by Grace, Viola
She looked up from her coffee and thought about it. “Um. Yes. Yes, I did.”
“Good. You run too ragged, coordinator.” Theeda nodded and left to get the order.
Harmik looked at her. “You do look rested.”
“Must be blood loss. I did something stupid.” She smiled.
“Went climbing?”
“Yup. The artificial skin was holding me together more than I thought.”
“How did you get down?” Harmik frowned.
She blushed. “Someone came to get me and got me down the rock.”
“Ah, so he is not just after your body.”
Gorith walked up to them at that moment. “Oh, that is still a large component, but I am willing to work around it.”
He was wearing a standard suit with a navy shirt and crimson tie. She looked down at her suit and then up at him. She covered her eyes. “He coordinated us.”
Gorith sat next to her and pressed his forehead to hers. “He did. He’s excellent with a visual.”
Harmik laughed. “I am still going to see the healing, but this appears to be a good thing. Now I can stop worrying about you.”
She looked at him. “You worry about me?”
“Of course. You have been alone for quite some time. It isn’t good for the soul.”
Tirra sighed. “I am sorry. There was no reason for you to worry. I get by.”
Theeda brought out Tirra’s breakfast. Gorith blinked. “Wow.”
Tirra smiled as she forked up some hash browns. “After having my diet restrained for so long, breakfast that actually tasted like something was what I missed most.”
The eggs benedict with a side of fruit salad and a pile of hash browns was next to the eggs and hollandaise.
She looked at her plate. “This tastes like everything.”
Gorith ordered his own food, Harmik’s empty plate was removed, and Tirra went through her food neatly. When she was done, she used the com projector on her wrist to flick through arrivals and departures. There were a few maintenance requests, and a contractor was coming in to work on a private garden with erotic sculptures.
She confirmed the appointment for after lunch and finished her food.
Theeda came by and whisked the plate away, and Gorith’s as well. He had plowed through his own meal in half the time she spent on hers.
She smiled and finished her updating before she killed her coffee. The glass of water was next, and she looked at the two men she was with. “So, when are we due in?”
Harmik chuckled. “Twenty-five minutes.”
Gorith nodded. “How long is the drive?”
“Twenty minutes. I will get the transport.”
She got up and nodded to the men. They rose and followed her. Harmik chuckled. “I can drive.”
“You aren’t authorized for resort vehicles, and you know it.”
“We could take my vehicle.” Gorith chuckled.
“No. I will drive.” She slid into the four-seater and got behind the controls. “Since you two are here, get in.”
Harmik chuckled. “Shotgun.”
Gorith sighed. “Fine. I will sit in the back.”
She strapped in, and when they were both in harnesses, she drove through the resort at a careful pace and then gunned it up the roadway. She drove the long way, and they pulled in through the gates precisely on time.
They were up at the house and exiting the vehicle exactly when they were supposed to.
The butler came to greet them, and he led them out onto the balcony.
Tirra smiled. “They spend a lot of time outdoors.”
“Miss Khytten says that it leaves Mr. Salat fewer places to hide.” Melker chuckled. “And, the babies enjoy it.”
Harmik laughed. “I still can’t believe Salat is a dad. Adopting or not, it is amazing.”
“I think they are fostering for now until the social workers’ heads stop exploding.” She chuckled.
“Correct, Miss Argent.”
Gorith chuckled. “It will be Miss Tirra by the next time you see her.”
“Noted.” Melker nodded and led them to the wide patio where the family was sitting and enjoying breakfast.
Tirra smiled at Salat sitting on a double seat with Khytten dozing against him. He stroked her cheek. “Wake up, kitten. Tirra’s here.”
Khytten sat up and smiled sleepily. “I wasn’t sleeping.”
Tirra smiled. “If you are tired, I will leave you alone today.”
Khytten’s spine filled with steel. “Absofuckinglutelynot. Get your butt over here, and then, we can talk afterward.”
Tirra laughed. “I thought you were going to say cuddle.”
“That too. Can you show me your current situation so I can get a feel for what you need from the start?”
“Oh, you mean like...” She gestured to the suit.
“Yup.”
Tirra nodded to Salat. “Thanks for the suit, by the way. My skin is a bit papery.”
“It looks good on you. Comfortable?”
“Yup.”
Torenne set down her cup. “Would you like help getting undressed?”
Before she could answer, the healer got up and came around to assist. The suit opened easily, and aside from the mild lechery in Torenne’s eyes, she was very careful and businesslike.
“If I can get you far enough along, Torenne can finish the healing. After that, we just have to work on getting you stronger.”
The suit was peeled off her shoulders, and her upper torso was exposed. Tirra figured the best way to go on was to ignore the presence of her two travel companions.
They took up seats, and Khytten stroked her fingers along the discolouration. “You had artificial skin overlay?”
“Yeah. It came off yesterday.”
The pressure was registering but nothing else. Khytten smiled. “You can’t feel anything?”
“No. Extensive nerve damage.”
“Right. Makes sense. So, remember the drill?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Take your time. The longer you can go, the more extensive the repairs can be.”
Tirra knelt and slowly opened the tiny buttons on the dress that Khytten was wearing. The bodice peeled open, and Torenne gasped. This time, Tirra just looked at Khytten wryly, and the other woman took her hands. She started to drink slowly; the hot sweetness left her mouth and went into her bloodstream before she could think about it.
Her skin flushed, and a wild tingling ran through her under the skin. Tirra lost herself in the rewiring of her body. She felt a hand stroke her hair and then a soft voice murmuring.
She went to lift her head, and a voice whispered, “Don’t stop.” She kept going.
The hand brushed over her hair, over and over. Tirra tried to give back as she drank, and she heard Khytten cry out and shiver under her. The pleasure came a heartbeat later, and Tirra didn’t moan, but her fingers flexed on Khytten’s. Her left hand clutched her hip.
She looked up at Khytten, and Khytten’s eyes widened. “Holy shit.”
Tirra lifted her head, licked the nipple one more time, and asked, “Am I done now?”
Torenne looked at her over Khytten’s shoulder. “Oh, wow.”
She turned her head to see an astonished Gorith and a stunned Harmik. Salat was just smugly amused.
She pulled her hair forward, and it was blue with black highlights. She smiled. “Is that the only change?”
Khytten shook her head. “Your eyes. Your lips.”
Gorith spoke to her. “Your skin is colouring in a pale gold; your lips and eyes are white-silver. Your hair is the blue with black again.”
She looked down, and even her nipples were the white-silver. “Aw, man... I was hoping for pink.”
Khytten chuckled. “You are not upset?”
“No, this description was given to me as a genetic projection. This is what I was supposed to look like if I grew and developed normally after activation.”
Khytten touched her cheek. “
There is supposed to be more.”
“That was just speculation.” She looked at her audience, looked down and tried to cover her breasts.
Khytten pulled her in and kissed her. Tirra was surprised by the move, but she tasted the heat on her friend. Waves of power were running through her, and she tried to balance, but Khytten was pulling at her. Tirra slid her leg between Khytten’s thighs, and Khytten did the rest, arching against her and grinding against her knee and thigh. She touched Khytten’s neck and trailed her fingers down to her breasts, rubbing the soft skin with the back of her knuckles. Khytten moaned and shuddered.
Tirra cupped the back of Khytten’s neck and thrust her knee forward slightly. The bright cry of surprise from her friend’s lips made Tirra smile. She feathered small kisses over Khytten’s forehead and cheeks. When the eyes looking at her were smiling slightly, Tirra backed away and pulled up her suit. She sealed it and stood back. She bowed. “Thank you for the healing, Khytten.”
Khytten fanned herself with her hand. “Anytime. Really. Absolutely anytime.”
Tirra looked around at the observers. Salat looked impressed and amused, Harmik looked shocked, Gorith looked like molten metal in a suit, and Torenne was looking at her with infatuation in her gaze. “You are my hero.”
Tirra blinked, and Khytten said in a throaty invitation, “Please sit.”
Torenne chuckled. “We need to make sure the healing takes, and you need to take what energy you can from me. So, you should have something to drink and come over here so I can take your pulse.”
Khytten let out a low, possessive growl. “Watch your hands, Torenne.”
“You have had your turn. If Tirra doesn’t mind a kiss and cuddle with me, then you don’t have a leg to stand on.”
Tirra smiled. “I have not been able to withstand touch until now, so I think too much cuddling might overload me.”
Torenne smiled. “Well, then, may I kiss you?”
She frowned and couldn’t come up with a reason to say no. “Yes?”
Torenne held out her hand, and she was pulled into her lap.
Tirra murmured, “This is strange. You are the same size as me.”
Torenne didn’t make any small talk; she simply pulled Tirra to her and kissed her. The shock of the contact and energy that ran through Tirra made her shiver, and her nerves sparked as Torenne used the kiss for healing energy.
Tirra hesitantly touched Torenne’s shoulders and then ran a hand through the other woman’s hair. As their tongues duelled, the erection under her thigh became obvious, and Tirra let some of her luck bleed into Torenne’s lips. The healer bucked under her and groaned. Energy flashed and flared between them, and there were shouts from those observing.
Hands pulled her away from the healer, and she cried out, trying to return. Salat and Khytten were at Torenne’s side, and the healer had a dazed grin. “I am fine. She made me cum, and the energy spiked. That’s all. I just have to recover... and change.”
Tirra blinked to focus herself. She was in Gorith’s arms, and he was holding her tight. She squirmed against him and said, “No, I want more.”
“No, angel. This isn’t the time or place for it.”
She turned to Gorith and looked up at him, and he looked delightfully tasty. “I want more.”
He groaned. “You are riding an energy high right now, Tirra. You don’t know what you are saying.”
She ran a hand up his chest and grabbed his tie. “How convenient. I. Want. More.”
She pulled his head to hers, and when their lips touched, it was like molten flame was coursing through her.
He gripped her waist and lifted her so that he didn’t have to bow low. She smiled and draped her arm around his neck, keeping his tie wrapped around her fist.
She took in the energy that she needed and felt something bright stirring inside her. She gasped and moaned as an orgasm swept through her, but the blaze that ripped through her body found an outlet near her spine.
* * * *
Salat checked on his friend and then glanced over to where Gorith was holding the bundle of power. The pulses that had been visible on her back went faster and faster until she moaned, and huge wings made of silver energy were in evidence. That is going in a comic. Gorith and his ridiculous height and breadth, Tirra with the snug suit, one leg pointed down, and the other knee bent as she held him with his tie wrapped around her fist.
Khytten was looking at Tirra. “That is what was missing. She needed just a little bit more to finish fixing herself.”
Salat chuckled. “Looks like she got it.”
Gorith broke their kiss and held her away from him while her wings slowly flexed lazily. He smiled. “So, that’s new.”
Salat watched her glance over her shoulder and blinked rapidly.
“How do I make them go away?”
Gorith pulled her close and whispered in her ear. The wings flexed once more, and then, they disappeared. She slumped against him. Gorith held her close. “I think she needs a cup of coffee.”
Salat looked at the woman who had stirred the hormones of his mate and best friend. She had a cute and expressive face, wide eyes that now looked freakish, even by his standards and a trim body that needed more muscle to be useful. Perhaps now that she was healed, she could continue becoming herself.
He looked forward to seeing the end result.
Chapter Eight
Tirra’s senses slowly returned to her. She looked at Gorith and his patient expression and then looked down at her hand. “Oh, geez. I crushed your tie.”
He blinked and then grinned. “You just sprouted wings, pulled power from anyone stupid enough to kiss you, and insisted that you needed more, and you’re concerned over a tie?”
“It’s a nice tie.” She bit her lip and unwrapped her hand. She smoothed a hand down his chest. “I am sorry I wrecked it.”
“I am a civil servant. I have other ties. Many, many other ties.” He smiled. “I would like to see you wearing nothing but one of my ties one day.”
“Um, that... I have to be authorized for that kind of thing. We are here on Harmik’s account today.” She blushed. “I definitely shouldn’t have been kissing people.”
“And, having completed the audit of your activation, I am going to confidently register you as a probability talent with a physical manifestation.”
She kicked her legs a little. “You can put me down now.”
“I don’t want to.”
“When do you go home?”
He sighed. “Later today, but I will return.”
She blinked. “Why?”
He laughed. “We are not done, Tirra.”
“We aren’t?” She swallowed.
“Not in the least. I am yours for as long as you will have me.”
“I don’t want you.” She blurted it out.
He laughed. “Who do you want, and don’t say Khytten. She’s spoken for.”
“Um... Me? I want to learn what my nerves feel like again, what touch feels like, what silk and velvet and satin all feel like. I need to learn me first.”
He nodded. “Not a bad answer.”
She slowly kicked her legs. “You can set me down now.”
“If you answer me one question. Which me don’t you want. The me that is, or the me that was?”
Tirra stared at him and answered, “The you that was. I don’t like him very much.”
“Neither did I, but he was necessary. Will you let me introduce myself to you? The real me. The actual me.”
He pressed his forehead to hers.
Khytten sing-songed, “The actual him likes spanking. Stick with me.”
Salat grabbed her and covered her mouth with a hand. “Apologies. She has a crush.” He murmured, “And you like spanking, too, little kitten, so don’t go getting all high and mighty.”
Tirra looked at Gorith. “I don’t like things that hurt.”
He smiled. “So, you will consider me?”
“Um. Maybe?”
&
nbsp; “Good enough.” He kissed her softly, and she kissed him back. She could feel whatever it was that had roared through her rising toward him on tip-toe feet, looking for more power, but she stifled it and held it back.
He moved back a little. “You are controlling it. Well done.”
She smiled shyly. “It feels like something has moved in under my skin.”
He grinned. “Yeah, it does. Whatever it is turns you into an angel.”
Tirra shook her head. “No. There are plenty of other things that have wings in mythology. I am sure if I resemble anything, it’s a harpy.”
Salat spoke calmly, “If Khytten is amenable, you can come here anytime and do whatever you like with her, but at some point, I get to sketch you with your wings out. My choice of clothing.”
Gorith looked at him. “What are you up to?”
“I am making a scrapbook of Khytten’s greatest renovations. I think this counts.”
Tirra asked, “And the reason for the costume?”
“Aesthetics. What is your favourite charity?”
“Uh, the Burn Foundation.”
“Well, then, when we get your face out there on t-shirts, the funds will be donated to the Burn Foundation.”
“What do you mean, my face?”
Khytten chuckled. “He means that he will turn you into a comic character and make you into t-shirt designs that will be sold to fanboys and girls across Aksalla and a few other countries. Mainly to peacekeepers. He’s really good.”
Gorith laughed. “He always was.”
Torenne nodded. “Constantly doodling. So was I, but I was always better at costume design than the figures.”
“I don’t know how I would feel about my face being seen. There are still contracts out for my capture.”
Salat grinned. “Let them try. Time to stop hiding.”
Tirra blinked. “I am not even done my activation yet. I am really not sure about exposure.”
Khytten snorted. “When he makes up his mind, you are coming out whether you want to or not. We have a couple’s image gracing a few hundred peacekeepers’ chests, and Torenne is in a sexy lab coat and not much else.”
Torenne snorted. “Uninspired costuming.”
“Salat put Brains and Brawn on it in a cute font, leaving it up to the viewer. We signed a bunch at the live range when Khytten went to play.” Torenne chuckled.