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  Reluctantly, he turned his head to look down at her. “Yes?”

  “I…I’m sorry.” She was as pale as paper but there was a determined look in her eyes. In fact, she looked the same way she had just before she’d forced herself to kiss him.

  “Sorry for what?” Sylvan made an effort to soften his voice. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for, Sophia.”

  “Yes, I do,” she said stubbornly. “I shouldn’t have…shouldn’t have jumped away like that. I don’t know why, uh, what happened but I know you were just trying to, er, comfort me.”

  The look on her beautiful face was both fearful and pleading. For some reason it made Sylvan feel as though she’d reached into his chest and was holding his heart in her soft little hand. “Sophia…” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to push back the tension headache that was pulsing in his temples. “I don’t know why it happened either. I don’t know why my fangs have suddenly come out twice in the past—”

  “Three times,” she said faintly.

  “What?” He opened his eyes and stared at her.

  “You…they came out in the sacred grove, too. When you were, um, rescuing me from that priestess.”

  Sylvan nearly groaned. This is not good. The fact that his fangs were coming out in response to his lust for her was one thing. But to know that they were also coming out when his protective instincts were aroused was something else again. I’m acting like we’re already mated and I have to protect her! What in the seven hells is wrong with me?

  “I’m sorry,” he said at last, not knowing what else to say. “I beg your forgiveness if I frightened you.”

  “It’s all right.” But the look on her face said it wasn’t. “Uh…maybe we should just get back to Earth. If…if you still don’t mind taking me?”

  It was on the tip of his tongue to make some excuse and find her another pilot. Preferably one who was already happily mated and wouldn’t exude the heady pheromone-laden mist he was currently putting out like a steam bath. But he had offered to see her home and accepted Baird’s charge for her safety. A Kindred did not make idle promises—if he gave her over to someone else’s care now, he would be guilty of the worst kind of unfaithfulness. Besides, just the thought of her in close proximity to another male, even one who was mated and would have no interest in her, made Sylvan feel enraged. Mine, he thought before he could stop himself. Damn it, she’s mine!

  His fangs ached and so did his cock.

  Oh, I’m in trouble here, he thought as he concentrated on keeping his fangs from growing—Gods, it was painful to hold them back. So much trouble. But it couldn’t be helped—he would just have to take her back to Earth as quickly as possible and then try never to see her again.

  “Sylvan?” she said hesitantly and he realized she was still waiting for an answer.

  “Don’t worry,” he said heavily. “I’ll take you. But if you think you smell something good again, just ignore it. All right?”

  “What?” She frowned at him, clearly puzzled.

  “Nothing.” Sylvan shook his head, feeling slightly relieved. He had explained to her about a male Kindred’s mating scent before—back when they had spoken during Baird and Olivia’s claiming period. Either she had forgotten the conversation or she still hadn’t connected it to what had happened—or almost happened—between them in the transport tube. Of that, Sylvan was immeasurably glad. It was bad enough that his fangs were coming out with no warning—he didn’t want to have to explain why his mating scent had been activated as well. Especially since he had no explanation to give. “Let’s just get you home,” he said, planting his hand against the side of the craft. “And then I think both of us should try to forget any of this ever happened.”

  For a moment she looked hurt but then she nodded. “All right, fine with me.”

  Sylvan sighed inwardly. The tone of her voice and the grim set of her shapely lips told him he had offended her somehow. But he didn’t have the time or inclination to find out why or how. He had to get her back as quickly as possible and get away from her sweet scent and soft, curvy body.

  The smart metal the craft was made of molded to his palm and then a door appeared on the side of the shuttle. Sylvan swung open the hatch and gestured for Sophia to climb inside. When she was safely belted in, he got in himself and started the hydrogen-scoop engine. He waited until the last moment to pull the door shut, but when the oxygen grid klaxon sounded he had no choice. Sighing, he pulled it closed and the smart metal molded closed around them as the shuttle lifted into the air. Goddess help us, here we go.

  He just hoped the trip back to her home would be a short and uneventful one.

  * * * * *

  Sophie was getting more and more frustrated. First he holds me and pets my hair and acts like he actually cares—I mean, it was almost like we were having a little moment there. Not that I wanted to have a moment with him, but still it was sort of…nice. And then I look up and see his freaking fangs have gone crazy. Okay, so that was awkward, but give me a break—I was scared. Anybody would have been. He’s six and a half feet tall and built like a pro wrestler, the fangs are pretty much the icing on the cake. But still, he was acting so sweet before and now he says we should forget anything ever happened. What’s his problem, anyway?

  It wasn’t like she wanted anything to happen with the huge warrior—she and Sylvan had been at odds since the moment Olivia had been dragged against her will from their apartment to her claiming ceremony with Baird. Of course, Baird hadn’t been available during their claiming period, so Sophie had taken her anger and frustration out on Sylvan. Every time they talked, it ended badly.

  But despite their differences, the way he’d stroked her hair and held her after she was so shaken from the tube ride had been so…gentle. No one looking at his muscular frame and ice blue eyes would have guessed Sylvan had that kind of tenderness in him. And he smelled so good.

  Sophie stopped herself right there. Where are you going with this? Please tell me you’re not actually having feelings for him because how stupid would that be? After all, he’s made it abundantly clear that he doesn’t like you.

  It wasn’t that she cared for him in any kind of romantic way, she told herself. In fact, at the moment she was pretty damn pissed off at the big warrior. But there was no denying he was attractive—or would have been if it wasn’t for the scary dental daggers he was packing. Being with Sylvan was like stroking a cat and suddenly finding it had turned into a tiger in your lap. A saber tooth tiger.

  Her mind churned on and she fumed silently as the doors of the docking bay irised open and the shuttle rose out into the blackness of space. To their right she saw the gray, pocked face of the moon which the Kindred mother ship was orbiting. Far above them was what looked like a blue ball swirled with white.

  The Earth. Who would have ever guessed that I would see it from this perspective? She’d made the trip to visit Olivia before but she’d been too nervous to really relax and enjoy the scenery. This time she wasn’t a bit concerned about the flight—it was the pilot who was making her feel tense. She kept her eyes on the Earth, slowly growing closer in their viewscreen, mainly so she wouldn’t have to look at Sylvan.

  Apparently he felt that he had to make small talk to entertain her because she heard him clear his throat. “You have a lovely home world,” he said stiffly.

  “Uh, thank you.” Sophie glanced at him quickly out of the corner of her eye but he was staring straight ahead, paying attention to the complicated looking control panel. “It looks so small from here,” she said. “So…insignificant.”

  “Everyone thinks that when they first see their home world from space.” He sounded a little more calm—maybe piloting relaxed him. “The universe is so vast and you realize for the first time that your entire planet is a single grain of sand on the ocean floor.”

  “Did you think that?” Sophie looked at him more directly. “The first time you saw your home world—Tranq Prime—from a s
pace ship?”

  He laughed grimly. “More or less. But I thought of it more as a single ice crystal in a glacier. We don’t have beaches on Tranq Prime. Not the kind you’re used to, anyway.”

  “So you have snow all the time? What is that like?”

  He threw her a glance. “Cold. Extremely cold.”

  “No, really, I want to know.” Sophie’s curiosity overcame her irritation at least for the moment. “I mean, I’ve lived in Florida all my life so I’ve only ever seen snow once. My senior class took a ski trip to Colorado but I twisted my ankle in the first five minutes and spent the rest of the trip drinking nasty instant cocoa while the rest of the class had fun. So I pretty much missed everything. The snowball fights, the snowman building contest, the ice skating…” She trailed off. Sylvan was giving her his full attention now and the look on his chiseled features was incredulous. “What?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “I think you have a different idea of cold than I do. We don’t go out to ‘play’ in the snow on my planet any more than you would swim in shark-infested waters on Earth for fun. The conditions are incredibly harsh and unforgiving.”

  “Oh. I didn’t know.” Sophie looked down at her hands.

  “There’s a lot you don’t know about us.” His deep voice was harsh. Was he angry with her? Did he seriously have that much nerve?

  Her frustration returned in a rush.

  “Apparently there’s a lot you don’t know about yourself.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “I mean, what’s the deal with your fangs?” Sophie knew she shouldn’t be asking—clearly a sensitive subject with him. But somehow the words came flying out. “Jillian told me it was safe to kiss you because they wouldn’t come out until you met a woman you wanted to…to…”

  “To mate. To bond. To fuck,” he finished for her, his voice harsh.

  “Yes.” Sophie could feel her cheeks getting hot but she lifted her chin and went on anyway. “So why would they come out around me? I mean, you don’t even like me.”

  “Is that what you think? That I don’t like you?” He frowned.

  “What else am I supposed to think?” she flared. “First you were acting so nice and then you got angry—”

  “I’m not angry at you.”

  “Well you could have fooled me, the way you’re acting. What about the way you said you wanted to take me home and forget about…just forget?” she ended rather lamely.

  “That’s because forgetting is my only option.” He stared straight ahead as he talked. “I took a vow never to call a bride, Sophia. A vow I must never break.”

  “Nobody’s asking you to break it,” she protested.

  “Even if I wanted to it would do me no good.” He looked at her for a long moment and then looked away.

  Sophie threw up her hands. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

  “And it’s better we keep it that way.” He glared straight ahead, apparently focusing on his piloting. “You clearly want nothing to do with me and I…I should feel the same way about you. So…”

  “So what?” she demanded but he didn’t answer. Glancing at him she saw he was staring at the instrument panel with a worried frown on his face. “Sylvan?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”

  “No.” His voice was calm but his fingers on the steering yoke had tightened until they were white.

  “What…what’s wrong?” Sophie glanced out the broad, window-like viewscreen and saw that the Earth, which had been growing larger and larger as they approached it, was suddenly veering away to one side. No, she realized. It’s not the Earth that’s veering away—it’s us! “Sylvan?” she asked in a low, trembling voice. “Why…why are you taking us away from Earth?”

  “I’m not.” His voice was still distant and calm but his thick arms were rigid now, held straight out as he gripped the yoke. Clearly he was fighting with the controls.

  “But then what…who…?”

  “The Scourge.” He jerked his head in the direction they were being pulled. “They must have cast some kind of energy net and now we’re caught in it.”

  “Oh my God,” Sophia whispered, feeling faint. She’d never seen a member of the Scourge herself but she had heard plenty about them. Olivia had been taken by the alien race and had her mind scanned by their evil AllFather. Even after she’d been released and was reunited with Baird, she’d still had horrible nightmares about it. “God,” she moaned softly again.

  “You may well pray to whatever deity you choose.” Sylvan’s voice was grim. “They have us locked in.”

  “So we’re trapped?” Sophie bit her lip and looked out the viewscreen where Earth was rapidly receding.

  “Not…quite.” Sylvan cast her a quick look. “There’s a chance I can get us out but it’s going to be hard on the ship.”

  “Who cares about the ship? Just do it,” Sophie urged him.

  “I don’t think you understand me.” He spoke through gritted teeth as he wrestled with the controls. “What I meant to say is the maneuver I’m considering may tear the ship apart. We’ll get out of the Scourge net but the ship may disintegrate around us before we reach Earth.”

  For a moment, Sophie didn’t know what to say. Then Liv’s voice echoed in her mind. I thought I was going to die. The minute the AllFather got into my head with his cold slimy claws and started digging around, making me relive my worst memories, I thought I was just going to die.

  It would be like the priestess in the sacred grove all over again, Sophie realized. Only a thousand times worse. And Liv said that sometimes they project your memories up on a huge viewscreen so everyone can watch—that’s what they did to Baird, anyway. What if they caught us and they hooked me up to that machine? What if everybody saw… But she couldn’t make herself finish.

  “Sophia?” Sylvan’s deep voice was strained now, cracks showing in his calm. “I have been charged with your safety—this has to be your choice.”

  Sophie felt cold all over. “We’re dead anyway if they take us. Isn’t that right?”

  He gave a short, jerky nod. “Surrender might buy us a little time but eventually, yes.”

  He means eventually after they torture us. After they let everyone see what’s in my head All my worst memories including what happened that night when… “I’d rather die trying to escape,” she said decisively. “Do what you have to do but don’t let them take us alive.”

  He threw her a look of approval. “You have a warrior’s spirit.”

  No, I’d just rather die than have you or anyone else see inside my head. Than have to relive that horrible night. But she didn’t say it out loud. She just tightened the straps holding her in place and nodded at the viewscreen. “Go on—punch it!”

  “All right then. We’re going through the center of the web where the energy is strongest.” The muscles under his blue uniform shirt bunched and his jaw clenched in grim determination. “Hold on, Sophia. Here…we…go.”

  * * * * *

  They were both going to die.

  Sylvan wished he’d had time to tell Sophia how he really felt—that he didn’t hate her even if she hated him. He wished he had time to explore what was happening between them even if it led nowhere. Most of all he wished he had met her before he’d made his vow. But there was no time for regret now.

  Gritting his teeth, he jerked the steering yoke to one side and punched the accelerator at the same time. For a moment there was a sudden lack of resistance and then a shattering jolt that threw them both forward. Sylvan kept the accelerator down, grateful for the safety harnesses that held them both in place.

  The shuttle shivered violently and there was a shrieking scream as metal sheered away from its top and sides. Still he kept the accelerator to the floor, pushing through the resistance a micrometer at a time. Layer by layer, the ship was being pealed like the Earth vegetable called an onion. The smart metal was incredibly strong and resistant to heat but their chances of get
ting through Earth’s atmosphere alive instead of being burned to a cinder lessened with every layer that left the ship’s outer surface.

  It was a suicide maneuver and one Sylvan knew the enemy wouldn’t expect. He hoped it would throw them off guard long enough for the shuttle to get free and be on its way. Going back to the Kindred mother ship was impossible. Once they got through the net it would block their way. But they might just make it to Earth—if the shuttle wasn’t stripped completely by the time it bored through the center of the enemy’s trap.

  Though Sylvan had known her to be emotional in the past, Sophia sat silent and dry-eyed beside him. He cast her a quick glance and saw that her fingers were white, clenching the armrests of her flight seat and her lips were tight. But though her lovely green eyes were filled with terror, she didn’t make a sound.

  The sight of her sitting there, so courageous in the face of almost certain death squeezed his heart. Gods, how he longed to gather her close and simply hold her as he had after their journey in the transport tube. Those few seconds before she had been frightened by his fangs had been the best of his life. The way she had melted against him, trusting him completely to keep her safe, to comfort her. The press of her body against his…he wanted that again. Wanted it in the worst possible way. And now he would never have it.

  You wouldn’t have it anyway, even if you survive this crazy maneuver—which is looking less and less likely, a little voice in his brain pointed out. She wants nothing to do with you. But then why had she seemed so upset about the idea of him disliking her? And why—

  With a jolt the net parted and they were through. The shuttle jumped forward like a horse that had been spurred and Sylvan twisted the yoke, aiming for Earth once more. But as the round blue ball began to grow in the viewscreen he saw something to his left. It was like an oil spot in space, an ill defined mass so incredibly black it actually seemed to suck up all the light around it.