1. Klaus

1

KLAUS

“ Can’t believe I have to wear this!” Klaus’ex looked down at himself in disgust. “ It looks ridiculous— I’m too old for this shit!”

The outfit he was wearing was a red coat and trousers, both trimmed in white fur. Black boots, a wide black belt with a silver buckle, and a long white beard all went with the red and white suit, but Klaus absolutely refused to wear the beard.

“ You look great as Santa !” his companion protested. “ I mean, if Santa was seven feet tall and muscular. Actually , you look more like a sexy, stripper Santa than the traditional kind,” she added with a musical laugh. “ And don’t say you’re too old— Santa is supposed to be old. That’s why he has a long white beard. Besides , your name is Klaus — how much more perfect could it be?”

“ My name is pronounced like ‘house’—not like your mythological present giver, whose name sounds more like ‘claws’,” Klaus pointed out, glaring down at her.

Kelli Davis was a Good Will Ambassador for the Kindred Mother Ship , where they both lived and worked and she was always “looking on the bright side” of things as she put it. She was what the humans called a “glass is half full” kind of person—an optimist, in other words.

Klaus was the exact opposite. Ever since his wife had died ten years before, he had seen only the dark side of life. Being paired with Kelli as her Protector could be trying at times—especially when she attempted to put a positive spin on what was obviously a negative situation. Or , if not exactly negative, then at least extremely fucking annoying, he amended to himself.

“ I don’t want to be Santa and I don’t see why it’s fucking necessary,” he growled.

“ That’s what the Questarions asked for,” she reminded him. “ I’m dressed as Santa’s Elf and you don’t see me complaining even though I’m way too old for this outfit.” She spun around in a little circle and grinned up at him, looking annoyingly adorable, Klaus thought.

He had to admit she looked great in the outfit their alien benefactors had sent. The dark green dress molded to her full curves and the red and white striped stockings looked great on her legs. Her long dark brown hair—which looked wine-red in the sunlight—was in loose waves around her shoulders and her big gray eyes were gorgeous. Not to mention the fact that her softly curving lips looked incredibly kissable…

Klaus had to make himself look away for a minute—damn it, why did she have this effect on him? He was supposed to be her Protector when she went on goodwill missions for the Mother Ship —that was all. He didn’t want to be attracted to her.

He didn’t want to, but he was.

For the whole past year, since she had been assigned to him, Klaus had been fighting his feelings. Feelings he hadn’t had to deal with for ten long years, since Miranda had died. After he lost his wife to a quick-acting and incurable cancer he had made a sacred vow that he would never even look at another woman again. That part of him was dead and buried—he was sure. And for ten years, it seemed he was right—he had no interest in anyone female.

And then Kelli came along.

The curvy little human had gotten under his skin at once, though Klaus hated to admit it. She was always smiling and singing or humming to herself. She had a bright, sunny personality and was the kind of person that other people gravitated to naturally. Even though she’d moved to the Mother Ship only a year ago, she already knew more people than Klaus had met in half a lifetime of living there. It was so damn irritating.

“ I don’t give a damn about the Questarions and their stupid Christmas village,” he snapped. “ Just because we’re visiting doesn’t mean we should have to dress up like characters from Earth mythology.”

“ But that’s half the fun of it!” Kelli protested. “ It gets you in the Christmas spirit!” She pointed at the long white beard which he had pointedly left off. “ Aren’t you going to put that on?”

“ Maybe I don’t fucking want to get in the Christmas spirit,” Klaus growled. “ And no, I’m not fucking wearing that thing. It’ll make my real beard itch.”

He stroked his neatly trimmed black beard as he spoke. Just looking at the fake beard, which would reach halfway down his chest if he put it on, made him feel itchy and irritable.

Kelli sighed.

“ You’re so grumpy! I mean, even more than usual for a Beast Kindred . Is your costume too itchy inside? Is it rubbing you the wrong way?”

The whole damn situation was rubbing him the wrong way, Klaus thought. He didn’t want to go to a strange planet and spend the night in close proximity to a woman who was tempting him to break his vow—it wasn’t right.

Not that Kelli was tempting him on purpose. She probably had no idea how he felt about her, he reminded himself. To her, Klaus was just her gruff and growly Protector —the one charged with making sure she was safe when they went on missions to visit new planets and meet new species. She had no idea that every word she said in her soft, musical voice, every gesture she made, and every flash of her eyes—even her sweet, feminine scent drew him like a magnet.

So it wasn’t her fault, but it was still irritating.

Klaus had no idea how he was going to get through this night on Quaria Four , where the Christmas Village the Questarions had built was located. He would just have to do his best to keep his distance from the curvy little human until they could get back home to the Mother Ship .

He had no idea how difficult that would prove to be.