Scar angrily removes his elder's robe and places it on the back of a large throne-like chair in his private quarters. He growls deep in his throat, remembering what the vile ooman child had almost done.

  He turns at almost the same instant that there is a soft knock on the metal door. Striding to the door, Scar expects to find Yau-tala. Instead, he comes nearly face to face with Teresa. His amber eyes settle on her solemn visage.

  "Should you not be at home with your childlings?" Scar inquires with genuine concern.

  Teresa smoothly slides into the room and ignores Scar's question. Scar watches her as she goes to the large bed and plops down on the edge. She bends and slowly removes her sandals, placing them neatly on the floor, at the foot of the bed. She does not look at him.

  "Mifbon is watching the children. I told her I wanted to speak with you before the council meeting in the morning. She readily agreed. She heard the scream and was concerned about Vor'taalnis as well. Mifbon is a good childling sitter. She will not allow any harm to come to them. But if memory serves me...You and I have some unfinished business."

  With a loud sigh, Teresa drops backward onto the bed. She raises her arms above her head in fake exasperation and sighs again. Scar stares across the room in bewilderment. Is she actually serious? No female has ever been quite so blunt.

  Scar walks over to the bed, stopping in front of Teresa's bent legs. He gazes down at her with widened amber eyes.

  "Are you feeling well, Teresa? You do not quite seem yourself. Has the shock of what happened tonight affected your judgment? Perhaps, you should..."

  Teresa releases yet another sigh and sits up on the bed. She grips the left shoulder of her dress and draws it downward, pulling her arm through the very thin sleeve. Doing the same with the other side, she drops back down onto the bed. Scar is still frozen in place, his brow knit. This is not the response he'd expected.

  "Teresa, I don't think..."

  "Well, I do think. Stop acting like an ignoramus and let's get back to it. There are only so many hours until dawn."

  Slowly lowering himself onto the bed beside Teresa, Scar looks down at her face. She responds by wrapping an arm around his neck. They remain like that for several moments, staring at each other.

  "There's one thing we need to get straight, Elder Scar..."

  "It is simply Scar. There is no need to stand on formality."

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  "Okay...Scar. First, I am not your Lex. And secondly, Vor'taalnis is not the childling you lost many cycles ago. Whatever we are to each other...It cannot be this. We're both chasing ghosts. We need to move forward. The only way we can do that...Is to see where we stand...After tonight."

  Scar responds by using a finger to trace Teresa's face. He offers her a wide smile.

  "Fair enough. However, I believe I know where I stand."

  "And just where is that?"

  Scar's answer is to lean forward and kiss her passionately. Teresa melts into his kiss, angling her head and seeking his mouth with a voracious hunger. Scar's right hand once again seeks the hem of her dress. Teresa does not resist.

  Arching her back, Teresa allows Scar to draw her dress up and then over her head. The warm evening air touches Teresa's flesh and her breathing accelerates. Scar uses both hands to caress her neck and stomach. Teresa's eyes are tightly shut, as Scar trails his mouth along the skin of her neck, continuing downward toward her navel. He stops long enough to whisper in her ear. Teresa's eyes widen and she turns to stare at him with disbelief.

  "You're kidding?" Teresa exclaims with a laugh.

  Scar's response is a laugh of his own. They lock eyes, sharing a brief moment of silence and reflection.

  "I don't know if I have the energy for that," Teresa finally says. "Not with three childlings and a council meeting in the wee hours of the morning. But I'll do my best."

  Another deep laugh from Scar and the moment of reflection comes to an abrupt end. Wrapping his muscular arms around Teresa, Scar commences where he left off. Teresa rubs the flesh of his back, her fingers trailing along the mesh suit criss-crossing his massive form.

  Moments later, foreplay out of the way, Scar and Teresa consummate their budding romance.

  -

  -

  Much later

  Teresa is asleep, her head resting on Scar's chest. No longer wearing his mesh suit, they are skin against skin. Scar trails a single finger along Teresa's spine. She smiles wistfully and forces both eyes to open.

  "I should probably go, Scar. We have a meeting at dawn and I've been gone for too long. Mifbon will wonder what is keeping me. Mind if I use your hot tub to clean up?" Teresa says.

  The last part of her statement is said in a teasing voice. Scar smiles back, wanting desperately to keep her right where she is. But knowing she is correct.

  "I do not mind. What is mine is yours."

  "You can't mean that? We don't know each other well enough to make such bold declarations."

  "That is not true. I feel as if I have known you forever. Besides, how else will you get clean? It is a long walk back to your cabin."

  "Please, Scar. Think about what I've said. I don't want you to make love to me because you want me to be someone else. I want you to make love to me...For who I am."

  "What do you think I have just done?"

  "I really don't know," Teresa admits.

  Scar's brow creases with deep lines and he offers Teresa a wily smile.

  "Then, let me make my intentions very clear."

  Not waiting for a reaction, Scar reverses their positions. Teresa does not get a chance to speak before he covers her lips with his mouth. Scar's mandibles close around her face, keeping Teresa in one spot.

  Thoughts of the hot tub forgotten, Scar and Teresa launch into round 2.