Orders of Magnitude (The Genie and the Engineer Series Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

their
lips and tongues met. The taste, the fire, the ignition of passion. A newlywed’s
kiss, born of both love and desire.
    Capie sighed as the kiss ended. “‘Since the invention of the
kiss, there have been five kisses rated the most passionate, the most pure.
This one left them all behind.’”
    “A wonderful quote, my dear,” Paul observed in an abstracted
tone of voice.
    “ Princess Bride ,” she said, hugging him close. “Peter
Falk. You’re going to love the movie.”
    He kissed her again, lightly this time. “What were you
saying about portals?”
    “Portals? Ah, yes, I was talking about those, wasn’t I? I
think I was saying that creating a functional portal is hard work for me. Quite
hard. I’ve watched you and all you do is wave a hand or snap your fingers and
poof—there’s a portal big enough to walk through, one that can transport a
person miles away. But I can’t seem to create a marble sized portal across the
room!”
    “Practice, my dear. Practice.” Paul leaned back, giving her
more room to work with. “Here, try again. Concentrate on the mental visual
images, from both ends of the portal. Work on your words too,” Paul suggested.
    Capie sighed and answered with a small nod and, with her
right hand, gripped the three pound gold band she was wearing on her left wrist,
using it as an amulet to magnify her magical powers. Closing her eyes, she
muttered something too quietly for Paul to hear. In response, two small shiny
circles appeared in midair on opposite sides of the room. One was rather
elliptical and canted at an angle. The other was nearly circular as well as perfectly
upright. The only problem was its size, with its diameter closer to that of an
orange, not a marble.
    “Much better,” Paul commented encouragingly. “Erase those.
Try again.”
    “You really are getting the hang of it,” he declared a few
minutes later as Capie swept the latest portal out of existence. “I know you’re
tired, so why don’t we wait until tomorrow to go to the next step.”
    “Which is what?” Capie asked, leaning away from Paul a
little and studying him thoughtfully. “How many steps are there?”
    “Well, bigger portals, of course. And further apart too. And
then sending objects through them without disintegrating the object in
question—”
    “That can happen?” she asked, crossing her arms over her
chest and then shuddering slightly. “I’ve stepped through more than a dozen of
your portals. Are you saying…?”
    “You can see why it’s important to get it right.” He cocked
his head almost imperceptibly to one side. “If I can do it, you can too,
guaranteed.”
    “Okay, I’ll practice, if that’s what it takes,” she said
with a sigh as she shook her head. “I wouldn’t want to disintegrate myself or
anyone else going through a portal.” She lay back down against Paul’s side.
    “I was thinking.” Paul announced after a few moments of
watching the crackle of the fire.
    “Does it involve portals, dear?”
    “No, not portals. Pet names. All couples have them. Terms of
endearment. What shall I call you?”
    Capie squeezed him gently. “I haven’t given it any thought.
I suppose a nickname for you would be nice too.”
    “Dumpling, Lamb-chop, Babushka, Peaches, Gorgeous, Bambi,
Poopsie, Honey Cakes, Angel, Cupcake, Sweetiepie, Princess, Sugar, Tootsie
Wootsy—any of those tickle your fancy?”
    “Not in the least,” she replied, cuddling even closer to
him. “Try some imagination.”
    “Imagination, heh? Okay, I got it. I’ll call you CB.”
    She pulled back and shot him a questioning look. “CB?”
    He stroked her hair. “Yep. My child bride.”
    Capie made a face. “Very funny. I guess it is accurate and
original. Still, I would encourage you to try harder. In the meantime, if you
call me CB, then I know the perfect name to call you.”
    “You do? That fast?” He leaned forward, with an interested
smile. “What name would that