Hera sighed at his joke, and Torenne sauntered up, her summer dress fluttering around her.
“I go to all the trouble of designing you an outfit, and I don’t even get to see it?”
Alejandro let Hera step away, and she walked to where she was directly in the line of sight for Torenne, and she did a slow turn so that every inch of the dangerously short pleated skirt was visible.
“Can you pose?” Torenne’s eyes were glowing.
“I can, but you won’t like it.”
“I will be the judge of that. Go ahead.”
Hera took a few steps over to Alejandro, leaning against him. Paused. Jumped into his slightly surprised embrace. Paused. And dropped down to lean forward in front of Alejandro, her cleavage on display and her butt against his thighs.
The drone that had been watching her flew back to Torenne’s wrist. The doctor was grumpy, and Khytten was laughing into her hand.
Hera smiled. “Okay. Don’t pout. I will do what you want.”
She posed up on her toe with the other leg pulled up, one fist high. The standard flight pose of the hero teams.
She stood with her arms across her chest, leaning with one hip out. And finally, she slid into a low crouch with one foot out and pointed.
Torenne and Salat were paying attention. “One more?”
She put her hands on her hips, feet apart, and her head high.
Salat grinned. “That’s the one. What did they use to call you?”
“Oh, Blackout. Well, that was before my sister’s bonding. After that, I was just plain old Heraina.”
Alejandro chuckled. “You have a sister? Is she as stunning as you are?”
“Oh, she is much prettier. Golden and graceful. She’s engaged to one of the Sethir-Nin.”
Alejandro blinked. “Just her? Usually, the characteristics they are looking for are in the same family, same generation.”
She looked at him wryly. “They missed a spot.”
He chuckled. “Well, colour me lucky.”
Khytten smiled. “Heraina is the only woman with full travel rights in Aksalla and the Sethir-Nin strongholds.”
Torenne smirked. “Oh, I forgot.” She reached into a pocket in her dress and tossed a scrap of black fabric toward Hera. She caught it and saw the panties. Shrugging, she bent nearly double, stepped into the leg holes and slowly pulled the black lace up her legs.
There was something about performing for an audience that amused the hell out of her. She settled the lace under the skirt and glanced at Torenne. “Oh, geez, doc. You are sweating.”
Alejandro muttered, “That would have been better without stockings.”
She gave him a heavy-lidded gaze. “Put it on the list, but the schoolgirl outfit costs extra.”
He grinned. “Noted.”
Torenne smiled. “In all seriousness now, come over here so I can check on those scars and figure out what Khytten needs to focus on.” Torenne sat in a wingback chair and patted her thighs. “Hop on.”
“Thank goodness you two didn’t open a medical clinic. The lawsuits would be tremendous, and the waiting room would be lit with a red light.”
She walked over to Torenne and settled on the doctor’s thighs. “Do you want me to open up and say Ah?”
“Don’t tease. Now hold still.” She held her hand over Hera’s face and moved down her body slowly. After Torenne slowly scanned Hera’s entire body, she nodded. “You need muscle repair before the skin can heal, so Khytten will have to manufacture muscle first.”
Khytten grinned. “I will just do repair, not bulk you up. Do you want it here or privately?”
Hera looked at the nanny in the huge room rocking two of the babies, the two toddlers playing on soft mats, and the other child in Baola’s arms. “Oh, privately, please.”
Alejandro tensed. “You are leaving?”
Hera shrugged. “Just to another room. There is a lot going on in this one.”
Torenne smiled. “Can I come? I can check on progress.”
“Hands to yourself?”
“Mmmaybe?” Torenne swayed toward her.
Alejandro cleared his throat.
The doc sighed. “Fine. But if you flip the skirt up, I won’t object.”
Alejandro growled.
“Fine, I will just watch Khytten’s face go all soft and distant.”
Salat chuckled. “That’s a fun look.”
Khytten pulled Hera to her feet and hauled her into a hallway and to the third room on the left. It was a sitting room.
Khytten unbuttoned her dress and said, “I think I have got things right. Just muscle tissue today.”
“Well, this round. I know you are going to have to file the rest of it for future sessions. Sorry.”
“Just a few vials. The programming happens when it leaves me and goes into you. Direct contact helps keep it properly programmed to do the best for you.”
“Okay. Sitting or standing?”
Khytten grinned. “How can you manage it standing?”
Hera kicked a foot stool against the wall, lifted Khytten to stand there, and raised her brow. “Well?”
Torenne came in just as Hera latched, and Khytten moaned. Hera had planted her hands to either side of her friend and was sucking hard.
Torenne’s eyes went wide, inched back out the door, and then she sprinted down the hall. The door shifted lightly, and Hera took the last few draws, causing Khytten to shiver and buck. This had happened once before, but there hadn’t been witnesses.
Khytten smelled hot when Hera backed away. She kissed Khytten’s cheek and said, “Salat, clean up on aisle Khytten.”
Khytten laughed, and Hera moved to one side as the heat of Salat moved through the room. Khytten was lifted up against the wall, and her skirt was pulled up and over. Hera left the room and closed the door behind her.
She walked up to Torenne, and the woman was laughing. “I haven’t seen you do that before.”
“Well, it’s happened before, which is why Khytten asked about privacy.”
Alejandro frowned. “What happened? Geez, Hera. You smell like overheated Khy—oh.”
She smiled. “Sorry. I guess I could take a shower, but I think this is from the inside out.”
“So Salat went...”
Torenne chuckled. “To put out the heat. When I saw Khytten’s face, I knew what was going to happen.”
Hera chuckled. “My energy hits Khytten’s, and then she goes off. Alejandro, how do you know Salat?”
Torenne snickered. “They went to the same finishing school.”
Alejandro frowned, then shrugged. “You are not wrong.”
“Wait. The alpha school on Daycross?”
Alejandro blinked. “Yeah, how do you know about that?”
Hera laughed. “Daycross’s wife used to work for the BDC. Well, she still has an exclusive contract that lets the roleplaying kick off and on with a text.”
He grinned. “That can be done?”
“Uh, yeah. Salat and Khytten have one of those contracts as well. It keeps the former patron thinking that he has the upper hand.” She smirked and then sobered. “You don’t have any of the weird stuff that I associate with the alphas.”
He laughed. “Not everyone has the knot or the overwhelming physique.”
“So, some of you are just pretty?”
Torenne snorted. “He is that.”
Alejandro glared at her. “Did not ask for your opinion, doc. And Heraina, remember, you signed the exclusivity contract with me without even seeing my face. Why was that?”
“I like what you ask of me and what is given to me.” She smiled.
“The money?”
She shrugged. “That is all in a savings account, and I donate most of it to the Uraddan refugees.”
He blinked. “Really?”
“Yeah, my day job paid pretty well, but if I can’t get the scars off my face and buckle my power down again, I am going to have to go shopping for another one.”
“Have you considered working with the teams?”
She laughed. “Oh, no. I am not going near any one of those gatherings. I have met several team members, and most are fine, but some are fucking creepy.”
She shivered at the thought of Misker and her suspicion that it was he who had hired the asshole to carve her up.
He smoothed his hands down her arms. “Creepy how?”
“Following me to work, hanging around outside my coffee shop, asking me repeatedly to go out with him when I don’t want to. I think he hired the guy who carved me up.”
Alejandro shook his head. “No, that isn’t what happened.”
“What? How do you know?”
He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I don’t want to explain this now.”
Torenne murmured, “Just go outside and tell her.”
Hera frowned. “Outside?”
Torenne nodded. “In case you get irritated. We don’t want any accidents around the kids.”
Hera scowled, and Alejandro held her hand and pulled her to the back of the house. They kept walking across the grass and into the woods.
“Alejandro, what is going on?”
“You aren’t in any danger from the defender. He would never hurt you, but my obsession has bled through into his perceptions.”
They were in a clearing surrounded by trees.
He sighed and flexed his hands. He grew, his hair went blond, his skin went from bronze to golden, and then Misker stood in front of her.
Her hands crackled with energy, and she raised them into attack mode.
“I am sorry, Heraina. There was no way to tell you, and they wouldn’t let me become a patron, so I had to try to get you to engage with me outside of the BDC.”
She whispered, “We aren’t allowed to do that.”
He blinked. “Really? I didn’t know that. Nor did Alejandro.”
“It would be weird if we tried to have a relationship and then went out on dates. It would be too easy to create unhealthy dynamics.” She was tense, and she saw Salat run from the house. He stopped and remained in a wary crouch.
“What does Salat think you are going to do?” Hera looked at him and blinked when he had glided toward her.
“I just want to touch you.”
“What are you?”
“A Gemini. A blended twin. Only one of us can manifest at a time.”
She nodded slowly. “And when you were on missions, Alejandro was out of town.”
“Correct.”
She rubbed her forehead. “Right.”
When she looked up, she could feel the heat from his body. “Why do you want me? Is it a jealousy thing?”
“No, that is why he wanted you at first. Now he is in love, I think.” Misker smiled. “He did not like me announcing that. He had a plan for it.”
She smiled. “But why?”
“You are smart, aggressive, don’t take shit from generals. I was at one of the tech-acquisition meetings you were directing at Z-Corp, and when you took command of the room, I was smitten.”
She tried to remember the first time she had seen him and jolted when she realized he hadn’t been in a super suit but a business suit at the time. “Oh. I remember. It was a drone tech meeting.”
He smiled, and it was brilliant. He looked like a delighted angel.
He fidgeted and said, “Can I touch you? I have always wondered if you were as soft as you looked. Alejandro held back details, which was probably wise.”
“So, he’s watching?”
“More or less. Our limbic systems are linked. He will know if I like what I am touching. So, can I?”
She narrowed her eyes. “One touch.”
His grin and the glint in his eyes were all the warnings she got as energy wrapped around her, and he slid a hand between her thighs and a finger into her.
She gasped and put her hands on his shoulders. “What the hell?”
His eyes closed in a blissful expression, and he smiled. “He’s outraged. Apparently, he hasn’t made a move without seduction before, but you are very wet. I know it wasn’t me, so...”
She gritted her teeth as another finger fit inside her. “Playing with Khytten is always fun.”
He held her up with bands of glittering, foggy energy. He sighed happily, “Slippery silk. So very soft.”
“The touch is over. Pull out.” She looked at him and started charging up.
He smiled and nodded, withdrawing carefully. He set her on her feet and then slipped his fingers into his mouth. His eyes glowed, and she scowled. He sighed. “I apologize, but I have been wanting to do that for close to a year.”
She finished examining what was left of the lace and muttered, “You owe me a set of underwear.”
She peeled the damaged fabric from her and turned it into ash in her hand. “Now I have to explain that to Torenne, and she’s going to want to check.”
“So, do you often engage with females?”
She paused. “Not since I was exclusive to Alejandro. Before then, it was about twenty-five percent of my patrons. I have a cute-but-dangerous vibe that they like.”
Misker chuckled. “I can see the appeal. You are like a wet kitten that just needs some care.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose as she kept walking. “Dude, this is why I wouldn’t even go out for coffee with you. Keep your mouth shut. Telling a girl that she looks damp and helpless isn’t really seductive.”
He chuckled. “I do okay with the ladies.”
She paused. “Oh, there is a problem. Does Alejandro sleep around as well?”
Misker dropped to his knees and clutched his head. Alejandro stood up. “No, I don’t. Not since we became exclusive.”
“Okay, so you can hear what he hears?”
“When you are talking, absolutely.”
She ran her hands up his chest and pulled his head down to hers. After a tongue-scorching kiss, they were both panting as she leaned back. “Right answer. So, if it wasn’t Misker who set that bastard after me, who was it?”
Alejandro smiled. “We are very close to finding out.”
“How close?”
“Misker needs to make a call.” Alejandro was grim.
As they walked back, she was walking with Alejandro one moment and Misker another. One was her lover, and the other was her stalker. This wasn’t confusing at all.
Misker put his hand on her back, and his pinky found the gap between shirt and skirt. He physically relaxed when he touched her, and she began to see part of the issue, but she had to talk to Zera and Arcady first.
She muttered, “I think my rates are about to double.”
Misker chuckled. “Neither of us minds.”
She rolled her eyes, and Salat met them walking back toward the house. He was looking at Misker, then at her, and some kind of understanding dawned in his eyes.
“Salat?”
“Yes, Heraina?”
“You might want to zip up.”
He laughed, and Misker moved to block her view of the man with the feline aspects. Khytten looked like she had been caught in a satisfying tornado. With the sun bright and the wind calm, the kids were on their way to their play areas. It was a super domestic situation.
“Khytten, can I use your com? I have to call Zera and Arcady.”
“Sure. You know where it is?”
“Yup. Second door on the right. If I hit the dungeon, I have gone too far.”
Khytten snorted. “The dungeon has been relocated to the basement. The twins put everything in their mouths and can unlock any doors.”
“Oh, good then. I will be back in a few. Keep that one from following me.” She waved to the guy behind her with his hand on her back. “Whichever one he currently is.”
Khytten snorted. “Disconcerting, isn’t it? I can’t even imagine. Okay. Off you go.” Khytten calmly pulled out a gun and aimed it at Misker. “Got him.”
Hera got away from him and into the house. She was on a three-way call in a matter of seconds.
“Hey, ladies.” Hera smiled, and Zera put her hand over her mouth. Arcady blinked, and her eyes looked weepy.
“So, the nanites are gone, and my muscles are healed. I am pretty sure the scars light up when I power up, but that might heal with time.”
Arcady frowned. “You have been powering up?”
“Yeah. I had to in order to burn out the nanites. They were on the same energy draw I have, so I had to overload them. But they are gone, and I haven’t killed anyone yet, so that is something.”
Zera nodded. “Do you want to pull in again? I know a few therapists in Aksalla who can help with power control.”
“I will see if I can pull it in on my own. Oh, I am doxed to my patron, and he is two people. Hands up who knew that he was two people?”
Arcady blushed as she raised her hand, but Zera just grinned. “We both did. He had to disclose it in his file. You met the other one?”
“My stalker? Yeah.” She softened. “At least knowing how they are bound, his interest makes sense.”
Arcady grinned. “Aside from you being stunning and smart as a whip?”
Zera sighed. “Alejandro was a more stable patron for you and would attract less public attention, so it was agreed that he would be your patron, and Misker was out in the cold.”
“Misker doesn’t get out much.”
Arcady chuckled. “He gets out a lot, but since the females pursuing him do all the work, he just has to cum and go.”
“Oh. Right. That’s... this is rough. Can the contract be cancelled?”
Zera blinked. “Why?”
“I... uh... I guess I am jealous? Alejandro has stated that he isn’t screwing around with others, but Misker needs outlets, and it feels really strange. Now that I know they are the same person, it feels unfair to Misker that he isn’t my patron. So, to unravel my emotions from that situation, it is probably good that we kill the contract.”
Arcady blinked. “So, to stop you from feeling guilty, you want to reject the contract?”
“Yes. It was like one of your group being bound by the contract, but they couldn’t touch you but had sex with someone else in the next room. Fuck, this is complicated.”
Zera nodded and tapped at her keyboard. “I get it. You can pick up some clothing at the resort. But, with no patron and your status suspended from the BDC due to injury, he’s going to figure out that you aren’t protected by the company anymore.”
That started to sink in when the door flew open, and Misker was standing there with his eyes flicking between his colour and Alejandro’s. His chest was heaving, and his hands were flexing.
Hera murmured, “He figured it out.”