“Uh…what?” Brandi looked at him wide-eyed. “Your old mistress? Do you mean mistress as in a woman you’re seeing on the side or mistress as in BDSM tie-me-up-and-spank me?”
“Neither,” Slade said, at last finding a parking space in an out-of-the-way corner of the lot. “I mean mistress as in I was her slave and she was my mistress. She owned me—my body anyway. I never let her have my mind or heart.” He frowned.
“You were a slave?” Brandi’s eyes got even wider. “That’s terrible!”
“I have been many things,” Slade admitted. “Fighter, champion, slave, prisoner…” He shrugged. “And now the mate to a female I hardly know…although I would like to get to know her better.” He turned to Brandi. “Would that be okay with you, sweetheart?”
She got a nervous look on her face, maybe in response to the intensity of his gaze.
“Why did you park us someplace so dark?” she asked, looking around at the silent parking garage. “This is…kind of creepy. And really isolated.”
Slade saw in her mind that she feared a repeat of what had almost happened with her boss and sighed. He reminded himself that he was much, much bigger and stronger than her and she had been hurt by males in the past. Of course she was frightened of him.
“Brandi,” he said as gently as he could. “Please do me a favor—use our link to see my true intentions.”
“Um…okay.” Hesitantly, she closed her eyes and Slade felt her mental fingers slipping into the cracks of his mind. He tried to open himself to her tentative touch, to let her know that he wanted nothing but good for her…wanted only to protect and provide for her.
“Oh,” Brandi whispered through their link, at last. “I see now. You just want to keep me safe.” She opened her eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I’ve had some, uh, bad experiences before with guys.”
“But those were human males,” Slade pointed out. Reaching out, he gently caressed her cheek with just the tips of his fingers. “I would never hurt you, baby,” he told her, sending it through their link for extra emphasis. “Never.”
“Oh, um…thank you,” Brandi whispered. She swallowed nervously and her cheeks got pink. Slade could hear her thinking how good he smelled and wondering again about what kind of cologne he wore.
“I told you before, it’s just my bonding scent,” he told her as he unfastened his seat harness and moved to the back of the ship. “It draws you to me because my body recognizes you as my mate.”
“Bonding scent?” Brandi frowned as she followed him back to the small food-prep area. “Is that why I’m so crazy-attracted to you? I mean, besides the fact that you’re so muscular and tall and…and…” She broke off, blushing as Slade turned to face her.
“It’s all right, baby,” he murmured, taking in her flushed cheeks. “I’m crazy-attracted to you too.” He sighed. “Even though I know I shouldn’t be.”
“Why shouldn’t you be?” Brandi wanted to know as he opened the cabinet and started sorting through the food cubes stored there.
“Because it’s breaking a vow I held sacred.” Slade wondered if he ought to explain and then decided he’d have to. “After my mate, Cinda died, I swore to myself I would never be with another female again. Not a real one, anyway,” he amended, seeing her frown of confusion and hearing her wonder why he’d been in the Puppet House. “As I told you before, my old slave mistress had me injected with a lust enhancer in an effort to make me fuck her.” He clenched his jaw. “I wouldn’t give in but I knew the effects of that fucking drug wouldn’t wear off until I sank my shaft into a warm, willing pussy. I thought a visit to the Puppet House would be a good way to cure myself without breaking my vow to my dead mate.”
“Oh…” Brandi coughed, her cheeks getting red. “I’m really, really sorry, Slade. I didn’t mean to make you break your vow.”
He signed and raked a hand through his hair.
“It’s all right, baby. I know you were hungry for touch too. And after seeing a few examples of human males, I don’t blame you for looking for a Kindred to scratch your itch.”
“Only ‘scratching my itch’ led to some long-term consequences, I guess.” Brandi sounded contrite. “Is this bond—this link between us—really for life?”
“I’m afraid so.” Slade stared at the food cubes, trying not to think of the implications. “Here are some Earth ones. How do you feel about spaahg…hatti?” He frowned, trying to get the pronunciation right. Like all Kindred, he had a natural talent for languages but English could be a bit of a tongue-twister at times and he had only learned it a few days ago.
“Spaghetti, you mean?” Brandi smiled. “It’s kind of messy and it usually has lots of garlic in it.” She frowned. “Although I guess that shouldn’t matter.”