Dark Choices - I. T. Lucas Page 0,95
and Ruvon hadn’t returned yet, and Rufsur wondered whether the ladies he’d seen them flirting with had taken them home with them. If not, they might still be there, checking out the selection.
When he’d returned to the house, Jacki and Kalugal had been in their bedroom, so he hadn’t had an opportunity to talk with either of them.
Jacki had emerged only a few minutes ago and had gone into the kitchen to make coffee. Kalugal was either taking a shower or a nap, but he wasn’t going to ask which one unless Jacki volunteered the information.
He glanced at his watch. It was only ten minutes after twelve, but maybe Edna would be okay with him coming to get her earlier. Besides, Kalugal still hadn’t emerged from the bedroom, so it wasn’t as if they were heading out already.
Lucky bastard. Not only was he mated to a great girl, but he could also enjoy her anytime he wanted.
“I told Edna that I will pick her up at one o'clock, and we will have lunch together, but if we get there before that, I’ll see if she can join us earlier.”
“I’m sure she can. That’s going to be our final goodbye for this visit. Are you all packed?”
“I never unpacked. I was living out of my duffle bag.”
She chuckled. “No wonder you look so rumpled.”
He glanced down at his T-shirt. “I didn’t notice, but you are right. Do you think I should iron it?”
“If you take it off, I can iron it for you.”
He could only imagine what Kalugal would think if he came out of the bedroom and saw him sitting there bare-chested while Jacki ironed his shirt.
“Thanks, but I can do it myself.” He gave the shirt a tug. “Or I can just do this.” He gave it a few more. “Much better.”
“Men.” Jacki shook her head. “Do you want coffee?”
Coffee was safe. “I would love some. Thank you. Do you know if Kalugal got any updates from home?”
If they were saying goodbye to their hosts over lunch, the coast must be clear.
She handed him a mug and sat on the couch next to him. “So far, Phinas has nothing to report. Kalugal spoke with him less than an hour ago, and there has been no suspicious activity around the house. If not for Syssi insisting on having a bad feeling about it, we would have been on our way to the airstrip by now. Instead, we are leaving at four. Kalugal wants us to have dinner at home.”
“That’s a shame. Kian’s cyborg butler is a great cook.” He smiled. “Just don’t tell Atzil that I said so.”
He couldn’t care less about what he ate for dinner. Sandwiches from the café’s vending machine would have been fine if he could share them with Edna.
Jacki patted his arm. “I know that it’s not about Okidu’s cooking but about having more time with Edna. You don’t need to pretend to be all macho with me. Having feelings doesn’t make you any less manly.”
“Damn right.” He flexed his bicep. “I am a manly man.”
“I thought of something this morning. It’s just a seed of an idea, but if all of us gave it some thought, maybe it could be useful for our future plans.” She glanced at the door to the bedroom. “What’s encouraging is that Kalugal didn’t dismiss it out of hand.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“So the biggest obstacles to the unification idea are fear and the wish for privacy and independence. Kian is afraid of Kalugal using his compulsion power to get information out of people or to cause trouble, and now that we know that Annani can compel Kalugal, he is afraid of the same thing from her. Except, both sides have an immune. Kalugal has me, and Kian has Turner. The question is, how can we protect our people from compulsion? Kalugal will not agree to the cuff being permanently attached to his wrist, and I wouldn’t even suggest that the goddess wear one.”
So, he’d been right about Kalugal figuring that one out.
Damn. His chances of seeing Edna were not looking good, and Jacki’s idea wasn’t really helpful.
“That’s thinking out of the box, which is great, but I can’t see how we can use it. You can only shield yourself, and as you’ve experienced, you couldn’t help any of your friends when Kalugal froze them. There isn’t much you can do.”
“I was still human back then. I’m faster and stronger now, but I still don’t know what I could do to