Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 121146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Are you sure you’re in such a hurry to get back to the Thielgoods? whispered a little voice in her head. After all—if you were still down on Earth, you’d probably be slaving away in the kitchen, hoping to get everything to the table on time while nobody helped you at all. And I bet they wouldn’t thank you or acknowledge your hard work either.
She pushed the disloyal thought away and looked across the table to where Fierce and Hold were sitting side-by-side. When Fierce saw her looking at them, he caught her eyes with his own dark ones. Were they black or just really dark blue? Celia couldn’t quite tell…but she found she couldn’t look away once the dark warrior had captured her gaze with his. Fierce didn’t say a word, but his eyes were so intense Celia felt positively naked.
Lifting her chin, she stared back, determined not to be intimidated. But the longer she looked, the hotter her cheeks felt and the harder her heart pounded.
“Uh, doll—you okay?” Kat murmured in her ear, which finally made her look away so she could talk to her new friend.
“I…I think so,” Celia muttered. She was almost panting. Dios! No man had ever looked at her like that—like he could see into her soul. Peter talked about how pretty she was, but he never really looked into her eyes. She wondered if the big warrior was still staring but she was afraid she’d be caught in his dark eyes again if she looked across the table to see.
“That was quite an intense little staring contest you were having with Fights Fiercely,” Kat remarked in a low voice. “Are he and Holds Tightly your guys?”
“They’re the ones who came to ‘Claim’ me at my fiancé’s house,” Celia said, nodding. “They said we’d been, uh, Dream-Sharing for months and that I belonged with them, even though I’m engaged to Peter.”
“And have you been? Dream-Sharing, I mean?” Kat raised her eyebrows.
Hesitantly, Celia nodded.
“Yes, but it doesn’t mean anything. I’m still engaged to someone else.”
“Hmmm,” was all Kat said. Then she added, “Ready to try those grieza worms yet?” And the conversation moved on to other topics.
All in all, Celia had to admit it was a lovely Thanksgiving dinner—much nicer than the one she’d been expecting to have with Peter’s family. And afterwards, Kat took her around and introduced her.
It was lucky that Celia was an extrovert, or meeting so many new people would have been terrifying. But she had to meet new people and explain her ideas all the time when she was talking to prospective clients, so she didn’t find it difficult or intimidating.
It helped that everyone Kat introduced her to was extremely nice. The twin looking women turned out to be actual twins—Sophie and Liv. They were best friends with Kat and Lauren was their cousin. All of them were friendly and Sophie said,
“Oh, I know who you are! You’re the fiancée of Peter Thielgood, right?”
“Uh, yes—how did you know?” Celia asked uncertainly.
“Oh, because your fiancé and his lawyer have been talking to my husband, Sylvan,” she explained. “They’ve been trying to get you out of your Claiming Period, but I don’t think it’s going to work.”
“What? But why not?” Celia asked, frowning.
“Well because—if they let you out on a technicality, they’d have to let out everyone who doesn’t want to be here,” Liv said practically. “Believe me, I tried to get out of my Claiming Period, too,” she added, smiling. “But I’m really glad I couldn’t.” She looked at the big Beast Kindred who had cooked the turkey. “Sometimes you just have to give your Kindred a chance.”
“That’s really nice but I’m already engaged. I’m getting married on Christmas Eve!” Celia protested.
“Well, if you’re that madly in love with your fiancé, a month apart shouldn’t make a difference, doll,” Kat pointed out. “And you don’t have to worry about your guys hurting you—Kindred are extremely protective of women. They won’t do anything you don’t want them to.”
“Yes…Hold already promised me that,” Celia said. But she couldn’t help thinking of the staring contest she’d had with Fierce and the intense desire she’d seen in the dark warrior’s eyes before she dropped her own.
“Look, here’s Sylvan now. I’ll ask him for you, if you want,” Sophie offered.
“Oh, would you? Thank you.” Celia smiled gratefully.
But her smile didn’t last for long.
“I’m truly very sorry,” Sylvan told her, frowning after Sophie asked about Celia’s situation. “But I’m afraid our Law of the Claiming Period is airtight for a reason. We cannot start making exceptions for the rich and famous down on Earth—it will seem as though we have a different standard for those with wealth and those without. Here on the Mother Ship, we believe that everyone is equal.”
“Oh. Did…did Peter try to buy my way out of the Claiming Period?” Celia asked, feeling embarrassed. Her fiancé thought there was no problem on Earth that couldn’t be solved with money.