I Dated Dark Resonance, page 3
He hugged her. “I was not disappointed. I just thought that you had more experience than that. You were perfect. Every touch, every kiss, it was perfect.”
“Okay. I am pretty sure you can still get some money back.” She paused and quirked her lips. “Maybe a coupon.”
“No. I got everything I wanted out of each interaction, and as soon as we parted for the night, I put an alert on for the next time you were available. I didn’t want to lose a chance to be with you again.”
“You were my only patron.”
He exhaled slowly. “I guess that just means one thing.”
“What?”
“Even the BDC knew we were meant for each other.”
She leaned into his hug and smiled.
Chapter Three
Xeva woke up in his arms as he was talking softly to Leaf. He was asking for breakfast items for her. Leaf’s voice indicated that she was smiling. Xeva couldn’t tell. The voice was behind her head, and all she could see was a golden chest.
“I will be back in five.” Leaf laughed and left.
Jeron kissed her temple. “Time to get up. I will help you to the bathroom, and Leaf has brought some clothes, so I can carry you around and introduce you to people.”
“I might be able to walk.”
“We’ll see.”
She didn’t have to do anything. He sat up, gathered her up, and carried her to the toilet. He left her alone for a few minutes until she washed her hands. Then, he returned, wrapped his arms around her, and carried her back to the bedroom, holding her close. “I dreamt about this.”
She snorted. “You have niche interests.”
He laughed. “You are more yourself.”
“Well, I have tried being Arcady, but it was too annoying. She’s way too fixated on Kritz.”
He smiled. “I think we should get you dressed. You aren’t used to public nudity.”
“Who says?”
Jeron raised his brows. “You are?”
“In the lab, we didn’t get clothes unless there was an inspection. I lived all my early years butt naked.”
He smiled. “That will make it easier to adapt here. We rarely bother with swimwear. We just drop clothes and dive.”
“Oh, I can’t swim.”
He stared. “You can’t...”
“No. There have been no opportunities.”
He smiled. “I think we have a new project.”
He reached over and slipped a band around her ribs and tightened it around her breasts. The other sheet of fabric was tied across her hips. He looked at her. “Once you get some sun, you will be unmistakable for a mainlander who has wandered onto the island.”
She snorted and watched as he stripped off his trousers from the previous day and pulled on another loose set. It was at that point she realized that she was standing without help. Nice.
Leaf came in as Jeron was tossing his clothing into a hamper. Leaf grinned. “You look good, Xeva. Pale but good.”
“Pale is my basic setting.” She smiled. She took a step and then another. “This is fun.”
Leaf came forward and extended her hand to Xeva. She took a few more steps before Leaf caught her. “That’s amazing. I was nervous when Jeron said he wanted to spend the night with you.”
“Yeah, don’t worry. Your brother didn’t do anything to change my gait.”
Jeron chuckled. “Until you can keep your legs around me on your own, I will be content to just be near you.”
Leaf paused and blinked. “Right. So, you are definitely the lady he has been talking about.”
Xeva shrugged. “Lady is a stretch, but the identity is probable.”
Jeron laughed and smoothed a hand around her back. “Let’s get you fed.”
Leaf let go of her and darted out the door. She came back in with a heavily loaded tray and set it on a table that Xeva didn’t remember seeing before.
Leaf smiled. “Can I take your vitals?”
“Sure.”
Xeva sat while Leaf took her stats and smiled. “Wow. You are... that’s impressive. Yesterday, you were weak, and today, you are standing under your own power, and your reflexes are returning.”
“Thanks. I thought it would take longer.” She sighed. “I think this is the first vacation I have ever had.”
Leaf blinked. “What? But you have had days off, right?”
“No, even after being fired from the agent team, I had to spend my time looking for ways to make money that would not elevate my blood pressure.”
Jeron frowned. “You were on a team. You got paid.”
“I spent most of my time helping others in my situation. I ended up as a citizen, but I pledged my income to charities. When I recovered, I had nothing, so a friend from before the accident told me about housesitting. I get paid and have a place to live, and then I move on to the next place.” She smiled. “It has been convenient for spending the last couple of weeks with my sister.”
Leaf looked sad. “That’s horrible.”
“It really isn’t. I had eight and a half years of working for my keep benefiting hundreds. A year and a half with no worries about where I was sleeping. There was a weird freedom in it.”
Jeron stroked her neck and said, “If you are no longer contracted to Aksalla, I might be able to offer you a position when your activation recovers.”
She looked at him as she got to her feet with slow care. “I am going to keep my conversation polite, but it had better be something normal people can read.”
He chuckled. “First, we are going to feed you, then a tour, and finally, we are going to teach you how to swim.”
Leaf gasped. “You don’t know how to swim?”
“Nope. My life is landlocked.”
Jeron helped her sit and smiled. “Eat.”
Leaf looked at him. “Your meal is on here, too. Eat.”
He smiled and said, “Thanks, Leaf.”
Xeva ate the creamy, salty gruel with the fried egg on top and the shredded pork that had been set on the side. Jeron had four times the shredded pork and a double-sized portion of the gruel.
They ate, and Xeva felt precisely full when she set the spoon down. It was a moment after Jeron did.
He smiled. “Let’s go, and if my brothers are where they normally are, you can meet the rest of the family.”
Leaf smiled. “Let me know how it goes. I am studying for my exam.”
“I will.” Jeron helped Xeva to her feet and held his arm out for her to slowly walk with him out through the doorway that they had been using to come and go.
“No shoes?”
“Not at home. You have been staying in the guesthouse.” He smiled as they walked through the main area and then to a door that led to a covered hall.
“Where Leaf has been studying?”
“Yes, but she has been happy since she got to use her nursing on a live patient with a head injury.” They were out and slowly moving across polished wood. She could feel each seam under her feet, and when they entered the other building, they stepped into a warm and comfortable kitchen.
An older woman looked at them, looked from one to the other, and smiled. “Jeron, please introduce me.”
“Of course. Mom, this is Xeva. She’s the one I have been seeing on the mainland. Xeva, this is my mother, Revakka.”
Revakka wiped her hands and smiled. “Leaf mentioned her. Xeva, welcome to the island.”
Xeva extended her hand. “Hello, and thank you. I am hoping to not impinge on your hospitality for very long.”
Jeron snorted. “And I am hoping that you do. Around here, I will win.”
“Yeah, well, right now, I can’t even pick a fight with a taco. It isn’t an elite squad that could flatten me; a child could do it.”
He leaned down and pressed his lips to her ear. “I really want you to stay.”
“I gathered as much.” She whispered, “I don’t know if I can.”
He smiled. “So, you don’t find the idea appalling?”
“I don’t, but I don’t know anything about our location, so...”
He looked over. His mother was watching them with interest. “Mom, we are heading to the kiddie pools.”
Revakka smiled. “Going to play with the kids?”
“No, teaching Xeva to swim.”
The woman blinked. “Oh. You didn’t learn as a kid?”
“Nope. And as an adult, I have not had to set foot in water that wasn’t in a tub.”
“How much of an adult are you?”
“Mom!”
“I just want to know more about our guest.”
“I am thirtyish.” Xeva looked at her calmly.
“He’s twenty-four.”
“Mother.” He growled it.
“So he told me. Yesterday.” She shrugged.
Revakka smiled. “Do you want kids?”
“I haven’t met many, so I can’t say if I need that kind of pet. They are cute in theory but have not been an option in my life so far.”
His mother’s eyes widened. “Did you call children pets?”
“Sure? You have to feed them, clean them, keep them out of traffic, and stop them from eating unsuitable items. You have to train them, socialize and educate them so that they can mix with society.”
Jeron cleared his throat. “You have to admit, Mom, that does sum it up.”
She looked at him. “You aren’t worried about this?”
“No. I have seen her with kids. She’s good with them.”
“He was being a little stalkery.”
“I was concerned. You cancelled two of our dates.”
“Oh. Right. My sister was in town. I haven’t been able to associate with her. Government regulations kept us apart, but it took me so long to recover from my initial injury that I just wanted to get myself stable before I tried to visit anyone.”
He sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I know. But I was concerned.”
Xeva looked at him. “I get it, but don’t do it again.”
He smiled. “Then, don’t disappear.”
“I was not allowed to contact you. You know that.”
“Do you know how worried I have been?” He held her shoulders.
“I am guessing about as much as I have been. Your mom is staring.”
A gleam of something wicked came to his eyes, and he leaned in to kiss her, wrapping cool, humming shadows around her and lifting her off her feet.
She pressed her palms to his chest and tasted the juice he had had with breakfast. Xeva stroked his tongue with hers, and he groaned softly. She slid a hand up his chest and held his neck while she reassured him the only way she could think of.
He smelled hot by the time he leaned back. She pressed her forehead to his.
Revakka said, “Well, it looks like you two like each other a lot. You might want to go soak off some of that heat.”
Xeva blinked. “I am so sorry.”
Jeron laughed. “I think she is doing math and trying to count grandkids.”
She blushed.
Revakka laughed. “Sorry. He’s my oldest, and I have been hoping he would settle down. I had no idea he had already found someone until he told us his actions had hurt you. He helped the researchers get the storm shield working in time, and then he spent the next few months depressed and checking his com. One day, he smiled and said he had a date. He left once a week and came back six hours later with a soft expression and then started watching his com again. He hasn’t looked at any of his peers with that expression.”
“Not even the guys?” She jolted as the shadow smacked her butt. It was a soft impact, and the same shadow gently rubbed her.
He snarled softly. “Not even the guys.”
She grinned and asked, “Why is the shadow made of sound?”
“Why did you ride a horse made of vapour?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Touché.” She kicked her feet slowly. “Are you going to put me down?” She met his gaze with hers.
“Maybe. I was going to carry you anyway. I don’t want to overtax you.”
“Is there a position with more dignity?”
He smirked, and she said, “I can and will bite your nose.”
Revakka laughed. “So, you don’t have any hesitation with him. That is... unusual.”
Jeron smiled at his mother. “She never did. She always just treated me like a normal man.”
He lowered Xeva to her feet, bent and picked her up with an arm behind her back and under her knees. “Okay, let’s teach you to swim. You are coordinated, so it shouldn’t take long.”
Xeva waved to Revakka. “I will probably see you later.”
“Oh, I am counting on it.” Revakka smiled. “We tend to have family meals, so if you don’t meet the others today, you will meet everyone this evening.”
“See you, Mom.” He chuckled and walked out onto a wide deck. “You will meet more than just my younger brothers. They have a lot of friends who like to eat here. You are going to be examined by just about everyone you meet here.”
“Any particular reason?”
“Uh, the hum of my body upsets some of the girls I went to school with. Not everyone enjoys the feel of me.”
“They are missing out. More for me.” She leaned against him and blinked as daylight hit her.
He smiled and hugged her.
“How do you deal with all this light?”
“You get used to it.”
He left the deck and walked across the sand. She heard laughing and shrieking, turning her head to see a number of teens in minimal swimwear, swimming and frolicking in the surf. The teens had surfboards and taking turns running into the waves, paddling out, standing up, and surfing back.
She watched them as Jeron walked them through the crowd and to a deep pool surrounded by well-worn stones. He moved behind a tall outcropping where there was a small ledge. He said, “You can keep your clothes on. They will dry incredibly fast.”
He set her on the ledge with her legs in the water. “They won’t get in the way?”
“No. If they do, I will take them off for you.” His eyebrows waggled. He slid the loose shirt from his shoulders and removed his trousers.
Her breath left her lungs. “You look lovely naked.”
He looked pleased but said, “Lovely?”
“Yes, and a little tense, but I am in no shape to help you with that.”
He hopped into the water and reached up to grip her waist. “One more reason to get you back into full health.”
She laughed as he pulled her toward him, and there was a splash when they came together. The area was large, and there would be room to learn to move herself in the water. “This is manmade.”
“It is. My father built it. He wanted a place where he could take us and teach us without throwing us straight into the waves. So, he built us a pool, and all the locals are free to use it.” He smiled. “Now, the first thing we will teach you is to float on your back.”
He eased her to her back and held her. “Relax and don’t tense up. When you are limp, you will start to feel the pulse in the ocean.”
“It has a pulse?” She focused on his hands in the cool water. She tried to remain relaxed, and slowly, he started to lower his hands.
“Of course.”
She found herself swaying, but the water was holding her up. No horse. No armour. She was swaying with the water that came through the piled stones and exhaled. “Okay. Not sinking. What next?”
“Good girl.”
She shuddered and glared at him. “Are you trying to drown me?”
“No, but the water level just rose.” He laughed. “You might be trying to drown me.”
“Oh, shut up.”
He laughed and moved next to her. “Put your arms down by your hips, keep your fingers together, and fan your way through the water. A slight figure eight should get you on your way.”
He continued to coach her as she learned how to move around on the surface, and when she had gained competence, it was time to learn to tread water.
He was encouraging and helpful, and when she began to hold her breath underwater, he kept a watchful eye on her. After a minute, he gestured for her to rise, and when she flipped him the bird, he grabbed her and hauled her upward.
She gasped, and he held her above the water. “Xeva, this is serious. Next is a front crawl. You are going to propel yourself forward, and that is the means you will use to get yourself through the water.” He chuckled. “This will be it for today, and tomorrow, we will try the ocean. It is different from swimming in a pool.”
She sighed. “Fine. What does a crawl look like?”
He demonstrated while she trod water, and when it was her turn, she worked her way across the pool and back again.
She grabbed the stones and felt her arms shaking. “Okay, so that explains your shoulders.”
He pinned her to the wall. “It is an effort to keep up the muscles to make the ocean fun. You are in good shape, but you used to have a lot more muscle. It will return.”
She looked up at him, looping her hands around his neck. “You didn’t mind the muscle?”
He laughed. “I benefited from it on many occasions, and I do enjoy the line of your spine from neck to tailbone.”
She didn’t need to look to see that her nipples had hardened. “Sorry. It has been a while.”
Jeron kissed her slowly. “For me, too, though the dates where sex was off the table were nice, too.”
She blushed. “Not being allowed to get excited was torture.”
“I don’t even want to imagine. I am sorrier than I can express that you were injured.” He looked morose.
Xeva smiled. “I know. You wouldn’t have gone on the platonic dates with me if you didn’t feel bad about it.”
“I wanted to keep track of you. I was told you were badly hurt, but until you apologized on that first date, I had no idea how bad it was.”
“I got rattled around a bit.”
“The blast was designed to turn rock to dust, so I am so happy you survived.”
“Me, too. Now your mother won’t have to mourn the one thousand pieces of you that Nelith would have made of you.” She kissed his chin. “She would have tried to feed you to Dmitri’s bear.”
He smiled. “Probably.”
“How do you know Dmitri?”
