Chapter 18

Cole tapped his shoulder to turn on his body cameras as he patrolled outside the container terminal, just as dusk settled over the harbor. Two super wide-angle lenses mounted on his suit's shoulders captured everything around him, collecting evidence and keeping his ass out of jail if things went sideways. His watch displayed a mini-map showing where he wanted to investigate.

When his mini-map turned green, Cole stopped. He was across the street from the container terminal. A high concrete wall was marked with no trespassing signs every twenty feet. The sidewalk was cracked and ran along a twenty-foot-tall hurricane fence to his right.

He brought up the hologram of his notes and started to scroll. "The victim had no visible injuries aside from the bruise from hitting his head on the pavement. Autopsy indicates massive hemorrhage in the brain despite no history of illness."

Cole stood where the man had been found the day before and looked along the terminal's security barrier and then at the fence. He raised his index finger and traced an invisible line from the terminal to his head, then to the fence. Anyone passing by wouldn't have noticed the clues. The hurricane fencing was discolored like it had been heat-treated, and the privacy slats resembled how his plastic containers looked when he put them in the microwave for too long, puckered and deformed.

He glanced at his suit's 360 camera lenses. "Sure hope this is catching enough detail." Cole pulled up his dictation app on his watch when he heard a repeating chime.

He pulled up the hologram, smiled, and said, "Oh, hey Titania, what's going on?"

Titania's hologram waved. "I'm just checking in on my favorite newbie. How are you making out with Tania?"

Cole jumped over the hurricane fence and walked the imaginary line he traced earlier. "Tania? She's fantastic at explaining things in ways I can understand. And for the MMA training, let's just say I'm glad I'm invulnerable, or she would have killed me by now."

Titania beamed. "I'm so glad that's working out. Getting that degree will really help you." She paused and looked away. "And how is the domestic situation going?"

Cole peered at a rusted-out black Pontiac Monte Carlo and saw a baseball-sized section in the windshield. He brought his shoulder close. The glass was deformed and marked with dozens of small bubbles. He shook his head. "Don't get me started. I barely know her, and she's expecting us to be in some intense relationship. I pushed back, and now she barely talks to me. So much for S-ranked guidance."

Titania's eyebrows jumped, and the corner of her mouth tugged upwards before she tilted her head. "Give it more time. Maybe she'll understand that you two are meant to be friends and nothing more."

He stepped around the car and bent over, examining the rear. Finding nothing, he leaped back over the fence and changed his density until he was as light as a feather, slowing him to a crawl as his feet touched the ground. "I'm not so sure. If things don't clear up in a week, I may talk with Agent Withcote and see if Tania can be my mentor."

Titania's mouth dropped open before she covered it. "Really, Cole? You think that Tania's a better choice?"

"I'm learning way more from Tania. She's really nice too. Being a hero is a lot more investigative than I originally thought. It's not all bank robberies and car chases. Tania might be rated F-rank, but rating isn't everything. I'm not saying it will happen yet, but things can't go on with Aphelia like they are. What's wrong? You seem shocked."

Titania stood up straight. "This is the first time anyone's spoken so highly of her. She and I go way back. Tania was dealt a really poor hand, so this is great to hear."

"Look, Titania, I have to run. Please don't tell Tania I said those things. She gets embarrassed when I compliment her and thinks I'm just flattering her. Then she finds a new way to torture my brain during the tutoring sessions."

Titania waved and smiled. "Your secret is safe with me, Cole."

Cole swiped her image away and leaped onto a nearby apartment building, landing lightly before starting his super-jump practice to get home, varying his density as he bounced over rooftops like a skimming stone.

...

Cole was studying at the dining table that evening and looked up the stairs. A doorbell rang, telling him someone had come in through the roof. He was preparing himself for a snippy back-and-forth with Aphelia when the heroine walked down the stairs completely naked.

As she strode by him to the fridge, Cole dug his fingertips into his legs. Her breasts bounced as she walked, and her ass swiveled to match. She pulled out two bottles of beer and held one over her head. "You want one?"

Cole stood up and sat back down when he saw his jeans were already tented. "Aphelia, you're naked."

She popped both bottles using an opener from the drawer. "Very observant, Cole. I would mark that down as one of your superpowers." Walking over, she placed the beer next to him and leaned in; her breasts were inches away.

He closed his books and put them in his bag. "Could you please put something on? It's very distracting."

She stood up and took a swig from her bottle. "I don't see the problem. This is my townhouse, and my supersuit needed a wash. I like the freedom. In fact, I think I'm going to make this a habit. Cole, eyes up here."

He snapped his gaze up to her face. "Right, sorry. I'll microwave a burrito and study upstairs then."

She rapped her knuckles on the table. "Oh no, you're not. You and I haven't spent nearly enough time together. I'll cook up some hot dogs, and then we can watch a movie together."

Before Cole could interrupt, Aphelia went to the kitchen, pulled an apron off the wall, and put it on. It barely covered her breasts, and when she turned around, it was like she was wearing nothing at all. Cole swallowed hard and watched her set out the buns and fixings before pan-frying a few links from the fridge. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull his eyes away from staring at the small of her back and her wide hips. When he called up memories of her punching him in the face to pull his eyes away, the pangs he felt weren't to run, but to get closer to her.

Soon, the kitchen filled with a smoky scent, and she set down two plates, each with potato chips and a hot dog loaded with toppings. She pulled off the apron and sat directly to his right.

Aphelia smiled, then lifted her hot dog to her mouth. Cole's stomach dropped as he kept staring. Her eyes widened as drips of mustard fell from the overloaded dog and landed on her breasts and legs. "I'm such a klutz. Cole, eat up. It will get cold."

Cole shook his head and ate, looking down at his plate. He cursed himself for being so weak. Aphelia was nothing but trouble, but if anyone expected him to resist temptation at this level, they were fooling themselves.

His ears twitched as Aphelia's chair slid over the marble tile floor. She went to the kitchen, ran the faucet for a second, and came back. "Cole, could you help me?"

He looked up. Mustard dripped down her chest, torso, and legs. She handed him a moist paper towel and said, "Please?"

He shut his eyes. "You can't do it yourself?"

She leaned in and whispered in his ear, "I might miss a spot. Come on, don't be a wimp."

Standing, Cole took the wet paper towel and raised it to her lips, dabbing the yellow from the corners of her mouth. His hand lowered and slowly wiped the drips on her upper chest. He was painfully hard. He hated how easily he was being tempted. There was one drip of mustard on her right breast, and Cole couldn't resist pushing the wet paper towel down on her, feeling the soft curve. He didn't care whether the hitch in her breath was real or not. The heroine's nipples were rock hard, and Cole flattened his lips when he saw they were already clean.

Aphelia's lips grazed his earlobe. "There's more on my legs, Cole. I would prefer if you used your tongue."

Cole's free hand squeezed tightly, the knuckles blanching. He got on his knees quickly and forced himself to use the paper towel instead of obeying her completely. When his eyes dropped to her pelvis, his cock twitched. Her pubis was perfectly shaved. His ears filled with the sound of his heartbeat, and his hand clasped around her calf. He felt a tap on the shoulder and looked up. The view of her body from that position stopped his breath.

"Good job, Cole. I'll make the popcorn; you choose the film."

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