Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“No, no—nothing like that,” he said. “It’s more like some Earth societies of the past, but flipped on its head. I know you must have studied cultures where women are bought for ‘bride prices’ or dowries,” correct?” he asked.
“Yes, of course.” Kaitlyn nodded. “Unfortunately, that’s still the practice in some primitive societies,” she added.
“Well, on Salimba Prime, the situation is reversed,” Sylvan explained. “Instead of a daughter being sold by her father to her husband, it’s the son who is sold by his mother to his wife. But I’m told that the women are very careful who they sell their sons to—a prospective wife must go through a long vetting process and prove she can provide for and care for her husband when she’s trying to win his hand.”
“So…once they marry, the husband is the wife’s property?” Kaitlyn had to admit the idea was intriguing. She had studied many matrilineal societies, but she’d never seen one where the males were considered to be the property of the females—well, except for Yonnie Six, of course.
“He is, but he’s treated extremely well,” Sylvan said, nodding. “The males there worship their wives and service them in every possible way and the wives cherish and care for them in return. It seems like a very happy society actually.”
Kaitlyn shrugged.
“All right—so what’s the problem?”
“A-hem.” Commander Sylvan cleared his throat. “Well, it’s not really a problem per say, but I do have to ask if you’re comfortable taking this assignment. Because the two of you are going to have to act as a couple in order to get this trade agreement signed. The Salimbans don’t respect a woman who doesn’t have the wealth, status, and reputation to own a husband. So they won’t even meet with you unless you’re ‘married.’” He leaned forward over his desk. “So please tell me now if this little, er, charade, is going to be a problem for you—either of you.”
“Well…I’m not attached to anyone right now,” Kaitlyn said slowly. “So it doesn’t bother me.” She cast a sidelong glance at her Protector. She’d never asked Braze if he was seeing anyone, but he had never talked about having a girlfriend. She knew he wasn’t Bonded to anyone at least—the Kindred wouldn’t have paired a warrior who was Bonded to another female with a single woman. Honestly, her impression was that he was a bachelor by choice—one of those guys who is married to his work.
“Doesn’t bother me either,” the Beast Kindred rumbled, shrugging.
“Are you sure?” Commander Sylvan asked. “Because I know there was an incident in your past having to do with Yonnie Six…”
“Not a fucking problem.” Braze’s voice dropped to a growl for some reason. “That’s the past—I live in the present.”
Kaitlyn shot him a curious look.
“So you won’t mind being ‘owned’ by me?”
To her surprise his golden eyes went suddenly half-lidded.
“Fuck no,” he growled. “I don’t mind one fucking bit…Mistress.”
He held her gaze with his own and for a moment Kaitlyn was sure she smelled something new in the room—a dark, masculine spice that smelled a hundred times better than even the most expensive cologne you could buy on Earth. Was it…his Bonding Scent? Surely not, she thought uneasily.
It was well known that Kindred males only made their Bonding Scent for the female they wanted to Join with and form a Soul Bond with. She was sure that her Protector didn’t feel that way about her—she must be imagining the scent, she decided. But still, the look in his golden eyes—it was an expression she’d never seen before—a kind of hungry lust that nearly took her breath away.
Her nipples were suddenly so tight they hurt. She shifted in her seat and pressed her thighs together—was she getting wet? What the hell was wrong with her? Was her body reacting to his scent?
“Oh, uh, okay,” she said. “That’s, um, good, I guess.”
“It certainly is. Then I guess I can officially assign the two of you this mission,” Commander Sylvan remarked.
“Yes, thank you,” Kaitlyn said distractedly. She was speaking to her boss, but she found she still couldn’t look away from the staring contest with Braze. At last she blinked and looked down at her hands which were clenched in her lap. From the corner of her eye, she saw Braze look away as well.
What had that been all about?
She couldn’t answer the question and since her Protector didn’t say anything else, the meeting came to an end shortly after. Commander Sylvan gave her the trade agreement to look over and asked that the two of them get going immediately. Before she knew it, she and Braze were back out in the long metal corridor outside his office.
“Um…well I guess we’d better go pack,” Kaitlyn said lamely. She wanted to ask him what the staring contest had been about, but she wasn’t sure how to put it. And her close-mouthed Protector wasn’t offering any explanations.