“The Goddess had a hand in it,” Sylvan told him. “And since she’s been sending you dreams of Jillian for the last two years, I believe she’ll take a hand in your situation as well.”
Kalis sighed.
“I can only hope and pray you’re right about that. In the meantime, do you have a place where I could bathe and change?” He nodded down to the too-tight uniform clothes he was wearing. “I had to change into these, which I found in the back of the shuttle, before we flew here, because I burst out of my other clothing during the shift to my other form.”
Sylvan grinned.
“Those are a bit small for you, but never fear—we’ll find you some that fit. Come on, I’ll take you to a guest suite and get you something more your size along the way.”
“Thanks, Brother.” Kalis nodded, more grateful for the hospitality than he could say. It had been years since he’d lived in the company of his own kind and he had to admit, boarding the Mother Ship felt like coming home.
It had also been years since he had been free, with no Mistress to answer to, but Kalis found that didn’t make him nearly as happy as he had once thought it would. He missed Jillian fiercely—though he had only known the curvy little Elite in person for one day, he’d been dreaming of her for years.
Never thought that once she got to know me, she’d want nothing more to do with me, he thought morosely. Still, maybe Commander Sylvan was right and she just needed some time.
Kalis prayed it was so, for Jillian Marks held his heart in her hands. He only hoped that in time, she would be willing to give him another chance to explain that his other half would never hurt her and that he wanted only to make her happy.
25
“Jilly! Oh my god, I’m so glad you’re all right! Dr. Liv called and told me what happened and I just can’t believe it! You were abducted at the Buy-All-Sell-All?”
Suzanne came rushing into the exam room, talking about a mile a minute and threw her arms around Jillian in a big hug.
Jillian winced—she was sore from being dragged around by both Trolloxes—but it felt wonderful to have her friend’s arms around her.
“Yes, I was abducted,” she admitted in a low voice. “But it was my own stupid fault…”
And before she knew it, she was spilling the entire, twisted story of her horrible day into her friend’s lap. Dr. Liv listened as well, a concerned look on her pretty face.
“So you accidentally bought a Kindred bodyslave from a Yonnite Mistress and then he saved your life twice but you basically told him you never wanted to see him again?” Suzanne asked, when she finally finished.
Jillian stared at her in disbelief.
“Out of everything I just told you, that’s what you picked up on? Did you not hear the part about how he turns into a massive, terrifying Grizzly-thing?”
“Did his beast actually attack you?” Liv asked, speaking up for the first time.
Jillian frowned.
“Well…I mean, no, but I was sure he was going to. He came right at me and roared so loud it’s amazing my eardrums didn’t burst!”
“But I thought you said a Trollox was holding you hostage,” Suzanne pointed out, frowning. “Are you sure he wasn’t roaring at him?”
“Probably,” Jillian admitted. “But you don’t understand, Suzanne—having that creature so close to me was terrifying. I thought I was going to die. It reminded me of…of something that happened when I was just a little kid.”
“What?” Dr. Live asked. “What happened to you?”
“It’s hard to talk about.” Jillian shook her head. “But it traumatized me. I just…don’t trust big animals—don’t trust predators. And this thing he turned into was pretty much the biggest, meanest, most terrifying predator I’ve ever seen.”
“You poor thing! I’m so sorry,” Suzanne said contritely and hugged her again. “It’s just that after Brad was such a bastard to you, I’ve been hoping you’d meet a nice Kindred who would treat you right. And this guy sounds like he was really devoted to you.”
Jillian sighed.
“He was, I guess. But I’m not ready for that kind of devotion, Suzanne. I guess…I guess it boils down to the fact that I’m not ready to trust again.” She shook her head. “I don’t think I’ll ever be ready, after Brad.”
“Listen, Brad wouldn’t have let somebody cut off the tip of his pinky finger to save you—let alone his entire hand,” Suzanne pointed out. “Even if he knew he could regrow it later.”
“I know all that and I hate to sound like a coward.” Jillian rubbed a hand over her dirty face. “It’s just been such a long, horrible day and I haven’t done a bit of prep work for the VIP dinner tomorrow night! I just can’t deal with this right now!”