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  Tamra smiled and sat up. “It means we are getting bonuses. Who cares why?”

  Bebe watched her friend semi-reclining in the arms of one of the weather analysts. “You can get that dress you have been watching in the window.”

  Tamra gave her a thumbs-up and leaned back.

  The orchestra began tuning up again and all fun and games stopped until the music was over.

  Bebe could not get enough of the music, but she tore her gaze from the lights that accompanied it and looked across the audience. The Guardians were sitting in the VIP section with their leather uniforms gleaming dully in the lights. They were perfect specimens of the W’lyn bloodlines. Each male had long hair in a variety of shades from scarlet to metallic gold. Their skin tones were the standard mix of pale to dark grey and their ears were pointed. Aside from that, they were far from normal.

  The idea that power lurked under their skin was amusing to the Terran woman in her, but the teenager that was under her more adult mind was swooning at the thought of superheroes just a few hundred feet from her.

  With effort, she turned her attention back to the music and the light show.

  * * * *

  Toyo whispered, “Did you find her?”

  Loesh nodded slightly. “I recognize some of those she is with.”

  Drovin whispered, “Well?”

  “Analysts. She is with the analysts.”

  Rand smiled. “Excellent. I feel the urge to do a facility inspection. What about you?”

  Their nearest neighbour shushed them, but the four of them spent the rest of the concert grinning like fools.

  Toyo could feel it. If tomorrow didn’t bring a disaster, they were going to the Analysis Centre.

  * * * *

  Bebe said good night to Tamra and entered her apartment. Two blissful days of nothing but catching up on biology vids and eating food that came as close to Terran as she could manage.

  She set her alarm for just after dawn so she could get to the market for the freshest options and remove her suit in the one place it was safe to do so, her own apartment.

  She had known what living amongst predators would mean, or she thought she had. With a groan, she headed for the shower and let the water touch her skin.

  After her first month on W’lyn, she had tried to wear a cloak and robes and walk amongst the people during the day. The gazes had tracked her, and after less than three blocks, she had a following.

  She had circled and used the emergency spray she had been given for such an occasion. Her groupies had faded in confusion, and she had returned home as quickly as she could to put on a suit.

  Three years on W’lyn was going to be all she could stand. She needed to be able to walk amongst people and not feel like a travelling steak.

  Two and a half years to go.

  Chapter Three

  Toyo watched Drovin pinch the bridge of his nose when he asked the manager if there were any analysts not on duty for the day. The gesture cloaked frustration.

  Drovin returned to the Guardians and muttered, “She isn’t on duty today. She is off on a free day. She has pulled a lot of shifts lately and they ordered her to take the time.”

  Toyo inclined his head. “Did you get her name?”

  “I did, and you will find this interesting, she is a Terran by the name of Beryl Wilkinson.”

  Toyo and the other two straightened in surprise. Rand was about to speak, but Loesh held up his hand.

  “This is not something to be discussed here.”

  They looked at each other and nodded, completed their tour and headed back to the ship.

  They had just lifted off when a disturbance in the marketplace came over the com. They were closer than the peacekeepers, so Toyo called in that they were responding to the robbery and attack.

  They swung toward the marketplace, and he launched himself from the skimmer, circling the cowering locals until he had a good view of what was going on. Robbery in a jewellery store and hostages.

  He used his com to call it in and landed in front of the shop. It wasn’t going to take long.

  * * * *

  Bebe sat on the floor with the others, glaring at the nearest man with the weapon who didn’t like the way she spoke to him. She had only explained that only a moron wouldn’t go out the back, and he had used the butt of the weapon on her face, fortunately, the skin didn’t break.

  Her analysis of the situation was that the robbers didn’t know what they were doing and what they wanted. That made them dangerous. No suggestion was going to penetrate under their level of stress and that meant she may as well sit down and wait for the blasting to start. Peacekeepers were going to shred them, and hopefully, she would make it out unscathed.

  The other three hostages were looking at her like she was insane, and to them, she probably was. Bebe waited, and the sudden silence outside indicated that someone was staging out there.

  The blast of electricity cut through the air in an arc that sizzled over her scalp by two inches. The other hostages dropped to the floor.

  Bebe blinked. This wasn’t peacekeeper procedure. “Oh, damn.”

  The robbers had been knocked back by the shock and were staggering to their feet. “What was that?”

  Bebe didn’t go limp fast enough. She was hauled to the chest of the guy who had hit her in the face and used her as a living shield.

  The door opened and a Guardian walked in. “Gentlemen, please let the lady go and we will take you into custody peacefully.”

  The jerk squeezed her tightly and said, “No, you are going to let us out of here and we may let this little one go when we choose to do so. Not before. I don’t care who you are.”

  That was it; she was not going to be hauled along like a demented dolly. Bebe reached up, grabbed his ears and made a wish.

  His scream echoed in the room, and three other Guardians came in to subdue the other robber while her captor threw her into a display case.

  The suit absorbed most of the damage, but she felt the glass slice along the collar and into her neck. “Damn it!”

  She let go of the robber’s ears and clapped a bloody hand over the small wound.

  Toyo, the Guardian who could fly, came up to her and knelt next to her. “Are you all right?”

  “A small wound and a black eye. I will be fine.”

  He picked her up and held her against his chest. Her inner teen swooned, but her adult side kicked her feet. “Not necessary. Please put me down.”

  Toyo laughed. “I am sorry. It is protocol. We have a med kit in our skimmer if that will help.”

  “Save it for the other guy. His ears are in all that glass.”

  He winced. “That was a very…effective move.”

  “Thank you. My self-defence instructor told me about it. I have to admit that it is effective, though I doubted that I could reach him for a moment.” She was carrying on this whole conversation with her bloody hand clutched against her neck, but she could feel her blood welling against her palm.

  Toyo carried her through the crowd and set her on the edge of the skimmer. He went to get a medical kit, and to her embarrassment, he looked at her black eye first.

  Another Guardian that she recognized as Rand came over and said, “If you would like, I can tend to your wound.”

  She blinked. “Um, no, that’s okay. If you could just leave me with the kit for a few minutes, I can fix it and you can be on your way.”

  Toyo and Rand looked at each other with amusement. Rand nodded and stepped into the skimmer.

  To Bebe’s shock, Rand grabbed her arms and pulled them away from her neck while Toyo moved in with the cleaning swabs.

  With the camouflage of the robber’s blood gone, Toyo and Rand got the full force of her scent. Rand’s hands clenched on her wrists, but she could actually see Toyo’s pupils expand.

  Her rescuer shuddered, and she watched his neck flex as he swallowed. His hands shook as he cleaned the
slice on her neck and the mess she had made with the other male’s blood. Once he had cleaned her, he eased her suit open so he could get at the wound.

  Bebe was beyond embarrassed. Sweat was beading his brow by the time he sprayed her neck with synthetic skin.

  To her surprise, he scrubbed his hands immediately as well as did a good job of removing traces of her own blood from inside her neckline. When her scent had been contained, he relaxed a little.

  “Rand, you can let go of her now.”

  Bebe gasped as her arms were released. She flexed her shoulders a little and knew that her wrists would be bruised the next day.

  “Sorry, Toyo. That was…distracting.” Rand’s voice was wry.

  Toyo returned to put a regenerator over her bruised face, and she slowly moved to seal her suit.

  “Too bad, I was enjoying the view.”

  “Rand!”

  “Sorry, Toyo. Well, miss, you did a wonderful job of defending yourself. Anyone who hears of this will not mess with you for fear of not hearing afterward.” Rand chuckled.

  She blushed. “It was my only way out. If you had let them go, they were going to break my neck anyway. They were disorganized and unsure, that made them very dangerous.”

  Toyo smiled. “That reminds me. I have been rude. My name is Toyo.”

  To her surprise, he extended his hand.

  She placed her hand in his and swallowed at how small she was next to him. “Beryl.”

  “What do you do for a living, Beryl?” He curled his fingers around hers carefully.

  “Um, I am an analyst at the Analysis Centre.”

  “Really? What is your speciality?”

  She could see the other two Guardians behind him, rolling their eyes at his delicate inquisition.

  “I am the criminal analyst, but I am guessing you already know that.” She slowly removed her hand from his.

  He shrugged. “It may have come to our attention that a woman with fascinating characteristics was living in the city.”

  “Our?”

  He grinned. “We all noticed you yesterday in the restaurant as you left.”

  She blinked and quickly analyzed her actions. What could have gotten their attention? “Aw, hell. I let my hair down.”

  Currently, it was tightly braided against her skull, but when she worked, she just pinned it up. She couldn’t believe she had been so stupid, but after a twelve-hour shift, her natural oils had built up again. She should have taken a shower after work, like she always did.

  “Damn, I am going to be glad when I leave this world.” She closed her eyes and pressed her hand over them.

  Toyo pulled her hand away from her eyes, and he glared at her. “You are leaving?”

  “In two and a half years. I am on contract and being on a world where everyone considers my natural scent an invitation to consume me is a little stressful.”

  Toyo frowned. “That isn’t true.”

  She laughed in his face. “I saw the look in your eyes when you smelled my blood. Your fangs even came out a little. That was pure blood-hungry predator.”

  He smiled, “I never said I wasn’t aroused; I just don’t have to act on my instincts.”

  The press of his lips against hers shocked her, but his taste shocked her even more. Her heart pounded, her sex clenched and her clit throbbed. Thank goodness her suit hid the rigidity of her nipples, because her breasts ached intensely the moment that his tongue touched hers.

  Three masculine groans surrounded them and brought her out of the sensual stupor. She used her foot to tip Toyo on his ass, and then, she made a break for it, dodging through alleys and heading for home. She would have to file a report but that she could do from her apartment. She needed to be safe, to be surrounded by things that couldn’t hurt her or break her heart.

  Chapter Four

  Toyo sat with his senses swimming. For the first time, the Admaryn obsession with Terrans made sense. The urge to conquer and protect consumed him completely. His cock felt like it would explode and his teeth had descended to deadly lengths.

  Drovin asked, “So, what was it like?”

  Toyo looked at him and grappled for words. “Touch her and you are a dead man.”

  Rand whistled. “So it is like that, is it?”

  He stood up and looked at the direction in which Beryl had run. “You have no idea.”

  If he didn’t know where she was and where she would be, he would have pursued her immediately, but her actions showed that she was just as affected as he was. He would wait…for now.

  He shuddered as he got himself under control. The arousal had been instant and implacable. None of the others were getting near Beryl, that much he would make certain of. The other thing he was certain of was that she would be staying on W’lyn beyond her contract.

  * * * *

  Inside her home, she went to the bathroom and stripped, her hands shaking. The synthetic skin on her neck held her wound together, but it was silver. She laughed weakly and stepped into the shower, clearing the scents of blood and arousal from her.

  Bebe put her hands to her face and sobbed. When her hands were pruney and her eyes dry despite the water, she left the shower and laughed helplessly. She still had to do her shopping.

  Grimly, she put on another suit and headed for the peacekeeper headquarters to file her report. She had been involved in an incident, and as a good visitor to W’lyn, she had to report what she saw and did.

  Two hours later, she was hungry, had no groceries and was under arrest for assaulting a W’lyn citizen. It just wasn’t her day.

  * * * *

  Rand laughed at the memo that came up on the com. “Hey, Toyo. Your little alien is under arrest for ripping the ears off that robber.”

  “What?”

  “She isn’t a citizen and you know how that always works. She ripped his ears off. You should have filed an exemption for her. Now, she has to wait until tomorrow.”

  Toyo winced. “Damn it. Call me if you need me.”

  He stepped out of the base and propelled himself upward. He gained altitude and then directed himself toward the city. Beryl was not going to spend the night in jail just because he forgot her paperwork.

  * * * *

  Beryl sat up on her bunk and blinked at Toyo. “Why are you here?”

  “Custody exchange. You are being transferred from the custody of peacekeepers to the Guardians. I apologize. I forgot to file your necessity exemption when we arrested the men earlier. You assaulted a citizen and that always leads to a hearing.”

  She sighed. “I know. I forgot it in the heat of the moment. I should know the criminal regulations of W’lyn better than anyone.”

  Her stomach growled and she put her hand over it. “Apologies. Wait. Did you say custody transfer?”

  He nodded and the guard unlocked her cell.

  “Please come with me. I promise that you will be more comfortable with me than you would be here.”

  Beryl got to her feet and hesitated.

  “You will come to no harm with me, I promise.”

  He extended his hand to her in encouragement, and she winced as she slipped her fingers along his. “Where are we going?”

  “I thought you would enjoy the Guardian base.”

  They began to walk slowly through the peacekeeper facility, and she became intensely aware of their hands when whispers and murmurs began to spread.

  She tried to pull away, but he held her easily.

  “Does my touch offend you?”

  She blushed and stammered. “No, it is just that folks are whispering and you have a reputation to maintain. Even though they are peacekeepers, this is going to get out.”

  He raised a brow and smiled as he looked at her. “So? I have done many a stupider thing in public than hold the hand of a woman I am attracted to.”

  He must have already signed her out, because no one came close to stopping them as they left the building. She
squeaked as he picked her up, and she clutched at his chest when he took flight.

  “Are you all right?”

  She nodded. “I forgot for a minute that you were the one who could fly.”

  He laughed, and they left the city, streaking over the ocean while she kept her face close to his chest with her eyes closed.

  “Here we are.”

  She turned her head and looked at the stack of buildings that crowned the small island. “Why am I allowed here?”

  “You have Imperium security clearance, didn’t you know? With all the top-secret information you sift through, I am amazed that they let you stay in the city.” Toyo settled on his feet and walked calmly toward the doors.

  “Um, I can walk now.”

  He smiled. “Are you sure?”

  “Pretty sure unless you know something I don’t.”

  He cocked his head. “Probably, but I am enjoying my moment.”

  She closed her eyes and blushed. She was enjoying it as well, but she didn’t want to say it out loud.

  The other three Guardians were sitting around and far more casually than she had imagined. They were wearing their trousers and some tattoos, nothing more.

  “Uh, I don’t know why you brought me here, but this isn’t really my thing.” She squirmed, and he still refused to let her down, so she bent her fingers and stabbed him in the solar plexus with her knuckles.

  He dropped her on her ass as the breath whooshed out of him. The other three burst out laughing as she got to her feet and dusted her butt off.

  To her mortification, Toyo opened the heavily reinforced jacket of his uniform and rubbed the skin of his chest where she had jabbed him. He continued to remove his uniform until he was only wearing trousers and boots as well.

  She didn’t know where to look.

  The other three Guardians were killing themselves with laughter.

  Toyo put his clothing on a nearby table and lifted her chin. “Yes, innocence is definitely in there. Again, nothing will happen to you here. You are simply our guest because I forgot to give you the assault waiver.”