She scoffed. “They’ve been saying that for far too long. You are the only one I am entrusting with our…little tangent. You must not tell the others that we are breaking from the Guide, and you must trust her now, with your life, if it is going to work.”
“What if it doesn’t work?”
“It will. She is special, Kona. She could be the one.”
The commander had used his first name for the first time. “You are special,” he found himself saying and was immediately embarrassed.
His commander smiled brilliantly at him. “If you believe so, than trust what I am asking of you now.”
Kona swore to obey her every command. He believed in and trusted her instincts. When it came to being added to the new one’s armory for protection he would gladly agree, but this part? “It doesn’t feel right,” he conceded.
“Do not do anything she does not ask or that defies Rapiq’ani law. At least get to know her. You’ll be spending the next five years together after all,” his commander took on a rare and playful voice.
Kona watched his commander walk away and marveled. At nearly forty she was still a stunner and in impeccable shape. When she turned the corner he looked at the door where he was supposed to enter and find the younger one waiting for him.
The problem was, even though she looked like his commander, they were two very different people. Kona frowned. It did put a quencher on all of his fantasies, but he had to admit the new one had felt deliciously good in his arms earlier that day. She was soft in all the right places and her hair was something to be worshipped. Kona smiled remembering the feisty look in her eyes. Her spirit and bravado would make her a great leader one day.
It wasn’t a good sign that his body was already starting to react before he even laid eyes on her. Would she be on the bed, naked and waiting for him? Any lesser man would have walked in there and taken advantage of the girl, but Rapiq’ani law would keep him from following this particular command. Why would she agree to this ridiculous idea? The girl had only just been enlightened and couldn’t possibly be in the right state of mind to make such an important decision. He would have to convince her to stop this foolish endeavor. They were about to go into one of the most dangerous and foreign places imaginable, and he didn’t need this woman being clingy and love smitten when he was trying to keep her alive. Besides, he concluded as he went to open the door, making love to her would take far more than an hour…
EPILOGUE
Talon rubbed the pink powder onto the apples of her cheeks. Her time in Esrevi had aged her even more than she realized. Luckily, the make-up helped to take the years and the stress off. After running a comb through her short hair, she was finally satisfied with her appearance. Levi’s video message to his fiancé was an integral part in the Enlightenment ceremony, but why she bothered to look nice for him, she did not know. Who was she kidding, she had been dreaming of this moment for more years than she wanted to count.
“Commander, he’s here,” one of her men said through the door of her quarters.
Talon’s heart fluttered. Her people had put a cloaked vessel in an underground bunker somewhere in New Mexico months ago. She had called his hotel and given him the coordinates, fighting the urge to shower him with loving words. Talon had been self-conscious, hoping the man she had thought endlessly about didn’t recognize the new deepness in her voice.
The ship jerked as the rescue vessel docked with theirs. Levi would have a million questions, and she didn’t look forward to breaking his heart. The call button sounded and Talon crossed the room, fighting the leg injury she acquired as a souvenir in Esrevi.
“Send him in.”
The door slid to the side and standing there was a twenty-four year old Levi. He was even more handsome than she remembered. He stood, staring at her in the doorframe with a shocked expression on his face. You were a fool to think a little make-up would fool him, her mind jabbed at her sudden insecurities. If only she could have grown her hair out longer.
“Talon!” Levi ran to her and threw his arms around her waist.
“Levi! Are you alright?”
“Thanks to you I am. You cut your hair.” He threaded his fingers through the thick layers that framed her face. “And you have bangs. I love it. Easier for spy work?”
“Something like that—” In actuality, it was awful not being able to put it up and out of her face.
Levi interrupted her with a ravenous kiss. She read this would happen from the Guide. Push him off and tell him the truth right away, the other ones advised. She couldn’t. She knew she was different from the others.
Levi pulled away. “You never answered your phone. I was so worried about you.”
Talon was breathless and hot. “I…,” she stuttered, trying to retrieve her memories, “I’m so sorry. I—”
“Did you get done what you needed to?”
“Yes.” She had only sacrificed everything for it.
“Talon, I’m mad at you,” he scowled, “but I’ve never wanted to see you so badly.”
“You have no idea,” she said, looking down at her feet. She really needed to stop lying now, but what would refusing this wondrous moment achieve, she pondered? The new one was already in place for the next cycle. After giving her life to the cause, after waiting years for this moment, why did she have to pull away now? Didn’t she deserve it?
He pulled her close for another kiss. This time she completely surrendered. He groaned in the back of his throat when she pulled him closer. His kiss was even better than she remembered, and it seemed as though she had not forgotten how to do it either. Push him off and tell him the truth right away. No. She was going to be entirely, wonderfully, selfish.
“I don’t want to wait any more, Talon. I can’t.”
Her head snapped up. Levi had desire in his eyes. The only consequence she could think of for giving in to him was that she would hurt him. But the man had waited so long for her…hell, she had too. There wasn’t anything sadder than a thirty-eight year-old virgin. Forget the Guide.
Talon never took her eyes off him while she removed her shirt and then her pants. His jaw clenched. She unsnapped her bra and threw it to the side. His jaw fell open. Talon slowly slid her underwear down her thighs and noticed the scars from her years in Esvevi. She froze.
“I’ve seen your naked body a thousand times,” he walked over to her and continued to slide her panties to the floor.
“I’ve made you feel good with my tongue,” he flicked her ear as he played with the little hairs on the back of her neck. “I’ve made you feel good with my fingers,” he brushed the sides of her breasts until her nipples became hard with anticipation, “but nothing can make you feel as good as this.” Levi pressed his body against hers, and she knew exactly what he was talking about.
“I want you, Levi.”
“Tell me one more time,” he coerced, and not just with words. His fingers were doing very naughty things.
“I want you, Levi.”
The rest was a blur. Levi was slow and kind at first, but she had waited too long for that. She took the lead to show him she wanted more, she wanted it faster, she wanted it harder. Levi was a talented lover, and she was singing his name more than a few times. Talon didn’t know how much time passed, but by the end of it they both fell in a mound of sweaty bliss on the floor.
“Wow.”
“You liked it then?” Levi asked with a wink.
She more than liked it. Perhaps if she had been doing more of that over the past decade she could have thought straighter. Suddenly, everything became so clear.
“George!” she yelled, covering herself with a sheet.
The large guard busted through the door. His face was beat red as he looked into the air. “Yes, commander?”
“Send the programmer a message. It’s urgent. Tell him Talon needs to escape from that simulation. Tell him to make it…amateur or something.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
George looked confused but rar
ely did someone question her commands. As far as he knew, she was just following the Guide. But she wasn’t. No, this upcoming cycle, it will all be different. The new girl wasn’t special like her. As far as she could tell, the young one was like all the rest. But in order for this to work, in order for Talon to convince the new girl to go along with her crazy idea, she had to believe she was special.
THE END
Don’t worry, this is a trilogy for a reason
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ashley L. Grapes is a high school science teacher currently living in Neptune Beach, Florida. She has a Bachelor of Science in Animal and Poultry Sciences from Virginia Tech, a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Virginia Tech, a Master of Arts in Secondary Science Education from Virginia Tech and a Master of Science in Animal Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Florida.
She is also a professional belly dancer and dance instructor. Ashley loves painting, exercising, walking her dog on the beach, living mindfully and learning. If you would like to contact her, please visit the book’s website and use the contact form.
An Eagle's Revenge (Across the Infinite Void Book 2) Page 28
