* * *
"If you think--" Aaron began loudly in the corridor.
Sarah jabbed him in the chest. It hurt worse than it should have. Those once broken ribs were sealed but they were not yet solid.
"Darling," she said, "do you realize that I keep seeing the same six people wherever we go? Isn't it amazing how small a building this size can be?"
Aaron had not noticed, but he was not stupid. Now that it had been pointed out to him, her conclusion was obvious. The burly man far in front of them looked familiar, and so did the woman who had just turned into the corridor. Aaron could not find the others Sarah referred to, but he trusted her to know her business.
"I won't do it," he whispered furiously. "The government would do worse to your world than the militia ever could."
Miss Hawks nodded. "I see it that way too."
Mock frowning, Sarah looked him straight in the eye. "Aaron, don't do it." She grinned. "There, see what I just did. I talked sense to you just like I promised that nice man I would." She walked quiet for a few moments. "If I ran this I would have people posted outside our room in such a way that they can overhear everything we say."
Aaron started and mentally kicked himself in the head. She was right. Why had he not thought of that before? What an idiot.
"They have little machines," he admitted, "that can hear everything we say and pass it on to people." The two women looked uncomprehending. "Like the holovision in our living room," Aaron expanded. "Those people said the words you heard months or even years ago, yet we heard the words as if they were being said for the first time."
Sarah was quiet a while longer. "Miss Hawks," she whispered, "I think it would be best if you became frightened of sleeping alone tonight. I don't think you want to be alone. I know I don't."
Miss Hawks said nothing but Aaron knew from the set of her face that she understood.
The personal items Sarah had asked for arrived minutes after they entered the suite. For the most part it mostly looked like junk to him so he was stumped as to why she wanted them. Very little of it was clothing, and the rest had no real purpose inside this building.
Sarah, however, was pleased to see the folding knife Aaron had bought for her. She pocketed it immediately as well as the five gold and seventeen copper she had been carrying. Aaron pocketed his own money, another three and a quarter gold, eight copper. He wanted to pitch the rest of his personal junk away because he had a tendency to collect things, moving them from pocket to pocket until those pockets were full.
Sarah made him keep everything, three pebbles, an arrowhead that had a tendency to poke him in his thigh, a wad of tangled string, and the somewhat deteriorated refrigerator magnet.
He still did not know what Sarah had in mind.
She quirked a suggestive eyebrow. "Bedtime, darling. Are you coming with me?"
Twenty-five and still a virgin, Aaron did not need to be asked twice. He followed her to their bedroom, closing the door behind them.
Sarah drew back the blankets. Fully clothed, she climbed into bed and patted the mattress. "Coming?"
Aaron fought back a frustrated growl and turned off the lights. Stumbling in the dark, he made his way to the bed and crawled beneath the covers. Sarah instantly wrapped him in her arms and gave him a triple powered kiss, and yes, the kiss was nice. Sarah was warm and soft and hard. She smelled of fresh soap.
Taking his courage in hand, Aaron decided there was no way he would be careful with his hands tonight. He undid the top buttons of her blouse, and his breath caught tight in his throat when his fingers brushed against a small bit of soft cleavage.
Sarah pulled his hands away.
Frustrated, Aaron groaned. "I'm willing to admit that I'm a beginner at this sort of thing, but aren't we supposed to be undressed at this point?"
"Not when company is coming," Sarah said.
A tentative knock sounded at the door. Sarah sighed contentedly. Aaron sighed with exasperation.
"Come in," Sarah called.
The door opened. Blanket clenched tightly around her, appearing slightly hunched and trembling in the light coming from the living room, Miss Hawks stepped hesitantly into the room. She had disarranged hair and haunted eyes.
"M--Miss Townsend. Mister Turner. I--I--could I maybe spend the night here? I think it might help if I were not alone."
"Come in, dear heart," Sarah said gently. "It's a large bed. There's room for all of us if we scrunch tight."
No there isn't, Aaron mentally wailed. No room. Go away. Go back to your own bed. This one belongs to us.
Predictably, Miss Hawks did not listen.
"Thank you, Miss Townsend." Miss Hawks closed the door behind her, once again surrounding them in darkness. Moments later, Aaron heard the rustle of her blanket falling to the floor just before Miss Hawks crawled into bed beside him. She rested her head on his shoulder, placed one leg over his and laid her hand on his chest, right beside Sarah's hand. Their two hands intertwined, and Aaron automatically shifted so he could wrap his arm around Miss Hawks' waist.
It was a bare waist. In fact, he soon discovered that the rest of her was bare too. Sarah had been right. Miss Hawks was going to make his life very difficult.
"Call me Sarah, dear. I think people in bed with the same man should be on a first name basis. Besides, I really like you."
"Promise you won't laugh," Miss Hawks said.
"Laugh at what?"
"At my name. If you laugh, I will hit you."
"Promise," Sarah said, her voice almost too low to be heard.
"Kitty. My name is Kitty."
Aaron felt a brief convulsion run through Sarah. Tremors shook her, and he heard the beginnings of a snort.
"Your parents must have hated you," Sarah finally giggled.
"They weren't normal," Kitty admitted. "I have three sisters, Piglet, Filly and Heifer. My brother is named Pup."
Aaron found that unlikely composition of names somewhat unbelievable. The young Miss Hawks, it seemed, had a talent for fibbing.
"How about if I just call you Kit?" Sarah asked.
"I would love you for it."
"Good. Aaron, I would like you to meet Kit. Kit, this is Aaron." Sarah snuggled tighter to Aaron and kissed his ear. "Kit," she whispered so quietly her voice barely carried. "I wish you had worn clothes to bed. Your being naked makes things awkward."
Kit stirred and pulled slightly away. "Is this a problem for you?"
"No dear," Sarah said in a normal voice, "though I suspect it might be something of a problem for Aaron. Did you know he hasn't been with a woman yet?"
"Really?" Kit snuggled in tighter against Aaron. The hand holding Sarah's moved down his body to stop at his belt buckle.
"Oh don't worry about that right now," Sarah continued. "The thing is, your lack of clothing is soon going to be more of a problem for you than it is for him." She released Kit's hand and moved hers up until it cupped Aaron's chin. Pulling his head around, she kissed him soundly and firm.
"Hey, don't let me stop you," Kit jibbed.
Sarah kissed Aaron again. Her lips moved gently against his. Aaron strained to hear her whisper.
"Darling," she breathed into his mouth, "Get us out of here."
"What?"
Sarah's hand traveled back down Aaron's body. It paused when it met Kit's hand near his belt, and continued its journey until it reached as low as it could travel. Her fingers closed with a grip that threatened to crush cement, or whatever else they managed to get hold of.
"If you want to father children on mine or any other body, you had better transport us out of here now." Sarah emphasized her point by closing her fingers a fraction tighter.
"I can't," Aaron protested. "You heard Mister Aybarra. They took away my ability when they undid the wiring. Do you honestly think they would let us be together if I could just transport us away?"
"Try," Sarah insisted, squeezing her fingers just a little bit more.
Aaron grimaced and fought
back a groan. Certain items had become more compact than nature intended. "Okay! Okay!"
She relaxed her grip but did not release it entirely. Aaron tried to concentrate. He pictured the lower cellar in his mind and wrapped his thoughts around the two women. Thinking about them was easy. Concentrating was hard. He almost had the proper feeling twice but each time it slipped out of his grasp. He tried transporting again and nothing happened.
He could not get a grasp on the lower cellar. For some unknown reason the image kept slipping from his mind. He remembered the apartment in Columbia City, wiped the image from his mind, and tried to grasp the lower cellar again. Sarah and Kit almost disappeared from his thoughts.
Sarah got a better hold on what she ought not to hold. Kit teasingly ran her fingers across his chest and flicked a fingernail across his shirt covered nipple.
"Do it," Sarah ordered. She clenched down.
Almost feeling like he was jumping from his skin, Aaron's mind grasped onto something, grabbed hold of both the women and then gave that peculiar twist.
Flicker