Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 108211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
No, stop it! You’re doing it again, Cade scolded himself. You have to stop thinking of her like that—you know you can never have her!
Yet he couldn’t seem to stop desiring his curvy charge—it was like the primal part of him wanted her even though he knew having her was impossible.
This constant desire for Andrea made him curse his status as a Hybrid. Having two Kindred parents instead of just one meant that he had almost no chance of being able to bond with a female or start a family with her. It was part of his biology—and also one of the reasons Kindred generally didn’t intermarry, preferring to seek mates from other peoples instead.
Despite the odds against him, Cade had tried to bond with a female once before… and had failed. It had been a painful experience and not one he was willing to repeat. So he kept his distance from his charge as much as he could.
But just because he was able to keep his body in check, didn’t mean his mind would follow suit. He couldn’t seem to help thinking the most salacious thoughts about her every time she was near.
Horny, he thought. That’s what the humans call it—I’m constantly horny around her. I fucking want her all the fucking time!
And the way she was dressed today didn’t help. She was wearing a red dress that wrapped around her full-figured body like a sheath. The top of it was low cut and clinging so tightly to her full breasts he could see the tight little points of her nipples pressing against the red fabric. Was she wearing any undergarments under it? It didn’t seem so to Cade. It came down to her knees but when she sat—as she was sitting now—it rode up to show some of those luscious, thick thighs he couldn’t help looking at, even though he knew he shouldn’t.
It wasn’t just the way she looked that attracted him either—it was her scent. She smelled like a female in need—like she hadn’t been with a male in a long fucking time. And whenever the two of them were close for any period, that scent intensified, making him horny as hell.
Cade thought it was probable that she was simply reacting to his own Bonding Scent, which he was no doubt making because he wanted her so much. Of course, it wasn’t like he could stop making it—it was an involuntary action by his body, which thought he could Bond with Andrea, even though he couldn’t.
In his desperation, Cade had considered proposing what he’d heard humans call a “friends with benefits” type situation, but he wanted more than that. He wanted to be able to Bond Andrea to him and he knew that was never going to be possible. Just having a physical relationship with her wasn’t going to scratch the deep itch he was feeling—it would only make it worse. So he kept his mouth shut and his dirty thoughts to himself.
“Yes, I’m ready.”
Her soft, sweet voice brought him back to reality and he realized he’d drifted off mentally while the long-range shuttle’s engines warmed up.
“Oh, um…right. Then I’ll let them know to fold space,” he said, hoping she couldn’t read the lustful thoughts on his face.
As the shuttle lifted into the air, Cade was certain that if she knew what he was thinking, Andrea would be both offended and horrified. She seemed so innocent to him, though he knew she’d had a fiancé before she’d come to the Mother Ship. They had talked a little about it but she was guarded with the details. Cade didn’t blame her—it was hard to discuss past, failed relationships.
He just wished there was any chance at all for a relationship beyond Protector and charge for the two of them, but he was sure there wasn’t.
He had no idea how dramatically and drastically his relationship to the curvy human scientist was about to change.
3
ANDI
“Oh—there it is,” Andi breathed as the long-range shuttle rose through the atmosphere shield and out of the Docking Bay. The horizontal gash in space always looked like some kind of wound to her, since it was blood red.
“Before we fold space, I need to ask—“ Cade began.
“If I’m pregnant?” Andi asked, a touch impatiently. He asked this every time they went anywhere.
“Well, yes.” He cleared his throat. “You know it’s not safe for a pregnant female to fold space.”
“And you know I’m not pregnant,” Andi said lightly. She frowned at him. “I’ve been reading up on the Kindred and their heightened senses, you know. Wouldn’t you be able to, er, smell it if I was…if I’d been with a guy?”
A low growl rose in Cade’s throat and his golden eyes narrowed.
“Yes, I would—but I wouldn’t fucking like it! I’d have to go track down the son of a bitch and—”