Page 1 of Tamed By Her Touch

1

CLAIR

“I know the two of you don’t like each other very much, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to work together on this mission.” Commander Sylvan leaned across his desk, a serious look on his face. “It’s critical that we find a cure for the Savage Syndrome as soon as possible.”

Doctor Clair Donovan threw a glance at the huge Kindred male sitting beside her and muffled a sigh of frustration. Doctor Kaelus shared a lab with her—or rather, she shared a lab with him—and he never missed a chance to let her know how much she irritated and annoyed him. And now they were supposed to go on a scientific mission together? Please.

Great, just great, she thought as she studied her Kindred colleague. Now how is this going to work?

Kaelus, for his part, remained silent though his face was creased into a heavy frown. His dark brows drew low over golden eyes that proved the Beast Kindred part of his heritage. But when he opened his mouth to speak, she could see his fangs—which showed the Blood Kindred part of him.

Her colleague was what the Kindred called a “Hybrid”—a mixture of two different branches of the Kindred family tree. This mixture of Beast and Blood Kindred genetics made him even bigger than a regular Kindred warrior, which was saying something since almost all of them were seven feet tall.

Now, he raked a hand through his thick, black hair and glared at their boss, who was still looking anxiously at the two of them.

“Unacceptable,” he rumbled, frowning at Commander Sylvan. “First you force me to share a lab with the human and now you want me to go on a mission with her? I refuse.”

Sylvan’s own brows drew low over his ice-blue eyes.

“I’m sorry, Doctor Kaelus but you’re not allowed to refuse this particular mission. And as for sharing a lab, it makes sense. We have limited lab space on the Mother Ship right now and Doctor Donovan is a Xenobotanist while you’re a Xenopharmacologist. It seems natural to assume that your work might overlap some. It makes more sense than putting her in with someone studying geology, for instance.”

“She has made a mess of my lab and broken all my rules,” Kaelus growled. “As for the mission, I will go without her. There will be less confusion and irritation that way.”

“Irritation for who?” Clair put a hand on her hip. “Because you get on my nerves too, you know, big fella.”

He shot her a glare, a growl rumbling in his throat and Commander Sylvan gave him an alarmed look.

“Doctor Kaelus, please contain yourself,” he said, frowning.

“Oh, don’t worry.” Clair patted her colleague’s arm, which was rock hard with muscle under her touch. “He just hates it when I call him nicknames—that’s all.”

But she couldn’t help thinking back six months ago when she’d first moved up to the Mother Ship and been assigned her new lab space…

2

CLAIR

Back then, she’d been so excited to start a whole new life on the Kindred Mother Ship which was as big as an enormous floating city. She’d been overjoyed when she received the message letting her know that her grant to study alien flora had been approved—it had always been her dream to travel the universe finding new plants and studying them to find their medicinal properties.

She had personal reasons for wanting to go too. She’d just been through a very messy divorce after finding out her husband was cheating on her with his younger, thinner secretary.

“Honestly, James—could you be more cliché?” she’d demanded, after finding the disgustingly lovey-dovey text messages on his phone.

“I wouldn’t have to cheat if you’d just give me sex more often,” her husband had said sullenly. “But you’re always working late at your lab. What was I supposed to do? A man has needs, you know.”

“What you were supposed to do was honor our marriage vows!” Clair snapped. “And you can’t say I denied you sex—we’ve been having sex at least twice or three times a week since we got married!”

Not that she honestly enjoyed it anymore. The problem was, James turned into a petulant child when she didn’t give him what he wanted sexually. Which meant that sex had become another chore she had to do in order to keep him happy. A chore like doing the dishes, taking out the trash, cooking, and doing the laundry—which was all “woman’s work” according to her husband, who refused to help with any domestic labor at all.

By the end of their marriage, it was almost a relief to find that he’d been cheating and have a reason to end it all, Clair had to admit to herself. She was eager to start a new, single life where she would never have to deal with living with a man or having sex ever again.

Never again, she promised herself. It wasn’t that she had no sex drive—she had a pretty high one, actually. But she was never going to deal with pleasing a man again and letting him use her body for his own enjoyment when he gave her absolutely nothing in return.

So it was with a happy heart and high expectations that she moved to the Kindred Mother Ship to start her new life.

That lasted approximately two hours, until she was shown to her new lab—which was already occupied by the grumpy Doctor Kaelus. The minute Commander Sylvan—who was the head of the Kindred High Council and also her boss—had opened the door to the lab she was to share with the huge Hybrid Kindred, things started to go wrong.

It started with Kaelus looking up with a frown on his face.