ShakenandStirred Read Online Free
fully set as she watched through the windows. "What is on the agenda for tomorrow?"
"A series of restriction fields have been set up on the far side of the planet. We will head there in the morning. For tonight, I will give you a short tour of the facility and then we will adjourn to our home."
Her lips twisted. "Our home?"
"Partners, remember?" He smiled.
She shook her head. "I remember, but that doesn't mean I won't give you a hard time about it."
"Fair enough. Are you ready to go?"
Tosha sighed and sipped her water. "I suppose." Her yawn caught her by surprise.
He grinned. "It has been a long day for you, what with being hunted by your own kind and all."
She got to her feet. "Don't forget the beetles. If that tourist hadn't kicked that rock, we never would have been privy to the emergence. He cracked their little nesting cave and instead of eating most of their siblings, they came after us. It wasn't a fun day."
He laughed and placed her hand on his forearm. "I promise Teklan has no bugs of that variety. We will be quite safe while you do your best to shake the surface tomorrow."
They walked through the base and he pointed out medical, refreshed her on Might's offices and then they cruised past administration. His arm was cool under her palm and she noted the difference in body temperature.
"Are you always so cool?"
His lips twitched. "That was a full five minutes before you spoke. Well done."
She sighed. "Answer please."
"I heat up when I am creating a vortex. The cooler body is Oshanic standard." He coloured a little, his skin darkening as she watched.
She smiled. It was nice that she could throw him off a little. "By that clanking noise, I am guessing we are near the gym."
"Yes. You can use it anytime you are on base. We have to keep in good physical condition to carry out our assignments."
She peeked around the corner and winked at a few of the male support staff who were straining in the confines of the machines and a few winked back. A hand on her neck hauled her out of the gym and back into the hall. "Spoilsport."
"Are you going to flirt your way through the base?" His grumbling finally cracked her good humour.
"I may flirt, but I don't screw strangers. Each man I was with I dated for more than six months. They just weren't the right fit."
At his scandalized look, she laughed. "Not like that. Our lives weren't compatible. A few of them came close, but though I felt deep affection for them at the time, I didn't like them. The stress of being judged and nitpicked got to me with some of them. With others, we simply drifted apart."
They left the calm air of the base and stepped into the night once again. "I think it was the lack of interest in the men I had been dating that finally ground my social excursions to a halt. There ceased to be a point to all of the stresses involved."
Mix's skin heated under her palm. "I can see how that would be a problem. I had an arranged marriage in my own life. Neither of us wanted to go through with it, so she ran off with her lover and left me to explain it to our families. I got sympathy and our engagement was dissolved. It was at that point that I left my home and engaged in a public career."
"Public?"
"I had been a fairly well-kept secret among the Oshanic."
They were at the door to the house. He bowed to her and smiled. "I have to take a swim. Feel free to get some rest. The morning will come soon enough."
Bemused, she entered the house and returned to work on her hairspray. Teklan really needed a boutique of some kind. She started to smile. A project for her time off. She had always wanted her own shop.
Chapter Five
In the middle of the night, Tosha sat straight up with her body coated with sweat and her heart pounding. In her dreams, Alara was screaming for her help and she was trapped on an island without a way to reach her.
Tosha flung the covers back and draped a sheet over herself to cover up. Micix was too twitchy for her to keep flaunting her
"A series of restriction fields have been set up on the far side of the planet. We will head there in the morning. For tonight, I will give you a short tour of the facility and then we will adjourn to our home."
Her lips twisted. "Our home?"
"Partners, remember?" He smiled.
She shook her head. "I remember, but that doesn't mean I won't give you a hard time about it."
"Fair enough. Are you ready to go?"
Tosha sighed and sipped her water. "I suppose." Her yawn caught her by surprise.
He grinned. "It has been a long day for you, what with being hunted by your own kind and all."
She got to her feet. "Don't forget the beetles. If that tourist hadn't kicked that rock, we never would have been privy to the emergence. He cracked their little nesting cave and instead of eating most of their siblings, they came after us. It wasn't a fun day."
He laughed and placed her hand on his forearm. "I promise Teklan has no bugs of that variety. We will be quite safe while you do your best to shake the surface tomorrow."
They walked through the base and he pointed out medical, refreshed her on Might's offices and then they cruised past administration. His arm was cool under her palm and she noted the difference in body temperature.
"Are you always so cool?"
His lips twitched. "That was a full five minutes before you spoke. Well done."
She sighed. "Answer please."
"I heat up when I am creating a vortex. The cooler body is Oshanic standard." He coloured a little, his skin darkening as she watched.
She smiled. It was nice that she could throw him off a little. "By that clanking noise, I am guessing we are near the gym."
"Yes. You can use it anytime you are on base. We have to keep in good physical condition to carry out our assignments."
She peeked around the corner and winked at a few of the male support staff who were straining in the confines of the machines and a few winked back. A hand on her neck hauled her out of the gym and back into the hall. "Spoilsport."
"Are you going to flirt your way through the base?" His grumbling finally cracked her good humour.
"I may flirt, but I don't screw strangers. Each man I was with I dated for more than six months. They just weren't the right fit."
At his scandalized look, she laughed. "Not like that. Our lives weren't compatible. A few of them came close, but though I felt deep affection for them at the time, I didn't like them. The stress of being judged and nitpicked got to me with some of them. With others, we simply drifted apart."
They left the calm air of the base and stepped into the night once again. "I think it was the lack of interest in the men I had been dating that finally ground my social excursions to a halt. There ceased to be a point to all of the stresses involved."
Mix's skin heated under her palm. "I can see how that would be a problem. I had an arranged marriage in my own life. Neither of us wanted to go through with it, so she ran off with her lover and left me to explain it to our families. I got sympathy and our engagement was dissolved. It was at that point that I left my home and engaged in a public career."
"Public?"
"I had been a fairly well-kept secret among the Oshanic."
They were at the door to the house. He bowed to her and smiled. "I have to take a swim. Feel free to get some rest. The morning will come soon enough."
Bemused, she entered the house and returned to work on her hairspray. Teklan really needed a boutique of some kind. She started to smile. A project for her time off. She had always wanted her own shop.
Chapter Five
In the middle of the night, Tosha sat straight up with her body coated with sweat and her heart pounding. In her dreams, Alara was screaming for her help and she was trapped on an island without a way to reach her.
Tosha flung the covers back and draped a sheet over herself to cover up. Micix was too twitchy for her to keep flaunting her
Readers choose
Laurien Berenson
Liza Marklund
Susan Gates
Lisa Page
Christie Golden
James Hadley Chase
Cathy Lamb
Marian Hale
Sarah Rayne
David S. Scott