“Your face is beautiful, Nallah! No one would ever guess you’d ever had any scars at all!” Olivia smiled at her warmly and Nallah smiled back, putting a hand self-consciously to one cheek.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
It still felt strange to go around without a veil, allowing anyone who wanted to see her face. Reeve had told her she could continue wearing a veil if she wanted to but Nallah wanted to adopt the ways of the Mother Ship. Her own home world had not been kind to her and she was eager to leave it behind. She had even allowed Olivia to talk her into wearing an Earth garment called a “dress” which was more revealing than her voluminous robes had been—although not nearly as skimpy as the babydoll nighty.
“You have the most gorgeous eyes, too,” Sophia, who was Olivia’s sister said. “They remind me a little of Lauren’s in color but their shape is so exotic.”
They were having a little get together in Olivia’s apartment so that Nallah could get to know some of the other women aboard the Mother Ship. She had met so many new people it was hard to keep them all straight but Olivia had laughingly assured her that she would get to know the other Kindred brides before too long. So far everyone had been extremely kind and Nallah had the feeling of coming home.
“Thank you,” she said, smiling at Sophia. “You’re very kind.”
“So where is your man right now?” asked Lauren. She was Olivia and Sophia’s cousin, Nallah reminded herself. Also, she had brought the most delicious sweet, spongy treats covered in a gooey, delectable substance called “frosting.” Nallah thought she could happily dive head-first into a big bowl of the stuff but she had contented herself with eating two of the little treats called “cupcakes” and licking her fingers instead.
“Oh, he’s on his first mission,” Olivia answered for her.
“Yes,” Nallah said. “To my home world of Hascion Five.”
“Mission?” Lauren asked. “What mission?”
“Commander Reeve and some of his M-Kindred kin have made it their mission to rescue the women being abused on Hascion Five,” Olivia explained for her. “They are using their snatching abilities to go down to the planet undetected and find women who are in danger—especially the ones they call ‘the Disgraced.’”
“They are? That’s wonderful!” Lauren exclaimed. She looked at Nallah. “No offense but from what I’ve heard about your planet, it sounds like an awful place for women.”
“It is,” Nallah said quietly. “That’s one reason I’m so grateful that Reeve came back for me and saved me.”
“He said that the Goddess told him he needed to use the talent she had given him for good—to help the women being hurt on Hascion Five,” Olivia explained. “So once they find a woman at risk, they send down a stealth-cloaked shuttle to pick her up. Nobody is going to have any idea what’s happening—the women are just going to start disappearing right under their noses!”
Lauren nodded approvingly. “Good! Though I hope if they catch some of those awful “Punishment Gangs” you told me about, they cut their nuts off.”
“Oh, they get what’s coming to them.” A new voice from the doorway made them all look up. Reeve was standing there with his hands held behind his back.
“Oh my husband, I’m so glad you’re home!” Nallah could say this now with confidence because they had gone to the Sacred Grove and gotten married as soon as possible after their bonding.
Reeve had offered to let her plan a big, elaborate ceremony which appeared to be the fashion aboard the Mother Ship but Nallah had declined. All she wanted was to be joined to him in every way possible and she didn’t care about having a big party to celebrate. Olivia and Commander Sylvan and the little Tolleg Surgeon, Yipper had come to witness their union—it had been beautiful and had made Nallah very happy.
“I have something for you, baby,” Reeve said as she ran up to throw her arms around his neck for a kiss. “I cleared it with Commander Sylvan first—I hope you like it. It’s from your home planet.”
“It is?” Nallah looked at him uncertainly. There wasn’t anything she could think of that she wanted from Hascion Five. It would only remind her of the awful life she’d had there. But then she heard a muffled mewing sound and Reeve brought out a little bundle of fur from behind his back.
“Here she is,” he said, handing the wiggling lanna to Nallah. “I thought you might want her back.”
“Oh, Patta!” Nallah gathered the little creature to her, laughing and crying at the same time as her pet licked her cheeks. “I thought she was gone! The clinic puts them down if you don’t come get them in time!”
“I knew it was a long shot—that’s why I didn’t say anything, just in case she was gone.” Reeve reached out to stroke Patta who purred appreciatively and rubbed against his big hand. “But this little lanna seems to have nine lives. She was still there so I snatched the body of one of the med techs to bring her to the shuttle while we were planet-side.” He laughed. “Poor bastard doesn’t know what hit him.”
“Wow, what is that?” Olivia’s eyes were wide as she looked at Patta. “It looks a little like a cross between a cat and a fox.”
“It’s a lanna. They’re very loving.” Nallah stroked her pet happily. “I thought I’d lost her forever just like I lost her littermate, Pitta.” She lowered her voice. “Harryx, the man I was…was sold to as a wife, killed her.”
“That’s awful!” Lauren exclaimed. “What a bastard.”
Olivia gave her a significant look. “You have no idea.”
“I’m the one who had to inhabit his body,” Reeve growled. He stroked Nallah’s cheek. “All the time I was in him, I kept wondering how in the world you could get past all the awful things he’d done to you to have any kind of feelings for me. I’m so glad you did, baby.”
“I think a part of me knew all along you weren’t really Harryx,” Nallah said thoughtfully as she stroked the purring Patta. “I should have realized right away when Patta went to you so calmly. She and Pitta always hated Harryx, even before he killed Pitta.”
Sophia nodded. “Animals and children are the best judges of character. If kids and pets love a man, you can tell he’s all right.”
“Even if he’s in the body of another guy, apparently,” Olivia said, smiling.
“I’m just grateful that it was Harryx that Reeve was sent to snatch,” Nallah said quietly. “My life was awful before he came, as are the lives of so many of the women on Hascion Five.”
“Well, if my M-Switch Brothers and I have anything to say about it, no more women are going to be hurt the way you were, baby,” Reeve said, frowning. “There are more of us than the rest of the Kindred know—we’ve always kind of kept to ourselves. But now we’re all mobilizing to use our Goddess-given talents for good.”
“I think that’s wonderful.” Olivia smiled at him. “See—Sylvan and I knew you were one of the good guys, Reeve.”
“I haven’t been in the past,” he said seriously. “But I will be now. I swore to the Goddess I would do everything I could to right the wrong happening on Hascion Five and I intend to keep that promise.”
Hearing his words and seeing him standing there looking so brave and strong made Nallah’s heart feel like it might overflow.
“I love you, oh my husband,” she whispered, standing on tiptoes to put one arm around his neck and draw him down for another kiss. Thank you for rescuing Patta—and me, too. And thank you for being willing to rescue so many more.”
“I feel like it’s what I was born for.” Reeve nuzzled against her cheek and laughed when Patta licked him. “Hey now—no stealing kisses!”
Nallah giggled. “I think she’s thanking you too.” She leaned closer and breathed in his ear. “I have a more substantial way to thank you myself, though. Why don’t we retire to our rooms, oh my husband?”
Reeve’s midnight eyes went half-lidded.
“I’d like that, baby. Let’s go.”
Nallah would have stopped to say goodbye to everyone but the urgency in his deep voice seemed to set a fire in her belly.
“All right.” With a wave at Olivia and the rest of the girls, she tucked Patta more firmly into her arms. “I’m sorry but I really have to go now.”
“So soon?” Sophia asked but Olivia just laughed and nudged her.
“They just got bonded, remember?”
“Oh, right.” Sophia smiled. “Have fun, you two.”
“I’ll save you some of the cupcakes and send them over to you later,” Lauren promised.”
“Thank you!” Nallah called out, rather breathlessly because Reeve had swung her and Patta up into his arms and was carrying them away. As they left, she waved at her new friends and heard the contented purrs of her pet and felt she had never been so happy in her life.
Her future was bright and for the first time she didn’t have to fear the man she called husband. And all because, as Reeve put it, she had taken a chance on Loving a Stranger.
The End
***If you have enjoyed Loving a Stranger, please take a moment to leave a rating or a review . Good reviews are like gold for an author. They let other readers know it's okay to take a chance on a new series which in turn helps me keep writing for a living to feed your Kindred Cravings. ; )
Hugs and thanks for being an awesome reader!
Evangeline
~~And now, here is a sneak peek at my next Kindred Novel, Finding the Jewel, coming soon~~
Chloe Deems is a plus-sized girl with pink hair and an attitude –she owns her curves. Which is one reason she’s so upset when she gets abducted by aliens and forced to live in a Smart House designed to make her lose weight. She has to weigh in every day and the smart-aleck talking scale decides what she’s allowed to eat which is always lettuce and celery and never the delicious Thin Mints she can see peering tantalizingly out from behind the unbreakable glass cupboard in the kitchen. To Chloe, it seems like things just can’t get any worse…until a prospective buyer comes to look her over.
Tark is a Beast Kindred who has been on the outside looking in his whole life. A debilitating stutter has kept him from finding a mate or settling down. Finally he gets a prophesy from a priestess telling him to seek for an elusive jewel which can cure his voice and Tark knows just where to look for it—in the house where Chloe is being held prisoner. But instead of the jewel, he finds a feisty, gorgeous plus-sized girl who’s ready to fight for her life. He agrees to rescue her if she’ll help him look in the only other place the jewel might be—the Resort of Resonant Oneness, located deep underground on a planet that straddles the lines between dimensions.
Chloe agrees to help the big Kindred out in return for her freedom but she doesn’t know that the resort they are traveling to has some distinctly erotic ideas about “oneness.” Now she and the huge Beast Kindred are stuck doing some incredibly embarrassing and intimate exercises that make even the brash Chloe blush. Still, she and Tark seem to be growing closer…until a monster from her past kidnaps Chloe.
Tark is given a choice—between rescuing the woman he has come to love, or completing the task he set himself in the first place and regaining his voice.
Which will he choose?
You’ll have to read Finding the Jewel to find out