Page 7 of Faking it with the Hybrid

He hoped, anyway. Because every part of him wanted her—achedfor her—which was going to make this fucking hard. When he was near her, the fangs from his Blood Kindred heritage got sharper and he longed to bite her and inject his essence. The Mating Fist at the base of his shaft—a part from his Beast Kindred side—throbbed, longing to fill her and bond the two of them together. And he could feel his internal temperature rising as the part of him that was Flame Kindred longed to bring her close enough to be protected by his flames.

Not that he had any flames though, Grath reminded himself. Since he was only a quarter Flame Kindred, he’d never had a “flame up” before. The most he could manage was to produce extra heat when he concentrated—which at least meant he was never chilly. Even in the freezing temperatures of the icy Tranq Prime, where it was so dangerously cold everyone lived in underground grottos, he could comfortably stand outside in a howling ice storm and never lose even a degree of body heat.

It was an excellent power to have if you lived somewhere like Tranq Prime, Grath thought wryly, but not much use aboard the Mother Ship, where the temperature was regulated and moderate year-round. He wondered how cold or hot it would be on Earth, when he visited with Madeline. He really ought to ask her before he packed, he supposed. Though it would be awkward having a face-to-face conversation that didn’t involve the two of them sniping at each other the way Grath made sure they did, so he could keep some emotional distance between them.

That distance wasn’t easy to maintain when every part of him longed for her—so much so that he had actually been havingdreamsof her at night! Which was ridiculous—he really had to stop craving the little female like this. She—

Just then there was a sharprap-rap-rapat the door to his suite. Grath frowned. Who could that be? Maybe Commander Sylvan with some last-minute instructions?

He walked around to the sliding silver door and called,

“Open!” in an authoritative voice. The door responded to his command and the silver panel slid to one side revealing…

Madeline.

THREE

MATTIE

Mattie took a deep breath. Was she doing the right thing, confronting the big Hybrid in his quarters?

But shehadto do it—they couldn’t just go down to Earth without at least discussing a strategy. And they needed to set some ground rules too. Something like, no kissing except on the cheek, or something like that. Anything else would just be too damn awkward.

It wasn’t that she didn’t find the big Hybrid attractive, Mattie told herself. He was extremely handsome—in a bad boy kind of way. With that wild black hair and those curving tattoos all up and down his muscular arms he looked like a renegade from a motorcycle gang. Physically, he was just her type.

I’m probably nothistype, though,she told herself.He probably doesn’t go for curvy girls.

She’d heard that many Kindred did though—it had even given her some hope that she might find someone when she came up to the Mother Ship. Though she hadn’t had any luck so far. Mattie loved her curves, but it had been a long, hard journey to get there and she wasn’t going to be with a man who didn’t love them too. Anyway, it didn’t matter if they were each other’s type since they were just going to bepretendingto date, she told herself.

And then the door slid open and Grath was just standing there, towering over her like an ogre in a fairy tale. When he saw it was her, his face went as dark as a storm cloud and Mattie gave a mental sigh.

“We’re going to have to work on that,” she said, shoving her way determinedly into his suite of rooms, though he hadn’t invited her. It involved a little scrunching to get past his muscular bulk, but it wasn’t too difficult to slip under his arm—she barely had to duck, since he was so much taller than her.

“Work on what? And why are you here, little girl?” he growled, turning to face her.

“We’re going to have to work onthattoo,” Mattie told him. “By which I mean, the way you look at me and the way you address me,” she added, by way of explanation. “There’s nowaymy family are going to believe we’re in love if you scowl every time you see me and you call me demeaning nicknames.”

“Demeaning?” he demanded, striding over to tower over her again as the door slid shut behind him. “What’s demeaning about ‘little girl?’ You’re tiny and you’re a female—it certainly fits you.”

“How would you like it if I called you, ‘big, dumb male?’” Mattie shot back.

“Hey…” His face got even darker. “That’s not very fucking nice.”

“No, it’s not,” Mattie said crisply. “So now you know how I feel about being called ‘little girl.’” She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. “Look, I didn’t come here to fight.”

“Whydidyou come, then?” He raised his eyebrows at her, clearly waiting for an explanation.

“For a strategy session,” Mattie told him. “And to set some ground rules. Look—have a seat, would you? You’re so damn tall I’m getting a crick in my neck trying to talk to you.”

She gestured to the large, overstuffed love seat that was positioned in front of the fireplace in the living area of his suite. Reluctantly, she thought, the big Hybrid went to have a seat. He settled on the couch, his knees spread and his elbows resting on his thighs as he leaned forward to look at her intently.

“All right, so tell me—what do you want me to call you?” he asked seriously. “Dr. Porter? Madeline?”

“Mattie is fine,” Mattie said.

He frowned.

“You know we Kindred consider it an insult to shorten a female’s given name, don’t you?”

---