A GIFT FOR KIT

Nalini Singh

(This short story comes after Hostage to Pleasure and before Branded by Fire)

�Kit!�

Kit pulled a pillow over his head.

�Kit!�

�What?�

A wave of crackling energy and then the pillow was being yanked off his head. �Up and at �em, little brother.�

He snarled at Rina. �Do you have to be a morning person?�

�Do you have to be a pain in the ass?� Perching on his bed, she reached over to muss up his hair.

�Cut it out, I�m a soldier now.� But he didn�t move away.

Rina grinned. �My baby brother, a soldier. My heart�s all aflutter.�

�I�m going to bite you�after my nap. Go away.�

Instead, Rina leaned over to give him a smacking kiss on the cheek. �Naw, you love me too much. Now get your lazy butt out of bed,� she said as she left the room.

�Why? I�m off-shift.� And he was feline enough to enjoy lazing in bed. Especially since it was only�stirring himself a fraction, he focused on the wall clock�seven o�clock on a Saturday morning.

�I have a surprise for you,� she called out from the kitchen.

Curiosity spiked. Kit�s leopard wasn�t as inquisitive as some, but the word �surprise� definitely acted like catnip. As Rina well knew. �Is it a troop of naked dancing girls?�

�Maybe. And I�m making you breakfast, so hurry before it gets cold.�

His eyebrows rose. Rina was a tough-ass to the rest of the world, but she really did treat him as her baby brother�he�d always known she�d be there for him through hell itself. But despite that bond, she�d never coddled him. So the breakfast was a rare thing. Rare enough to have him seriously intrigued.

Wide awake now, he got up, showered quickly, then dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt. Running a comb through his hair, he decided he was done and walked out to the smell of banana chocolate-chip pancakes. �Oh man,� he said, making a beeline for the plate Rina was putting on the table. �Whatever I did to make you happy, I promise to do it again every week.�

She grinned, looking about fifteen with her long blonde hair tied up in a loose ponytail. �You tell anyone I was this nice, and I�ll put spiders in your bed.�

�Hah.� He swallowed the mouthful he had. �I�m  not scared of spiders.�

�Yeah, yeah, tough guy.� Sliding into a seat across from him, she made quick work of her own breakfast. �You done?�

He nodded. �I�ll clean up since you cooked.�

�Leave it for now.� Jerking her head toward the door, she got up. �Let�s go for a drive, handsome.�

Wondering at her mood, he laced up his boots and followed. When he went to the driver�s side door, she rolled her eyes and got into the passenger seat. He hated being driven, and though Rina was a dominant, too, this was one thing she�d learned wasn�t worth fighting over. �Where to?�

�Waterfall Alley.�

Smiling at the thought of the beautiful patch of forest they�d named as children, he settled in and took the manual controls.

�So,� he said as they drove through the early-morning fog, �how�s it going with the cub who has a crush on you?�

She groaned. �Shut up.�

�You guys would make a cute couple�you�d probably have to teach him some moves though.�

�Keep it up, hotshot.� Her cat came through loud and clear in her voice.

Laughing, he continued to drive through the beautiful Yosemite valley, the trees softened by whispers of mist. �So, you still reporting to Dorian?�

�Yeah.�

�How�s it going?� He knew she�d had problems with Barker�the guy had fallen for her, and Rina was too strong to accept direction from a man who�d let her take the reins in another area of life.

She made a humming sound of contentment. �He busts my balls on a regular basis.�

�Er, Reen? You don�t have those.�

�According to some, I do. Big brass ones.� She grinned. �Dorian�s okay. He knows his stuff. If I could shoot like him��

�You don�t have the patience.� A cool, analytical part of his brain knew the strengths and weaknesses of everyone in DarkRiver. �But you have the skill and aptitude to be an exceptional front-line fighter.�

�That�s what Dorian said.� She shot him a piercing look. �You�re growing up Kit-ten.�

He growled.

Smiling, she leaned back in her seat. �You wouldn�t have said something like that a year ago.�

�A year ago, I thought I was hot shit.� Pulling up to the designated parking area, he got out and they took the familiar trail. �I love this, being out here.� His leopard stretched out, happy, playful. �Want to go for a run after?�

�Yeah.� This time, her smile held an edge of sadness.

He put an arm around her. �Hey, what�s up?�

�Not yet.�

They walked in silence until they reached the fallen log that was their personal marker. From there, they could see out over the entire valley, shrouded in mist and beauty.

�When you were a sprout,� Rina said, sitting beside him on the log, �and I was twelve, Dad told me something.�

�Yeah?� Kit�s chest tightened at the memory of his father�s grizzled face.

�He said he knew there was a chance he and mom wouldn�t be around to see you grow into an adult.�

Kit nodded. These days, most people lived to well over a century, but his and Rina�s mom had not only had them late in life, she�d been born with a genetic illness not even late twenty-first century science could cure. Kit had had her until he was fourteen. His father had only lived a couple more years after that�just long enough for Rina to turn eighteen, for Lucas to promise that Kit and Rina would never lack for anything.

�I miss them like hell,� he said. �I wish Dad was here to see me, you know? He�d be so proud I made soldier. And Mom, she�d spoil us like crazy, no matter how old we got.�

Rina touched his cheek. �They had absolute faith in you.� Reaching into a pocket, she pulled out a pair of silver dog tags.

He stared as she put them in his hands.

�I was supposed to give them to you when you made soldier.�

Emotion crashed into him as he read the inscription on the first tag. �We�re so proud of you, son. Mom and Dad.� The second tag blurred and he had to blink to swallow the rush of feeling so he could read what it said. This one had his name, his rank as a DarkRiver soldier, and on the back, the names of his mom, dad and Rina. His hand clenched around them.

When Rina rose to walk a little distance from the log, he knew she was giving him the privacy to mourn, to remember, to cherish the gift. �Thanks,� he whispered up to the heavens.

A gentle flurry of leaves fell over his shoulders, as if in answer. Smiling, he swung the tags over his head and rose to walk over to Rina. �You�re a good sister, Reen.�

She elbowed him. �Shh.�

Laughing, he held up a hand. �I won�t tell. Promise.� But, he thought privately, the man who was able to win her wild heart would be one hell of a lucky guy.

�Come on bratlet, let�s go for that run.�

Kit hesitated. �Can we do it in human form?�

Rina�s eyes went to the dog tags. �Sure.�

He couldn�t wear them always�they were too precious to chance losing in a shift, but for today, he would�and feel his parents� love in every clink the metal made as they swung against each other.