1. Addie

1

ADDIE

" I don't fucking like this, Addison," Drago muttered as he reached to check and adjust her five point harness—something he always did before every mission to another planet even though she knew how to fasten it herself. "I don't fucking like it one fucking bit!"

"That's a lot of fucks you're giving there, big guy," Addie said dryly. "A lot more than you usually give about anything."

It was true—her Kindred Protector usually had the personality of a granite wall. It was hard to get anything out of him—either negative or positive. He was usually just stoically silent no matter what the circumstances were.

Like that time on Belugias Three where we ended up in the middle of a political riot, she thought. As a Xeno-anthropologist, Addie had been there to study the monarchy of the planet. Unfortunately, she and Drago had ended up in the middle of a rebellion with the common people trying to overthrow the ruling class.

Addie didn't blame them—all the royals they'd met in the palace had been insufferably entitled. They were literally starving the common people to death while keeping all the planet's resources for themselves. But that didn't mean she wanted to be caught in the middle of the two factions.

She and Drago had been riding in a float in the royal procession to celebrate the new Monarch's coronation when the parade met up with the angry crowd of starving peasants. Addie had been frozen to the spot—right in the middle of the road. She didn't know what to do, but her Protector did.

Drago hadn't wasted a single minute cursing or worrying or getting upset. He'd simply grabbed Addie off the parade float and slung her over his shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes. Then he strong-armed his way through the shouting crowd, pushing protesters out of the way to back to the safety of their ship. Addie didn't know if anyone else could have managed that—of course, the fact that her Protector was seven feet tall and extremely muscular probably helped. Nobody dared to mess with him.

It had been one of the most frightening experiences of her professional career—hell, of her whole life! But when he finally swung her down off his broad shoulder, Drago had the same stern and stoic expression on his chiseled features that he always wore. He hadn't been upset or flustered a bit—pushing his way through an angry mob while carrying her over his shoulder was all in a day's work, apparently.

Addie had been crying by then and to give him credit, he had paused a minute to comfort her by wrapping one long, muscular arm around her waist and pulling her close to his broad chest. She had pressed closer, wanting the warmth of his big body for comfort, breathing in his wild, spicy scent that reminded her of the scent of burning leaves in the Autumn. Drago had held her close—but only for a minute. Then he pushed her gently away and got down to the business of piloting the ship.

They had been in other sticky situations—though none as bad as Belugias Three—and none of them had so much as ruffled the big Kindred's feathers. But now that they were going to a perfectly nice and friendly planet on an ordinary diplomatic mission, he chose to get upset. It was ridiculous , Addie told herself.

"I don't think you ought to trust the Vargans," he growled, as he piloted the long-range shuttle up and through the Kindred Mother Ship's atmosphere barrier and into the blackness of space. Ahead Addie could see a long red gash—the fold created by the Mother Ship to allow them to move from one part of the universe to a completely different part seamlessly and instantaneously.

"The Vargans are fine—they invited us to visit them on Crimson Moon," she pointed out. "They even asked for me specifically ."

Actually, the invitation had been quite flattering—not to mention surprising. It had come from the fact that Addie had been seated next to Lx Sambla, the Vargan ambassador, during a VIP dinner aboard the Mother Ship.

Sambla was a tall, pale man with platinum blond hair he wore slicked back from his high forehead. His eyes were large and dark and mesmerizing and Addie had found herself talking to him through the entire dinner. Of course, she tried to include Drago, who was seated on her other side, in the conversation but her stoic Protector just grunted or gave monosyllabic replies.

At the end of the meal, Lx Sambla kissed her hand and expressed how he hoped to see her again soon. Addie had been enchanted and agreed—she would love to see him again as well.

At the time, she'd had visions of the suave ambassador asking her out on a date. She'd long ago decided that she needed to give up her secret crush on Drago—since after two years of working together it was clear the big Kindred was never going to take an interest in her—and find someone else who was actually into her. Lx Sambla seemed like just the man to help her bury her secret feelings for her Protector and move on.

However, an invitation for a romantic evening together had not arrived. Instead, Addie and Drago were both called into her boss's office a week later.

Commander Sylvan—the head of the Kindred High Council and also their superior—had explained that they had been invited to witness a special ceremony on Crimson Moon, the Vargan home world.

"The Vargan ambassador, Lx Sambla, explained to me that you had expressed an interest in studying their unique culture, Dr. Hollister," he'd said to Addie. "He has invited you to visit Crimson Moon and attend their 'Queen of Night' ceremony. Would you like to go?"

"Oh, yes!" Addie had exclaimed at the same time Drago had growled,

"Hell , no."

"Excuse me?" Addie had turned to her Protector, a frown of confusion on her face. Drago had never objected to any of her missions before—he always just went along with her, with that same stoic look on his rugged, chiseled features. But now his dark brows were drawn low over his golden eyes—which had slitted pupils like a cat's—and his mouth was set in a thin line. Even his close-clipped black beard looked angry—if that was possible.

Commander Sylvan was frowning too.

"On what grounds do you object to Dr. Hollister visiting Crimson Moon?" he'd asked Drago.

"On the grounds that I don't trust them—especially not that slimy little ambassador," Drago growled. "He's too slick—too fucking smooth, Commander. Reminds me of a used ship salesman."

"That's not true!" Addie exclaimed. "Lx Sambla was perfectly polite to me—and extremely attentive. Besides, how would you know anything about him? You just grunted when I introduced you and then you were silent as a stone the whole rest of the dinner and didn't even try to take part in the conversation!"

"Just because I don't talk much doesn't mean I don't listen ," Drago rumbled. "That male was feeding you a line, Addison—he was telling you everything you wanted to hear."

"He was being polite, which is more than I can say for you!" Addie snapped. "Why wouldn't you even talk to him? Maybe if you had, you would have gotten to know him."

"You talked all night and didn't get to know him—not the real him," Drago said darkly. "I tell you, I don't fucking like him. He gives me a bad feeling."

"Well I thought he was lovely and I'm going on this mission to Crimson Moon," Addie said, crossing her arms over her chest. She turned to Commander Sylvan. "Maybe you could assign a different Protector to me, Commander, since Drago is so set on not going."

"Well, I suppose—" her boss began.

"No!" Drago growled, surprising Addie with the force of his emotion. "No, if Addison is going, I'm going along to protect her! No one else!"

She looked at him with wide eyes.

"Well! You almost sound jealous."

His face turned as dark as a thundercloud.

"Of course I'm not jealous! But I took an oath to protect you and nobody else is going to do my job."

Addie remembered that oath—remembered the moment when her huge, muscular Protector had dropped to one knee in front of her, almost like he was proposing, and had offered to shield her with his body and lay down his life to keep her safe if necessary.

Looking into his gorgeous golden eyes as he held her hands in his own much larger ones and smelling his Autumn leaves and masculine spice scent had been the start of her crush on him. A crush that had gotten her exactly nowhere , she reminded herself dryly. Despite the hints she'd dropped and the way she flirted with him after she found out he was single, Drago had never once returned her interest. Not even a little.

Maybe I'm just not his type—not everyone is into short, curvy redheads, Addie told herself. Or maybe it's because he's a Drake Kindred .

She'd heard that such Kindred often had trouble finding mates because of the huge dragon inside them, with whom they shared their consciousness and their body. Oh yes, she'd done her research when she was first paired with Drago—for the first six months of their partnership, she'd been excitedly waiting to see his Drake emerge.

But somehow his Drake never came out—not even during extremely stressful situations like the one on Belugias Three. Eventually, she'd stopped expecting to see it. And the one time she had tentatively mentioned it and asked a question about his "other half," Drago had given her such a dark, silent glare that she'd shut up and never dared to ask again.

It always felt to Addie that he was hiding that part of himself. Or maybe he was just one of those extremely stoic men who didn't talk about themselves or their feelings. Either way, she was sick and tired of his attitude.

"Look," she said to Drago. "I don't care what you think of Lx Sambla—I've been invited by a nice, handsome man to visit a civilized planet with a fascinating new culture to study. It's an amazing opportunity and I'm going to take him up on the invitation whether you like it or not!"

"Fine," Drago growled. "Then I'll go with you. But don't say I didn't fucking warn you when things go bad."

Commander Sylvan frowned at their exchange.

"I'm sorry, Commander Drago, I don't want to discount your concerns, but are there any other objections you can make to this mission other than the fact that you don't like the Vargan Ambassador?"

Reluctantly, Drago shook his head.

"No. I just don't trust him. He's too slick."

"You mean he's polite and actually makes conversation instead of sitting there like a lump on a log," Addie snapped.

"Well if he—" Drago growled.

"All right, enough!" Commander Sylvan held out a hand to stop the two of them. "As it stands, I can't think of a reason to turn down the Vargans' invitation. They appear to be eminently civilized and the High Council thinks they would make excellent allies and trading partners. So I'm going to allow you, Dr. Hollister, to accept Ambassador Sambla's invitation. Commander Drago, you may accompany her if you wish. If not, I'll find another warrior to serve as her Protector."

"Fuck no! I said I was going and I'm going ," was Drago's reply, though he was still scowling when he said it.

"Fine. Then you'd better get moving—the ceremony is tomorrow night. I recommend you pack up and leave as soon as possible. Commander Drago, let the Communications Department know when you're ready to fly and the Mother Ship will fold space for you to Crimson Moon."

"Fine." Drago had nodded shortly but Addie thought more than a one-word answer was important.

"Thank you for trusting my judgment, Commander Sylvan," she'd said, rising to offer her hand to their boss. "I appreciate your confidence in me."

"Just be careful," he'd said, taking her hand with a worried frown.

"Addison doesn't have to be careful—that's what she's got me for," Drago growled.

And that was the end of their interview. Addie had wanted to stay and talk some more—to try and reason with her big Protector. But Drago had said nothing but, "Guess we'd better pack," before stomping off down one of the Mother Ship's long metal corridors, leaving her to simmer with irritation.

She was still irritated now, Addie admitted to herself, as she watched him pilot their ship through the scarlet slash in space that led to their destination. After years of never saying a word about any of the missions they'd been on together, now he decided to kick up a fuss just because he didn't like the Vargan ambassador. It was silly and it was ruining her anticipation of the lovely reception she was sure they would receive on Crimson Moon.

Why is he so damn stubborn? Is he actually jealous for once? But why would he be? They weren't in any kind of romantic relationship and he'd never shown any interest in her that way. From the corner of her eye, she studied her Protector, wishing she could read his mind.

"No use staring at me like that," Drago rumbled, keeping his eyes straight ahead as he flew the ship. "I said what I said and I don't fucking care if you like it or not. That fucking Lx Sambla isn't to be trusted."

"You don't like him because he was flirting with me," Addie accused him. "Just because you don't find me attractive doesn't mean other men don't!"

He turned his head to look at her, frowning.

"What the fuck gave you that idea? Of course I think you're attractive—you're a fucking gorgeous Elite! With your full hips and thick thighs, not to mention those big, starry eyes and that flame-colored hair, any male would want you."

"You…but you…" Addie didn't know how to finish her sentence. Her Protector wasn't in the habit of offering her compliments. The most he would ever say was, "You look fine" and he only said that if she specifically asked him to comment on what she was wearing on a particular mission. (Luckily for this mission, she hadn't had to pack any special outfits because the Vargans were going to be providing their clothes.)

"I don't like Sambla because he's too smooth—there's something fake about him," Drago went on. "And he smells like old blood." His nose wrinkled. "I don't fucking like that."

Addie opened and closed her mouth, not sure what to say. The idea that her gruff and growly Protector thought she was "gorgeous" and that he especially admired her wide hips and thick thighs—which she considered problem areas—was almost more than she could take in.

Just at that moment they flew out of the other side of the fold in space and found themselves in orbit around a tiny silver and red planetoid.

"There it is," Drago rumbled, nodding at the planetoid floating in the viewscreen.

"Oh—it really is a moon, I guess," Addie remarked, nodding at the huge gas giant with more rings than Saturn in the background. Clearly the planetoid they were aiming at was orbiting the much larger planetary body.

"Of course. Why else would they name it ‘Crimson Moon?'" Drago said reasonably. "I'm guessing the ‘Crimson' part of the name comes from the water," he added, nodding at the dark red blotches on the silvery surface of the moon.

"Yes—Lx Sambla told me something about how a mineral in their water makes it all red," Addie remarked. "Isn't it beautiful?" she added.

Drago just grunted noncommittally which was extremely irritating to Addie.

"You know, if you really don't want to go you can just stay in the ship," she told him. "I don't mind attending the ceremony by myself."

"And leave you alone with that untrustworthy reptile of a male? I don't fucking think so," Drago growled. "Just sit tight and let me land this thing."

Addie shut her mouth but she couldn't help cutting her eyes in his direction and studying him. Why was her usually stoic Protector so against this mission? He claimed he wasn't jealous but he'd never called her "gorgeous" before Lx Sambla entered the scene. Could it be that this visit to Crimson Moon was forcing him to finally show some emotions he'd been hiding for the past two years, the same way he hid his Drake from her?

Or maybe he's right and this place is actually dangerous, whispered a little voice in the back of her head. Have you ever known his instincts to be off before? He has a nose for trouble, Addie—you can't deny it.

Addie actually entertained the thought for a moment before pushing it firmly away. Commander Sylvan wouldn't have allowed her to come on this mission if there was any danger involved. Of course, sometimes unforeseen circumstances arose but that was what Drago was for. And besides, she couldn't imagine what could possibly go wrong—especially if everyone on Crimson Moon was as kind and polite as Lx Sambla.

Stop worrying, everything was going to be just fine, she told herself.

She had no idea how wrong she was.