“That isn’t so easy.” Arthur’s glib reply did nothing to ease the tension and he wasn’t surprised when the car glided to a stop on the shoulder.
He didn’t resist the hand cupping his cheek, turning to regard the once mirror of Martin’s features. “I want to be on your side, you know I do. But I’m worried about you.”
“I’ll be fine,” he soothed. “I’m not hurting anyone. I know it can’t go on forever. I’m just not ready to stop yet. Soon, I promise.”
“You swear?”
“Cross my heart.” Sharp eyes searched for the lie behind his words, but their inherent sincerity must have been convincing. The car slid back into traffic, and Arthur slid back into his contemplation of the perfect death.
The next few weeks were filled with stolen moments and the search for epiphany. His friends stopped meeting his gaze, eyes skittering past the bruised tones of his skin to rest on the nothingness behind him. Their discomfort only fueled his frantic quest to either hold on to what he had, or find a permanent solution to his situation.
Even his lover pressured him, waiting until he lay limp and boneless, still panting from his release. “You can’t continue on like this.”
“You sound like you don’t want to be here.” Arthur’s hurt leaked into the words.
“I should say that.” A surprisingly strong hand kneaded the muscles of his neck, and Arthur turned away, forcing his limbs to stop trembling. “I should… but I can’t. I’ve come to care for you.”
The reluctant response, and the brilliant smile it wrung from the usually somber Arthur, touched off another round of heated kisses. Hands roamed over all the skin they could reach, painting new marks of possession across creamy flesh.
Ironically, when he was most lost in the embrace of his shadow lover, he was closest to the answer he so desperately sought. Recognition simmered in the dark corners of his mind, pushed into hiding by the intoxication of one more perfect kiss.
When it hit him Arthur almost rejected the idea. Too trite, too pat, too sappily sweet. But it called to him, whispering in the long dark hours of the night, and piercing through the drone of disapproval that blanketed his waking hours.
“What have you done?” The gossamer whisper almost went unnoticed.
“I’m going to join you.” Arthur’s confession released the tight knot of lingering tension inside him. “I’ve been planning it for a long time.”
“There is no me without you.” The aching sadness in his phantom lover’s voice had him searching the familiar features, hoping he had misinterpreted. “I will miss you.”
Their last kiss. Arthur was torn between laughing and crying, his shoulders shaking, the taste of blood on his lips. He wanted to apologize but plump lips covered his, the taste of blood growing stronger. Too late, he realized their stolen kisses weren’t enough, would never be enough. He couldn’t remember what his lover tasted like, so he cried harder.
“I’m tired,” Arthur’s eyelids drooped, fluttering in time with the beats of his heart.
“Then sleep.” The husky whisper was infinitely gentle, shadow hands clutching him tightly. “Just close your eyes and rest.”
“Kiss me again?” His eyes closed, the lids giving up the battle to stay open, stress and pain softening away.
“Dream of me. I’ll kiss you when you wake.”
Ambassador by Nobilis Reed
“Oh, Miss Walker, you’re finally here.” The man scrambled from behind his desk to shake her hand.
Kay put down her travel bag so she could accept the handshake. “You’re Mister Chumley, then?”
His grip was weak and trembling, and the haunted look in his eyes betrayed many sleepless nights. In the photos she had been given, his posture had been proud, but those broad shoulders were now stooped, like those of a man twice his age. “Yes, yes, Victor Chumley, that’s right, that’s right. I hope you had a pleasant trip? Can I get you some water, maybe something to eat? They have food we can eat here. Haha, of course they do, what am I saying? Let me get some for you, okay, Miss Walker?” He spoke too quickly, the words tumbling over each other to get out.
“You can call me Kay. That won’t be necessary. I ate before the transference. You’re going home.”
“I am? Oh, oh…” Relief washed some of the stress out of his face, and while he didn’t look any less broken, at least he wasn’t going to collapse in pieces on the floor.
She patted his hand lightly. “Everything will be just fine. I’ll pick up where you left off.” A little knot of tension sprang up in her stomach, causing a wave of nausea. She let go of his hand again, and it quelled. This was going to take some getting used to.
“What? No. Oh, no. Oh, nonono. I can’t ask anyone to go through what I’ve gone through. It’s too much.”
“Ambassador, you were unprepared for this post. You were prepared for reports, presentations, meetings, committees-everything except what you found. When your first reports got back to Earth, the Department knew immediately that you didn’t have the right skills. That’s why they sent me.”
“You-you know what happens here, and you came willingly?”
“I have special qualifications.”
“I don’t know.” Victor glanced around the room, as if the walls were about to suddenly crash in on him. “I don’t know if anyone is prepared for this. The affinity-you don’t know what it does to you.”
“Mister Chumley, I worked in one of the most exclusive escort services in Berlin for six years. I built up a reputation as the girl who would do anything, with anyone, and do it with a smile. I really don’t think there’s anything here that is going to be more than I can handle. The scans and samples you provided ruled out the possibility that there would be any medical consequences. Given that,” she shrugged. “I’m ready for anything.”
“I have a better idea. You and I take the files, the records, and just go. We’ve gotten a wealth of new information, enough for us to declare success and just go home. Nobody will blame us.”
“Mister Chumley, think of me like a highly paid mercenary. I have been paid to perform a mission, and I am going to perform it.”
“If you say so, Miss Walker. I warned you.”
“Duly noted. I assume all your reports and files are up-to-date?”
“Yes, yes, of course. Yes. Let me show you.” He went back to his desk and laid his hand on a small plastic board, in the center of a glowing orange outline. His eyes glazed over for a moment, and then he pulled them away again. “There. I’ve given you access to everything. All you need to do is register.”
“Interesting. Alien technology, yes?” She sat down and put her hands into the two outlines, and the virtual interface of the computer sprang up in her mind’s eye. She opened a few files at random and scanned them, making sure that she had the access she needed, then disconnected. “That seems to be in order.” She set the panel down and turned toward Victor. “Now I want you to brief me.”
“It’s all there in the reports…”
“Victor. You and I both know that not everything makes it into the reports. This transition will run more smoothly if you do this personally.”
“I… I don’t want to think about it. I just want to go home. Don’t you see? I just want to go home!”
Kay had a job to do, but Victor needed stability. She stood up and put her hands on his shoulders. It was a gentle touch, but he flinched. “Let me help you,” she said.
As the contact continued, she could feel a trembling take hold in her fingers, and a weakness in her knees. It felt natural, like the fear was her own, but she rode it out until she felt the tension drain out of his shoulders. His expression softened, and he sighed.
Kay smiled. “There now.”
“Thank you.”
She kept her hands there, letting the effect continue. “I was briefed on the affinity effect back on Earth. I
