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masculine musk invading her senses, made her heart start to pound and her palms damp.

    Stop being so stupid, she lectured herself, taking another bite of the muffin, which she hardly tasted. Olivia is almost certainly right—he’s helping me because he sees me and all females, really, as an extension of his sister.

    For whatever reason he was helping her, Nadiah felt extremely grateful. But she couldn’t help wondering if she was just a symbol to Detective Rast…or if she meant something more to him.

Chapter Five

     
    “You’re picking this up remarkably fast.” Sylvan eyed the way Rast was handling the controls with reluctant admiration. He’d given the human a brief demonstration before they left the docking bay and Rast had showed such instinctive skill that he’d decided to let him take the steering yoke on the way down to Earth as well as on the trip back.

    The human detective shrugged, his eyes fixed on the blue and white ball of the Earth, growing rapidly in the viewscreen. “Not much different than driving a stick. I’ve been doing that since I was fifteen.”

    “I see.” Sylvan nodded. “Ah, who are you going to visit, if you don’t mind me asking? Just your parents?”

    Rast nodded. “That’s about all there is. I have an ex but we lost touch after the divorce. Even if I could to find her, I’m sure she wouldn’t care if I decided to go to a galaxy far, far away.” He barked a laugh. “Hell, she’d probably be glad to hear it.”

    Sylvan frowned. “So you’ve been bonded before?”

    “Yeah, but for less than a year. It was ages ago, back when I was still with the PD. She claimed I was married to my work.” He sighed. “Sad to say, she was probably right. I don’t blame her for leaving my sorry ass—I never really did right by her. Never gave her the attention she deserved, so she found somebody who would.”

    Sylvan shook his head. “I’ve heard that humans do such things—that they abandon their mates and find new ones on a regular basis. But to hear you talk about it so casually…”

    “Why?” Rast shot him a look. “You guys don’t have divorce or separation?”

    “We form a bond—both mental and emotional with our females,” Sylvan explained. “Breaking it is nearly impossible.”

    “So you’re stuck for life with one woman with no way out?” Rast frowned. “You know, if you’d told me that a month ago I would have thought it was a nightmare. Now…now I’m not so sure.”

    “If you’re thinking of Nadiah when you say that, you can forget it,” Sylvan said flatly.

    “Oh yeah?” Rast shot him an angry glance. “And why is that? Because I’m not Kindred I’m not good enough for her?”

    “Being Kindred or not has nothing to do with it,” Sylvan said coolly. “Tell me why you’re doing this. Why are you undertaking Nadiah’s cause and challenging her blood bond?”

    “I, uh…” The human detective looked uncomfortable. “It’s the right thing to do, all right? I couldn’t just let her go off and get married to that snot nosed little punk who’s obviously going to beat on her the first chance he gets. Just thinking about…” He shook his head. “I just couldn’t let her go. I mean, I couldn’t let her face him alone.”

    Sylvan raised an eyebrow. “So you’re only concerned for her safety? You have no other motives for championing her cause?”

    “I don’t know, all right?” Rast squeezed the steering yoke in obvious frustration, causing the little ship to wobble alarmingly. “I’ve never felt this way before about a woman—not even my ex. Especially not my ex. It’s goddamn confusing.”

    “And that’s why I don’t want you forming a permanent relationship with Nadiah.” Sylvan pointed a finger at him. “Confusion and a vague desire to do the right thing aren’t enough to base a lasting relationship on—especially since you’ve already abandoned one mate.”

    Rast groaned. “Look, I told you— she left me.