Halt Read Online Free PDF Page B

still have two more days?”
    Quell inclined his head. “You do. Get comfortable and the bots will bring out your uniform for when you return from your swim.”
    The way he said it made her suspicious, but she really wanted to take that dip. First things first. She headed for the pool.
    Her clothing hit the floor, and she dove into the blue-green water a moment later. Swimming was a luxury that she could no longer afford as few places could afford the filtering system needed to clear her influence out of the water.
    The cool water wrapped around her, the closest thing to contact from another living soul that she had enjoyed in nearly a year.
    She did a forward stroke, flipped and returned. She didn’t know if she had spent minutes or hours in the water, but when she finally hauled herself out, she was exhausted and grinning like a fool.
    “You still like to swim.” Silver was sitting with his mask pushed back to hang from the back of his neck.
    “You still like to be here when I come out. I apologize for the view.” Tazzy got to her feet and wrapped herself in a towel.
    “There is nothing wrong with the view, Rikkat. You are lovelier than ever.”
    She turned her face away from his bright gaze. “I am a disaster.”
    “You are alive. There is nothing more I would ask for.” He got out of his chair and came up to her.
    He grabbed her arms and held her, though she knew his instinct was telling him to let go and remain passive. “I am with you once again, Commander. There is no where I would wish either of us to be right now.”
    Arkenor had been making the occasional overture toward her, but she had held back because of the rank issue. Now, it seemed that her rank was taken along with her job and her purpose.
    Tazzy watched him come in and lifted her head slightly to meet his lips with her own. She relaxed the control that she could wield over him and let him weave a spell over her instead.
    Wrapped in her towel, she shivered as he stroked her shoulders and arms. Their kiss deepened, and she tasted him for the second time in her life. The first time had been when she packed him on the medical transport, and a day later, he had been reported as dead.
    She pulled back with a jerk. “Stop.”
    He froze, his hands still clutching her arms.
    “Why did you stop me? Things were going so well.”
    She blinked and tears filled her lashes. “They were. They can’t. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but tonight, I sleep alone.”
    “We have dinner first.” His hands began to move on her.
    She looked down, and there was a silvery trace on her skin. “What are you doing?”
    “Producing antibodies to your commands. A few more minutes of contact and I will be immune to you.”
    She stumbled out of his grip. “You can do that?”
    “I was changed as well. You were not the only one. I received a transfusion from a soldier of Genaran extraction, and I suffered a complication. While we appeared to be a match on paper, they did not account for the nanites that would race through my system and make themselves at home.”
    “Genarans? I have heard of them.”
    “Of course you have. They are also responsible for your Guardian uniform. It will expose a lot of your skin, but I believe it will make an impression. You always looked good in almost nothing, and your new abilities will be more easily accessed if your limbs are exposed.”
    Now, she was curious. Wrapped in nothing but the towel with her old uniform over her arm, she left him and pattered back to her quarters. A stand was next to her wardrobe, and on it was a bodysuit cut high on the hips and low across the cleavage. Surprisingly, the suit would cover her arms and neck, expose the tops of her breasts, her hips and part of her butt. The boots hit just above the knee. Anyone who tried to grab her would fall into her power immediately.
    “Try the suit on. I think you will find it far more adaptable than you imagine.”
    She looked over at Silver, and he shrugged,