Frisk (7 page)

His body shook at her bold caresses. He deliberately moved her hands away from him with a sigh of regret. “Lunch it is. Afternoon has been given to Shatter, so be on your best behaviour and do not use this technique to distract him or it will cause a problem.”

Lance pinned her hands behind her and pressed a kiss to her neck. It was her turn to shudder as he used his teeth gently on her skin.

“I didn’t mean you could eat me.” Her whispered words made him chuckle.

He sighed and pulled away from her. “Too bad. I will have to save that for dessert this evening.”

A harsh beeping stilled what she would have said next.

Lance stiffened and sighed. “It seems playtime is over. Don’t get into trouble while you are alone here.” He left her and leapt to his balcony.

A moment later, she saw the gathering of Guardians in their work gear, meeting in the dining room. She walked toward them, but they ran past her with regretful smiles.

The skimmer took off, and they were away.

“Well, hell. That sucks.”

She made herself some lunch, unpacked her bags and did some light exercises in the gym. Her body was humming pleasantly with exertion when she heard someone clearing their throat behind her.

She paused and set the weight pack down. “Rhoda?”

“Hello, Lera. Sorry to have come early, but Charm has created a new engine configuration, and he was only too delighted to get an early start with it.” The pale human entered the gym with a smile. Her gown spoke of grace and wealth. Neither of which Rhoda cared about.

Lera grabbed a towel. “Do you mind if I take a quick shower?”

“Please. I will wait for you in the dining room.”

“You will wait? Where is Charm?”

“Helping out with the three-block arson fire in one of your cities. He took the personal transport and dropped out the back of the shuttle. It is a damned good thing that it has comprehensive autopilot.” Rhoda sighed and shook her head.

Rhoda winked. “See you in a few.”

Two hours later, Lera determined that Charm would only need to make changes to her bodysuits. Everything else was well fitted and draped wonderfully.

“I still don’t know why I need a new wardrobe to do this job.”

Rhoda was sipping at her caf and grinning. “Because, you are the ambassador of the Guardians by your job description. You will smooth over any problems they have with local government, including damage done by a rescue effort. It happens. Well, not on Yaccaro, but it happens elsewhere in the imperium.”

Lera twisted from side to side in the fluttering clothing that Rhoda swore was a respectable day gown by Jennila standards. Her shoulders were bared, the sides of her waist were exposed by the fluttering charmeuse-type fabric. “It feels weird.”

“Yes, but you have seen highborn and business people wearing them. You have to appear to be one of them. Each gown is marked with an area that it is suitable to wear it in. You can’t very well go shopping in each area when you have your first assignment there. This is just a starter kit, if you will.”

Lera wrinkled her nose and sat carefully. “Thank you, and thank your husband and brother-in-law.”

“Kebril enjoys it. Now that Meena is finally there, he can only create so many outfits for her before she complains that she is not his Barbie-doll. After that, she has to explain what that is and the whole thing falls apart.” Rhoda chuckled. “Did you want to see the portraits?”

“Please.”

“Stay there.” Rhoda got to her feet, and her gown pressed against her abdomen for a moment.

“You are pregnant.” Lera was surprised. She knew that Alliance species could mate with Terrans under ideal conditions, but she had never thought about the imperium races.

“I am. There is a reason that he doesn’t let me out of his sight.” Rhoda smiled, and it was the soft smile of someone whose attention was turned inward.

“Wow. I didn’t think…”

“Well, the Genarans are a little different than most races. They create their match via nanites. It hurts like hell at first, but once they are in, it is fine. Technically, I could make the adjustments to your clothing, but Charm is thinking of me as a delicate ecosystem at the moment, and he would tan my hide if I exerted myself in any way.”

As she spoke, Rhoda popped the case of the portraits and hefted them one by one until they were lined up against the wall. “Sorry that I kept going, but I had no idea what I was going to paint next.”

Hot colour moved up Lera’s cheeks. “Six of them?”

“You two were fascinating. I had to find out what happened next.” Rhoda smiled.

The first image was the moment that they were on the dance floor. That was the one Lera had requested. She wanted to know her perfect man, and the image of her in his arms had haunted her since Rhoda scanned it and sent it to her.

The other images were far more graphic. “What did he ask you for?”

“The image of his true lover. I am pretty sure that those are all you. They all have the same beauty spot on the right hip, so…” Rhoda shrugged. She wasn’t embarrassed by her images, so Lera unbent and began to look at the pictures in detail.

One image had her turning her face away from the viewer, but Lance’s arms were across her breast and belly, holding her tight against him. There was no slip of fabric to cover the juncture of her thighs, and he was obviously nude as well.

The other images were more active. She was astride him in one, in his lap in another with her hands holding him tightly to her. The next one involved tilting one’s head to the side to figure out what she was looking at. She gasped and quickly looked at the final image.

Naked in his arms, they were in the air over the night sky of Jennila. The four moons gave the location, and the burning focus in his gaze was all for the woman he held.

Lera sat heavily on the floor. “That one is intense.”

Rhoda squatted next to her. “Isn’t it though? I swear, I lost my breath for a moment when I saw it. I wish I could exhibit it, but there is a little too much of you on display for you to be comfortable with it.”

“Yeah, you are right about that. So, where do we hide these?”

Rhoda laughed. “We don’t. The last five are all his commissions. They belong to him. You can hide the first one, but that is it.”

“Damn. This is going to make for an awkward dinner.”

“Think fast. They are approaching.” Rhoda chuckled and got back to her feet, wandering over to the dining table and taking a seat.

“How do you know that?”

“I share more than a bed with Charm.” She held up her arm, exposing a silvery scar. “The mating scar is where a knife bound us together. His nanites are in my body. I can sometimes hear him think and definitely tell when he is on the way. They are landing right now.”

Lera got to her feet and joined Rhoda at the table. “Fine. I will deal with it. I will be embarrassed, but I will get through it.”

“Why should you be embarrassed? Your body is beautiful. Lithe with muscle, you can obviously handle yourself in most situations. It all shows when there is nothing to distract you. That is what these sissy clothes are for by the way, a distraction so that most of the governing bodies won’t see the intelligence behind the demands. You will be a soft, pretty female of an exotic race and that is all that they will see.”

“So, it is a disguise.”

“If you like.”

They didn’t have a chance to discuss anything else. The Guardians stomped in and immediately headed for the showers. Soot and smoke marked them all with the exception of Charm. He walked over to his wife, and his faceplate and body armour disappeared, leaving him wearing a stylish shirt and trousers tucked into high boots. He kissed her, and when he raised his head, Rhoda made the introductions.

“Lera, this is Charm. Charm, this is Lera, another of my people.”

Charm was a silvery grey from head to toe. He walked over to her and took her hand to his lips for a kiss. “I am always pleased to meet a kinswoman of my wife’s.”

Behind him, Rhoda shrugged. “Close counts when you are talking stellar space. We are kin.”

He released her hand and returned to his wife’s side. The bots were setting up for dinner, and Charm relaxed easily as they scampered around him.

“So, what do you think of Rhoda’s work?”

Lera thought about how to answer. “She is excellent at capturing the emotion of a moment.”

Rhoda snorted. “That is the most polite description I have heard to date. Thank you.”

They continued to chat as the other Guardians gradually trickled in and the bots set out a meal for them.

It was time for dinner, and the family was all together.

Chapter Ten

Shatter’s shock at the content of the portraits was unmistakable but not for the basic assumption. He had far more interest in her naked body than was appropriate for a co-worker.

When he reached out to trace the curve of her spine in the portrait where she straddled Lance, her lover took matters into his own hands.

He snarled and tackled Shatter to the floor, thudding hard against the tile.

Charm got to his feet and surrounded the men in a writhing chain of energy as they fought. He lifted them and pushed them out the door into the courtyard. Once they were outside, he closed the door and returned to the collection of ladies. “Shall we commence with dessert?”

The thuds occurring outside were audible from within.

“Um, shouldn’t we stop them?” Lera wasn’t quite sure what was going on.

Charm looked at her with a smile. “You are the pivot point of that fight, so intercede if you like. None of us could make a dent. The Ekathi and Orkathi are different socially but attracted to the same kind of mate. They have each seen something in you that draws them, and they are now fighting for your future.”

Lera got to her feet. “Like hell they will.”

Coma sighed and raised her hand. “Sit down, Lera. We all know who wins, but they are men, and they have to hack it out. Their hormones need to know who the winner is.”

“How will that help me?”

Rhoda smiled, “It actually doesn’t have anything to do with you. It has everything to do with their private battle for supremacy. Their species is always in conflict. Two children born of the same womb can have the different genetic traits and they will be raised according to their appearance. Lance and Shatter are cousins in the actual use of the word. Raised apart in different societies, there is no doubt that they would have varying approaches to a mate.”

Lera blinked. “Wait, they are actually related?”

Coma nodded her head. “They do not think of it in such terms, but genetically, their parents were siblings. One brother, one sister and two different partners, but the children are out there pounding each other into goo.”

“What will stop the hostility?”

Charm sat with his arm around his mate. “Shatter will have to realize his own need for a mate doesn’t go against the natural order of things. The Orkathi believe that if they do not give into their passions and keep their species pure that the Ekathi genes will eventually cease to emerge.”

Lera took the caf that the bot offered her. “How long have they been trying?”

Coma sighed. “At last count, seventeen hundred years. They haven’t solved it yet, and now and then, this sort of thing happens. I am surprised that it happened over a female.”

Charm grinned. “Terran females are worth fighting for.”

Rhoda snorted. “Right. The ones I have met out here are a little on the far side of normality.”

“That is what makes you precious.” Charm stroked his fingers down his mate’s arm, and she sighed and curled against him.

Lera smiled and jumped as the exterior door slammed open. Lance stumbled in, and she ran to him, wrapping her arms around him for support.

He kissed her, his lips careful and slow as they skated over her mouth. “Pardon me, beloved. Shatter needed to be reminded of his manners.”

Rhoda sighed and elbowed Charm. The other Guardian got to his feet and left for a moment. He returned with a large box in his grip. “Shatter, Rhoda created this for you. We had no idea if you would need it, but it appears that now is the time.”

Shatter moved from his spot by the door and shifted toward Charm with a definite limp. “What is it?”

His breath hissed in and out through his cut lip and swollen nose. Apparently, Lance was pretty good with his hands.

“There are a few more Terrans in the area. Yours has some enhancements, but this is her.” Charm opened the package, and an image was waiting for Shatter.

The woman was in his arms, dressed in a dark survival suit. The kiss that they were engaged in was intense with Shatter’s hand cupping her thigh, pulling it high on his hip.

Lera smiled. “So, more than friends then.”

Shatter touched the cheek of the painted woman reverently. “What does her face look like?”

Lera blinked as the bodysuit suddenly made sense to her. She had met that woman. It was Gadget. “Oh my.”

Rhoda smiled, “You know her?”

“Yeah, we met on the same day I first met the Guardians up close.”

The artist nodded. “That would explain it. Shatter’s senses picked her up, but you were the only match he could see. It ran his brain a little wild. They run mostly by scent, and you must have gotten some of her on you.”

Lera frowned. “We hugged.”

“That would do it. Her scent on you would have confused matters.”

Shatter lifted his head. “What are you talking about?”

Lera pointed at the image. “That woman there is prisoner transport. Her call sign is Gadget, and her name is Tobitha. You almost met her when we were packing up the prisoners.”

He snarled and clenched his fists. “That woman was a cyborg.”

“Yes. You can see it in the portrait if you know where to look. Her face, her ears, the pattern is visible.” Lera shrugged and kept her arms around Lance.

He leaned on her a little more. “I may have won, but I believe I need a bit of rest now.”

“I will tuck you in and come back to get the clothing fit, that is unless Charm will be here in the morning?”

He smiled, “Rhoda needs regular rest, so we will be here in the morning.”