“So why not give Kalis one?” Suzanne asked. “Look, I know yesterday was a horrible, crazy day for you and I’m so, so sorry for that—but maybe something good came out of it. And I think that might be Kalis.”
Jillian sighed deeply.
“All right,” she said at last. “But the minute he starts to sprout fur, or grow into a giant alien bear, he’s out of here! I can’t deal with that again!”
“He’s not going to do that,” Suzanne said gently. “If you want, I can make it part of his employment contract. No turning into a giant green Grizzly bear under any circumstances during work hours,” she said, pretending to write on an imaginary contract. “On pain of immediate termination.”
Jillian smiled reluctantly.
“Fine,” she said and sighed deeply. “The crazy thing is, I’m completely attracted to him, other than that,” she admitted. “I mean, butterflies in the stomach and chills down my spine and all that. That massage he gave me yesterday before everything went to hell…” She shook her head. “It was mind-blowing.”
“I knew it!” Suzanne exclaimed delightedly. “I’ve never seen you so worked up over a guy—not even Brad, before you found out what an asshole he was!”
“I just keep feeling like I’ve seen him somewhere before! Those eyes…” Jillian shook his head. “I don’t know, maybe I’m crazy.”
“Maybe you’ve been Dream-Sharing with him,” Suzanne suggested. “The way I was with Kind and Hard before they came for me.”
“I doubt it.” Jillian shook her head. “I don’t remember having any dreams about him. It’s just his eyes that look familiar.”
“Well, whatever the deal is, just give him a chance—okay?” Suzanne asked. “If you two get along and he turns out to be good in the kitchen, we could really use him—even after Lor and Lydia get back. You know we’ve been looking for another line cook for ages.”
Jillian nodded.
“I know. And I don’t mind being his boss in the kitchen, as long as he doesn’t expect me to act like his ‘Mistress” any other time. That kind of freaks me out—you know?”
“I don’t know why, though,” Suzanne said, with a twinkle in her eye. “You’ve always liked being a bossy bitch for as long as I’ve known you.”
Jillian grinned and elbowed her in the side.
“Only in the kitchen. In the bedroom, I like the guy to take charge—you know?”
“Well, let’s see if Kalis works in the kitchen before you invite him into your bedroom,” Suzanne said, grinning back.
“Suzanne…” Jillian gave her a warning look.
“Okay, okay—you know I’m just kidding.” Suzanne held up both hands in a “don’t shoot” gesture. “The point is, let’s just give him a chance and see how things go.”
Jillian nodded.
“All right. Tonight’s VIP dinner is a good test. If he can stay cool under pressure—which he did yesterday, right up until the end—he’ll be a good addition at Pat-ar.”
“Agreed. Okay—let’s go check out the jumja soup and see how he did,” Suzanne said. “If it’s good, I’ve really got to go feed my babies—my boobs are about to burst.” She nodded at her front, where her breasts did look awfully swollen.
Jillian nodded.
“Okay, let’s go.”
She would give the big Kindred another chance, she told herself. After all, Kalis really did seem like a wonderful, amazing guy, other than the huge beast he was capable of turning into. If he could just keep that side of himself in check—and far away from her—they could have a very successful working relationship, she was sure.
What about some other kind of relationship? whispered a little voice in her head. Remember the way he touched you during that massage…
I was drugged at the time, Jillian argued with herself. Otherwise I would never have let a guy I barely knew do all that.
She pushed the erotic memory and the confusing feelings it gave her about Kalis out of her head. Right now, she just had to concentrate on getting through this VIP dinner. Everything else could wait.
29
As the two human females talked “privately” in the large kitchen’s pantry, Hard leaned back against the countertop and watched Kalis’s technique with the ion-scoop and the brick of thaelite.
Kalis peeled off another long, thin ribbon of the ultra-dense material and looked up at the other male.
“Er…do you think they know we can hear every word they’re saying?” he asked in a low voice.
Hard shook his head.
“Nope. In my experience, humans always underestimate our hearing. They think our hearing and our sense of smell is about the same level as their own, though Kindred senses are much more acute than theirs.” He shrugged. “My brother Kind, and I, have tried to explain it to Suzanne, but she always forgets. So now I don’t even bother.”
“But maybe I should tell my Mistress? Er…Jillian? Or should I call her ‘Chef,’ now?” Kalis shook his head. “It’s fucking confusing, you know?”
“I know. Human females can be that way.” Hard sounded unperturbed. “They can be stubborn and emotional and confusing as hell—it’s enough to drive you fucking crazy!”
Kalis shot him a look.
“They why did you and your brother take one for a mate?”
“Because they have so many good qualities that make up for all that,” Hard said. He gestured with both hands. “They can be courageous and caring and sweet and so fucking beautiful it hurts to look at them…” A fond look came over his face. “I don’t know how Kind and I got along before we met Suzanne. We’d be lost without her.”
“I feel the same way about Jillian,” Kalis admitted. “Been dreaming about her for two years. Now that I’ve finally met her, all I want to do is hold her and pleasure her and protect her…”
“But she’s scared to fucking death of you because she saw your other form,” Hard murmured.
“Mmm-hmm…” Kalis nodded and sighed as he shaved off a third and final piece of thaelite and laid it carefully to one side. “It’s enough to drive a male crazy. I can’t help what I am. And I’ll never be able to bond her to me unless she can accept my Ursus.”
“I’d say you ought to get to know her a little better before you start talking about Claiming her and bonding her,” Hard pointed out.
“True.” Kalis looked down at his hands. “Who am I kidding?” he growled. “I had my chance at love—lost my mate when I was only twenty-five cycles old. And we B’varren Kindred usually can’t bond more than once. I just thought maybe…maybe the Goddess was giving me another chance, you know?”
“And maybe she is,” Hard said. “Look—work on impressing Jillian in the kitchen to start with. She’s like my own mate, Suzanne—cooking is her first love. If you can prove yourself in here, you’ve got a shot with her. She… Hey—listen to what she’s saying…” He cocked an ear towards the pantry and grinned at Kalis. “She’s admitting to my female that she’s attracted to you, Brother!”
“I know it—I can smell her heat when I’m near her,” Kalis growled. “Problem is, I can also smell her fear.”
“Just give it time—the two of you only met yesterday,” Hard counseled.
“I know. It just feels like I’ve known her forever because I’ve been dreaming of her for so damn long.” Kalis tried to control the frustration in his voice and couldn’t quite manage it.
“I know the feeling,” Hard said sympathetically. “Kind and I Dream-Shared with Suzanne for months before we finally came to claim her. I was fucking ready to burst when we finally took her in our arms. The first time we saw her—”
“Oh, are you telling Kalis the story of how we first met?” Suzanne asked, coming up to her mate. She and Jillian had finally exited the pantry—clearly neither of them had any idea that their “private” conversation hadn’t been exactly that.
Kalis felt a little bit guilty about hearing the bits and pieces of their talk that his superior Kindred ears had picked up, but rea
lly, what was a male to do? And anyway, at least now he knew for sure that Jillian was willing to admit she found him attractive.
That was good, because her body being attracted to him was one thing—clearly she was responding to his Bonding Scent. But the fact that she was willing to acknowledge it on a cognitive level was something else. If only her body was involved and her mind wasn’t interested, it would create a dissonance that would only push her farther away from him. So at least…
“So you’re in—at least for tonight,” Jillian said, breaking into his train of thought.
Kalis looked down and saw that she was standing right next to him and staring up at him fearlessly. Her willingness to be close to him gave him hope. Maybe Hard was right—maybe he had to impress her in the kitchen first.
“You mean I have the job?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She nodded.
“Suzanne and I have agreed we’ll use this dinner service as a test. If you do well and it seems like you’re a good fit for Pat-ar, then we might talk about something more permanent.”
“Thank you.” Kalis nodded. “I’m grateful for the chance to prove myself.”
“Great. So how’s the soup?” she asked, abruptly switching subjects.
“It’s doing well, Mis—Chef,” he corrected himself quickly. “All ready to add the rest of the thaelite now. Would you like to oversee it?”
Jillian nodded.
“Yes, especially since I’ve never made this particular dish before.”
“Come with me, then.” Kalis went to drop the paper-thin shavings of thaelite into the simmering soup pot. He and Jillian watched as they slowly dissolved and the color of the jumja soup turned from bright red to deep blue.
“Oh my!” Jillian’s eyes widened. “Is it supposed to do that? Change color, I mean?”
Kalis nodded in satisfaction.
“That’s exactly how it’s supposed to look. Even a bit more thaelite and the broth would have turned bright green and gone chunky. This is just right.”
“Well…good.” Jillian nodded. “Since I’ve never made this before, I suppose I’ll have to trust you.”
Kalis looked into her eyes, holding her gaze with his.
“You can trust me, Jillian,” he said softly. “I won’t let you down or ever do anything to hurt you—I swear it by the Goddess herself.”
The color rose in her cheeks and Kalis could hear her heart rate increasing and smell the sweet feminine fragrance of her desire. And yet, under that delicious scent, there was still the sour tang of fear.
“I guess that remains to be seen,” she said at last. “Come on—let’s get on with the rest of this menu.”
“Yes, Chef,” Kalis murmured. He swore to himself he would impress her and keep the possessive part of himself in check. He would give her time to get to know him before he made any more moves towards Claiming her.
He had no idea how soon he would have to break his promise.
30
“Well, that was a delightful meal. I never knew Nebrian cuisine was so varied and delicious,” Commander Sylvan remarked, smiling across the table.
“Hmmm, yezzz, it wazz delisciouzz.” The Nebrian ambassador, Ha’choo Bless’u, nodded her head, her large, compound eyes reflecting the dining room with its white linen tablecloths and avant-garde centerpieces. Her long, curling proboscis was currently unfurled, the better to sip the last bits of the jumja soup from the tall, thin vase-like vessel it had been served in.
“I’m so glad we were able to reach an amiable decision about the trading rights between our peoples,” Commander Sylvan said. He raised his glass, full of pale blue Woo, a strong liquor from his home planet of Tranq Prime. “To the friendship between the Kindred and the Nebrians. Long may our two peoples continue to grow and adapt together.”
“Indeed, yezzz,” the Nebrian ambassador agreed. She lifted her own glass—a vessel rather like a champagne flute, but four times longer and with a much shorter stem—and thrust her long proboscis with its large, fleshy purple lips at the end, down into the Woo. She sucked greedily at the liquor, her compound eyes gleaming with pleasure.
“Well, the ambassador seems to be enjoying her meal,” Kalis murmured.
“Thanks to you.” Jillian looked up at the big Kindred. They were standing at the kitchen door together, peering through the crack into the dining room, which was empty except for the table where Commander Sylvan and the alien ambassador were sitting.
The dining room had been cleared for a reason. Apparently, the Nebrian ambassador was “cycling” as her people called it—changing from female to male as part of her annual sexual cycle.
The Nebrians preferred not to send ambassadors during the male part of their cycle, due to their aggression and hyper-sexual drives, but Ha’choo Bless’u was their best negotiator. And since she still had a few days before she cycled completely to the male end of her species’ sexual spectrum, she was considered safe.
Still, Commander Sylvan had asked that the dining room be cleared for the delicate negotiation and Jillian noticed that he was here on his own, though he usually brought his lovely wife, Sophia, with him to state dinners. The servers had also been given the night off, and Kalis had been acting as a waiter, as well as a cook.
The big Kindred didn’t seem to mind doing double duty and he was excellent at serving—which made sense, given his background. But it was still his skill in the kitchen that most impressed Jillian.
“You did a great job on that jumja soup,” she murmured to him. “You’ve got a really well-developed palate.”
Kalis grinned down at her.
“Gotta say, little Mistress, it isn’t my palate most women are interested in.”
“Kalis…” Jillian said warningly, but she could feel her cheeks heating and her mouth curving into a reluctant smile. About halfway though cooking the VIP dinner there had been a problem with Suzanne’s babies. She and Hard had been forced to go home and help Kind, her Light Twin husband—who was a good father, but really overwhelmed having to handle all three triplets by himself.
Suzanne hadn’t been able to come back but she had called on a Think-me to talk to Jillian, worried about leaving her alone with just Kalis for help. However, by that time, the big Kindred had already been proving his worth.
He was worth any two line cooks she’d ever worked with, Jillian soon found out. He seemed to memorize the placement of everything as soon as she showed him and he really knew his way around a kitchen. He was quick, efficient, and he didn’t seem to mind taking orders from a woman. Which made sense, Jillian thought, considering his past. But it had often been a problem down on Earth where lots of guys couldn’t stand the thought of having a female boss, especially if she had to reprimand them.
But she hadn’t had to reprimand Kalis once. In fact, he had been invaluable when preparing the VIP dinner and not just because he was the only one strong enough to shave off pieces of thaelite. He had a working knowledge of Nebrian cuisine that Jillian lacked and she was willing to admit that the food wouldn’t have turned out nearly as good without him.
So now she was giving credit where credit was due, but the big Kindred seemed to want to tease her—albeit, very gently. Jillian found that she didn’t mind so much. Working so closely with Kalis for the past few hours, she had lost a great deal of her fear of him. In fact, the day before, when he’d turned into a giant green Grizzly bear, was beginning to seem a bit like a dream. The whole day was hazy—like a nightmare she’d woken up from and barely remembered.
Jillian wasn’t sure if her mind was trying to protect her from traumatic memories, or if the drug she’d been given in the massage oil had something to do with her fuzzy memory. But either way, she was happy to let the awful day she and Kalis had met fade. She wasn’t one to dwell on past trauma, preferring to look ahead to the future, instead.
It was a good thing that Suzanne had convinced her to give the big Kindred another chance, she thought now, smiling up at him. He really was
a hard worker. And he had a calming presence about him, which she liked. It seemed almost impossible to think that she had been so frightened of him just a few hours before.
“Thizz liquor is deliciouzz,” the Nebrian ambassador buzzed from the dining room. “Would you have the kindnezz to pour me a bit more, Commander Zylvan?”
“Oh, of course.” Sylvan lifted the bottle and refilled the ambassador’s long, thin glass. “I would caution you that Woo is very strong,” he said, a bit anxiously, Jillian thought, as Ha’choo Bless’u dipped her proboscis into the pale blue liquor and sucked up the entire contents of the glass in one long swallow. “Perhaps you’d like a bit more of the delicious jumja soup to go with it?”
“Yezz, yezz—more zzoup!” Ha’choo Bless’u exclaimed, setting her glass back down on the table with an audible thump.
“I think they want more soup—I’m going to bring them some,” Jillian said.
Kalis frowned.
“Better let me bring it. If the Nebrian is cycling towards the male half of her spectrum, it’s better not to have unmated females around. The Yonnite Mistress who owned me and did business with them, refused to go anywhere near them unless they were firmly in the female half of their cycle.”
“I’m sure it will be all right,” Jillian objected. “But fine, go ahead,” she said reluctantly. Kalis knew much more about Nebrians than she did and though the ambassador seemed perfectly fine to her, it would be foolish to ignore his warning.
“Thank you, Chef,” he said, nodding respectfully. “Let me get some in the serving vessel and I’ll bring it out.”
He went to ladle some more of the dark blue jumja soup into a tall silver pitcher and then brought it out to the dining room.
“Ah, here we go,” Commander Sylvan said, smiling as the big B’varren Kindred came to the table and replenished their soup. He poured the steaming blue liquid carefully into the long, thin vase for the Nebrian Ambassador and into a wide bowl for Sylvan.
“Enjoy,” Jillian heard him murmuring.
But instead of sticking her proboscis into the soup, Ha’choo Bless’u extended it towards Kalis, seeming to sniff the air, as though she was trying to catch his scent.
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