"It's nice to be able to talk about this with someone." Adelaide admitted.

"Don't worry Adelaide I'll help you keep those boys on their toes." Meryn promised.

Adelaide's tinkling laughter lifted Meryn's spirits.

"I think you're doing that already. Let's go into the front drawing room and I'll teach you how to sew." Adelaide stood and Meryn moaned.

"Why? I thought you liked me?" Meryn finished her tea and stood.

"You don't want to give Daphane Bowers a chance to look down her nose at you, do you?" Adelaide lifted an elegant brow.

"No! I give her enough ammo as it is." Meryn admitted.

"Good. I'll start with something easy. First lesson; threading the needle." Adelaide walked with her to the front of the house.

Kill me now.

*****

For the rest of the afternoon Meryn discovered how Sisyphus must have felt pushing that bolder up the hill, almost reaching the top only to watch it roll back down again. After four hours she had yet to thread a needle. Every time she exhaled, she missed. Every time she inhaled she missed. So she tried holding her breath and almost fainted. By the time Marius returned with her packages Meryn was secretly planning to gather every needle in the house and melt them down in the backyard.

"I would think that you're playing a joke on me, but I can see how determined you are." Adelaide shook her head.

"I will thread this fucking needle if it kills me!" Meryn vowed shaking her fist.

"Why don't you take a break? I think Marius has something for you." Adelaide pointed to the doorway. Meryn saw a large box with the universally recognized Apple logo, and let out a loud shout. She jumped up and danced from foot to foot in front of Marius.

Marius, with great flourish opened the box and presented her with a brand-new laptop.

"Hello baby, I'm going to take such good care of you. Come here mama's boy." Meryn crooned at the small laptop and raced back over to her chair. In seconds it had booted up and was running her through the final set up. She installed a parallel Linux operating system and began installing her own programs from her flash drive. After a few minutes she had established the wireless connection and was back on the internet.

"You treat that thing more gently than most people treat their pets." Aiden's voice pulled her out of her gleeful exploration of her new machine.

"You're back!"

"I'll help Marius organize dinner." Adelaide kissed him on the cheek and headed towards the kitchen.

"Yup, I've been watching you fondle your new laptop. Should I be jealous?" He kidded.

"Absolutely." Meryn nodded and hugged her laptop close. She had opted for the 13inch Mac Book Pro. It was lighter than her old laptop and had more power. She had already gone online and located a new Doctor Who skin. She made a mental note to ask Marius about what address to use for shipping.

"What man can compete with a new laptop huh? We ordered pizza to give Marius the night off since he went shopping for us. After their showers the rest of the guys will be here. Hope you like green peppers." He stretched his arms over his head and rotated his neck. She admired the way his muscles shifted under his tight cotton tee. She sighed and he raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe I can compete after all?" He closed the door behind him and stalked over to her. Meryn felt her heart begin to race. He plucked her laptop from her hands and placed it on the table beside her. With a move made possible by his shifter speed and strength he pulled her from her chair and dipped her backward scorching her with a passionate kiss. As the kiss deepened they stood up straight. Meryn stepped into his body and felt the hard line of his erection against her stomach. She reached between their bodies and squeezed his bulge causing him to moan deep in his throat.

"You can't do this to me Meryn. You're still on your cycle and my mother would kick my ass if I took you in her drawing room." His breathing became more ragged as she kept caressing him. Meryn let her hand fall away and Aiden's forehead dropped to her shoulder. She grinned evilly as she turned her lips to his ear.

"My cycle ended today." His breathing stopped. He jerked back and his eyes were completely black. Just as his hands tightened on her arms to pull her closer, his mother opened the door.

"Pizza is here. Come get it while it's hot." She walked away, leaving the door open.

"Yay! Pizza!" Meryn grabbed her laptop and turned back to Aiden with an innocent expression.

"Not hungry?" His growl had her giggling as she sprinted from the room. His answering laughter and pinching fingers chased her all the way to the dining room.

When they got there he kissed her quickly and then his attention was on the stacks of pizza laid out on the large dining room table. Watching him grab a whole box her heart felt light. She had to admit, even if it was just to herself, that she had missed him terribly today. Unlike Adelaide, she refused to be left behind while he lived at the barracks. With a new item on her 'To Do' list Meryn grabbed a plate and sat next to Aiden as the rest of the unit members joined them for dinner.

CHAPTER TEN

"What did the council decide?" Aiden asked as everyone got settled.

"Meryn, never, ever, feel bad for calling René a douche bag. That man almost exceeded the limits of my patience today. He had the gall to imply that these couples deserved whatever happened to them since they chose to live outside Lycaonia." Byron growled under his breath.