Unleashed by the Defender (Brides of the Kindred #25) - Evangeline Anderson Page 0,58

bitterly. “Because they don’t believe we can be trusted?”

“I don’t know all the reasons behind the decision—it wasn’t mine to make,” Imani said softly. “But I do know that my work and my life—my family—are all back on Earth and the Mother Ship. I don’t know anything about your home world or how to live there.”

“Neither do I,” J’are growled. “I was taken when I was only a child. I have no parents—no tribe to belong to.” He shook his head. “Maybe you should have left me down in the hole.”

“J’are, no! Don’t say that!” She looked at him anxiously. When J’are wouldn’t meet her eyes, she reached for him and took his face in both hands, turning him to look at her. “Please,” she said. “Don’t ever say that. You were unjustly imprisoned and wrongly accused. You don’t belong there.”

“I don’t belong on my home world either,” J’are said, but he couldn’t remain bitter when she was looking at him with those big, dark eyes. He could feel himself melting under her soft touch. “Imani…” He sighed and turned his head to place a tender kiss in the center of her palm.

“Oh, J’are…” For a moment she looked like she might cry. “I’m so sorry I can’t…can’t give you what you want. But I can’t leave my family and my career and go live on an alien planet where I don’t know any of the customs. And besides, what we’re doing is very unprofessional.”

“Falling in love is unprofessional?” he asked, his voice husky with emotion he couldn’t seem to contain.

Imani’s eyes widened.

“J’are—”

“Never mind—forget I said it.” He took a deep breath. “Thank you for coming to rescue me. And please forgive me for making you uncomfortable.”

He took a step away from her and turned to look at his own outfit in the 3-D viewer provided in the hotel they had checked into. This place wasn’t nearly as fancy as the Luxx, but it was comfortable and had food he was pretty sure Imani would enjoy.

He was wearing black leather bodyslave trousers with the crotch cut out to show his shaft, as was the custom for formal Yonnite parties. He was still half hard, despite the emotional scene between them—probably because he wanted her so damn much and she looked so enticing in the turquoise gown.

“I think I’ll pass for a proper bodyslave tonight, don’t you?” he asked, trying to make his tone light.

“J’are, we’ve been over this—you don’t have to act as my bodyslave!” Imani protested.

He frowned.

“Oh, yes I do. Judge Thoughtgood is going to be studying my every move and watching for ‘proper’ behavior. That means behavior fitting to a subservient male—a bodyslave. If she sees me behaving the way she expects a well-trained male to act, she’ll be much more likely to agree to let me go free.”

“I suppose…” Imani looked troubled. “I just hate the idea of you having to act subservient to me—it really rubs me the wrong way.”

“It’s only for one night,” J’are said shortly. “And anyway, it doesn’t bother me. I was raised with the idea that I would someday belong to the right female. It’s not just a Yonnie Six idea—my own people, the Kindred Nightwalkers—feel that way too.”

“I know they do.” Imani sighed. “It just seems so…wrong. The idea of one person belonging to another…my country fought an entire war about how wrong it is.”

“I agree that it’s wrong to own someone and treat them as your slave,” J’are said. “But being Claimed by the right female is different. When you’re bound to her by love—” he broke off, shaking his head. “Never mind. We’d better call a hover car—we’re due at Lady Bittlebum’s reception in thirty minutes.”

“Will you be all right?” Imani looked at him anxiously. “I mean, it’s dark outside and you’ll be in your old house…”

J’are lifted his chin.

“I’ll be fine because I have to be,” he said.

“And your feral side?” Imani raised an eyebrow.

“In control,” J’are promised her. “It’s not getting out tonight—I swear it, Imani.”

“Good.” She looked relieved. “Then we should be fine. We’ll just go to the party, make sure Judge Thoughtgood sees you behaving beautifully, and leave. We’ll be back here in two hours.”

J’are hoped she was right. Because despite his iron will to keep his wild side contained, he could feel the feral part of him beating at the bars of the mental cage he had locked it in.

It didn’t like being restrained—not one damn bit. It was going to take all his