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  When Baird came back Liv saw with dismay that he hadn’t cut the oozing monstrosity into wedges like a normal pizza—not that anything about it was normal of course. Instead he’d sliced it in two, right down the middle and put each huge piece on a long red metal platter.

  “Here you go.” He put one of the platters in front of Liv, forcing her to get up-close and personal with his dinner creation. It looked even worse on her plate than it had from a distance. Liv was glad she had a strong stomach. She’d seen some fairly disgusting things during nursing school, especially during her surgery rotation and in the burn unit, but none of them were quite as nasty as Baird’s “pizza.”

  “Well, go ahead. I thought you were starving.”

  She looked up to see him watching her, black eyebrows raised in anticipation. Oh my God, I’m actually going to have to eat it! Her stomach rolled at the thought.

  “You, uh, gave me so much I don’t know where to begin,” she lied weakly.

  “Only one piece.” He frowned. “Is it too much?”

  “It’s just a little more than I’m used to. Uh, on Earth we cut a pizza into eight or ten wedges.” And we don’t top it with fruit cocktail!

  “I can cut it into smaller pieces if you want,” he offered.

  “No, no. That’s okay. I’ll make do.” There was no putting it off anymore. Taking a deep breath, Liv lifted the huge sloppy slice and forced herself to take a bite.

  “You like it?” Baird stared at her suspiciously.

  “Mmm, delicious,” Liv mumbled, fighting her gag reflex. Inside her mouth the flavors of canned salmon, lima beans, and fruit cocktail were fighting and she wondered how in the world she would swallow without throwing up. But the big warrior was still watching her carefully for her reaction and she didn’t want to insult him. With a monumental effort she choked down the mess and prayed it wouldn’t come back up.

  “So it’s good?” he asked again.

  “Unforgettable,” Liv assured him which for once was the absolute truth.

  “Glad you like it.” Baird lifted his own piece of pizza and, keeping his eyes on her the entire time, took a huge bite. But when he started to chew, his face turned a peculiar shade of red. “Gods!” Getting up from the table in a hurry, he ran to the sink and spat out the mouthful. Then he turned back to Liv. “That was fuckin’ horrible. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Liv shrugged, not sure if she should laugh or feel sorry for him. “I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

  “I’d rather have my feelings hurt than eat that slop.” Baird frowned. “I don’t understand what you humans see in that dish anyway.”

  “Well…” Liv tried to think of a way to put it tactfully. “We don’t always make it exactly like that.” She nodded at the half a pizza she’d put back down on the metal serving tray.

  “But I did everything the clerk told me to,” Baird protested. “He said it was mistake proof. That anyone could do it.”

  “Anyone can do it. You just put a little too much on it, that’s all.”

  “Damn it to hell.” Baird sighed. “I’m sorry, Olivia. I wanted to make all your favorites—the things I saw you eating in my dreams. It was between this and that other stuff you like with the raw sea creatures rolled in the white grains. I thought this would be easier.”

  “Sushi?” Liv bit her lip to keep from laughing. “You were going to try and make me sushi?” As badly as he’d screwed up the pizza, she couldn’t imagine what his version of sushi would look like. Visions of a whole dead fish coated in sticky rice and rolled in peas and carrots instead of roe rose to mind. Ugh.

  Baird shrugged. “I wanted to. I wanted to make you something special every night. But I guess I’m not very good at cooking human food. Sorry.” He sounded so crestfallen and his broad shoulders slumped so sadly that Liv couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

  She rose and went to put a hand lightly on his arm. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m sure if I tried to make Kindred cuisine I wouldn’t do any better.”

  Baird shook his head. “I’ve failed. Part of the claiming period is knowing how to prepare the foods your bride craves.”

  “Well right now what I’m craving is pizza,” Liv said firmly. “Do you still have any of the ingredients left?”

  “Of course.” Baird nodded at the table. “I got enough to make five or six like that.”

  “Five or six?” Liv stared at him, wide-eyed. “To eat all at once?”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t know how hungry you might be.”

  “Not hungry enough to eat five or six large pizzas,” Liv assured him. “But one might be nice if it’s made right. Come on, get out the stuff and I’ll show you.”

  Working together, they had a new pizza that consisted only of crust, sauce and cheese assembled in no time. Liv tactfully steered Baird away from the fruit cocktail, which he thought might be good as a single topping, explaining that she liked her pizza plain. Very, very plain. She watched with interest as he demonstrated how to work his version of an oven and explained that it got hot enough to burn off a hand and had to be used with care. When it only took about three seconds to cook the new pizza Liv was amazed but she couldn’t help noticing that Baird was frowning and shaking his head.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked as he removed the piping hot pie and started slicing it into wedges.

  “Nothing. Just that it got all gooey and runny again,” he muttered, pointing at the oozing cheese. “I thought maybe it wouldn’t this time without the other crap on top.”

  “That’s cheese,” Liv explained as they took the new pizza to the table. Baird had already scraped the old one down the sink which was equipped with a powerful suction attachment that put any garbage disposal she’d ever seen to shame. “It’s supposed to do that. It melts—that’s what makes it so good.”

  “You sure about that or are you just trying not to hurt my feelings again?” Baird eyed her suspiciously.

  “I’m positive.” Liv smiled at him and took a bite out of her pizza. As the cheese spread out in a long, thin string between her mouth and the slice she was holding she pointed at it. “See? Delicious.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Dubiously he picked up a slice of his own and took a bite. Liv watched as the look on his face turned from doubt to excitement. He chewed, swallowed, and took another bite. Then another. Then he was on to his next slice.

  “Hey, hang on. Don’t make yourself sick!” Liv cautioned.

  He grinned at her. “You’re right. This is really good—especially the cheese stuff. Looks horrible but tastes fuckin’ amazing.”

  Suddenly Liv thought of something that made her grin. “You like the cheese, huh?”

  “Mm-hmm.” Nodding, he dived into another slice eagerly. “It’s great.”

  “You want to know what it’s made of?” Liv asked, still grinning.

  He swallowed and looked at her suspiciously. “I don’t know. Do I?”

  “Sure.” Deliberately, Liv picked a stray piece of cheese off her plate and popped it in her mouth. “It’s made with milk. Lots and lots of milk.”

  “Milk? Really?”

  “Yup. You know—cow squeezings?”

  For a moment Baird looked horrified. Then the corners of his mouth began to twitch and that deep rumbling laugh Liv was beginning to find so attractive came pouring out. He sounded so happy she couldn’t help laughing with him and soon they were both roaring while Baird pounded the table until the red metal serving trays jingled and clattered.

  Finally they tapered off to giggles and snorts. Liv’s stomach actually hurt and she realized she couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so hard.

  “Gods.” Baird wiped at his eyes and smiled at her. “I want to thank you, Olivia.”

  She grinned. “What for? Feeding you cow squeezings?”

  “No.” He was suddenly serious. “I was in a pretty bad place before I met you—before we met outside our dreams, I mean. It was dark and cold and the pain…” He shook
his head. “I don’t even want to talk about the pain. Let’s just say it was bad. Really bad. So bad that sometimes I wondered if I was going to have anything left once I finally met you and claimed you. Anything to offer you but agony and hurt and horror. But you…” He reached across the table and took her hand gently in his. “You haven’t even been in my life an entire day and already you’ve given me back the laughter I thought I’d lost forever. I’m grateful to you for that. More grateful than I can say.”

  Liv looked down at the big hand holding hers. “I don’t hate you, you know. I just…this isn’t what I want for the rest of my life.” She looked up at him. “I wish you could understand that and just pick someone else.”

  “You still don’t get it, do you, Olivia?” He stroked her palm with the broad pad of his thumb, making Liv’s pulse jump erratically. “There’s no one else in the universe for me. No one but you. I know you don’t see that now, but you will.”

  Liv frowned and tried to pull her hand away. “How can you be so sure I’ll come around? Aren’t you risking an awful lot on the assumption that you can seduce me?”

  “I’m willing to risk anything and everything to have you,” Baird said seriously. “And I know you’ll come to me eventually. I can tell by the way you’re heart beats so much harder when I touch you. By the way your cheeks flush pink when I’m near you. By the delicious scent of your body getting ready for me.”

  “My…my scent? I have a scent?” Liv whispered, trying not to think of the other things he’d said.

  He inhaled deeply, his eyes never leaving hers. “Gods, yes—if only you knew. Your scent drives me crazy. I could pick you out of a crowd by your scent alone even if I was blindfolded.”

  Liv thought about telling him that he smelled pretty amazing himself but decided it was probably a bad idea. “I…I should go get ready for bed,” she said, trying to draw her hand out of his again.

  “Are you that eager to come to my bed, Lilenta?” His lids were half lowered over those incredible molten gold eyes and the heat in their depths made her knees feel rubbery.

  “You…you know what I mean.” Liv tried to control the tremble in her voice but it was hard when he was looking at her like that.

  Baird smiled. “I know. I know better than you do.”

  “That’s what you think.” Liv knew her words carried little weight—she’d been reacting to him in every possible way since she’d met him. He must know he affected her—in fact, he’d just told her as much. Still she tried to sound cool and aloof. “Believe me, Baird, I’m not all that eager to hop into bed—not nearly as eager as you are, anyway.”

  He shrugged, his liquid gold eyes still fixed on hers. “Yeah, I admit it—I’m damn eager to get you in my bed. Can’t wait to feel you under me. Can’t wait to make you come.” He gave her a slow, hot smile.

  “You don’t want much, do you?” Liv tried to sound sarcastic but her words came out breathy instead.

  Baird pinned her with a hot look. “I’ll tell you what I want. I want to know what kind of sounds you make when you lose control and feel you tremble against me when I push you over the edge. Want to touch you, taste you, spread your legs and go down on you until you cry and moan and beg and pull my hair. That’s what I’m eager for, Olivia.”

  “I…You…” Liv didn’t know what to say. She could feel a hot blush climbing from the valley between her breasts all the way up to her forehead. Baird watched her with a knowing look on his face.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s just how I feel.” He let go of her hand and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Why don’t you take the box your sister sent up and take a soak in the bathing pool before you get ready for bed?”

  “Sophie sent my things?” Liv had been so caught up in her new world on the Kindred ship she’d almost forgotten. Hope they sent what was in the top dresser drawer! Now more than ever, she was beginning to think what she’d asked for was really going to come in handy.

  He nodded. “The box is in the living area near the front entrance. “I hope you find the contents useful.”

  Liv gave him a penetrating look as she rose from the table. “I’m sure I will.”

  Baird thought about her as he cleared away the rest of the pizza and packed it into a cold bag to hang from a hook in his chillkeeper. Olivia hadn’t eaten much—just a few bites—but he thought he was probably to blame for that. He’d made her nervous, talking about taking her to bed. He knew she wasn’t an untried virgin from the dreams they’d shared but she acted like one when he attempted to discuss sex or bonding with her. Baird thought he knew why.

  From what he’d seen in his dreams of her, the few former lovers she’d taken to her bed had no real concept of what it meant to please a woman. Her last lover especially, the one she’d almost made a lifetime commitment to, preferred to please himself and then go to sleep. He’d used her body as an implement of self pleasure without bothering to make sure that Olivia was satisfied, a fact that made Baird angry and disgusted. It was like using a fine musical instrument to play a simple, selfish tune when it was capable of producing a much richer, more complex sound if only you took the time to really master it.

  At any rate, he wasn’t going to repeat her former lover’s mistakes—he fully intended to put Olivia’s pleasure first. He couldn’t wait to caress her breasts and tease her nipples until they were stiff little peaks and then run his hands down her soft, trembling belly to cup her ripe, wet pussy. Even with clothing between them he knew he could bring her pleasure—if only she would let him.

  Of course what he really wanted to do was thrust deep into her tight sheathe and feel her quake around him when she came—and that was only to start with. Baird was hungry to make her come again and again until she was completely happy and exhausted. He wanted her content to lie in his arms and let him stroke and touch her and bring her pleasure. Wanted to hear his name on her lips as she shuddered to orgasm over and over.

  He growled low in his throat as he pictured a warm, naked Olivia in his bed. Just the thought of her softly rounded body pressed against his as he touched her made his cock rise to rock-hard attention in his pants. Gods, but he wanted her! Wanted to touch her, to taste her and lap her sweet, wet cleft, to savor her honey right from the source…of course he would have to wait for that privilege even longer, as per their claiming contract. But Baird was willing to wait.

  For right now, even the idea of having her in bed beside him was better than nothing. Just the thought of stroking her body through the thin fabric of her gown until she came and then holding her close as they both drifted off to sleep was very pleasant. He hoped Olivia would allow him to do it. He was only allowed to hold her right now but if she would just relax enough to let him touch her, even over her clothes, maybe she’d be more open to his other advances later.

  “Later, Lilenta,” he growled to himself. “But not too much later. In another week we’ll bathe together and the week after that I can taste you. The week after that…” But he wouldn’t allow himself to think about the fourth week of the claiming period. It was too far off and he wanted it too much. Too much to control himself, if he thought about what he’d be allowed to do by then.

  Chapter Twelve

  Liv did a quick check to be sure the box had everything she’d asked for and then decided to take a bath before she sorted through the contents in detail. A cold shower is what I really need, she thought as she felt her way carefully down the three shallow steps of the sunken bathing pool. It was true, too. After her last conversation with Baird and seeing the heat in his amber eyes she definitely needed some cooling off.

  But she wasn’t going to get it in the bathing pool. The warm water swirled about half way up her breasts, making her wish she had a bathtub like it at home. At first she tried to be careful as she got in, feeling sure that she’d be getting water all over the floor. But for some reason the water level never rose. Even when she sank down to her chin, and not a single drop overspille
d the edge of the tub.

  “Mmmm.” Liv reclined so that the back of her head was resting on the rounded outside edge of the deep pool and closed her eyes. She’d twisted her long blonde hair up on top of her head before getting in and she was glad she had. She had no idea if Baird had anything like a hairdryer and she’d forgotten to ask Kat and Sophie to send one up. Not that she’d have a place to plug it in if they did. The Kindred ship must run on some alternate power source or something because she hadn’t seen a single electrical outlet since she’d been there.

  Sighing, she let herself float free in the wonderfully warm water. She couldn’t be completely sure but it seemed like there was a very slight scent to it—nothing floral or overpowering, just a hint of something tangy and fresh like some kind of alien citrus fruit. Liv breathed deeply, trying to identify it but couldn’t. It was something like pink grapefruit with another note mixed in. Maybe mint? Whatever it was, breathing it in seemed to clear her head completely, making her feel like all the poisons and pollutions she’d been breathing back on Earth were being leached out of her system by the healing water.

  “Now if I just had some bubble bath this would be perfect,” she murmured to herself. Some bubble bath and someone to wash your back for you. Your back and…other things, whispered a naughty little voice in her brain. “Shut up,” Liv muttered to herself. “It’s not going to be like that.” Except she was afraid it was going to be exactly like that. After all, in a week she was obligated to start bathing with Baird and he would be legally able to touch her with no clothing between them.

  Liv just couldn’t get the way he’d looked at her out of her head. “I just can’t wait to make you come,” he’d told her in that deep, rumbling voice. No one had ever talked to her like that before. Mitch had been much too busy trying to get his own rocks off to worry if Liv ever saw fireworks herself. But Baird seemed to have an entirely different focus in mind—her. He actually seemed to want to give her pleasure, not just get off himself. And the way he talked about spreading her legs and going down on her…Liv shivered and refused to let herself think about it. Refused to admit that beneath the warm water her pussy felt ripe and wet and hot with a need she’d never known before.