Baird’s big hands curled into fists and a low, rumbling growl rose in his throat.
“I’ll never understand how the males of your species can be so fucking cruel—so brutal towards females,” he said, frowning. “What the hell is wrong with them, hurting the ones they ought to protect?”
Liv sighed again.
“I’ve been up here, living with the Kindred for so long, that sometimes I can almost forget brutality like that exists back down on Earth.” She shook her head. “Sometimes I wish I could forget completely. It would be easy enough, if I never had to see any human men—or their handiwork—again.”
Though the Kindred were 95% male, they worshiped a Goddess and considered females to be sacred. No Kindred warrior would ever beat or abuse a woman like that poor Mia had been beaten by her husband, Liv thought. To the Kindred, women were to be protected and cherished, never hurt or humiliated or hit.
“I’ll always protect you, lilenta,” Baird murmured through their link. He had finished taking off his uniform shirt and now he drew her close to his broad, bare chest.
He was so much bigger than her it was like getting a literal bear hug, Liv thought—albeit, a warm and gentle one.
“How am I like a bear?” Baird sent, having picked up her mental image through their link. “I’m not that hairy, am I?”
“You know that’s not what I meant.” Liv snuggled closer to him, breathing in the warm, spicy fragrance she knew was his Bonding Scent as she pressed her face to his broad chest. It was his Bonding Scent that had drawn her to him in the first place, she remembered, way back when he had first Claimed her and she was so determined to get away from him.
“You certainly tried every fuckin’ way you could to get free of me, Baird murmured in her head, a touch of amusement coloring his mental voice. “Thought I was never going to be able to bond you to me, lilenta.”
“I had my life all planned out and I wasn’t going to let some big alien derail my plans,” Liv sent back, laughing a little.
She couldn’t believe how stubbornly she’d resisted the big Beast Kindred when he had first called her as his bride. Baird was everything she’d ever wanted in a man…only she had been too blind to see it at first. But everything had changed after Baird had sacrificed himself for her…had fought and almost died to keep her…
“Don’t bring up bad memories now, lilenta,” he murmured through their link. Stroking her hair, he cuddled her close, rubbing his big, warm hands up and down her shoulders and back and bottom.
The delicious friction sent a shiver down Liv’s spine, especially when he squeezed her ass possessively and drew her close to the hard bulge in the crotch of his tight leather trousers.
“You’re right—let’s put away anything bad or sad and just be together,” she sent to her mate.
Standing on tiptoes, she put her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. She loved the warm taste of his mouth and the urgent but gentle way he kissed her. Her Beast Kindred husband was so much bigger than her that he could have injured her easily, but he was always careful to keep his strength in check when he was around her.
“Mmm, you taste so good, lilenta…”
One of the best things about having a mental bond with your mate, Liv reflected, was the ability to talk to each other even when your mouths were otherwise occupied. By kissing or…other things.
“I like the idea of ‘other things,’” Baird informed her. He cupped her ass in his big hands and lifted her against him.
Liv parted her legs and wrapped them around his trim waist as the sheena silk gown slipped up, baring her pussy. Baird pressed against her eagerly, pushing the hard bulge of his cock, still straining against the leather trousers he wore, against her mound. She moaned as her pussy lips parted and he rubbed against her aching clit, sending bolts of pleasure through her body.
“Mmm, lilenta—I can feel how hot your soft little pussy is.” Baird’s mental voice was tinged with lust now. “Are you getting all wet for me, baby? Getting ready to let me taste your juices?”
Liv shivered in anticipation at the lust in his mental tone. Kindred had a biological need to taste their females on a regular basis. Which meant that Baird loved going down on her as much—or more—than he loved sex. That certainly wasn’t something many human men could say!
She had used to feel self-conscious about letting him go down, back before they had been bonded. But now that she had a mental connection with the big Kindred, she could actually feel how much he enjoyed tasting her, which made her feel free to open up and let him do whatever he wanted.