by Anya Bast
Or maybe Templeton had been so desperate to have Ari killed . . . silenced? . . . that he’d panicked and thrown caution to the wind.
“Why would he want you killed so badly that he would take this risk, Ari?” Daria asked. “What other reason would your father have to want you dead, other than your allowing yourself to be Chosen? Do you have information about him that he doesn’t want made public?”
She turned red-rimmed, tear-filled eyes toward Daria. “I know things,” she whispered. “Things he’s done.” Her expression hardened. “You’ll know them, too . . . now.”
“We’ll get your father, Ari. There’s nowhere in the Nabovsky Galaxy he can hide from the ABI. We already have enough to arrest him and put him away for a long time. He won’t be able to hurt you anymore.”
“Hurt me? I can’t be hurt any more than I already am.”
“I am so sorry,” Daria said again. It seemed so inadequate.
Ari wiped away a tear. “I enjoyed it while it lasted.”
The same words she’d uttered during the asteroid shower.
Ari pushed away from her. She stared down at Sante’s body for a moment before turning and narrowing her eyes at Daria. “I blame you. I blame you for all of this. If it wasn’t for you, Christopher would still be alive. You pretended to be my friend and then you killed my lover.”
How familiar that sounded. Sante had pretended to be her lover . . . and then killed her friend.
Ari pushed up, her face red and tear stained. Lucia took that moment to lead Ari away from Sante’s body and to the female agent who had been assigned to her.
Daria stared after her, feeling like shit, feeling her similarities with Sante even more acutely.
“No.” The word came from behind her, low and powerful. “Don’t do that, Daria.”
She allowed her gaze to drop to Sante’s body for a moment before fixing it on Alejandro’s face. He held out his hand and she took it, letting him help her to her feet.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said wearily.
They turned and did just that. Daria could feel Ari’s gaze on her as they mounted their bikes and headed out. She couldn’t draw a breath until they were far from the site . . . from Ari’s sight.
The dome was eerily silent, and ABI and GBC guards swarmed everywhere. Daria knew that by now all of Sante’s inner circle would have been apprehended and brought in for questioning. It was safe for her and Alejandro to stay until the next morning since the only people who had known their true identity had been Sante and Ari. Though Daria had every intention of finding Jia Ying in the morning and telling her the truth before she said good-bye. Daria felt she owed Jia Ying that much, since they’d developed a friendship during her stay.
The news, of course, would have spread across the dome like a highly effective virus. Carmin, blood slaves, Christopher Sante arrested. Daria was certain all were worried about the fate of the commune. She thought again of Jia Ying, who had nowhere else to go. Lucia may have told Daria to take a vacation, and she would, but she wouldn’t take her finger off the pulse of that issue until it was settled.
They parked their bikes outside their apartment. Alejandro stopped and stared up at the blue sky of the dome, where clouds scudded lazily by. She came to a halt beside him and also looked up.
“I’ll miss it,” he said.
She hadn’t had as much time away from sunlight as Alejandro had, but she closed her eyes and soaked it in for a moment, trying to store it up like a battery. “I’ll miss it too. There are sunlight-for-pay domes in New Chicago, though.”
“Yeah, but nothing as realistic as this. Nothing with blue sky and clouds.”
They stood for another few moments and then turned and walked into the building. Daria looked forward to the comfort of her bed for one last night, well . . . day, as it were.
But even though she was beyond exhausted, she needed something more than sleep.
After thinking Alejandro had been killed by pulse fire, she needed to touch him, hold him, and kiss him. She needed to be one with him and reassure herself of their continued vitality.
Alejandro clearly felt the same way.
Once they’d cleared the threshold and closed the door behind them, they came together, all lips, tongue, and caressing hands. She ran her fingers over every inch of his body she could, assuring herself he was warm and alive and really here.
They kissed each other like they’d never kiss again, each pulling off clothes in a frenzy to feel skin on skin.
Somehow they made it to the bed, leaving a trail of fabric behind them. “You scared me,” she told him between kisses. “When you tackled that agent and the pulse gun went off—”
“I’m okay. I’m here and I’m yours.”
For some stupid reason the words made tears well in her eyes. He pressed her down onto the bed, his lips finding all the sensitive places on her neck, nipping and licking, until her cunt warmed and she let out a low moan.
“I want to show you how I feel, Daria,” he whispered against her skin. “I love you.” When she didn’t answer, he cupped her chin and forced her gaze to his. His thumb traced a gentle crescent on her cheek. “I love you,” he repeated.
She stared into his eyes, her response caught in a tangle of emotion somewhere between her heart and her throat. Love. She loved him back, she just couldn’t get the words out. It had been so long, and he’d taken her by surprise.
God, she’d only just realized her feelings for him went that deep. “Alejandro—”
He made a frustrated noise. “I’ll take what I can get from you.” Then he sealed his mouth over hers again, swallowing any other sounds she might have made. Soon thereafter, she couldn’t make any sounds at all beyond sighs, moans, and his name whispered and murmured.
His knee worked between her thighs, forcing them open so he could press his cock into her slick cunt. He slid inch by slow inch within her, making her teeth sink into her bottom lip and her muscles stretch until she moaned from the pleasure.
Alejandro placed his hands on either side of her head and forced her face to his. He held her gaze as he took her slowly, and then even slower.
The pleasure built swiftly and remained. On and on it went until he’d sent her into a long orgasm that stole both her breath and her thought. He stared into her eyes as he made her come, the intimacy of it bringing tears to her eyes. A moment after she’d climaxed he did, too, spilling himself inside her just as her name spilled from his lips.
After they’d drunk their fill of each other, they lay in a satisfied tangle on the bed. Exhaustion coupled with the events of the last twenty-four hours nearly overwhelmed her mind and body, but still Daria couldn’t sleep.
Beside her, Alejandro lay with his eyes closed. She propped herself on an elbow and rested in the midafternoon sunlight pooling on the bed. It kissed the planes and hollows of his bare body, caressed his dark skin.
Even now, after they’d made love, she wanted more of him. She craved his touch, his warm breath along her skin. She needed the feel of his lips moving on hers and the sensation of their bodies melding together. She already missed his companionship and the sound of his voice, his easy way of being and his calmness . . . up until someone he cared for was threatened.
With a light touch, she traced the bulge of his bicep, his skin warm under the pad of her finger. His chest rose and fell as his relaxation deepened into sleep. Alejandro Martinez was a remarkable man. One of the best ones she’d ever had the privilege to know.
Like Ari had said, it was frightening to take your love and put it all into someone else, let them walk around with it like they held a fragile, expensive piece of china . . . and hope they didn’t trip and drop it.
She’d done that with Alejandro.
He carried her love now—a delicate bowl brimming full of it. There was nothing she could do about it, no armor she could don to protect herself. The deed was done. The bargain struck. It had all been accomplished without her knowledge, without her cons
ent or even her will.
Love was like that. Love was careless that way. It just wanted what it wanted and didn’t think about what was best for it. She’d tried her best not to allow it to happen because she’d known from the start that Alejandro had been a threat.
Maybe she’d been doomed from the beginning; she didn’t know. All she knew was now that she’d found him and realized how much he meant to her, she wasn’t letting him go again.
“I love you back,” she murmured, staring down at him.
His eyelids moved, but he didn’t awaken. She brushed her finger over his cheek, then bent her head and kissed where she’d touched.
She almost woke him to make sure he heard her, but he was just as exhausted as she was and they had a long trip to make when dusk beyond the dome finally fell. When they woke up, she’d tell him again. Tell him that she didn’t want what this was between them to end.
She snuggled down next to him, one arm thrown over his broad chest, closed her eyes, and fell asleep with a smile on her lips.
This probably wouldn’t be the last time they saw each other. They both lived in the same city, both worked for law enforcement authorities. Hell, now that Daria was Chosen there was a chance the GBC might recruit her from the ABI. Their paths would cross again.
But it would be the last time like this.
The last time they awoke from sleeping together after they’d made love, limbs entangled, drowsy, warm, and sated by one another.
He savored it for a moment longer, then slipped from beneath her body and looked down at her. Alejandro pushed her hair away from her face, regret for the circumstances filling his chest with a curious tightness.
He’d keep a piece of her with him always, though. A piece of pain, really. Alejandro would have to live with it for a long time, until he learned to deal with her loss.
He rose, took a shower, and packed a bag. He did it all quietly. Daria still slept while he zipped up his duffle and set it near the door. He returned to her side and ran his fingers through her short hair, compelled to wake her to say good-bye.
But it would be easier this way.
“Have a good life,” he murmured. “I wish you happiness.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. She stirred under the press of his lips, but didn’t awaken.
Something hard twisting in his chest, he rose and left the room.
31
DARIA entered the bar, the soft lighting revealing the rows of tables and short chairs. At the bar a group of people laughed and talked loudly, almost drowning out the smooth, female vocalist who sang low and beautifully in a classic song about wanting her lover to come away with her.
Daria had dressed in civilian clothing tonight, a short black shirt and a filmy gray blouse that complemented her eyes. High, sexy-heeled shoes even encased her feet; she almost never wore them.
She’d arrived in New York shortly after Sante’s death. As soon as Daria had cleared her mother’s threshold, exhausted from the long journey, her mom had known instantly that she’d been Chosen. Her mother had been shocked, but once Daria had explained the circumstances to her, she’d settled down.
Daria was also settling down, adjusting to her new life as a Chosen. It wasn’t easy, but Daria had never shirked from a challenge. That’s why she was here.
There were few people in the bar, so she spotted him immediately. He sat at a table by the large window, framed by darkness and softly falling snowflakes. The building was a temporary residence, condos rented for the short term. The bar was on the top of the two hundred and fifty-six floors. The view was nice.
But that’s not what she’d come for.
Alejandro’s head was bowed, his shoulders hunched. His fingertips rested on the rim of a short crystal glass filled with amber liquid. His other hand cradled his head.
Daria walked to the table. Her insides shook with uncertainty. He’d left her that afternoon back at the dome, with not even a good-bye. She couldn’t be sure how he would react to her appearance.
He raised his gaze to hers. It caught and held.
“Hey there,” she said.
Alejandro blinked, shifted in his chair. “Daria.”
“Can I sit down?”
“Of course.”
She sat down at the table across from him.
He studied her with an expression made of suspicion. “Why are you here?”
She shrugged. “I figured you’d chased me enough. It was time I do the chasing.”
He said nothing; he only pushed his glass at her.
She took a long drink, drained it to the dregs, in fact. She needed the strength for what she was about to do. Then she signaled the tall brunette cocktail waitress for another. How quaint. The wait people were human rather than droid. You didn’t see that much anymore.
“You came all the way here to see me?”
“I’m also here to see my mother.”
“New York City isn’t anywhere near Madrid, Daria.”
“Sure it is.” She grinned. “If you hop an aerotram, it is. Do you not think you’re worth the side trip? Should I leave?” Her throat tightened at the thought even though she’d managed a light tone. She swallowed hard and glanced away.
He leaned back in his chair. “How’d you know where to find me?”
“Just a little investigative work. The GBC gave me your mother’s address. Your brother said you were staying here. I went to your room, and when you weren’t there, I tried the bar.”
The waitress arrived with fresh drinks for both of them. Thank god. He stared at her, his dark eyes piercing and his expression unreadable. “So again, I ask . . . why did you come?”
Damn. He wasn’t going to make this easy for her, was he?
“I can do better than I have been, Alejandro,” she said softly, looking down at the surface of the table that separated them. “If you’ll let me, I want to try.”
He said nothing.
She raised her gaze, found his intense, dark eyes and unreadable face, and blundered on. “Back at the dome Ari said something that made a lot of sense. She said, you have to love like you’ve never been hurt because life won’t be worth much if you don’t. I realized that life isn’t worth much to me if you’re not in it, Alejandro. In fact, I have trouble imagining a future that doesn’t have you in it. I knew it before that last day under the dome, but it took thinking you’d been killed by pulse fire that brought it home.”
“I told you I loved you, and you said nothing.”
She shook her head. “I know. I was just tongue twisted and still shocked by the revelation I’d had.” She paused. “And dumb. I was definitely dumb. I should have said it then, that day.”
His eyes narrowed.
Oh, god. This wasn’t going well. She babbled on. They said confession was good for the soul, at least. “So let me say it now. I love you, Alejandro, and I’m hoping that what you said back at the Shining Way was true . . . that you love me back.”
He said nothing for several long moments, and Daria’s face grew warm. She looked away from his inscrutable gaze and began to regret making the trip. No, that wasn’t true. She didn’t regret coming here and telling him the truth. That was something she’d needed to do, regardless of the outcome.
But maybe there was no hope for them as a couple. Maybe too much lay between them. Maybe she was stupid for ever thinking this would work between them. Maybe Alejandro didn’t want it to work and she’d misread him horribly.
Maybe she’d made too many mistakes.
His hand covered hers.
She looked up into his face and her breath hitched. His expression was inscrutable no longer. Love—pure, undiluted, like nothing she’d ever received from another human being—shone in his eyes. They held her in shining warmth. “I’ve been waiting a long time to hear those words, Daria.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t say them sooner.”
“I think you just need practice.”
She squeezed his hand. “I think I just need you, Alejandro.�
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They leaned across the table in the middle of the bar and kissed while laughter rang out around them.
