Magnet (3 page)

“Is my back okay?”

“Yup, all repaired and back to its semi-freckled perfection. I have to say, I miss my skin tone, but this one is growing on me.” Wren chuckled.

With the news that her back was okay, Polly sat up and looked at the sad heap of purple and black fabric that had been her travel suit. It was never meant for battle. She sighed and wrapped the sheet around her as she got to her feet.

“Whoa, where do you think you are going?”

“I want to walk around.”

“Not naked you aren’t. The guys are on an assignment, but they could be home at any moment. You don’t want to be at a physical disadvantage when they are here.”

Wren held up her hand and left the room for a moment. When she came back, she was holding a bodysuit that matched the poor dead article of clothing Polly had arrived in. “They sent me your measurements, and since I don’t sleep much, I made this before you got here. It has more armour to it than your suit but is lighter weight.”

Wren turned her back as Polly pulled the suit on. The fabric slid over her skin easily and it fit like a glove as she sealed the closure. She twisted and bent her knees. “It is perfect.”

Wren smiled brightly. “Good, now come and meet Beryl.”

Polly nodded. “I thought there were four Guardians.”

“There are. Rand is with his new mate, Nanette. His hometown was hit by an earthquake, so they are remaining there in a combination honeymoon and rebuild.”

Polly followed Wren into the hall and down to the kitchen of the base. Beryl was apparently baking cookies.

“Hello, Polly.” Beryl waved.

“Hello, Beryl. You look…lovely.” Polly didn’t know what else to say to the obviously pregnant woman.

Beryl made a face. “I know. I am only five months along, but I look at least seven. Wren and the doctors tell me that the baby looks big but normal. Congratulations for going from Terran to W’lyn Guardian with nothing in between.”

Polly looked at the other two, “Aren’t you?”

Beryl grinned, “I work with the peacekeepers and try to anticipate where criminals will strike. It is basically an analyst job, and I can do it from the base with only a few visits to the main cities when needed.”

Wren grabbed the bowl from Beryl and kept mixing, adding a few handfuls of small items that looked like chips of some kind. With expert movements, she dolloped the cookies out on the pans that were prepped and waiting.

When the pans were in the oven, Wren tidied up with a flourish.

Beryl smiled, “You should see her make them without hands.”

Polly looked over curiously and a pot of boiled water was poured over leaves in a teapot. No one touched it.

Beryl grinned, “Drovin’s mate has Drovin’s power, just like I got Toyo’s.”

“What about Nanette?”

Wren chuckled. “Nanette had a working talent back on Earth; it mixed with Rand’s into a weird molten bioelectric talent.”

“So, if I already have a talent and hook up with a W’lyn, what will happen?”

Beryl grinned, “A hookup? Nothing. If you trade bites, it will be something else entirely. You would only get an alteration to your talent if your mate had his own power.”

The teapot flew slowly through the kitchen and headed for the dining room table with the cups and accessories.

When six places set themselves without a sound, Polly looked curiously at Wren as she finished the dishes and pulled the cookies out of the oven.

Beryl fixed her hair and straightened her shoulders. “Wren is never wrong about this.”

“About what?”

Wren took a prepared roast out of the cooler and she slid it into the oven. “The boys are home.”

The skimmer appeared outside the dining room window, and three exhausted men left the vehicle and came inside.

Wren looked up and smiled. “Tea and kisses after you shower and clean up.”

The men smiled tiredly and went past the ladies and headed into the base.

Polly raised her eyebrows, “Tea and kisses?”

Beryl grinned. “It was Wren’s way of making sure that they showered before trying to have sex with us. It also lets the adrenaline drain from their systems. They can come home a little keyed up. It doesn’t make for the best judgement.”

Wren snorted, “And it is hell on the laundry.”

Polly was still laughing when the men returned all neat and clean.

True to what was promised, Beryl got to her feet, crossed over to Toyo and pulled his crimson head down to hers. The kiss was carnal in the extreme, and Polly had just averted her eyes from one couple to the next as they were leaning back on the counter for a lip lock that involved hands and one thigh.

Loesh shook his head and took a seat at the table. He smiled at Polly. “You get used to it.”

She couldn’t abide that there was no one to give him a welcome-home kiss, so she got up, walked around the table and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Welcome home.”

He blinked and smiled shyly. “What was that for?”

“You were promised tea and kisses for cleaning up. It wasn’t fair that you were the only one without a mate to administer the kisses.”

He gave her a sly smile. “Kisses imply more than one.”

She blushed and leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his lips that escalated so quickly, she jerked back with her fingers to her lips. “Implication fulfilled.”

Polly walked around the table and took her seat. The other clinches broke up and everyone sat at the table for afternoon tea as sandwiches floated toward them out of the cooler.

Toyo smiled politely at her and said, “I have heard good things about you, Polly.”

“I have heard a few things about you as well. One or two can even be mentioned in polite society.”

Toyo grinned, his scarlet hair gleaming from its washing. “That sounds like you were speaking to Beryl. Wren is far more circumspect.”

Wren grinned, and Drovin lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against it.

“Where were you today, gentlemen?” Polly thought she would start the conversation.

Toyo sighed, “A wildfire started on a hillside and we had to create a barrier as well as evacuate two towns in a matter of hours. We could have used Rand and Nanette.”

“They will be back soon enough, honey. The repairs to the town are almost finished.” Beryl soothed him.

“How do you know?”

“Because Nanette can work a com line. It was a nice conversation. She looks forward to returning to the base. I am glad we finished the additions.”

Polly cocked her head. “Additions?”

“Yes, things get a little noisy when Toyo and I let ourselves go, so it was necessary to give us separate quarters. Rand and Nanette have talents that need extra space for heat and insulation against the electrical impulses during intimate moments. So, they got a new pod.”

Polly chuckled. “What about you?”

Wren grinned. “I am the base Caretaker. I need to be here to attend anything that pops up, including Drovin. We saved the third living pod for Loesh and his mate. Something tells me that it could get a little noisy.”

Loesh pasted an innocent look on his features. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Wren laughed. “When you finally meet your mate, I am sure that we will all figure it out in short order.”

He focussed on his cup of tea, and the rest of the table went quiet.

Polly felt more than one gaze on her, but when she looked around, everyone had their attention on tea or sandwiches.

She was getting the feeling that she was the mail-order bride that no one ordered.

Polly enjoyed her room and her small bag of possessions. She wandered around and put up her small photo frame containing herself and her family, her pressed flowers and hung up her six spare suits.

“Well, I guess that it is time to check out the rest of the base.”

She straightened and headed out of her rooms and into the quiet halls. It seemed that the two with mates were occupied and Loesh was nowhere to be seen.

The common area was neat, tidy and had a huge view screen with a projected remote control. Polly looked around the gym, worked at bench pressing for a few minutes and then she got up and headed through the door adjoining the dining room.

The air of W’lyn was thick, but that could just be the ocean air and the vegetation. The island was a few kilometres wide and long, making it large enough for the Guardian purposes and small enough to defend.

With a little exploration, she found a pathway through the greenery and she went for a walk to explore her new environment.

When she heard footfalls approaching her, she ducked back into the brush and watched from her hidey-hole.

Loesh sprinted past her, paused and backed up. “Why are you in the bushes?”

She made a face and crept out, accepting his hand to help her over some rocks. “Because climbing a tree was out of the question. If this is your pathway, I wanted to get out of your way.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t ever worry about that. Aside from one garden, there is no off-limits area on this island.”

She could see sweat gleaming on his neck, and her mouth went dry. She had the urge to lick her way to the edge of his jaw and then back again. Polly shook her head and stepped back.

He frowned. “What is wrong?”

“Just my mind getting away from me.”

He retained his grip on her hand. “Would you care for a tour?”

She bit her lip as her hormones urged her to climb him like a tree. “Um, yes, but I don’t think that it would be a great idea.”

“Tough. Everyone else is down for a nap and you need to learn your territory. Come on.”

She blinked as he tugged her down the pathway and into the thick expanse of trees. His hand was warm and firm but not tight on hers.

“Since we are away from the base, do you have any questions about the other Guardians?”

He led her through the greenery until they stopped at the edge of a cliff that overlooked the ocean with a chunk of land in the distance.

She stared out at the distant land and listened to the waves for a moment. “Drovin is telekinetic, right?”

“Correct.”

“Toyo has super strength and flight?”

“Correct as well.”

“Rand has bioelectrics and his mate, Nanette, melts metal.”

“You have done your studying.” He chuckled.

She turned to face him. “You have enhanced senses.”

He hemmed. “Yes. It is a little more complicated than that, but that is basically it.”

“Basically?”

He stroked her cheek. “I can feel the silk of your skin and remember it, playing it back any time I wish. I can remember the scent of your body and pick you out of a crowd of thousands.”

“Why me? I just got here.” She bit her lip, as he got closer to her, his lips became her focus as he leaned toward her.

“Because you are what I want, what I have been waiting for and you seem to be just as attracted as I am.” He brushed his lips across hers with consummate care.

He wasn’t wrong; she hadn’t been able to look away from him anytime he was in the room, and as he kissed her, the firm touch of his lips caused her to rise on her toes. Her hand in his was the only point of balance as her grip on reality swirled out of control.

When she felt his hand on her shoulder, pushing her away from him, she opened her eyes and blushed as she took in his amused expression. She backed up and he gripped her shoulder.

“Not too far. We are on the edge of the cliff.”

Polly looked back and jerked away from him and back down the path a few steps. “I am sorry.”

“For what?”

She scowled. “Didn’t I do something wrong?”

“No. Of course not. You haven’t met any other W’lyn males, and it would be inappropriate for me to take advantage of you.”

She touched her lips. “I see.”

He smiled and stepped toward her, threading a hand through her hair. “Do not get me wrong; I want to take advantage of you, but as we are working together, it is better that you come to me if I am the one that you choose.”

Polly looked into his eyes and sighed. “Right. I just get the feeling that I have known you longer than I have.”

Loesh smiled. “I feel the same.”

He lifted his head and his nostrils flared. “Dinner is just about ready. Wren is an excellent cook and a better caretaker. She has gotten Bebe’s hormones under control and that is a relief to all of us.”

“Beryl?”

“Yes, Bebe to her friends.” He steered her back down the pathway and toward the base.

“She has a hormone issue?”

He wrinkled his nose. “She got pregnant immediately after mating with Toyo. She had to adapt to the changes in her biology as well as the pregnancy. Her body had its own demands and she got very powerful very quickly. Wren has managed to create a balance of supplements that keeps Bebe on an even keel.”

“Wow. So, I am guessing I should watch what I eat around here.”

“Bebe’s cookies and bars are clearly marked. Steer clear of them and you will be fine.”

His hand was on her back as he walked her toward the base. His sweat had dried, but parts of her felt the distinct dampness that even the light breeze couldn’t take care of. She was wet from the inside out, and it had only been one mind-numbing kiss. She was in over her head.

Dinner was arranged when they arrived, and they only had to settle in at their places and eat. The afterglow was on every face but hers and Loesh’s. It was a telling expression.

Beryl smiled, “So, Polly, have you explored the base a little?”

“I have. There is a little more to discover, but it is a lovely base and charming island.”

Everyone smiled and ate until Wren asked the fateful question, “So, what did you do before you Volunteered?”

Polly blotted her lips with a napkin and smiled tightly, “I went from job to job but finally ended up working for a pretend psychic, moving objects around during her readings. I hated it, but it was work close to a Volunteer Centre. It put me where I needed to be.”

“You were able to practice your magnetic forces there?” Wren asked.

“Yup. Faking ghosts and waving objects in the air.”

A distinct ping ran in her ear. “What is that sound?”