1
NOELLE
“Damn it!Ican’t…quite…reach.”NoelleRodriguezstood on her tiptoes on the step ladder, reaching far above her head to try and place the glittering gold star on theChristmastree.Shewas almost there…the tip of the tree was in reach.Nowif only she could manage to slip the bottom of the star over the spiky topmost branch…
Suddenly her center of gravity shifted and she felt the rickety stepstool she was standing on tilting under her.Beforeshe knew it, she was falling, heading straight for the hard metal floor below.
“Madre deDios!”she gasped, waving her arms frantically, as though she could suddenly learn to fly.
The ground rushed up to meet her but at the last minute a pair of strong arms scooped her up and she found herself being cradled close to a broad, muscular chest.
“Whoa there, my lady,” a masculine voice murmured, and a pair of hazel-green eyes looked down at her worriedly.“Areyou all right?”the hugeKindredwarrior asked.
It wasShinesBrightly—Brightfor short.Hewas aTwinKindred—aLightTwinto be exact—and he had the sandy brown hair and easy, open mannerisms to prove it.Infact, truth be told,Brightwas kind of a flirt, which always madeNoelle’sstomach flutter, even though she was sure he was just being nice.
After all, why would a seven-foot tall, handsome, muscular warrior who was ten years younger than her want anything to do with an over-forty divorcee who wasn’t exactly thin?Infact, she was afraid she must be hurting his back, although he held her as though she weighed next to nothing.
“I…I’mfine.Justclumsy, that’s all.”Noelletried to laugh but it came out shaky and weak.Shecouldn’t help thinking she’d never been this close to theLightTwinbefore and up close, he smelled really good—like clean clothes and cedar and some kind of masculine spice that reminded her of the ocean.
Also, he showed no interest in putting her down.
“You’re not clumsy, that stool is too unstable,” he observed, frowning down at the stepstool, lying on its side on the floor as though it was a disobedient dog.“Whatwere you doing up there, anyway?”he asked her.“Youdon’t need to stretch to reach the topmost branches—letBurnorIdo it for you.”
“Oh, you don’t have to?—”
“Burn,”Brightcalled, before she could even finish her sentence.“Comehere—we need you.”
BurnsHot, anotherTwinKindred, came over to them.Hewas aDarkTwin, which was easy to tell by his thick black hair and beard.Hiseyes were so dark they looked like endless pools of midnight.Noellehad never been close enough to the bigDarkTwinto be able to tell if they were black or just really dark blue.
To be honest, she foundBurnrather intimidating.Evenaboard theKindredMotherShip, which was filled with seven-foot-tall alien warriors, he stood out in a crowd.Hewas a head taller than every other male on the ship, for one thing.Andthere was something about his eyes—a kind of spark far back in their darkness that hinted at hidden violence.Also, he talked only rarely, in a deep, rumbling voice that seemed to resonate throughNoelle’swhole body whenever he spoke to her—which wasn’t often.Burnwas something of a silent giant—he alsowasn’tBright’sbrother.
TwinKindredalways came in pairs—they were together from womb to tomb, living in the same household all their life, sharing a wife and children, and often dying on the very same day.ButneitherBrightnorBurnhad a twin…which was possibly why the two of them had formed such a close friendship,Noellespeculated.Shealmost never saw the two of them apart.
She knew thatBrighthad lost his twin at birth but she wasn’t sure howBurnhad lost his…and she was too intimidated by the huge warrior to ask him.Notthat he talked much—Brightusually played the interpreter for his enormous best friend.Heseemed to know whatBurnwas thinking and often answered questions for him.
“What happened?”Burnasked now.Thewords seemed to be pulled out of him, as always, and his voice was a low rumble, like boulders rubbing together at the bottom of a riverbed.
“Noelle nearly fell,”Brightexplained.“Shewas trying to reach the top of theChristmastree.”Helooked down at her.“Whywere you doing that, anyway?Itlooks fine to me.”Henodded at the strings of white twinkle lights and the many colorful ornaments that decorated the tree.
“I was trying to put the star on top,”Noelleexplained.Shewas still somehow clutching the star in one hand and she gestured with it.“It’sthe finishing touch.”
She told herself she wished thatBrightwould put her down…but deep down, she didn’treallywant him to.Sheliked being close to him—he smelled sogood.Butshe was probably hurting his back.“Youshould put me down,” she said to him.“I’mtoo heavy for you to keep holding me like this.”
Bright looked offended.
“Are you impugning my strength, my lady?Areyou sayingI’mnot strong enough to hold a beautiful, curvy woman in my arms?”
Noelle felt her cheeks getting hot.
“Dios,Ididn’t mean it like that!”she protested.“It’sjust…I’mnot exactly skinny.Idon’t want to hurt your back.”
“You couldn’t hurt me with your sweet, curvy body, my lady—no matter how hard you tried,”Brightmurmured.Hishazel-green eyes were suddenly half-lidded as he looked down at her.
Noelle’s heart started pounding.
“Oh…I…” she began, not sure what to say.“What…what do you mean by that?”she got out at last.
“Bright means you’re anElite,”Burnrumbled and his eyes were half-lidded as well.“AmatureElite.”
