Summon (49 page)

She wanted to know he got the hint she was
available.

Maybe he was put off knowing about her and Max’s
past? How else could she have addressed his fears of them secretly lusting
after each other?

Kali dried her hands by rubbing them on her butt as
she searched for a decent laser pistol from the rack.

Blue was messing with her, right? Who didn’t know
how to shoot? It was one of the more primitive skills to learn in a society of
peace, but it hadn’t gone that out of fashion.

It was retro.

What if he genuinely didn’t know how, and she made
a joke, and he was offended?

“I don’t mind teaching you how,” Kali offered.
“Grab a pistol that’s easy to hold, but heavy enough, so you extend some
effort.” Picking a weapon, she quirked an eyebrow when Blue chose a sturdier
blaster the more proficient shooter chose. “You sure about that one?”

He heard doubt in her voice and set the blaster
down. He picked up the twin of the pistol she carried.

Blue watched Kali as she moved her weapon from palm
to palm playfully. After a nanosecond, he did the same. Exactly the same, even
down to how her fingers gripped the hilt.

Kali opened her mouth to question him then decided
against it. “Stellar?”

“Standard,” he affirmed and waited for her to take
the lead.

“Go first and I’ll help you with your stance.” She
stared a challenge. “Since this is your first time and all.”

Blue narrowed his eyes. “You don’t believe me.” His
head tilted down until it was level with hers, and his opticals slipped down
his nose.

Kali caught herself before she took a startled step
back.

Sapphire eyes peered at her with singular intensity
then changed colour. Now emerald eyes raked her down before sliding to the side
and focusing on the task. Blue’s lips curved. He pushed the thick black frame
up the bridge of his nose, and the glass dimmed the strength of his stare.

He turned his back to her.

Kali placed a hand to her chest, blinking at the
floor, concerned her heart rate was spiking for no reason other than Blue
looked at her.

Walking with slow measured steps to the line, he
looked left then right. He discharged two rounds. His aim was wide, and he hit
the target at the edge, scoring him twenty out of a possible hundred, and
missed the second shot altogether since the weapon recoiled and jerked his hand
as he fired.

The shooter in the alley to their left had the same
score; his shot had hit the target in exactly the same place a nanosecond
before Blue had taken his shots.

Kali leaned back on her heel and rubbed her neck.
“He has no technique, Blue,” she explained and came up beside him. Lifting up
onto her toes, she whispered into his ear. “You would have been more successful
if you’d copied the guy two lanes down to our right.”

She should be asking questions; like if he had seen
her use her ability. Maybe he didn’t know she could do it too, and he had made
an impulsive decision to show her his skill because she’d noticed and asked
about it.

Caving to the delicious thought of getting closer,
Kali moved in front of Blue and threaded her fingers with those of his free
hand. His hands closed over hers, palms cool and dry. Again, his long elegant
fingers captured her attention. She wiggled her hand from under his and placed
it on top to guide his fingers around the hilt.

Satisfied, she lifted their arms. “You want a two
handed grip, and to bring the weapon eye-level.” The position forced him to
move closer to her. His broad chest pushed into her back as she lifted their
joined hands, and corrected how to position his arms as they caged her in, his
forearms resting on her shoulders.

He was tall, and she liked that.

“By holding the pistol this way you’re afforded
greater control of the recoil,” she instructed. “So your second shot won’t go
wild.”

Kali relaxed into the pseudo embrace, her temple
resting against his chin. He breathed heavy, and his warm rush of breath blew
across her skin. The shooting range smelt like limes from decontamination, but
he had a masculine spicy thing going on that made her want to nuzzle.

The scent curled around her, creating a cocoon of
Blue she felt utterly safe in.

She nudged his foot with hers, and the backwards
motion bumped her ass into his groin. Kali expected him to jolt and move back.
He did jolt, but crowded closer until he was pressed into her from her upper
back to her butt.

“Um, you need to, ah….” Kali babbled as her body
heated. “Your foot needs to go, ah, go the other way.”

As he moved the foot back, Blue’s gaze slid down.
His focus narrowed onto Kali’s profile. The bold sweep of her upturned nose
made him think her cute. Burning with want, his gaze lowered to her graceful
chin then even lower until he became fixated on the twin swells under her
tunic. The effect on his body was like being bludgeoned on the head. Out of
respect, he forced his eyes back to her face, and stared at her lips instead,
admiring the prettiest dusky pink he’d ever seen.

Kali missed the covetous looks Blue gave her since
she was concerned her heart worked at double its normal resting rate. Kali
thanked her stars he didn’t call her out. She didn’t have a reasonable
explanation for her behaviour other than he sniffed good and felt nice. It
would have been a pointless dance around the obvious truth she was taking
liberties with the lesson.

There was something heady about having so much male
flesh surrounding her. Max hugged her all the time, but it was never sexual in
nature.

Nothing about Blue’s arms around her felt friendly.

“Lean your weight on your back foot and bend your
knee. Stellar.” She shifted and rubbed his hands under hers, transfixed by how
his skin felt in comparison, tough at the knuckles and joints, but smooth
closer to the wrist. As easy as she saw these hands, was as easy as she could
see them on her body. “Now be careful when you shoot. The muscles in your hand
contracting when you pull the trigger affect your aim.”

Blue was having trouble thinking straight. Kali
snuggled into his arms, and she’d put herself there. Her touch was soft;
undeniably curious as her fingers stroked between his. Raw sensation ran down
his body, twisted his guts, and made him shiver. He adjusted his stance when
his leathers became uncomfortably tight. He’d been in this condition before
near her, though he’d never been this close.

It was a form of torture.

“Unavoidable,” Blue muttered.

“Yes, but you can compensate by slowly squeezing
the trigger allowing you to adjust as you fire.”

The lesson ended.

Kali stood there, trying to think of something,
anything, to keep her where she was.

Coming up blank, she cleared her throat and let her
hands fall away. With a nervous smile thrown over her shoulder, she ducked out
of his arms.

Blue fired and scored seventy out of a possible
hundred.

He moved out of Kali’s way, slanting a heated look
at her as he passed. They were close, and Kali had to twist her torso when he
passed so he didn’t touch her. She swore some kind of energy crackled between
them.

Blue noticed they drew a lot of eyes. Being
affectionate wasn’t a problem in polite society as long as you found a RecRom
to cool off if things got to too hot.

He was LoCaste, and that he didn’t belong near her
wouldn’t have escaped notice either.

Kali knew people stared and didn’t give a quark. At
that internalized rebellion, her heart kicked. She felt brave, empowered. It
was freeing to forget who she was and what was expected.

Positioned to fire, she waited for the target to
snap up before nailing two shots dead centre.

Wriggling in joy, she spun, and collided with Blue.
Her hands landed on his shoulders to stop herself falling.

Blue steadied her against him.

Kali was all he could see, hear, and feel. His body
tensed at the feel of her hips under his hands, the swell of her chest pressed
to his. Lust reared, and white noise roared in his ears. Instinctively, he
pulled her closer, and lowered his head until it would be easy, simple, to kiss
her. “Do you always react this way to small victories?”

The knowing twinkle she caught in Blue’s eyes was
electrifying. Kali stared at him, astounded how her attraction had switched
from curious to ardent between heartbeats. He wasn’t superficially confident,
his strength ran deeper.

It was solar-hot.

Sizzling all over, her hands smoothed his shoulders
and linked at the nape of his neck. She tilted her head in invitation. “Sore
loser, huh?”

“Kali,” Max bellowed. He sounded pissed. “We’re
leaving.”

Christabella flounced past, bashing into Kali as
she went, and her face red with some heated emotion.

Kali dragged her bottom lip into her mouth, raked
it with her teeth in frustration. She was going to kill him. Beat her beloved
Max to death with a brick. “Standard,” she called back, easing from Blue’s
arms.

She hesitated, giving him an opening to say
something, or signal interest in seeing her again, but when Max had shouted
he’d closed down, his eyes shuttering, and that twinkle fading.

Disappointed, she turned to walk away.

Blue caught her hand.

Her heart tripped.

“Wait. I … I’d like to–” He swallowed
convulsively. “I’d like to see you again. Like this. Go on a date.” He frowned.
“Without Max.”

“Um, yes, let me give you my data.”

Tugging her TalkMe from her pocket, she waited
until he had his then exchanged BMIDs and linked networks.

Kali gave into her impulse and brushed the lightest
of kisses to his lips. It was intolerably forward, but in case he wasn’t that
into her, she’d have the memory of her lips on his.

She pulled back, and Blue followed. Body leaning
until his feet caught up. He wrapped an arm around her waist to haul her close,
and kissed her harder, making her tremble when his tongue flicked out to sweep
across her bottom lip, soothing the tenderness her teeth caused. Blood pounded
in Kali’s ears and flooded other parts making them heavy and hot. She placed
her hands on his cheeks, and dove into it, let herself become lost.

He set her down, still close, and they both
lingered, enjoying the unexpected surge of desire.

Shocked shy, Kali dropped her gaze from his and
moved away. Bringing her TalkMe to her lips, she tapped it with her forefinger.
“Message me, okay?”

Blue caught the secret upward curve of her mouth,
and thought it beautiful. As he stared after her, he wondered if messaging her
right then would be considered too eager.

***