The Old Mine

22: Intimate Moments

                  That night after the party Cal made her way home and to her room earlier than her family. When she entered her bedroom, she found Recke waiting for her. He was seated on the bed with his bathrobe on that Bret had given him. "Been waiting long?" She smiled at him wondering if his planned night was going to happen or if they were going to talk.

                    "No, I asked them to stall you... and then let you slip away." Recke stood up and took off the bathrobe to reveal he had nothing underneath it. "Bedtime," He grabbed Cal's hand and pulled her over to the bed. As he helped her take off her clothes, "Since we ate at the party, I had to change my plans." He moistened his hands with a fragrant oil that smelled of tree bark, turmeric and peppermint. He massaged every inch of her body, and when he was done Cal curled up next to him so relaxed that she fell asleep immediately. The next morning when Cal woke up Recke had his cube rested on her and was researching while holding her "Good morning, I trust you slept well." He shut off the cube and sat it on the bed side table.

                    "Last night was amazing, is that what you meant by there are other things you can do?" She smiled "Does that mean it's my turn to massage you now."

                    Recke smiled "Now, or do you want to plan that for later?" He reached around her and grabbed the jar of oil from her bedside table. "Because I am prepared." He chuckled as Cal sat up, grabbed the jar and started to massage him. "What's on your mind," He leaned back and relaxed, enjoying the feeling of her hands all over his body.

                    "Thinking about how secretive you were on the last mission, just wondering what I missed." She frowned as her shoulder ached again at just the memory.

                    "They nailed you with a jump weapon, something that is programmed to poison the jumper. By keeping you out of the loop and focused on other things it kept the poison at bay until we got back here." He frowned "I was so scared I was going to lose you."

                    "Can I admit something?" He nodded "I don't like jumping as much as I like planning, monitoring and researching the missions."

                      Recke smiled "I like the idea of you back here, safe at the base."

                     "I trust Midnight and Tahk to get you back here safe. Just please don't jump with East, unless I am with you." Recke nodded and pulled her down for a kiss. "Hey, I am not done..." She giggled

                     "Yeah, but you just excited something." He pulled her into his arms and the kisses deepened. Just as it was getting intense his cube went off, letting him know he had an urgent message. "Damn." Cal pulled back as he swore and reached for the cube.

                    "Is it important?" Cal put the jar aside and sat still, hoping that nobody was hurt.

                     "Not life threatening... yet" He frowned "But I need to get going." He sat the cube down and turned to her "Raincheck?" She nodded happily, but the way she bit her lip said she was holding back on something. "What's on your mind?"

                    "I want to find Irene, and" She rubbed her shoulder "Why does it still hurt?"

                     "It will take months of treatments to completely heal, just be gentle with yourself until then..." He sat up and kissed her deeply "Please," He kissed her again "You mean a lot to me."

                    "I promise." Cal smiled. She and Recke climbed out of bed and showered before heading out to the base. Recke headed off to a meeting hall while Cal headed to the portal room. Cal was not willing to pause for a breath; she knew two things. One... that Zen and Irene were not dead. Two... that the two bodies in the gambler mine were reported by the bishops to belong to Zen and Irene. While everyone was busy Cal was in the portal room going over everything, she had the files for every bishop at her fingertips, and she had looked at East's reports multiple times. Every time she got close to making sense of it, she had to put it away, because of someone entering the room that she didn't trust or the bishop's demanding her presence. When none of that was working the bishop's found a way to get into the portal room. Try as they might... the security couldn't keep the bishops completely out of the portal room.