Brides of the Kindred(19)

Baird frowned at her. “I can’t wait. Not when you’re in pain.”

She looked exasperated. “Look, I’m sorry if I overreacted. It’s just a little sliver of glass.”

“Nothing that hurts you is little to me,” Baird told her shortly. When would she understand that her pain was his? A Kindred male couldn’t rest if his mate was in any kind of discomfort. He had to do everything in his power to ease her and bring her relief—the same way he would do everything in his power in the bedroom to pleasure her.

“But you promised!” Olivia protested. “Promised that no one besides you and, uh, Sylvan would see me like this.” She gestured down at herself, her luscious curves barely covered by the gauzy black lace.

“Don’t worry, no one will,” Sylvan said, looking back to address her. “We’re taking you in through the outer passageways, not the more populated center of the ship. From there you and Baird can travel directly to his suite.”

“Suite, huh? Where are we anyway, the Kindred Hilton?” Olivia muttered seemingly to herself, but at least she stopped protesting and allowed Baird to carry her without struggling.

They passed through the round, irising airlock door that protected the rest of the ship from too much oxygen loss and turned out into one of the long, plain metal corridors that were mainly used for transporting goods around the outer edge of the ship. Baird wished that his new bride would relax against him as he carried her, but she remained as cold and stiff as a piece of metal or wood in his arms. What would it take to thaw her icy demeanor?

At last they came to an empty medic station and Sylvan nodded for Baird to sit her down on the plain metal table. But the moment he did, Olivia yelped as though she’d been stung. Baird was about to gather her back into his arms—he didn’t like not touching her anyway—when she waved him off.

“It’s okay. The damn table is just ice cold and I’m practically sitting on it bare ass. That’s all.”

“My apologies,” Sylvan said smoothly as he dug in one of the wall storage units for the materials he needed. “This will only take a moment, I promise.”

“Uh, okay.” She was watching him dubiously, as though unsure of what was about to happen. Baird thought of reassuring her that Sylvan was a first class medic but somehow he didn’t think words from him would make her feel better. There was one way he could help her though—she was still shivering from the cold. Without saying a word he unsnapped his shirt and shrugged it off, baring his upper body.

“Hey, whoa—what are you doing?” Olivia was looking at him with wide eyes as though he was about to pounce on her. Did she really think so little of him to believe that he would try to take advantage of her when she was injured and helpless? Baird felt his heart fist in his chest.

“Only this,” he said gruffly, draping the crimson shirt around her shivering bare shoulders.

“Oh…uh, thanks.” She was staring at him now, as though she’d never seen a male before. Baird looked down at himself to see if there was something wrong. He had spent a full hour in the bathing pool that morning preparing but was it possible he had spilled something on himself before getting dressed to claim her? The broad planes of his muscular chest looked all right to him—his dusky tan skin was marked by the whitish scars left by the AllFather’s torture but a Kindred warrior always wore such marks with pride. There was a small patch of black hair between the two flat copper disks of his nipples and a trail of it led down his corded abdomen into the black uniform pants he was wearing. Truly there was nothing to stare at—so why was she still staring?

“Is there a problem?” he asked at last. “You don’t like the way I look?”

“Uh, no, I…You look fine. Just fine.” Olivia looked down at her hands, her fair skin blushing a deep embarrassed red.

“What’s wrong then?”

“Nothing.” But her beautiful silvery eyes were still flickering up to his bare chest and back down to her hands as though she couldn’t quite look away.

Baird resisted the urge to tilt her chin up so she would have to meet his eyes directly. Why did she keep looking at him? He looked down at his chest again. Maybe she preferred smooth skin only? If so she was out of luck, only Tranq Kindred grew no body hair. “What’s wrong, Lilenta?” he asked her earnestly. “Is there somethin’ you want me to change?”

“No, it’s nothing you can change. You’re just so…” She made a helpless little motion with one hand. “You’re just so big. And…and muscular.”