Chapter Seven
“Okay now, come on, let’s talk.” The minute the big Kindred disappeared, and before Kate could protest, Mimi was dragging her back to the master bedroom. When she opened the door, some of the cats were lying on the bed while others paced around the room restlessly.
“Oh! What is everybody doing in here?” Mimi stared at them blankly.
“Sorry. They don’t like Rone.” Kate sighed and plopped down on the side of the bed. Immediately, St. John, a huge, black Persian-mix came and settled on her lap. She stroked him absently as she talked. “They all hissed at him when we came in the door.”
“They did?” Mimi sat beside her and immediately gained two cats of her own, which came to see if there was any food and decided to stay and be petted.
“Uh-huh.” Kate nodded. “He says cats never like him. He even told me my mom’s cat, Mr. Sissykins, hated him. And then…then he told me that when the cat died he helped me bury it and that I cried because it was right after my…my mom passed away and…”
“Wait.” Mimi stopped stroking one of the cats in her lap and put a hand on Kate’s shoulder. “I thought you told me you didn’t remember how your mom died.”
“I don’t. And I don’t remember her funeral, either. Or losing Mr. Sissykins—it’s all part of that three year memory gap I told you about. But this guy…he seems to know everything. Seems to know all about me!” She shook her head. “It’s just…weird.”
“It’s normal if he’s your husband.” Mimi looked at her seriously. “Is he? I mean, is he telling you the truth, do you think?”
“I don’t see how he could be lying. You saw all those pictures he has—pictures of our wedding and honeymoon and all these places we’ve traveled around the universe. God, Mimi…” Kate ran a hand through her hair. “It’s like…like he knew some other girl. Some girl who looks just like me and who had an amazing, adventurous life. But I don’t know her—and I don’t know this life he’s talking about. It’s so strange.”
“But if it’s true it sounds like it might be wonderful.” Mimi leaned forward, beaming. “Maybe you should give him a chance.”
“What—just leave and go with him up to the Mother Ship? If that’s really where he’s planning on taking me?” Kate demanded.
“Kate, come on…” Mimi took her hand and squeezed. “Use your gift. What does it tell you? Does this guy mean you any harm?”
“Well…” Kate frowned. On one hand, the Knowing had warned her that Rone had a Beast inside. On the other hand, he seemed to have it completely under control—he had even said he would never let it all the way out around her. And if she had really lived with him for three years it must not be a danger to her. “I don’t think he wants to hurt me,” she said slowly. “He could if he wanted to but he won’t. That’s my gut feeling.”
“Then you should go with your gut,” Mimi said decisively. “Look, Kate—the whole time you’ve been with me, you’ve been wondering what happened to you. Where you came from. What happened during those three years you can’t remember. Now this gorgeous guy shows up, telling you that he’s your husband and shows you all kinds of un-fakeable pictures to prove it. It’s clear he’s in love with you and he’s been out of his mind with worry for you. So what’s the problem? Why aren’t you jumping to go with him?”
“Because…” Kate shifted uncomfortably. “Because of the way I feel when I’m near him—especially when I touch him. I mean, my heart starts pounding, my hands start sweating, I feel like I can’t get a deep enough breath—like someone is squeezing my lungs closed. It’s awful.”
Mimi frowned. “That is strange. I didn’t feel anything like that when he…uh, when he hugged me.” She blushed rosy red again. “Look, I don’t want to sound like I’m trying to take your man but did you notice he smells amazing?”
“No, I didn’t,” Kate said shortly. “Every time I get close enough to smell him I feel like I’m going to crawl out of my skin with panic. You know I actually shot him at the mall? That’s how freaked out he makes me.”
“You what?” Mimi stared at her. “You shot at your own husband?”
“I didn’t know he was my husband at the time!” Kate protested. “Anyway, that’s why he has his shirt off. I was treating the bullet wound—from a safe distance, that is.”
Mimi’s brown eyes widened. “Bullet wound? You mean you actually hit him? I thought maybe he was half undressed because you guys were, uh… She cleared her throat in obvious embarrassment. “Having a little reunion.”
“No, absolutely not,” Kate said flatly. “I was treating his wound—not that there is one, anymore. He healed right up as soon as I cleaned it out with hydrogen peroxide.”
“Wow—that’s amazing!”
“It was pretty cool to watch,” Kate conceded. “It healed up right in front of my eyes.” She sighed. “Then I touched him to see if it was really healed and the skin-to-skin contact flipped me out. I jumped across the room so fast it probably looked like my hair was on fire and my ass was catching.”
Mimi giggled. “Kate, you crack me up. But is it really that bad?”
“It’s really that bad,” Kate said grimly. “Of course, Rone—that’s his name in case you didn’t catch it—thinks it has something to do with the thing that made me forget everything in the first place. That’s why he’s wanting to take me up to the Mother Ship.”
“Well,” Mimi said thoughtfully. “I can certainly understand why it would be hard to go with him when just being near him gives you a panic attack. But if they can cure that on the Mother Ship and maybe give you back your memory too, well, wouldn’t it be worth a little discomfort just until you got there?”
“I guess so,” Kate said reluctantly. “But what about my job? I’m supposed to work tomorrow.”
“Kate…” Mimi gave her a level look. “Will you listen to yourself? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life working at a jewelry store? I mean, with a gift like yours, you could be doing so much more.”
Kate couldn’t help remembering that she’d been thinking the exact same thing herself earlier that night, while she was trying to sell the extremely hairy customer his Rolex. Thinking of that, made her wonder if everyone else in the store was all right…and what the authorities must think.
“What about the police? They’re going to want to know what happened. And I want to know if everyone else is okay. Rosalie and my customer…”
“The other clerk and the customer are fine—not a scratch on them,” Mimi said firmly. “I gathered that much before I heard you’d been abducted. The guy robbing your store got shot in the neck but the police think the guy who abducted you—er, your husband, I mean—they think he did it.”
Kate sighed. “Of course. Because why would a sweet-looking little thing like me have a gun or know how to use it?”
“You’re lucky that’s what they think,” Mimi said. “And anyway, forget about them. If they come looking for you, I’ll tell them you’re a Kindred bride and your husband came for you. He thought the robber was attacking you so he retaliated.”
“Well, that’s pretty much what happened aside from the fact that I was the one with the gun,” Kate said grudgingly.
“See? So it’s going to be fine. And you know they don’t mess with the Kindred—those guys have diplomatic immunity in every freaking country in the world,” Mimi pointed out. “So there’s no reason for you not to go.”
“Except one…” Kate squeezed her friend’s hand. “I don’t like to admit it but Mimi, I’m scared. Not just because of the panic feelings I get when I’m with him. I’m scared of losing this…of losing you and this whole life. It’s all begun to seem so normal to me. It’s hard to give that up and go flying off into the unknown with some guy I’ve never met before—even if he is my husband, you know?”
“Of course it’s scary,” Mimi said gently. “But you’re brave, Kate—one of the bravest people I’ve ever met. I know you won’t let fear stand in the way of finding your happiness. You don’t belong here—not really. I’ve known it from the moment I found you.”
“I guess not,” Kate admitted. As much as she loved Mimi and felt grateful to her, she had to admit that the past six months she’d been in a kind of holding pattern. It was like she was waiting for something or for someone. Like she was waiting for Rone? She didn’t know.
“You need to go out and find yourself—find out about your past so you can plan your future. And you know…” Mimi gave Kate a reassuring smile. “If you don’t like what you find, you can come back here anytime you want. You’ll always have a place with me—you know that, right?”
“I know.” Kate felt tears stinging her eyes. She leaned forward and gave her friend a big hug which dislodged all the cats from both their laps. They jumped to the floor, hissing indignantly, but neither girl paid them any attention. “You’re an amazing friend, you know that?” Kate whispered.
“I know.” Mimi gave a sobbing little laugh. “I should know—you tell me all the time.”
“Because it’s true.” Kate pulled back with a sigh and swiped at her eyes. “All right,” she said, lifting her chin. “I’ll do it. I’ll go to the Mother Ship.”
“Be sure you call me as soon as you get there,” Mimi said anxiously. “I want to know you’re okay.”
“I promise,” Kate said, smiling. “Okay, help me pack.”
Chapter Eight
“I’m glad you decided to come with me.” Rone cast her a sidelong glance as he angled his shuttle in towards the docking bay of the huge Kindred Mother Ship.
“Mmm-hmm,” Kate murmured noncommittally. She had been mostly silent through their trip from Earth to the Kindred vessel and Rone had decided not to press her to talk. Thanks to his heightened Wulven senses, he’d heard much of her conversation with her friend and knew that he owned Mimi more than one debt of gratitude. In addition to sheltering Kate all this time, she’d also convinced his very reluctant mate to take a chance and come with him.
I’ll have to send her flowers, he thought. Once I get things settled with Kate.
If he got things settled. The longer his mate went without remembering her former life and the more she flinched away from him if he got even a millimeter too close, the more worried Rone became.
This is fixable, he told himself firmly. Stop obsessing over it and do something about it.
He fully intended to. He had notified Commander Sylvan, who in addition to being the Kindred High Chancellor, was also the best doctor aboard the Mother Ship. Sylvan had graciously agreed to meet them and examine Kate on the spot as soon as they docked.
Rone just hoped the problem could be found and fixed quickly. The hunger inside him was building…but maybe that was a good thing. It proved that their bond wasn’t completely dissolved—only buried or blurred—didn’t it? Rone certainly hoped so. It had been over six solar months since he had last touched or tasted his mate and he was in desperate need of contact with her.
He wondered if Kate felt the same. It was true that the hunger mostly affected Wulven males but sometimes their mates could experience it too, especially if the bond between them was strong.
Kate had experienced it in the past, when they’d been separated for a few days on a case. Rone could still remember how desperately she’d thrown herself into his arms when they finally came back together.
“Oh, God, Rone,” she’d moaned in his ear as he held her. “I need you in me—need you so bad.”
They had stripped as soon as they got back to the privacy of their own ship, The Finder, and had spent hours touching and tasting each other and making love before the hunger finally abated.
Now, Rone had no such outlet. He was burning for his mate but Kate wanted nothing to do with him. For that, though, he couldn’t blame her. He didn’t know why she had a panic response every time he got near her but he hoped that problem, as well as her faulty memory, could be corrected by Kindred medicine.
“Well, here we are—the Mother Ship,” he said as they descended into the docking bay. “Commander Sylvan—the doctor I told you about—will be here to meet us and examine you. After that, they’ve promised to have our regular suite ready for us.”
“Our regular suite? As in, we’ll be sharing a room…and a bed?” Kate shot him a look which was more than a little fearful.
Rone felt his heart twist at her fear but he tried to speak casually.
“That is usually what it means. But don’t worry, Kate—I’d never ask you to give anything you weren’t willing or ready to give. We don’t have to share the bed.”
She nodded, looking relieved.
“So, if we have a regular suite does it mean that we, uh, come here often?”
“Not until recently,” Rone told her as he completed the landing sequence. “We were working on a case—trying to track an Earth girl who had been abducted by a Beast Kindred. We did find her but it turned out she was in no danger—in fact, she got Joined to the one who had taken her. It was the trap which was set for her that you fell into when you sniffed those damn Dream Blooms.” His hands clenched tight around the steering yoke. “If only I’d been faster—if only I’d been able to stop you—”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it.” Kate extended one small hand as though to pat his thigh, then drew back abruptly. “I mean…” She shifted nervously. “I’m fine and you found me and maybe this Commander Sylvan guy can help. Right?”
“I pray to the Goddess he can,” Rone said seriously. “Look—there he is now.” He gestured at the viewscreen which showed a tall Kindred warrior with spiky blond hair and ice blue eyes coming towards their little shuttle. He was wearing the tight black leather flight trousers all Kindred males wore as well as a light blue uniform shirt made of heavy, satin-like material which denoted him as a Blood Kindred. Beside him was a pleasant-looking Earth female with long brown hair and green eyes.
Both of them were smiling when Rone popped the hatch and got out. He stood aside to allow Kate to disembark.
It was a long jump from the side of the shuttle to the metal floor below and he saw Kate eyeing it uncertainly. In the past, he had always lifted her down, making a joke about her diminutive height as he did and earning either a kiss or a playful slap on his chest, depending on what mood Kate was in. She was actually quite sensitive about her tiny stature and tended to take offense if anyone else suggested she was too small or fragile to do something. But with Rone, it was different. She loved their size difference, loved cuddling in his arms and allowing him to sweet talk her and baby her…
No more though, Rone saw with sorrow. He wanted to lift her up and swing her down to the metal floor of the docking bay as he always did but this time he didn’t dare. Instead, he extended a hand.
“Kate,” he said in a low voice. “I know this is hard for you but if you need a little help getting down…”
She recoiled from his hand ever so slightly.
“Thanks, but I think I can manage.” Her voice was tight and her smile didn’t reach her eyes. Rone stepped back, giving her space and watched her scramble down on her own. Seeing the fear on her face when he got too close just about gutted him. He had to close his eyes and take a deep breath to master himself before he could turn to the approaching Kindred commander.
“Commander Sylvan,” he said formally, nodding at the other male. “Allow me to present my mate. You, er, already know her but I’m afraid she doesn’t remember you. Or me either, for that matter.”
“So you told me when you called.” Sylvan came forward and offered a hand to Kate. She shook it firmly, as was the Earth custom, and tried to smile.
“Hi there, I’m Kate. It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry I don’t remember you.”
“That’s quite all right,” Sylvan said gravely. “Hopefully we can remedy your memory problem. And may I present my mate, Sophia.”
Kate turned to the other woman with a tentative smile.
“Nice to meet you. Am, uh, I supposed to know you too?”
Sylvan’s mate laughed, a warm, comforting sound that Rone found soothing.
“No, don’t worry about that! I never got to meet you because my twins keep me so busy. But they’re in day care right now and Sylvan thought it would be nice for you to see another female face. All these Kindred guys can be so big and imposing.”
“Thank you for coming.” Kate looked grateful. “They can be a bit much.”
“Don’t I know it! I was scared to death of Sylvan when I first met him…but he grew on me after a while.” Sophia gave her mate a smile which he returned with one of his own.
Seeing their easy affection made Rone’s heart ache.
“You said you would examine Kate as soon as we got to the Mother Ship,” he reminded Sylvan abruptly, his voice coming out harsher than he had intended. “Please, Commander, if you wouldn’t mind…”
“Of course not. Come right this way.” Sylvan nodded at Kate who was eyeing him uncertainly.
“Uh…what exactly are you planning to do to me? I’m not really wild about medical procedures. I had enough of them when I was younger to last me a lifetime.”
“Nothing painful or invasive, I promise you,” Sylvan said gently. He gave his mate a meaningful look and Sophia came forward quickly.
“Have you ever had an MRI?” she asked genially, hooking her arm through Kate’s.
Kate sighed. “Many times. I had a, uh, medical condition when I was a kid. A problem with my spine—I’ve been in too many MRI machines to count.”
“Okay, well Sylvan has a machine that’s kind of like the MRI scanner,” Sophia told her. “Only it’s way more comfortable and it gives a lot more information. But it won’t hurt a bit—I swear.”
She and Kate walked ahead, their heads together as they talked. Rone hung back a bit, giving them room as he and Commander Sylvan followed. When he was sure his mate was out of earshot, he turned to the other male.
“Sylvan, please tell me you can help us. Kate doesn’t remember anything. Even showing her holo-images of our past did nothing to jog her memory. And, she…she…” His throat worked and he had a hard time getting the words out. “She fears me. Any time I get too close to her, it seems to cause a panic response.”
“Hmm…I suppose that could be a side-effect of the Dream Blooms,” Commander Sylvan mused. “Though the expert I consulted said nothing about it. Still, we’ll know soon enough.”
“You think you’ll be able to tell from the scans you’re running on Kate?” Rone asked.
“Possibly but I think it’s far more likely that we’ll find out when we test the flowers from the bouquet your mate sniffed.”
“You have the Dream Blooms?” Rone was surprised. “Here? On the Mother Ship?”
Sylvan nodded gravely. “I contacted the temple on Rageron a little while back and asked that they be put in stasis and sent here. They just arrived a bit before you did—they’re in the lab right now being analyzed.”
Rone was impressed. “I can’t thank you enough for thinking of that.”
“I was not acting only for your benefit,” Sylvan said. “I felt that we needed to know as much as possible about the Dark Kindred, Two, and the way he works. In setting this trap for the female who will be, according to the Seeing, the mother of a new race of Kindred, he has proven that he is willing to go to great lengths to harm us. I do not believe we can ignore the threat he poses.”
“Very true,” Rone said. “But I’m still glad you have the blossoms. Maybe the lab analysis will show some answers as to why Kate is so frightened of me—why I can’t touch her.” He clenched his hands into fists. “Even the most minor skin-to-skin contact makes her panic.”
“So you cannot touch her at all?” Sylvan frowned. “That’s very serious for a Wulven Kindred and his mate. How is your hunger?” He nodded, when he saw the look of surprise on Rone’s face. “Oh yes, I know all about it. I make it my business to know everything I possibly can about my patients before I treat them.”
“Well, technically Kate is the patient, not me,” Rone pointed out uncomfortably. The hunger was a very personal issue—one a Wulven would normally only discuss with his mate.
“She won’t be the only patient soon if we are unable to restore her memory and lessen her fear of you,” Sylvan said sternly. “Her problems directly affect you. It has already been six solar months since you last touched your mate so I ask you again, Brother—how is your hunger? You need have no shame in telling me—I have only your welfare at heart.”
Rone sighed heavily. “I’m burning,” he admitted in a low voice. “It’s not very fucking pleasant but I’ll be all right for a little while longer.”
Sylvan nodded. “And your Beast?”
“In control,” Rone said tightly. “I would not come aboard the Mother Ship or allow myself to be in such close proximity to the female I love otherwise.”
“Of course not. Forgive me.”
Rone shook his head. “Nothing to forgive. I don’t blame you for asking—I know how many of the other Kindred look at Wulvens. You’re very tolerant to even allow me to board the ship in this condition.”
“I’m trusting you,” Sylvan said evenly. “I know that the hunger makes your Beast restless but I trust you to control it.”
Rone lifted his head. “I have never once had an uncontrolled change,” he said. “And I don’t plan to start now.”
“Good, I believe you,” Sylvan said. “Is there anything else you want to tell me before I begin my examination of Kate?”
“Only that our bond…” Rone pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to think how to put it. “Our bond,” he tried again. “It seems to be broken. Or if not broken, then almost completely buried somehow. At any rate, it’s totally inaccessible. I can’t bespeak Kate and she cannot bespeak me. It’s almost as if we were never bonded in the first place.”
“That is very strange and troubling,” Sylvan said, looking worried. “I can only imagine how painful it must be to have your mate right in front of you and be unable to touch her either mentally or physically.”
“Very fucking painful,” Rone assured him in a low growl. “Which is why I really hope you can give me some answers soon.”
“I hope so too,” Sylvan said quietly. “And I assure you we will do everything in our power. But in the meantime, you might consider a trip to the Sacred Grove. One of the priestesses there may be able to cool your blood.”
“I will…consider it.” Rone nodded grudgingly. He didn’t like to ask for help of the priestesses—they often wanted to “see into” a male before agreeing to help. It was a painful, invasive process not unlike mental exploratory surgery. But if there was no other way to cool his blood and ease the growing hunger, he might have to resort to it.
Sylvan seemed to understand his reluctance.
“It’s not a pleasant experience but sometimes it is necessary,” he said quietly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get Kate’s scan started.”
* * * * *
“Well…the good news is we didn’t find any tumors or masses or abnormalities of any kind,” the blond Kindred doctor said.
“I think I hear a ‘but’ coming up,” Kate said. She was sitting on the gurney attached to the complex scanning machine which seemed to consist of a vast, round glass bubble filled with swirling colored vapors. Sylvan had explained that the vapors “read” the brain waves and formed pictures of the anatomy at the same time.
Even more interesting, he had told her the colored vapors were sentient creatures the Kindred had discovered on one of their many missions to find new genetic trade partners. Of course, they couldn’t form a trade with beings so very unlike themselves, but the sentient vaporous gasses were intelligent and extremely curious. Many had agreed to come with the Kindred in exchange for a constant flow of new information and stimulation. It was a symbiotic relationship on both sides and it made for a much more comfortable scan than the ones she’d endured back on Earth.
Kate vividly remembered the grinding and clanking of the MRI machines she’d been subjected to when she was younger, as well as the tight, confined space she’d been shoved into. It was a claustrophobic’s worst nightmare—being shut up in a tight, dark tube while your ears were assaulted by a noise as loud as a freight train bearing down on you.
The Kindred’s scanner was nothing like that—the sentient vapors made a soft, musical humming that was very soothing and the space inside the scanner was light and airy. All Kate had to do was lie still inside the vast glass ball, watch the swirling colors go by, and listen to their gentle music. It was so relaxing she had almost fallen asleep and she was rather sorry when it was over.
In fact, the only thing she didn’t like about the whole experience was that the hospital gown she had to wear opened at the back. She was always self-conscious when she had to wear anything that showed her scars so she’d done her best to wrap the gown around herself, hiding almost everything.
Now she was sitting alertly on the edge of the gurney, waiting to hear what was wrong with her. But according to Doctor Sylvan the answer was…nothing.
“So?” she said again when he didn’t answer immediately. “You didn’t find any tumors but what’s the bad news?”
“Well, that’s both the good news and the bad news. Believe it or not, a brain tumor isn’t a bad thing to us—we have very advanced surgical techniques to treat even the most stubborn growth.” Sylvan sighed. “Finding a mass in your brain would have explained everything and it would have been an easy fix—for us, anyway.” He shrugged. “We knew it was a long shot but it was necessary to rule out even the possibility of a physical abnormality before looking for other answers.”
“So if there’s no physical problem wrong with my brain, what’s causing my memory loss? And the way…” Kate cleared her throat uneasily, glad that Rone was in the other room, outside the glass wall between the scanner and the control area. “And the way I feel when I get too close to Rone?” she finished, in a low voice. “Is it those, flowers he says I sniffed?”
Sylvan spread his hands. “We don’t know. We’re analyzing the Dream Blooms you smelled which started this in the first place. Hopefully we’ll find some answers there. In the meantime, you don’t have to hang around here. You’re free to get dressed and go back to your suite to wait.”
“Um…okay, but I don’t know where that is,” Kate pointed out.
“Of course you don’t—I’m sorry.” Sylvan shook his head. “Forgive me for forgetting you don’t know your way around the Mother Ship anymore.”
“Is Sophia still around?” Kate asked hopefully. “Maybe she could show me.”
“I’m afraid she had to go pick up our twins from the day care,” Sylvan said gently. “But Rone can show you the way, I’m sure.”
“Right, of course,” Kate said tightly. She wrapped her arms around herself and squeezed, trying to calm her nerves. Although she knew the big Kindred was supposed to be her husband, she still didn’t want to spend any more time alone with him than she had to. That panicky feeling she got when he was too close was so uncomfortable.
Sylvan seemed to know what she was thinking because he leaned down and looked at her directly.
“I don’t understand the reason you feel the way you do when you’re around Rone, Kate, but I do know that he loves you with his whole heart. He would die before he would hurt you.”
“I know that.” Kate shifted again. Of course she knew cognitively he wouldn’t hurt her. But when every nerve in her body was on high alert and every instinct was shouting that she was in danger, that she had to run, it was hard to remember that she was actually okay.
“You’ll be all right.” Sylvan patted her shoulder reassuringly. “We’ll get to the bottom of this—I promise.”
“Okay. Thanks, I guess. Um…how is Rone taking it?” She looked at the tall figure of the Kindred warrior on the other side of the glass again. To her discomfort, she saw that he was looking back at her. Hastily, Kate dropped her eyes.
“He’s worried,” Sylvan said candidly. “But I think it’s better if you speak to him directly. I’ll send him in and blank the window so you can dress.”
“Oh, uh…” Kate wanted to tell him not to but then she realized it would look like she was avoiding the big Kindred. “Okay,” she ended weakly.
Sylvan nodded and walked out the door of the scan room. For a moment Kate could see him speaking to Rone and then the glass connecting window went black and the tall Kindred with the piercing blue eyes came in.
“Hello. How was the scan?” He was holding the bundle of clothing she’d taken off earlier, when she was getting into the hospital gown. He started to hand it to her, then placed it on the gurney beside her instead.
“Fine. Not bad at all.” Kate could feel her gut twisting at his proximity but she tried to keep her face impassive. “Nothing like the MRIs I had when I was a kid.”
“I’m glad it didn’t bother you.” He looked at her legs, dangling far above the ground as she sat perched on the side of the gurney. “Would you like some help to get down?”
Kate thought of the way her heart had nearly burst when his big, warm hand covered hers back at the mall.
“No, thank you,” she said quickly. “I can manage myself—I’m used to being short.”
“But—”
Before he could finish, she had hopped off the table on her own. The action caused her gown to gape open in the back and she snatched it quickly closed again. When she looked up, she saw that Rone had his hand on a step-stool with a long silver handle on one side.
“I was going to offer you this,” he said. “I know you don’t want to take my hand.”
“Sorry.” Kate bit her lip. “I just…I know you’re not, uh, going to hurt me but this feeling I get whenever you’re close…”
“I understand.” His face was a stony mask but she thought she could see the hurt beneath it.
Kate sighed. “Crap. I’m really sorry, honestly.” She looked at her pile of clothes. “And I hate to say this but would you mind turning around while I change? I’m a really private person and I don’t think…I mean, even if we were married I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have let you see me naked. At least, not all the way.”
“Why? Because of your scars?” He raised an eyebrow at her.
Kate flushed and her hand went instinctively to her back.
“What do you know about that? I don’t…”
“I’ve seen them, Kate. They’re beautiful,” he said quietly. “Everything about you is beautiful to me.”
“Not…not those. The surgery…”
She’d had scoliosis as a child—a curvature of the spine so severe it would have been life threatening without treatment. The problem had eventually been corrected but the multiple spinal surgeries she’d gone through as a girl had left their mark on her.
The twisted white scars that ran from the nape of her neck down to the small of her back made her feel vulnerable and ugly so Kate was always careful to keep them covered. She didn’t care if she had been married to the big Kindred—she was certain she would never have voluntarily shown him her scars—would never have allowed herself to be that vulnerable with anyone.
“I don’t believe you,” she said flatly, staring into his piercing blue eyes. “I would never let you see those—even if we were married for three years.”
“I have seen them,” he rumbled softly. “Touched them…kissed them.”
“You…you wouldn’t.” The thought of him putting his mouth to that part of her was slightly horrifying. “Why would you want to—”
“To show you how beautiful you are, Lalli. And I used to lick you there—to soften the tightness and ease the ache. The compounds in my saliva are healing to my mate. You always said it made you feel better…looser.” There was a pleading in his eyes that was hard to look at.
“No!” Kate recoiled from him involuntarily. “I can’t…can’t believe I would ever let you do that!”
He sighed. “It took me years to convince you I wanted to. Years to teach you how truly beautiful you are.”
“I don’t…I can’t…” Kate shook her head. “Stop talking to me about the past…about a past I don’t even remember!”
He looked stricken. “I’m sorry. I just thought—”
“Well, you thought wrong,” Kate snapped. “Look, could you please just turn around so I can dress? You may have seen me naked but I don’t remember that either and it makes me really uncomfortable to have some guy I don’t know watch me change.”
The hurt in his eyes was unmistakable this time but he turned silently, giving her his broad, muscular back. Kate changed as quickly as possible, putting back on the jeans and long-sleeved blouse she’d changed into before going with him to the Mother Ship. She had packed a change in a bag too but she wasn’t sure where it was—maybe still back in the small car-shuttle he’d brought her in.
“I’m finished,” she said at last, smoothing the long, curly tendrils of her hair away from her face.
Rone didn’t turn around. “Fine. Then let’s go to the suite.” He strode out of the scan area, his long legs eating up the ground quickly. Kate had to scramble to keep up with him.
“Are we going to sleep? I mean, it is pretty late.” Kate looked up at him anxiously as she trotted to keep up with his long strides. They were walking down what seemed like a maze of interconnecting metal corridors. She usually had a good sense of direction but this was really confusing—she wondered if she’d really known her way around the big ship back before she lost her memory.
“Don’t worry.” Rone spared her a glance. “I will take the couch and you can have the sleeping platform to yourself. In fact, you can have the whole suite to yourself for a while. I need to run an…” He sighed deeply. “An errand at the center of the ship before I can rest.”
“What kind of errand?” Kate asked, wondering why she cared. Maybe it was the way he said it. The inflection in his deep voice made it sound like something he had to do, but was dreading greatly.
“I need to speak to a priestess in the Sacred Grove,” he said shortly.
“But—” Before Kate could ask anything else, they turned into a new corridor and he stopped in front of a plain metal sliding door.
“Here we are.” He passed his palm over a flat black panel before the door and it whooshed open silently. Rone nodded her inside. “Go on—everything you need is in the suite. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
Before Kate could protest further, he turned his back and strode off down the metal corridor, not looking back once.