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

  “For me too,” Melanie told them earnestly. “I, uh, certainly didn’t expect to wake up between the two of you, but it was really, um, nice.”

  “Sleeping between us could be more than nice,” Strong growled softly, giving her that intense look again.

  “Uh…” Melanie wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Brother…” Clear said warningly. “You’re doing it again.”

  “Forgive me.” Strong looked away. “It’s just that I never thought my brother and I would have the chance to sleep with such a lovely and accomplished Elite between us.”

  “Thank you,” Melanie said awkwardly.

  She was very aware that she was still in bed with the two huge warriors who were both half naked and she herself was wearing only the thin hospital gown. Also, Strong was looking at her like he was a hungry man with a sweet tooth and she was a rare and delectable dessert. That look made her heart pound and she was worried she might do something she would regret later.

  “Um…where are my clothes?” she asked abruptly. “I mean, you did bring them from the Med Center, didn’t you?”

  “Of course,” Clear told her. “They’re in the fresher. Here, come with me.”

  He helped Melanie off the bed and led her to the bathroom which was positively huge.

  “Wow—look at the size of your bathing pool!” Melanie exclaimed, seeing the steaming pool of water which took up 3/4ths of the room. “It’s way bigger than mine—you could practically do laps in that thing.”

  “It’s bigger because it’s built for three,” Strong murmured, coming up behind her.

  “All the furniture and accommodations in our suite are meant for three,” Clear said, sounding wistful.

  “Oh, um…I see.” Melanie nodded.

  “I won’t ask if you’d like to take a bath, because you already look uncomfortable,” Strong remarked. “But just know that if you ever would like to try our bathing pool, you would be welcome.”

  “With or without Strong and I present—whichever you choose,” Clear added.

  “Thank you.” Melanie nodded and smiled at both of them. “But I think for right now I’ll just get dressed, if that’s okay?”

  “Perfectly fine,” Strong assured her. “Come, Brother—let’s give our guest some privacy.”

  “Thank you,” Melanie said again, nodding at both of them as they left.

  When the door slid shut behind them, she breathed a sigh of relief. Whew! How had she gotten into such an awkward situation?

  And how in the world was she going to get out of it?

  7

  “So what happened then?” Sonja asked, wide-eyed. She was literally sitting on the edge of her seat, so much so that Melanie was afraid she was about to fall off the couch.

  “Well, I got dressed and we all had breakfast.” She shrugged. “I think Clear must have said something to Strong because there were no more innuendoes or invitations to ‘make love’ or get Joined to them or anything like that. But he just kept looking at me—undressing me with his eyes, you know? I just…wasn’t sure how to feel about it.”

  “Girl, I told you the Dark Twin is always the scary one!” Sonja exclaimed. “Didn’t I tell you?”

  “You did,” Melanie admitted. “But I still wasn’t prepared for how he looked at me.”

  “He wants you,” Sonja said decisively. “They both do.”

  “Surely not.” Melanie shook her head. “I’m way too old for them! And they even said they’re too young and don’t, uh, have enough status for me.”

  “That’s just Twin Kindred speak for ‘Girl, you’re a goddess—let me worship at your feet!’” Sonja assured her. “Don’t let it throw you off.”

  “I don’t know…” Melanie shook her head. “This is all happening so fast—if it’s happening at all. I mean, I haven’t even been divorced from Steve a whole year yet.”

  “That’s plenty long enough to move on and find yourself something better,” Sonja assured her. “Do you know that before Sahran, I dated the same boy since high school? Seriously, we were together all through college and I was sure I was going to walk down the aisle with him.”

  “What happened?” Melanie asked, taking another sip of her tea. She had invited her friend to her suite to get ahead of the gossip mill and also to get Sonja’s advice. She knew a lot more about the Kindred than Melanie did.

  “Well, he got tired of waiting for me to give up my V card and went off with some skank,” Sonja said candidly. “Now, to be fair, he had been waiting about four years. But still, I’m worth waiting for.” She tossed her long black braids and Melanie laughed.

  “You certainly are. Good for you for not giving in.”

  “I’ll give it up when I’m good and ready,” Sonja remarked. “And you should do the same. You don’t have to feel pressured to hop into bed with Clear and Strong, but do give yourself a chance to know them. I mean, you like Clear—right?”

  “Yes, I do,” Melanie admitted—both to herself and her friend. “He’s an absolute sweetheart, even if he is too young for me.”

  “Stop it with all that age nonsense,” Sonja commanded. “You like him—let’s leave it at that.”

  “Okay.” Melanie nodded. “He’s incredibly sweet and thoughtful and caring and handsome. I like him.”

  “And how do you feel about his twin?” Sonja asked.

  “Well…” Melanie bit her lip. “If I’m being honest, I was a little scared of him. Or maybe not so much scared of him as scared of what I might do with him and Clear if I wasn’t careful and I let down my guard.”

  “Would it be so bad to let down your guard, though?” Sonja inquired. “It could be fun.”

  “Says the girl who’s saving herself for marriage,” Melanie pointed out.

  “Hey, just because I’m waiting doesn’t mean I’m not going to enjoy sex when I finally get some.” Sonja put a hand on her ample hip. “Sahran has informed me that he intends to worship every inch of my body with his tongue and girl, I can’t wait.”

  Melanie laughed.

  “I certainly hope sex turns out to be as good as your imagining it,” she told her friend sincerely. “I think it can be really special with the right person.”

  “Or people.” Sonja nudged her with an elbow. “I’m serious, Melanie—you should give Clear and Strong a chance.”

  “Well, I’m seeing them again at the Christmas party,” Melanie pointed out. “At least Clear will be there and I’m assuming he’ll bring Strong.”

  “They’ll both be there,” Sonja assured her. “They’ll be wanting to see you.” She started to giggle. “I can’t wait to see the three of you get together for the first time since you woke up in their bed!”

  “I’m a little apprehensive about it myself,” Melanie confessed. “But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t also…intrigued.”

  “Oh, so now you admit you’re intrigued?” Sonja laughed harder. “And why is that?”

  “Because I’ve, uh, never been with more than one guy before,” Melanie confessed in a low voice. “Not that I want to be with them like that. It’s just…something to think about, that’s all,” she added quickly.

  Sonja was laughing so hard by this time she really did fall off the couch. She waved off Melanie’s attempts to help her up as she sat on the floor and shook with giggles.

  “Girl, listen to yourself! Just admit you want to be the filling of that man-sandwich!” she exclaimed when she could finally talk again. “It’s written all over you!”

  “I just don’t want to jump into anything too quickly!” Melanie protested, putting her hands to her hot cheeks. “Come on, Sonja—be serious!”

  “I’ll try.”

  Sonja swiped at her eyes—she was one of those people who cried when they laughed really hard—and scrambled up off the floor. She plopped herself down on the couch again and helped herself to one of the red and green Christmas cookies Melanie had laid out. Cookies she had gotten from a bakery since she was definitely not going anywhere
near her wave again. She had put in a request to have it looked at but apparently there was a backlog this time of year so she was still waiting to see a repairman.

  “Okay, let’s change the subject,” Melanie said, as her friend took a sip of tea to wash down her cookie. “Talk about anything but making me the filling in a Twin Kindred man-sandwich.”

  Sonja’s eyes twinkled but she nodded agreeably.

  “All right. Where are you spending Christmas? Here on the Mother Ship or back down on Earth?”

  Melanie sighed.

  “It’s going to have to be Earth. My Aunt Marge is all alone and she just lost her favorite cat, Miss Marple.”

  “Oh no—how sad!” The mirth left Sonja’s dark brown eyes at once.

  “Yes, but it’s okay,” Melanie told her. “She’s got like fifteen more without her.”

  “What? Are you serious?” Sonja’s eyes went wide. “Your aunt is a crazy cat lady?”

  “More like a grumpy cat lady,” Melanie corrected her. “She’s as crusty as they come, but she was always there for me since my parents died, especially during my divorce.” She frowned. “I just hope I don’t see my ex around. Aunt Marge says he’s been calling her and saying he wants to pick up some things he left with me—a box of records or something.”

  “Just have her leave the box out on the front porch and let him pick them up that way,” Sonja suggested.

  Melanie shook her head.

  “He’s got it into his head that leaving them out might warp them—especially if they get rained on. Steven is very particular about his things. But honestly, I think picking up the records is just an excuse.”

  “And excuse for what?” Sonja asked, snapping a Santa cookie in two and biting off its head.

  “For bringing his young new girlfriend around so he can prove how happy he is now that we’re divorced,” Melanie said dryly. “He loves rubbing it in my face that she’s twelve years younger and thirty pounds thinner than me.”

  “Two can play that game! You ought to bring Strong and Clear down with you and show him a thing or two!” Sonja said, her eyes flashing fiercely.

  “Sonja, I’m not going to ask them to Christmas Dinner at my aunt’s house just to get back at my ex,” Melanie protested. “If I did something like that, I’d be sinking to Steve’s level.”

  “Well, you can think that way if you want, but I’m not above bringing Sahran down to Earth with me and taking him around where I know my old boyfriend will be.” Sonja tossed her head. “You should have seen his eyes pop the first time I walked in on my man’s arm. I felt like a queen.” She preened, running one hand down her long braids. “And I looked like one too, if I do say so myself.”

  Melanie couldn’t help laughing.

  “Sonja, you are too much! I love how confident you are!”

  She wished she could have some of that confidence herself. She remembered feeling young and fresh and full of life—ready to conquer the world, like her young friend. But somehow, in the years she’d spent with Steve, all those good feelings had leaked away, leaving her feeling old and used up.

  And certainly not attractive enough to be with two young, virile warriors like Strong and Clear, whispered a nasty little voice that sounded like her ex.

  Taking a deep breath, Melanie kicked the bad thoughts out of her mind house and locked the door firmly. She would not dwell on negative thoughts, she told herself. She was going to entertain only positive ideas.

  “Have you gotten your present for your Secret Santa person yet?” she asked Sonja, determined to keep things upbeat.

  “Yes! I hope they like it. Do you want to know what it is?” Sonja’s eyes were sparkling again.

  “No, I don’t,” Melanie said firmly. “Nobody is supposed to know. We’re not even supposed to open the presents until Christmas day—you know that!”

  She suspected that her supervisor—a kind older woman named Carol—had made that rule in order to avoid any hurt or jealous feelings. And also so that everyone—even people who were brand new to the Mother Ship and had no family aboard—would have at least one present to open on Christmas.

  “Please! I’m opening mine the minute I get it back to my suite!” Sonja declared. “I can’t wait to see what naughty little gift my man got me.”

  “So you’re sure that Sahran is your Secret Santa?” Melanie asked, raising her eyebrows.

  “Positive.” Sonja’s face glowed. “I got him to admit it the other night, although he still won’t tell me what he got me.”

  Melanie laughed.

  “Well, whatever it is, it sounds like it’s better if you open it in private. So it’s a good thing Carol is making us bring the gifts home.”

  “You’re probably right. I just hope I can hang onto my V card a little while longer after I see it,” Sonja said. “I will though—I want my wedding night to be special. But I just know I’m going to want to jump his bones the minute I rip open that package!”

  “You only have a little longer to wait,” Melanie reminded her, smiling. “Just hang in there.”

  “You hang in there too.” Sonja got up and dusted the crumbs off her lap. “Well, I’d better get going. I still have to wrap my gift.”

  Melanie rose and gave her friend a hug.

  “Thanks for coming. I appreciate your insight into this whole…” She waved a hand vaguely. “Thing.”

  “This ‘whole thing’ is my specialty,” Sonja told her. “I just love matchmaking. Not that you need my help—I think you’re doing just fine by yourself.” She grinned.

  “Yeah well, we’ll see,” Melanie said, smiling back. Again, she wished she could be as confident as Sonja. But despite her friend’s support, she still wasn’t exactly sure what to do.

  She really liked Clear, and Strong was also incredibly handsome and attractive, but both of them were so young. What if she let herself get involved with them and they got tired of her, just like Steve had? Oh sure, she knew that the Kindred weren’t supposed to do divorce, but the idea of fidelity and true love for life sounded just too good to be true.

  Also, the idea of being with two guys at once—especially such big guys—really was pretty intimidating. How would that work, exactly? She wasn’t a virgin like Sonja, but she was still reasonably tight and she’d heard that pretty much all Kindred warriors were hung like horses. So how would she take on two of them at once?

  You’re getting ahead of yourself, she told herself firmly as she saw Sonja to the door and watched her friend walk down the long metal corridor that led back to her own suite. Just wait until the Christmas party and see how things go. Surely you’ll get more of an idea if Strong and Clear are seriously interested and then you can decide what to do.

  She hoped.

  8

  “Are you almost ready to go? The party starts in an hour.” Clear frowned at his twin. Strong was still in his Med Center scrubs and while the dark maroon color did look good on him, they were supposed to be wearing their uniforms to the party.

  “Just need to finish these reports,” Strong said distractedly. “Maybe you should go without me, Brother.”

  “What?” Clear exclaimed. “You said you would come! Don’t you want to see Melanie again?”

  “Of course I do.” Strong looked up and frowned. “But the question is, does she want to see me again. And I very much fear the answer is ‘no.’”

  “What makes you say that?” Clear demanded. “I thought the two of you got along just fine.”

  “No, you thought I scared her. And on thinking the matter over, I’m pretty sure I did.” Strong sighed. “I don’t know what got into me, pushing her like that. She’s just so fucking gorgeous that I couldn’t help wanting her.”

  “Which is precisely why you need to come tonight,” Clear said firmly. “To get a second chance at meeting her. That way you can show her how non-threatening and gentlemanly you can be.”

  “You’re better at that than I am,” Strong growled. “Even around females we aren’t interest
ed in. But Melanie…” He shook his head. “I’ve just never met a female who moves me like she does. It’s like she’s got this gravitational pull and the minute I met her, I was sucked into her orbit.”

  “Then come and see her again tonight,” Clear pleaded. “Please, Brother—you know I’m not complete without you. If we’re going to have any chance at all of winning her heart, I need you by my side! I can’t do this alone.”

  “Well…” Strong sighed and shook his head. “I still think she’s far out of our league, as the humans say, but all right—I’ll come.”

  “Do you promise?” Clear asked, frowning.

  Strong nodded. “Promise, Brother. I’m almost done with these reports and then I’ll jump in the shower and put on my best dress uniform.”

  “All right then.” Clear nodded, satisfied. His twin could be incredibly stubborn and hard to persuade but once he gave his word to do something, he would do it.

  “You go on ahead,” Strong told him. “Oh, did you get the Secretive Santa gift for Melanie?”

  “I’ve got it right here.” Clear held up a plain white cardboard box. “Do you want to see what it is?”

  “Sure.” Strong shrugged. “Show me what you got.”

  “Behold!” Clear pulled the lid off the box to display the contents. “It’s perfect—don’t you think?”

  Strong frowned.

  “An oven mitt? You got her an oven mitt?”

  “Not just any oven mitt!” Clear protested. “This is a flexible silconian alloy that’s tested to withstand up to five thousand degrees of heat! It’s perfect—don’t you think? If Melanie had been wearing something like this when I came to teach her how to use her wave, she never would have gotten a hole burned in her hand. The mitt would have protected her.”

  “And then I wouldn’t have met her and made a fool of myself by being too aggressive,” Strong growled.

  “Will you let that go?” Clear said, exasperated. “Melanie is a wonderful, kind female. I’m sure if you just back things off a little bit tonight, she’ll give you another chance.”

  “I still say the two of us have very little chance with a lovely, mature Elite,” Strong growled. “So I don’t want you to be upset when she’s coolly polite and disinterested tonight.”