Halo Read online

  Oh, for the love of…

  “Having a quiet chat?” Reset finished her measurements of Avina’s vitals before she exited and removed her mask before Avina could answer.

  Avina raised her voice. “Can you run some scans on his body when it isn’t occupied?”

  Reset waved a hand scanner. “Already ahead of you. It seems completely inert.”

  I object to her calling it an it. I put a lot of detail into every inch of my body. It is definitely male.

  She wasn’t insulting you, but it is hard to speak of a body without a soul or aura in it as him or her.

  Fair enough, as long as you remember I am male. I would have switched genders if I had to, but since I didn’t, I am very pleased. I never got to use the same form twice before.

  Glad I could help you recycle. She snorted and then spent the next half hour explaining recycling. He couldn’t seem to grasp the idea of not making everything out of compostable materials the first time around.

  She had no answer for him, so they lapsed into silence. Avina yawned and rubbed her eyes. She settled on her bunk and smiled. “I think I am more tired than I believed I was.”

  I will watch over you while you rest.

  I knew you would. Good night.

  She felt his hand stroke her hair, but it was merely the energy trace. His body was outside the quarantine and it was better for all concerned. She really wasn’t up to dealing with the physical him at close quarters.

  She woke warm, comfortable and held in his arms. Avina grumbled, “How did you get in here?”

  “I begged Reset, and she got tired of hearing me. She had her mate shove me inside, and I will be serving out the rest of your sentence with you.”

  He stroked her shoulder, and she shivered. The thin robe was no barrier to his touch.

  Worried, she glanced toward the plexi, but a thick, dark curtain had been erected.

  “Reset insisted that you be allowed a little privacy. Well, she said something about me being indecorous or something. It was muttered under her breath.”

  “Well, she needn’t have worried. Nothing is going to happen. How are you even fitting on this bed?” She wrinkled her nose.

  “Oh, if you feel around carefully, you are on top of me.” He sounded obnoxiously perky.

  Avina closed her eyes as the solid warmth under her now made sense. She really didn’t wake up easily, darn it.

  “How much longer am I going to be in here?”

  “Eighteen hours. Reset sedated you because you were not tolerating the confinement well. I believe it was also why she was willing to finally let me in. She thought I would distract you.”

  Avina tried to sit up, but he held her fast. “You are certainly doing that. Now, let me up or you are going to have a bit of a fight on your hands.”

  He sat up and released her. “Off you go.”

  She wrinkled her nose, smoothed her medical wrap and made her way to the lav. It was tempting to consider hiding in the lav for the next eighteen hours, but the idea of the tiny space was worse than facing Utolian at close quarters. She stood through a solar shower and crept back into the quarantine area just in time to see Reset enter with her ubiquitous tray.

  Reset had her navy hair in a braid today, and she slung it back over one shoulder. “Morning, Avina. How have you been doing?”

  “I just woke up.”

  Avina was less than gratified when Reset looked nervous. Apparently, her morning temper was legendary. She took the tube and exhaled into it while Reset used the hypo.

  Her physician checked the readout and smiled. “You are clear. I am keeping you here for the remainder of the day, though. Just to be on the safe side.”

  There was a sly look on Reset’s features. Avina grimaced. “What are you up to?”

  “Oh, nothing. The Citadel is demanding your return and the Sector Guard is pushing a requisition for your services through. The Citadel may think it is good at paperwork, but they have nothing on Relay.”

  “You mean they are fighting over Utolian.” Avina was confused.

  “No, it is your services they are after. He won’t work for us without you and that is a price we are willing to accept.” Reset shrugged, took the tray and headed for the door.

  “So, you are keeping me here…”

  “Because, if you return to the Citadel, they will dispatch you on a mission, and we will have to wait for you to return. With the Citadel knowing what we are up to, it is unlikely that will happen anytime soon.”

  Reset whisked her way out of the room a moment before Avina got to the point where she had been standing. Her fists thudded against the protective curtain over the glass.

  Her pacing was brought to a halt when two arms came around her.

  “Is life as my partner so bad?” His lips were next to her ear and her back was against his chest.

  “You could have asked.” It was a sullen mumble, and she knew it.

  “You have pulled me out, put me through my paces and stuffed me back in that box for years. I think I am entitled to a few demands.” His arms were around her in a warming hug.

  She started to relax against him before she remembered the histories she had read. “What about when you go on to your next fascination? I have read up on your habits, and while I am sure that some are exaggerated, there is a grain of truth in all of them.”

  “My past was another body. This one has been created for you and only you. No other being has touched it aside from the medical team.”

  Avina blinked and settled against him. “It doesn’t make this easier. I am not someone to be given away.”

  He turned her in his arms. “You aren’t being given, I am being bribed and you are the only thing I want. You were already under contract to the Citadel, now you will be transferred to the Sector Guard.”

  “Why can’t you transfer to the Citadel?”

  “Because to them, I am an object to study; to the Sector Guard, I can be an asset, an agent.”

  His eyes were the same solid black they had been when he was an aura, but she could read the emotion in them. He was eager for something new and very calm about his status. He knew what was waiting for him if he left the Guard base.

  She sighed and pressed her forehead to his chest. “Will you hold me until they let me out of here?”

  “It would give me the greatest pleasure.”

  She laughed, “You have been in that orb for a long time.”

  He stroked a hand down her back and patted her butt. “I still remember the basics.”

  Avina leaned back. “Oh, honey, I am far from basic.”

  Chapter Eight

  Aura and Speaker were shown to their on-base housing the moment that Reset lifted the quarantine.

  Speaker kept running her hands over her new uniform. “Does this pattern make my butt look big?”

  “No more than mine does. I like it. It is very comfortable. That bodysuit you gave me was a little tight.”

  Speaker laughed. “It wasn’t designed for your dimensions. You managed.”

  “I did, but my new body was in danger of being useless to you in all but a battle capacity.”

  “Is that your version of flirting?”

  “I am a little out of practice.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned in to nibble on her ear.

  “Now? You want to do this now?”

  “What better time? We have privacy, a home of our own and guaranteed no assignments for the next day and a half. Your ship is still under repair.”

  He was understating it. With their assignment to Sector Guard Base Teklan, the ship had been bought from the Citadel and was getting a complete refit.

  Avina ran over the options in her mind. It was the last piece of the puzzle. She could feel him when he crossed the room, walked up behind her or was even thinking about her. He did that a lot.

  During their confinement, he had shared moments from his past and she had returned the favour. They were now bonded as partners in an indefinite cont
ract, signed and sealed by three Guardsman witnesses. There was no one for her but him, and he had made it clear that he felt the same.

  He kept his arm around her waist and coaxed her through the home and into the bedroom. It appeared that not only the suits had been made to fit them precisely, the colours were the same misty grey and blues that made up their suits and the bed was at least seven feet long and just as wide.

  “Hm. I may lose you in there. You will have to stay close.”

  She chortled and put her hands on the closure of his suit, easing it open. “I promise to say close if you promise to take it slow.”

  He blinked, and the smile that crossed his features was feral.

  She wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw his teeth visibly sharpen as she stared. It must have been a trick of the light.

  She stopped thinking when he carefully pressed his lips to hers. His hands worked at her suit while she worked at his, and when they were both naked from the waist up, it became rounds of touching and tasting.

  His skin reminded her of honey and musk. It was a strange combination, but she enjoyed it. The blue tinge flushed to a deeper purple where she kissed and sucked at his skin.

  Utolian was busy on his own, cupping her breasts, stroking her nipples and waiting his turn to apply his lips to her skin. He slowly backed her to the bed and pressed her into the sitting position. With a smooth move, he lifted her legs and tipped her back, peeling the bodysuit from her with gentle jerks.

  When he lowered her legs to the bed, she laughed. He was hopping on one foot as he removed his own uniform completely. His erection was full, long and it curved dramatically upward. She licked her lips, but he eased her back and lowered himself against her, covering her completely.

  Avina groaned happily at the full contact. Utolian smiled and pressed another kiss to her lips, gradually working her into a frenzy as he kissed, licked and nibbled at her mouth.

  Once she was as enthusiastic as he was, he left her mouth and kissed his way down her neck, across her shoulders and down to her breasts. The hard suction that came without warning made her break the silence with a shriek. A heavy throb answered between her thighs. Despite her surprise, her body knew what to do when he repeated it on the other nipple.

  Her hips shimmied against his belly, twisting restlessly. As he worked down her torso, nibbling at her ribs, lapping at her belly and easing himself between her thighs, she pulled at his hair, trying to bring him up to where she could convince him to come inside her.

  He lifted his head, pulled her hands out of his hair and pinned them next to her hips with his fingers woven through hers.

  Avina watched as he shifted, widening the part of her thighs with his chest. He might have been out of practice, but he hadn’t forgotten a thing as he used his tongue to explore her, one lap at a time.

  She lifted her hips to meet his slow caresses and despite her gasps and whines, he didn’t increase his speed. Her climax surged through her, rocking her body against his mouth, she clenched her fingers against his and held tight. He continued his slow lapping from her opening to her clit, and she sobbed when the light caresses continued her aftershocks.

  Avina tried to move away from him, but he was firmly pinning her in place. “Stop.”

  “Why? You are enjoying it.”

  “It is a little…it is hard to explain, but it borders on pain.”

  He pulled away. “I am sorry.”

  “It wasn’t a bad pain, but it goes from pleasure to irritation in seconds. It will be fine in a few minutes.”

  He sighed in relief and sat up on his heels. “Then, I will do what cannot irritate you.”

  She didn’t have time to ask what it was.

  He glowed. From head to foot, he glowed and anywhere their skin touched, electric heat rippled into her. He released her hands and stroked her cheeks, ran his thumb over her lips and tapped her nose with one finger. Every place he touched lit up with excited energy.

  Her arousal ratcheted up beyond where she thought that climax was inevitable, but she was still held at bay with the slow increase of sensation until her entire body was throbbing and she was clutching at Utolian’s shoulders, trying to pull him down to her.

  He pulled her up instead.

  He lifted her and fitted the head of his cock to her, easing her down carefully; her wet sex took him eagerly. The slow slide wasn’t enough to tip her over the edge, but as he settled her on top of his thighs, she held tight to him and rocked against him. Four slow shifts of her hips and she looked up at him with wide eyes as the energy that he had placed inside her skin came roaring out.

  He kissed her and took the power that was pouring through her back into his body.

  She groaned as her body rocked and bucked against him. Her nails were clutching his biceps, and he was holding her hips, but he let her ride it out.

  Avina leaned against him, feeling her heart slowly returning to a normal pace. She felt two fingers lifting her chin, and he kissed her softly before his erection began to twist an undulate inside her.

  Apparently, he had taken the Wyoran prehensile cock and incorporated it into his body.

  She stopped analyzing his physiology and held on as her g-spot was stroked over and over. She could see his energy glowing, his chest and the cut lines of his abs were gleaming with sweat and that told her that he was not as calm as he appeared.

  It made her feel marginally better to know that he was on the edge of control, because her limbs were shaking once again and an orgasm was rushing upon her carried in sensation and aural energy. Utolian’s hands kept her fused to him, but they were getting tighter with every passing moment.

  Her voice broke on a shriek when she came and his climax bruised, energized and deafened her as he shouted, held her fast and spewed more aural energy into her.

  Avina held onto him until they both ceased their spasms. She looped her arms around his neck, and she groaned. “That was slow?”

  He laughed and moved them to a horizontal position, he slipped free of her but kept her body against his. “That was slow and well worth the wait.”

  She chuckled and kissed the pulse in his neck. “I would have suggested that we should have tried it while we were in quarantine, but I never would have had the nerve.”

  He snickered, “And I would not have taken advantage if I was not sure that we would be able to remain together.” He stroked her cheek and left a trail of aural energy.

  “How can you part with so much?”

  Utolian grinned, “It isn’t much. I have enough power in me to move stars. Moving you was far more pleasurable.”

  Avina wanted to slap him, she really did, but instead, she raised her knee and slid it up his thigh. “Move me again? Who knows when we will have another chance?”

  “Anything you wish, Aura Speaker. I live for your call.”

  She was going to snark at him, but he applied his lips to the spot under her ear that was guaranteed to drive her wild. His sharp teeth bit down gently, and she was swept away in the grip of an aura whose devotion was proved with every breath he took.

  There were worse fates.

  Chapter Nine

  Speaker faced off against the aura who had decided to drive out the living population.

  “Lealthic, you must leave the living world to the living. Stop your temper tantrums and leave the village alone.”

  They have disrespected my grave. My descendants have forgotten me. I will make them pay until the respect is given. Lealthic crossed his four arms and pouted, his tusks jutting forward.

  This was the sticking point. “Lealthic, you have no descendants left. They are all dead. Your line is gone; there is no one to maintain your grave. You must move on now.”

  Liar! The aura raised a hand and a bench flitted through the air toward Speaker.

  She stayed steady, and Aura caught the bench, putting it down. “I do not lie. My halo proves it. I cannot lie while I am wearing it. It would flare wildly if I were. Your last descendant
died forty years ago. You are literally the only one of your people left. The colonists here owe you nothing, but they asked for help in speaking to you.”

  You are telling the truth?

  “I am. What do you wish to do? The colonists have stated that if you tell them where you are buried, they will care for your resting place.”

  Lealthic sighed and closed his eyes. I wish to rest.

  She licked her lips. This part sometimes made the auras upset. “I can ease you into the next phase if you wish.”

  He jerked in surprise. You can do that for me?

  “I can and I will. You need only say the word.”

  Give me a moment to view my world?

  “Take your time. Aura and I will be here for—”

  An explosion rocked the ground, and Speaker looked from the aura standing in the public park to the mountain in the distance with the plume of grey dust coming from it.

  “Lealthic, please excuse us. We must see if we can be of use.”

  The aura nodded. Those mines are treacherous. I will come with you.

  The change from hostility to helpful was not something that Speaker was going to ignore. She jumped on her small personal skimmer, and Aura did the same. They headed out to the damage site.

  It was indeed a mine collapse and twenty men and women were trapped. The problem lay in the lack of location.

  Lealthic cleared his spectral throat. I will go in and find them. It will be my last act, one of atonement for what I have done.

  “Thank you. I will wait for your return.”

  He nodded and disappeared.

  The foreman came over to her. “Speaker, what is going on?”

  “Lealthic has volunteered to go and get a location of the survivors. He wishes to atone for his behaviour. He did not know that he was the last.”

  Technically, Lealthic was a ghost, but his mobility was that of an aura and that made him dangerous.

  The foreman was uneasy. “He will cooperate?”