“He’s not quite that bad,” Elvi said solemnly, proving that she too could read her.
“I thought I was supposed to be hard to read, and probably impossible to read for new turns,” she said with a frown. “Are you an old turn? I got the feeling you were newer.”
“Really?” Elvi asked with interest. “Why is that?”
“I don’t know,” Sherry murmured, and then after a moment to consider it, said, “I think because you don’t speak as stiffly as the older ones. You use short forms like don’t and aren’t, while they tend not to shorten their words as often. You sound more today compared to Basileios, Katricia, and Drina.”
“Yes, they speak more formally. Though Stephanie is trying to change that,” Elvi said with a faint smile, and then admitted, “And you may have been harder to read at first, but once you were put together with Basileios . . .” She shrugged. “I’m afraid you will become easier and easier to read for a while.”
“Why?” Sherry asked curiously.
“I think it’s the sex, or maybe the sex hormones,” Elvi said, and then added dryly, “They certainly seem to scramble the brain for the first little while.” She shrugged. “I think they lower your ability to guard your thoughts.”
“Hmm,” Sherry muttered, and lifted a sheer black top out of the suitcase to hang up in the closet. It was a dressy top and she supposed it would come in handy if they went out to dinner or something. But only if Justin had packed the black camisole she liked to wear with it. The thought of his pawing through her lingerie drawer, though, was kind of embarrassing. To get her mind off of it, she asked, “So, as far as you know, Basileios is an okay guy?”
“According to Victor, Basileios is a good man. In fact, he’s Victor’s favorite brother, so I’ve been looking forward to meeting him.”
“Oh.” Sherry turned back from hanging up the top. As she crossed to the suitcase, she said, “I’m sorry. Go on down and get to know him, then. I didn’t mean to keep you from—”
“It’ll wait,” Elvi said on a laugh, and then standing up, offered, “But why don’t I help you hang up your clothes. It will speed things along so we can go downstairs and make tea or something. Victor should be back by now with goodies to have with tea.”
“Thank you,” Sherry murmured, and picked up another shirt, frowning as she noted it was her sheer white blouse, similar to her black one but a different cut. Still, it too needed a camisole. Holding it in one hand, she began to dig through the clothes with her other and released a mutter of dismay.
“What’s wrong?” Elvi asked.
“Other than two see-through tops, everything in here is negligees. There are no socks, no slacks, not even any panties and—Oh wait, he packed my black lace bustier and the matching thong,” she said with disgust.
“I gather you didn’t pack the bag?” Elvi asked carefully, obviously trying not to laugh at her predicament, which Sherry supposed would be funny to others, but wasn’t to her. She couldn’t walk around in peignoirs all the time. In fact, she couldn’t walk around in them at all except in her room. What the devil was she supposed to wear?
“No,” she said, tossing the silky dressing gowns back in her bag with irritation. “Lucian sent Justin to do it.”
“Ah, it was probably his idea of a joke, then,” Elvi said soothingly. “Don’t worry, we can nip down to Walmart and buy you anything you need. Or we can even go into London and hit the nicer shops.” She patted Sherry’s shoulder and then grinned. “And, since Justin messed up, we can just charge it to the room and let the council pay for it. Their mistake, they foot the bill.”
Sherry smiled slowly at the suggestion, then closed the suitcase and nodded. “Sounds like fun.”
“Good. Let’s go down and make some tea, then, I’m parched,” Elvi said, heading for the door. Halfway there, though, she mused, “Or maybe a glass of wine would be nice.”
“It isn’t even noon yet,” Sherry pointed out with amusement.
“Yes, but alcohol doesn’t affect me anymore anyway,” Elvi assured her. “The nanos clear it away too quickly. I just like the taste . . . and it might help you relax. You’re practically vibrating with tension.”
Sherry stopped walking and peered at her wide-eyed. “Am I?”
Elvi nodded, a sympathetic smile on her face. “Your mind is just racing. Am I a life mate? What does that mean? Would this Leo person really come after me? Will my life ever return to normal? Was it shared pleasure or just lust?”
Sherry was pretty sure she was blushing brightly by the time Elvi finished listing the thoughts she was reading from her. And those were the worries running around inside her head. It was terribly disconcerting, though, to think everyone was hearing these worries . . . especially the one about shared pleasure and lust.
“I know,” Elvi said on a little sigh. “It’s terribly embarrassing and distressing to know that every single person in this house will know exactly what you’re thinking for the next while. Unfortunately, there isn’t a thing you or I or anyone else can do about it. We aren’t listening in so much, as you’re shouting your thoughts at us. It’s another sign of life mates,” she explained.
“Oh dear,” Sherry breathed, horrified at the thought that her mind was shouting out things like “Was it shared pleasure or lust?” to everyone.
Elvi nodded. “That’s why I thought wine might be nice. Hopefully, it will help you relax and worry a little less.”
“Yes, then wine sounds good,” Sherry decided firmly.
“Come along, then, we’ll go see if we have some,” Elvi said, turning back to open the door. “If not, we’ll make the boys take us shopping and then out to lunch. You can’t worry about all these things while debating between which blouse to buy.”
Smiling faintly, Sherry followed her out of the room. She suspected she and Elvi would be good friends. Certainly, she already liked the other woman.