I Dated a Deadly Auditor

by Grace, Viola

  She extended her blades, and they were now about eighteen inches long. “Okay, that is odd. They were a lot shorter when they first manifested.”

  “Slash the pallet then do it again.”

  She slashed, and the blade went through the pallet without anything happening. She frowned, and Salat tapped the top of the pallet, and they watched as the upper level collapsed and fell to the side.

  She slashed again once he was safe. Then again and again. She finished rendering the wood into splinters, and her skin was glowing with sweat.

  Salat grinned. “Now, retract them.”

  She snapped them in.

  “Nicely done.”

  She muttered, “Gorith might not pull out, but I can.”

  Salat paused and then hooted with laughter. He laughed so hard, he cried.

  She snorted. “While you get yourself under control, I am going to try these wings out.”

  She crouched and then shot skyward. Her wings knew what to do. She went straight up and then started to fly in slow circles around the space. She could see the divides between the different sections, and only two were active despite the waiting period.

  She flew until there was a sharp whistle that caused her to return to Salat. He wasn’t alone.

  She hadn’t seen Gorith wearing casual clothing before, but part of her brain shorted out as she saw the brand-new tee he was wearing, complete with a hand-drawn image of Tirra. She blinked and stared at the stylized version of her wings and body. “Wow. That is something.”

  She got closer and saw the gothic script along the bottom of the image. Gorith’s Angel .

  She blushed and tried to take a step back, but Gorith caught her with a tentacle, pulling her toward him.

  He pulled her up against him and lowered his lips to her ear. “I don’t pull out? Really?”

  Her face caught fire. “Oh, so full audio then.”

  “Yeah. I was watching this at a meeting with family. I had no idea that my mother’s jaw could open that far.” He snorted. “My father asked me if I knew you, and with me wearing this shirt, it wasn’t something I was willing to deny.”

  “So, why are you in here and not with them?”

  “Salat has his nails, but he doesn’t really have a projection that needs focus like ours does. So, I am here to challenge you.”

  She blinked. “Challenge?”

  “If you can elude me for five minutes, I will get you the necklace that matches your belt.”

  “Um, I don’t need jewellery. I work a desk job, and for my part-time work, it is all costume stuff.”

  “But I want to give you jewellery; I want you draped in metal and gemstones, and me.”

  She blinked. “Oh. That isn’t necessary.”

  “Ask Torenne why it’s necessary. So, if you elude me, you get the necklace. What would you like from me if you manage to escape me?”

  She bit her lip. “Going out for pizza?”

  He stared at her. “What?”

  “I haven’t felt comfortable going out for pizza since I escaped. I loved Italian food growing up, but I get super nervous thinking about those dining establishments.” She shrugged. “I would like to go with you.”

  He looked at her, and a strange heat glowed in his eyes. “If you win, I will take you out for pizza. I know a few places. And the penalty for getting captured is a night with me, any theme I want for six hours minimum.”

  She smiled and stuck out her hand. “Before we start, does it hurt you if my energy cuts your energy?”

  “It feels odd but doesn’t hurt.” He shook her hand.

  She nodded. “Good. On your mark.”

  “Get set.” He smiled.

  Salat said, “Five minutes on the clock, Go!”

  She sprouted her knives and cut the tentacle holding her. He groaned and dropped to one knee. She leaned forward. “Gorith?”

  Eight spectral limbs lashed out and grabbed her, holding her in the air just in front of his face. He sighed. “You are too easy to capture, angel.”

  He pulled her to him, and she struggled, ignoring that she was getting excited. He kissed her, and the kiss went on and on.

  Chapter Eighteen

  When Gorith slowly lowered her to the ground, she blinked and asked, “So, when did you want to book that night?”

  “I thought it would be nice to have you with me for Salat’s brother’s wedding.”

  “You want to bring me... to a wedding?”

  He smiled and nodded. “It might be nice for my family to meet you before Saturday, but it may not be possible.”

  She swallowed. “Meet family?”

  She pulled her wings in and was slightly subdued. He unwrapped his tentacles and took her in his arms. “Don’t worry, angel. They are a little rigid, but they don’t bite.”

  “I am not worried about teeth. I have been through way scarier situations in the last week alone. I just don’t have great associations with the word family. ” She wrinkled her nose.

  “Oh. Right. It will be fine, angel. I have your back.” He ran his hand up her spine, and he kissed her.

  When he raised her head, she murmured, “It isn’t my back that I am worried about. You seem to have designs on most of me, and Khytten described me as a soft target.”

  “Oh, you are. Very soft. Are you okay?”

  He ran his hand over her back and butt, pulling her up against him with a solid grip.

  She yelped as he pressed her against his crotch.

  “Uh, yeah, Khytten offered me some healing.”

  His eyes heated.

  “Not like that. They just tossed me a vial, and I drank it.”

  Salat was nearby, and he started to snicker while leaning against some of the pallets.

  She blushed and ducked her head. “Shut up, Salat.”

  He grinned and chortled again.

  Gorith looked to Salat. “Was there a problem?”

  She pulled him down and explained what had happened. He stared at his friend while she whispered so the cameras didn’t pick up the conversation, and there was a slow grin when she finished explaining.

  Gorith inclined his head to Salat. “Thank you for taking care of her.”

  Salat grinned. “My pleasure. Khytten says that she is willing to help like that at any time necessary. She has great affection for Tirra.”

  “As do I. Now, who made the outfit?”

  Salat laughed. “Torenne. She has a better eye for the kind of flow that the flight brings in. We are going for lunch; care to join us?”

  “I think I would enjoy that.”

  The slow thudding of her heart picked up the pace when Gorith’s hand moved under her tabard and squeezed her butt.

  “Where are we meeting up?”

  Salat mentioned a local restaurant, and Gorith grinned. “You know you just mentioned that on a livestream.

  “Yeah, I know, and you are running your hands over your angel like you haven’t seen her in days. It has been four hours.”

  Gorith snorted. “I am sure you remember your first night with Khytten.”

  Salat nodded. “I do. Every time I look at her sleepy face in the morning, I wish it had started earlier.”

  Gorith looked down at her, and a loop of tentacle caressed Tirra’s cheek. “Yeah, I know that feeling.”

  “You know I can hear you, right?” She looked from Gorith to Salat.

  Gorith grinned. “Yeah, just want to make sure you are asserting yourself. Want to go to lunch?”

  Her stomach rumbled, and he pulled her against him. “I will take that as a yes. Come on, let’s find the exit and get out of here. There was a crowd with t-shirts like this out there, and they want you to sign them.”

  “Is that a thing that I am supposed to do?”

  “Only if you want to, angel.” He kissed her quickly.

  “Fine. Let’s face the horde. The more friends I can accumulate, the better.”

  He kissed her again. “Whatever you like. I rarely get the chance to act as
bodyguard.”

  “Do you often use your activity in public?”

  He winked. “Almost never. However, I think we make a cute couple.”

  “Cute is not the way I would describe you.”

  He grinned. “It is the way I would describe you.”

  He kept in contact with her as they walked toward the exit where Salat had already scampered off to return to his kitten.

  Signing shirts with a silver pen was weird, but the peacekeepers were smiling and flirting with her until Gorith’s tentacle wrapped around her shoulders. She chuckled, and a glance showed that he was doing a full tentacle and tendril peacock thing. “Subtle.”

  He grinned. “They don’t get subtle; they get direct. Right?”

  He looked to the men waiting in line. The guys coloured and remained waiting for her to sign the image of herself.

  “Why do you have two?” She asked politely.

  “One to keep as a pristine collectible, and the other to wear.” He grinned.

  “Oh. Right. I am sure that the artist is honoured to have it considered a collectible.”

  He grinned. “We are not collecting it for the art. Well, we are, but it is the physically altered actives just out there being themselves that we are enjoying. It is so rare that we get to see folks like you out in public, interacting with the public, that you do stand out. Also, you’re hot.”

  She turned pink, went quiet, and scribbled her name on the half dozen shirts in front of her. Salat and the other two left, calling out that they would see them at the restaurant.

  She finished, capped the marker, and left it on the table before she pulled in her wings.

  She got to her feet, looked down, and paused. “Fucking Torenne took my street clothes.”

  Gorith wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. “I like the outfit. It looks comfortable and sexy at the same time. Like you.”

  She smiled. “I am comfortable?”

  He whispered against her neck. “Very comfortable. When I am inside you, there is nothing in the world that feels better.”

  Her eyes bugged wide. “I... That... Gorith...”

  He chuckled and turned her, kissing her in full view of their interested audience.

  The kiss was soft and slow, with lots of tongue, and no one watching would think that they were not lovers. She pulled back and blinked slowly. “So... lunch?”

  He grinned, and they left.

  At the restaurant, she knelt and bit her lip as she looked over the selections. They were at a dumpling place, and no one had a problem with her eating on her knees on the chair, so she was comfortable for the first time in a long time. Torenne was right about the boots. They were super comfortable.

  Their grouping was getting a lot of staring, and it was a good thing that Khytten had called in a reservation because the entire restaurant was full.

  Gorith looked to Salat. “Is this because of the livestream?”

  Salat nodded. “Yup. There are alerts that go out when we show up at the range. The livestream is new but getting plenty of hits. The pediatrics wing at the hospital is getting a ton of donations, as is the same department in the capitol. Donations flood in whenever Khytten is on the screen. The best ratings are when she is dealing with peacekeeper challengers.”

  Torenne chuckled. “The viewership goes up if she is wearing leather.”

  Gorith piped up. “I like the design of the outfit that Tirra is wearing. Well done, Torenne.”

  Torenne grinned. “You should see what I have designed for Emmer’s wedding.”

  Tirra put a selection of dumplings and steamed meats in her bowl and then took chopstick pinches of the different mustards and chili sauces with a dash of plum sauce.

  Khytten looked and said, “What are you putting on there, Tirra?”

  Tirra looked at the bitter mustard that made it feel like the top of your head was opening. “Hot mustard?”

  Khytten scooted her chair in closer. “How hot?”

  “Um, pretty hot.” She put the pork dumpling dotted with mustard into her mouth and breathed through her nose while her head opened up.

  “Can I try some?” Khytten cuddled up against her and looked at her with big, sleepy eyes.

  “Can you tolerate spicy food?”

  Salat answered, “Some. She will probably be whimpering about that mustard for the rest of the day.”

  Khytten dropped the cute act for a moment. “Keep that up, and you are going to find out what habanero milk tastes like.” She changed her expression back to cuddly and cute.

  Chuckling, Tirra took one of the dumplings, dotted it lightly with mustard on one side and heavy on the other. She put it in her mouth and leaned toward Khytten, who leaned up eagerly like a baby bird. They kissed around the food, and then, teeth came into play as they separated.

  Khytten focused on chewing, but when she found the mustard, her eyes went wide, and she coughed a little. Tears formed, and she sniffled.

  Tirra rubbed her back. “Aw, kitten. Not for you, huh.”

  Khytten coughed. “How do you eat that?”

  Tirra grinned. “When I first got loose, food was my focus. It started in the hospital and continued when I got out. Food is usually cheap, and I wanted to taste extremes. I went from super fatty, super spicy, hot, soft, hard, crisp, sweet, creamy... I found all my favourites and then found what I consider to be my favourite of the favourite. I like hot stuff, bitter stuff, and I am absolutely in love with junk food.”

  She picked up another dumpling and carefully added three chili sauces and a plum sauce. “Care to try this one?”

  “The same way?” Khytten’s eyes got bright.

  “If you like.”

  “Kiss first?” She looked hopeful, and the gathered friends laughed.

  “Your preferences are going to be a pain in my butt, aren’t they?”

  She grinned and tilted her face up. Tirra took her fingertips and touched Khytten’s chin gently. The kiss was sweet, chaste, and lasted until there was a clatter of chopsticks from a nearby table. It might have had something to do with Tirra’s wings emerging or not.

  She was sitting against the wall, and she had to flatten her wings out to either side, which meant that Khytten and Torenne were within her protection. Khytten smiled slightly, and she chuckled. “You know that it is going to be on the news tonight.”

  Tirra smiled. “I only watch the weather.” She lifted the dumpling to her lips and leaned forward, dripping the sauce into Khytten’s mouth before her lips closed around it.

  Khytten’s eyes got wide, and Tirra chuckled. “Salat, you might want to hang onto her. She’s doing a fast ramp.”

  Salat put his arm around Khytten as she moaned and started to shake. Torenne tapped Tirra on the arm. “What did you do?”

  “I am an analyst. So, I analyzed Khytten and did with food what Gorith can do with touch. I got the chemical trigger just right to set off an orgasm.” She smiled brightly at Salat and Khytten. “A little payback for this morning.”

  Khytten moaned loudly as she went up another level, and Salat had to kiss her to catch the sounds she was making.

  Tirra snorted as she laughed.

  Gorith looked at her with raised brows. “That was mean.”

  “So was telling me that the vial I drank from was for healing when it was packing an orgasm. At least I started with light foreplay.”

  Khytten squeaked and then slumped against Salat. She whispered in Salat’s ear, and he laughed. Salat grinned at Tirra. “She concedes defeat in the surprise orgasm duel. You are the master, and she would like to challenge you another day.”

  Tirra giggled, and she pulled her wings in. There were audible sounds of disappointment in the crowd around them.

  Torenne grinned. “Could you set me off the same way?”

  “Different ingredients, but yeah. It’s a game I play with the staff at the resort when there are no patrons.” She smiled. “Zera encouraged it to make the human staff more comfortable with what ha
ppened at the resort. They try on the masks and wear some of the costumes. It’s fun when everyone consents.”

  Gorith winced. “Point taken.”

  Torenne chuckled. “Do me.”

  Tirra shrugged and kissed her. She ran the analysis, and when she lifted her head, she looked around the steam table and found the right dumpling for the base. She picked a series of pickled vegetables and drizzled a bit of sauce across it with two dabs of sweet and sour sauce. The dumpling was small and round, so she couldn’t share the same way she did with Khytten, so Tirra kissed Torenne with a hand in her lap, near her erection. When Torenne was panting, Tirra picked up the tricked-out dumpling and put it in the healer’s mouth.

  Torenne chewed slowly, and her eyes went wide, and she started to shake. Tirra took her hands and was kissed ferociously as the orgasm released, and Torenne tried to press against her. The low groan was caught in Tirra’s mouth as the healer slumped in her chair.

  Tirra stroked her cheek. “You okay?”

  Torenne nodded as she fought to catch her breath.

  She looked at Gorith. “Do you want to go? Salat, you?”

  The men shook their heads.

  Gorith cocked his head. “Maybe later when we don’t have an entire phalanx of viewers making videos.”

  Tirra chuckled. “Ah, right, you have family in this town. Doesn’t hold Torenne back, though.”

  “She is a law unto herself.” Salat chuckled.

  Tirra finished her meal and set her chopsticks down. Torenne smiled and cuddled against Tirra, breathing softly. “That was... so nice.”

  Khytten nodded and cuddled against Salat.

  Salat looked at his friend and then his lover. “What did you do to them?”

  Tirra sipped at her water. “It equates to really good foreplay mixed with a slow orgasm that spreads out from the centre until every cell is bathed in pleasure and happiness. And then, there is a super slow fade, so they will be mobile in about five minutes.”

  Gorith cocked his head. “How do you do that analysis?”

  “It is based on temperature, pheromone level, the basics of the food that is available, the approximate chemical composition of the food involved and then... delivery.”

  He smiled slowly. “That sounds like a technique I would like to try.”