Bannockburn Binding (Beloved Bloody Time) by Tracy Cooper-Posey Read Free Book Online Page B

either.”
    “You’re very reassuring,” Charbonneau chided him.
    Justin grinned. “We can change the subject, if you like.”
    The cabin gave a barely-felt shiver and they began to move. Charbonneau found himself gazing out of the windows. “We’re rising so fast!”
    Justin stared at him. “This is your first time in space, too,” he said slowly, suspiciously. “You’ve never left Earth before.”
    Charbonneau considered lying, then shrugged. “I thought it was finally time,” he said. He glanced at the woman sitting next to Justin, who was staring at them, patently eavesdropping. She smiled at him. An offering.
    He smiled briefly back and pulled out his pocket watch to check the time, which allowed him to look away from her without insult.
    “We’ll reach Halfway just after midnight, Sydney time,” Justin told him.
    “Thank you.” He put the watch away. “It occurs to me that it is perhaps not normal for you, a travel agent, to escort clients up the stalk to company headquarters.”
    “It’s not normal for clients to travel to HQ at all,” Justin assured him, dropping his voice so only Charbonneau could hear. “All our clients are human. Nearly everyone at the Agency is vampire. Humans tend to be unsettled by such a concentration of vampirekind and that would be bad for business. So…” Justin shrugged. “Most tours begin and end at the branch where the contract was finalized.” He smiled. “But you’re not here for a tour.”
    “Do all new recruits get such red carpet treatment, then?”
    “We’ve never had someone come to us before. Sometimes we must seek them out, using the most careful and discreet approaches. Most often, a name is recommended to us via someone already with the Agency and the approach is easier. But each new traveller is such a precious resource, we always shape our welcome to suit them.”
    “Can I ask a personal question?”
    “Of course.”
    “How do you….” He dropped his voice, aware of everyone around them and chose his words carefully. “How did you acquire such a tan? It has puzzled me since we met.”
    Justin’s smile broadened. “Sunshine serum,” he murmured.
    “You don’t mind the weakness? The headaches? Poor sight? Or does it not affect you that much?”
    “All that and more,” Justin confessed. “But for now, passing as human is still sweet. Sweeter than the pleasures of travelling. I believe you know that enticement, yourself. I haven’t researched, but just counting up on my fingers, I figure you’ve been successfully passing for about six hundred years.”
    Charbonneau kept his expression neutral. “Something like that,” he said carefully.
    Justin’s brow wrinkled. Then it cleared. “So I work to look like a rugged Australian, mate.” He looked out the window. “Ah and there’s the view that makes the slide up the beanstalk worth it,” he said, more loudly. “From here you can see the Bridge and the whole harbour, right out to the Pacific.”
    The change of subject was as delicate as every dealing Charbonneau had with Chronologic Touring Inc. A tiny blossom of hope bloomed upon the concealed, despairing landscape of his thoughts.
    * * * * *
     
    Tally woke to feel the warmth of sunshine on her face. The tent flap had been lifted enough to allow a small shaft of early morning sun to filter into the tent and it fell directly onto her face, waking her.
    She roused slowly, feeling the aches and strains in her body that came from a night of greedy and uninhibited sex.
    Rob had been a fast learner. Once he understood that she had few maidenly reservations and possibly knew more about sex and eroticism than he, Rob had suppressed his male, medieval ego and embraced the idea of mutual pleasure with enthusiasm.
    Tally sniffed, inhaling Rob’s scent. She was in no hurry to move, yet. The camp was still quiet outside, so it had to be just past dawn. In a moment, she would slide out the tent and go looking for Leuwis, before Rob awoke and