Page 6 of Forced to Mate By the Mad Scientist

Sylvie had no idea what to say. He really was close enough to kiss. She could feel his warm breath on her face and for a moment, she was sure he actually was going to kiss her. And the worst thing was—she actuallywantedhim to!

“Kross…” she whispered breathlessly. “I don’t know?—”

Abruptly, he pulled away from her.

“Well—I think you’re all healed now, Princess.”

His sudden shift in mood left her feeling almost dizzy. What had just almost happened between them? Or had she imagined it?

“Um… thank you, I guess,” she said, at a loss for anything else to say.

“Welcome, Princess. Here—wear this.”

He got up and found a spare shirt for her—one of his uniform shirts, Sylvie saw. It was from the extra uniform he always carried with him when they went on missions, she realized.

“But what about you? What willyouwear?” she asked uncertainly as she sat up and slipped the huge shirt on. It was made of a thick, satiny material that felt cool and silky against her now extremely sensitive tips.

He shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling with the motion.

“My flight leathers are fine until we get back to the Mother Ship.” He raised one silvery eyebrow at her. “Unless you’re thinking you want to go back outside and look for some more leeches or some other creepy-crawlies?”

“Ugh—no! Not right now.” Sylvie shivered. “Um, do we still have the slugs that, uh, bit me?”

He nodded.

“Still on the shower floor but I can put them in a specimen box for you.”

“Would you?” Sylvie asked. “Thank you—I’d rather not handle them again so soon after…”

“After they almost drained you dry? Yeah, I don’t blame you, Princess.”

He barked a laugh and nodded.

“Okay, I’ll go take care of that and then we can go home. If you’re sure you’re feeling okay, that is?”

Leaning over, he cupped her cheek briefly in one big, warm hand as he looked anxiously into her eyes.

For some reason, Sylvie found it hard to hold his gaze. Which for once, was a pure, deep, dark blue without even a hint of angry red.

“I think so…I mean I’m pretty sure I’m okay,” she said. She could feel her cheeks getting hot with a blush—damn it, what was happening? Was she having some kind of moment with her sarcastic Kindred Protector?

“Well…if you’re sure. Because we can stay here for a little while if you need to recuperate,” he offered. “I could make you something to eat—we have plenty of meal cubes.”

Sylvie bit her lip. What should she say? For the first time her Protector was being nice instead of rude and cutting. Also, the moment that had passed between them had been strangely compelling. Could it be she’d misjudged him all this time?

“Well…I guess we could—“ she began. But just then the com-link at the front of the shuttle buzzed, which usually meant they had an incoming message from the Mother Ship.

“Hold that thought,” Kross rumbled, stroking her cheek. Then he got up and went to the front to answer the message.

Sylvie sat there on the bed, fumbling with the rest of the gold buttons on his shirt, her heart pounding, wondering if she’d been wrong about the big Kindred all along. Could it be that he actually liked her? Liked her so much that something might even grow between them?

It was a strange thought and one she tried to push away at once. But she couldn’t forget the way he’d looked at her…and cupped her cheek. Couldn’t forget the way he’d healed her so gently…

But then, when he came back from the front of the ship, everything changed.

4

SYLVIE

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