“I don’t know, but she flickered while we were dancing. Can you give me a playback on it?”
Terus nodded to the other terminal. “It’s coming up there. Frankly, I had no idea she could move like that.”
Xeti sat and moved through the performance to the point where she was pressed back against him, and he went frame by frame. “There!”
She was looking down demurely, but her skin and hair were white, her eyes a glittering black.
“Holy... she’s an Elite omega.”
Terus came over and muttered, “Damn it.”
“And, her eyes are black.”
“Fucking hell. How did I miss that?”
“Did you hold her? Kiss her?”
“No. She was my guide to the modern era. She did her job well.”
“And she knew that it was a job.”
“Well, no. I asked her out because she looked sweet, and we flirted, and then I realized how much information she had at her disposal, and I focused on learning. I didn’t use a glamour. I didn’t have to.” Terus winced. “I may have cost us our mate.”
“You have cost me nothing so far, and as we are a pair, you are going to have to tell her you were mistaken.”
Terus looked uneasy. “I was very forthright as to why she was not suitable as a romantic partner.”
“Then, grovel you shall. If she is ours, we need her, and I need her just as a partner. She moves like we have been together for centuries.” Xeti paused. “She also does not have a problem that I am a spider.”
Terus wanted to cry. “Courting her will be hard for me.”
“You created the situation; you deal with it.” Xeti smiled. “Now, where does she live?”
“I don’t know. She always met me where we were going to be for the evening.”
Xeti looked at him. “You were utterly convinced she was of no use to you.”
“I didn’t want to engage romantic feelings and then hurt her.”
“Oh, so she merely felt like an unpaid tour guide.” Xeti looked at him. “What is her number?”
Terus winced. “I deleted it from my phone. I didn’t need it anymore.”
“Fine. I am going to track her after the club closes. Do you know anything else about her?”
“No. She didn’t share anything. Well, I didn’t ask about her.”
“What were you thinking?”
“I didn’t want to hurt her.” Terus’s voice was soft.
Xeti looked at him and saw what he saw in the mirror. The terror seen in the faces of those they thought loved them. The hope was as terrible as seeing the fear. Rache didn’t seem to fear much.
* * * *
AFTER ONE GUY TRIEDto follow her out of the club, she webbed him to a wall. He would be released when he calmed down. He was screaming a lot.
Rache changed into sweats and comfy socks and got a tiny glass of elderflower liqueur. Her schedule for the following week was already on her phone, and she laughed. Installing extra breakers and holiday lighting for Quickstep.It seemed their electrical designer had been focused on function rather than possible uses and installations.
