Shades of Gray - By Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge Page 0,47
the Academy.”
She rolls her eyes. “I don’t know how you can stand to work with the man. He’s so pushy.”
“He’s also my direct report.”
Even more reason why she would never volunteer to let Moore perform his tests on her—if he proved that her power was Mental and not Light, she’d be answerable to him. And that would be over her dead body. She’d seen the look of naked hunger in the doctor’s eyes more than once. It was the same look, she was sure, that had been in Frankenstein’s eyes as he researched how to create his Monster.
“Thank Jehovah I’m not a Mental power,” she mutters. “The man won’t get off my case about wanting to peek into my head and see what makes me tick.”
“He’s driven,” Hal says, stroking the curve of her waist. “I admire that sort of dedication.”
“You’re a good man, Hal Gibbons.”
“I’m a horny man, Holly Owens.” His hand dips lower, and Holly lets out an appreciative moan. “Stay just a few more minutes?”
“Mmm.”
“I love it when you do that,” he says. “When you close your eyes and just go with how you’re feeling. I want to etch your image in my mind.”
She laughs. “You’re such a romantic.”
“With you? Abso …” His voice trails off.
“Hal?” Holly opens her eyes and sees her lover staring off into space, his gaze unfocused. “Hal? Are you okay?”
He doesn’t answer.
“Hal,” she says again, firmly. When he doesn’t respond, she reaches over to touch his shoulder. “Hypnotic. What’s wrong?”
He blinks once, slowly, then turns his dark gaze to her. “Sorry,” he says, sounding strange and distracted, his voice creeping up Holly’s naked back. “Just lost in thought.”
Unconvinced, she says, “You sure?”
“Yes.” He looks her up and down, and he smiles. “I love touching your body,” he says, moving his hand up over the swell of her breast.
She arches into his touch, and her concern melts away.
There’s a pinch on her arm, quick and then it’s gone, replaced with Hal’s soft kisses along her arm, her shoulder, her neck. She doesn’t mind the pinch. Hal gets rough sometimes—pinching, biting, slapping. That’s what he needs, and Holly lets him be rough with her because she loves him.
His hands are on her again, moving rhythmically, soothingly, and Holly sighs, feeling warm and sleepy, and she lets her eyes drift closed.
She wakes up in her own bed the next morning, when Vixen is threatening to pour water over her head if she doesn’t get up to patrol with her. Holly moves at half speed, feels almost drunk. Valerie, laughing, shoves coffee under Holly’s nose. “Christo, if sleeping with Doctor Hypnotic is that good, maybe he should change his name to Doctor Love.”
Holly grins, still feeling dopey and rubber-limbed. Yeah, it was going to suck for her on patrol today. But after last night? Worth it.
“Hal’s good,” Holly said to Valerie.
“You didn’t get into a fight with him or anything?”
“No.” She forced herself to smile. “Really, I’m just not sleeping well.”
And since that last night with Hal, she’d been plagued with bad dreams, nightmare images that scattered when she tried to focus on them. What had it been, a week? Two? She didn’t know.
“Maybe you should get yourself checked out,” Valerie said skeptically.
Holly shuddered. Sure, she could go visit the Medical wing of the Squadron. But if this was something else, something psychological, Corp would force her to go to the Academy for an evaluation in the Mental wing. And that was something Holly would avoid at all costs. She would never be Dr. Moore’s plaything. Never.
“I’m fine,” she said, turning back to the console and taking the hover out of autodrive. “I just need a good night of sleep.”
“Maybe make an appointment with Hypnotic,” Valerie joked. “A night with him, you’ll be sleeping like a baby.”
“Yeah,” Holly said, and was surprised to feel her stomach lurch at the thought of being with Hal again. “Sure.”
Holly blinked, then looked over at Jamie. He was standing in front of her, his eyepiece projecting a green-tinged list in front of his face. Holly was seated at the vanity table in her room. She had a moment of dizziness, and she wondered why she’d been thinking of Dr. Moore, of all people. “Sorry,” she said to Jamie. “Were you saying something?”
Her Runner was frowning at her, worry lines on his face. “I was reviewing today’s schedule with you, and you just drifted off,” he said, sounding concerned. “You okay?”
She rubbed her head. “Yes, sorry. I’m just tired. Not sleeping