by S. E. Smith
“Thank you, RITA,” Avery chuckled.
“My pleasure, love. I’ll meet you inside and make sure you don’t have any issues with your trip,” RITA cheerfully replied.
“I want to get cleaned up and look over the report before I leave,” Avery stated.
“Working after work again, Avery? I know it’s hard for you to live for the moment, but if you need someone to talk to, I’m purported to be very discreet,” RITA added.
Avery ignored the gentle nudge to open up. Instead, she removed her sunglasses as she pulled into the dark interior of the parking garage. She navigated the Tesla into a parking space with a charging station.
For all of RITA’s abilities, she still had her limitations and Avery wasn’t looking for a life coach. At first, RITA had been satisfied with the paper trail that Avery had carefully constructed over the years. When RITA had questioned her about something, Avery had taken the AI’s inquiry to heart and modified the information until it was ironclad. No one could know about her past, not even RITA or Cosmos. Unfortunately, RITA’s programming had evolved over the years, and once she started interacting with the Prime computer system, she’d been developing a new and even sharper awareness that had Avery on edge.
Yet another reason why it is time to move on, Avery decided, opening the door and sliding out of the car.
She plugged the charger into the car and walked around to the passenger’s side, opening the door and grabbing her gear off of the seat before shutting it again with a soft click. The lights of the car briefly flashed, and she heard the locks engage as she walked away.
Minutes later, she was exiting the elevator on the third level. This level used to belong to Jasmine ‘Tink’ Bell before she moved to Baade, the aliens’ home world, to be with her bond mate, J’kar. Avery still thought it was an amusing name for a significant other or spouse, but then, husband and wife probably sounded strange to them.
Since Tink’s move to the alien world, Avery had been using her former living space as a temporary command center while working on Avilov and the missing Prime warrior’s case. Unfortunately, her presence here had also placed her in contact with Core Ta’Duran. So far, she had managed to keep their relationship distant. They moved around each other like two prize fighters in a ring, sizing each other up. There had been no physical contact—yet. There was little conversation that wasn’t terse, and the sexual tension between them was enough to melt the paint off of the walls.
She’d lost count of the number of dreams she’d had of him over the last few months. She always woke up tangled in her Egyptian cotton sheets, aching so badly she was ready to scream. The increasing dreams were making it difficult to concentrate. She would be in the middle of reading a report or in a meeting with her team, only to realize that she had been staring into space, her mind focused on the huge, sexy Prime warrior.
It was time to nip this obsession in the bud. She was the Ice Queen. She could freeze a man’s balls off from a hundred paces. Her reaction to Core was simply primal attraction. They were both predators, how could she not want him?
Regardless of her desire, she would not allow her heart to become involved. Love created a vulnerability that could one day be revealed and exploited, no matter how hard a person tried to conceal it. No, once she satisfied her physical desire for Core, she could store the experience away and move on. It wasn’t like this was the first time she had been attracted to a man, and it wouldn’t be the last.
Perhaps if I keep telling myself this, I’ll finally believe what I’m saying, she thought with sardonic amusement.
Avery placed her purse on the small table in the living room and carried her luggage to the guest bedroom at the end of the hallway. One good thing about converting a warehouse into a home—it allowed for ample space in the floor plan. The firm that had designed the layout had done an excellent job. The basement housed the underground parking garage, a generous amount of storage space, and a two-bedroom efficiency. The ground floor was devoted to Cosmos’ laboratory. He’d also had a one-bedroom efficiency installed for the times he became engrossed in a project. The second level was Cosmos’ private living area. Three huge bedrooms, each with their own bath, a guest bathroom, and an open kitchen/living area made for great entertaining. The third floor was a mirror image of the second. The roof had been reinforced for a helipad, but Cosmos seldom used it. He didn’t like to draw attention to himself or the home he considered his favorite.
Avery carried her bag into the bathroom with her. Pulling out fresh clothes and toiletries, she set them out on the counter. Minutes later, she was undressed and standing under the powerful heated spray of the shower with her head bowed and eyes closed.
She groaned in frustration when a vivid image of Core came to her mind and her body tightened and became heated in a way that had nothing to do with the warm water. Opening her eyes, she glared at the shower handles. She reached out and twisted the cold water handle until goosebumps appeared on her skin.
“Well, now I can honestly say I know for a fact that men are not the only ones who have to take a cold shower,” she growled with cynical amusement.
She washed her hair and body, hissing as she glided her hand over her sensitive labia and touched her swollen clit. She bowed her head and closed her eyes again. The rueful thought that she should take the edge off of her need flashed through her mind. If she didn’t, Core would be in serious trouble.
“Not as much fun, but at the moment it will have to do,” Avery grudgingly murmured out loud.
Several minutes later, her soft moan filled the large shower enclosure. A shudder ran through her as some of her tension dissolved. While not completely satisfying, she felt like she had regained a small measure of restraint from the sexual hunger that was driving her crazy.
“So much for outgrowing the need in my youth,” she thought with a wry shake of her head.
She reached over and turned off the spray. Opening the door, she grabbed the towel from the hook next to the shower and dried off. Ten minutes later, she was dressed and feeling refreshed. She had blow-dried her shoulder-length, dark brown hair, and it fell in soft, silky waves around her head.
After trying several different styles, she finally settled on pulling her hair into a casual ponytail. The look went with the soft cotton print blouse and blue jeans she had decided to wear. She could count on one hand the number of people who had seen her wearing anything other than her professional attire of a business suit or slacks and silk blouses.
On the vanity were two small, deadly-sharp knives, and a small Ruger LC9 pistol. These were the weapons she carried every day. If she wasn’t wearing them, she had them within reach at all times. She carefully strapped on her knives—one on her arm under her long-sleeved blouse and the other just above her ankle-high boot under her jeans. She double-checked the safety of the pistol before sliding it behind her back into the holster at her waist. Then she picked up her soft black leather jacket and slipped it on.
Avery studied her reflection in the mirror. At thirty-two, she was hardly an innocent young woman. She had experienced several short affairs, beginning in her early twenties. The affairs had been calculated, just like her approach with Core.
She had been very careful about choosing her partners. Each man had to meet a certain criteria. They had to be clean—no drugs, no wife or girlfriend, no alcohol abuse, and very discreet.
She didn’t care about their monetary worth. After all, their relationship was not about fostering an emotional connection. She never chose men who lived in the same city and never invited them to her residence. She also never told them her real name.
Since her employment with CRI, she had refrained from having a relationship with anyone. The first year had been the most difficult. Luckily, there were enough stores to find the items that she wanted in Houston to take the edge off when it became necessary.
She had not planned on staying with CRI so long. A chance encounter with Cosmos had led to her employment. Her
respect for him had made her stay. She believed in what he was doing for the world. Cosmos Raines was absolutely brilliant. His inventions were unbelievably advanced, as evidenced by RITA. The fact that his inventions were now integrated with alien technology only made them more impressive.
Which didn’t change the fact that it had been a long time since Avery had been with someone. There wasn’t really a dilemma to agonize over, Avery just felt… nervous, she supposed. This felt big, and not just because she’d be mixing business with pleasure. She and Core would amicably part ways after their three days of incredible sex, and Core wouldn’t need to return to Earth. If he did, it wasn’t necessary for them to be in close contact again since his cousin had been located. Even if Core decided to visit Earth again—which he shouldn’t need to do—she could always find work at another of CRI’s facilities around the world. Or she could find another job.
Who was she kidding? CRI was the perfect place for her. There was no way she could leave. The work, the people, and the cause was what she’d been programmed from birth to live for.
Besides, she had been doing a lot of thinking since the revelation of the Gateway and life on other worlds. It was time to discuss a few changes with Cosmos. Now that aliens were part of the security equation, and especially since Cosmos’ wife, Terra, was one, Avery felt it was doubly important to re-evaluate and revise CRI’s security plans.
Amelia, aka the Runt, was part of the team now, and she could take over threat containment on the alien side of things, while Avery took on a more active role in bringing down those responsible for the criminal activities that were too hot for governments even to admit were happening.
Taking in a deep breath, Avery looked into the vanity mirror, and smoothed a tendril of hair that had escaped from her hair tie. The memory of her mother doing the same thing flashed through her mind followed by a shaft of remorse. She’d inherited her mother’s features and her father’s coloring. She’d also been taught their espionage skills. What she would not accept was that she could have inherited their weakness—falling in love.
If Core refused to accept her terms, if he wanted a long-term relationship—well, that would be difficult under the best of circumstances. Even an uncomplicated relationship lasting a few weeks or months would be almost impossible considering they literally lived on different worlds.
No, if he didn’t accept her terms, she would have to return to Earth unsatisfied and move on. She firmly believed that some people had to have the white picket fence and lifelong love, and some people were destined for more difficult, but more fulfilling lives. Avery’s destiny was to fight for those who couldn’t.
There were others who felt the same way—Tansy Bell was one of them. But, Tansy—like Avery’s parents—had made the mistake of falling in love. When that happened, priorities changed. Unfortunately, those who perpetuated evil didn’t have the same weaknesses. They continue to wreak havoc on the world—leaving grief and destruction behind.
Avery raised an eyebrow at her reflection and wryly smiled. She looked cool and confident—two aspects of her demeanor that had become her trademark over the years. Both would work in her favor—they always had before. Unfortunately, on the inside she was feeling incredibly hot and surprisingly unsure about a number of things. Everything that she’d felt certain she knew about what she wanted was suddenly not as clear as she’d thought it was.
It was time to make a choice and follow through. She would have to make sure that Core accepted her terms. If not, she wasn’t sure there were enough batteries in the world to handle her battery-operated boyfriend.
“Okay, now you’re just being melodramatic. You’re never melodramatic, Avery. What kind of guy, especially one who is attracted to you, would turn down three full days of unadulterated, mindless sex with no strings attached?” she asked her reflection.
She chuckled when she saw the expression on her face. With a shake of her head, she grinned and turned away from the mirror. She had her answer—not a damn one that she knew of!
Humming under her breath, she returned to the living room where she had placed her purse. She reached out and paused, impulsively deciding that she would leave it. She highly doubted that she would need her identification on Baade. Hell, she was almost tempted to leave her small bag of clothes. She was hoping that she wouldn’t need them either—but she also had a few weapons in the bag that she carried everywhere. She unzipped the bag and looked at the two guns lying on top of her clothing. One had belonged to her father; the other had belonged to her mother. They had left them at home the day they were murdered, and Avery had later retrieved them from their hiding place along with other weapons, cash, and fake identities. She slid the zipper closed without removing the weapons.
“Oh, Avery, you have it bad, girl,” she muttered.
For a moment, she could hear her father’s voice in her head. She closed her eyes and pictured him and her mother standing in front of her. The first time she had heard the rhyme, she was barely old enough to walk. She could still hear her mother chiding her father for teaching her to sing the words like a song. She would always remember the quiet intensity in her father’s voice as he encouraged her to sing along with him.
‘Listen, Avery, to your head, otherwise you’ll end up dead,’ her father had told her over and over.
She quietly recited the rhyme her father had taught her as a wave of melancholy swept through her. She picked up the small bag and slipped the strap over her shoulder. Straightening her shoulders, she pushed the memories away and refocused on her current mission: Core Ta’Duran.
“RITA, do you have Core Ta’Duran’s position?” she inquired.
“Yes, love. My sister was rather delighted that you are coming to visit. She said that Core returned to check on his clan and inform his mother that Merrick is out of danger and resting. He really is such a considerate man,” RITA hinted.
Avery snorted. “Yes, Matchmaker RITA, he’s perfect. Please just program the coordinates for me. I’ll handle the rest,” she retorted.
“Yes, Avery,” RITA replied, her voice tinged with disappointment.
“Thank you, RITA,” Avery murmured in a softer tone.
Avery stepped into the elevator and pressed her hand to the control screen. A thin green light scanned her palm. RITA had already programmed the level for her. The elevator would go to the first floor, but only with security clearance would the rear door open into the lab. She waited as the elevator door opened.
A set of titanium bars parted and an array of laser sensors shut off. With a grimace, she decided she might have gone a little overboard with the increased security around the portal as she took five steps forward and paused on the weighted mat. The secondary security system activated. She was now trapped between the sealed elevator and the twelve-inch-thick, clear, bullet-and-bomb-proof entryway into the lab.
Lifting her arms, she waited as a full body scan along with facial recognition was completed. Even though RITA had verified her presence, Avery had been paranoid that RITA could be compromised.
“Can I open the doors now?” RITA’s dry voice asked.
“Yes, please. You know, this is to protect you as much as Cosmos, Terra, and the Prime home world,” Avery informed the computer system as the doors parted.
She jumped when RITA’s corporeal form suddenly appeared in front of her after she stepped through the doors. Her hand fluttered up to her chest, and she glared at the gorgeous redhead in a glittering red evening gown.
“FRED and I have made a few improvements of our own, love. It is very unlikely that anyone—here or on Baade—could get through our defenses,” RITA reassured her.
Avery looked RITA up and down with a frown. “Why are you wearing an evening gown?” she asked in confusion.
“It is date night. FRED is taking me to a performance in New York. You aren’t the only one who needs a little fun, Avery,” RITA drawled in a mischievous tone.
The AI’s green eyes danced with delight. Her e
xpression wouldn’t have been quite so intimidating if RITA’s eyes hadn’t been glowing with brilliant little dots of code running through her irises. Avery shook her head.
“I don’t want to know any of the details,” Avery stated with a lift of her hand. “At least not until I get back. Then I want to know every delicious morsel,” she added.
RITA’s delighted laugh sounded chillingly real. “Only if you do a little sharing yourself,” she teased.
Avery stepped through RITA and continued down the stairs to the main section of the laboratory where Cosmos had left the portal device for her. There were a lot of things in this world that Avery didn’t talk about, and her sex life was one of them.
“Have fun, RITA. I’ll return in three days,” Avery replied, snatching up the small cylinder.
“You, too, Avery,” RITA quietly replied, watching as Avery activated the device.
Avery breathed deeply when a shimmering doorway appeared in front of her. On the other side, she could see rich wood, a huge bed, a lush forest, and a beaming RITA2. Avery decided it had been a smart decision to wear jeans instead of her normal pantsuit and heels. Lifting her chin in determination, she released the breath she had been holding and stepped through the portal—to the alien world.
3
Prime Home World of Baade:
Forest of the Eastern Clan
* * *
Core strode through the village toward the modest home he was constructing in a large tree on the outskirts. Since Merrick’s disappearance, Core had split his time between Baade and Earth, fulfilling his responsibilities as temporary leader of the Eastern Mountain Clan and searching for his cousin and best friend.
He had learned a lot over the past six months. First, that leading a large clan of primarily men was not an easy task. Each of them longed for a bond mate. The few women in the village were either too young—like his sister—or had already found their mates.