Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“Yes—a connection,” he sent, speaking mentally and keeping his mouth closed. “Do you feel it? Like a kind of golden cord tying us together?” He pictured a shimmering rope in his mind and sent the image to her.
“A golden cord?” she sent back, apparently using their new mental connection without thinking. “Wait a minute—why can I hear your voice in my head?” she added aloud, looking at him. “Or did I? Am I going crazy? Does sex with a Kindred make you lose your mind?”
“You’re not crazy, baby—we Bonded when I knotted you,” Styx told her. “My people have an ability to form a lifelong Soul Bond with the right female.”
“The right female? But I’m not the right female!” Ketha exclaimed. She began to struggle in his lap, trying to get free of him. “Our old butler, Speaks Softly, told me about Soul Bonds!” she exclaimed. “He claimed they were completely unbreakable!”
“That’s true, except by death,” Styx growled. “Hold still, little girl—my knot will release in a minute.”
“No—I need to get up now!” with a convulsive move, she finally managed to tear herself away from him. The result was a gush of his seed down her inner thighs. He had really filled her.
Styx felt the loss of contact immediately but her reaction to their Bonding worried him more than that.
“Look, we need to calm down and be rational about this,” he sent to her through their new link, trying to make his mental voice soothing. “We have a lot to consider—like where we’re going to live. Because I’m damn sure not going back to Yonnie Six!”
“Where we’re going to live? Are you crazy?” Ketha demanded. “I’m going back home to Opulex and you’re going to live here—or wherever you call home. But we’re not going to live together!”
Her words cut him but Styx tried not to show it.
“We’re Bonded now,” he pointed out, trying to make her understand. “We should find a place that’s good for both of us and live together. A Soul Bond doesn’t react well when the two people who are Bonded are separated.”
“I don’t care about that—I didn’t come here looking to form any long-lasting commitment or deep connection!” Ketha exclaimed. “I came here to get bred—to get pregnant. That’s all.”
“So that’s all I am to you? Just a fucking baby-making machine?” Styx growled, glaring at her.
She threw up her hands.
“I can’t believe we’re having this conversation! I have to go.”
“Look, baby…” Styx tucked himself back into his trousers and rose to stand in front of her. “Just think about it a minute,” he told her. “Just let yourself feel.”
“Feel what?” She was already gathering her things. She left the ruined panties on the ground but picked up the gray cloak she’d dropped and wrapped it securely around herself.
“Feel the connection between us—feel the Bond!” Styx sent through their new mental link. “If you’ll just stop a minute and let yourself—”
“I have to go!” she interrupted. “And stop talking inside my head!”
“But—” Styx began.
However, Ketha didn’t wait to hear what he had to say. She was headed for the door of his ship as fast as she could go. Clearly now that he’d given her his seed, she didn’t want anything else to do with him. He’d been nothing but a one-night stand for him—a momentary hook-up—and now she was throwing him away like trash.
“That’s not true!” she shouted over her shoulder and he realized he must have been sending his thoughts unintentionally. She whirled around to face him once more. “Or it is true but I’m not ‘throwing you away like trash!’ I came here so we could use each other—not so we could form a lifelong connection and live happily ever after!”
“That’s too fucking bad,” Styx growled. “Because we’re fucking Bonded.”
“I don’t care!” Ketha pointed a finger at him. “Just leave me alone and stay away from me, all right? I never should have come here—I can see that now. Well don’t worry, because I’ll never bother you again!”
Then she turned and slapped the door panel, causing it to slide open. Before Styx could say another word, she was marching out of the ship and headed out of his life forever.
14
KETHA
Oh my Goddess—this is crazy—absolutely crazy! I never should have come here! What the hell is wrong with him, talking about how the two of us are Bonded like we’re going to set up house together and get married or Joined or something! I can’t be Joined to a man! I’m a Yonnite Mistress!
The distressed thoughts ran over and over on a loop in Ketha’s mind as she hurriedly punched the coordinates for home into her nav-com. She couldn’t get away from the space station fast enough. The whole encounter with the big Kindred had gone extremely well at first…and then ended disastrously.
But isn’t he right—don’t you feel some kind of connection? whispered a little voice in her head. A longing to be with him—to stay with him? To let him hold you and call you “baby?”