“It wasn’t Bebo.” Liv’s heart was pounding as she stared at the innocent looking fuzzy blue blanket she’d just been sitting on. “It…it moved. It touched me—I felt it.”
“Of course it moved,” Baird said mildly. “It’s alive.”
“It’s what?” Liv demanded. “What is it? Some kind of plant—a moss blanket you use for covering furniture or something?” She supposed that the blue fuzz did look a little like vegetation.
“Nope. It’s an animal native to Tranq Prime. The residents there use it to keep warm—they have incredibly harsh winters that last for years.”
“An animal? Are you serious? We’re sitting on a live animal?” Liv felt her skin crawl.
“Well, I am, anyway. You appear to be sittin’ on me.” Baird gave her a lazy smile that made her stomach flutter and Liv suddenly realized she was on his lap with her arms around his neck. How had that happened? She could feel the hard planes of his chest pressed against her breasts and he was close enough to kiss. Oh no, don’t even go there, she scolded herself.
“Uh…” Liv laughed nervously. “I’m so sorry—I didn’t mean to jump you like that.” She tried to get off his lap but he pulled her back down.
“What’s the rush, Lilenta?”
“I…I just…” The words wouldn’t come. Liv had been carefully avoiding getting too close to him for most of the week but now that she was in contact with him again, almost full body contact, whispered the naughty little voice in her head, she was finding it hard to think about anything but how good it felt to have his arms around her and how incredible he smelled.
“You just what?” Baird seemed mildly amused. “You just thought you’d come out here dressed in next to nothing and tease me?”
“I never thought that!” Liv felt a hot blush climbing her cheeks as she tried again to push away from him. Baird let her sit back a little but he kept her firmly planted in his lap.
“Of course you didn’t.” He made a show of looking her up and down, his hot golden gaze taking in everything from the way she was nearly falling out of the grey satin bra cups to the skimpy satin panties that completed the set. “You know, Olivia, I can only think of two reasons you would wear something like this. One, you’ve finally decided to give in and let me bond you.”
Liv’s throat finally unlocked. “What’s option number two?” she asked, wishing her voice didn’t sound so squeaky.
Baird’s eyes hardened. “Two would be that you thought you could come out here, flash a little skin and then get me on breach of contract and improper touching when I went for you. You think you’re the first bride to have that idea? Hate to break it to you, Lilenta, but it’s been done before to other Kindred. I was wondering when you were going to try it.”
“I…I would never…” Liv was mortified that he had seen through her plan so easily.
Baird frowned. “Oh no? Then I guess you just like putting on a show for me, hmm?”
“Maybe I was just hot and wanted to wear something cool and comfortable for a change without having to worry about you making stupid remarks or staring at me,” Liv snapped.
“You’re forgetting that we dream shared for six months, Lilenta. I know how you dress when you want to be comfortable. You wear one of those big, oversized night shirts that goes down to your knees and your old pink wrap thing and those slippers with long ears and animal faces on them.”
“I don’t have my pink bathrobe and bunny slippers with me,” Liv protested.
“No, but you could have asked your sister to send them up. Instead, you asked for this.” Baird’s gaze ran hungrily over the open robe and the grey satin bra, displaying the rounded tops of her breasts. “This is not the kind of outfit you put on if you don’t want to be stared at, Lilenta.”
“It doesn’t matter what I wear, you always stare at me,” she accused.
“Because I can’t help myself,” he growled. “Because you’re so fuckin’ beautiful and you won’t let me touch you even though I can tell by your scent you want me to.”
“Don’t start with the scent thing again—why are smells so important to you?” Liv demanded, wishing she could get away from him, from the cage of his big, muscular arms. .
One corner of his mouth curved up. “They’re important to you too—or they should be. They have a lot to do with the way we choose our brides, and the way our brides react to us. My scent helps your body recognize me as your mate the same way your scent let me know you were the one for me. It confirmed everything I’d learned about you during our dream-sharing.”
“Thanks for the Kindred biology lesson,” she snapped, struggling to be free. “Now will you please let me go?”
“When I’m good and ready. He frowned. “And before you scream breach of contract, remember that I am allowed to hold you—I just haven’t been doing it because you were so obviously afraid of me.”
“Are we seriously back to that again?” Liv put a hand on her hip and glared at him. “For the last time, I am not afraid of you or the way you make me feel.”
“Prove it.” There was an undeniable challenge in his eyes. “What’s that human expression? Put your currency where your oral cavity is.”
Liv didn’t know whether to be amused or irritated. “It’s ‘put your money where your mouth is.’ And how am I supposed to prove it?” She had stopped struggling—it was useless. And besides, she had an idea that the way she was shifting all over his lap when she tried to get away was causing him a lot more pleasure than pain. The hot, hard lump she could feel nudging her bottom through his black sleep pants told her that much.
“Kiss me.”
“You already kissed me—back when you first brought me up to the suite. How is that going to prove anything?” Liv was exasperated. Exasperated and hot and confused and a lot more turned on than she wanted to admit.
“Right. I kissed you. But if you’re really not afraid of me or your reaction to me, then you should be able to kiss me with no problem. Right?” He gave her a predatory grin that made Liv distinctly nervous.
“That’s true,” she said even though she knew it wasn’t. “But I’m still not going to kiss you unless you can give me a better reason than that.”
“How about because I won’t let you go until you do? C’mon, Lilenta—just one kiss. And if you can honestly tell me it does nothing for you I’ll let you up and won’t bother you the rest of the night.”
“This is blackmail, you know.” She wanted to be outraged but the fact was that the longer she was in his lap, the less she wanted to leave it. Even now she was trying to keep herself stiff and unyielding but all she wanted to do was melt against him and let him touch her…take her. Hell, let him do anything he wanted. Oh, I am in so much trouble here!
“Call it what you want but if you want off my lap, you’ll take the challenge. Otherwise I’m completely within my rights to hold you like this all night.”
“All night?” Liv was horrified. She didn’t think she could last another ten minutes, let alone hours of being so close to the big Kindred warrior.
Baird raised an eyebrow as though he knew just what she was thinking—as though he knew how close to the edge she was. “Go ahead—I’ll just sit here. I swear I won’t touch you. I’ll just let you kiss me.”
“You’ll let me, huh? Aren’t you just too kind,” Liv grumbled but she already knew she was going to do it. At this point it seemed safer to give him a quick kiss than to stay in his arms any longer. She could feel herself getting hotter, her heart racing, her pulse pounding. She needed to get away from him fast and go take a cold shower—or sit on a big block of ice or do anything to cool off and forget how much she liked being near him.
“Well?” Baird caught her gaze with his and the challenge in his eyes was unmistakable.
“Fine,” she snapped. “But no funny business or I will claim breach of contract and I’ll be out of here so fast it’ll make your head spin.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He smiled at her. “Come
on, Lilenta—kiss me.”
Just one quick kiss. Wishing she didn’t feel like her heart was about to pound right out of her chest, Liv braced her hands on his massive bare shoulders and leaned in. She thought about keeping her eyes open but at the last minute his golden gaze was too intense and she shut them quickly. Just a quick kiss, she told herself. But not too quick—she didn’t want him to think she was afraid. Even though she was absolutely terrified.
She brushed his lips with hers, a gentle feather-light touch that was reminiscent of the first kiss they’d shared, the one he’d given her during their claiming ceremony. She heard a low rumble of pleasure in response but Baird didn’t kiss her back right away though she could feel the tension in his big body. He was letting her take the lead—giving her control of the situation and it was surprisingly erotic.
Feeling braver and forgetting she’d intended to end this quickly, Liv kissed him again. This time she tilted her head to fit their mouths for more contact. His lips were full and surprisingly soft. When she parted her own lips and lapped at them gently, they tasted of cinnamon and that strange, delicious alien spice she couldn’t quite name.
Baird still didn’t kiss her back but he parted his lips invitingly and, to her surprise, Liv found herself taking him up on the invitation. His mouth was hot and wet and luscious and she found she was exploring him delicately with her tongue, tasting and testing, learning him, kissing him as though she never wanted to stop.
And then, at last, Baird kissed back. He pulled her close, positioning her so that she straddled his hips, and ran his big, warm hands up and down her back. Sucking her tongue gently, he pressed up against her until Liv felt like she was floating on a cloud of pure lust. She could feel the hard ridge of his cock through his black sleep pants and her thin satin panties, could feel him pressing against her, opening her and spreading her pussy lips to rub against her throbbing clit. And it wasn’t just that Baird was thrusting up to meet her—she was grinding herself against him, gripping his shoulders and working herself on him shamelessly as the pleasure built higher and higher inside her. Her nipples were so hard they hurt and she couldn’t remember ever feeling so wet and ready.
God, if we don’t stop soon I’m going to come…come so hard! The thought finally snapped her back to herself and Liv forced herself to wrench away from the addictive kiss.
“Stop!” she gasped, panting. “Stop, I…we have to stop.”
“Why, Lilenta?” Baird’s voice was soft and deep, his eyes glowing gold and half lidded with lust. “Because you’re afraid if we don’t stop now you won’t want to stop at all?”
“No, just because…because I did what you asked. So now you have to let me up.”
Baird frowned. “Actually, the deal was that I would let you up if you could honestly say that kissing me didn’t affect you.”
“It didn’t, okay? So let me up now.”
His eyes narrowed, showing a different kind of heat. “You’re lying.”
“How would you know?” Liv snapped, wondering if it was possible to die of sexual frustration.
“For one thing your heart is beating twice as quickly as normal.”
Liv put a hand to her chest. “You can hear my heart?”
He nodded. “Your pulse is racing. Your skin is flushed and sensitive.” He trained a fingertip over her collarbone and Liv bit back a moan at the light touch. “Not to mention your scent—you’re practically in heat, Lilenta.”
“There you go with the scent again. Do you really expect me to believe you can tell I’m…uh, hot and bothered just by the way I smell?”
“Believe it,” he said flatly. “If you were to go out of the suite right now you’d have about a hundred Kindred males comin’ on to you before you got to the end of the corridor.”
“I would?” Liv bit her lip, trying not to imagine being suddenly accosted by a hundred men, all of Baird’s impressive size and build. She would never survive such an ordeal. “But…but wouldn’t they know I was, uh, already taken? That you had already claimed me?”
He frowned. “Unfortunately not. At this point you don’t have nearly enough of my scent on you to scare off another male.”
“But how can that be? We’re together all the time. We even sleep in the same bed.” Liv blushed, remembering how hard it had been for her lately not to reach out to him as they were lying together in the huge bed at night.
“Together but not touching,” Baird growled. “I’d have to be rubbing against you a hell of a lot more than I am now—and with a hell of a lot fewer clothes on.”
“You…you would?” Liv felt her heart knocking against her ribs again as the mental image of the two of them, completely naked and pressed together in the big bed, entered her head and refused to leave.
Baird nodded. “You can’t see them but Kindred have scent glands all over their bodies—mostly in the face and groin area. One of the ways we claim a mate is to scent mark her—but that’s pretty hard to do when the woman I want to claim won’t let me touch her.”
“I told you I don’t want to be claimed.” Liv could hear the tremble in her voice but she forced herself to meet his eyes. “I left too much back on Earth to forget about just because you want me as your mate, Baird.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You want to fight it ‘til the end? That’s fine with me, Lilenta. We’ll call it a draw tonight. But you want to remember one thing—tomorrow is the beginning of the second week—our bathing week—so we’ll be sharing the bathing pool every night. And I’ll be allowed to touch you—touch you and make you come.”
“You can’t…you wouldn’t.” Liv felt like she was melting inside. She didn’t know whether to be horrified or intensely aroused by his words.
“The hell I wouldn’t. I can’t wait to hold you in my arms and hear you moan while you come for me.” He gave her a wolfish grin. “The only thing better than that would be going down on you until you come all over my face—but of course that’s for week three, our tasting week.”
Liv honestly felt faint. Tasting week? Was he serious? She’d been so determined to find out what bonding sex entailed that she’d forgotten to be worried about what came directly before it. Better settle down and worry about getting through the second week before you freak out about the third one, a practical little voice in her brain advised. But she was incapable of settling down—at least, not while she was so close to him.
“Just…just let me go,” she said, hating the breathless sound of her voice.
His eyes glowed like melted gold. “Not until you admit our kiss affected you.”
“I already told you, it didn’t,” she whispered through numb lips.
He raised an eyebrow. “So if I touched you right now, if I shredded those soft little panties you have on, you wouldn’t be even a little bit wet?”
Liv squirmed uncomfortably. “That…that’s none of your business.”
“Oh no?” Baird slid one large hand between her spread thighs and cupped her mound. “I’m afraid you’re wrong, Olivia. You’re my bride and it is my business.”
“You…you’re not supposed to be touching me,” she protested. Had her heart been beating fast before? It was going triple time now and all he’d done was cup her lightly. But just the heat of his hand was enough to make her feel swollen and hot and out of control.
“No touching under the clothes,” he reminded her. “But I’m not touching you under your clothes, Lilenta. And don’t worry—I won’t. I don’t have to in order to prove my point.”
“Your…your point?” It was getting harder and harder to think when she wanted him so badly. No, I don’t want him. I don’t! But she was lying to herself and she knew it.
“My point that the kiss we shared a minute ago made you hot and wet and ready for me.” He looked at her sternly, his eyes burning into her. “Admit it, Olivia. Admit it and I’ll let you go. If you don’t…” He let the sentence trail off ominously.
“If I don’t, what?” Liv lifted her chin, determin
ed to stay strong even though she felt like she was melting from the waist down.
“If you don’t I’ll have no choice but to prove it. And if you make me prove it, I won’t stop until you come—panties or no panties in the way.” His deep voice was a low lustful growl that sent shivers through her entire body. But still Liv wasn’t willing to give in.
Forcing herself to meet his eyes she whispered, “Go ahead—I’m not afraid.”
“You should be.” Pulling her down, he kissed her long and hard before releasing her. “So you’re not hot, huh? Kissing me didn’t do a damn thing for you?”
Before Liv could answer one long, thick finger was pressing against the crotch of her grey satin panties. Sitting as she was, spread out on his lap with her thighs wide, her pussy was already open and vulnerable and Baird obviously knew it. With unerring accuracy he pressed between her spread pussy lips, finding the tender bud of her clit which was throbbing behind the thin panel of satin.
Liv opened her mouth to protest and let out a moan instead. God, how did he know just how to touch her? And why couldn’t she resist the pleasure he gave her?
Baird was staring at her hungrily, drinking in her reaction. “If you’re not hot, why can I feel your heat when I touch you?” he growled softly. “If you’re not hot, why are your panties soaked with your cunt honey? And most of all…” His finger continued working against her, sliding over her swollen clit as he spoke. “Why is your pussy open and ready for me?”
“I…it’s the way I’m sitting,” Liv protested, biting back another moan as the pleasure inside her mounted.
Baird shook his head. “No—that’s not enough to explain the state you’re in. Look at this…” He stopped touching her for a minute and pointed to the crotch of her panties which, Liv saw with shame, were now dark with her juices. “Look at how swollen your pussy lips are,” he said, tracing them lightly with his fingertip and making her shiver. “Look at the way they’re spread open, exposing your hot little clit.” His finger glided over the sensitive bundle of nerves, clearly outlined by the damp satin, making Liv cry out involuntarily.
Brides of the Kindred Volume One Page 17