Quick (2 page)

Cam patted the woman’s arm. “Thank you. Now, where am I supposed to go?”

“The cocktail hour is beginning at the south side of the mansion. I can guide you there, lady.”

Cam smiled encouragingly as she took in something that the dry trade meetings had not shown her. When left to their own devices, the Namkor were rather frisky.

Their sexual information was not something they shared in the off-world briefings. The off-duty people were completely different from the all-business beings she had met after landing.

The woman walked close to her, radiating body heat as they walked through the governor’s mansion and out onto the deck overlooking the wild beauty of the mountains.

The wind pulled at Cam’s clothing, and she smiled as her skin was alternately revealed and concealed with the soft gusts.

The servant left her, and Cam turned to see Taliak approaching her with frank lust in his gaze. She had to admit that he was devastatingly handsome in his charcoal and silver tunic and long, wide-legged trousers. Comfort seemed to be the important part of the clothing for both genders.

“Dear lady, you look lovely in that style.”

She turned her cheek toward his lips as he took her hands to greet her more intimately than she was used to.

He moved his head and caught her squarely on the lips. She was startled into immobility. He kept the contact between them for a count of three before he leaned away.

Cam swallowed as he licked his lips.

“You taste better than you look, Companion Reynolds.”

She had no idea what she was supposed to do next. Her training had been as a personal assistant, not a seductress.

He laughed lightly. “I can see you are confused. We taste our lovers. It is a biochemistry test.”

“I am not... I mean, the ambassador and I...” She blushed and tried to find something else to focus on.

“You are very convincing, but he has already indicated that his preferences are elsewhere and you are free to choose your own companion for the night.” The governor eased closer to her. “I am offering you my company.”

She swallowed. “I thank you for the offer, but I am not sure of the propriety of that arrangement. While the ambassador has free rein to do as he wills, I am bound by a contract that restricts my relationships.”

He stroked her arm through the silky fabric. “Do keep me apprised of the status of your restrictions; I can guarantee that I am a careful and generous lover.”

Cam would be lying if she admitted that she wasn’t tempted. He was handsome, and he handled her carefully. A night with him would be memorable if nothing else.

“Well, if you will not fall into my arms, at least allow me the honour of escorting you to the party. Tonight, the Gift rises, and tomorrow night, it will find the chosen.”

He moved to her side and offered her his arm, heading toward a gathering group of his guests. He introduced her, and she smiled and met with the dignitaries from around the globe.

After two hours, she managed to slip away for something to drink and a small snack.

She spotted an anomaly next to her and stepped away. “Is someone there?”

“You have a keen eye, mistress. I have an aversion to crowds, and my Gift makes it easier to avoid entanglements.” The Guardian, Linz, appeared next to her.

She didn’t jump, but her heart pounded in her chest. “Oh. So, you can actually disappear.”

“It is a new cellular structure on my skin, Gifted to me by Namkor.”

She looked at the formal outfit that he was wearing—a rich blue that made his skin look nearly burgundy in comparison. His eyes were a sparkling silver framed by thick lashes.

“How does that work with your clothing?”

He chuckled. “I enjoy your quick mind. We use specially raised Masuo. It acts as clothing and armour depending on what we need. Mine is keyed to my invisibility, so it goes translucent with me. It is usually what gives me away.”

She nibbled at the tiny pastry she had acquired. “I felt your body heat. You were very close.”

“Your scent is rather intoxicating. I am surprised that more of the men here aren’t in your orbit.”

Cam smiled at him. “I have a skill for calling down an asteroid strike when they get too close.”

“How so?”

“I unleash my sense of humour.”

His chuckle was deep. “They are starting the music. Do you dance?”

“Only when asked by invisible men. Who knew I would find one?” She smiled and took his arm as he led her do the dance area lit by dozens of sparkling lights.

The music started formal and rapidly got wild. The skirts she had been given spun away from her body in a wide circle as Linz twirled her before bringing her back against his chest.

Cam caught sight of Dem in the crowd surrounding her, but she ignored him as Linz bent her back until her hair was nearly touching the ground.

The music swirled to a halt, and Linz lifted her upright again, holding her as the blood rushed back to where it belonged.

He grinned, kissed her softly and licked his lips. “You do taste delightful.”

She chuckled and patted his chest. “And you dance like a fiend.”

He grinned. “I rose to the skills of my partner. Come on, I will get you something to drink.”

They were at the bar and she was drinking something that didn’t have any alcohol when Comyo came up to ask her for a turn.

“I am sure that I can do better than Linz. He is old and decrepit.” Comyo winked.

Linz chuckled. “Sure, pup. Watch this one, Camile. He can weld with his bare hands.”

“Thank you for the warning.” She set her glass down and took Comyo’s extended hand for another turn around the floor.

This music was wilder than before, but Comyo didn’t give way to every beat. He moved with her and twisted her around, spinning her until the music stopped and he trapped her against him. His kiss was slightly more savage, but he didn’t let her go until she responded to him.

She heard a growl, and Comyo was pried off her. Mordem held her behind him, and he spoke to Comyo in low, whispered tones.

Cam couldn’t hear what he said, but Comyo straightened, nodded and left the dance area, heading for the bar.

Mordem turned to her, his silver-blue eyes bright. “Are you all right?”

“I am fine. My lips are a little bruised, but everything is intact.”

He placed his arm around her and began to sway with her as the music swelled again.

“I am sorry. Comyo controls himself in every area of his life except for sex. When it comes to that point, his youth shows rather vividly.”

As he spoke, he moved with the rest of the dancers with surprising grace.

“Why are we dancing?”

He grinned. “Because the music began and we were still in the centre of the space. It was only polite.”

She moved with him as the music picked up the pace. As her third Guardian danced with her, she let herself feel nothing but his hands and the music.

Music was what bound the stars together in her estimation. Every world had a beat that it followed and a rhythm that moved it through the universe. The music that each species created showed their relationship with the world beneath them. The Namkor were both organized and wild, and their music reflected it.

Cam was sweaty and exhausted when Mordem pinned her to his body and kissed her. His kiss was soft, warm, and he cupped her head with his hand while he pressed his lips to hers.

She went up on her toes to return his kiss, and she heard him growl as his tongue scraped across her lips.

A sound rippled through the air around her, and she had to press on Mordem’s chest before he would let her go.

Cam pulled her head away and stared toward the mountains. Light was glowing along the ground and rising into a soft mist about a foot off the ground.

“What is that?” She whispered it, still held in his arms.

“The Gift of Namkor. It rises tonight, and tomorrow, it chooses the recipients.” He nuzzled at her cheek and neck.

She stared at the mist as it started to move toward them. “What is it doing?”

“It is coming toward us, searching for those it will choose.” He chuckled in her ear. “I am immune to the search.”

She turned toward him, and they were nose to nose. “I suppose I am safe with you.”

Mordem smiled slowly. “I am a Guardian, after all.”

A familiar voice punctured the haze she was in. “It seems that you are making friends, Camile.”

She really wanted to throttle Dem at that moment.

Cam turned her head and smiled at her employer. “I had to take on the socializing duties. The Namkor are definitely a social people.”

She had her hands on Mordem’s chest and arm, respectively.

“Well, I have finished my own socializing, and you need to resume your duties.” Dem was frowning at her.

Cam sighed and looked up at Mordem. “I am afraid that duty calls.”

He released her, and her body cooled rapidly from where they had been pressed together. She watched him lick his lips and turned back to her employer.

She went from being a dance partner to an administrative assistant in a matter of seconds, and her body was outraged that the promise of a hot, steamy night had been withdrawn with no notice.

Leaving Mordem was difficult, but she was at Dem’s side for the rest of the party.

She laughed at the political jokes, but her peripheral vision kept track of the Guardians and the governor.

“You would not believe the body of knowledge that the horticulturalist shared with me earlier.” Dem murmured it to her when they were alone for a moment.

“Oh, I can believe it.”

“I will not need your regular services here.”

She nodded. “I understand. You are aware we have been locked down?”

“Yes, Captain Mkaskit mentioned it to me a few hours ago.”

Cam sighed. The captain was supposed to inform her, but her com had been completely silent.

“Why wasn’t I notified?”

Dem grinned. “I told him you were busy. The governor speaks very highly of you. You could do worse.”

She gave him an arch look. “So, that wasn’t a flare of outrage when I was dancing with Mordem?”

“You were making out with him in public. It lacked your normal decorous behaviour patterns. It caught me by surprise.”

Cam gave him a look that she hoped was filled with sarcasm. “You chase every bit of prey you can and you begrudge me one connection in a public space?”

He grinned. “I am used to having you at my side.”

“I am used to being alone. We all pick our situations. Now, I want to go with the crowd and greet the light mist. Care to join me?”

He wrinkled his nose. “No, it isn’t really my thing.”

She nodded. “I will see you shortly.”

Dem was perturbed as she turned away from him, but she ignored it. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her, and she was going to embrace it.

The light mist rolled over the grass and picked up speed as it climbed the hill.

Mordem sidled up to her and put his hand on her waist. “This one moment, the entire planet glows as Namkor seeks out his Gifted.”

She glanced up at him and the solid structure of his body that made her feel safe and vulnerable at the same time. She shook her head at her foolish train of thought. Fantasizing about superheroes was not something she had ever outgrown.

“Did you go out with your family to watch the approaching light?”

He chuckled. “I did. We gathered with our community and watched the light come up from the mines. It wrapped around us, and we could feel the touch of the planet that night. Some say it is an aphrodisiac.”

She had one thought as she looked at the broad expanse of his shoulders that made her feel delicate and petite. It wasn’t a feeling she had often. If the light was an aphrodisiac, how could she tell?

“I think it might just be the touch of the world you walk on that drives the urge for sex. That much power loosed would have a dizzying effect on self-control.”

He grinned down at her. “I like my explanation better. Less clinical.”

The mist was nearly on them. The crowd was gasping and laughing as the wave of the mist reached them. Couples of all sexes began to make out, and as the light reached her, Camile knew why.

Heat and pressure, a thousand tiny touches all working up her legs and focusing around her hips. Her brain registered the touches, the stimulation, and it was only her months of training at the Companion Centre that allowed her to ignore what she was feeling as her body throbbed.

She appeared to be the only one who was ignoring it. Everyone else was pairing off.

She looked to Mordem. “So, my not plastering myself to you is a problem?”

He smiled, wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her until they were face to face. “It is not a problem for me, but if you want to discourage the governor, I would suggest that you at least pretend to kiss me.”

“An easy suggestion to follow.” She draped her arms around his neck and brushed her lips against his.

The first light brush led to another, and before she knew it, she had woven her fingers through his dark hair and she was holding on as her body made a list of demands that she wanted to fulfill in the worst way.

She wrapped her legs around him for support and deepened the kiss, tasting the tang of wine, the sharpness of fruit and the flavour that she had sampled earlier. He was indescribable.

His arm moved from her back, and he held the back of her thighs as she kissed him. She heard that deep growl from him again, and a shiver ran through her from the inside out. That sound woke impulses that she had never considered to be physically possible before. His grip was steady; he could hold her wherever he wanted her, and she wanted him to take a few of those positions for a test drive.

Couples were dropping to the ground and writhing in the light.

Mordem broke their kiss. “I am thinking that this is as far as you would like to go in public.”

She blinked and nodded slowly. “If there is somewhere more private, I have a few ideas.”

His hands held her tight; he bent his legs, and he launched them upward. She screeched and held onto his shoulders.