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Ruket looked at his image in the full length mirror and threw both hands in the air. “This is amazing! I look nothing like me. I’m Professor N. Jun Tak.”
“What does the N stand for?” Ivanda asked as she watched him turn to the side and investigate his profile.
“I don’t remember, if I ever knew.”
“You’d better come up with something. And another thing, you’ll have to pull the nanophage out for about thirty minutes at least once a week. I’ll show you how in a minute. You can do that in the cleaning unit or wherever you’re positive no one will see you.”
“That sounds easy enough.”
“It is. You won’t have any trouble once I show you how it’s done.’ She shifted in the chair. “We need to be clear on a few things here. I’m your handler. Nic handles Natt and the only overlap I ever want is in the event shit goes sideways. You are my priority. Everything else is side dressing.”
“If something goes wrong, we can’t just leave them behind.”
“The seven hells we can’t! You bet your ass we can and will if necessary.”
“But....”
“No. I will compromise.” His frown eased. “Once I have you safe, I’ll go back for anyone left behind. Do we have a deal?”
“Under one condition. If I can locate them using my talents, I will need your agreement to allow me into your mind to give what direction I can.”
“That’s fair. Turning down help from whatever quarter isn’t bright. Just stay out of the place where my private memories are stored. Given who you are, I suspect you can do that.”
Before she could stop him, Ruket had her in a hug. “Female, you are most diverting. I truly enjoy the way your mind works.” He took a step back. “Is there a fresh bit of something I’m to be wary of disturbing?”
He laughed. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you turn such a delightful shade before. Sorry if I caused you any embarrassment. I do apologize.”
“Sir, please behave! It’s bad enough you have me calling you ‘Ruket.’ That is so lax.”
“I understand you wish to observe certain proprieties. But excessive formality is so disheartening for one like me. Please consider your use of my given name as making it easier for me to work with you.”
The male was enough to make anyone blush. Ivanda shook her head. “I know. Another compromise. Fine. We’ll let that one go, but I cannot have you wandering around in my mind.”
“Peace, my dear. Only in the case of extreme need. Can we agree on that much? I’m not prying into your thoughts, but any fool can see you are disturbed, worried about something. If you wish to share, I’m ready to listen.”
Turning away, she stared at the small container and the rod that must be used with the nanophage. The entwined DH that formed Dika’s logo on the corner of the box caught her eye. It might be best to confide in him. As she spun around, Ivanda took a deep breath. “You’re correct. It’s nothing to do with either you or Nic. My friend, the young female I got the nanophage from... it’s her.”
“Shall we sit? Then you can tell me what happened. Obviously, something took place.”
Her cheeks heated. Ivanda kept her hands pinned at her sides. This wouldn’t be easy. “We have a relationship... of a kind. Not permanent. She and I... once before...”
“You are lovers when the other is free?” Ruket asked.
“Yes. That. If she hadn’t been free... Which is part of the problem. She had a bad relationship and she’s not that experienced to begin with. I fear I have taken advantage of her. She needed someone to show her she was pretty, worthy of love.”
“Did parting affect her negatively? I assume you told her in the beginning you were there for only a few hours.”
“Oh, I did. I let her know it would be a quick in and out when I contacted her about the nanophage. I didn’t give her false assurances.” She waved both hands in front of her. “Dika wore a smile when I left her at the office. She appeared to be fine. I did my best to show her how much I enjoyed her, not just her body, but the mind and spirit inside.”
He turned and placed one arm over the back of the couch. Ruket nodded. “Good. You gave pleasure as well as taking it.”
She considered what happened the previous night. From the moment they entered the hotel room until the hour they left, Ivanda did what she could to have Dika see herself properly. Sexy, sweet, and with a sharp mind, any reasonable life form would be proud to claim her as a mate.
“Yes.” Ivanda raised her gaze to Ruket. “The idiot who spaced her insisted she should have a share in the business Dika built by herself in return for the use of her body. Despicable. I offered to explain certain facts of life to that grasping piece of snake vomit.”
“I can’t say I’m unhappy that didn’t happen. You are needed here, not in some Nipponese jail.” He laughed. “And why aren’t you two a couple? I need to hear your reasoning.”
“Thank you for the question. It tells me you aren’t probing my mind, or you would see why. First, she’s too young. Second, I fear I would be too much for Dika. I might take over and she doesn’t need another strong-willed form telling her what to do. Which leads me to the last reason, she’s settled and I’m nowhere close to being ready to stick my ass on a planet and give up my life.”
Ruket leaned over and gripped her shoulder. “I’m proud of you. Knowing yourself is the best gift you can give to yourself. Not only that, but you saved two forms from perhaps years of anguish. Well done, my friend.” He rose. “Now, show me how to get these things out of my system when I need to. We should be back to Greenhouse 2 in a day, and I need to be ready.”
“Here.” She held a small wand with a ball on one end over the nick she had made in Ruket’s skin to open the epidermis without any blood being spilled. She waved it over the cut and the nanophage wrapped itself around the ball. “And we replace them as we did before when inserting it into your system. A little discomfort for a huge benefit.”
“Since I’m the one suffering the discomfort, I’ll be the judge of how ‘little’ it is. But you are correct. No one looking for me will expect this disguise. For now, we should leave it in its container. I’ll go into my Professor Tak identity after we board the Demon Lair. That will give me time to assume the new persona without any glitches. Does this sound reasonable?”
“It does. If you have other things to do, I think I should take a nap.”
Ruket’s face split into a wide smirk. “Someone didn’t sleep much, did she?”
Ivanda felt the rims of her ears get hot. “In some circumstances, sleep isn’t an option.”
She left her charge’s quarters with his laughter in her ears. Ivanda felt a grin forming and let it. Ruket hadn’t judged, one of the things she loved about the male.
