Sinners and Saints (12 page)

Chapter 22

It was in the middle of the night, her room lit by candles and battery operated lamps, due to a power outage from a freak storm with violent winds raging against her window. Vylette sat huddled on her
bed trying to read by the small amount of light she had. Open books, diagrams and loose pages covered her bed while she worked over her notes and cheat cards. A pending final in three classes and a mock mission on the way, she had plenty on her mind. With Dorrian gone on another buying frenzy, she had managed to get caught up in her studies and workouts.

Sweat coated her neck, dripping down her shoulders where it got lost beneath her tank top. Tonight
, due to the summer heat, she had traded her usual jammie pants for a pair of denim shorts and her hair was knotted on top of head.

“
Ugh! I need a fan or something.” She glanced over to her window. “If I weren't afraid that wind would blow me into the wall I would just open it. Maybe I can go get some ice water from the kitchen. I need a break anyway.”

Stac
king her papers in place, she set them on the night stand and headed for the dining hall, hoping for a nice reprieve from the sweltering heat. She took the stairs two at a time since she was in a hurry. It wasn't but a few minutes and she walked through the doors of the dining hall and right into Chef.

“
Hey, Chef. What's up?”

“
Vylette. Nice to see you. I take it you have come for something cool, just as the rest of them.”

“
Rest of them?”

Her gaze, followed h
is pointed hand and half the dining hall was filled with people, from recruits to instructors. A table not too far away, caught her attention. Some of her friends were gathered around enjoying milk shakes.

Oh, those look good.

“Chef, so you have any of those shakes left?”

“
I do. I have strawberry, chocolate and vanilla, what flavor would you like?”

“
Oh, Vanilla, please.”

“
I’ll be right back with that. Are you going to join your friends or go back to your room?”

“
I think I’m going to hang out here for a bit.”

“
Alright, I’ll bring it right out.”

“
Thank you.”

She headed over to the table where Jazmin, Jared, Travine and Mike sat, laughing and cutting up. As she made her way, they spotted her coming and waved her over. She took a seat between Travine and Jazmin,
catching the last part of Mike's conversation.

“
...I am telling you, that maze house is different each time we go in there. The walls move and they change the layout to keep us from memorizing it.”

Jared chimed in with his two cents.
“I really don't know why you are still on this, no one has disagreed with you. We just mentioned that some of the other recruits were having issues getting through it.”

Mike again.
“That is what I am saying. They are having trouble because the layout changes.”

Jazmin added in h
er input this time. “Okay, but it changes for all of us. The problem is they are trying to rely on memory instead of instinct. If they would treat it like a new place every time they entered they would do so much better.”

“
Exactly!” Jared and Mike said in unison.

Vylette was a bit confused. “
Did I miss something? Did someone fail or quit or something?”

Travine filled her in.
“No, nothing like that, we just have a class, not the one you guys are in, where some of the recruits are really having a hard time getting through the Field training class. Vallmore suggested that the four of you come to this class for one week and help them out. Give them some advice and such. Vylette you are the newest one here, and have been in program for eight months, the rest of them have been here a year. Vallmore says they have great potential so this is going to be their last chance. If this doesn't work or you guys decide that you don't want to help, those recruits are going to be put somewhere else. Not everyone is cut out or field work.”

Vylette felt bad for them.

“Well, I don't know about the rest of them, but I will...”

“
She is really good too, she helped me. Maybe the issue is not that they are not cut out for it, maybe they are just overwhelmed. I mean there is a lot to learn at once,” Jazmin said.

“
You said that this class is full of people who had been rescued, maybe it is just that they are so used to be told what to do that now that they have a choice they are just a little freaked out by it,” Mike pointed out.

“
I agree with Mike, when my uncle retired from the military, the first few months were really chaotic. He was so used to being told what to do, when and how to do it, it took a bit before he got back into the swing of things,” Jared explained.

Travine smiled an
d shook her head.

“
Sounds like all of you are in, yes?”

“
Of course,” they all said in answer to her question.

“
Great, I will let Vallmore know.”

Happy she could help, and her friends were going to also, she asked the only question left.
“When do we need to be there?”

“
This class meets for field training at 0700 Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So, you will show up then and also to your regular class that afternoon.”

“
Awesome. That gives me the rest of the weekend to finish studying.

The loud speaker overhea
d went off.

Mrs. Travine you are needed in the foyer please.

“Sounds like my cue to get back to my studies. I am going to grab my shake and head back to my room.”

She waited for Travine to rise fro
m her chair and followed her toward the exit. When she reached the buffet, she took a detour and headed into the kitchen in search of Chef and her Vanilla shake. He stood, washing some dishes with his back to her.

“
Hey, Chef, is my shake close? I’m going to take it to my room, I have a ton of work to do.”

When
he turned he wore that same wonderful smile he always wore.

“
I do apologize, Vylette. My assistant must have misunderstood and taken it to your room instead of the table. If it’s not in your room, buzz me and I'll bring you one right away.”

“
Okay, no problem. Have a great weekend, Chef.”

“
You too, Vylette.”

She waved good bye and rushed back to her room and her waiting mountain of work. She grabbed the rail and raced up the steps in a hurry to be done with her work and get some much needed sleep. She reach
ed the top level and noticed that her door was cracked open, a sliver of candlelight displayed across the hall floor.

Kitchen staff must have just gotten here.

Opening the door, she paid little attention.

“
Just set the shake on the stand. Thank you.”

Sh
e walked past her bed and into the bathing room to wash her hands and face of the sweaty disaster they had become. Glancing in the mirror, she noticed her hair stuck to head, drenched in sweat slowly dripping down her face. Soap in hand, she turned on the water and scrubbed her face. Towel drying her skin, she decides to brush away the hot mess in her mouth.

Back in her main room, she walked to the decanter of ice and ran the cube over her neck and chest, trying to cool the humidity off her skin. With her
eyes closed, she dropped her head back and to the side, gliding the melting water along her collar bone and around.

Oh, that feels nice.

“
It's so damn hot.”

She jumped when a voice confirmed her statement.

“I'll say. Oh, you meant the temperature not the show I am viewing.”

She opened her eyes and smiled. There sitting on her bed, with his legs crossed at the ankles, kicked back, was Dorrian Buchanan. The man who had stolen her heart, her sanity and all rational thought when he was around.

“Dorrian! When did you get back? How long have you been here?”

“
I arrived a little while ago. I brought you a Vanilla milkshake.”

She followed his gaze, and he was still hol
ding it.

“
Wait, you brought the shake?”

“
Yes, you walked right past me just a moment ago. You look confused, let me explain. I was coming in from my trip and spotted you heading to the dining hall. When I got in there you were sitting at the table with your friends and I didn’t want to disturb you, but Chef spotted me and guessed what, or rather, who I was watching and handed me this shake and sent me up here.”

“
He is a sneaky one. He told me one of his assistant misunderstood and brought it up here. I saw your shadow standing by the bed and I just assumed it was one of them and I wanted to wash off some of this sweat.”

“
I figured. So, are you going to drink this shake?”

“
Yes, thank you.”

Crossing the room to the bed, she took a seat next to him and the shake. The straw between her lips she took a big draw and her mouth filled with an explosion of coo
lness and she moaned, it was so refreshing. After a few more drinks, and she could feel the cool vapors on her lips when she spoke. Her attention turned to Dorrian.

“
How was your trip? Successful?”

“
Yes, very. I am glad to be home. This was a very hard rescue.”

Gathering her books, one handed, she collected her work and notes and set them on the table, clearing off her bed. Once she had them stacked and put in place, she climbed on the bed, resting her back on the pillows and the wall, Dorrian followed suit
.

Crossing her ankles,
she asked, “Why was this one a hard rescue?”

“
Well, for one, this guy and his clients are sadistic bastards. It was hard to see the condition of these men and women and not lose my control and beat the holy hell out of them. I just reminded myself that once I got them they would never have to endure such things and I got through it. However, I shot the entire organization twice, just because.”

She offered him some of her shake.

“I am sorry to hear that, but you have them now and as you said, they will be much better off here.” She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. “I have missed you while you've been away.”

Oh,
how can he see so much darkness and maintain such light in his eyes. That smile...

“
I have missed you too, Vylette.”

She smiled back at him and met him half way when he moved in for another kiss.

“Oh! That is cold!” she screamed when a bit f her shake spilled from the glass, running down her chest.

“
Here let me get that.”

The feel of his ton
gue sliding across her skin as he scooped up the vanilla droplets had her squirming beneath him. It was heaven, but it was cut short.

“
There, I think I got it all.”

She looked down and sure enough all traces of the shake were gone
, but the lingering feelings his tongue left were not. “That was nice.”

“
Oh, really...” he asked.

Before she could say anything else, Dorrian had pulled the straw, dripping bits of shake on various parts of her skin, quickly followed by the feel of his soft warm lips. A few minutes more and her shirt was
gone and he ventured a little further, to her chest and stomach.

Vylette moaned against the sensation of freezing drops of vanilla ice mixed with heat of her skin and the wetness of his tongue, as he made his way from her belly button back to her ear.

Her excitement and pleasure through the roof, she didn’t know how long this had gone on, but when saw Dorrian set the empty glass on the table, she was surprised.

“
How about a cool shower to wash off all that stickiness from your skin?”

Eyes glazed over from
several inner explosions, she looked at him. His eyes on fire, full of desire and need.

She reached out and pulled him close, kissing him hard and heavy. Still locked onto his mouth, she reached down and ripped open his button up shirt, pushing it off his
arms, running her hands over his stomach and chest. Her hands wandered further, past the seam of his boxers. When he moaned with her, almost to the point of ecstasy, she smiled and pulled away.

“
Now, we can have a shower. I am not the only one going in half crazed.”

“
Funny, I was half crazed when I was watching the cube of ice make love to your skin.”

She took her time getting off the bed, kissing his exposed skin on her way. Once her feet were on the floor, she grabbed his hand and pulled him with her, l
eading him to the shower he promised.