Free Chaos Theory by Penelope Fletcher Page A

something heady about having so much male flesh
surrounding her. Max hugged her all the time, but it was never
sexual in nature.
    Nothing about Blue’s arms around her felt friendly.
    “ Lean your weight on your back foot and bend your knee.
Stellar.” She shifted and rubbed his hands under hers, transfixed
by how his skin felt in comparison. Tough at the knuckles and
joints, but smooth closer to the wrist. As easy as she saw these
hands, was as easy as she could see them on her body. “Now be
careful when you shoot. The muscles in your hand contracting when
you pull the trigger affect your aim.”
    Blue was having trouble thinking straight. Kali snuggled into
his arms, and she’d put herself there. Her touch was soft;
undeniably curious as her fingers stroked between his. Raw
sensation ran down his body, twisted his guts, and made him shiver.
He adjusted his stance when his leathers became uncomfortably
tight. He’d been in this condition before near her, though he’d
never been this close.
    It was a form of torture.
    “ Unavoidable,” Blue muttered.
    “ Yes, but you can compensate by slowly squeezing the trigger
allowing you to adjust as you fire.”
    The lesson ended.
    Kali stood there, trying to think of something, anything, to
keep her where she was.
    Coming up blank, she cleared her throat and let her hands fall
away. With a nervous smile thrown over her shoulder, she ducked out
of his arms.
    Blue fired and scored seventy out of a hundred.
    He moved out of Kali’s way, slanting a heated look at her as
he passed. They were close, and Kali had to twist her torso when he
passed so he didn’t touch her. She swore some kind of energy
crackled between them.
    Blue noticed they drew a lot of eyes. Being affectionate
wasn’t a problem in polite society as long as you found a RecRom to
cool off if things got to too hot.
    He was LoCaste, and that he didn’t belong near her wouldn’t
have escaped notice either.
    Kali knew people stared and didn’t give a quark. At that
internalized rebellion, her heart kicked. She felt brave,
empowered. It was freeing to forget who she was and what was
expected.
    Positioned to fire, she waited for the target to snap up
before nailing two shots dead centre.
    Wriggling in joy, she spun, and collided with Blue. Her hands
landed on his shoulders to stop herself falling.
    Blue steadied her against him.
    Kali was all he could see, hear, and feel. His body tensed at
the feel of her hips under his hands, the swell of her chest
pressed to his. Lust reared, and white noise roared in his ears.
Instinctively, he pulled her closer, and lowered his head until it
would be easy, simple, to kiss her. “Do you always react this way
to small victories?”
    The knowing twinkle she caught in Blue’s eyes was
electrifying. Kali stared at him, astounded how her attraction had
switched from curious to ardent between heartbeats. He wasn’t
superficially confident, his strength ran deeper.
    It was solar-hot.
    Sizzling all over, her hands smoothed his shoulders and linked
at the nape of his neck. She tilted her head in invitation. “Sore
loser, huh?”
    “ Kali,” Max bellowed. He sounded pissed. “We’re
leaving.”
    Christabella flounced past, bashing into Kali as she went, and
her face red with some heated emotion.
    Kali dragged her bottom lip into her mouth, raked it with her
teeth in frustration. She was going to kill him. Beat her beloved
Max to death with a brick. “Standard,” she called back, easing from
Blue’s arms.
    She hesitated, giving him an opening to say something, or
signal interest in seeing her again, but when Max had shouted he’d
closed down, his eyes shuttering, and that twinkle
fading.
    Disappointed, she turned to walk away.
    Blue caught her hand.
    Her heart tripped.
    “ Wait. I … I’d like to–” He swallowed convulsively. “I’d like
to see you again. Like this. Go on a date.” He frowned. “Without
Max.”
    “ Um, yes, let me give you my data.”
    Tugging her