Dark and Light (A Kindred Tales Duet)

As they followed Raze out to his vehicle—a Kindred shuttle that converted to a sleek, silver car—she determined to keep a firm grip on her emotions. After all, there was no point in falling for a guy she could never have.

Six

“All right—give it a try,” Raze said, stepping back and wiping his big hands on a paper towel Luci had brought him.

Getting behind the wheel, she turned the key and gave a little gasp of joy when the ancient engine turned over and began to purr.

“You did it!” she exclaimed when the big Kindred came over to her driver’s side window.

Raze grinned and leaned over to see her better.

“Nothing to it. Your engines remind me of the mechanical toys I played with as a young one,” he rumbled.

He had been working on her car all day, out in the Paws and Purrs parking lot as she did her shift in the clinic. She had been keeping an eye on the kittens for him as Lady roamed around—being a well-behaved dog, she was always welcome at Luci’s work. Now her shift was almost over and it looked like she would be able to drive her car home.

“Thank you!” Luci was so excited she turned off the engine and jumped out of the car. “Thank you so much! You don’t know what this means to me!” she exclaimed, giving Raze a spontaneous hug. “I didn’t know how I was going to get it fixed and it’s so hard to get around without a car and…and…”

She trailed off as she realized the big Kindred was returning her hug. Very gently, he had enfolded her in his arms. The top of Luci’s head barely came up to his chest, which made her feel like a little girl. But despite their height and size difference, the embrace felt warm and safe and wonderful and she couldn’t help thinking again how good Raze smelled. Without thinking about it, she pressed her face to the broad planes of his chest and breathed him in until she felt almost dizzy from the incredibly enticing scent.

Then she realized what she was doing—hanging all over the big Kindred and smelling him, for God’s sake! What was wrong with her?

“Dios, I’m sorry!” she said, pulling away abruptly. “I, uh, just got so excited that you fixed the car,” she added, looking up at him shyly. “I didn’t mean to get carried away.”

“I don’t mind,” Raze rumbled. His mismatched eyes were half-lidded as he looked at her. “Don’t friends embrace each other on Earth when they’re happy?”

“Oh right—friends, of course,” Luci said quickly. “Yes, of course they do.” She smiled and tried to act casual. “Are you sure you won’t let me pay you for this?”

“Positive,” Raze said firmly. “It’s the least I can do after you showed me how to care for the kittens. How are they, by the way? I feel bad that you did the last feeding without me.”

“It was no trouble at all—you were up to your elbows in my car engine,” Luci pointed out. Although he really hadn’t had to take it apart very much at all to fix it. And he hadn’t used any tools other than the ones he had brought with him from the Mother Ship. Best of all, he hadn’t had to ask her to get any replacement parts, which she was very grateful for.

“But are they all right?” Raze asked anxiously. “I was worried about Little Bit this morning. She seemed listless.”

“Little Bit?” Luci frowned.

“Oh…that’s what I call the little black female.” Raze looked slightly embarrassed. “She’s such a tiny little thing.”

“Did you name the two boys?” Luci asked, amused. “Because Frannie has been calling the white one with the black spot over his eye ‘Pirate Cat’. Because the spot looks like an eye patch and pirates wear eye patches,” she explained, seeing his confused look. “At least here on Earth they do—that’s the stereotype, anyway.”

“I have known space pirates who have monocular vision,” Raze told her. “Cycloptians—you don’t want to mess with them.” He smiled. “But I think ‘pirate cat’ is a fine name. Now we just have to think of a name for the last one—the one that’s black and white all over.”

“I think Frannie is calling him ‘Spots’,” Luci told him. “I know it’s not nearly as good as Pirate Cat but—”

“It’s fine.” Raze smiled down at her. “I love the names your daughter came up with. She’s very intelligent, isn’t she?”

“She’s my good, smart girl,” Luci said with pride. She sighed. “I just wish I could spend more time with her—with all my kids. I work so many hours here, sometimes I feel like I never get to see them. I mean, don’t get me wrong—I love my job. I just wish I could do it part time and spend more time with my little ones, well…while they’re still little.”