Addison was ruining Shane’s orderly, efficient life. The DNA sequences glowing on his desktop computer screen were utterly boring. If he unfocused his eyes Shane saw curves reminiscent of Addison’s. Those curved surfaces prompted memories of their warm softness underlain by muscle and, under the stretched skin of her belly, their son. His mind was a joy; pure, innocent love and trust. Shane couldn’t recall ever experiencing that. Perhaps Addison had with Ashlynn. Maybe that’s why he’d felt a flicker of it in her unguarded mind, and why there seemed to be a spark of it in him—

“Dr. Myers?”

Shane jumped and swiveled his chair toward the voice. He found himself staring straight into a woman’s ample bosom. Even as his body reacted, his mind sagged with disappointment. He knew before noting skin color that the woman wasn’t Addison. Her—Joon’s—mind was wide open but shallow. Addison’s, when she exposed it, was a deep pool swirling with thoughts and emotion. Shane knew he’d only skimmed the surface. The notion of diving deeper was exhilarating and terrifying. He couldn’t wait to try.

It’s official. I’m insane.

Annoyance radiated from Joon as she jiggled her breasts. Both got his attention. “The trials are complete, Dr. Myers. The results are on the project server.” None of Joon’s irritation crept into her voice.

Shane looked up from Joon’s chest to her face. “Good,” he nodded as he realized what she was wearing: her usual tailored, flattering slacks and an unusual, skin-tight blouse cut low to show off her now-large tits. For a moment Shane wondered how on Earth he hadn’t noticed her wholly unprofessional attire earlier. Then he remembered that she’d been wearing a sweater over the blouse.

Joon must have noticed the disapproval on his face. “The others are at dinner. I would never embarrass either of us at work,” she murmured, leaning down to further expose herself. “You’ve been distracted, so I thought something out of the ordinary might be in order.”

Shane was tempted to laugh in her face. Since she’d gotten her boob job, Joon thought she was sex personified. To him she looked like a two-bit whore. Yes, large breasts were nice and he’d still screw her, but he’d liked her body before. It was out of proportion now thanks to two fluid-filled sacks in her chest. Her other lovers might not feel how unnatural they were, but the difference leaped out at Shane. He’d been tempted to remove them more than once. Then he and Addison had started sleeping together in both senses of the phrase—

“I thought you’d like this outfit,” Joon purred, and Shane realized he was smiling. (Shall I close the door?)

Shane pushed his chair away from her. “No.” The word came out more sharply than he’d intended. Joon’s face fell for an instant before she donned her professional facade. We have an agreement, Shane reminded her. Our professional and private lives are separate. Now get dressed. Joon’s eyes hardened. She left Shane’s office a little too quickly.

Joon was quickly forgotten as Shane turned back to his work. If he kept at it until midnight he might get half of what he’d hoped to accomplish done. And it would help pass the time until he could be with Addison again.

***

Sitting alone in his darkened office Shane stared dumbfoundedly at the dormant screen of the videophone. “… I’ll be here all night and she’s asleep and … good night.” He blinked at the screen, then mentally commanded the device to play Addison’s voicemail message. For the fifth time.

She’s invited me to her quarters, he thought as Addison’s hesitant voice sounded from the speakers. On one hand he wanted to run there as fast as his legs would carry him. On the other, he was afraid to move, and not just because him knocking on her door in the middle of the night would be recorded by surveillance cameras and dutifully reported by the rumor mill. This was different. It was premeditated, even more so than her appearance in his quarters the previous night. That thought alone got his hormones in gear. Jesus, Shane chastised himself. Here we go again.

Once he’d gotten himself under control Shane leaned back in his chair and pondered what to do. The more relevant question was what were they doing? This wasn’t just sex. Sex was easy and impersonal. Addison—And when the hell did I start thinking of her as “Addison?”—sounded nervous and unsure on the phone. That wasn’t her normal bitchy self. And their son would be born any day now. Were they courting? Were they married in some fashion? The thought made Shane shudder, albeit not as much as it would have a few days earlier.

After a few minutes of indecision Shane finally had an inkling of what to do: contact Addison. He couldn’t—and didn’t want to—ignore her after that message, even if it was a ploy. Considering their… closeness after the past few nights, Shane was fairly confident that Addison’s nerves were genuine. What did that mean?

Rather than further torture himself with more nebulous questions, Shane pulled his silver prism from his pocket and connected with it. Locating Addison and Jacob was second nature. After caressing Jacob and enjoying his son’s similar response, he carefully and gently brushed Addison’s mind. Is… is this all right? Realizing that he was bouncing one knee, Shane made himself stop fidgeting.

A flurry of emotions surged from Addison but retreated before Shane could make any sense of them. Shane! He could practically see her smile and feel that his matched hers. Yes, this is fine.

I got your message.

Yes, that. Rather forward, really, but as you know my children come first so when Ashlynn asked that I stay here tonight of course I said—

Shane grinned. Who knew that Addison Harris the ice queen had a tendency to ramble? I have a forward question.

Another pulse of nervous anticipation came from Addison. You do?

Yes. Butterflies stampeded in Shane’s stomach, but he pressed on. Can you teleport people other than yourself?

Yes. Confusion colored her reply. Why?

Blushing furiously, Shane replied, Because I want to be with you tonight—I’ve been thinking about it, about you all day—but I don’t want the cameras or anyone to see me going to your quarters because of Jacob so maybe you could get me from my quarters? Once I get there ’cause I’m still in the lab and it would be so cool to teleport!

Shane’s eyes widened once his rambling, idiotic words caught up with him. There was a 70% chance, he supposed, that he’d ruined whatever it was they were doing.