Shadowed: Brides of the Kindred book 8 (22 page)

He cursed and staggered backward, into the deeper water. Though he was a strong swimmer, the intense overload of emotion-thoughts made him disoriented. Before he knew it, his head was slipping under. He fought his way back to the surface, choking and gasping. It was like trying to swim in a pool of poison—he couldn’t see, couldn’t think…

“Reddix!” Suddenly, Nina was right beside him, splashing into the water fully clothed. She got an arm around his neck and tried to drag him up which was difficult since Reddix could tell she couldn’t touch the bottom at this depth.

“All right. I’m all right.” He stroked for shallower water and gulped air. “As long as you keep touching me I’ll be okay,” he told her as they came to the place in the pool where they could stand.

“Sure.” She took his hand and entwined their fingers with a tight grip. “Are you clean enough? Can we leave now?”

He nodded, relieved she wanted to go. “Let’s get out of here.”

Nina made some polite remarks to the aliens that he barely caught, and they climbed out of the pool together. She kept holding his hand but blushed and looked away as Reddix bent to retrieve his towel. It was hard draping it around his hips with one hand, and he wound up just holding it in front of him as they shuffled awkwardly around behind the wooden partition.

“Sorry,” Nina mumbled as he attempted to dry himself with one hand without exposing too much. “I’m, uh, trying not to look.”

“I don’t care if you look,” Reddix growled softly and realized it was true. How long had it been since he’d felt that way about a pretty girl staring at him? How long since he’d been free to expose himself to anyone without having to feel their lust coat his skin like cool slime? He found he liked the short, shy glances Nina was stealing at him as he dried his naked body. And for his part, he was having a hard time not looking at the way her wet dress clung to her, outlining her tight nipples and the tender V of her sex.

“I guess we’d better get going before more people come in,” she said, still not looking at him directly.

“Shouldn’t you dry off too?” Reddix asked. “You were just saying how cold you get.”

“Well…” She bit her lip, clearly uncertain, but she was already shivering.

“It’s okay.” He turned away from her though he was still holding her hand. “I won’t look.”

Nina seemed to make up her mind. “Okay.” She nodded. “Just hand me that towel…”

Reddix handed it to her and looked away though he was dying to see her lush body naked. He waited, the damp towel slung around his hips, as she fumbled with her dress. She seemed to be taking forever. Finally, he heard her give a soft, frustrated curse.

“Problem?” he said, still resisting the urge to look at her. “Need some help?”

“It’s this damn dress. I’m really not that much of a seamstress—it’s really just a glorified toga sewn together at the side and knotted at the shoulder. Only I can’t…get…the damn knot…loose.” She appeared to be jerking at the offending knot with every word but without much success.

“Let me help,” Reddix said, turning back to her.

“Oh, I don’t know…” Her cheeks were pink all over again. He admired her modesty, but he was getting tired of standing around in a wet towel.

“It’ll be all right,” he assured her. “I won’t look below your neck—I promise.”

“Well…all right. But hurry.”

“I’ll go as fast as I can. Just keep one hand on me so I can work on the knot,” he said.

Nina turned to him and put one soft little hand on his chest. Reddix felt a shiver run through him, but he fought not to show it and concentrated on the wet knot at her shoulder.

“You’re so warm,” she murmured as he worked. “How can you be so warm all the time?”

He shrugged. “I’m just bigger than you—I run hotter. Give off more body heat.”

“You certainly do,” she murmured, and he realized that she was staring at him, taking in his half naked body the way he was trying not to take in hers. For the first time in years the feeling of a woman’s eyes on him gave him pleasure instead of pain. Reddix felt himself go hard under the thin, damp towel he wore, but he forced himself to keep working. At last, the stubborn knot gave way, and the sodden blanket dress fell in a heap at her feet.

“There you go,” he murmured. And though he tried not to, he couldn’t stop himself from looking at her—her high breasts with their tight dark nipples, her curving waist and full hips. Her lush, heart-shaped ass…

“I thought you promised not to look.” Nina’s voice was breathless, but he noticed she made no move to cover herself.

“You promised the same thing, but you’ve been looking at me this whole time,” he pointed out softly. “Gods, you’re beautiful, Nina.”

“Th-thank you.” Her cheeks went deep pink again which only made her more beautiful as far as Reddix as concerned. “I…we should probably get going.” She reached for her towel with one hand, keeping the other planted firmly on his chest.

“Here—let me.” Reddix wrapped the furry towel around her, securing it in front with a quick knot. “Now do mine,” he said. “I think it’s slipping.”

Biting her lip, Nina quickly readjusted the towel he was wearing, clearly trying to ignore the hard bulge just under the thin fabric. Reddix put a hand on her slim shoulder to keep skin-to-skin contact, but he would much rather have touched her other places. His hands itched to palm her full breasts, to run down her sides and cup her lush ass. He’d never wanted a female so badly in his life.

She’s not for you,
he reminded himself, keeping his hand on her shoulder through sheer force of will.
Not now and not ever. You don’t deserve her so just leave her alone.

Which would be easier to do if he couldn’t tell she wanted him too. But the sweet, feminine scent of her arousal was in the air, filling his senses, making him long to press between her legs and taste her need right at the source. To spread her sweet pussy lips and lick her honey, thrusting his tongue deep inside her to get every last drop. Gods, he was losing his mind here…

At last when he thought he couldn’t stand another minute, Nina finished and took his hand.

“Let’s go,” she murmured. “I think your towel will hold up—for now.”

“Right behind you,” Reddix growled hoarsely. He wondered if they would be sleeping in the same room and then realized that of course they would have to. Gods, how would he make it through the rest of the day and the night keeping his hands to himself? How could he stop himself when he was so hungry for her, so starved to touch and be touched? And not just by anyone—it was Nina he hungered for and Nina alone.

You’ll just have to manage,
he lectured himself sternly.
Just keep it together and leave her be, damn it. She’s not for you!

* * * * *

Nina could feel his silver eyes on her as she led him back to their room. God, what was going on with her? She’d been blatantly staring at him back there when he was practically naked—not that he hadn’t been staring at her too. The tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife.

You are not doing this,
she told herself firmly as they made their way back down the long corridor to the room they’d been assigned in the guest hut.
You are absolutely not falling for the man who kidnapped you. It’s crazy!

But she couldn’t get the way he’d been looking at her out of her head. Couldn’t ignore how warm his hand was or pretend her heart wasn’t pounding every time she touched him.

Yes you can, eecho,
Mehoo-Jimmy’s voice lectured her.
You just keep your distance from him. He hasn’t even promised to take you back home yet. Don’t fall in love with a man you can’t trust.

Nina lifted her chin as they entered their small room. Mehoo-Jimmy’s voice, which she knew was simply her own common sense talking, was right. She needed to put some distance between herself and the big Kindred. Accordingly, she let go of his hand and went to find one of the other “dresses” she’d made herself while he was unconscious. She took it around the corner of the fireplace, where there was some privacy, and pulled it over her head before dropping the towel.

“Hey,” he murmured from right behind her.

Nina jumped and gave a little squeak of surprise as she turned around.

“Don’t do that,” she gasped, putting a hand to her chest. “You scared me to death.”

“Sorry,” Reddix said apologetically. “Didn’t mean to startle you. I was just going to ask about getting something else to wear and maybe that shave and haircut you promised me.” He rubbed a hand over his chin, producing a rasping sound. “I’m a lot shaggier than even
I
like, and this damn beard itches.”

“Oh, of course,” Nina said quickly grabbing another light blue fur blanket. “You’ll have to give me some time to sew something together for you—or you can just wear a blanket like a kilt until we have time to wash your regular clothes.”

“Don’t know what a kilt is, but I suppose I can drape it around my waist like the towel.” He took the blanket she was holding out to him and let the towel drop.

Nina looked quickly away. Of course she’d seen his equipment before, but this was different. Before at least he’d been mostly clothed. Now he was naked and muscular in the firelight. Beads of water still stood on his broad shoulders, and as she watched from the corner of her eye, one of them slid down the flat, muscular plane of his chest and rippled over his washboard abs in a most distracting way.

Damn it, why couldn’t she stop looking at him? Maybe because he was so freaking hot he made her feel like melting into a little puddle at his feet. Were all the Kindred this big and built? There wasn’t a spare ounce of flesh on him anywhere—it was all rock hard muscle and smooth, tan skin.

“…to sit?” he said.

“I’m sorry?” She blinked up at him, trying to meet that blazing silver gaze.

“I said, where do you want me to sit? For my ‘personal grooming session.’” He gave her half a grin which made Nina smile back.

“Um, there’s a chair thing around here somewhere.” She grabbed it from the other side of the fireplace—a heavy wooden thing she had to struggle to lift.

“Here, let me.” Reddix lifted it easily with one hand. “Where do you want it?”

“Right in front of the fireplace so I can see what I’m doing,” Nina directed. “Then just have a seat. I’ll get everything ready.”

She bustled around, laying out the scissors and shaving kit which was actually a really nice one although the Kindred razor looked kind of strange. She’d played with it some earlier and found that it emitted its own shaving gel which evaporated, leaving a thin film of water to wipe off as you shaved.

It was an awesome invention, and Nina had used it on her legs, loving the fact that she didn’t have to be in the shower to shave. Now she changed the blade and then put it back down on the towel she’d laid out on the bed. She needed to cut his hair while it was still damp so she would save the shaving for last.

Finally, she had everything the way she wanted it. She turned to Reddix, who was sitting patiently before the fire with the fur blanket knotted around his waist.

“Okay, I’m ready. Let me just get a towel around your shoulders so we don’t get hair all down your back.” She draped a still-damp towel around his broad bare shoulders and picked up the scissors. “How much should I take off? Do you want it short?”

“Not
too
short,” he said cautiously.

“Fine.” Nina shrugged. “Short, long…with a face like yours, you could get away with almost anything.”

“That’s the problem—my face,” he growled. “Don’t want people looking at me.”

“Because…?” Nina looked at him uncertainly. “Does it have to do with your RTS?”

“You’re Goddess-damned right it does. It’s not just touch that sets it off. I feel everything anyone feels when they look at me too. Touching just makes it worse.”

“But you’re so…I mean, your bone structure is perfect. And with those eyes…” Nina shook her head. “What I’m trying to say is, when people look at you, how could they be thinking about anything except how, uh…”

“How much they’d like to fuck me?” he asked bluntly.

“I was going to say how gorgeous you are,” Nina said softly and began snipping. “But yeah, I guess so.”

“I told you—positive emotions are as invasive as negative ones. Tell me something, how did you feel when that fat tub of guts you were treating right before I grabbed you asked you for sexual favors? Did you like it?”

“Who, Mr. Witherspoon?” Nina asked, frowning. “How do you know about him?”

“Dream-sharing,” he said shortly. “So did you like it when he propositioned you?”

“God, no! He’s disgusting. And the way he looks at me…I can almost
feel
his eyes crawling all over my skin. Ugh.”

“What if you could
really
feel them?” Reddix asked softly as she continued to cut. “What if you felt his lust for you like cold slime all over your body every time he looked at you? Or what if another female was jealous of how beautiful you are? What if you had to feel her jealousy like a thousand stinging insects on every inch of your skin? Would you like that?”

“No. No that would be…
horrible
,” Nina whispered, the scissors paused in mid-snip. “You told me a little about RTS that first night on the ship, but you never said—”

“The less said about it the better,” Reddix said shortly. “I have it, I deal with it. Just don’t make my hair too short.”

“Okay,” she said quietly. She went on snipping, glad to find that her hands still remembered their old skill, but inside she was hurting for him. Up until now she’d had the impression he couldn’t feel anything from other people unless they were touching him—well, other than the aliens they found themselves currently with, but they used emotions to communicate.

Nina had never dreamed the RTS was so bad—so debilitating. No wonder Reddix was gruff and harsh sometimes. He’d probably been in severe pain for the past ten years, ever since his disease manifested itself. She couldn’t imagine having to feel every emotion everyone felt about her or around her all the time. It would be horrible…unbearable.