“Are you really the High Chancellor’s daughter?” he asked.
Kara nodded. “Yes, Commander Sylvan is my father. He, uh, won’t be very happy when he hears about what just happened. Although I don’t see how I could help laughing,” she added mutinously. “They looked so ridiculous, all puffed up and poking each other in the eye with their, uh, parts.”
“Like I said, literal dick-heads,” the Unbondable said. He put one long finger out and held it to his forehead as he mimed staggering back and forth and poking it in the air. Then he clapped a hand over his eye. “Oh, my eye! You have dishonored me with your dick!” he moaned in a high voice which was an eerily good imitation of the Fr’Ensons.
Kara clapped a hand to her mouth and laughed, unable to help herself.
“Like…like dick-headed unicorns,” she gasped, still covering her fangs since she couldn’t stop laughing.
The Unbondable was laughing too, a deep rumbling chuckle that seemed to come from the very bottom of his chest. It was an infectious sound and somehow it made Kara laugh even harder until her sides ached.
“What’s a…a unicorn?” he asked at last, apparently having trouble getting the words out through his laughter.
“A legend from Earth—the planet we orbit,” she explained, still giggling. “It’s supposed to be a beautiful, magical creature with a horn growing from the center of its head.”
“Hmm…beautiful…magical…and horny. I guess one out of three isn’t bad,” he remarked.
Kara laughed again, keeping her hand close to her mouth.
“Oh, stop,” she begged. “My sides ache as it is—I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time.”
The big Unbondable Kindred was suddenly serious.
“Why do you do that?” he asked, looking at her.
“Do what?” Kara looked up at him with wide eyes.
“That.” He gestured to her hand. “Why do you cover your mouth when you laugh?”
“I…um…” Kara looked down at her hands, now clenched together in front of her. “I guess to hide my fangs,” she admitted in a low voice, although she didn’t know why she was telling the big male, whose name she didn’t even know, such an embarrassing thing.
“Why should you hide them?” He sounded genuinely curious, as though he really couldn’t imagine why she ought to hide her shame.
“Well, because…they’re unladylike,” Kara said. “Only males are supposed to have fangs.”
“Says who?” the Unbondable demanded. “Males who feel intimidated by you? Assholes with little dicks who can’t stand to see a female doing things they think only they should do?”
“Oh…” His assessment shocked Kara. “I…I don’t know. But I do know that no one I’ve, uh, dated had liked them very much,” she admitted. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this,” she added. “I don’t even know your name.”
“Raakshas.” He made a sweeping, theatrical bow which caused the ends of his long, wild black hair to almost brush the tops of his boots. “But you can call me Raak for short. And you are Kara.”
“You know my name?” Kara wasn’t sure if she ought to feel worried or flattered.
“I asked around a little. You made…quite an impression on me last night.” He grinned showing sharp white teeth. “So, was that male I saw you with last night one of those you dated who doesn’t like your fangs?”
“Oh no—that was my brother, Kaleb,” she explained quickly. “Did, uh…” She cleared her throat. “Did you hear what he was saying about you?”
“About me being half demon and one of the Unbondables? Yes, of course.” He nodded easily. “We Y’lyn Kindred have extra sharp senses, especially when we’re attuned to someone, like I was to you last night.”
“Oh, um…” Kara was beginning to feel uncertain again. On one hand the way he was looking at her with such obvious interest made her heart beat harder and her cheeks feel hot. No male had ever looked at her that way—especially after they learned she had fangs. On the other hand, she had been specifically warned against Raak.
“Let me see them,” he said abruptly, breaking her train of thought.
“Excuse me?” Kara looked up.
“Let me see them—your fangs.” His big hand hovered over her cheek, near enough that she could feel the heat of his skin against hers. “May I?”
Kara’s first instinct was to cover her mouth with her hands. But the silver-ringed pools of blackness that were his eyes looked into hers and somehow she found herself opening her mouth instead.
Raak cupped her cheek in his big, warm hand and bent down, examining her mouth as intently as though he was a new dentist assessing her.
But I never went to a dentist that made my heart feel like it was trying to pound its way out of my chest before, Kara thought, feeling her cheeks get even hotter.
To her horror, she suddenly realized the feel of his skin against hers was having a definite effect on her—most specifically, on her fangs. She could feel them lengthening and getting sharper as the big Unbondable looked at her. Oh Goddess, were they actually growing right before his eyes? What must he think of her? She remembered the thoughts she’d had of him the night before…the way she’d imagined herself sweeping that wild curtain of black hair aside and sinking her fangs deep into his strong throat.
Her fangs throbbed at the thought and she felt an answering throb in her pussy—along with a decidedly unladylike urge to do exactly that—to bite him. But she couldn’t do that—she mustn’t!
Abruptly she jerked away from his hand and snapped her jaws shut—then gave a muffled cry as her elongated fangs sank into the flesh of her lower lip.
“What did you do that for? You hurt yourself.”
“I…I just thought…” Kara could hardly talk. The sudden pain and embarrassment had brought tears to her eyes and she blinked fiercely, trying to will them away.
“Hey…” Raak cupped her cheek again and lifted her face gently so their eyes met. “They’re beautiful—your fangs. Fuckin’ gorgeous. And anybody who can’t see that isn’t worth your time. If they don’t like you just the way you are, fuck ‘em, baby girl.”
“I…” She blinked and the hot tears spilled over her lids and ran down her cheeks. “You’re just saying that.”
“Nope, I never lie. Don’t care enough about what other people think to bother.”
Kara stared up at him, wide-eyed.
“I think you really mean that,” she whispered.
He shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling. “I live life on my own terms—if people don’t like it, too bad.”
“Wow…” she breathed, shaking her head. “I wish I could feel like that. My whole life, I’ve always cared what everybody thought about me.”
“Which is one reason you’re so fuckin’ miserable,” Raak pointed out.
“I can’t help it,” Kara said, a bit defensively. “My father is the head of the Kindred High Council. My brother, Kaleb, and I were always told we had to be on our very best behavior, especially in public so I have to care what other people think.” She sighed. “Which is one reason my fangs are such a liability. Nobody ever heard of a proper Kindred female with fangs.”