Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 130947 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 655(@200wpm)___ 524(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130947 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 655(@200wpm)___ 524(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
She’d taken an extra long soak to try and calm her nerves and now it was time to get on with it. None of the things Sophie had sent were as fancy as the black lace nighty she’d been wearing when Baird first claimed her, but there were some fairly sexy pieces. Liv had a weakness for hot undies and liked the feel of silk and satin against her skin so there was plenty to choose from.
Tonight she’d chosen a reasonably demure silver-grey satin bra and panties set with a short, matching robe that brought out the color of her eyes and made her skin look extra creamy. However, she’d neglected to tie the robe very tightly—the plan was to let it fall open at a key moment—thus tempting Baird into touching her in a sexual way and breaching the contract.
Just the thought of those big, masculine hands touching and stroking her was enough to make Liv tremble. She just hoped she didn’t forget herself when he started and go too far. Of course, it would help if she knew exactly what too far was. What exactly was bonding sex and would she even know if they had it? She remembered Kat saying it was one step beyond traditional intercourse but how the hell did you go a step beyond having sex? She’d asked Baird for a copy of their contract but the dense legal language was too convoluted to make heads or tails of. It frustrated Liv to no end that she was able to decipher the most obscure medical lingo in a patient’s chart but that legalese made no sense to her.
Should have been a lawyer instead of a nurse, she told herself, positioning her breasts in the satin cups so that the top curve of her areolas was visible on either side. She didn’t want to make it too obvious what she was doing but at the same time, she wanted it to be effective. There was no point in strutting around in revealing underwear if it didn’t accomplish what she wanted it to.
Of course if the silver grey bra and panties set didn’t do the trick, she had other, naughtier outfits in the bag Sophie had sent up. But Liv hoped it didn’t come to that. It would be easier and better all the way around if Baird would just make a pass at her and get it over with.
Judging from the looks he’d been giving her for most of the week, it shouldn’t be too hard to get him to do just that. They’d been spending most of their time in the suite although he had taken her out several times for lunch and supper. There were several surprisingly good Earth restaurants and one of them served a very passable spicy tuna roll and a pretty good cucumber roll as well, not far from their end of the ship.
Liv had been surprised when Baird had signed them up for a sushi making class together after having tasted it for the first time. They had spent a very enjoyable afternoon learning just the right way to make the sticky sushi rice and how to roll it without having the filling come out the ends. Considering how big his hands were, Baird had been surprisingly adept at the delicate process and had claimed to enjoy the results immensely.
“Delicious, Lilenta,” he’d rumbled, starting in on his seventh or eight spicy tuna roll. “Reminds me of a dish we make on Rageron from the larvae of the t’liki bug.”
“Yummy,” Liv, who was still on her first roll, had murmured. “Bug larvae. Remind me to put that right at the top of my must-try list.”
“You should try it to be fair. Didn’t I try solidified cow squeezings for you?” Baird had reminded her.
“Yes, but cheese isn’t bugs,” Liv had objected, fighting not to grin. Despite their differences she couldn’t help liking the big warrior. Which was one thing that made what she was about to do now even harder.
It has to be done, she reminded herself grimly, taking one last look in the mirror and smoothing her hair. You have to get out of here while you still can—one way or another. It was true, despite fighting it as hard as she could, she was growing entirely too fond of Baird. Ever since their first night when he had warned her that she would soon want him as much as he wanted her, he had adopted a much lighter tone. He’d stopped talking about bonding her to him forever and had apparently decided to concentrate on being charming instead. Liv never would have believed that such an intensely alpha male could be light and playful but she had been seeing an entirely different side of Baird lately.
Aside from the sushi class, he’d also taken her to an alien petting zoo where she was able to see and touch animals that were native to the three home worlds of the Kindred and they’d been twice to the Kindred version of a movie theater where the seats were wired to make the viewer feel whatever was happening on the screen. He’d also taken her to a musical performance where the musicians played giant drums bigger than themselves and tiny flutes smaller than her pinky finger. The music had been surprisingly beautiful—the melodies sweet and haunting and Liv had been moved.