Secret Santa Surprise: Book 29 in the Kindred Tales Series Read online

  “Hopefully by morning, she’ll be completely healed,” Strong told his brother. “There will be nothing to indicate she was ever hurt in the first place.”

  “Good.” Clear took her unhurt hand and pressed it to his lips reverently. “I don’t want her perfection to be scarred in any way.”

  “She truly is a beauty,” Strong commented. “And so brave!” He shook his head in wonder. “She withstood pain that would have brought a warrior to his knees in battle.”

  “She’s something special, Strong.” Clear looked up at him. “And there’s a connection between us—I know there is.”

  “Well, if there wasn’t before, there certainly is after tonight’s little adventure,” Strong said dryly. “Seven Hells, I’m more than half in love with her myself after seeing her bravery and beauty.” He sighed deeply. “But Clear, you have to realize that a female like this can have her pick of any warrior she wants. Or any human male, for that matter.” He made a face. “Though why a female would want to be with one of those feeble humans, I have no idea. I wonder that their species has survived for this long, as puny as their males are.”

  “I know Melanie can have her pick, but I still believe she’ll pick us, if we at least try to win her affections,” Clear said stubbornly. “We have to think positively here, Brother.”

  “You may be right—the Goddess works in mysterious ways,” Strong said and yawned despite himself. He’d been up for over twenty-five Earth hours by now and he was beat.

  “You should go home to bed,” Clear told him. “You look dead on your feet, Strong.”

  “I nearly am,” Strong admitted. Actually, his shift had ended an hour ago. But to be honest, he simply couldn’t bear to leave the little Elite’s side.

  You’re as foolish over her as Clear is, a little voice whispered in the back of his head. Admit it, Strong—you’re smitten.

  Ruefully, he acknowledged it was true. The curvy little Elite had gotten under his skin and now he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

  “You should go,” Clear said again.

  “I don’t want to,” Strong admitted. Reaching out, he stroked Melanie’s cheek gently with the back of his hand. “I don’t want to leave her.”

  “Then let’s not.” Clear looked up at him hopefully. “Let’s take her home and let her sleep between us. Our energy will help to heal her hand and we won’t have to leave her here alone.”

  “Well…” Strong knew he would never have considered such an idea with any other patient. But the curvy, mature Elite was special.

  And there was truth to what his brother said—though Twin Kindred couldn’t heal their mates with a bite, like the Blood Kindred could, placing a female they both cared for between them did facilitate the healing process. It was a kind of energy they generated when the beloved female was cradled between their bodies—sometimes it was effective when nothing else was.

  “Please?” Clear asked, looking up at him. “I don’t feel right about leaving her here, Strong. She needs us—needs the healing we can give her by holding her between us.”

  Strong frowned.

  “You know her better than I do. Would she be upset to wake up between the two of us? It’s hardly standard practice to take a patient home with you and put her in your bed, after all.”

  “She’ll be surprised but not upset, I think,” Clear said. “As long as we make it clear to her that we haven’t touched her inappropriately and we only wanted to heal her, I don’t think Melanie will have a problem with waking up between us.”

  “Well then…” Strong hesitated but he knew that his mind was already made up. He couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Melanie here in the Med Center for someone else to care for either. He wanted to take her home with them as much as Clear did. “All right,” he said at last, nodding. “Let me go tell the Charge Nurse that I’ll be checking her out. I don’t want her to worry.”

  “I’ll get her ready to go.” Clear started to scoop the little Elite into his arms but Strong stopped him.

  “Let me carry her this time,” he said to his twin. “It will look better since I’m the doctor treating her.”

  Clear tried and failed to smother a grin.

  “Also you want to hold her. Don’t try to deny it, Brother—I can feel it through our link.”

  “Yes, I want to hold her,” Strong admitted. “I feel like you have a head start on me since you’ve been working with her for months. I want to hold her in my arms as we carry her home with us.”

  “I understand.” Clear nodded and sank back into the chair beside Melanie’s bed. “I’ll wait for you.”

  “Thank you.” Strong nodded and went to find the Charge Nurse and explain that he was checking Melanie out of the Med Center. He didn’t anticipate any problems. The nurse on duty tonight was mated to Twin Kindred herself, so she fully understood the healing power that came from a female lying between the two males who cared for her.

  Strong just hoped his brother was right and that Melanie would understand as well. If she didn’t, they could be in a very sticky situation once she woke up…

  6

  When she woke up, Melanie was lying on her left side, cradled in warmth and darkness. There was a hard, firm pillow at her back and one in front of her too. The sensation of being held between them made her feel safe and protected and she sighed deeply and stretched luxuriously before cuddling down again between the warm pillows.

  Only, who ever heard of pillows that breathed?

  Because these pillows were breathing. They seemed to be moving slowly up and down in perfect rhythm with each other. In and out…in and out…

  There was also a delicious smell in the air, Melanie realized. It was actually a combination of scents—a warm, spicy, masculine musk mixed with a sharp, clean scent like the tang of a northern ocean. Combined, the notes made her whole body tingle when she inhaled it.

  Mmm…so good! She sniffed again and realized the scent was coming from the two breathing pillows that were holding her between them. Was it some kind of Kindred therapy? She remembered vaguely that she’d hurt her hand. Was this part of the treatment?

  She shifted again and lifted her hand to study it in the dim light. It looked all right. At least, there was no hole in it now. In fact, though it was difficult to tell in the low illumination, it looked perfectly normal.

  Experimentally, she used her hand to stroke the pillow in front of her. It had a smooth, warm texture that felt good under her fingertips. Melanie ran her hand up and down its surface, enjoying the tactile pleasure of touching without any pain whatsoever.

  “Enjoying yourself, little one?”

  The deep, rumbling voice coming from the pillow she’d been petting made Melanie gasp and jerk her hand away.

  “What—?” she began. And then the pillow moved and turned over.

  Before she knew it, she was face to face—or face to chest—with Strong, Clear’s twin brother.

  “Oh!” she gasped, looking up at him. “What…what are you doing in my bed?”

  “You’re in our bed, actually,” Strong told her. He frowned. “I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t want to just leave you at the Med Center at the end of my shift. You’d been through a lot and I wanted to keep an eye on you.”

  “So you and Clear brought me home and put me in bed with you?” Melanie demanded. “Is that what you usually do with patients you want to keep an eye on?”

  “Not at all,” he assured her. “It’s actually very unusual.”

  “Before you get upset, let me assure you that nothing inappropriate happened.” This was Clear, speaking from behind her. “We asked the nurse to put you into a gown for greater comfort. Neither Strong or myself saw you or handled your body while you were undressed.”

  Melanie gave a little jump and looked over her shoulder.

  “I never said I thought you, uh, molested me,” she protested. “This just seems…like a strange kind of treatment—bringing me home to bed with you. You know?”

&nbs
p; “It may seem strange to you,” Strong rumbled. “But when a Twin Kindred becomes attached to a female, there is healing to be had by holding her between himself and his twin.”

  “We can’t bite you and heal you like a Blood Kindred can with his mate,” Clear added. “But when we have a female we care about between us, we exude a kind of ‘healing energy.’ Does that make sense?”

  “Um…I guess so…” Melanie wasn’t quite sure she believed them, but she had to admit that though it was an awkward way to wake up, it was certainly true that she felt a thousand percent better than she had the day before.

  “How does your hand feel this morning?” Strong asked, looking down at her, with more than professional interest, she thought.

  “Much better, I think.” Melanie held it up and flexed, then snapped her fingers, showing that the pointer and thumb were working just fine.

  “Let’s have a look. Lights on low,” Strong called authoritatively.

  A warm glow lit the dim room from some recessed fixtures Melanie couldn’t see in the floor and ceiling. Sitting up, Strong reached for her hand and examined it closely, peering at the spot between her index finger and her thumb with careful attention to detail.

  “It’s definitely much better,” he said at last, looking down at her as she lay there, still cradled from behind by Clear’s big body. “And you say it feels good too?”

  “It does.” She nodded and flexed her fingers again. “Those nanites really did the trick. But you were right—they were horribly painful.” She shivered with the memory of the awful pain she’d endured.

  “You were extraordinarily brave,” Strong rumbled. Then, to her surprise, he kissed her hand gently, right where she’d been hurt and then healed, before letting it go.

  “Oh…” Melanie wasn’t sure what to say to his action, so she answered his words instead. “Thank you,” she said. “I, uh, couldn’t have been brave without Clear being there for me. And thank you for healing me,” she added, looking up at Strong.

  “It was my pleasure, little one,” he rumbled.

  Melanie became suddenly aware that she was wearing only a thin hospital johnny and that both the twins were bare-chested. They did appear to be wearing pajama bottoms, at least, but it was still an awkward position to find herself in.

  Not to mention incredibly sexy, whispered a little voice in her head. Remember what Sonja said about being the filling in a yummy, muscular Kindred sandwich?

  Melanie pushed the voice away and tried to keep from blushing.

  They were just giving me their healing energy, she told herself quickly. They were just being nice. Clear even said his brother told him I was too old for them!

  But she certainly wouldn’t know it from the way Strong was looking at her right now. Sonja had been right when she’d said that the Dark Twin of a Twin Kindred pair was scarier and more intense. Though Melanie didn’t exactly feel frightened of him. More…undressed by those piercing, dark blue eyes of his. It was like he could see right through the thin maroon hospital johnny she was wearing and he liked what he saw…a lot.

  “Um…” She shifted uncertainly. “Well…I, um…”

  “Brother, stop staring at her like that,” Clear’s deep voice behind her was irritated. “Can’t you see you’re frightening her?”

  “Forgive me.” Strong looked away. “I was just thinking that now I understand what you see in this little one, Brother. She is lovely.”

  “Thank you,” Melanie said a bit awkwardly. “Um, you guys aren’t so bad yourselves,” she added, not sure if she ought to comment on the twins’ physique or not. But it was absolutely true. Strong’s broad, muscular chest and six pack abs were mouthwatering and she could feel that Clear was every bit as muscular, since he was still pressed up against her back.

  “Thank you, little one,” Strong rumbled, giving her that look again—the one that made Melanie feel like he knew what she looked like naked.

  “And thank you for not being upset at finding yourself sleeping between us,” Clear added. “I wasn’t sure how you would feel, but we couldn’t bear to leave you at the Med Center. We needed to hold you between us to feel certain you were all right.”

  “I guess it’s okay,” Melanie said uncertainly. “Um, do you two, uh, sleep with a girl between you often?” she asked. The minute the question was out, she wanted to call it back. What was wrong with her? Now they would think she was asking about their sex life! Which was definitely not the right thing to ask either your coworker or your doctor.

  But the twins answered at once.

  “No,” Clear said. “We’ve never slept with a female between us before.”

  “You are the first,” Strong added, his blue eyes piercing her.

  “Oh, uh…” Now Melanie really didn’t know what to say. She was grateful when Clear sat up and asked if she was hungry.

  “I can make First Meal for the three of us,” he added. “So you don’t need to go anywhere near the wave, Melanie.”

  “That sounds really good, but what about work?” She raised her eyebrows at him.

  “I took the liberty of calling you both in sick,” Strong said, grinning at her. “Your supervisor was very understanding when I explained about the accident you had.”

  “Both of us?” Melanie bit her lip.

  “Is there a problem?” Clear asked, frowning.

  “Not really. It’s just that when Sonja hears that both of us are out sick at the same time she’s going to think—”

  “That you slept together?” There was a mocking grin playing around one corner of Strong’s mouth.

  “Well…yes.” Melanie could feel her cheeks getting hot at the thought.

  “But in that case, she would be right,” Clear pointed out innocently. “Because we did sleep together—you slept between the two of us,” he added, motioning to Strong.

  The Dark Twin shook his head.

  “No, Clear. In this context, ‘sleeping together’ means making love,” he explained.

  “Oh.” Clear frowned. “Would you like me to explain to her that we didn’t make love to you?” he asked, Melanie. “I can tell the entire PR and Marketing department if you’re worried about your reputation. I’ll simply gather everyone together and explain that while you did spend the night in bed with my brother and me, nothing of a sexual nature happened.”

  “Oh, no! No, please don’t do that!” Melanie put her hands to her hot cheeks, her eyes going wide. “I’m pretty sure that would only make things worse.”

  Much worse.

  “Worse?” Strong was frowning. “Would it be so bad if you had made love with us? Do you not wish the others at your work to think we were together sexually because of our lower status?”

  “No! No, that’s not it at all!” Melanie exclaimed, shaking her head. “Please don’t misunderstand me—I would be…would be honored to make love with the two of you.” Oh God—what was she saying?

  “You would?” Strong gave her that intense look again. “We would be honored to pleasure you as well, little one,” he growled softly.

  Melanie was getting in over her head and she knew it.

  “I’d be honored,” she repeated and added quickly, “But we shouldn’t!”

  Strong frowned.

  “Because you’re an Elite and we are too young and don’t have enough status?”

  “No, no!” Melanie grasped for a reason that wouldn’t offend them. “Because…because of rumors in the workplace,” she said quickly. “And the fact that I’m way too old for the two of you.”

  “I told you, Brother,” Strong said to Clear, frowning. “I told you we were too young and didn’t have enough status to attract a beautiful, mature Elite like her.”

  “You can’t blame her, Brother.” Clear sounded sad, Melanie thought. “After all, as you pointed out, she can probably have her pick of any warrior on the ship. Or any human male—if she wants one of them.”

  Melanie’s head was spinning. It seemed like they were all misunderstandin
g each other somehow but she didn’t quite know how to correct the problem.

  “Please—” She got up on her knees and held out her hands in a “stop” gesture. “Please, I really don’t want to offend either one of you and I’m so, so grateful to both of you.” She turned to the Light Twin. “Clear, thank you for getting me right to the doctor after I burned my hand.” She turned to the Dark Twin. “And Strong, thank you for healing me. You’re both amazing.”

  “We find you lovely and amazing too, little one,” Strong rumbled.

  The look he was giving her made Melanie’s heart pound even harder. If the Light Twin was kindness and courtesy and caring, then his brother was pure sex. She could see in those dark blue eyes exactly what Strong would like to do to her and it was scary as hell.

  But why are you really scared? whispered a little voice in her head. Maybe because just thinking of doing all the things he’s probably imagining makes you hot and bothered?

  Melanie pushed the voice away and tried to finish her thought.

  “Thank you—I think it’s clear we all find each other, uh, extremely attractive,” she said. “But this is all moving really fast for me and besides, Clear and I are coworkers, which can get really complicated.”

  “Sonja and her fiancé, Sahran are coworkers,” Clear pointed out.

  “But they haven’t made love yet,” Melanie said quickly. “They’re waiting until they’re married, er, Joined.” Which was what the Kindred called it.

  “Are you asking us to Join with you, then?” Strong inquired, raising an eyebrow. “So that the three of us can make love and bond?”

  “What? No! No, I just…” Melanie shook her head, feeling defeated. “I don’t know what to say. I just keep on saying the wrong thing.”

  “I think Melanie is feeling somewhat pressured by us, Brother,” Clear said gently. He looked at Melanie. “Please don’t feel obligated in any way. Strong and I don’t mean to rush you. It’s just that we’ve never had a female sleep between us before. It was…a memorable experience.”