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assistant in a matter of seconds, and her body was outraged that the promise of a hot, steamy night had been withdrawn with no notice.
    Leaving Mordem was difficult, but she was at Dem’s side for the rest of the party.
    She laughed at the political jokes, but her peripheral vision kept track of the Guardians and the governor.
    “You would not believe the body of knowledge that the horticulturalist shared with me earlier.” Dem murmured it to her when they were alone for a moment.
    “Oh, I can believe it.”
    “I will not need your regular services here.”
    She nodded. “I understand. You are aware we have been locked down?”
    “Yes, Captain Mkaskit mentioned it to me a few hours ago.”
    Cam sighed. The captain was supposed to inform her, but her com had been completely silent.
    “Why wasn’t I notified?”
    Dem grinned. “I told him you were busy. The governor speaks very highly of you. You could do worse.”
    She gave him an arch look. “So, that wasn’t a flare of outrage when I was dancing with Mordem?”
    “You were making out with him in public. It lacked your normal decorous behaviour patterns. It caught me by surprise.”
    Cam gave him a look that she hoped was filled with sarcasm. “You chase every bit of prey you can and you begrudge me one connection in a public space?”
    He grinned. “I am used to having you at my side.”
    “I am used to being alone. We all pick our situations. Now, I want to go with the crowd and greet the light mist. Care to join me?”
    He wrinkled his nose. “No, it isn’t really my thing.”
    She nodded. “I will see you shortly.”
    Dem was perturbed as she turned away from him, but she ignored it. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her, and she was going to embrace it.
     

Chapter Three
     
     
    The light mist rolled over the grass and picked up speed as it climbed the hill.
    Mordem sidled up to her and put his hand on her waist. “This one moment, the entire planet glows as Namkor seeks out his Gifted.”
    She glanced up at him and the solid structure of his body that made her feel safe and vulnerable at the same time. She shook her head at her foolish train of thought. Fantasizing about superheroes was not something she had ever outgrown.
    “Did you go out with your family to watch the approaching light?”
    He chuckled. “I did. We gathered with our community and watched the light come up from the mines. It wrapped around us, and we could feel the touch of the planet that night. Some say it is an aphrodisiac.”
    She had one thought as she looked at the broad expanse of his shoulders that made her feel delicate and petite. It wasn’t a feeling she had often. If the light was an aphrodisiac, how could she tell?
    “I think it might just be the touch of the world you walk on that drives the urge for sex. That much power loosed would have a dizzying effect on self-control.”
    He grinned down at her. “I like my explanation better. Less clinical.”
    The mist was nearly on them. The crowd was gasping and laughing as the wave of the mist reached them. Couples of all sexes began to make out, and as the light reached her, Camile knew why.
    Heat and pressure, a thousand tiny touches all working up her legs and focusing around her hips. Her brain registered the touches, the stimulation, and it was only her months of training at the Companion Centre that allowed her to ignore what she was feeling as her body throbbed.
    She appeared to be the only one who was ignoring it. Everyone else was pairing off.
    She looked to Mordem. “So, my not plastering myself to you is a problem?”
    He smiled, wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her until they were face to face. “It is not a problem for me, but if you want to discourage the governor, I would suggest that you at least pretend to kiss me.”
    “An easy suggestion to follow.” She draped her arms around his neck and brushed her lips against his.
    The first light brush led to another, and before she