24. Kelli

24

KELLI

It was shaping up to be the saddest Christmas ever. Kelli didn’t like to admit it—she did her best to shake off the unpleasantness with Klaus and to have fun. She attended several Christmas parties, both aboard the Mother Ship and down on Earth in the week after she came back from the Christmas Village . But though she usually loved hanging out with family and friends, this time her heart just wasn’t in it.

She threw herself into volunteering too. She helped with two toy drives and a food giveaway…but nothing seemed to help. Though it warmed her heart to see people in need get food and toys for their kids’ Christmas , she simply couldn’t be her usual, cheerful self.

It didn’t help that this was her first Christmas aboard the Mother Ship and she had no family around. Usually she had a family get-together to look forward to, but this year her son was spending Christmas with his boyfriend’s family and her daughter was going on a skiing trip with her best friend. And of course, Mitch was off with his new, younger wife, no doubt disappointing her with his mushroom dick. So it was going to be a very lonely holiday, Kelli admitted to herself as she stirred the homemade eggnog she whipped up every year.

It was a family favorite and it was usually gone by the end of Christmas Eve night. Kelli didn’t even know why she was making it—there was way too much and since she was the only one drinking it, it was probably going to sit in the fridge for days. With a sigh, she added more rum. Her kids always joked that she added too much but this year there was no one to tell her not to overdo it. So she might as well make it as boozy as she wanted.

She was about to add even more when she heard her suite’s front entrance door chime.

“ Now who could that be?” she muttered, putting down the bottle of rum and wiping her hands on the red and white Christmas apron she was wearing.

She knew who she wished it was…but she had pretty much given up hope that Klaus was going to show up at her door. He had made it pretty clear that things were over between them and she never expected to see him again, except maybe if they happened to pass each other in one of the corridors. But the Mother Ship was a big place—about a fourth the size of the Moon , which it orbited. So there wasn’t much chance of that…

The door chime rang again, and Kelli pushed the sad thoughts out of her head and hurried to get it.

“ All right!” she said. “ I’m coming, I’m com?—”

The words died in her mouth as the door slid to one side revealing Klaus .

The big Kindred was wearing tight black leather trousers and a red shirt, which somehow went well with his green skin. He was holding a beautiful bouquet of huge white flowers that looked a little like Magnolia blossoms. They were exuding the most heavenly scent Kelli had ever smelled—it was like honeysuckle and lilac put together, she thought.

But it wasn’t the flowers she was focused on—it was the male holding them.

“ Klaus ?” she asked, making his name a question. “ What are you doing here?”

To her surprise, he dropped to his knees right there in her doorway.

“ Begging your forgiveness, sunshine,” he said and held out the flowers to her. “ Please can I come in and talk…just for a minute?”

“ Well , sure…” Kelli felt flustered. She’d spent some time thinking how she would tell him off if she saw the big Kindred again. But his abject display dispelled any lingering anger she had towards him—well, most of it, anyway.

Klaus got off the floor, after handing her the flowers, and came into her suit.

“ You can have a seat on the couch,” Kelli told him. “ I’ll go put these in some water. What are they, anyway? I’ve never smelled anything like them.”

“ They came from the Sacred Grove .” He seemed slightly subdued, as though something had changed him somehow. Though as yet, Kelli couldn’t tell if the change was for the better or not. “ The Goddess gave them to me,” he added.

“ Okay , I’ll just—what?” She stared at him, not sure if she’d heard him correctly.

“ I’ll tell you when you come back,” he said mysteriously. “ Er , do you have anything to drink? I could use something strong if you have it.”

“ You came at the right time,” Kelli told him. She took the bouquet of big white blossoms into the kitchen—or the “food prep area” as the Kindred called it—and found a tall crystal vase that had been a gift from her children on Mother’s Day when they bought her a dozen red roses.

Once the blossoms were settled and happily drinking water, she got two mugs—one much larger than the other—and filled them both with the boozy eggnog. She had a feeling she might need a drink to hear what Klaus had to say almost as much as he needed a drink to say it.

She carried the mugs out to the living room and handed him one. He was already seated on the couch beside the firewall where green and blue and gold flames were dancing. He took it gratefully and nodded his thanks before taking a big drink.

“ Whew !” His eyes went wide and he stared into the mug as he licked his lips. “ What’s in this stuff? Fireflower liquor?”

“ No , just rum—a lot of it.” Kelli settled beside him and took a dainty sip from her own mug. The eggnog was just like she liked it—plenty of nutmeg and enough rum to make your eyes cross. She looked up at Klaus . “ You said you have something to say?”

“ Yes , I do.” He took a deep breath and then set the mug of eggnog down on the side table beside the couch. Turning to Kelli , he leaned forward and clasped his hands between his knees. “ I came to say how sorry I am…and to try and explain why I was such a massive shaft the last time we were together.”

“ Well , you were a, er, massive shaft, as you put it.” Kelli tried not to giggle at his phrasing—she sensed this was very important. “ So please, do explain.”

“ I …” He took a deep breath. “ I had a wife, ten years ago. Miranda was her name. I loved her so much .”

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and Kelli felt her heart throb in her chest. Oh no—she thought she knew what was coming but she didn’t want to interrupt him.

“ She came up with the very first Bride Draft ,” Klaus went on. “ When the Kindred had first come to Earth and all the humans were still scared of us. But not Miranda —she was fearless. And beautiful and kind and…” He shook his head. “ Anyway , she…she got sick about ten years into our Bonding . It was cancer—the really fast kind. Kindred medicine can cure most cancers now but back then, human physiology was still new to us and it ate into her so fast…”

“ Oh , no. Oh , Klaus , I’m so sorry.” Kelli reached out tentatively to put a hand on his arm. She could feel how tense he was—his muscles were all bunched up.

“ It’s okay. It’s been over ten years since I lost her. But you see, after she died, I made a vow—a Sacred Vow before the statue of the Goddess .” He looked up at her. “ I vowed I would never take another bride again—that I would never Bond another woman to me.”

Sudden understanding flooded Kelli .

“ No wonder you didn’t want to do…the things the Christmas cabin made us do,” she said, nodding sympathetically. “ Klaus , please forgive me— I never meant to make you break your vow.”

“ No , I’m the one who needs to beg for forgiveness,” he said harshly. “ I treated you shamefully, Kelli . I should have explained about the vow, about why I was acting the way I was acting. But it was just…” He squeezed his eyes shut again briefly. “ So hard to talk about.”

“ Of course it was, I understand.” Kelli nodded. “ Thank you for explaining it to me. At least now I know why we can’t…can’t ever be together,” she added, feeling a lump in her throat.

“ No , baby—that’s not what I meant at all.” Klaus looked at her earnestly. “ See , I went to the Sacred Grove tonight—it’s the first time I’ve been there since I took my vow. And the Goddess …” He cleared his throat. “ She spoke to me.”

“ She did?” Kelli looked at him with wide eyes. What he was saying was amazing but not crazy. Since moving to the Mother Ship , she’d heard several stories of the Goddess all the Kindred worshiped communing and communicating with her people. She appeared to be a very hands-on deity, which was nice because she seemed to really care about her people.

“ She did.” Klaus nodded gravely. “ She helped me understand that I made my vow out of hatred…not a real desire to serve her. And she released me of it and told me to replace it with love.”

Kelli felt her heart leap in her chest, but she tried to control it.

“ So …you came to me to tell me this because…?” she let the sentence hang.

“ Because I fucking love you,” Klaus growled. Reaching out, he took her hands in his. “ I think I’ve loved you from the moment we were paired together at work,” he admitted. “ But I’ve been trying to keep my distance, because of that damn vow. I probably never would have given in to my feelings for you, if it wasn’t for that fucking cabin.”

Kelli smothered a smile.

“ Yes , the Christmas cabin with ulterior motives,” she said.

“ So will you forgive me?” Klaus asked earnestly. “ Will you give me a chance? I swear I’ll be more open from now on. I’m sorry I was such a massive shaft.”

This time Kelli couldn’t help laughing.

“ Yes , of course I forgive you!” she exclaimed. “ Because I love you, too .”

“ Come here, sunshine.” Klaus reached for her and she found she was in his arms, laughing and crying at the same time because she was so happy.

“ Oh , Klaus ,” she sighed, snuggling against him as he cradled her in his lap. “ I’m so glad you’re free of your vow.”

“ Me too, baby. But what are these for?” He cupped her cheek and swiped a thumb under her eye, collecting the moisture that had collected there.

“ They’re happy tears, I promise,” Kelli blinked and sniffed. “ I just… I was thinking what a sad Christmas this was going to be. And then you showed up and changed everything.”

“ Neither one of us is ever going to have to spend Christmas alone again,” he promised. “ Because from now on, we have each other.”

Kelli smiled and kissed him…and then the kiss deepened. His mouth tasted like rum and eggnog and a special spice that was just him—just Klaus .

“ Mmm , baby…” he growled, kissing her back. “ Gods , I missed you so much!”

“ I … I missed you too,” Kelli admitted breathlessly. She began pulling at the tight red t-shirt he was wearing. “ How fast can you get this off?”

He laughed and helped her tug the shirt over his head, baring his chest.

“ That’s nice .” Kelli ran her hands all over his broad, bare chest appreciatively. “ I missed touching you,” she admitted. “ No one I’ve ever been with has ever made me feel the way you did at the cabin.”

“ That’s because no man you’d ever been with knew how to eat pussy, apparently,” he said, giving her a lazy grin. “ Speaking of which, what have you got on under that little skirt?”

Kelli looked down at herself. She was wearing a black skirt and a red blouse under the red and white Christmas apron. They weren’t really hanging around the house clothes, but she liked to dress up on Christmas Eve , even if she was the only one celebrating.

But I’m not the only one now, she thought, feeling a smile rise to her lips. Also , what did she have on under the skirt? She couldn’t remember which bra and panty set she’d put on but it had to be a nice one—when she dressed up, she liked to do it from head to toe.

“ I’m not sure what I have under this skirt,” she said, giving Klaus a flirtatious grin. “ Would you like to find out?”

“ Gods , yes.” His big hands were suddenly busy with her clothes. In no time, Kelli found herself down to just her bra and panties—both of which were black lace.

Klaus sat back a moment and looked her over. He gave a long, low whistle.

“ Gods damn you look sexy, sunshine! Come here and let me kiss you some more.”

Kelli straddled his lap and put her arms around his neck. She could feel the thick bulge of his cock rubbing against her, parting her pussy lips through the thin black lace panties and she loved it.

“ Mmm ,” she moaned, grinding shamelessly against him. “ It feels like you’re happy to see me.”

“ So fucking happy,” he growled. “ You know I haven’t been able to stop thinking about your pussy ever since I tasted you back at the cabin.”

Kelli felt a thrill of desire run through her.

“ I thought about it a lot too,” she admitted. “ I don’t think I ever came so hard in my life.”

“ Then why don’t you let me taste you again?” His eyes were half-lidded with lust and he cupped one of her breasts and thumbed the nipple gently as he spoke.

Kelli felt like her whole body was on fire with need. God , how could he make her so hot so fast?

“ You want to?” she asked breathlessly.

“ Baby , for future reference, you never have to ask me that,” he rumbled. “ Because I always want to eat your pussy.”

Kelli felt her cheeks get hot with pleased embarrassment.

“ Well , all right then. Should we go in the bedroom?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“ Actually , I have a different idea—kind of a favorite fantasy I’ve had of you more than once. Could we try it?”

“ You were fantasizing about, er, tasting me before?” Kelli asked.

“ Right on this couch.” He nodded. “ Remember that time you hosted cocktails here in your suite and Commander Sylvan and his wife, Sophia came too? Well , I was sitting right here on your couch, thinking what I wanted to do to you—how I wanted to taste you—the whole fucking night.”

“ Klaus !” She slapped his arm lightly, both appalled and delighted. “ All right—how do you want to do it?” she asked.

“ Like this, baby. Here , let me just…” Gently he pushed her off his lap. Then he lowered himself to the floor so that his back was resting against the front of the couch. Leaning back so his head rested against the couch cushions, he looked up at her. “ Now all you have to do is take off those hot little panties and straddle me—that way you can ride my face.”

Kelli was a little uncertain but definitely intrigued.

“ You’re sure I won’t hurt you?” she asked. “ I mean, will you be able to breathe?”

“ I can breathe just fine, sunshine,” he assured her. “ Just come here and sit on my face—let me taste you the right way.”

“ I thought you tasted me the right way last time,” Kelli objected, but she was already shedding her panties and sliding into position with a knee on either side of his head.

“ Maybe I should have said the best way. Gods , look at that sweet little pussy.” Klaus’s golden eyes glowed with lust. “ Bring it down to me, baby—come on—sit on my face.”

Kelli was a bit hesitant at first—she really didn’t want to hurt him. She lowered herself carefully so that her pussy was just above his mouth. But apparently that wasn’t good enough for Klaus .

With an impatient growl, he reached up, wrapped his fingers around her waist, and pulled her down.

“ Oh !” Kelli gasped, followed by an “ohhhh,” because his hot tongue was invading her, finding her clit and teasing mercilessly. Already she could feel herself getting wet with need as he licked her.

She decided to let go of her inhibitions and just go with it. Leaning forward, she gripped the back of the couch and tilted her pelvis down, giving him a better angle to tease her clit. Klaus seemed to love this because she heard a low groan that sounded like approval and his grip on her hips tightened.

Shamelessly , she ground herself against his mouth. God , she couldn’t believe she was doing this—couldn’t believe she was actually riding his face! But the big Kindred seemed to want even more because his grip on her never loosened and his tongue was tireless in exploring her.

Soon she felt herself nearing her peak, the orgasm building like a thundercloud above her head. As Klaus continued to lap and suck, teasing her tight little button with his tongue and then dipping lower to taste her juices before coming back to her clit again, she finally felt the clouds break. Her release was swift and sharp, pleasure raining down on her, washing through her whole body.

“ Oh !” she moaned. “ Oh God , Klaus ! That feels so good—coming so hard!”

She gripped the couch harder and bucked her hips, riding his mouth with complete abandon as he sucked and licked her. Klaus was making a low, hungry growling sound as he licked her and even after she came the first time, he kept on licking.

“ Oh … oh!” Kelli gasped. She began to understand that he was intent on making her come again and his grip on her waist was so strong there was nothing she could do about it.

With a low moan, she gave in and let him taste his fill—what else could she do?