Secret Santa Surprise: Book 29 in the Kindred Tales Series - Evangeline Anderson Page 0,16

with her for months. I want to hold her in my arms as we carry her home with us.”

“I understand.” Clear nodded and sank back into the chair beside Melanie’s bed. “I’ll wait for you.”

“Thank you.” Strong nodded and went to find the Charge Nurse and explain that he was checking Melanie out of the Med Center. He didn’t anticipate any problems. The nurse on duty tonight was mated to Twin Kindred herself, so she fully understood the healing power that came from a female lying between the two males who cared for her.

Strong just hoped his brother was right and that Melanie would understand as well. If she didn’t, they could be in a very sticky situation once she woke up…

6

When she woke up, Melanie was lying on her left side, cradled in warmth and darkness. There was a hard, firm pillow at her back and one in front of her too. The sensation of being held between them made her feel safe and protected and she sighed deeply and stretched luxuriously before cuddling down again between the warm pillows.

Only, who ever heard of pillows that breathed?

Because these pillows were breathing. They seemed to be moving slowly up and down in perfect rhythm with each other. In and out…in and out…

There was also a delicious smell in the air, Melanie realized. It was actually a combination of scents—a warm, spicy, masculine musk mixed with a sharp, clean scent like the tang of a northern ocean. Combined, the notes made her whole body tingle when she inhaled it.

Mmm…so good! She sniffed again and realized the scent was coming from the two breathing pillows that were holding her between them. Was it some kind of Kindred therapy? She remembered vaguely that she’d hurt her hand. Was this part of the treatment?

She shifted again and lifted her hand to study it in the dim light. It looked all right. At least, there was no hole in it now. In fact, though it was difficult to tell in the low illumination, it looked perfectly normal.

Experimentally, she used her hand to stroke the pillow in front of her. It had a smooth, warm texture that felt good under her fingertips. Melanie ran her hand up and down its surface, enjoying the tactile pleasure of touching without any pain whatsoever.

“Enjoying yourself, little one?”

The deep, rumbling voice coming from the pillow she’d been petting made Melanie gasp and jerk her hand away.

“What—?” she began. And then the pillow moved and turned over.

Before she knew it, she was face to face—or face to chest—with Strong, Clear’s twin brother.

“Oh!” she gasped, looking up at him. “What…what are you doing in my bed?”

“You’re in our bed, actually,” Strong told her. He frowned. “I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t want to just leave you at the Med Center at the end of my shift. You’d been through a lot and I wanted to keep an eye on you.”

“So you and Clear brought me home and put me in bed with you?” Melanie demanded. “Is that what you usually do with patients you want to keep an eye on?”

“Not at all,” he assured her. “It’s actually very unusual.”

“Before you get upset, let me assure you that nothing inappropriate happened.” This was Clear, speaking from behind her. “We asked the nurse to put you into a gown for greater comfort. Neither Strong or myself saw you or handled your body while you were undressed.”

Melanie gave a little jump and looked over her shoulder.

“I never said I thought you, uh, molested me,” she protested. “This just seems…like a strange kind of treatment—bringing me home to bed with you. You know?”

“It may seem strange to you,” Strong rumbled. “But when a Twin Kindred becomes attached to a female, there is healing to be had by holding her between himself and his twin.”

“We can’t bite you and heal you like a Blood Kindred can with his mate,” Clear added. “But when we have a female we care about between us, we exude a kind of ‘healing energy.’ Does that make sense?”

“Um…I guess so…” Melanie wasn’t quite sure she believed them, but she had to admit that though it was an awkward way to wake up, it was certainly true that she felt a thousand percent better than she had the day before.

“How does your hand feel this morning?” Strong asked, looking down at her, with more than professional interest, she thought.

“Much better, I think.” Melanie held it up and flexed, then snapped her fingers,