The Turning Point

Wren tossed and turned, unable to sleep and unwilling to go to him again. The whole day had been a disaster from start to finish.

First, Talon had advertised their relationship at work, and it was all anyone could talk about. Second, their evening training session.

She was so embarrassed about work, she could not even focus and almost got them both seriously hurt on several occasions tonight. Wren rolled over, burying her head into her pillow, trying to forget, to no avail.

^EARLIER THAT EVENING^

“Watch out!” Talon dispatched the Being and turned to Wren, checking for any wounds.

“Shorty, lower the intensity.”

“Roger, boss.”

“Sorry. I…”

“Relax. Focus on the job at hand. You must clear your mind of unwanted things or you will get yourself killed,” he said.

He was right, and she knew it.

“You okay, Miss Wren?” Shorty asked over the intercom.

Wren nodded. “Yes. Just lost my focus for a moment.”

“A moment? Your power is off the charts as usual, but you have no control over it. I thought we fixed this.”

They had spent the past couple of months working on her control. She had finally mastered it, no matter what hairstyle she wore.

They had all agreed not to try it completely down, but at least she had mastered every other way to wear her hair. Today, you would have thought she was just starting out again.

“Sorry, Shorty.” Wren turned to Talon. “I am going to call it right now. I am either going to get you or myself hurt.”

Talon nodded. “Cut it, Shorty. We are stopping.”

“Got it, boss.”

***

Wren sighed. Talon had been supportive and…caring today.

He had not yelled at her or attempted to change her mind. He had just stood beside her and helped her.

What was going on in that head of his, she wondered. He still had a wall around his emotions, and she could not break through.

Wren closed her eyes. Calm down, take deep breaths, and relax.

She repeated those words over and over, falling into an uneasy sleep.

***

Talon lay awake in bed. He could feel the turmoil coursing through her.

All he could do was wait; she had to come around on her own. He knew he could not fight the battle she was fighting within herself, but he could learn to be there for her.

Until then, his hands were tied.

Talon turned to one side and then the other for the next quarter of an hour, but it was obvious he was not going to get any sleep here tonight. If her emotional state was any indication, he was fairly certain she was not either.

He pulled back the covers and slipped out of bed. It was time to take matters into his own hands.

***

Wren felt a warm body climb into her bed, and she was pulled close.

“Talon?” she mumbled.

“Hush. I am here now.”

***

Wren hit the snooze on the alarm and burrowed back down into the covers as she heard a laugh above her.

“You really are not a morning person, are you?”

“Shut up. I always hit the snooze once. I built in time for it. This way, I feel like I got to sleep in.”

She sat up and rubbed her eyes, sending him a glare. “This is getting to be a nasty habit, you know.”

Talon laughed as she glared at him.

“How can you be so cheerful first thing in the morning?” she grumbled.

He shrugged. “I have been up for a while. Now get dressed. Time for work.”

Wren rolled out of bed and started to get ready as Talon left.

She was in the bathroom, applying her makeup. Talon reappeared.

“What’s up?” she asked, surprised to see him.

“Nothing.”

Talon placed a black bag on the counter and began pulling out his shaving stuff.

Wren noticed he was only dressed in slacks and socks. His chest was bare, revealing the tiny scars and otherwise smooth skin that covered his upper body.

Her mouth began to work overtime, creating enough saliva as her sex-deprived brain imagined licking every delectable inch of that chest.

~Down girl, down.~

Wren tried not to stare at him in the mirror, but it was hard to keep her gaze off his muscles as they pulled and bunched while he moved about, preparing to shave.

“I just thought I would join you today,” he explained when she continued to stare at him. “You are going to be late again.”

He started to shave as Wren went back to getting ready. She would deal with this later. He was right, damn it.

She stepped into the bedroom and started to dress, making sure she kept herself out of his view. Shortly, he stepped out of the bathroom and continued with his own dressing.

Wren watched as he pulled a tunic over his pants. It was in the Chinese style, with patterns in jade green over black.

It accented his dark coloring and hair, and she felt the moisture pool in her loins just as it had in her mouth earlier.

There had to be some kind of deal with the devil for a man to be this good-looking.

~Great. Now I am going to have to change underwear before going to work. This better not become a daily occurrence, or I am going to have to purchase a lot more undergarments to keep up.~

“Yes?” Talon asked, turning toward her.

“Uh, nothing. That…” She nodded toward his clothing. “Suits you very well.”

“Thank you. I am rather fond of it myself,” Talon said, grinning. “You look very good yourself.”

He nodded toward her own skirt and blouse. “I would love to see you in Chinese garb as well one day.”

“Will never happen.” Wren stepped around him and headed for the kitchen.

***

“Pulling out the gauntlet, I see.” Emerald nodded at Talon’s clothing. “You are looking good, but you already know that.”

“Good morning, Emerald,” Talon said, surprising them all by placing a fatherly kiss on her cheek as he walked by.

Emerald grinned from ear to ear as Evan shook his head in wonder.

Wren could only stare and wonder what had happened to the man she had met on the first day she had arrived here. She was not sure which one she wanted at the moment. The cold, distant Talon or the warm, lovable one before her.

As he had the day before, Talon walked Wren to her classroom, placed a kiss on her cheek today, and left her staring after him like the rest of the girls in her class, lovesick.

She shook her head. That was the only term for it.

She had to be in love with him to allow him to continue to do this to her. ~Well, shit. Now what do I do?~

“God, he looks good enough to eat,” one of the girls moaned. “I love it when he goes oriental on us.”

Another exclaimed, “I wish he would always wear those garbs.”

Yet another sighed. “His muscles? I could eat them!”

The other girls giggled.

“Enough. Time to work.”

“Yes, Ms. Hintz,” came the answer.

Today, no one said anything about Talon’s behavior toward her, and Wren was thankful for that. She did not think she could handle a second onslaught on her emotions today.

***

Wren finally had a chance to sit down and eat once the lunch period started. She let out a yawn as she sat.

She needed more sleep. Thanks to Talon, she was starting to catch up, but it created another problem for her.

She found herself turned on, yet unable to do anything about it because he was always around.

“Wren?” Wren looked up.

“Sorry, what?”

“Nothing.” The English teacher had sat down next to her. “I was just wondering how you and Talon were doing. Rumors have it, you two are officially off the market and dating each other.”

Wren let out a sigh. Not here too.

Talon sat down across from them with his lunch.

“Good day, Mr. Fielding.”

Talon nodded his answer.

“How has your day gone?” he asked Wren.

“Fine.”

The English teacher and the art teacher looked from one to the other. They did not seem to be dating, yet it was all the students were talking about.

***

“Talon.” Talon looked up. The principal had come into the teachers’ lounge.

“Yes, sir.”

“We have a problem. Come here.”

Talon stood and followed him to the window, where the principal pointed outside.

“Look.”

“Wren, you better come see this.” The other teachers stopped at the use of her first name.

Wren stood, already aware of what she was going to see. She had felt their presence, and there were many.

Wren stood next to Talon. The others could not help but notice how good they looked together.

His height and breadth complemented her curves and petite stature.

Wren looked out at the mass of Beings. There were many Level Is and IIs, with a few Level IIIs driving them, and they were heading right for the school.

“That is a lot for two people,” Wren commented.

She turned to the principal. “Wait… How can you see them?”

“I cannot, but I have been given a device that picks them up if they come too close to the school,” he explained.

Talon spoke, giving her an answer to her earlier comment. “I already called the others.”

Right on cue, Evan and Emerald walked into the room.

“Looks like we have a bit of work to do,” Evan commented, coming up to them and seeing for himself what they were up against.

“You cannot come into the teacher’s lounge,” one of the other teachers scolded.

“Shut up,” Talon commented. “They are here at my request.”

“Play nice, Talon. Remember, they cannot see them.”

“No, they cannot, but they have been made aware of what we do. Besides, they should understand by now. I would never ask Evan and Emerald here unless I needed them,” Talon growled out.

She noticed he liked to growl when he was upset. She tried to lighten his mood, well aware the other teachers were watching them with curiosity.

“Talon.” Wren touched his arm, and he turned toward her.

She materialized her weapons and gestured toward her A-line skirt. “Do you think you could…”

Talon grinned. “Am I going to get yelled at later?”

Wren sighed. “Not if you slit it right this time, last time was a little much.”