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  “Welcome, Liaison Banks. We are delighted to have you with us.” Yimra turned her back. “Come this way. I will show you where you can change.”

  “Change?”

  “Yes, you will only need to wear the mask when you are at court and that is less than five percent of the time.” Yimra headed up the stairs with her and opened a door.

  Bella took in the lovely and homey bedroom with the attached office and dressing room. Her things had been placed carefully around the space with attention to use and location. She had no doubt that she would find her hairbrush in the lavatory.

  “I have chosen some dresses for you; they are hanging in the wardrobe next to your new uniform.”

  Yimra entered Bella’s room and opened the wardrobe, exposing the black and grey suit that was now her uniform.

  “I got a promotion?”

  Yimra laughed. “Dealing with Lord Akking on a daily basis is worth a bump in pay. He can be rather demanding with his staff.”

  Bella winced at her mind latching onto a few of the demands she wanted him to make on her. Literally on her.

  She was very happy about still wearing the mask.

  Yimra pulled out a rich bronze gown with black trim that had a definite Victorian vibe. Bella smiled and reached out for it. “I will be right back.”

  Yimra laughed. “If you need help, call out.”

  Bella removed her clothing in record time, enjoying the space of the office and dressing room.

  She unlaced and wriggled into the gown, putting her arms in the sleeves and adjusting her breasts in the snug bodice. When it came time to lace up the back, she couldn’t reach.

  “Yimra, help please.”

  Yimra came around and grinned. “Close. Just a moment.”

  In seconds, Bella was laced into the gown, and she felt taller with the structure of the clothing supporting her.

  “This is a day dress for use around the club. When you are done for the evening, you can just come to one of us, and we will loosen the laces. The walk from the main house to here will finish releasing you.”

  “What about the shoes?”

  Yimra chortled and left, returning with some sturdy and, what appeared to be, comfortable shoes that would match the dress.

  “Put your necklace on and we can be on our way.”

  While she spoke, Yimra pulled the pins from Bella’s hair.

  “Why do I need the necklace?”

  “The charm is embedded with a variety of access crystals that will let you move around the main house without any delay. Certain areas are off limits without security clearance. That charm is your clearance. If a door opens, you are authorized.”

  It was very smart. The delay for constant scanning had always caused jams at doors in the financial building. It was faster to be wearing her credentials.

  Her hair tumbled around her shoulders, and she quickly brushed it into loose waves before joining Yimra at the door.

  They were on their way down the stairs when she asked, “How many people live here?”

  Yimra looked back at her in surprise. “This is your house. I am merely here to help you find your way around today. After you meet with Lord Akking, we will return here, and I will show you your supply stations, as well as the staff amenities, like the pools and workout rooms.”

  “My house?”

  “Indeed. There is no shortage of space here. Just a few minutes outside the city and you have all the space you need.” Yimra smiled.

  Bella inclined her head and flinched at the caress of her own hair against her neck.

  Yimra grinned. “You will get used to it. Come on. Lord Akking is not known for his patience. I am surprised that he waited two months to arrange this.”

  Bella walked with her down the path toward the house. “If it is anything like the rest of the court documents, it took him that long to fill them out.”

  The unladylike snort from her companion made her laugh out loud. This was what she had been missing. Companionship. A friend.

  She quickly wiped away the tears the burned her eyes. Yimra was ahead of her and didn’t see it, or at least, she hoped that her new companion had not seen it.

  The bucolic splendour was a little more technological than it seemed. Instead of walking on grass, a walkway rotated from under the soil as they approached, and it disappeared when they passed. It left the green grasses undisturbed and rolling off as far as the eye could see.

  The house was just as lovely as Bella remembered, but this time, they entered through a lower passageway and made their way to the upper floors.

  Yimra smiled at a few other locals in the back hallways. The friendly faces smiled and nodded at Bella, and she fought to meet their expressions with her own.

  “I am taking you to Lord Akking’s offices. You will spend most of your days there unless you are needed to act in my place as hostess. Or that is the current plan.”

  When they arrived at polished doors made of black carved wood, Yimra paused. “I can’t pass the doorway. If you touch it, it will open. I will see you when you are ready to return to the town.”

  Bella nodded and took Yimra’s hand for a moment. “Thanks.”

  The other woman gave her a hug. “You are welcome, Liaison.”

  Yimra let her go and left her in front of the creepy doors. Steeling herself, Bella touched the door, and it eased open.

  The reception area contained a rich desk and a chair. A low, backless couch was near a window and another door faced her at the rear of the front office. She swallowed and walked to the second door, touching the ebony wood with her palm. It opened without a sound.

  Lord Akking was just as pretty as he had been two months earlier. This time, his hair was rippling to the centre of his back and his eyes were directed to the window near the desk he was seated at.

  She stepped forward, and the rustling of her gown warned him of her approach. His head snapped toward her. “Finally.”

  She blinked at the less-than-warm greeting. She curtsied. “Lord Akking.”

  He sat straight and inclined his head. “Liaison Banks. We have much to do, and as usual, the court has delayed your arrival. Come here and I will explain your duties.”

  She stepped forward and took the chair he gestured to.

  “The Face-to-Face Club has other manors around the globe. Anywhere there is a city, there is a club nearby. It provides a necessary relief for the nobles and visitors.”

  She remained silent.

  “What I need you to do is to take over the accounts, dealing with the staff and ordering supplies for each manor. The supplies range from pool equipment to clothing for the guests. When Yimra needs time off, it will be up to you to act as hostess in her stead.”

  “Yes, Lord Akking.”

  He sat back. “You are not daunted by the idea?”

  “Acting as hostess, yes. Working on your books, no.”

  He grinned. “Good. Don’t worry about the hostessing. Yimra can help you with that.”

  “When can I start looking over the books?”

  “The data files are on the pad in the outer office. You can begin to peruse them immediately.”

  Bella nodded and got to her feet. “I shall start right away.”

  He blinked and sat back. “By all means.”

  She paused.

  “Yes?”

  “Is the goal of the clubs to turn a profit or simply to provide a comforting experience?”

  “The latter. A profit is not necessary.”

  She smiled brightly. “Good to know.”

  She turned her back on him and went to her new desk. The door closed behind her. She settled in, pulled out the data pads and got to work.

  She didn’t know how long it was, but a hand got between her and the data. Bella blinked at the interruption and looked up into the dark purple eyes of her boss. “Yes, Lord Akking?”

  “Yimra is worried about you. I have told her you are working, but you have missed the meal with the staff. She wants me to
make sure you are eating.”

  Bella looked up and saw the darkness outside the window. “Damn. Sorry. I was having fun.”

  Her stomach growled.

  “Apparently, Yimra was correct. Come on, I will show you to the kitchens.” He held out his hand, and she got to her feet and left the intriguing data behind.

  He slipped his fingers through hers, and the doors opened for them as they headed for the main hallway.

  “The entire facility is wired with high-tech security.”

  He coughed lightly. “It is. How did you—”

  “I read all the files.”

  “You can’t have—”

  “Yes, Lord Akking, all the files.” She winked and walked in step with him, her skirt rustling as they moved.

  “I didn’t compliment you on that fetching gown.”

  “It was one of Yimra’s picks.”

  “Did you get into it on your own?”

  She laughed. “Nearly. I had to be rescued at the last minute. The back lacing is too hard to reach.”

  He smiled, and his silver-brown skin gleamed in the lamps lining the hallways.

  It felt odd to be holding his hand, and right at the same time. She had never held hands with her boss before, but there had to be a first time for everything.

  They walked down two flights, through back hallways until they reached the kitchen. The staff greeted Lord Akking warmly and offered to make him something.

  He uttered the fateful words, “We can look after ourselves.”

  Bella paused. “I haven’t done more than hit the buttons on a food dispenser for the last eight months. I don’t know what passes for Kloa cooking.”

  He bustled her to the wide worktable and got her a chair. “Sit back and be amazed. I have been sneaking into these kitchens all over the world since I was a child.”

  To her utter amazement, Lord Akking moved around the room with surety to make her dinner.

  She watched the slow and elegant dance as he shifted his way through the cooler and came out with two armloads of raw materials. He started chopping, mincing, slicing and sautéing with his focus on the food.

  “How far did you get in the records?”

  She blinked. “Oh, I finished them. I was creating budgets and spending plans for the next three quarters.”

  He paused with the knife over the assembled ingredients. “You are not serious.”

  “Oh, I am. I really enjoy numbers. I always have.”

  He resumed his work, and soon, amazing smells were coming from the pan while he hummed and kept flicking his hair back over his shoulder.

  When he got two plates down, he settled them in front of her and to her right. He lifted the skillet over and split the contents between them. The hot pan was placed in the sink, and he brought utensils over to her.

  He settled next to her on another kitchen stool and gestured to the bowl. “Take a bite. When I was going through school, I used to live on this. It is basically a scavenger hunt through the cooler.”

  She took a bite, and her eyebrows went up. “Wow. That is something. I don’t know what it was, but I am willing to keep investigating.”

  The flavour pallet was all wrong, but it seemed to be perfectly correct in a different way. Her stomach was happy to get what it could.

  She was a third of the way through it when he got to his feet and brought out a bottle of wine. He poured two glasses and set them on the table.

  She reached out and sipped at the rich, dark purple wine. She smiled. “It matches your eyes.”

  He laughed. “I am assured that the resemblance is coincidental. It is not an indicator of content.”

  She giggled and looked at the wine suspiciously.

  Bella returned to eating, but she felt distinctly relaxed. A second sip relaxed her even more, and by the third sip, she was debating asking him some pointed questions and failing the debate in leaps and bounds.

  “Do you have sex with employees?”

  He coughed and cleared his palate with the wine. “Not normally.”

  She settled and neared the bottom of her plate. “Pity.”

  His eating utensil dropped to the table and he picked it up. “Liaison Banks, are you feeling all right?”

  She nodded. “Yes. I don’t have to drive anywhere, so I am feeling just fine.”

  She finished her food and then finished her wine. It was going to be a fun walk back to her house. She hoped that the sensors could manage the zigzag pattern. It was all she could manage.

  Chapter Five

  Before they had left the kitchen, Lord Akking had managed to deduce that she was plastered.

  “This is highly irregular, Lord Akking.” She kicked her feet, but he had her up in his arms and was striding up to the third floor.

  “I am aware of that. I was not aware of how easily your species would be affected by the wine.”

  She wrinkled her nose and examined her fingers. Her right-hand fingers were bigger than her left. Weird.

  She kicked again and then asked, “Where are we going?”

  “To my quarters. I do not want you to be alone in your condition, and no one else is awake to care for you. Well, no one not on duty.”

  “Don’t you have guestrooms?”

  “I do, but I don’t want you to be alone tonight.”

  “Why not?” She prodded at his chest with a finger. There was no yielding.

  “Because I am not sure what will happen next. You seem to be having a strong reaction to our wine.”

  “Most of my meals don’t have wine involved.” She smiled absently and looked up at him. “The food was really nice.”

  “Thank you. You don’t cook?”

  “I only have a basic understanding of what I am eating here. The food of Kloa isn’t configured like what I am used to.” She swung her feet restlessly.

  He snorted. “You have a lot of energy for someone who nearly tipped over.”

  She sighed. “Way back, when I was a teenager, I would engage in a little underage drinking and dance until I couldn’t feel my legs.”

  “So, your legs are dancing?”

  She looked over her knees to her feet kicking out from her skirt. “Yup. I think that’s what they are doing. I would have to be standing up to know for sure.”

  Doors opened and closed as he walked the halls of the private wing of the club.

  “Are there guests still here?” Bella blinked at him with eyes that were having trouble focusing.

  “There are. We maintain six guestrooms, and three of them are currently occupied.”

  She nodded slowly.

  The final set of doors took them through a casual chamber with couches and a vid screen and, from there, a few steps took them into his bedroom.

  He slid her down his body with a sigh. “You have a lot of muscle on you for someone so slender. I thought you would be a little wisp of a thing.”

  She chuckled and held onto his shoulders for balance. “Wisp has never described me. Since I have not had anything else to do, I work out every night.”

  She felt herself swaying against him; she chuckled. “It looks like the legs still want to dance.”

  He whistled sharply and music filled the air.

  “You have that ready to go?”

  Lord Akking shrugged. “It comes in handy.”

  He moved, and she stepped with him. To her surprise, he danced with her.

  They stepped, turned, twisted, dipped and spun. Her laughter spilled out into the room, and after one spin, she held on tight. “Enough. I think I am good now.”

  Her vision was clearing and blurring with alarming rapidity.

  He held her tight and kissed her. Her surprise at the kiss ended on a squeak when her bodice came loose.

  She could taste him on her lips when he leaned back. She was sure that her expression resembled an owl’s. “Um, I think I need to sleep the wine off.”

  He caressed her cheek. “It is probably the best idea. How is your vision?”

 
; She blinked. “Variable.”

  “Then, I will help you with your clothing and that will be the end of things for the night. Your pulse is also very rapid.”

  She nodded. It certainly felt like she had thunder in her veins and a tripping sledgehammer for a heart. She hoped it was the wine.

  Bella climbed the few steps up to the bed and sat, reaching down a moment before Lord Akking pushed her hands away. He slipped off her shoes, lightly massaged her feet and helped her stand.

  “Undressing ladies is a bit of a hobby. Allow me to indulge it.”

  She shivered as he eased the dress from her shoulders, down her arms and over her hips. Undergarments were not used on Kloa; the fabric was generally thick enough to hide any intimate regions.

  He reached past her and flipped the bedding back, pressing a kiss to her shoulder as he did so. “In you go.”

  Bella stepped out of the crumpled fabric and tucked herself in. She rolled to her side and watched as Lord Akking lifted her dress and draped it over one arm while her shoes dangled from his fingers. He hung the dress up on a rack designed for that purpose and began unsnapping his tunic.

  With her eyes as wide as she could make them and everything but them hidden by the blankets, she watched as the expanse of skin grew with every removed piece of fabric. Staring at his groin was rude, but she had to admit that whoever designed the Kloa had done an interesting job. He was semi-erect and already seven inches or more. The girth was impressive, causing Bella to clench her thighs together as she felt herself getting wet. The mental image of putting that nudity to work was quite invigorating.

  As the bed dipped slightly, she turned her back to him and tried to give in to the bone-deep fatigue she was experiencing.

  She saw images and fantasies dancing behind her eyes as she dozed off. There might have been a smile on her lips, but she liked to think that she had more self-control.

  Bella woke, rubbed her cheek on a chest and froze. She winced. In her sleep, she had crossed to his side of the bed, and she was currently plastered against his entire left side.

  Her thigh was resting against his cock, and she slowly eased it down. Lord Akking’s hand gripped her thigh and held it.