“It is so you can just feel for a moment. Just feel.”
She leaned in and coaxed him into the kiss, and she felt his interest wake and flare, surging against hers. Zera continued the kiss until his body was tense and his skin was hot.
Her lips were bruised when she pulled back, and his chest was heaving. She smiled. “How was that?”
“Better but worse. So much worse.” He chuckled. “How many weeks?”
“Mentalists get fast-tracked. You are under more security and checked more frequently.”
A chime went off, and she looked at them. “I have somewhere I need to be.”
Astel looked at her in shock. “You were almost kidnapped this morning.”
“No. I wasn’t. He was after some of my inventions. I have a lot of very small concealment and attack weaponry in the early stages of testing. Right now, the lab is an arsenal.” Zera looked at the schedule. “I really have to go.”
He frowned. “Why?”
“Invoking counsellor privacy.”
He smiled. “Of course.”
She showed him, and he jerked his hands back. “Holy.”
“Now, now.” She got to her feet.
He stood as well. “May I watch?”
She glanced at the other three team members, who were looking at her curiously. She shrugged. “You are all locked to secrecy if you come. Are we clear?”
They looked at each other curiously, and then, they nodded.
“Right. Come with me.” She walked out of her office, down the stairs, cleared them into the secure section for a single visit only. Susara was lying still on the bed with her failing system displayed on the monitor. She was the ideal depiction of sleeping beauty.
Chapter Nine
“So, Susara wanted to try out for the teams, and to do that, she needs to go through testing. To do that, I have to do it for her and restrict myself to her capabilities and squeeze into her smaller frame.” Zera moved around and unhooked Susara from life support. She checked the seals on her port sites and kissed her forehead.
Naima blinked. “You can shift shapes?”
“No. I am a jumper and nothing else.” She removed her clothing and kicked off her shoes, setting Susa into a seated position. She scooted into her, and when she opened her eyes, they all looked different. The enhanced site that she had naturally wasn’t in Susa’s body.
She swung her legs off the bed and said, “Astel, can you grab me that student suit hanging on the wall?”
Astel brought it to her, and she put her feet into it, working it up her hips. She pulled her arms out of the smock and then slid them into the suit sleeves, working them up and fastening the closure.
“Susara?”
She looked at him. “No. She’s not here. The only part of her that is left is this shell. This shell is going to the test prep, and tomorrow, I am taking her through the testing. She was far more than Suit Bait, and I want to prove that to them.”
She looked at the stunned faces around her. “I will prove it to them. Now, I am going to go to the orientation, and you can do what you like. No one is trying to kill Susa... today.”
Hron frowned. “I would rather that one of us is with you.”
Naima stepped forward. “I will go. We can get that coffee a day early.”
She flexed her hands and sighed. “The body is pretty weak. I might need the help.”
Naima offered her arm. Zera took it. “Gentlemen, if you would come with us. You are only authorized to be here if I am with you.”
She herded them out of Susa’s room and out of section black. She was leaning on Naima more than she was comfortable with.
“Sorry. I haven’t done this before, so I forgot that I had to keep the body more active, including feeding.”
Naima murmured, “If you can make it through the briefing, I will take you for lunch. It is common knowledge that Susa needs a guard, and I am definitely qualified.”
Zera smiled. “You definitely are.”
“Huh. Despite her status, I am not as drawn to her as I am to you right now. You are hiding your aura?”
“It is a chemical signature combined with energy output. It gets stronger the older I get.” She chuckled. “And the more sex I have. I will have to retire eventually when I am no longer able to contain it.”
She could see Hron looking back at her. “Retire?”
Susa-Zera chuckled. “Eventually. I am not going to leave anyone hanging.”
The team’s shoulders slumped in relief.
Susa-Zera chuckled, and then, they were in the bustling halls where students learning to control their activations stopped and stared. Susa-Zera grinned and said, “It is definitely you this time.”
“I think it is us.”
Hron turned and said, “We will meet you outside of the test briefing when you are done.”
She smiled. “I will be fine. Naima and I are going to go for coffee before I have to prep for a date tonight.”
Astel perked up. “We are still on?”
She nodded. “Though, you realize that folks listening in think you are going out with Susa.”
He chuckled. “She is lovely as well.”
Naima nodded. “We will be late. Out of the way, guys.”
They walked together through the crowd and entered the auditorium. Susa remembered to log in, and the members of her testing class smiled and gave her encouraging words. She stuck close to Naima and sat in a seat surrounded by friends.
The order of testing was read out, and Zera sighed. She and Susa were only two people apart. That would give her a very tight turnaround to get out of Susa and into the right mood to keep her power in check. It was going to be tight.
Naima leaned in and murmured, “Aren’t you going to be taking the same test?”
Susa-Zera nodded. “I have time, and I am automatically registered for the exam. Part of being involved in research.” She kept her whisper low, and a few of the folks with enhanced hearing turned and smiled
