Chapter Six

Chapter Six

There's a Cat

At the scream, Dahvid rushed to her side. He smiled warmly—and maybe just a little warily, at his Keeper. Centuries of having subsequent reincarnations of this woman energetically drive him from her presence—made him leery of her obvious calm now. She was pacing in front of the bathroom door in his bedroom. She was so cute.

Her skin was a lovely light shimmering gray. Her short black hair was now a dark neon green that matched her eyes.

Kim stopped pacing when he came into the room. Putting her hands on her hips, she demanded. "Would you like to explain why I look like a zombie?"

He clenched his teeth together, not wanting to laugh. She didn't look like a zombie. "You look amazing," he reassured her. "When we were attacked, a man named Ben hit you with the wrench he used to take apart the furniture. He hit you extremely hard. They knocked you unconscious and nothing they or I did—woke you. It appeared you had a concussion and possibly a brain bleed. Every time you were moved, you vomited. Ben and Lucas had plans to kill us both and we couldn't escape with you in that condition. My only option was to heal you by using Binding Pollen."

Dahvid watched her close her eyes and shudder. She remembered some of what he told her, and the memories were dark and upsetting.

She took a deep breath and asked, "What is Binding Pollen? And if you healed me using it, why am I the only one who looks like a zombie?"

Dahvid grinned and released his hold on the Earth biker dude. He stood before his Keeper in all his glory. Naked except for a pair of light gray sweat shorts that almost matched his skin.

Kimberly shrank back from him, inching toward the hallway.

"I'm still me, Kim. Still, the man who healed you, then carried you up twenty-five flights to escape our captors, and I'm also the man who will help you figure out why someone did this to you." He didn't move closer. In fact, he stepped back and sat on the edge of the bed so he wouldn't frighten her more than he already had.

"You still look like you… only all dark silver and neon green."

Nodding, Dahvid agreed with her. "And you still look like you, only with light silver skin and darker neon green hair and eyes. I'll teach you how to switch from this form to your Earth form." He held up his arm. "Binding Pollen is the silver dust you see on my arms. There is also a nodule on the roof of my mouth. Because you were unable to ingest the healing pollen on your own, I stimulated the gland and kissed you, which ensured you swallowed enough of the pollen that I could move you. Once we escaped, I used a variety of healing methods, including more pollen."

"You can use this pollen to heal anybody? Are you an alien?" She was frowning at him. Confused.

"It would be better if I started at the beginning. I am a Guardian of the Realm, part of the universal police force. The Guardians are tasked with keeping watch over Earth and all the planets and dimensions. Guardians are chosen for their willingness to travel to the Realms throughout the universe, to track down beings who moved illegally through the dimensional gates or between the inhabited planets in space—intending to cause harm. Technically, I come from Earth and am humanoid. But my home is in another dimension than this, the First Dimension. And no. I cannot use the pollen to heal anybody. You are the only one I am to care for."

She stopped pacing by the chair and slumped into it. "I'm sorry. What? Why me?"

"Because you are my Keeper and the Binding Pollen only appears when a Guardian first meets their Keeper or if their Keeper is injured and needs the pollen for healing purposes. Binding Pollen exists in order to maintain a healthy Keeper. This is done because Guardians are born strong and fast, their skin is thicker, which provides a type of protective shield against bullets, knives, or any injury. The Binding Pollen helps make our Keepers stronger, and faster, and will thicken their skin a little over time. But Keepers are always more susceptible to harm than their Guardians. The pollen is for your protection. If you get hurt or ever become sick… my body will produce more pollen to speed up your healing," he explained.

Kim never moved while he spoke. But he knew she heard every word, was dissecting every word. He could tell she didn't believe him.

Narrowing her eyes at him, she demanded, "What is a Keeper?"

Dahvid wanted to do this right, and he had no idea how it was going. Kimberly's face was serious, her hands clasped in her lap. He had to get this right. "Guardian pairs are yin and yang, souls that were intertwined at conception. Several lifetimes ago, our souls were joined, yours to mine, after I asked to become a Guardian. I have tried and failed over those lifetimes to convince you to bind our souls back together. Without your acceptance, we remain separate… on our own. I cannot force you to become my mate, but I cannot take the healing back and return you to human, either. If you which to remain apart, then I'll drop you off with Grace and some of the others. Just because I healed you doesn't mean you have to choose me as your mate."

Kimberly

Her head was swimming. Her body ached. Not hurt. Ached. Like she wanted to climb into Dahvid's lap and never let go type of ache. But this was serious. Crazy stuff. Unfortunately, she had gray skin and weird neon-colored hair and eyes, so he was probably telling the truth.

An extremely small cat wound around her legs, scaring the crap out of her. She started, and whispered, "Oh, such a cute kitty." She looked up at Dahvid. "Either me or the tiny kitten will need to leave. I'm highly allergic to cats," she said sadly.

He frowned. "Not anymore. The Binding Pollen healed you. Healed everything. You won't have any allergies, addictions, or any disease in your body. It basically sets your health at your physical peak age—which, for humans, is between thirty and forty years of age. This is when your reproductive system, motor abilities, strength, and lung capacity are in optimal condition."

Kimberly looked at the tiny kitten. She'd always wanted one. But within moments of being anywhere near a feline, she swelled up like a balloon and her airways tightened. She needed her EpiPen. Wait. "The Binding Pollen set my age to somewhere between thirty and forty? I'm twenty-eight." She glared at him and waited to start wheezing. "We didn't just run into each other at the coffeeshop." It wasn't a question.

Dahvid shook his head. "I came here hoping to meet you. To talk to you, and maybe this time convince you to be my Keeper. One evening, not long after I landed in Toronto, I was contemplating the futility of meeting you again. And this exceedingly small kitten slipped through the doors of my spaceship one night and wouldn't leave. It was tiny, shy, afraid—with big green eyes and a short, thick coat of fur. In Earth's database, I discovered the little creature was a gray and brown American short hair. The stripes on its body are called tabby markings. Taking care of Tiny helped me realize that I could do this again. The tiny kitten had picked me out of all the people in Toronto—to be his person. I took it as a sign that I must be lovable after all. If I were worthy of affection from Tiny, maybe winning my Keeper would be possible."

The man, alien, Guardian… whatever he was… had broken her heart. And she didn't have one hive, nor did she have any trouble breathing. "I've always wanted a kitten. If you are a thousand years old, I'm going to die before you do."

Shaking his head, Dahvid disagreed. "It wouldn't make sense for us to get together, only to have you die within a few short years. The Binding Pollen will keep you healthy and with me."

There were a lot of other questions Kimberly needed to ask. She figured she would do it later. The need to touch him was growing stronger. But she needed to tell him something else. "I've only had sex once. And hated it. You're going to have to teach me."

Grinning, Dahvid confessed, "Guardians spend their exceedingly long lifetime seeking their one and only mate. We'll teach each other."

Kim didn't move. "So, what do we do now?"

Dahvid leaned toward her. "Declare yourself the Keeper of my Tomorrows, and I'll take it from there."

Rolling her eyes, Kim agreed. "I'm the Keeper of your Tomorrows, and you are my Guardian of the Realm. Now what?"

A smile broke over Dahvid's face. "There are other Guardians who recently found their mates on Earth. They advised that if I found my Keeper, I should not delay. That I needed to get naked and let the Binding Pollen do its job. We can start there." Dahvid stood and shucked off his shorts. Standing in front of Kimberly in all his glory.

"It's a good plan," she whispered and stood. She looked down to make sure she didn't step on the cat and watched as the little thing sauntered out of the room.

"Tiny will have caviar and cream every day of his life."

Kim grinned. Dahvid understood her. This was all crazy. But being able to have a cat was a big benefit for her. And Tiny wasn't the only perk. She turned back to her man. Dahvid was tall and muscular, and his body was a beautiful dark silver color. She realized that his skin was covered in Binding Pollen. She ran a finger down his arm, and then touched the tip of her tongue to that powder, wanting to know what it tasted like.

Her knees buckled as arousal slammed through her body.

Dahvid turned, scooped her up in his arms, and carried her back to bed.

Her pulse was racing. She ran her tongue up and down his skin, frantic for more.

"The Binding Pollen appears on my body for you. It isn't always there, although, in the beginning, it might seem like it. The simple explanation of its function is that the dust appears when you need it. I can't produce the pollen for anyone else. Only for you, Kim."

Her alien was mind-blowingly exotic and eerily compelling. She took a huge gulp of air, trying to get her overcharged brain cells to function. The action drew his scent into her lungs. She had to close her eyes for just a second to savor the exceptional fragrance of his body, take pleasure in the sweet-spicy scent with the hint of… something. She couldn't describe that smell, but it teased along her senses. Dahvid's heady scent seemed to tunnel through her body intimately, caressing her from the inside out. It had been doing that for days and she hadn't realized it.

All she could think about was getting closer to him. Her body was fiercely aroused. Silently she moaned with frustrated need, wanting him to touch her. Wanting to touch him. She was dying to run her hands through all that glorious deep green hair and to stroke her hands over every inch of his shimmering silver skin. Every inch. It couldn't be as silky as it looked, could it?

Slowly, carefully, she reached out to assess the feel… and ran the tip of one finger down his spine and over the curve of his ass. She watched as he shivered in response to her light touch.

Kim leaned in and set her tongue on his chest… and started licking.