“That’s, uh, very generous of you.” Melanie smiled at him. “But I don’t want to put you out.”
Clear frowned.
“Put me out where?” he inquired, looking honestly confused.
“Oh, I mean I don’t want to put you to any trouble,” Melanie explained. “I don’t want you to have to go out of your way for me.”
“I don’t mind and it won’t be out of my way or any trouble.” Clear gave her a smile that made Melanie feel absolutely dazzled. He was just so handsome.
“Oh, well…” she said weakly. “Um…sure, I guess. If…if you really don’t mind?”
“I don’t mind. In fact, I’m looking forward to it.” He gave her that dazzling grin again that showed an adorable dimple in his left cheek. “Tell me where your suite is and I’ll come by to help you cook Last Meal tonight.”
Feeling dazed, Melanie told him her suite number and corridor. The big Kindred nodded and at last rose from his chair.
“I’ll see you tonight, Melanie,” he rumbled.
And then he left, going back to the Accounting department while Melanie tried to figure out what exactly had just gone on between herself and her much younger coworker.
Sonja didn’t seem to have any doubt about Melanie’s encounter with Clear, though.
“Oh my God, Miss Melanie,” she sang, fluttering her eyelashes as she rolled her chair over to Melanie’s cubicle. “Did I just hear you making a date with tall Light and handsome over there?”
“I…I don’t know.” Melanie shook her head, still feeling stunned. “I think he was just being nice. I mean, Twin Kindred can’t date a woman without their brother, can they?” she asked, remembering her research.
“Well, no,” Sonja admitted frowning. “But he could just be softening you up to meet his brother.”
“What? Why would he do that?” Melanie asked.
“Because Dark Twin Kindred can be intense, girl!” Sonja told her. “I’ve heard that’s something they do, you know. The Light Twin sort of softens the girl up until she’s kind of open to the idea and then bam! He brings in the Dark Twin. And before you know it, you’re the filling in a yummy, muscular, Twin Kindred sandwich.” She giggled.
Melanie shook her head.
“Be serious. Look at me and look at Clear.”
“Yeah, I’m lookin’.” Sonja arched an eyebrow at her. “So what?”
“So what is that I’m over ten years older than him,” Melanie pointed out. “Maybe even closer to fifteen years older. I’m way too old for him!”
“Kindred don’t think like that,” Sonja said at once. “You can’t attribute human prejudices to them—they just don’t have them. Like…when I first met Sahran, and he’s all big and blond and so white he practically glows in the dark. I mean, the boy looks all Aryan Nation, you know? So I was not prepared for him to go for me.”
“But you’re beautiful,” Melanie protested.
“Yes, but I’m also black.” Sonja tossed her long braids. “And with the kind of unrest that’s been going on, especially in our own country right now, I just assumed he would be hostile to me because of my race. Instead, he couldn’t wait to get in my pants!” She giggled.
“Oh, you!” Melanie elbowed her gently. “You’re too much,” she told her friend. “And I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I still don’t think Clear would be interested in me that way. He’s just being nice.”
“Mmm-hmm, keep telling yourself that.” Sonja grinned at her. “And let me know tomorrow how things go on your date.”
With a wink, she rolled back to her own cubicle, leaving Melanie to wonder if she might possibly be right.
2
“You look tired, Brother. Long day?” Clear asked, watching his Dark Twin, Feels Strongly, collapse onto the couch in their shared suite.
The couch, like all the furniture in their suite, including the huge bed in the bed chamber, was built for three. But as yet, there were only the two of them, though they still hoped to find a mate to share and bond with.
“Just a long shift. And I have to go do another one in an hour.” Strong sighed deeply. “They need to hire or train more doctors. I wish you’d trained with me so you could help.”
“Sorry, Brother—you know I don’t like how messy your profession is,” Clear remarked, coming to sit beside him and offering him a cup of coffee. He knew his twin enjoyed the human caffeine brew and it would help him be alert for his next shift.
“Right—you like things tied up neatly. Numbers are better than blood and guts, right?” Strong gave him a rare smile, one corner of his mouth quirking up.
“Infinitely better,” Clear agreed, grinning. He cleared his throat. “I have some news. While you’re working I’m going to help the little Elite I told you about learn to use her wave. Apparently she had problems with it before and nearly burned herself.”
Strong frowned.
“Why do you bother? You know she’ll never be interested in us when she finds out you’re part of a Twin Kindred pair.”
“She already knows.” Clear tried not to sound defensive. “In fact, she’s been working on a vid for the PR department to try and help the humans understand us and our need to share a mate.”
Strong made a rude noise.
“Good luck with that! It seems like every eligible human female I meet runs the opposite direction when she finds out I have a Twin who I’ll need to share her with!” He shook his head. “We had such high hopes of finding a mate here on the Mother Ship, but so far…nothing.”
“Melanie was explaining some of the reasons to me that humans don’t like the idea of their females bonding with us,” Clear remarked. “Do you know that in many places on Earth they approve of a male having more than one wife but they disapprove strongly of a female having more than one husband?”
Strong frowned, his black brows drawing low over his dark blue eyes.
“Why in the Seven Hells would the males want more than one female? How could you properly pleasure more than one and make her feel special if you had several more hanging around?”
“I don’t know.” Clear shrugged. “Humans customs are still confusing to me, too. But Melanie says it’s because the Earth has many misogynistic cultures where the males think they are better than females and deserve better treatment.”
Strong snorted.
“Then they’re idiots who don’t deserve to have even one mate—let alone more than one!”
“She also said that many cultures consider it morally wrong for there to be more than one male and one female in a relationship,” Clear offered.
Strong shook his head. “That may be, but I don’t think it’s the main reason why human females don’t want to bond with us.”
“Why, then?” Clear asked as his brother took a sip of coffee.
“They won’t bond with us because they fear us,” Strong said, frowning. “They fear our size and strength and the fact that in order to bond with them, we both have to enter them at the same time. Do you know what the humans call that? Double penetration.”