Chapter 13

Andena was wide awake, she could feel her heart pounding in her throat and little drops of sweat had formed on her forehead. The sudden loud hissing noise made her jump and she couldn’t understand how Meleda was able to sleep with all the irregular hissing noises coming from the alien field. Even with the balcony doors closed the annoying sounds still kept her awake. She had asked her core whether it could mute the sounds but she was unsurprised when it informed her that it couldn’t.

It wasn’t the only reason why she was still awake: Haruz’s enchanting eyes and his flawless smile constantly occupied her thoughts. She found herself tossing and turning in the huge bed on which the faint but pleasant fragrance of Meleda’s perfume still lingered. Haruz’s wealth was evident everywhere; the bedroom in which she lay was as big as her own apartment. She sighed unable to stop thinking about Haruz.

It was an adventure in itself helping him to get ready for bed. The simplest things were a challenge because his muscles were still too weak. He couldn’t even bring his hand to his mouth which meant that she had to feed him, which was funny in the beginning but she was also pleased that it was only going to be for a day or two. It all became a bit embarrassing when he had to use the bathroom although he was a great sport and it went much easier than she had envisioned. She was somewhat distracted by his strong masculine build and it didn’t help when her core started to give its opinion too but in the end, after she had cleaned his teeth, Haruz was settled in his bed.

She screamed as a hissing noise blasted against the doors of the balcony.

“Andena,” she heard Haruz shouting, “are you all right?”

“Not really,” she yelled back, “I can’t sleep because of all those bloody hissing noises.”

Against her better judgement, she decided to go to Haruz’s room. As she stood in front of his door, trying to decide whether she was doing the right thing, her core remarked, “The hissing noise will be considerably quieter in his room.”

She chuckled softly as she retorted, “I know Z, but I’m not so sure if it is wise for him to share his bed. I’d better go down and sleep on the sofa.”

“He is still incapable of doing you any harm.”

She sighed as she replied, “I know, but I don’t want to give him the wrong signals.”

“It’s obvious that you are affected by him, Andena.”

She gasped, “What do you mean?”

“I know you’re standing in front of my door. What is stopping you from entering Andena? Come on in, I promise I won’t bite.”

“I don’t know, maybe it’s better that I sleep on the sofa.”

“Your heart rate jumped up right after he spoke. This indicates that you are in love with him.”

She had to giggle and retorted, “I think you need some fine tuning in that area, Z. I’m attracted to him but that doesn’t mean I love him.”

“Why are you giggling?” asked Haruz.

Andena felt in need of a distraction before attempting to go back to sleep and chose to use this as an excuse to enter his room. She took a deep breath and opened his door, not entirely sure of her plans.

“Hi,” Andena said in a small voice.

She only could see his contour and was pleased to note that he hadn’t moved an inch.

“Hi,” he rumbled, “are you going to keep me in the dark as to why you giggled?”

As she sat down she wondered whether she should reveal the silly conversation she had with her core.

“I don’t know if I really want to tell you that.”

“Oh,” he said with a curious tone, “Why is that?”

“How would you feel if someone asked you to repeat a private conversation you’ve had?”

“I see,” he said softly, “your computer core said something funny.”

She was flabbergasted by his sharp observation and wasn’t sure whether it was such a good idea to have this conversation with him.

“Yes,” she confessed.

There was a silence and she found it hard not to stare at his face all the time.

“Err, what did Uso say about the weakness of my muscles again?”

“I thought he said that it should be back to normal within three days. Do you feel like there’s been a change?”

He sighed before saying in a gloomy voice, “No, not really.”

“Maybe you’ll notice a difference tomorrow,” she replied trying to cheer him up.

“Yes, maybe,” he said sounding subdued.

Andena looked away from him as she sighed thinking that she would like to stay. She felt too tired to sit and gracefully flopped down on the bed facing him. He grinned and said, “Tell you what Andena. Why don’t you get your blanket and sleep here on top of my blanket.”

Her heart stopped for a moment, she was somewhat shocked by his directness.

“Hmm,” she murmured, hopelessly trying to act indifferent, “I’m not sure.”

“Why not? You’re crazy if you’re going to sleep on the sofa and besides what can I do? I’m just a bag of flesh and bones.”

Andena snorted and teased, “Yeah, with a smooth talking mouth.”

“Actually, I wouldn’t mind having an extra layer because it’s cold in here.” he confessed.

The idea of being with him in the same bed but separated by a blanket was appealing. Even though he couldn’t do anything, being so close to him felt strange.

She studied his expression in the sparsely lit room and saw something in his gaze that reassured her that his intentions were genuine.

“All right,” she said, “but don’t try to be smart otherwise you’ll end up in Meleda’s bed.”

She didn’t wait for his reply and got up to retrieve her blanket hoping that she wouldn’t regret it. She draped it over the bed and crawled under it realising that she preferred his mattress to Meleda’s. She sighed with contentment knowing that this was much better.

“Andena?” Haruz whispered.

She was intrigued as to why he had decided to whisper and replied with a low voice, “Yes?”

“Thank you.”

“For what, Haruz?”

“For helping me out.”

The way he said it made her heart leap.

“You’re welcome.”

“Good night, little angel.”

She had to smile as she replied, “Night, Haruz.’’

Alice closed the screen of her tablet feeling contented. She was amazed at what she had managed to find on the rebel web and she was sure that she had covered everything. She stretched her muscles and longed for a soothing shower but she wanted to brief Lunn on her findings first. As she got up from her desk she sent Lunn a message that she was on her way. The fact that she would be close to him again made her walk just that little bit faster. He replied instantly and Alice couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she read the text.

The five-minute walk in the cold air had done her good and she was looking forward to impressing her lover with her findings. As she entered the office she saw Lunn staring at his screen, scrolling through a long piece of text.

“Hey handsome,” she purred, “still hard at work?”

As she came closer she recognised the text as one of her search results and was surprised he was reading it.

“Yes,” he replied gravely, “someone has to do the job.”

Stung by his words she stopped in her tracks.

“Oh,” she replied in a flat voice, “and who is not doing their job properly?”

He stopped scrolling the text but he kept his face towards the screen as he retorted, “my head of security.”

Alice’s blood started to boil and she asked in an icy tone, “Perhaps you could explain why you think I’m not doing a proper job, Lunn.”

“That’s simple Alice,” he answered with a taut voice, “you can’t possibly have all the relevant information already.”

She was barely able to keep her anger at bay and thought it was extremely rude that he kept his face glued to the screen. She asked with a hoarse voice, “I see. How did you come to that conclusion?”

“I’m only half way through the information that we have received and the message I got from you is not what I’m waiting for right now.”

Alice was dumbfounded by his remark. The message she had sent had contained a double innuendo which had clearly gone over his head. Then it struck her; he had lost faith in her capabilities which hurt her deeply. With a grunt, she turned his chair around with such a force that he nearly tumbled out of it. With trembling hands, she held her tablet in front of him all the while looking him straight in his eyes.

“Take it, Lunn,” she snapped.

He narrowed his eyes as he took the tablet from her, not knowing what to say. Alice turned abruptly and as she left the room she said with a tight voice, “When you have finished your research, check the info on the tablet. I’m sure you’ll find that you’ve wasted your evening. You may send me a message tomorrow if you think it is worth me attending your meeting with Haruz.”

She heard Lunn getting from his chair as he shouted, “Alice!”

She knew that she should not say anything more because she was too angry and said firmly, “Good night Lunn.”

Without waiting for his reply she left the office and headed straight for her sister’s apartment.

Olga loved resting her head on Joshua’s chest as they sprawled on the sofa watching a romantic movie. His hand was playing with her hair which gave her a reassuring feeling. She looked with interest at the scene in which two lovers were talking. As the actors started to kiss passionately her thoughts drifted back to their passionate kiss at the laboratory that afternoon. She wondered what would have happened if Alice and Lunn hadn’t barged in.

She looked up at Joshua and their eyes met. She could see the desire in his eyes, knowing all too well that what had happened this afternoon lingered like a smouldering fire in her veins.

“Hey, handsome,” she said, surprised at how smoky her own voice sounded.

He stopped caressing her hair and cleared his throat before saying, “Hey, beautiful.”

Olga crawled up to reach his lips and kissed them softly. She looked at him with a smile, studying the small changes in his face, which indicated that he was trying to stay calm. Joshua had laid his hands on the small of her back and started to move them slowly up and down. This time it was her passion which drove her crazy enough to kiss him roughly, biting his bottom lip.

As they came up for air, she kissed him once more and asked, “If Alice and Lunn hadn’t barged in, where would you have carried me to?”

He stopped caressing her back and his smile was as sexy as hell as he chuckled softly.

“Well?” she asked impatiently.

“I would have carried you to the bedroom.”

“Oooh, you naughty man,” she purred, “and what do you think what would have happened?”

Olga saw the hesitation in his face but then his mesmerising smile returned as he asked, “What would you have liked to happen?”

She caressed his cheek as she looked at him, trying to read his thoughts.

“It’s funny but it feels like you belong here,” she kissed him before she continued, “with me.”

Olga studied the stunned expression on Joshua’s face who was apparently too dumbstruck to say anything.

Andena manoeuvred the wheelchair through the busy crowd. Even though Haruz had gained some control over his body, she still had to help him with most of the things a person would do in the morning. She smiled as she remembered the moment she had first suggested shaving his stubble. He had protested that she probably didn’t have the experience for such a delicate task. The look on his face was priceless when she had told him that she had shaved far more delicate surfaces than his face. She truly enjoyed helping him because he was such a witty man. She knew it was his way of turning an awkward moment into a light-hearted one. Her core had also been helpful and she was surprised to find that she was pleased to have her enhancers at hand.

“Do you think we just can barge into his office?” Haruz asked.

Remembering the last time she failed to get in, she replied, “No, but I’m sure he will be there to open it.”

“You did work for him, didn’t you?”

She scoffed and retorted, “Yeah, until his mistress insisted that I had to go.”

“Oh really? Who is she?”

“Miss Danette.”

“Oh, I see. Hmm, that reminds me, I haven’t seen her for a while.”

Her heart skipped a beat as she suddenly realised that she had forgotten that Miss Danette had died. As she didn’t want to get into that subject right then, she replied meekly, “Oh, really?”

“Yes, well, the last time I was in the office I noticed that her name wasn’t on the daily dispensation list on several occasions. She has to pass through a curfew zone to get from her laboratory to home, you see.”

Andena was pleased that they had arrived at the massive door of Lunn’s office because she still had difficulty accepting that she was not responsible for Miss Danette’s death, and this was a welcome distraction.

“Hmm,” said Haruz, “he has an annoying tendency to impress people.”

As she tried to dismiss her irritation she pulled at the door and to her surprise, it swung open.

“Ah,” remarked Haruz with a chuckle, “we can barge into his office after all.”

“Not without me knowing, dear Haruz,” retorted Lunn who suddenly loomed up in front of them. He gestured with his hand towards the corridor and said in an official tone, “Welcome to my humble office.”