Jillian felt her heart start to pound, but she tried to keep her voice light.
“I told you—I release you from any kind of, uh, service to me, Kalis. You don’t have to keep the promise you made when Mistress Douchenbag was ‘selling’ you to me.”
“Of course I’ll still keep it,” he murmured, his voice going deep and quiet as he looked down at her. Reaching out, he cupped her cheek in one big, warm hand. “A Kindred warrior never breaks his oath.”
Jillian could feel a blush starting in her cheeks and her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was trying to get out of her chest. She shouldn’t let him touch her this way—she knew she shouldn’t. Here in the kitchen, she was his boss and it was important to keep that distinction intact.
But you keep telling him over and over again that you’re not his boss—not his Mistress, whispered a little voice in her head. How do you expect him to act, when you keep telling him that you don’t own him and he’s free to do what he wants?
And apparently right now, what the big Kindred wanted to do was kiss her. He was bending down and Jillian was actually leaning up towards him when the kitchen door opened and Commander Sylvan came striding in.
“Commander Sylvan!” Jillian jumped away from Kalis as though she’d been stung. “Is everything all right?” she asked, hoping her cheeks weren’t too red.
“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Sylvan said. He had a concerned look on his face. “Er, I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” he asked, looking between her and Kalis.
“No, no—not at all,” Jillian said quickly. “Kalis was just, er, looking to make sure I was all right.”
“I was worried that the Nebrian ambassador’s prickers might have scratched Chef Jillian,” Kalis put in.
“Prickers?” Sylvan frowned.
Kalis made a one-handed gesture.
“Spines—whatever you want to call those short, stiff hairs all over the Nebrian’s body. They can cause a nasty reaction if they scratch your skin.”
“Can they?” Sylvan looked concerned. “Are you all right, Chef Marks? Should we take you down to the Med Center for a complete exam?”
“Oh, I’m sure that’s not necessary,” Jillian protested.
But just to be sure, she looked down at herself. Though she had felt the spines of the ambassador poking into her, they didn’t seem to have torn or ripped her clothes. She must have just been feeling them through the cloth—thank goodness her Chef’s whites and work trousers were made of sturdy material, she thought! As for the palms of her hands where she had touched the Nebrian’s chest, they were a little red but nothing to worry about.
“I think I’m fine,” she said at last, shrugging. “Though I wouldn’t have been without your quick thinking—thank you again, Kalis,” she added, speaking formally to the big Kindred.
“Yes—that was quick thinking,” Sylvan agreed. “You defused what could have been an extremely explosive situation without harming our negotiations. Many thanks, Brother—the Mother Ship owes you a debt.”
“There’s no debt,” Kalis said. “I was simply protecting my Mistress, as I have sworn to.” His eyes never left Jillian’s face as he talked, speaking in that same soft, deep voice that seemed to melt her from the inside out.
Jillian’s heart was thumping again, but she tried to ignore it and be professional.
“Thank you again for choosing Pat-ar for your negotiations, Commander Sylvan,” she said, giving him her best Executive Chef smile and holding out her hand. “I hope the little, er, incident didn’t damage the diplomatic relationship between the Nebrians and the Kindred.”
“Not at all,” Sylvan said, taking her hand and shaking it firmly. “Though we are moving Ambassador Ha’choo Bless’u to a separate shuttle to seal the negotiations and sign the contracts. We’ll have nothing but males in attendance,” he added.
“Smart move.” Kalis nodded his head. “You should be fine, then, with no females around.”
“I’m just glad I didn’t bring my own mate, Sophia,” Sylvan remarked. “I might have gone into Rage if the ambassador had threatened her. But you kept a remarkably cool head on your shoulders,” he said to Kalis. “Despite the fact that Chef Marks was in danger. Not many warriors are able to hold back their Rage in such a situation.”
Kalis nodded gravely.
“Thank you. I have to keep a tight reign on my temper to keep my Ursus in check.”
“Well, you certainly did tonight.” Sylvan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Thank you again and if you’ll both excuse me, I have to go and see to the rest of these negotiations.”
“I hope for your sake it doesn’t take long,” Jillian offered. She thought that the Head of the Kindred High Council looked rather harried and exhausted.
“Thank you—I hope not too,” Sylvan said.
And nodding at both of them, he left the kitchen.