Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
“Both our parents immigrated to the Mother Ship at the same time. Ravik was a little older than me, but his education was interrupted by a clan war on his home planet of Rageron, so he was put in my class at the Learning Center.”
“And did the two of you make friends right away?” Cassie said.
“Not right away—it happened when several of the other males were trying to bully me.” Severin spoke so seriously that she tried again to picture him as a small boy with blonde hair and big blue eyes getting bullied. It wasn’t so hard to imagine—especially if he was wearing glasses back then, too.
“So what happened?” she asked softly.
“They were angry because I wouldn’t help them cheat on a test—for some reason they thought I had all the answers.” He shrugged. “I didn’t, of course—I just studied, that was all.”
“So what happened?” Cassie asked.
“It was three against one—I was getting my ass handed to me, as you humans put it,” Severin said dryly. “That’s when Ravik stepped in.”
He cast a glance over Cassie’s head at the big Beast Kindred, who was eating his cauldron of stew steadily—she was glad she’d made a lot of it since both warriors had big appetites.
“I was small for my age but he was big for his,” Severin went on. “He beat up the bullies and the two of us became friends.”
“I think that’s a wonderful story.” Cassie smiled at him. “So have you been best friends since school then?”
The Blood Kindred nodded.
“I helped him with his studies and he watched my back. After we graduated, we entered the Kindred Guard Corps together. I became a scientist and medic and Ravik was a pilot and a demolitions expert. We’ve been on more missions than I can count together.”
“No wonder you couldn’t let him go when he got infected,” Cassie said softly. “I mean, if you’ve been together that long.”
Severin shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling.
“He’s my best friend,” he said simply. “He wouldn’t abandon me—I can’t abandon him.”
Cassie felt like she could understand a little more now about the bond between these two. They were best friends for life—it wasn’t surprising that Severin had been reluctant to part with the big Beast Kindred, even when Ravik got infected with the Hunger Virus.
“It sounds like the two of you are inseparable,” she remarked. “But what happens when one of you finds the right woman and decides to get married…er, Joined?”
Severin shook his head.
“We’ve come close—both of us. But it’s never really ‘worked out,’ as you humans say. I could never seem to get along with the women Ravik liked and he never much cared for the ones I found attractive, either.”
“Hmm, so it was a deal breaker to date someone your best friend didn’t like?” Cassie arched an eyebrow. “Are you sure the two of you are just friends?”
“What?” Severin looked honestly mystified. “Oh—do you mean do I love Ravik in a romantic way? No, of course not.” He shook his head. “Neither of us is a lover of men. We just prefer to spend a lot of our time together. If the woman one of us is considering Bonding with doesn’t like the other, it makes things difficult. Well, to be honest—impossible.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “At this point, I think the two of us have pretty much given up on Bonding.”
“Why? You’re still young,” Cassie said encouragingly. “Maybe you should look for sisters to date,” she added. “Then the two of you could spend as much time together as you want. You could—”
She broke off as a huge yawn ambushed her.
“Oh, excuse me.” She put a hand over her mouth. “Sorry—It’s just been a long day, I guess.”
“For us too,” Severin said. “It’s time to rest for the night.”
“Mate is sleepy,” Ravik spoke up and Cassie saw that while she and Severin were talking, he’d finished his enormous serving of stew. “Ravik will take mate to bed and pleasure her with his tongue,” he added.
“No, no—nobody said you could do that!” Cassie exclaimed, a shiver racing through her.
“It’s not your tasting week yet—remember?” Severin said quickly to his friend.
Ravik frowned.
“But I need to taste my mate,” he rumbled. “Her smell is good but her taste will be even better. I must taste her.”
“You can’t break the rules of the Claiming Period,” Severin said firmly. He looked at Cassie. “Please forgive him—he doesn’t know what he’s saying.”
“Uh…okay.” Cassie shot an uncertain look at the huge Beast Kindred. “I just…don’t understand why he’s so hung up on, er, tasting me,” she added in a low voice.
“That’s probably because we Kindred have a biological need to taste our mates,” Severin explained. “It brings us closer together and feeds the craving we have to give our women oral pleasure.”
“Wow—you actually crave it?” Cassie could hardly believe he was telling the truth. Her first husband, Mitch, absolutely refused to go “down there” as he put it. And as for Sskarth, well he’d tried it several times when they were first married but his long, thin, forked tongue didn’t feel very pleasant at all. It was like being licked by a damp strand of spaghetti and after a few tries, Cassie had excused him from this particular “marital duty.”