Submitting to the Shadow: Kindred Tales 27 Read online

  Submitting to the Shadow

  Evangeline Anderson

  www.evangelineanderson.com

  Submitting to the Shadow, 1st Edition,

  A Kindred Tales Novel

  Copyright © 2020 by Evangeline Anderson

  All rights reserved.

  Cover Art Design © 2020 by Reese Dante

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writers’ imagination or have been used factiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to a retailer of your choice or evangelineanderson.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

  Cover content is for illustrative purposes only.

  Any person depicted on the cover is a model.

  Contents

  Submitting to the Shadow

  Author’s Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  The End?

  Stolen

  Prologue

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  Also by Evangeline Anderson

  About the Author

  Submitting to the Shadow

  A Kindred Tales Novel

  A human girl, desperate for a job

  A warrior who demands her complete submission

  Can Sammi give herself over to Roark?

  And can Roark save her from a deadly fate?

  Read Submitting to the Shadow to find out…

  Samantha Grey is in deep trouble—someone is stalking her and he’s getting closer every day. Desperate to escape, she goes to the one place she knows she can’t be followed—the Kindred Mother Ship. But she needs a job to stay aboard and the only one available in her field is…strange to say the least. When Sammi interviews with her new boss, she can tell that Commander Roark is an Alpha male who will be a challenge to work with. But she has no idea that he will demand her complete submission…or that she will give it willingly.

  Commander Roark knows that he wants Sammi the moment he sees her. She’s an Elite—her lush curves call to his deepest desires. But a bad experience with a human woman in the past has made him wary of love. He and Sammi grow closer and closer but when she reveals an unthinkable truth, he sends her away, vowing to never love again.

  Heartbroken, Sammi flees back to Earth…and straight into danger. Can Roark rescue her from a deadly fate before time runs out? You’ll have to read Submitting to the Shadow to find out…

  Author’s Note

  When I started this book, I thought it was just going to be a kinky little short story. But then the characters grew and demanded more and more and it became a whole book—go figure. I know this isn’t as long as some of my books, but once again, we are dealing with homeschooling at my house.

  When we first began in August, I thought I’d never get used to it again, after having the whole summer off to write as much as I wanted. However, we seem to have found a system that works now. I let my son—who is almost a teenager—sleep in an extra hour while I get up 2 hours earlier. That way I have some time to write in the morning while I’m still fresh and he gets more sleep, which he apparently needs at this age.

  I’m telling you this not because I think my readers are interested in my life—you’ll notice you don’t see me much on social media posting my breakfast or whatever book I’m reading because I dislike that kind of thing for the most part. I’m just saying that if you’re a mom and you’re homeschooling, this new method is working well for us.

  If you need time to yourself to work and be productive, think about letting the kids sleep in. (If they will—I know this won’t work for really young kids. Sorry.) But if it works for you, let me know on Facebook. It’s good to have some time to myself before I have to dive into 7th grade math and science, (which I have completely forgotten, so basically I’m taking 7th grade all over again myself, right along with my kid. Fun.)

  Anyway, that’s all for now except that I hope you enjoy Submitting to the Shadow. It’s kind of kinky but I think my readers can handle that. ; )

  Hugs and Happy Reading to you all!

  Evangeline Sept 2020

  PS—I forgot to say that Submitting to the Shadow was partially inspired by one of my favorite movies, Secretary, which came out in the early 2000s. It’s much better than the 50 Shades movies, IMHO. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. Just don’t watch it until after the kids are in bed. ; )

  One

  “Are you pregnant?”

  “Excuse me?” Samantha Grey leaned across the desk, thinking she must have misunderstood the question.

  “Are you pregnant or are you planning to become pregnant in the next solar year?”

  This was shaping up to be the strangest job interview Sammi had ever had.

  “That’s a pretty personal question, don’t you think?” she asked, frowning.

  “Spare me your human opinions and answer my query, please.”

  Commander Roark was cold—ice cold, Sammi thought, looking at the large Kindred sitting across from her.

  He was also on the cutting edge of fertility technology and she really needed this job.

  “No,” she said unwillingly. “I’m not, uh, pregnant.”

  “That’s not good enough,” Commander Roark said flatly.

  “What?
But you said—”

  “If you take this job, I will need you to take precautions in order not to become pregnant,” he interrupted.

  “But that’s sexist!” Sammi protested. “You can’t just order someone not to get pregnant!”

  “This is my project and I can order anything I like.” His pale eyes—silvery-white and ringed in black, unlike any eyes Sammi had ever seen before—flashed as he spoke. “But I am not trying to be ‘sexist’—I simply need your full concentration and I need you to be fully available to me at any and all times that I need you. Which leads to my next question—are you mated or planning to become mated or joined in the next year?”

  “What—so now you want me to promise not to get married while I’m working for you either?” Sammi couldn’t believe his nerve.

  “It would be better if you didn’t.” Commander Roark was obviously unruffled by her indignation. “As I said, I need your complete attention. So if you’re ‘dating’ anyone, as you humans put it, you’ll need to put any joining plans on hold.” He leaned forward, arching one jet black eyebrow at her. “Are you dating anyone, Ms. Grey?”

  An image flashed through her mind. A note scrawled in a messy, unfamiliar hand, left on her kitchen counter. Hey, Beautiful, what time should I pick you up for our date tonight?

  She remembered the cold feeling of dread that crawled down her spine at the sight of that note, laying there where he must have known she would find it. Remembered thinking, Oh my God, he’s been in my house—in my house!

  “Ms. Grey?” Commander Roark’s voice cut through the creepy memory.

  “Oh, uh—no,” Sammi said quickly. “No, I’m not planning on getting married. In fact, I’m not even seeing anyone—I’m single right now.”

  The minute the words left her mouth, she wanted to smack herself on the head. Why had she put it like that? Like she was looking for a date instead of a job!

  But her answer seemed to please Commander Roark. He nodded and almost smiled—an expression that centered more in his pale eyes than his thin but sensual mouth.

  “That’s good—very good. I would prefer it if you remained ‘single’ as you put it, at least until this project is done.”

  “What project are we talking about?” Sammi asked, frowning. She’d heard rumors of course—word got around the fertility community—but she wanted to have them confirmed by Commander Roark himself.

  But he only shook his head.

  “All you need to know is that it’s going to revolutionize infertility treatments in the Kindred/human community. You’ll find out more if I decide to take you on.”

  Sammi frowned. “And that’s more likely to happen if I promise to stay single?”

  “Candidly, yes.” His voice was cool.

  “But…you can’t dictate my personal life!” Sammi protested.

  “I can and I will, while you’re working for me.” Those pale eyes flashed again. “I told you, Ms. Grey, I will need your full attention. There will be early mornings and late nights. The workload will be vast because there will be only the two of us.”

  “Why, though?” Sammi asked. “If I understand correctly, this is a very important project to the Kindred which means the funding should be, if not unlimited, then at least extremely generous. So why not hire more than just one assistant?”

  “Because one person is all I can trust!” Roark exclaimed.

  He stood up abruptly and started pacing as he ran a hand through his thick, black hair in a gesture of weary frustration.

  “I’d rather not even trust one, to be perfectly honest, Ms. Grey, but I need help. The project has grown beyond my ability as a single researcher to do it justice.”

  He leaned across the desk, staring at her intently.

  “I need an assistant—one who’s willing to be available to me and only me at any time of the day or night. One who can keep her mouth shut and keep focused with laser-like intensity on our ultimate goal—making certain any human female who wants to give birth to a Kindred child is able to have one.”

  “That is a very admirable goal,” Sammi admitted. She was a little taken aback by his fiery intensity. He’d seemed like a statue carved of ice through most of the interview and then he just erupted, like some kind of sexy, intense volcano…

  No, wait—why had she thought of him that way? He was going to be her boss—if he offered her this position, which didn’t seem likely now. She needed to keep a professional attitude.

  “I’m glad you applaud my goal,” Roark said dryly, sinking back down into his chair and steepling his long fingers beneath his chin. “So then, would you be willing to sign a contract stipulating that you will remain single and take steps not to get pregnant during your first year of working with me?”

  Sammi looked at him blankly.

  “So…you’re offering me the job?”

  “Of all my applicants, you have the best qualifications.” He was back to being icy cold again. “A Doctorate in Embryology from Stanford and you’re working on a second one in Developmental Biology, correct?”

  Sammi nodded.

  “Yes, that’s right. I’m at USF now—I moved back to Florida to be near my family.”

  “Very good.” He nodded. “So if you’re willing to sign the contract I mentioned, I’m willing to offer you the job.”

  Sammi knew perfectly well this wouldn’t have flown down on Earth. You couldn’t dictate to someone if they could get married or get pregnant just because you offered them a job! But apparently the same rules didn’t seem to apply here aboard the Kindred Mother Ship.

  The strange thing was, that the Kindred were said to be feminists. Women had more control of their own bodies and choices here—not less. It was a consequence of the fact that the Kindred race was 95% male, which meant they valued females highly. In fact, they even worshipped a female deity—the Mother of All Life.

  Given all this, she was extremely surprised to find herself in this position. Maybe Commander Roark hadn’t gotten the memo about the Kindred treating women with respect, she thought dryly.

  She wanted to get up and throw his sexist job offer in his face, and in any other situation, she would have done so. But the fact was, she needed this job—and not just for career advancement. She needed to get off of Earth and stay off for a while.

  She’d been staying with her best friend, Meg, and Meg’s Beast Kindred husband, Berik, for the past week but her visitor’s pass was up today. It was either take the job with Commander Roark or go back down to Tampa where she didn’t feel safe anymore.

  With a shiver, she remembered the pictures that had been popping up on her cellphone in the days before she’d come to visit Meg aboard the Mother Ship. Pictures of herself all around town—sitting in her car in the USF parking lot, shopping at Publix, buying a loaf of Cuban bread from a local bakery, La Segunda. And then, the picture that had finally driven her into calling Meg in tears—a picture of Sammi in the shower.

  That picture of herself, wet and naked and vulnerable, along with the note left on her kitchen counter, had sent her running scared. When she’d called her best friend, nearly hyperventilating with fear, Meg had been as upset as Sammi was.

  “Oh honey, he followed you all the way from California?” she’d asked as Sammi sobbed on the other end of the line.

  “I g-guess so. Meggie—what am I going to do?”

  “You’re going to come up here—right now,” Meg had said firmly. “I’ll ask Berik to apply for a visitor pass for you so you can stay for a little while and decide what to do next.”

  Sammi had agreed without hesitation. After all, whoever her anonymous stalker was, he might be able to follow her all the way across the country from California to Florida, but he couldn’t follow her to the Mother Ship where access was strictly limited.

  It was while she was staying with Meg and Berik that she found out about the job as an assistant to Commander Roark. Faced with the reality that she was about to be deported back down to Earth, she had jumped to ap
ply.

  And now it had been offered to her—it should have been the answer to her fears, hopes, and prayers. It would have been, too, if the eccentric Kindred scientist hadn’t offered it to her under such strange circumstances.

  Still, beggars couldn’t be choosers and Sammi didn’t want to go back to Earth right now.

  So I guess I’m taking this job, she thought, staring at those strange, pale eyes. But I’m going to do the best I can to take it under my own terms.

  “All right,” she said, nodding at Roark, who had been waiting with more-than-human patience while she thought about his offer. “I’ll accept your offer and I’ll even sign a contract stating that I won’t start dating anyone or get pregnant…but for one year only.” She held up one finger to illustrate her point. “After that, I’m free to resume my social life. And let me warn you, Commander Roark—I come from a big Irish Catholic family on my mother’s side, which means I’m going to want to get married and have a lot of kids. I’ve always wanted that and since I’m thirty-eight this year, time is running out for me to have them.”