“You know,” she said, “When you first came up on me tonight, I was scared to death. I thought this might be my last night on Earth.”
“Gods!” Raze shook his head. It was awful that females had to be so fearful of strange males on this planet! It wasn’t so in Kindred society. “I didn’t mean to frighten you, Lucia,” he told her. “I’m really sorry about that.”
“No, no!” she said quickly. “I’m just saying…” She made a frustrated gesture, as though looking for the right words. “You know how they say that first appearances can be deceiving? Or anyway, that’s an Earth saying,” she went on. “But it means…well, I guess it means I’m glad I met you. And not just because you’re going to give us a ride and try to fix my car. Because you seem like a genuinely nice guy.” She sighed. “And it’s been a while since I met one of those.”
Raze wondered if this distrust of males was born of her society—or other problems in her past. From what she had told him of her ex-mate, it sounded like he hadn’t been a very good or kind male. Had he hurt or abused her somehow to make her so wary?
“I’m glad we met too,” he said gravely. “Thank you again for helping me care for these little ones.” He nodded at the box of sleepy kittens. “I’ll see you in the morning, Lucia.”
“See you in the morning,” she echoed, giving him that shy smile again, which made his heart fist in his chest. Gods, she was gorgeous with those big brown eyes and ample curves!
She’s beautiful but she’s not for you, Raze reminded himself sternly as he smiled and turned away to go back to his own apartment. Nobody is for you, Raze, so don’t get any ideas.
Five
The next morning, Luci wondered if it hadn’t all been a dream. But the first thing out of Frannie’s mouth when she went to wake her daughter were,
“Mami, do we get to see the kitten man today?”
“Yes, mija, that’s the plan,” she said, smiling. “If he’s there,” she added, not wanting to get her daughter’s hopes up. “He might not remember or he might be sleeping in. Like Daddy.”
Her ex had almost never gotten up before noon on days off and weekends and if the kids woke him up before he was ready, there was Hell to pay. Luci shivered when she remembered it—walking on eggshells and trying so hard to keep all three kids absolutely silent so they wouldn’t disturb Tony. He would fly into a towering rage at the least little sound, which meant that Luci usually had to take all three of them out of the house lest they wake their father and anger him.
“He’s not like Daddy,” Frannie said, with such absolute certainty that Luci was surprised. “He’ll be there.”
“I hope so, mija,” she said cautiously. “Now get dressed while I get your brothers up.”
“Yes, Mami.” Frannie got up obediently and began getting dressed at once.
“Such a good girl!” Luci gave her daughter a kiss and bustled off to get the twins.
When all of them—her mother and Lady included—rode the elevator down to the lobby of their building, Luci was surprised to see the big Kindred standing there waiting with the box of kittens in his arms. Maybe it was just her bad experience with Tony—who was the only man she’d ever been with, since they had started dating in high school—but she hadn’t really expected a man—not even a Kindred—to be willing to get up so early and drive her and her kids all around town.
But there Raze was, smiling at her and the kids as they all clattered out of the elevator.
“The kittens, the kittens!” Frannie exclaimed, running right up to him, though she was usually so shy of men—probably because Tony had shouted at her so many times, Luci thought, with regret.
But she forgot about her ex as she watched Raze crouch down obligingly to show Frannie the three little kittens again. He smiled easily and spoke to her kindly in his deep voice. And when the twins, Antony and Julio approached—a bit more warily—he showed them the kittens too. Lady came along as well and sniffed the tiny, mewing creatures before licking Raze’s hand happily.
It warmed Luci’s heart to see her children interact with a man who wasn’t angry or shouting at them to “Shut the fuck up so I can get some fucking peace and quiet around here!” as Tony had so often. Maybe the big Kindred really was a nice guy—a kind and caring soul. Only time would tell—she wasn’t going to rush into anything. Rushing to get married was what had gotten her stuck with Tony for so long. Luci was determined to take her time and be careful this time.
Not, of course, that the big Kindred liked her that way, she told herself hastily. He was just being friendly—returning her favor with the kittens by driving the kids to school and her to work and fixing her car.
But she couldn’t help the butterflies that took off in her stomach when Raze looked up from talking to the kids and their eyes met. There was an intensity in his mismatched gaze that made her feel like the only woman in the world when he looked at her like that. He smelled really good too. What was that aftershave he was wearing? Something woodsy and fresh and wild and just a bit smoky—whatever it was, it was really attractive. But come to that, all of him was attractive…
Stop that! Luci scolded herself. You can’t start thinking that way about him. He’s just being nice—he wouldn’t want anything to do with a single mom who already has three kids. No man in his right man would want a girl with that kind of baggage!
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.