Lilly's Torment(4)

"No, figured we'd grab you so you could give her the tour."

"Fair enough." Gavriel's odd white eyes with the violet ring and stripes  returned to meet hers. "Are you all right, Agent Webb?" he asked with a  frown.

"I just think that I'm going to totally need a massage after meeting you  boys," she said with a giggle. "You guys are like whoa huge. Super tall  and I'm a short shit, so yeah." She shook her head and giggled. "It's  okay though, I'm up for the challenge of getting used to how big you  guys are, just don't be upset with me if I grab one of you and force you  down to my level so that I can talk to you and see your eyes and all  that fun stuff."

"Uh, right." He nodded slowly as if he understood, yet the look in his  eyes said otherwise. "Well, let's take you down to the armory. It will  be where you'll be working, primarily. I should apologize now, the last  person we had in doing weapons was a male. While we've attempted to  remove all evidence of his presence, you may end up finding some of his  more-than-a-little-degrading views upon women."

"It's all good. I promise. I know how to shove crap out of the way so  that I can make room for what I want and what I need. Don't worry, in a  week or so it will be just exactly as I need it. I'm good like that."  She rubbed her hands and grinned. "And I can't wait to get started  making things. I have an idea for a new weapon, it fires frozen silver  nitrate. Do you think that they would have a fit if I ordered large  quantities of it, and liquid nitrogen?"

"Depends on what your budget will allow you to purchase. You only have  what remains of this fiscal year from your predecessor. The budget then  rolls over on the first of April and you'll have a full year to play  with it," Gavriel told her, hitting the elevator button and then swiping  his key card. "Access to the armory is restricted to a very few people.  Security is permitted up in cases of emergency, as are the fire and  emergency departments. Other than that, you, me and Artaxias are three  of the fourteen permitted on the floor with unrestricted access."

"Well, crap on a cracker," she muttered. "About the budget, not about  who can come up here. It's good that there aren't many allowed on this  floor because I'm afraid if too many people came up here I would have to  shoot someone. Especially if they took my cookies. Be warned, I like my  cookies." As one could tell. While Lilly was short, she was also very  curvy, to the nth degree.

"Well, you're running the floor, so you get to set the rules," Artaxias  commented as they stepped out. Moving to the doors, he slid his card  through the reader and then put his thumb on the scanner. The doors  unlocked and he hauled one open. "Just be warned that the fire  suppression system on this floor is set to twitchy. Thinking hot  thoughts will likely set it off," he commented, shooting her a look.

"Well hell, you better get out your umbrella then, 'cause I'm totally  thinking them now," Lilly blurted before she could stop herself. "Shit,  you so didn't hear that. Promise me that you didn't." She was flame red,  her skin matching her lipstick color nicely.

"We both did." Gavriel snickered. "And you really should watch that  shit, too. Artaxias actually can read minds. Likely why he gave you the  warning he did. He was picking up on your thoughts. Something else you  need to think on."

"I can push into a mind, but it's invasive, so normally all I catch are  thoughts pushed out from those without filters." Artaxias looked at her,  "And you are pushing out a lot of thoughts. The one with the blindfold  you were having in the lobby was interesting."

"Blindfold?" Gav shot him and then her a look. "Who had on a blindfold?"  he asked, his lips curled way, way up in a shit-eating grin of epic  proportions.

She covered her face with her hands and shook her head. "So not having  this conversation," she grumbled. "Dear god, are you for freaking real?"  She began to rock back and forth on her heels and shook her head. "That  was a low blow and I can't help it. You would be freaking awesome in  nothing but a blindfold, you know that right?" She shook her head and  held up her hand. "Please, no more. Killing me here," she teased him  with a grin.                       
       
           



       

"Was she talking to me?" Gav asked with wide eyes. "Holy hell, may need  to rethink our partnership to something a little more." He chuckled.  "Anyway, over here, you have the regular weapons that you'll be  responsible for maintaining and checking. Each weapon is logged out and  in religiously. These are all ones that have seen fire, been through  tests or any number of things, so they need to be cleaned and checked  before going back into the vault on the dressing room level."

He guided her along. "The various sniper and sub-auto weapons are in  here. Testing and firing ranges are through there. And this is where you  will get to play." He swiped his card and let her into the large room  that took up nearly half the floor.

She grabbed one of the sub-auto weapons and followed along. Grinning  like an idiot, she said, "Sorry, but since I was totally embarrassed, I  need to fire a weapon. It's a thing of mine," she teased. "And for the  record … " She pulled on her protective eyewear and ear wear. After  ensuring that the weapon was fully loaded and ready to fire, she smiled  over to them. "You both looked amazing with nothing but ties and silk  scarves around your ankles and wrists. But lots of shadow," she teased,  winked at them, and began to fire the weapon.

Both men just plugged their ears and waited as she ran through the  magazine. "Well, Ax didn't mention that part," Gav said. He passed her  an extra mag when she popped the other out.

"Didn't see how it was pertinent to the conversation. Besides, I gave  enough details that she fully embarrassed herself without any additional  input from me," Artaxias said, plugging his ears once more when she  lifted the weapon.

After she was finally finished with the shooting, she nodded. "It is  pulling a bit to the left. I can fix that." She pulled off her  protective gear and looked to both men. "I should tell you something."  She felt that confession was good for the soul. "I've been dreaming  about the two of you for a very long time. I don't understand it, I  really don't, and to be honest, I thought that I was just dreaming of  unattainable men, but then I saw you, and yeah." She shrugged. "I'm  nowhere near the type of woman that you guys likely go for, so if this  is going to make it weird between us, please tell me now and we can have  someone else assigned to me."

They shared a look before Artaxias rolled up his left sleeve. He  unbuckled the leather cuff with intricate gold inlay and pulled it off.  Holding his wrist out to her he didn't say a word. He just looked to her  and seemed to be waiting patiently for her.

"Oh my." Lilly reached out and touched the intricate design on his inner  wrist and asked, "This is amazing. What does this mean? I'm confused."  She looked up at one and then the other. "I'm confused, what does this  mean?"

"When each of us from the realms comes of age and into our abilities or  powers, depending on race, we receive a marking. Each marking is unique,  special, denoting who our mate is. Some translate directly, others are  more cryptic. Because of the lack of females in the realm, in most cases  there are two or three males per female in a mating. Sometimes more,"  Artaxias told her. "It's a sign of who our mate is to be and can be  followed or ignored, depending on the female."

Her knees wobbled and she grabbed for him. "Uh." She was at a loss for  words. "Does that mean … ?" She swallowed, hard. "Does that mean that you  and I are supposed to be together? Then why do I dream of you both?"

Gavriel undid the silver clasps holding on his emerald cuff. He pushed  his sleeve up and held out his wrist to her. "Artaxias is the older of  the two of us, but I've known him since I was a child. When the mark  appeared just after puberty, he showed me his. We didn't know where or  when we'd ever meet you. Or if we ever would. But the Fates apparently  like pushing us around like pawns on a board only they know the rules  to."

"Well, I have to tell you that I'm actually happy to have you," she  admitted. "I am actually pretty happy to have you both here before me  now. I'm scared spitless, to be honest, and I want to get to know you  both. Just because Fate gives a dictate, it doesn't mean anything,  right?" she asked, even as she stroked her thumb over both of their  brands.