Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

The Right Body For Grace

She refused to talk to Raptor while crammed together into such a tiny space. Lick him? He wanted her to promise not to lick him ? The man... alien... whatever ... was an idiot.

It made her even angrier when the fingers she used to touch the dust on his body started tingling. Her first impulse was to raise them to her mouth and suck the tips. In fact, she raised her hand a few inches. But she realized what she was doing and slid that hand under her thigh.

Thankfully, Raptor didn't know she'd done that. The man was insufferable. His opinion of his charms was off the charts. He did not attract her. At all. Seriously .

Especially not when he was in this tiny silver body.

She truly was afraid she would break him. Grace tried to sit lightly. As stupid as it was—she willed herself to be lighter. Thought, light thoughts. Took deep breaths, hoping her oxygen-laden lungs would decrease the load.

When the shuttle swooped up and over the fence, then quickly dropped—she held her breath and listened for Raptor to groan or for his breathing to become labored. She was afraid that the maneuver had pushed her down, flattening him.

He didn't seem to notice.

When they passed a security guard making a circuit of the building, Grace slouched down in the seat. The man walked to a door near them and made sure it was locked. Then he continued his way around the building.

"He can't see us," Raptor softly reminded her.

She knew that. It was just weird.

They stayed in place for several minutes, watching the guard repeat the process at the next entrance.

Raptor murmured in her ear, "His path takes him about six feet from the building unless he nears a door, then he skims closer. We can park the shuttle right next to the wall, as long as we are about four feet from the entrance. Do you know if there are cameras?"

Grace nodded. "There are. Both inside and out. But I also know that no one monitors them. They store the footage for several days and only look at it if something happens."

"Okay, I can blast the electronics. But once I do that, nothing will work."

She winced. "My private lab is in the middle of the building, on the third floor. Garret's office is on the top—the fifth floor. We'll need the elevators to work and access to this door and my lab. Everything has an electronic lock." Grace pulled the lanyard holding her work ID out from under her shirt. "I really hope he hasn't taken me out of the system. This should get us into the building, allow us to use the elevator, and also open the door to the lab. As long as he didn't turn off my access, the only thing we won't be able to unlock with this card is anything on the fifth floor."

"Not a problem. I'll blast it on the way out. That will fry the recordings and anything that runs on electricity."

"Perfect. The door we want is closer to the front. The main doors at the entrance to the parking lot have a check-in desk with a guard. He sits there for most of his shift. But there is one just off to the side that is close to the maintenance elevator. That will get us upstairs and if we use that elevator, the guard won't hear it. The cleaning staff should be the only ones we need to avoid."

"Show me which one," Raptor urged.

Grace motioned him forward and pointed when they neared the one she wanted.

He parked the shuttle and released the top so she could climb out. The shuttle was visible from the time he opened it until Raptor got out, turned, and closed the roof exit. The shuttle disappeared again. Grace shook her head. She couldn't see it. Reaching out a hand, she touched the cool metal. Her hand was visible and when she pushed, she could feel the ship. The shuttle was still there, and if a guard walked closer to the side of the building, they would trip over it.

She snickered for a moment, imagining if that happened.

Raptor

Grace was so caught up in the invisible ship, he thought she wouldn't notice him switching from his silver body to the short, fat man he'd been earlier. Quickly, he changed to the tall, muscular man, with long brown hair—and then back again. His image wavered as he tried to decide what to do. He thought about using the body Falcon suggested. Telling himself he would be stronger, and more able to take care of the woman he wanted to be his mate.

The reality was—he wanted her to be impressed with his looks.

Raptor sighed and went back to the short, chubby look he used when he met her. It was probably better not to confuse her any more than he already had.

She twirled around and hissed at him. "What the hell are you doing? What was that..." She waved her hand and shuddered. "All those... What the hell is going on? "

He made the mistake of muscling out his body when they got out of the shuttle. Switching between his natural form, an Earth bodybuilder biker dude, and the nerd he'd been when he met her. He'd been indecisive about what would be the best form for this stage. He hadn't meant for her to see. "I didn't think you'd notice," he stalled. Trying to come up with an explanation.

"My peripheral vision is excellent," Grace huffed. "What are you hiding from me?"

He was so frustrated. So... strapped for time. This wasn't going the way it should. Of course, if he compared it to meeting his Keeper in earlier lives... this was going exceedingly well. He had spent more time with her now—than he had in all previous lives— combined . Raptor shouldn't complain.

He should tell her the truth.

"The silver body is my native form." He needed to speed this up and get inside. "Makayla's mate, my brother, suggested this form..." His body morphed back to tall and muscular, with long brown hair that flowed over his shoulders. He kept his eyes a golden brown. "Instead, When I first got here, I chose the form you first saw, in order to be difficult." Another body change accompanied the confession. Back to the shorter, weaker, heavier male he'd been when he first met her.

The women thought this was funny. She rolled her eyes at him and suggested, "Just be your normal self."

So he did. Switching back to silver skin, dark green hair, and eyes that were shimmering gold.

"No. Don't do that," she hissed. "If someone in the lab sees you, all hell will break loose. The other one... the human one."

Raptor figured he knew what she meant, and he ended up in the form Falcon had suggested he use in the beginning. His brother had told him that the Earth woman would be more friendly to him if he chose long hair and muscles. And like an idiot, he'd done the exact opposite. He went in short and chubby, with dirty brown hair and dark brown eyes. He didn't want to impress the woman in any way.

Until he did .

Things had changed. It was easy to admit he'd chosen the wrong body for the job. This time, he chose the right body for Grace. And this was definitely the right one. Her pupils dilated, and there was a little smile on her face when she looked at him. She was attracted to this form... and just a little aroused.

She turned around and started to the door leading into the lab. Her ID didn't work. She looked up at Raptor. "I don't think I have clearance for this door. We'll have to figure out a way to go in through the front."

"Give me a second." He placed his hand on the door-locking mechanism and said, "Try now." Then closed his eyes and concentrated on the electronics. Within seconds, the lock clicked.

Aided by Raptor's skill set, they walked into the hall and toward the elevator.

"Promise me, when we're finished here and somewhere safe, that you'll switch bodies again." She blushed. "I mean change to the silver body." She straightened her shoulders and lifted her eyes to meet his gaze. "I'd like to have more time to study it."

Raptor worked hard to keep the smile off his face. Of course, he would change for her. It would be the first step... to a lifetime together .

Before he could reassure her, the elevator made a noise, and Grace cursed. "Shit. Someone's coming down. They could come out on this floor."

He took a quick look around and did a bit of his own swearing. Shivet. He didn't see anywhere to hide. There was a small door just down the hall. Raptor quickly pulled Grace after him. It wasn't locked, but when he started to enter, she moved back.

Shaking her head, she told him, "No. This is where the cleaning staff store all their supplies. If they are the ones on the elevator, they'll head right for this closet. There isn't anywhere in the small space for us to hide if they open the door. We need to find someplace else." She turned around in a slow circle and hissed. "The stairs."

This time, she pulled him further down the hall. Tugging on the heavy door, she slipped inside when it opened. The stairwell was well-lit, but there was a small dark space below the first flight of concrete stairs heading upward. Grace rushed over, ducked down, and crawled toward the back.

Raptor noted he couldn't see her unless he lowered his head to peer inside. It was a good hiding place. He crawled in after her. Moving close, he intended to shield her body with his own. He worked to stay calm. To keep his body from producing Binding Pollen. But he could feel his system working overtime. He took a deep breath, pulling in air and pushing out fear. Not for himself, but for Grace.

It didn't take long for him to realize that he had it all wrong. His body was producing the pollen in reaction to what his Keeper needed. His stress didn't matter. He needed to help Grace relax so his body would calm down.

She was shaking, breathing a little hard. Raptor turned around and sat in front of her. Ignoring the open space at his back, he motioned for her to sit facing him. He whispered, "Take slow, deep breaths and try to relax a little. Remember, you aren't doing this alone. I'm here. We will have backup soon—if we need it. I have... resources and powers they don't understand. No matter what happens, Grace, have faith in me. Please?" He wanted her to trust him. No. It was more than that. He needed her to trust him. Needed her to believe that Raptor would get her through this.

Raising her chin, Grace looked into his eyes. Keeping that contact, she took a breath, just as he suggested. And slowly blew it out. She reached for him, and he took her hands in his. Squeezing them gently, he hoped to give her some of his strength.

"That is better. Keep breathing slowly. I am going to stand at the window and watch. I can change my body enough to camouflage if they come toward the stairs. If that happens, I'll duck back in here and provide more cover for you. But I want to see who comes and what they do." Releasing her hands, he stood and changed as he went. His body and clothing were now shades of gray, much like the cement and paint in this stairwell.

Carefully, he moved so he could see the hall through the long, thin window in the heavy metal door. The tension left his body when he realized Grace had been right. He spoke softly. "There is a man and woman dressed in coveralls. One is pushing a large garbage can from the storage closet and the other is taking a supply cart. They are moving back toward the elevator."

Stepping behind him, Grace put a hand on his shoulder and leaned in to look for herself. She didn't flinch at his alien form. "Perfect. Let's use the staircase and go up to my lab. We can monitor the elevator and see what floor they stop on. They won't take the stairs with the garbage can and cart, so we should be safe."

Raptor changed back into his muscular human form and started climbing. He didn't bother to mention that the cleaning crew weren't the ones they needed to avoid.