Forbidden Touches: A Xeno Sapiens Novel (Genetically Altered Humans Book 6) Read online

  “We have a security breach that involves both of you. This is what cameras picked up.”

  Down the hallway stumbled Covet.

  “He has been working night shifts, probably trying to avoid the day shift people.” Robyn’s eyes settled on Blaze. “He’s sleeping days, and it’s altered his sleeping patterns. A lot of people have a hard time adjusting, but with whatever his medical conditions are—well, just keep watching.”

  Covet reached her apartment and leaned his head against the door as if sleeping.

  “What is he doing?” Blaze asked.

  “I think he’s sleepwalking,” Irina said. “What time does the tape show?”

  “Nine a.m. You’d been gone an hour and a half; Blaze had left an hour earlier. Covet had arrived home at six in the morning. I don’t have cameras inside the quarters, of course, but it’s safe to assume he’d been asleep for one to two hours before this point.”

  “Why your apartment?” Blaze asked.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “You’ll find out,” Robyn said. “But watch this part. It’s important.”

  With Covet’s face still pressed against the door, he raised his thumb to swipe on the pad. The door magically unlocked.

  “What the fuck?” Blaze said, sitting up with a jerk. “He has access to Irina’s apartment?”

  Robyn paused the footage. “I’ve analyzed the unlock print. Here is an image of that.”

  A split screen came across the feed. A thumbswipe showed, which Robyn blew up so they could study the details.

  “Here is the user thumbprint.” A different print came up next to it, obviously not a match. “It’s Irina’s, of course. Next is a guest thumbprint—the only one Irina has ever programmed for permission to enter. It’s yours, Blaze.” His thumbprint showed in addition to the other two. His matched Covet’s swipe.

  “How can they have the same fingerprint?” Irina asked. “That’s impossible.”

  “It is. Especially because this is Covet’s thumb lock from his personal quarters.” Robyn pulled up the image of Covet’s, and it showed a completely different image.

  “I’ve had Jason test the apartment door. There is nothing wrong with it. I’ve tested Blaze’s door. Nothing. Covet’s…nothing. All I have to go on is a theory. Covet is able to manipulate his image to match others. In this case, he simply did one thumb. And since he’s never mentioned it or done it before now, I’m going to assume he’s not aware of this ability.” Robyn rolled the tape as she spoke, showing him go inside, and then she paused it again.

  “What’s he doing in her apartment?” Blaze asked, fury in his tone.

  “Before I continue the tape, you have to keep in mind that he’s unaware of what he’s doing. He doesn’t wake until he’s outside in the hallway. You’ll see that moment.”

  After a brief nod from Blaze, Robyn continued with the footage.

  Covet entered the apartment, and they waited a few minutes for him to re-emerge into the hallway where the cameras rolled. He closed the door softly behind him; the locks automatically re-engaged. He walked down the hallway, a blank look in his eyes. Slowly his hand brought up a bit of fabric to press to his face and sudden awareness blazed.

  “He just woke,” Irina said, leaning forward.

  He looked at the object in his hand in horror. She understood the feeling when she realized what he held.

  Her panties.

  Blaze’s fists were clenched.

  “He doesn’t realize what he’s doing,” Robyn reminded him. “As soon as he wakes, he’s disoriented, wondering where he is. He realizes what he’s holding, and shame rolls over him. But he’s unsure how to get help…which is why I brought this to your attention. As his doctor, you could bring up the possibility of sleepwalking with his current condition. Sort of hint at what he should be aware of and see if he comes clean that it’s manifested.”

  “I can also add that to his list of symptoms to see what the hell is going on with him.”

  Hormonal. The word popped into Irina’s brain. Blaze needed her pheromones to react sexually, and wasn’t that what the unconscious Covet was doing with her panties?

  Covet’s condition had to do with hormones. She needed to check there.

  “He needs to have another doctor assigned to him,” Blaze snarled, distracting her train of thought.

  “Blaze,” she said softly. “Covet’s your friend. He needs help. I’m going to help him.”

  “It’s unsafe. He has dangerous abilities we didn’t know about.”

  “A good old-fashioned crowbar across the inside door will keep that from happening again,” she said, reaching for his clawed hand. “And, baby, you can just be there to protect me.”

  “Blaze, this is an unconscious craving his body is having. He would never harm anyone when awake. For some reason, he’s bonded to Irina. Maybe because she’s his doctor. Maybe because his friend is interested in her and he considers her safe,” Robyn said. “Even if the two of you aren’t on speaking terms, it doesn’t mean he’s not still one of your best friends.”

  “Mated couples were offending him,” Irina said suddenly. “That’s why he didn’t want to go to you or Amanda. He didn’t know why because it made no sense. He trusted me enough with that information. But now he’s exposed to another couple suddenly.”

  “Do you feel safe with him?” Robyn asked.

  “I do. He’s scared and confused.”

  Robyn turned to Blaze. “Have you and Reson noticed any changes with him?”

  “Reson has been doing his own thing lately. He’s been interested in one of the females. I’ve been occupied with Irina. We’ve seen Covet a couple times in the mess hall, but that’s about it.” Blaze looked a bit ashamed of himself. “I need to be more of a friend.”

  Irina placed her hand over his. “We both will. Why don’t you seek him out for a visit and I’ll work on studying his test results from the other day? And add this new symptom to the mix to see what I can drum up?”

  Blaze nodded, bringing her hand up to his. “After we hang out for a bit, maybe I can talk him into coming to see you again.”

  “That’s an excellent idea. I had scheduled morning appointments, but those were all taken care of. And after his exam, maybe the three of us can grab dinner. It’ll show him that nothing is different just because you and I are together; that you’re still his friend and I’m still his trusted doctor.”

  “That’s an excellent idea,” Robyn said.

  Blaze nodded, and they rose. He walked her to her office, and he went off to seek Covet.

  * * * * *

  Irina tapped her fingernails against the desk. Covet needed female pheromones. He was unconsciously seeking them when he sleepwalked. During the day, he didn’t bother to seek out females like his two buddies obviously were.

  What was the missing piece? Why was his body demanding feminine pheromones whether he wanted them or not?

  A small knock at the door made her realize she’d been studying his case longer than she intended. She quickly shut down her files. She opened the door to find both Blaze and Covet, huge smiles on their faces—just like old times.

  “I’m sorry. I lost track of time,” she said to Covet. “Come in, and we’ll do an exam. Blaze? Will you wait outside?”

  Covet spoke. “I’ve shared some of my condition with Blaze. Since he has a relationship with you, I don’t mind if he’s present during my exams.”

  “I trust you, bro,” Blaze said.

  “Are you positive? I know you wanted some privacy.” Irina wanted to make sure.

  Covet nodded. “I didn’t want to seem less manly for having a strange malady. You were single when I started coming to you, but now with the interest between you and Blaze, I don’t want my friend to feel like I’m hitting on you during our visits. I’m okay with him being here.”

  “I’m here to support Covet,” Blaze said to her.

  She nodded. “Come on in. Covet, I’ll have you get onto the exam table this
time.” As she spoke, she lowered the table from the wall. “You can remove your shirt and unfasten your pants. I’d like to check out your abdominal muscle.” She turned her back to him as she washed up at the sink. When she finished, she reached for a scanner.

  Blaze stood near his side when she returned to the small exam table. Before she began, she palpitated his abdomen. If anything, the hardened skin of his abs felt thicker than before. She ran the scanner over it.

  “You’re still not working out?” she asked him.

  “No. I’m avoiding the gladiator pits like you suggested. I chopped some wood for Jett and Brax last week, but it wasn’t much.”

  Chopping wood wouldn’t cause his stomach to do the strange metamorphosis.

  “He looks fit,” Blaze murmured.

  “That’s the problem. Looks are deceiving,” she said. “He was fit before, and he’s doing nothing to maintain his abs, but they’re forming a protective barrier across his midsection. The tightening is worrisome to me. I can’t get a reading through the thickened muscle, but I can get a reading on the upper part of his chest. There are changes. His organs are moving upward.”

  “I do have increased shortness of breath,” Covet admitted. “Hence why I could only do a small amount of wood chopping.”

  “I told you to report to me with any changes,” she chided.

  “Sorry. I’ve been…preoccupied.” His voice cut abruptly and she knew what his preoccupation was. He was embarrassed over the episode in her apartment.

  “How have you been sleeping?”

  Covet seemed to freeze. “Fine. Why?”

  “Your lungs are being pushed upward. It may cause sleep apnea, which in turn will disrupt your sleep. A larger symptom could be sleepwalking, which manifests in the first one to two hours of a sleep cycle though most patients aren’t aware of their sleepwalking patterns unless something happens to wake them during the cycle.”

  “So sleepwalking would be normal?” Covet almost looked relieved.

  “Yes, in your case. Have you experienced it?”

  “I think so. I woke out of my apartment, and it kind of freaked me out.”

  “I can help you more if you trust me,” she said to him. “I know you chose to have Blaze present. But if we’re going to do this, we need to establish trust all the way around. The first time you came to me, you slipped into another persona. I wondered at the time if it had to do with Xeno Sapien maturities, changes that others have gone into when they come into their powers. But now with the sleepwalking tendencies, I realize that you slipped into a sleepwalker’s episode while awake.”

  “I did?”

  “Yes. Right here in my office. Do you remember asking me if I wanted to mate?”

  “No!” Covet’s eyes darted to Blaze.

  “Think back. It was when Blaze interrupted your examination. You sunk into an episode, and I roused you.”

  “I remember. I’m so sorry, Irina.”

  “No need to apologize, Covet. You apologized enough when it happened. But what we’re doing here is uncovering what is leading to this. My theory is leading to hormones and pheromones. Specifically, your lack of female hormones making you crave pheromones from women. For some reason, maybe because it became apparent that Blaze and I were together, you unconsciously sought out those hormones. Not having them for yourself, our pheromones may be utilized by your body to produce the hormones you need.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  She leaned in. “When you first came to me, you said you had some crazy thoughts that you didn’t know where they came from. Because normally, it wouldn’t bother you. Namely, that Amanda and Robyn were mated. You refused to have them treat you. You came to me because I was single. But then Blaze and I became a couple also. We may not be mated, but I think the pheromones between us may be affecting you.”

  “Shit, I’m so sorry.”

  “There’s nothing to be sorry about, brother.” Blaze’s voice was soft. “You can’t help what’s going on.”

  Covet took a deep breath. “What woke me from the sleepwalking was the fact that I was in the hallway outside your apartment, sniffing your panties. I have no idea how I got them.”

  “It’s okay,” Irina assured him. “It’s not your fault. Your body was controlling you. Give me your thumb.”

  He held up his hand, and she rolled his thumb across a scanner pad. His thumbprint matched his normal print, not that of Blaze’s.

  “Give me a minute. I want to check something and make sure before I tell you what’s going on.”

  She walked over to her computer, leaving Blaze and Covet whispering together. They stopped when she returned. She hoped Blaze was reassuring him that he didn’t hold him responsible.

  “You retrieved the panties from inside my apartment.”

  Covet looked puzzled. “How?”

  “You placed your thumb on my lock and the door opened. The print you used matches Blaze’s.”

  “What?”

  She raised the bed a little so he could sit up more comfortably. “You know how some Xeno Sapiens come into a power? I think you can morph body parts to mimic someone. I know this is unorthodox, but I’d like to flood you with my pheromones to see if we can mimic it.”

  He nodded.

  She went back to her desk, her back to them while she grabbed a swab and quickly swabbed inside her underwear. She forced her shoulders back even though her entire body wanted to cringe. Unorthodox was a complicated word. Hell, these actions would have gotten her fired from any position outside of the walls of Xenia. She took a deep breath, hoping her cheeks weren’t pink.

  She returned to the two men. She looked into Blaze’s eyes then down at Covet. She waved the swab under his nose and then waited for a moment.

  “Let’s try to recreate the event,” she said, her voice soft. “There’s more of this scent just inside a locked door. Close your eyes. Imagine how you’re going to get it.”

  She gave him another whiff and then held his hand in hers. In a couple of moments, she brushed his thumb across the scanner.

  His thumbprint changed to a mimic of Blaze’s.

  “Bingo.” Her voice rang with triumph.

  Covet’s purple eyes popped open. “How?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I swear I’m not secretly lusting after your mate.” Covet spoke directly to Blaze.

  “I know, dude.”

  “Oh, my God.” She didn’t mean for her voice to startle them, but she was startled by what she found. The scanner she was holding showed an increased pattern of new hormones all right…both male and female.

  “What is it?”

  “What’s going on?”

  “That’s the key. It’s not just my pheromones. It’s Blaze’s, too. You needed a balance—one which we triggered accidentally by you letting Blaze in here during your examination. We probably wouldn’t have discovered this otherwise.” She knew her grin was triumphant. “Your body is using the combined pheromones for a hormonal release of a chemical in your brain, which is triggering the thickened muscle of your abs and pushing up your organs. Why? I don’t know that yet. But we know the cause. It also explains why, in the beginning, you avoided mated couples. You were unconsciously fighting whatever reaction is taking place inside you.”

  “So should we fight this?”

  “Most of the Xeno Sapiens come into their power whether they fight it or not. Look at Jett and Brax falling into their hibernation. Lily becoming her siren. We may as well let this play out because fighting it just causes sleepwalking and personality changes.”

  “It’s hard to let something happen when you’re not aware of what the end result would be. What will I change into? Will I be some kind of freak?”

  “I know,” she said. “I’m working on researching as much as I can. Now that we had the combination pheromone breakthrough, I have a new angle to continue with. But really, how bad can it be? Right now you can mimic a thumb. Maybe at the end, we’ll find you can morph y
our entire body. Think of yourself as a superhero instead of a freak.”

  “At what point do you surgically intervene to find out what’s going on with his stomach?” Blaze asked.

  “Surgery is always a last result, especially with Xeno Sapiens. Your anatomy is different from humans, and it changes during your life. Also, some of you have a human blood type. Unfortunately, Covet doesn’t. Until we can create a compatible synthetic blood, surgery is out of the question. We keep some personal blood frozen for emergencies, but it is only to be used in case of an emergency. I can take some blood from him now, but it’ll still be a couple of months before he’ll produce more blood to make up for what I took.”

  “There’s got to be somehow you can see through his sexy abs.” Blaze’s voice was light.

  “Washboard abs,” Covet said with a grin.

  “Amazing abs,” Blaze agreed. They high-fived each other.

  Irina smiled. It looked like their troubles had evaporated. “None of the scanners can penetrate. I don’t want to do anything invasive, especially since his condition is hormonal. Any stress can cause an influx of adrenaline to flood his system and cause an overbalance. If worse comes to worse, I’ll look at older medical techniques. Ultrasounds, X-rays. Things of that nature. Until then, I need you to let me know of any changes even if it’s embarrassing or uncomfortable.”

  Covet nodded.

  “Promise me,” she said, aware that it was totally unprofessional, but right now she was his friend, not his doctor.

  “I promise.” His smile was soft.

  “Let’s go get food. Reson is waiting for us.” Blaze sounded so happy, she was finally aware of how hard the broken friendship had hit him.

  Chapter Eight

  The first thing she noticed was how hard Reson unabashedly hugged Covet. Even though Reson and Blaze had remained friends, it was clear that their relationship hadn’t been normal while the two were estranged from Covet.