by Viola Grace
"I see. Well, that works out well for the men then, doesn't it?"
"Usually, but they have a devoted attitude to their partners. A male member of the Sector Guard will do anything for his female."
She stuck her arm out, "Towel, please." When the fluffy fabric was placed in her hand, she smiled and said. "You were right. They really will do anything."
Tosha wrapped the towel around her and swept back the curtain, looking up at Vortex in mild surprise. He held another towel out to her and she used it on her hair while staring into his fascinatingly blue eyes.
He might have been trying to stare her down, but all she thought was, "Pretty."
Even without the talent of empathy, she was able to feel the heat coming from his body through his suit.
"You really aren't intimidated by me, are you?" Vortex's lips twisted into a rueful smile.
"No, not particularly. While you rule the wind, I rule the earth and you have to come down sometime." She bounced up and down on her toes near him but not touching.
He paused and then laughed. "You have a point."
"Good, me and my point need to dry off and get dressed. This house is quite nice, is that a pool out back?" It hadn't taken a genius to figure out that he had brought her back to his place. The covered building with the marks of humidity on the windows was a dead giveaway.
"It is. You don't seem upset."
"Why would I be? There is no obligation for me to do anything. I am merely here to try to get some training with this freaking talent and from there, I may actually do some good with it. Now, where can I find some clothing, Vortex?"
He blinked in surprise. "Um, you are correct, of course, and when we are not on duty, you can call me Micix or Mix for short."
"Mix then. Clothing?" Her smile was beatific.
"Right. This way." He led her out of the bathing room and into a bedroom that was pleasantly if generically appointed. "This is the guest room."
She smiled at his awkwardness. "Thank you."
"The clothing is in the wardrobe. The suits stretch to fit." He was babbling and she thought it was the cutest thing.
"Fine. Now either back out or stay to watch, but either way, this towel is coming off." Tosha bit her lip as he backed out of the room and closed the door. She supposed that he had had enough for the day.
Laughter welled up and she opened the wardrobe to find a uniform that was the same pale grey as Vortex's. Oh goody, they would be dressing as a matched set.
The suit snugged against her every curve. The mirror on the inside of the wardrobe showed her the vee of flesh that disappeared as she sealed the suit right to the collar. A keyhole in a diamond pattern exposed her cleavage. She liked it.
There were boots as well in a slightly darker shade of grey. They were an almost perfect fit.
The only downer to her look was her hair and as soon as she found a hairbrush, she tackled it. Having Vortex as a partner was going to be hard on her hair. Sighing, she braided her damp hair into an inverted braid that tied the loose ends and tucked them back against her skull. A dig around the dressing table didn't turn up any hair fixatives, so she sighed and left the room.
"Do you have any generic alcohol on hand? And a citrus fruit?"
Mix was looking at her curiously. "Yes. Why?"
"I need to spray my hair. With your whirlwinds, I need to turn this hair into a helmet." Tosha rummaged in the kitchen and started to look through the cupboards.
He disappeared for a moment and then returned to the kitchen with a bottle from the med kit. "Is this good?"
"Yes. Do you have a spray bottle?"
"I think so. There is fruit in the fridge."
Smiling, she put a pot on the stove and added water to it. A quick search of the fridge brought the citrus to her hand. "You shouldn't keep your citrus in the fridge."
"I am often gone, so I can't guarantee that my fruit will be eaten before it goes bad, so I keep everything in there." He came forward and peered over her shoulder. "What are you doing?"
"I am making a hairspray. It will lighten my hair a little, but it will do the job." She sliced the citrus into thin layers and dropped them into the gently bubbling water.
"How do you know how to do that?"
She chuckled. "You don't really know anything about me, do you? I worked at a bath and aromatherapy shop. I made the hair products, lotions and soaps. This is right in my wheelhouse."
"We could just get some supplies from the base."
"It's more fun this way." She stirred the pot and smiled at the scent wafting up from the liquid.
"What do you do with it now?"
"I wait for half of it to boil off. At that point, I will strain off the fruit and let it cool. Then I will add the alcohol and fruit solution in the spray bottle and then spritz my head with it. It should lock my hair into place quite nicely."
"Bizarre. What will you tell me about yourself? We have some time." He hopped up on the counter and watched her work.
She looked up at him. "Are you sure?"
"Anything you are willing to tell."
She stirred the pot and mulled over what to tell him. With an evil grin, she started. "I lost my virginity on my eighteenth birthday. His name was Erich and I had a lot of fun that night…"
Chapter Four
"…and then when I turned twenty-eight, I had my first encounter under a waterfall. It was slippery, but rocks can be quite a good support mechanism."
She finished straining the liquid and spared a glance to Mix. His hands were gripping the counter so tightly she thought it was going to crack.
"Is that the kind of information you had in mind?"
It took him three tries to speak. "You certainly had an active social life."
"Dalphic women do enjoy trying potentials on for size. Despite the attitude toward talents, my people are fairly socially relaxed." The thick syrup was tantalizing, but it would have to cool for at least half an hour.
"I can see that."
"Have I scared you off yet?" She washed her hands and chortled.
"I am a little spooked, but I am not stampeding." He sighed. "Despite the lack of clothing in the cities under the water, we actually are quite straight-laced."
She laughed. "This is going to be a little awkward for you then."
He hopped off the counter and smiled. "I will deal with it. I am adaptable. Would you care for some tea?"
"Do you have anything stronger? I am used to a little more of a shot than an average tea."
"For something more powerful, you would need to come with me to the commissary. Are you up for it?"
She grinned. "This uniform doesn't leave much to the imagination but sure."
They exited the house and walked down the neat sidewalk toward the base. There were lights lining the pathway, which made navigating the night easier. "You know, I think I could use a bit of food as well."
"Good thing we are going to the commissary then. They keep a variety of foods from a selected group of planets designed to appeal to most of the species on base. Of course, a few have special rations, but they get them from the Alliance supply depot." He held each door open for her if it didn't open on its own. It was a sweet touch that she enjoyed.
"The base seems quieter now."
"All the other Guardsmen are off on assignment. It is simply the support staff and us. There isn't even a medical officer to do your intake." He shepherded her down the halls.
"I see. Is that normal?"
"That they are all gone? No. That you would be given a full medical, yes."
"Huh. Well, it has been a while since my last physical. When will the medical officer be back?"
"Not a clue. Whenever the assignment is over, I suppose." His vagueness was not lost on her. Wherever the entire base complement was, he knew all about it.
The scent of food made her mouth water and she quickened her step. She loaded her tray with vegetables and a few of the foods that seemed familiar. The caf was steaming and call
ing her name, when she took a seat, the first sip was heaven. "That's better. I think I would go nuts if it wasn't for this stuff."
Mix shuddered delicately. "I don't know how you can drink that stuff."
"It's an acquired taste." She grinned. "I am just relieved that someone here drinks it. I could drink tea, but this is far more satisfying."
Mix's food consisted of a series of fish and some strange substances that Tosha couldn't identify and she wasn't sure she wanted to.
She took a few bites of her meal and then asked, "So, what is this assignment everyone is on?"
"I don't know. I am not privy to assignments I am not on."
There was an evasive tone to his voice and Tosha narrowed her gaze for a moment. "I see."
"When you go on assignment, you will understand. It is all consuming and you tend to be exposed to privileged information that cannot be shared. This is a highly secretive organization for people who spend their active lives in the public eye. It is only back here on Teklan or other Guard bases that we can be with those who truly understand what we go through." He ate steadily but with deliberation, occasionally flicking his gaze to meet hers.
She ate quietly for a few seconds. "So what did you do before you joined the Guard?"
"I worked on Surath in law enforcement. A Guard recruiter came to my home and offered me a position on Station 13. I spent a year working with Haunt and the others in a law-enforcement capacity before being assigned here to Teklan two months ago."
"Is it fun?" She blushed when she realized it sounded like a teen girl asking to go shopping.
He grinned. "It can be. Sometimes, those who commit the crimes deserve our pity and not our censure though."
"That makes sense. I certainly hadn't committed a crime by Alliance standards, but by the laws of Dalpha, I had engaged in an unforgivable act by being a talent." She finished her greens and worked on the sandwich.
"This is true. None of our assignments will ever be in the Dalpha sector. They have banned the Sector Guard from their space and we are nothing if not law abiding."
The sneaky look crossed his features and he carefully blanked his face when he caught her staring.
"Something is up, isn't it?"
"I have no idea. I am not privy to that information." He was back to his business-like face.
She took the hint that the topic was closed.
With her first cup of caf gone, she retrieved her second and a glass of water. Sitting back in her chair, she sipped at her caf. The sun had fully set as she watched through the windows. "What is on the agenda for tomorrow?"
"A series of restriction fields have been set up on the far side of the planet. We will head there in the morning. For tonight, I will give you a short tour of the facility and then we will adjourn to our home."
Her lips twisted. "Our home?"
"Partners, remember?" He smiled.
She shook her head. "I remember, but that doesn't mean I won't give you a hard time about it."
"Fair enough. Are you ready to go?"
Tosha sighed and sipped her water. "I suppose." Her yawn caught her by surprise.
He grinned. "It has been a long day for you, what with being hunted by your own kind and all."
She got to her feet. "Don't forget the beetles. If that tourist hadn't kicked that rock, we never would have been privy to the emergence. He cracked their little nesting cave and instead of eating most of their siblings, they came after us. It wasn't a fun day."
He laughed and placed her hand on his forearm. "I promise Teklan has no bugs of that variety. We will be quite safe while you do your best to shake the surface tomorrow."
They walked through the base and he pointed out medical, refreshed her on Might's offices and then they cruised past administration. His arm was cool under her palm and she noted the difference in body temperature.
"Are you always so cool?"
His lips twitched. "That was a full five minutes before you spoke. Well done."
She sighed. "Answer please."
"I heat up when I am creating a vortex. The cooler body is Oshanic standard." He coloured a little, his skin darkening as she watched.
She smiled. It was nice that she could throw him off a little. "By that clanking noise, I am guessing we are near the gym."
"Yes. You can use it anytime you are on base. We have to keep in good physical condition to carry out our assignments."
She peeked around the corner and winked at a few of the male support staff who were straining in the confines of the machines and a few winked back. A hand on her neck hauled her out of the gym and back into the hall. "Spoilsport."
"Are you going to flirt your way through the base?" His grumbling finally cracked her good humour.
"I may flirt, but I don't screw strangers. Each man I was with I dated for more than six months. They just weren't the right fit."
At his scandalized look, she laughed. "Not like that. Our lives weren't compatible. A few of them came close, but though I felt deep affection for them at the time, I didn't like them. The stress of being judged and nitpicked got to me with some of them. With others, we simply drifted apart."
They left the calm air of the base and stepped into the night once again. "I think it was the lack of interest in the men I had been dating that finally ground my social excursions to a halt. There ceased to be a point to all of the stresses involved."
Mix's skin heated under her palm. "I can see how that would be a problem. I had an arranged marriage in my own life. Neither of us wanted to go through with it, so she ran off with her lover and left me to explain it to our families. I got sympathy and our engagement was dissolved. It was at that point that I left my home and engaged in a public career."
"Public?"
"I had been a fairly well-kept secret among the Oshanic."
They were at the door to the house. He bowed to her and smiled. "I have to take a swim. Feel free to get some rest. The morning will come soon enough."
Bemused, she entered the house and returned to work on her hairspray. Teklan really needed a boutique of some kind. She started to smile. A project for her time off. She had always wanted her own shop.
Chapter Five
In the middle of the night, Tosha sat straight up with her body coated with sweat and her heart pounding. In her dreams, Alara was screaming for her help and she was trapped on an island without a way to reach her.
Tosha flung the covers back and draped a sheet over herself to cover up. Micix was too twitchy for her to keep flaunting her nudity. It wasn't nice or fair to tease him.
She pattered out the door and looked to the master bedroom. The door was ajar and even in the dim light, she could see the pristine bedding. He hadn't come inside.
The back door opened soundlessly under her hand and she walked out to the covered pool. It was larger than it appeared from inside the house. She crept outside and looked into the dimly lit water. If she squinted, she could see him twisting slowly under the water.
The sheet she was wearing covered her loosely, so she took pains to hold the fabric clear of the water as she took a seat on the edge of the pool. While dangling her legs in the water was tempting, this was his private environment and she didn't want to intrude.
It was soothing to watch him swimming slowly under the surface. The pool was deep, at least fifteen feet on either end. Her stomach gave a nervous shimmy as she looked into the depths--swimming had never been her strong suit.
As if her nerves had made it to him via his empathy, Micix turned his head to look at her and he rapidly swam to the surface, breeching in front of her.
"Tosha, what brings you out here?"
"I had a nightmare. I was going to wake you up and chatter incessantly to you, but you weren't there." She was having a hard time looking at his face. Gills rode the sides of his neck that were normally covered by the uniform.
"Are you all right?" His concerned voice snapped her out of her dazed realization that she was partnered with a man
who could breathe water.
"I am fine. A little shaken. It wasn't a fun dream." She rubbed her forehead and blinked as Micix whooshed out of the water completely nude and sat next to her.
"Do you want to tell me about it?" His hair dripped slowly onto the broad slope of his shoulders and down the well-defined muscles that were normally hidden by the suit.
She took in a shaky breath and sighed. "I hear Alara screaming. I try to run to her, but I am trapped on an island. Black space is between us and nothing I do can cross that void. Are you sure she will be all right?"
"She told us what needed to be done. We are doing it."
"Why can't you tell me?" Tosha was near tears. She hated being helpless."
He sighed. "Tosha, I know this is hard on you, but your cousin was very specific. You can't know what is going on or the whole plan will fall apart."
Fat, hot tears broke free and ran down her face. "That sounds like Alara. She could always see the big picture even when I wanted to push things into place."
He sat next to her in silence and took her hand. The warmth of his skin was back. They sat in silence until the sun warmed the glass and dawn came knocking.
Her voice was hoarse when she asked him, "Did you get any sleep?"
"I don't always need sleep. A good night in the pool works just as well." He stood and she blushed as her gaze was drawn to his endowments.
"Shall we get the day started? I am feeling the urge to shake some plates." She let him pull her to her feet as he slipped his uniform back on. Internally, she whined in disappointment as all those muscles went back under the pale grey suit, but externally, she tried to keep herself calm.
"Back to the house with you. We need to get you dressed and stuffed full of breakfast before you get shaking." His arm around her shoulders felt right after the hours he had spent at her side.
She carefully arranged her sheet so he wouldn't step on it and left the pool house together in the bright light of morning.
Echoes of unease still ran through her when she thought of Alara, but if her cousin had given those instructions, she had a plan. Tosha would have to trust that Alara knew what she was doing and let fate decide for both of them.
