Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

Laughter, The Best Medicine

Oh, now that just pissed her off. She reached behind her and picked up the first thing she felt on her dresser. Then heaved it at Raptor. He ducked, so it didn't hit him. Grace glanced at the floor and winced. She threw a box of tampons at him.

She'd found them when digging through her stuff yesterday and figured she'd stick them in one of the bathrooms. Would she even have periods in this body? That thought led down a rabbit hole filled with questions she was too tired to process.

Grace closed her eyes and prayed for patience. "You told me the Binding Pollen would take care of it ... as in, I wouldn't die before you. That is what you said, Raptor. You didn't mention anything about me turning silver. I think I'd remember that. Now how am I supposed to leave and take care of Garret?" she wailed. Which was really a stupid thought. Garret should have nothing to do with this. She was silver and hot pink, for God's sake.

"Umm. Grace. Remember how I've changed my body several times? Remember how I looked, my coloring when you first saw me? All you need to do, my love, is think about how you looked before, how you want to look, and you can build a cover shield in your mind. I will help you, Grace. And your job now is Guardian of the Realms. You don't exist anymore in your time-period."

"What do you mean, I don't exist in my time-period? " she screeched. "But I want to take Garret down!"

"Grace, you are a Guardian's Keeper. Which means you are also a Guardian. The reality in this dimension shifted so that you never existed. You could walk down the street or go to your old job, and no one would recognize you. Your money and assets are now part of the Guardian funds, yet you have access to anything you need or want. Grace, as a First Realm human, no longer exists. But Garret will know who you are. And I promise you, we'll take him down and you will be thrilled with the way we do it."

She closed her eyes. Was she troubled to find out that her entire life up to this point was now erased? "What about my parents and my uncles? I can't just disappear on them?" Even if she got to be a Guardian, she couldn't leave her family behind.

"We can talk about your family later. I need to check on a few things before I can answer that."

She would make sure he did. That was one thing she wouldn't drop. Well, she would, for now. But once she dealt with Garret, her family went to the top of the list.

Grace raised her lashes and looked at Raptor, then looked back at herself in the mirror. This time she didn't freak—she studied her body. She cocked her head. It was actually kind of cool. Weird. But cool. If she could figure out how to reassemble her normal looks when she wanted them, she could deal with this. She extended her gaze to Raptor's silver body. Geez, they looked like, what? Book cover models for alien romances, she decided.

She let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. "So, do I ooze Binding Pollen and get all dusty? Is there anything else you conveniently forgot to tell me?" Grace asked, and stood with one hip cocked and her hands at her waist.

Raptor cleared his throat. "No. The pollen will only appear on my body and as for the anything else part—in this form you will be more sensitive to touch—especially to my touch."

Grace frowned. "What do you mean, more sensitive to touch?"

"Please, let me show you," Raptor said, and stepped just a little closer. He reached out and gently touched the tip of one finger to her nipple. Barely grazing across her flesh.

She gasped. Holy saints and sinners! Her body convulsed as a lightning bolt of arousal shot from her nipple and exploded deep within her body. On a scale of one to ten, this was a hundred. Her body was indeed more sensitive. The breath escaped from her lungs, and she leaned closer. Lifting her hands to wrap around his neck and pull him to her. Her entire being was on overload, demanding he fulfill the promise of that touch. "Tell me more," she begged.

She trembled as his mouth found hers, and their tongues tangled. She sighed as he clasped his powerful hands around her thighs and lifted her so she could wrap her legs around his waist. Instead of just rushing to finish it. Raptor held her for a moment and said, "In my eyes, you are beautiful in every form. And there will be many shapes and sizes we will don in the coming years. But this, your Guardian body... amazes me. Your skin gleams a soft silver. Your shocking pink hair highlights my favorite playground."

She giggled.

Raptor turned and pushed her against the wall, filled his hands with her ass, and adjusted her legs around his waist. Then slowly, he sank his enormous, pulsating cock deep within her slippery heat in one strong thrust. She forgot all about the shock of her new body and sighed as he repositioned her, using his strong hands around her thighs to move her up, firmly settling her around his body. Opening her to his invasion, positioning her for deeper penetration.

The feeling was like nothing they'd done before. Every time his flesh met hers, the sensation was magnified so much—she thought she'd lose her mind. "Yes!" she screamed and tilted her head back. Closing her eyes, Grace concentrated on the feel of his cock pushing upward. Sliding in, shifting out, then plunging, and pumping into her sex. Repeatedly, he pulled out of her and pushed back, sinking deep. Then his movements became harder. Faster.

"Yes!" she cried again as she eagerly sought his mouth and the gland that would slam them both over the edge. This time, the rush of liquid heat shot through her body like a nuclear explosion. She could feel her entire being expand and fill not only with Raptor's body, but with his soul. Their minds met and mated along with their bodies, and together the world shattered around them.

Movement was difficult. She lightly ran her hand over Raptor's back, petting him, while he drew small circles over her flesh. It took several minutes before she could talk. "Wow!" she said as she lay crumpled in his arms on the floor of the spaceship. Neither of them could walk after that incredible orgasm. The metal floor might be a little cold, but it would do. "I know I said that before, but this was... well... just wow!" Grace sighed and nuzzled Raptor's chest.

She couldn't manage another word as she lay there for a long moment. Struggling to breathe. Her mind was hazy. Happy. Her body sated. But weak.

He laughed, the deep rumble of his chest vibrating against her skin, sending an aftershock of pleasure through her body.

"Don't do that!" she snapped. "I am about sexed out."

"There is another fact I forgot to mention about your new body," Raptor said, sounding smug. "The sex gets better. The merging... of your soul to mine becomes magnified and more intense every time we do it."

She snorted. "I don't think it can get better. But I'm going to make you prove that. Much later. " At the look in his eye, Grace shook her head and scooted away from him. "No. Not today. You need to go away. Go far, far away. I need a shower and food. You do your thing and I'll do mine, then we can meet in the kitchen. At opposite ends, I think. No touching, no kissing. Nothing for twenty-four hours except for talk. While we eat, you can explain how you think we should handle Garret." She didn't move when he slowly stood up and walked down the hall, laughing.

It was a good thing the room holding all her stuff had a shower. She didn't have far to crawl.

Raptor

He was clean and dressed in blue jeans and a black tee shirt. For this next task, he kept his biker body. He needed to do something for Grace before he met his mate in the kitchen—track down Monster and have a discussion with the animal.

It was easier than he thought it would be to find the cat. She was asleep in her closet. Raptor went in and closed the door so the animal couldn't escape and settled on the floor beside it. He didn't say anything, but soon the Baby Monster crawled into his lap for scritches.

"That's a good girl. You hurt Grace's feelings—you know. Made her cry. You can't be upset with her. This is all my fault. So, take your fear and angst out on me. But when we leave your little cubby hole, you'll be okay with her. She needs you—more than you can imagine. You are the constant in her life right now."

Raptor kept his eye on the cat and slowly relaxed his body, letting the silver of his natural form through. He waited several minutes before switching back to the human biker. Speaking nonsense to her, he did this over and over again. Patiently waiting for Monster to become tense when the silver made an appearance, digging her claws into Raptor's leg. It didn't hurt him—his skin was pretty thick. Grace might be silver, but her flesh was still the thin layer the First Realm humans sported. It would take time for the Binding Pollen to finish the changes in her body.

But her skin would never be as thick as Raptor's.

As he let more human creep in, the cat would relax again. Eventually, Baby didn't react to his silver body. He rewarded her with scratches under her chin and picked up the Monster to go find Grace. Raptor kept his silver body.

When he entered the kitchen, Grace had her back to him. But he must have made some noise.

She kept looking through the supplies from her house, but she said, "I feel like I need meat. Red meat. A steak or hamburger. I'm not sure what I had in my freezer."

Raptor smiled. "You don't need to worry or cook. Let's save that for later. The ship is fully stocked. You sit on the couch and take this beast from me—I'll prepare your meal."

Grace whirled around when he mentioned the beast and let out a little whimper when she saw her Baby in his arms. "She didn't run from you?"

He lifted his chin, indicating the couch. "Sit. I didn't give her a choice. She was in her room. I had on the biker dude form and when I went in, I closed the door. Then I spent time shifting between biker and silver. She didn't like it at first, but she finally realized that I was both. I think. So, I'm going to sit down next to you with the cat, and we'll see what happens," he warned.

Raptor sat. They both held their breath and avidly watched the cat for any sign of aggression. Baby watched Grace and cocked her head when she spoke. Ears twitching.

"I'm sorry if I scared you this morning, Baby. I scared myself and almost fainted at the first sight of this body in the bathroom mirror. But it's okay, my love. I'm still me."

Baby stretched to sniff Grace's hand when she slowly reached out to pet her animal. Then the cat sneezed and struggled in Raptor's arms. He slowly released his hold on the big fur ball, and when the cat moved onto Grace's lap, he sighed in relief.

Grace beamed at him and spent some time snuggling with her cat. Raptor was content to sit beside them until his mate's stomach rumbled in hunger.

She giggled. "I really am hungry."

Slowly standing so he didn't spook the cat, he walked over to the big white machine on the counter and pressed a few buttons. Within minutes, a steak dinner with all the trimmings was ready for her.

Plate in hand, he turned to her, enjoying the excited gleam in her eye when she noticed the food. Grace nodded to the table and carefully sat Monster to the side before she stood. "While we eat, you can explain how you think we should handle Garret."

He sat her dinner down and waved his hand. "Eat. I'll get mine." Then watched her take the first bite of steak and moan happily. He was glad to see she approved of the food. "I talked to Dahvid. Everything is wonderful on his ship. In fact, he parked just across the meadow. It seemed like a good idea to have him close. Garret is locked away, trying to bribe our fellow Guardian anytime Dahvid is in earshot. He said he's almost finished cataloging the information you collected and there is a great deal of damning detail. We both feel it will take less time if he finishes it before you take a look. He asked if he could have until tomorrow afternoon."

Grace nodded. "It makes sense. Especially if he's almost finished. I'll just bet that sleazy Garret has tried to bribe him." She looked across to Raptor with a question in her eyes.

"Nothing Garret has would ever move Dahvid or any Guardian to let him go. He poisoned the water supply in his town and caused death and sickness. I don't doubt he has committed additional crimes, do you?"

She shook her head. "No. I didn't think this Dahvid would accept a bribe." Taking the last bite, she took her plate to the sink and got them both some sweet tea. Grace moved back to the couch beside the Baby Monster. Idly petting her cat, she grinned at Raptor. "Thank you for this."

He nodded. "You are welcome. She just needed some time, and I had the thicker skin." Laughing, he reached over to turn on the monitor. Raptor said, "We don't know yet what information you downloaded on the laptop and what you have on Garret's hidden data device. But I recorded everything the man did and said from the time you stepped out from under the desk. You don't exist in this time period. So, your face is blurry, and then the focus shifts solely to him. But I want you to remember what the man admitted to."

"How did you record it?" she wanted to know.

"Guardians are connected to their ship. I tap a button that was inserted behind my ear to contact the ship. It allows me to record video through my eyes, and audio through my ears. I can also contact the Interstellar gods and communicate with nearby Guardians and Helpers."

He couldn't watch the beating the man gave her, and he didn't want to put Grace through that again. He'd watched the entire recording several times while she was healing. And he'd tagged areas to show her, skipping over the times Garret hit her.

Quickly, he ran through the highlights. These were all Garret's responses to questions Grace asked him or times he wanted to brag.

In the first one, Garret giggled. He looked crazy when he answered Grace's disgust over the miscarriages and death caused by the fertilizer being poured into the water. She asked if he knew the chemicals had caused the issues. He nodded and crowed, "Oh, and so much more than that. Over a period of time, there will be a sharp rise in every type of cancer. Not to mention just about every autoimmune disease known to man." He frowned for a moment. "Plus a few new ones."

When she asked if he had a reason, Garret's reply was clear. "Yes, there is a reason. Because there are too many damn people in the world. The organization I represent wants to lower the birth rate of the middle class and the poor. If we make it next to impossible for them to get and stay pregnant, in a few decades, most of them will die out."

When Grace wanted to know if he had a plan, Garret said, "I'm so glad you asked. I so seldom get to share my greatness with anyone. But you'll be dead soon. So, I can tell you everything. The goal of our group is to help the elites - those groomed from birth to rule. We want everyone who doesn't belong to our group… moved off the land and into the cities. That way the land will be ours or deeded to the government to create green zones. We won't allow anyone to grow or raise their food. It will all come from us. They won't own a house or a car… anything. They will have to rent from us. If we deed the land to the government, we'll keep the water and mineral rights. No one builds or creates anything… without our permission and control."

At this point, Garret didn't need prompting. He just kept going. "The people who are left, who don't die from the poisoned water, will eat what we tell them to eat. Whether we want them to become vegan or have an all-meat diet. We might decide they need to eat bugs." He laughed at this. "Whatever keeps them hungry and weak—so they can't fight. And if we make it impossible for the masses to reproduce, when they die out, eventually, so will their ideas. They won't have any children to pass on their mistaken notion that they have a right to freedom and this land. The children who are born into our new, ideal world will know they get nothing. Unless we give it to them. And since they won't know there used to be options—they won't fight it."

When the highlights stopped. Raptor darkened the monitor.

Grace was shaking her head. "He is absofuckinglutely insane. Isn't he?"

"Yes. And it seems he isn't alone in his crazy world-domination scheme. We'll figure that out soon and make a list of other names. I've watched this several times and one idea would be to arrange for the local news stations to get this feed, and maybe some of the other information you gathered. I think we'll have a better feeling about all this when we see what you've got. Then make sure the authorities know where to find him."

She sighed and nodded. "It's a good plan. It just makes me a little sick to think about all the lives he's ruined. Sick, and very sad."

Raptor moved to sit on the other side of the cat. But he could put his arm around her shoulder. "I think this might make you feel a little better." And he turned on the screen again.

Grace frowned when Dahvid filled the screen, pushing Garret in front of him. You could see the men climbing stairs and going through a trapdoor onto the roof. Her look of confusion turned to gleeful anticipation. She sat forward in her seat. Eyes glued to the monitor.

He'd watched this several times, too. And while it might be a little petty… it never failed to make him feel better.

Garret started running toward the edge of the roof. For a minute, nothing happened. No one spoke. Then Dahvid said, "I think he plans to jump off this building. Five stories might not kill him. Do you need him alive?"

Raptor responded. "No. We may end up killing him, anyway. But if you can keep him alive long enough for my mate to discuss a few things with him, that would be great."

Garret turned and looked at the men behind him. Confusion filled his face, as he must have wondered why they didn't chase him. You could see he was having trouble running with his hands tied behind his back. Garret changed direction and his plan—heading to the stairs.

"Oh, this will be fun," Dahvid drawled.

Running full out now—Garret slammed into something.

He fell backward, lying boneless on the roof—knocked cold. The spaceship shimmered into view for just a second and then disappeared again.

The video slowly went to gray as both Guardians chuckled.

Tears streamed down Grace's face—she was laughing so hard. "Oh, God. Play that again! That is fucking perfect!"