“You can work if you want to,” he told her. “But the money goes into our shared bank account. And the minute the house starts looking like a pig sty or my dinner is late—even once—you’re out of there. Understand?”
Luci hated herself now, for putting up with his bullying. But at the time, she’d thought she had no choice. Now she waited to see if Raze would act the same way her ex had when asked to do a domestic duty. If he did, she would know immediately he wasn’t the kind of man she wanted to be with.
But instead of protesting, the big Kindred nodded thoughtfully.
“I’ve been in a human food store several times now, but I never knew quite what to buy. It’ll be interesting to have a list and see how the ingredients fit together when you cook them.”
He promised to come over to drop off the groceries and pick up the kittens as soon as Luci got home so she could start cooking. When he left in his shiny silver shuttle car, with her list in one hand, she couldn’t help thinking that the big Kindred seemed like a genuinely nice guy. And a sexy one too.
Though she tried to keep her mind on her work as she finished the last bit of her shift at the clinic, all she could think of was the next time she would see him.
Seven
Raze couldn’t wait to see the curvy little Earth female again.
As he drove through downtown Tampa, Luci was all he could think about. The spontaneous hug she had given him had really intrigued him. He could still feel the press of her gorgeous, soft body against his and smell her sweet, feminine scent.
Raze was glad she’d allowed him to buy the food for tonight’s Last Meal. He simply didn’t understand a society that didn’t honor and reward the hard work of a female trying to raise her young ones—especially one trying to raise them alone. In such an uncaring world, Lucia needed someone to help her. A male to protect and provide for her.
A little voice inside his head whispered softly that the male in question could be him.
Raze pushed it away. He was a hybrid, he reminded himself. He couldn’t bond with her—couldn’t give her the deep, soul-connection, which was what such a lovely female deserved and no doubt desired.
Well, at least he could spend time with her while he was here on Earth. He had already called over to the HKR building and extended his leave time for a couple more solar weeks.
He intended to use that time raising the kittens and getting close to Lucia—as close as a friend could be, anyway, since that was all he could ever be to her.
Eight
The next two weeks seemed like a dream to Luci. She saw Raze every day—sometimes with the kids and her mom at dinnertime—and sometimes at the clinic. The kittens, (which were thriving,) provided an excellent excuse—which was good, because the more she saw the big Kindred, the more she wanted to see him.
The thing she likes most about Raze, she decided, was that he was always a perfect gentleman. He never shouted or even raised his voice and he was always gentle and kind with the kids, who were really getting to love him. The twins were over their shyness now and they would come running and climb all over the big Kindred like a tree the minute they heard his deep rumbling voice.
Frannie liked to sit on his knee while he read her stories from her favorite books. She was at that age where she wanted to hear the same book over and over and over again, which frankly, drove Luci a little nuts. But Raze read her The Princess and her Dragon over and over—sometimes multiple times in a row—in both English and Spanish without complaining once.
In addition to her kids, all the animals loved him as well. Even Oreo, the extremely skittish guinea pig, didn’t try to run when Raze picked him up. Hippy and Hoppy, their two rescue bunnies, also trusted him instinctively. And Lucky, the one-eyed, one-eared tomcat, wove around his ankles purring the minute the big Kindred walked in the door.
Most telling of all, Luci’s mother was finally coming around. Part of it was probably the way Raze loved her cooking. He praised her menudo extravagantly and said her tamales were the best thing he’d ever put in his mouth. He treated her like a queen too—always listening respectfully when she talked, which was certainly something Tony had never done. In response to the big Kindred’s patient wooing, Luci’s mom finally thawed and confided to Luci that he was a “good, clean kind of boy,” which was high praise indeed, coming from her.
Luci was inclined to agree with her mother. There were so many good things about Raze that no one could have guessed from his scary outer appearance—such as his willingness to help around the house.