Untrained Fascination (9 page)

“No. As long as no one came into contact with us, we looked just like everyone else on the street.”

He was running his hands up and down her back, and she heard a weird rumble vibrating in his chest.

She leaned back and asked, “Are you purring?”

His expression was slightly embarrassed. “You feel good.”

She blushed hot, pressed her forehead to his chest for a moment and then stepped out of his arms. “That is a little quicker than I want to move.”

His happy sound stopped, and he let her go. “Well, I still have to watch you and keep you awake for another five hours. So, what would you like to do?”

Lianne looked at him and considered her options. “Sit on the couch, eat and watch documentary vids.”

Sorrok blinked. “That sounds interesting.”

“So, let’s get to it.”

She found the container he had brought in and set it on her counter. “You get plates or bowls or whatever is needed.”

He chuckled. “Nothing is needed. It is all finger food. All you need to do is wash your hands and you have all the utensils you need.”

She smiled and went to the sink, washing her hands. He followed her and washed his striped hands by surrounding her at her back and reaching around.

If he was wearing her down by proximity, it was working. She wanted nothing more than to lean back against him.

She dried off her hands and handed him the towel, ducking under his arm. To her surprise, he popped his claws and scrubbed them as well.

“Are you planning to use those?”

He chuckled. “Maybe. Some of the food gets slippery.”

She wasn’t sure how she felt about slippery food, but when he was done flossing the sharp claws, she handed him the towel.

He dried his hands, folded the towel and draped it over the rack next to the sink where it had come from.

Sorrok went around her, grabbed the pack he had come in with and carried it to the living area, settling on the centre of the couch, triggering the vid menu.

Lianne trailed after him and settled six inches away from him, watching the small packs that he was pulling out with alarming speed.

“How many dishes are in there?”

“Forty small bites. You mentioned that you were unfamiliar with Rrassic food, so I brought you some.” He smiled.

She looked at the vids queued up and blinked. “I don’t have those on my old system.”

He grinned. “New rank equals new access.”

He explained the first line of small containers as appetisers and gave her their names. Most of it blurred together, but when she ate the first small shredded mushroom ball, she had to admit that the Rrassic knew food.

The first documentary started, and she watched the developmental path of the Zjin-Rrassic.

“How coincidental.” She chuckled and leaned past him. “What is this one?”

“Cold noodles with a spiced dressing. Srebak.”

She pinched a tangle off the pile and carried it to her mouth, tilting her head back like a baby bird. She ignored Sorrok’s fascinated gaze.

The narrator was discussing the early life of a Zjin as a Nool. They gravitated toward occupations of action and confrontation.

The documentary went through the development of musculature and the change of the skin. To Lianne’s surprise, the stripes were designed to blur the vision as the Zjin attacked. They were built for speed and ferocity.

Lianne continued to work through the food, but when the mention of the Zjin finding the temporal engines of the Voboth occurred, she paused and focused.

She leaned forward when she heard mention of the Voboth. Images of a huge gateway that gave off a familiar spark of light filled the display. “That is... what is that?”

“Listen.”

She watched the documentary, and pieces of information began to fill in. Lianne looked to Sorrok. “How long have you been here?”

“One month longer than you have, but the Rrassic have been preparing Imrahl for years.” He smiled. “You will have to watch the Dorbin documentary for that.”

“What are the Voboth?”

He wrinkled his nose and leaned toward her. “They are a species that is trying to kill us. Our teams broke into one of the attack ships and found a star chart with the Rrassic home world on it, and yours was one of seven included in the mix. Teams were sent to each world for assessment, and the results were debated. Plans were made, and here we are. Other worlds have the Rrassic and other species, but the bulk of our army is at home and defending our own against the incursion.”

“Wait, why can you tell me this now when you couldn’t tell me a few hours ago?”

He smiled. “Your location has upgraded your security level.”

She pinched her nose with her clean hand. “Sure. Of course it has.”

A thought occurred to her. “So, why did the Regiz try and steal me this morning?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Under investigation, they were found to be colonists. They want to grab available Breeders and start their own world instead of defending ours.”

She shivered at the close call. “Wait. Wouldn’t they have to take me out through the port?”

He shook his head. “We use a different portal. The port is only for goods and materials. There is less security as the humans are very easy to spot.”

Lianne looked at him and said, “They were going to use that camouflage thing on me, weren’t they?”

Sorrok shook his head with a small smile. “That was their plan. It would not have succeeded.”

She was leaning in to ask why when there was a knock at the door. Lianne got to her feet and headed to the door, identifying one of the ladies from the night before.

She opened it and smiled, “Hello.”

The woman went to take her hand, but Lianne held it back. “Sorry. It’s sticky.”

“Hello, Lianne. I was just coming to invite you to dinner so that I can go over the rules of the Breeder quarters.”

Missy’s eyes grew wide when Sorrok appeared behind Lianne.

“What rules are these? The only regulation that applies is that the Breeder class not leave the quarters without an escort.” Sorrok wrapped an arm around Lianne’s waist. He propped his chin on her head.

She didn’t let her amusement show. Instead, she said, “Sorry again, but I have a guest and am under supervision for a medical issue. I can probably come tomorrow after work, or you could just send me the list and I will go over it. I will ask you about any questions that I have.”

Missy frowned. “Work? We are not allowed to work.”

“I am an exception and really need to get back to resting quietly. I promise to contact you with any questions, just get me that list.”

Lianne eased her door closed and locked it. The lock was a nice touch.

“Sorrok, get your thumb away from my boob or I will break your fingers.”

He chuckled, released her ribs and pressed a kiss to her temple.

Apparently, foreplay had just changed gears.

Five hours and the rest of the tiny dishes later, she was sitting in Sorrok’s lap with her head against his shoulder.

She squirmed a little and watched the vid on space travel versus portal travel. “Am I allowed to sleep yet?”

He checked his band. “If I say you could have gone to sleep an hour ago, will you threaten to break my hand again?”

She snorted. “No. It got you all frisky.”

He laughed. “The threat just let me know that you weren’t treating the woman’s visit seriously. I have heard rumours that they were trying to work out a strict society, but this was the first time I was exposed to it.”

“What, don’t you frequent the mixers?”

He sighed. “Frankly, no. Until you made your surprise appearance, I had no idea that I would be interested in a Breeder. I had hoped, but I didn’t feel interest in the few I had met.”

She leaned and looked up at the fine nap of his fur, and the colours that contrasted and confused his appearance. “Hm. Are you sure it wasn’t when you scented me? According to the vid, that is your primary trigger.”

He inhaled along her temple and jawline. “Well, it could be a factor. I think it is the feel of your lips that definitely locked my focus.”

She leaned up and kissed him softly, leaning back when she felt a twinge in her arm. “And I think we need to stop this there. I don’t want to do anything that will open up the new skin.”

He sighed and pressed his forehead to hers. “This is going to be the hardest walk of my life.”

“I am sure you will recover. Go and punch someone. It normally works for me.”

He laughed and helped her to her feet. She had already cleared the dishes, and he picked up the pack to take with him.

She grinned as she walked him to the door. “Thank you for coming over.”

“I said I would watch you for twelve hours, and I meant it. I would watch you for longer, but you are putting an end to my supervision, so I will have to say good night.”

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him, kissing her with far more intensity than she had shown to him.

She threaded her fingers through his deep-blue hair and pulled him against her while raising her knee up the outside of his thigh. She heard the pack hit the floor, and then, she was pressed against the wall while he ran his hands over her side and one squeezed between them.

His hand gripped her breast, and she gasped against his mouth; her arm twinged as she jerked in response, and he pulled back.

His low growl was that of an animal being deprived of its meal. “I am going to go now.”

“And I am going to take a cold shower.” She slowly eased down the wall, lowering her leg to support her.

He grinned. “I will see you tomorrow.”

“I am working tomorrow.”

He nodded. “I am aware of it. Good night.”

He grabbed the pack and slipped out the door. Through the display, she saw him wait until she latched the lock before he left.

Her limbs were quaking, and she really wanted to follow him down the hall, but instead, she headed to her bathroom and checked her synthetic skin before she stepped into the huge, multi-spray shower.

It was going to be a long night.

Mrtok came to her station after her mid-morning break. “Whelling, can you come down here?”

She put her machine into a safe position and climbed down.

Lianne smiled. “What is up, boss?”

“There is a medic who wants to look you over.”

She nodded. “Okay. Sure.”

“I will stay nearby. He seems nervous to me.”

That was different. Mrtok was normally all business. “Sure. Where is he?”

“The common area breakroom. He didn’t have his clearance with him.”

“That is weird. Why does he want to see me?”

“He mentioned an incident yesterday.”

Lianne nodded and walked with him though the security gate, and the medic was standing with his back to her.

He turned and frowned at Mrtok. “You are not needed, supervisor.”

Lianne put up her hand. “He is my proxy. If anything happens, he will make sure I get home.”

The medic’s features wavered from the standard Nool arrangement, and she threw herself to the floor as he pulled out a static gun. He fired and Mrtok shouted.

Muttering to himself, he grabbed her and hauled her up by the arm. She struck at his waist and felt the projection module. She pulled, and it tore off in her hands.

The Regiz staring at her growled and bared his teeth. “You think you are clever, Breeder. You will serve your purpose.”

She knew she couldn’t do much, but she kicked out with the techniques that Sorrok had been showing her, and he went down to one knee.

She plowed her fist into his face and slammed her knee into his jaw. He slumped forward and hands pulled her off him. His arms were pulled up and back by two hazy figures, and she identified concealed Luthin as her assistants.

Sorrok whispered, “We have him. Well done, Lianne.”

Her hand throbbed, but it didn’t feel broken. Her knee was going to have a bruise, but she was very satisfied with herself.

“Let me guess. There was one missing? Mrtok!” She turned in Sorrok’s grip and saw her supervisor being helped to his feet by one of the Luthin, now in visible form.

Mrtok raised his hand in indication that he was all right.

“He will be fine. Yes, there was one member of the group that was missing. One of them had to be masquerading as a medic to get access to the sedatives calibrated for your species.”

She glared at him. “You knew he was coming here.”

“I guessed.”

“You used me as bait.”

“No. I simply knew he would come for you, and you were determined to carry out your work.”

Lianne made a face and hugged him. “I resent that you had to be here and didn’t tell me.”

He ran his hands over her back and murmured, “I am glad I went behind your back and kept them from getting you.”

She buried her face in his chest and noted that he smelled a little odd.

“You did well with your attack. He wasn’t expecting it.”

She muttered against him, “Neither was I. All I knew was that I wasn’t going to let him take me.”

“Good. We need to speak with Iktabi now. He needs the last bit of information.”

“What is that?”

“Who was watching you. I am afraid that you are going to have to submit to a search by a Saya.”

She snorted. “I thought I wasn’t supposed to identify the Rrassic by their races.”

“The Saya are an exception.” He moved his arms and coaxed her into walking at his side with his arm around her shoulders.

She glanced back at Mrtok, but he was speaking to one of the Luthin. “Why aren’t your guys coming with us?”

“They have other things to worry about.” He hurried her toward the exit.

She touched his waist and found the module. She was too close to fight him, so she took in a deep breath and screamed, “Contamination!”

Lights flared, the riot gates came down and the male holding her looked at her in horror.

She ripped the module off and found herself facing a Saya-Rrassic. The third eye was a dead giveaway.

She ran for it, but he grabbed her braid and hauled her against him.

“Clever miss. Now, I have to do this the hard way.”