Page 39 of Robb

“That’s true,” Robb said. “So you really don’t know?”

“Nope,” Tahnee said. “I mean, there are stories, of course – that we were gifted it for some good deed. Or that we found the power somehow and stole it off a spirit. But nothing definite. But at some point you have to stop questioning things and accept it. However it happened, it’s just what I am. And how I use it is up to me.”

Robb couldn’t argue with that. He supposed that to Tahnee, it was the same as his own ability to shift. He didn’t know why his family were shifters, or how they’d gained the ability – or if it wasn’t something that had had to be gained. Maybe his ancestors had always been shifters.

But he didn’t really think about it. It was just what he was, what he’d always been.

“Thank you for answering the question,” he said. “I imagine it’s been a mixed blessing at times.”

Tahnee laughed. “You can say that again. You wouldn’t believe the lectures I used to get from Mum and Dad about using it responsibly. Advice I obviously took very seriously.”

Compared to what she could have done, Robb thought, he supposed Tahnee had actually acted with great restraint with her power. She hadn’t used it to turn her toilet seat gold – he assumed – or anything like that, for instance.

A sudden gust of wind sent a spray of rain over his face, and he popped up the cheap new umbrella he’d just bought, trying to cover the two of them with it while silently mourning the loss of his old one.

It would have helped, of course, if Tahnee had also been using the umbrella he’d bought for her before they set out on this walk, but apparently she was happy to let it dangle from her wrist while she pressed in close against his side, chomping down on her cake and sending crumbs tumbling to the ground.

Robb couldn’t say he minded too much, even if it meant that he was getting wet down one side of his body. All in all, he was finding that he didn’t completely hate wintry beach walks, though he was pretty sure that a large part of that was the company he was currently keeping.

As they passed the jetty, Robb felt more than saw Tahnee’s head turn longingly in its direction, her thoughts still clearly on the penguins. Robb couldn’t really blame her – they were pretty cute, and knowing they were right there had to be frustrating for her.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to pull some strings to get us into the tour this evening?” he said quietly, trying to ignore the fact that he really needed to get back to the city. Normally he was dead set against using his Agency connections for anything other than their absolute intended use – but, he thought, he might be willing to bend the rules just this once. Absolutely only just this once, though.

Tahnee looked up at him, a soft smile lighting up her features. “That’s sweet of you,” she said sincerely. “But it’s okay. Really. There’ll be another time. And I don’t want the penguins to get stressed out – the tourist limits are for their safety, after all.” Her smile grew more playful. “Look at us, though. Since when do you suggest breaking the rules, and I insist on following them?”

“We must be rubbing off on each other,” Robb said, before having to resist the urge to facepalm.

I can’t believe I just said that. Tahnee is not the type to miss that kind of opportunity.

And he was absolutely right.

“Must we, now?” Tahnee murmured, her warm breath ghosting against his face. “Well, if you insist.”

Her hand, up until now resting on his waist, snaked a little further south, and Robb bit down an undignified yelp.

“No one will be doing any rubbing off of any kind if we get arrested for public indecency,” he hissed… though, he noted with dismay, he wasn’t doing anything to stop her hand from its ministrations, either.

Tahnee pouted. “Killjoy,” she muttered as she withdrew her hand, and the dingo gave off a distinctly smug I told you so vibe, even as it berated him for having slowed his mate’s advances.

Robb fought down a strange sense of disappointment. He thought that if Tahnee started doing that again, he might not stop her – consequences be damned.

I have to get a hold of myself, he thought desperately, cramming the last of his cake into his mouth in a futile attempt at distraction. I can’t just lose my head now that I’m finally with my mate. I could throw away my whole life’s work.

Trying to think of something to say that would lead to neither more accusations of being a killjoy nor an undoubtedly embarrassing blemish on his spotless record, Robb spent a long moment searching his worryingly empty brain for a change of topic… before something that sounded strangely like a squeaky toy provided it for him.

“What was that?” Tahnee asked, looking around.

“Beats me,” Robb said… and then he heard it again.

“Over there,” he said, pointing towards the jetty. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was pointing at, but he knew it was there.

They hurried down to the waterline, trying to work out what could be making the sound. There weren’t any kids or dogs in the immediate vicinity, all of them being too sensible to hang out on the beach in this weather – and Robb had to admit he was intrigued, if a little on edge. He wouldn’t put it past Hargreaves to try and lure him in with the idea that a child or animal was in need of assistance, though he didn’t think that their agents would be lurking around the jetty at St Kilda with a squeaky toy, just in case he happened to show up there.

Approaching cautiously, Tahnee by his side, Robb peered under the jetty.

“… Well,” he said, after a long pause. “I probably should’ve expected that.”

It wasn’t a child, or a dog, or a lurking Hargreaves operative.