meaning he is no longer your mate? Did he die?”
“No.” She sighed. “He left me for his secretary—for another woman,” she explained, clearly seeing Chain’s confusion at the Earth term. “She’s pregnant now and having his baby. In fact, she’s probably already had it by now.” She shrugged. “I don’t keep up with them anymore.”
Though she tried to be casual, Chain could see the hurt in her lovely green eyes. He shook his head.
“That’s something I don’t understand about humans—the way you can just leave one mate and go to another.”
“Kindred can’t?” she asked, clearly curious.
Chain shook his head.
“No, when we bond, it’s for life. If we can find someone to bond with.” He sighed. “Your ex-mate is a fool. Leaving the woman the Goddess sent to him is like throwing away a priceless gift.”
“Well…thanks.” She ducked her head shyly. “He didn’t seem to see it that way, though. Oh…” She was staring in dismay at the mess in the large room. “Wow—they really tore the place apart!”
“I’ll help you fix it,” Chain offered, feeling guilty. “It’s my fault the Varians came after you in the first place. Here—let me just sit you down and you tell me what to do.”
He placed her carefully on the one undamaged chair and got to work on the rest of the room. The drapes he was able to hang back up with her direction, though they were a bit ragged and torn. And he was able to mend the cushions with his blaster set on low, to melt their plasti-leather coverings back together after pushing the stuffing back inside.
“Wow, that’s amazing,” Victoria watched with interest as he worked. “How are you doing that?”
“It’s not hard—and it’s the least I can do after the trouble I brought on you,” Chain told her. “I’m sorry I can’t fix your window-covers the same way but I fear the fabric would only burn if I tried to fuse it back together.”
“That’s all right—I’ve been wanting to change them anyway.” She stood and took a wobbly step towards the bookcase. “I’ll put back the books while you finish with the cushions.”
Chain frowned, thinking she looked unsteady on her feet.
“Be careful.”
“I’m okay—just a little weak,” Victoria said. “I’m sure I’ll feel like myself in a minute. The alien paralyzing ray has almost worn off completely.” She shook her head. “Now there’s a sentence I never expected to hear coming out of my mouth. God, this has been a weird night!”
“Not exactly what you were expecting when you decided to go for a drink with the male who never showed, hmm?” Chain asked, smiling.
She gave him a wry smile back. “No, not exactly.”
Chain nodded, watching her as she bent to pick up the books the Varian scout had tossed aside and slide them back into the bookshelf. Damn, she looked fine in his red cloak—especially since he knew how lush and naked she was under it. When she bent over to pick up the books, her ass was outlined just right by the clinging crimson fabric—it was enough to make a male weak in the knees! To distract himself, he said,
“So you have a male who never showed and an ex-mate.”
Victoria looked over her shoulder at him sharply.
“Yes, why?” she asked, frowning.
“Well, I was just wondering if there are any other males around?” Chain asked, though his nose told him no males lived in this domicile and hadn’t for a quite a while.
“Well, no—why do you ask?” She looked at him suspiciously.
Chain frowned. “I just wanted to know if you have anyone to protect you if the Varians come back.”
“Come back?” Her eyes widened and she put a hand to her breasts. “But…but I thought you killed both of them. Er…disintegrated them.” She looked with distaste at the greasy black spot on her carpet.
“Oh, I did,” Chain said, shrugging innocently as he placed the last cushion back on the couch and bent to straighten the small table which had been flipped over. “But you never can tell if they sent out a homing beacon or not when they got to your planet. I’d hate for them to come back and find you all alone here with no male for protection.”