by Ross, Aubrey
Not trusting the distraction of her warm body, Malik pushed to his feet. “If my life is the price that must be paid to end this madness, I’m not afraid to die. But I will not do it because of some vendetta you’ve harbored—”
“I don’t use suicide bombers,” Ra’jen stressed. “I find the practice deplorable. Saroji has made it clear that her choices are her own and she will not tolerate my interference again. You need to fight this out with her. Now can we focus on the Resistance?”
As Malik lowered himself into the chair beside Saroji she slipped down the armrest and sat in the chair he’d just vacated. “Let’s say we have an explosive that doesn’t trigger munitions scanners. Is there any way to exit the Hub while it’s still turned on?”
“The Gathosians control activation.” He pinched the bridge of his nose as pressure began to throb behind his eyes. “Let me think about it. If you have an explosive I can sneak past the scanners I’ll figure out the rest.”
“What about all the people in their dimension?” Autumn’s voice was soft and sad. “Don’t they deserve freedom too?”
“We have to choose our battles, love. There is only so much we can do.”
“Rebellion often breeds rebellion. If we succeed in driving them back to their own dimension it could embolden the people there.” Malik shifted his gaze back to Ra’jen and asked, “What sort of timeframe are we talking about? How close are you to mass production with the antidote?”
Ra’jen looked at his sister and Malik felt the subtle ripple of telepathic communication. General Noirte was still hesitant to reveal their secrets to a Gathosian lapdog. Malik couldn’t really blame him. If the situations were reversed he’d be suspicious too.
“It will take months to produce enough of the antidote for everyone,” Ra’jen finally explained, “but the existing supply will last longer than the Gathosians realize as more and more of us no longer depend on the compound.”
“Have you begun live trials?”
The general looked at his mate and smiled. “I’ve been off the compound for the past four days and Autumn is three days post-compound. We should both be in excruciating pain by now, and yet the withdrawal has been nearly nonexistent. All of the other volunteers report similar results.”
“Congratulations. How long will it take to produce enough of the antidote for your men? We can transition the general population over time, but at least the commanders need to be fired up by the reality of what we’re trying to accomplish.”
“I agree—Agent Wanatee.” Ra’jen added his title with sarcastic emphasis. “You focus on destroying the Hub network and I’ll orchestrate the rest.”
“Sorry. It’s been a long time since I collaborated. I’ll try to stay off your toes.”
“The Resistance is thrilled to have you, and—with your permission, of course—I’ll explain the challenges you face with the Hub network to a select few of my trusted team members. We’ll see if anyone has any fresh ideas.”
“I’d appreciate the input.”
Ra’jen stood and offered his hand to Autumn. “Then we’ll get out of your way. I’m sure you and Saroji still have plenty of issues to work through.”
Chapter Four
Saroji waited until Ra’jen and Autumn left the suite before she posed the question that had been eating at her since Malik left. “Where did you go? You were gone for over two hours.”
“I told you, I needed to check in with my supervisor.” He pivoted toward her, brow creased with annoyance and confusion.
“I thought you meant a video chat or—”
“An interdimensional telephone is called a Hub and there is only one on Earth. Weren’t you listening to anything I told your brother?”
“Don’t be snide. I was worried about you.”
He reached down and pulled off his boots, not bothering to look at her. “Worried about my safety, or worried that I’d—how did Ra’jen put it—gotten what I needed and had no reason to return?” He kicked his boots to the side and glared at her. “Is that really what you concluded after all we shared?” He scoffed and shot to his feet. “God, that sounds pathetic. You’ve reduced me to platitudes.”
Ignoring the fact that he hadn’t invited her touch, she hurried toward him. “I didn’t arrange this ambush. Ra’jen sensed my upset and—”
He spun and backed her against the wall then pushed off until his body surrounded her without touching her. “Why were you upset? Have I been cruel and unreasonable? Did I bully you and use your sexuality to manipulate you?”
“You’ve forced me to examine possibilities I’d rather not consider.”
“Why is the possibility of joining with me so…intolerable?” His gaze searched hers but when she raised her hand to touch him, he shoved away from the wall and stepped back. “I’m too tired for this. I can’t remember the last time I slept. It’s been at least three days. I’d prefer you lie down with me but you’re not my prisoner.”
She opted for a nonverbal response to his statements. Following him into the bedroom, she slipped out of her bathrobe while he shed his clothes. They crawled into bed together. He rolled to his side facing away from her, so she snuggled against his back and draped her arm over his lean waist. He seemed to be ignoring her for a moment, then he reached down and covered her hand with his, lightly entwining their fingers.
“Many of the worlds the Gathosians have pillaged are desolate wastelands.” Malik sounded tense yet sleepy. She understood the contradiction. Many nights she’d stared at the ceiling, her body exhausted, yet troubled thoughts refused to let her sleep. “Without the supplies provided by the Protectorate their inhabitants will die.”
“The Protectorate will still exist,” she reminded him. “Their purpose will simply shift from enforcing Gathosian dictates to establishing interplanetary cooperatives and pooling resources. Consolidation is inevitable. If cultures hope to survive, they’ll have to mix in ways they would never have considered before.”
“Like Autumn and Ra’jen? How was he able to mate with a human? The Pryett are even more xenophobic than the Bartonese.”
“Apparently humans are like universal blood donors. Their physiology makes them remarkably easy for other species to assimilate.”
“Really?” He perked up for a moment, his tone suddenly more alert. “How many different species have successfully mated with humans?”
“You’ll have to ask Ra’jen for the details. It’s a new discovery so there might not be that many.”
“But they realize how important the finding could be once we begin repairing the Gathosians’ damage?”
“Yes, love. They’re fully aware of the importance. The Resistance has been planning this uprising for years. They’ve tried to anticipate every obstacle before they make their final move.”
“Does the Resistance exist in the other dimension?”
She smiled into the darkness. He didn’t miss a thing. “It’s nothing like it is here. Gathosian slaves have just started to organize. Ra’jen recruited the captain of one of the Gathosian ships. The captain refused to divulge the location of the Master Hub, wouldn’t even confirm that there was such a thing. But he’s been passing information between the dimensions. Why do you ask?”
“Ra’jen has to give them the formula for the antidote before we blast the Master Hub to bits.”
“I’m sure he figured that out but I’ll bring it up to him just in case. Now relax.” She kissed his shoulder, savoring the softness of his thick hair against her cheek. Little by little the tension eased from his muscles.
“It’s hard to believe these possibilities are real.” Sleepiness was finally winning out. His words slurred a bit more with each sentence. “We’ve all been…slaves for…so long.”
She held him close, enjoying the steady rhythm of his breathing and the hard contours of his body. Driving out the Gathosians was the beginning, not the end. Everyone realized that. It would be hard to reestablish individuality and cooperation in civilizations that were both
scattered and suspicious. But they would face each challenge with determination and integrity. The only choice had been servitude, and they’d all reached the point where death was preferable to subjugation.
Sleep claimed her so gently she couldn’t remember succumbing to its pull. One moment she floated in velvet tranquility and the next something warm and soft brushed against her ankle. She murmured and wiggled her foot, moving away from the butterfly wings.
Someone eased her legs apart and the butterfly grew bolder. The fluttery caresses both tickled and aroused as they worked their way up to her knee. She felt so warm and lazy she didn’t want to open her eyes and face the inevitable conflicts, or the man commanding the army of butterflies.
“I know you’re awake,” Malik whispered, teasing her kneecap. Was he using his fingertips or his hair? “Your breathing hitched and your naughty little nipples are hardening in anticipation of my lips, and my teeth.” He added the last with dramatic emphasis as he bent her knees and made more room for himself between her thighs.
“My nipples can wait,” she responded without opening her eyes. “I can think of a more interesting place for your mouth.”
“Show me.”
It was a challenge. If she wanted his mouth on her pussy she had to brazenly offer herself to him. Reaching between her thighs, she parted her folds and displayed her clit and the silky inner flesh surrounding her opening. She opened her eyes and smiled then listed her suggestions. “Lick this,” she lightly flicked her clit, “until I’m dying to come, then fuck me with your tongue.”
Maintaining eye contact as long as he could, he lowered his head between her thighs and circled her clit with his tongue. “Like this?”
“Just like that, only don’t stop until I tell you to shove it inside me.”
He chuckled, his breath wafting across her damp folds. “Are you always this bossy in the morning?”
His lips closed around her clit and the firm suction of his mouth kept her from replying. Sensations shot up through her body and her hips bucked helplessly. He cupped her ass with both hands and raised her hips off the mattress, controlling her movements as well as her arousal. She relaxed and her fingers started to slip, releasing her folds.
“Let go and I’ll stop.” The ultimatum was more growl than articulation but she understood.
Offered, opened, surrendered. He would have her no other way.
He caressed her clit in firm circles, pausing every so often for a long, slow suck. Her passage clenched and melted, desperate for fingers, or better yet his cock. Sensations gathered beneath his lips, following the slow rotation of his tongue.
“Now.” She moaned, arching against his mouth. “I need you inside me.”
His tongue jabbed into her pussy and she came in strong, rhythmic bursts. He draped her legs over his shoulders and moved his hands to her breasts. The firm pinch of his fingers prolonged her release, keeping sensations zinging through her as his tongue thrust in and out.
She sprawled on the bed, lost in the wonder of his carnal kiss. She felt light and giddy, yet invincible. Exalted and free.
“You taste so damn good.” His lips moved against her pussy. “I could live on your cream.”
“You’re welcome to try. I love having your mouth on me and your tongue inside me.”
He kept her legs over his shoulders as he moved up along her body. His cock found her pussy and surged inside. His mouth swooped, muffling her sudden cry of pleasure as he folded her body in half. She parted her lips and welcomed his tongue, savoring the taste of her own passion.
He lifted his weight without allowing her to unfold her legs. Each sharp thrust of his hips pressed her knees into her breasts, keeping her firmly pinned beneath him. She caressed him with her inner muscles and her tongue, understanding his need for dominance.
She’d learned long ago to relax into his demands and her own nature would do the rest. When she trusted him to… She had to trust him, had to make him understand that they were in this together.
Before he could ask it of her, she carefully weakened her mental shields, creating a small opening. Please, Malik, come inside. I want you here with me.
He thrust to the hilt then tore his mouth from hers and stared into her eyes. “Why now?” He shrugged, dislodging her legs as he rocked back onto his heels. “What changed your mind?”
“Trust has to start somewhere. You’ve taken several steps toward me. I thought it was my turn to bend. If you’d rather not—”
He silenced her with a long, deep kiss.
They were both panting by the time he pulled away. “I will gladly meld while we make love, but we can’t actually bond until this is over. It would be too dangerous.”
She shook her head and brushed the hair back from her damp face. “Then why all the pressure? You’ve had a one-track mind since I agreed to meet with you.”
“I’ve had a one-track mind since I first saw you and that was long before we came to Earth. I want you as my mate, and I wanted—no, I needed—to know you were willing to join with me. But I will not endanger you to soothe my pride. If the Gathosians sense any change in me they’ll probe and scan until they figure out what caused it.”
“And then they’d use me to manipulate you?”
“Exactly.” He pressed his hand against the side of her face. “I will do nothing that harms you in any way. Our bonding will have to wait a bit longer.”
She caught her bottom lip between her teeth then smiled into his eyes. “But we can enjoy each other fully until the battle begins?”
He pulled back his hips, drawing his cock nearly out before he filled her completely again. His energy flowed into her mind, hot and dazzling. She closed her eyes against the blinding beauty but the swirling colors and pulsing light still burned within her mind.
Needing the extra intimacy of their kiss, she guided his mouth down to hers. She absorbed his energy with greedy abandon as she flowed across the link and offered herself without reservation.
They mixed and merged, bodies, minds and spirits. Sharing, blending, joining.
His body covered and possessed her, surrounding her with warmth and intensity. She sensed the depth of his desire and the blissful realization that she would finally be his.
Now and forever, my love. She raised her arms above her head, displaying her absolute surrender. She trusted him with her body, her mind and her heart.
He slid his hands up her arms one at a time, clasping her wrists in a firm grip without disrupting the rhythm of his hips. Now and forever.
Even in her mind his voice sounded breathless and tense. She opened her eyes as their lips separated but he hadn’t gone far. His face was inches above hers, his eyes ablaze with passion, yet tender.
His hips pumped, frantically working them toward release, and still his gaze caressed. She flowed with him, propelled by the rush of their combined energy.
He drove into her one last time, grinding against her pussy as he released his seed deep inside her. She came an instant later, the powerful spasms stealing her breath and muddling her mind.
He let go of her wrists and gathered her close as he rolled them to their sides, his cock still buried inside her. “Good morning,” he whispered into her hair as he gradually pinched off the link connecting their minds.
Their beings had only been melded for a few minutes and already she ached for a permanent joining. She’d resisted their attraction for so long that it felt wonderful not to battle her own nature. Rather than dwell on what was missing, she wrapped one of her legs around his hip and ensured their physical connection. “Can we do this every morning?”
“You’ll get no argument from me.” He started to kiss her again then suddenly tensed and jerked his head to the side, squeezing his eyes shut.
“Are you all right?” She disentangled their bodies and sat beside him, reaching for his face. He caught her wrist and warned her off with a stiff shake of his head. Silence stretched on as his features twisted into an unreadable mask.<
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“Fuck.” He released her hand and crawled off the bed, running both hands through his hair.
“What’s the matter?” Her confusion was rapidly turning to fear. “What just happened?”
“Inwatta’s replacement has arrived. I’ve been summoned to sector three headquarters.”
* * * * *
It was like looking into a mirror. Malik stood in front of the stately oak desk with his hands clasped behind his back. Though also housed within the Pentagon, sector three headquarters was in an entirely different section of the massive building than the Hub. Malik had known what to expect when he was ushered into Fibarre’s office. But knowing the Gathosian leader intended to inhabit the first clone and actually conversing with the creature were two entirely different things.
“You’re the best judge of our success,” Fibarre said. “Will this body pass for Bartonese?” The clone’s voice sounded odd, almost synthesized, but his physical appearance was uncanny. And damn creepy.
“I didn’t realize passing for Bartonese was one of your objectives.” He tried to sound calm and nonconfrontational, but he wanted to lunge across the desk and beat Fibarre to an unrecognizable pulp. Thanks to his unique physiology, Malik was now the face of the Gathosian high command!
“Without the limitations of our humanoid hosts we intend to become more proactive. Far too many of our recent challenges should have been preempted, or at least dealt with before they escalated beyond our control.”
“I understand, sir. How can I assist you?”
“Scan my mind. What do you sense?”
Malik hesitated. Was this some sort of trap? Seeing no option but compliance, he lightly scanned the clone’s mind. Energy saturated his receptors, the rhythm hauntingly familiar. “You scan Bartonese. In fact, your energy pattern is identical to mine.” That was an exaggeration. Even with only the lightest of touches he could sense Gathosian energy as well. But Fibarre still seemed subdued. Apparently his showdown with Inwatta had resulted in a lasting weakness. Still, there was no telling how long it would take for him to recover. The next time Malik saw Ra’jen he would reemphasize the need for haste.
