by Dakota West
At MutiGen, there were only a handful of other cars in the parking lot, but Zach shrugged it off. It was Saturday, after all, so that wasn’t too surprising.
He was surprised when he saw Katrina standing by the front doors. Surprised enough that he nearly ran into a light post, only braking at the very last second.
She works here, he thought. It’s not that weird.
She didn’t say anything about it, though. That’s kinda weird.
When he parked, he took a quick second to breathe before he got out.
Don’t think about the way her ass looks in that skirt, he thought to himself. Or how much you want to unbutton her shirt while you kiss her on the lips, her hands on your chest...
It wasn’t helping. He got out of the car, grabbed his briefcase, and waved to Katrina.
“I didn’t know you’d be here,” he said, once they were within earshot.
“I didn’t either,” she said.
She didn’t smile, and there was something a little strange in her voice, but Zach wrote it off.
She’s at work on a Saturday, he thought. I wouldn’t be thrilled either.
“Good to see you again,” he said, trying to sound as professional as he could. He couldn’t see anyone in the lobby, but that didn’t mean someone couldn’t see out, and he wasn’t about to endanger her reputation at her job by being inappropriate.
No matter how inappropriate I really want to be, he thought.
“You too,” she said, and held out her right hand.
Zach smiled and shook it. There was a tiny explosion in his heart.
Finally, she smiled back.
“Sorry you got dragged into work on the weekend,” he said. “I hope it wasn’t just for me.”
“Come on back,” Katrina said, letting them into the building. “They’ve been really eager to interview you, though I’m not quite sure what was so urgent that they had to do it today.”
“Hopefully they’re just excited to hire me,” he said.
Katrina paused at an interior door, then looked up at him, her deep blue eyes a little worried.
“What is it?” Zach asked.
“Don’t get your hopes up too high is all,” she finally said, looking down at the floor. “They’re interviewing lots of people, and I’d hate to see you disappointed.”
Zach straightened, then glanced around the empty lobby.
There are probably cameras somewhere, he thought.
He didn’t really care.
“I’ll be fine,” he told Katrina, and put one finger under her chin, lifting her face to his. “I only came over to the table at the job fair in the first place because I thought you were cute, so I already got what I came for.”
“I’m at work,” she whispered.
“No one’s here,” he said, the heat rushing through him now. There was something wild and uncontrollable building inside him, and he had to fight it back. “Just one kiss? For good luck?”
“One,” Katrina said.
He pressed his lips to hers quickly, and even that small gesture sent sparks through his whole body before he pulled back.
Zach knew he was going to be distracted as hell during the interview, but he didn’t care. She’d just told him he barely had a shot, and besides, he felt like all his priorities flew out the window when he was with Katrina.
Ever since he’d gone back to college, he’d toed the line. Somehow, he’d been part of a huge illegal operation and had never gotten caught — so Zach figured he’d used up all his luck, and he’d better shape up. So he had. He’d buckled down, worked hard, and followed all the rules.
It worked.
But now, just seeing Katrina made him willing to throw all that away. Last night, he hadn’t cared about getting arrested, just because he’d been with her. If they spent all weekend together and he didn’t do his homework, fuck it. Seeing her was better.
She held her badge to the door and then pulled it open. Zach held it for her, following her down the hall, past dark office after dark office.
“Here we are,” she said at last. The odd, tight tone was back in her voice, and for a second, Zach looked at her, wondering if something was really wrong.
She looked back at him, her blue eyes wide with a hint of panic.
Something swelled inside Zach, something fierce and angry and primal and he wanted to attack whatever she was afraid of, smash it into little bits.
It was only an instant, and then Katrina looked away. Zach stepped into the office, and a thin, older man behind the desk stood up.
“Glad you could make it,” the man said. “Sorry about the short notice. I’m Pete, the lead engineer.”
“No problem,” Zach said.
They shook hands. The other man’s hands were cool and slightly damp, and Zach had the urge to wipe his hand on his pants afterward. His resume was already on the man’s desk, and as the man sat, he nodded at Katrina.
“Thanks,” he said.
Zach turned around to look at her one more time. Just as she left, she had that same look in her eye, and Zach swallowed hard.
You’re imagining things, he told himself. You’re being really crazy right now.
“Water?” Pete asked. He rolled to a very small fridge in the corner of his office, not getting out of his chair as he opened it and pulled out a bottle.
“Thanks,” said Zach. Pete poured two glasses, then rolled back to his desk.
There was something weird about the way Pete was acting, but Zach couldn’t put his finger on it. It was as if the other man had a sort of manic energy beneath a professional veneer, like under a calm surface he was a wild, anxious mess.
He’s just an engineer, Zach told himself. They’re not exactly cool, you know.
“Well, your academic record is certainly impressive,” Pete said, looking down at Zach’s resume. “Graduating a semester early, I see.”
After an hour of talking about his academic career and research interests, Zach thought the interview had to be nearly over. He felt totally talked out, and he was pretty sure that they’d covered every single angle of his schooling several times. Plus, the afternoon sun was coming into the windows of Pete’s office, and Zach was starting to have a hard time keeping his eyes open.
Finally, there was a lull in the conversation, and he was sure the interview was over.
Pete leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Tell me about your childhood,” he said.
Zach frowned.
“There isn’t much to tell,” he said.
“MutiGen is interested in nurturing the whole employee,” Pete said, leaning forward, his elbows on the desk. “And we can’t promote the sort of personal growth that we like to see if we don’t know the whole employee ourselves.”
Zach swallowed.
Weird, he thought.
“I grew up in a really small town in southern Utah,” he started. “I’ve got two older brothers. It was sort of idyllic, at least for a while.”
Slowly, he told Pete the whole story. Every time he hesitated, Pete would ask for more details: where was his family from? How long had they lived there? How exactly had his parents died?
Zach was beginning to feel a little lightheaded as he told Pete about his whole life: how everyone in Obsidian hated his family for a hundred-year-old slight; the stupid rumor that they could turn into eagles; the way that a mining conglomerate had nearly taken everything from them.
He left out the part where his oldest brother, Seth, had fallen from a cliff and turned into an eagle. Zach had never told that part to anyone. They’d think he was crazy.
Hell, he probably was crazy. No matter how many times he saw Seth shift, he could never quite bring himself to believe that it was real.
Maybe that’s why I can’t shift, he thought, his brain feeling a little foggy. I don’t believe, or something.
“Where’s Seth now?” Pete asked.
Why are you so interested in my brother? Zach thought
. He shook his head slightly, still feeling a little lightheaded.
“He’s still in Obsidian,” Zach said politely. “He got married last year.”
“They have any kids?”
This guy is really nosy, Zach thought.
He wanted a job, though, so he answered.
“Not yet.”
“They trying?”
Zach stared, open-mouthed. Pete looked completely serious.
There was a long, long silence.
“I have no idea,” Zach finally said. “I’ve never asked.”
Pete just shrugged.
“I think that’s everything,” he said, wrapping the interview up suddenly. “Here, I’ll take your glass—” Before Zach could offer to do it himself, Pete stood and snatched the glass, lifting it with his fingertips and setting it carefully on top of the mini-fridge.
“Thanks,” Zach muttered, standing.
He felt even more light-headed, and tried to take deep breaths.
What the hell is going on? he wondered.
Was it the water?
Is there black mold in the ceiling and I’m allergic?
Pete came around the desk and clapped Zach hard on the shoulder. Zach was a good six inches taller than the other man, and he could see the thinning hair on the top of his head.
“I think MutiGen could really use someone like you,” Pete said, practically running to open his office door. “In fact, I’ve asked Katrina to give you a tour of the labs while you’re here. Might as well get acquainted!”
“Wow,” Zach managed to say. He shook his head, trying to clear it, but he still felt foggy.
Focus, he thought.
“I’d be thrilled to have a summer position here,” he said. “The work you’re doing is really something.”
Pete’s hand was on his upper arm, and the older man was half-leading, half-grabbing him as he walked down the hall before darting into an office.
“Show him around the labs,” he said. “And don’t forget cold storage.”
“What?” said Katrina’s voice. Zach craned his neck to see around the other man.
Pete didn’t answer her, and then he pulled Zach into her office as well.
“Hello,” Zach said, trying to remain both upright and pleasant.
Katrina just nodded once.
“She’s one of our best,” Pete said.
Zach squinted at him. Had he started sweating...?
“Go ahead, I’m sure he’s got obligations tonight,” Pete said, and practically shoved the two of them out of Katrina’s office, then went back to his own and shut the door.
Zach and Katrina looked at each other. His head was getting cloudier by the minute, and when he looked into her eyes, he felt like he was falling into a perfect deep blue pool.
“He’s being really weird today,” Katrina said. She looked down.
“Yeah, he’s a character all right,” Zach said, trying to sound neutral.
He wanted to suggest that they skip out on seeing the labs, go back into her office, and spend half an hour getting to know each other, but that was just idiotic.
Yeah, he’d rather make out with her than get a summer internship here, but she already had this job. If she got caught with him, she’d pay the price, not him.
“He’s usually pretty normal,” she said, shrugging. Then she smiled up at him, and nothing else mattered. “Want to go see the labs?”
Chapter Eight
Katrina
“This is the robotics lab,” Katrina said, pushing open another door. “Where they design, program, and test the stuff that makes our prosthetic limbs work.”
Zach whistled, then walked toward a big table, scattered with electronics pieces. Mounted on the wall were two big monitors, both powered down.
“This place looks like a TV show,” he said. “The labs at the University are garbage by comparison.”
“Are they that bad?” Katrina asked.
“I didn’t think so,” Zach said. “But now I’ve seen the Promised Land.”
Katrina had to smile, just a little. Watching Zach so excited about all the cool stuff they did at MutiGen did make her feel better, even if it was only a little. He was like a kid in a candy shop — a kid who’d had his first piece of candy a week before, and couldn’t believe that there was so much candy in the world.
She kept replaying Pete’s assurance in her mind. They weren’t going to do anything to Zach, just steal his hair or something. It was probably her job to show him around for a while as Pete made sure whatever he’d gotten would work, and then she could let him go free.
I hate this, I thought. I hate having to lie to Zach to keep my job. To keep ANY job.
Zach was across the room, marveling at half a robotic hand, propped up, its circuitry on display. He didn’t touch anything, but leaned so close that Katrina wondered if he might be breathing too hard on it.
Does Pete really know that many people? She thought. I shouldn’t have believed him. Maybe I’m an idiot for just rolling over and playing dead, but...
MutiGen did work with the Department of Defense pretty often. There was a good chance he hadn’t been lying.
“Am I taking too long?” Zach asked.
“You’re good,” Katrina said, standing still, her arms crossed over her chest. She couldn’t help but enjoy what a good time Zach was having.
After a few minutes, he came back to stand by her. He looked around, then put a hand on her shoulder.
“You sure everything’s okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” Katrina said. She hoped she was convincing.
Then she had an idea.
“You know, there’s no cameras in this lab,” she said. “They didn’t want anyone to be able to steal our secrets.”
Zach raised his eyebrows and grinned.
“None?” he asked.
“Nope,” Katrina said.
She put her hands on his waist, and he brushed her hair back from her shoulders.
“You give this part of the tour to everyone?” he teased. He put his fingers underneath her chin, tilting her face up.
Katrina let her eyes slide closed.
Even if this situation is shitty, it’ll be over soon, and we can date like normal people.
Besides, I like this part.
“Only the VIPs,” she teased right back.
“It’s nice to be important,” Zach said.
He bent and pressed his lips to hers, softly at first, but in moments the kiss deepened and Katrina felt a warm river of liquid heat rush through her. She parted her lips and pushed her fingers through Zach’s hair, tightening her hand around it and pulling his head down further.
Then his tongue was there, tracing along her lower lip and she met it with her own tongue, wrapping them together, her other hand on his shoulder.
At last, Zach pulled back, gasping for air.
“We probably shouldn’t—“
Katrina shut him up by kissing him again, even more fiercely this time, not caring that it was stupid to make out with Zach in the robotics lab at work. All she wanted was to feel his lips on hers, his hands around her waist, his strong arms around her...
Zach broke the kiss but this time he planted his lips at the corner of her mouth, then trailed kisses along her chin and down her neck, each touch sending sparks down her spine. A noise came out of Katrina that she was certain she’d never made before. She pressed her hand into the small of his back. She wanted him close to her, as close as he could possibly get.
He paused when his lips reached her collar.
“We should stop,” he murmured. The vibration of his voice sent a new thrill through Katrina.
“Probably,” Katrina said.
She didn’t move to let him go, just ran her hand lightly up his back. He made a noise in his throat not unlike a growl, and Katrina bit her lip.
He just growled at me.
The thought sent a rush of heat through her, pooling in her core.
“Do you want
to stop?” she whispered.
Instead of answering, Zach pressed his lips to the hollow of her throat, then bit her gently, just barely grazing the delicate skin with his teeth. Katrina swallowed and slipped a hand underneath the jacket of his suit. Underneath his shirt, he was almost impossibly warm, and she could feel him breathing hard, his heart beating furiously.
“No,” he said.
He lifted his head, then took her by her upper arms and moved her back a few steps, until Katrina’s back was against a wall.
She could feel her brain going fuzzy with lust, especially as Zach kissed her again, even harder this time. The kiss was hungry and needy, and now whatever he’d awoken in Katrina was alive and insatiable.
I need this now, she thought. Right now, and I don’t give a fuck what happens.
Biting her lip, she fumbled with the top button on his shirt. It finally came loose, and she reached for his tie, pulling at it to loosen it.
Zach’s fingers were tracing down her throat, and then they were drifting over her breasts, then cupping her ass and pulling her even closer to him. A tiny moan escaped her lips, and Zach grinned down at her.
He growled again.
Katrina thought she might lose her mind, and yanked on his tie, finally pulling it loose.
Then someone laughed.
Katrina froze, staring up at Zach.
The laugh sounded again. It was in the hallway outside the lab, and now she could hear another voice joining it, saying something.
“Shit,” she hissed
Zach dropped one more kiss on her lips and backed away, quickly re-buttoning his shirt and pulling his tie tight. Katrina straightened her clothes, pulling at her skirt.
I’m sure I’m bright red, she thought. They’re just going to look at me and know what we were up to.
The voices paused, right outside the door.
“Sorry for getting carried away,” Zach whispered.
Katrina smiled, feeling something warm wrap around her heart. Then she pointed at a mechanical hand on a desk, just as the door opened.
“This is a hand that isn’t a real person’s hand, it’s a robot hand,” she said. It was the first sentence that came to mind, and as she finished it, Pete entered, flanked by two men she’d never seen before.