Trials of Conviction, page 29
Kira sucked in a sharp breath, the sensation almost too much to bear.
Especially when Graydon inserted a finger into her warmth and flicked.
Kira's hips rose. Graydon subdued her, holding her still as he tortured her with his mouth and fingers.
Warmth pooled in her lower belly, coiling tight.
"Graydon!" Kira snarled.
Graydon pressed his tongue hard against her clit and massaged the front of her sex.
Climax tore through Kira. Her back bowed as her inner muscles fluttered.
Graydon wiped his mouth, rising over her with a chuckle. "My beautiful mess."
Kira's glare was halfhearted as she found herself distracted by the way his muscles flexed and stretched over his frame.
She hooked her leg around his, reversing their positions as she rolled him onto his back. Graydon relaxed against the sheets, watching her with an obsessiveness that made her core clench.
She wanted this man. Now.
But first, she'd return the favor he'd given her.
She bent, her eyes on his as she pressed a kiss to the center of his chest. The look in his eyes changed, naked need on his face.
She moved to one nipple, nipping it before moving down his body. His stomach tensed, making Kira smile against his skin as she moved lower.
She cupped Graydon, wrapping her fingers around the base of his cock. She rubbed her thumb over the tip, smoothing the pre-ejaculate into his skin before giving an exploratory lick.
The muscles in Graydon's legs tightened.
Kira blew on the spot where her tongue had just touched. Graydon whispered a muffled curse.
With a smile, she leaned forward, taking him fully into her mouth. Kira bobbed, every so often stopping to lick the tip again before swallowing him down.
Sounds came from Graydon. Desperate and needy as she worked to drive him out of his mind, the same way he had her.
It wasn't until he tugged at her hair that she stopped. Crawling up his body, Kira settled over him. She started to guide him inside her.
His hands splayed over her hips as his breath shuddered. "That's it, coli."
Kira's eyelids fluttered as she sank down, the sensation of being stretched almost too much.
Tendrils of ki floated out of Graydon's body. They brushed against Kira's skin, dipping beneath it to coax her own ki out to play.
The sensation brought a moan to her lips. The experience of their ki intertwining sending a flood of warmth to her center.
"Graydon," Kira moaned, her hips rising and falling almost against her will.
She couldn't take it.
His rough hands caught her, lifting her before yanking her back down. Their bodies slapped together. Pleasure exploded through her, filling her veins with magma.
Their ki speared her body. Kira came with a startled cry.
Graydon's movement grew frenzied as he flipped them, pounding inside of her. Kira's inner muscles fluttered around him, sending her into another climax. He followed her with a cry.
Kira's skin still felt too tight for her body as she blinked up at the ceiling. "I think you broke my brain."
Graydon buried his face in her neck, letting some of his weight rest on her. "Trust me, coli. Yours isn't the only one in jeopardy."
He pulled out to rest beside her.
Kira stretched, her muscles delighting in the slight pull, evidence that they'd been well used.
"We should have been doing that months ago. You're better than any session with Quillon," Kira purred.
She felt renewed. Her body pain free and her mind clear in a way it hadn't been since all this started.
Amazing how a little bit of sex could leave her feeling like a new woman.
Graydon's smirk was all masculine smugness. "It's an effect of our ki's manifestation."
Kira snorted, grabbing the covers to pull over their bodies. Graydon lifted an arm so she could snuggle into his side.
"Are you telling me Tuann just need to get a little freaky if they want a panacea for all wounds?" Kira asked, looking up at him teasingly.
"Only when their partners are as talented as me."
Kira hid a smile against his chest. "Arrogant."
His body moved under hers as he made himself more comfortable. "Yet not a lie."
Kira rested her cheek against him, contentment filling her as quiet settled around them.
Lost in thought, she drew a pattern on his chest. "I'm not sure I know how to be alone. I've always had Jin beside me."
Although there had been times where she'd felt isolated, she'd always known she wasn't truly alone. Jin was with her. That knowledge had helped stem the tide of darkness on more than one occasion, giving her an anchor to hold onto.
Graydon's arms tightened around her. "I will always be grateful for that."
Kira’s expression was bittersweet as she pressed her forehead against his side. "I always assumed that mine and Jin's relationship wouldn't leave room for anybody else."
Most partners wouldn't be able to accept how deep their feelings for one another ran without assuming there was a level of romance involved.
There wasn't. Jin was the brother of her soul.
She had never wanted to deal with the potential resentment that might arise. The jealousy that would destroy any good she and that other person might have had.
"You've never tried to get me to abandon him," Kira said, looking up at him.
Even now, when it had become clear how deep that bond truly ran.
"Of course not." Graydon looked at her as if he'd never considered it. "Your connection doesn't preclude you from developing something just as deep and unique with someone else. The same way my oath as a Face doesn't prevent me from being what you need."
Graydon understood. Furthermore, he accepted them. It was a gift beyond measure. One she'd never hoped to have.
"What?" he asked, arching a brow at the way she was looking at him.
She shook her head. "Nothing. I just can't help but wonder how much better our lives would have been if we'd met you sooner."
His lips curled up in a smile that warmed his eyes. "It's good we found each other then."
"Yeah," she agreed softly. "It really is."
Graydon pulled Kira half over him, bringing her front flush with his side. She slid a leg over his, making herself more comfortable.
"The best moment of my life was when you crashed a gondola into it," he whispered, nuzzling her temple.
"Your memory is faulty," Kira corrected. "The gondola was already crashing when I jumped on it. Jin and I merely guided it to a more optimal landing site."
"As I recall, the people in charge weren't exactly a fan of your actions."
"That's not my fault. That man was an asshole."
That waste of space had hated her guts for years. He'd have used any excuse to fuck with her.
Graydon looked like he was suppressing a smile. "If you say so."
"I do," Kira grumbled.
Graydon placed his hand over hers. "Promise me one thing."
Kira looked up at him, catching the serious cast of his features.
"Don't try to protect me by leaving me behind." He caught her chin, forcing her to look at him when she would have avoided his gaze. "I don't care what's coming or how bad it gets."
Kira pulled her chin out of his hand. "Have you ever thought that I don't want to be the reason for your fall?"
The look he gave her made her heart hurt.
"You don't get to make that decision for me. We each decide for ourselves what we're willing to risk and for who. That is what it means to love someone." His lips quirked. "And unlike a certain someone, I've had the honor of being responsible for my decisions for years."
Kira glared, pinching his side at the teasing note in his voice.
He caught her hand, holding it against him firmly. "I will not give you up. Even to death. I've told you before—you're mine. And I plan to keep you."
Twenty
Elena - Tsavitee Planet
Elena snuck through the corridors on sock clad feet. She was a ghost, passing by unnoticed. Or a phantom. She couldn't decide which.
She hummed the theme song to a popular show about a pair of kid spies as she chose a direction at random.
Oh. That reminded her. She needed a cool call sign like Auntie's if she was going to be a proper operative. Something that wouldn't give away her identity.
Tommy liked to call her a harpy. She wasn't a fan of that moniker, though. Maybe something that had less of a negative connotation.
Like Raven.
For one, it was a bird, and like the phoenix, it could fly. If, you know, phoenixes were real and all.
Elena might not have been as good as Auntie on a waveboard, but she could hold her own.
There was something about soaring in the sky that spoke to her soul. Like she was free. For a long time, it had also made her feel close to her mother. That was before she found out what her egg donor was actually like.
In legends, ravens held a variety of meanings. Considered ill omens in some cultures, messengers in others, and to have created light and thus life itself in still another.
So many different perceptions. So many interpretations of one little bird.
It was kind of poetic, if you thought about it.
The thing she most empathized with, however, was the raven's tendency to be seen as a catalyst for mischief and mayhem.
If her current circumstance didn't lend itself to such symbolism, she didn't know what did.
It was practically fate.
She'd have to remember that for later when she tried to argue in favor of her new call sign with Uncle Jin. For now, she focused on her task, choosing a direction at random, careful to make note of every turn she made to ensure she could find her way back.
To her surprise, she didn't encounter anyone during the journey. The silence was oppressive, sending her heart into her throat as she crept into a large room much different than the others she'd passed.
In the shape of a rotunda, the chamber’s ceiling formed a dome. At the heart of the room was a single platform, walkways extending off it. Below it was a pool of luminescent blue liquid that frothed and moved as if something was down there.
Elena moved closer for a better look.
The metal grates were uncomfortable against her sock covered feet as she ventured further onto the walkway that traveled the perimeter of the room’s upper half. Stairs to one side led down to the platform and the network of the walkways below. From this height, Elena had the perfect vantage with which to do a little spying.
Tanks with the same blue liquid in them flanked the walls. Bodies were curled up at the bottom of most of them, wires protruding from their chests, arms, and legs. There were signs of life, Elena realized with some horror. Bubbles floated from the occupant’s mouths, popping before they reached the surface of the liquid.
Large, thick rods protruded into the pool, connected to the base of what Elena had dubbed the control center located on the central platform in the middle of the room. Elena couldn't get a sense of what those rods were for but they reminded her of a channel of some type. Maybe the pool was a power source.
Unfortunately, she had no intention of venturing closer to find out.
Something thrashed weakly at the bottom of the pool. A coil of its immense body appearing under the surface before it was gone.
"You're unusually restless today, my pet," a man crooned from out of sight.
He glided into view, stepping onto one of the walkways extending over the pool.
Elena ducked back, tucking herself into a tiny crevasse between two metal canisters to avoid detection.
"Struggling is unnecessary. You know you can't escape from this place."
The lilt in the man's voice made Elena tremble. It brought with it a sense of terror, making her second guess just why she'd thought it was a good idea to tempt fate and explore the heart of the enemy's territory. A foe even Auntie and Uncle Jin treated with caution.
What had she been thinking? She wasn't equipped to deal with the consequences of discovery.
Fear gripped her by the throat, holding her immobile. Her hands clenched and unclenched, her breath quickening.
This was her chance. An opportunity to gather important intel that might help Auntie and Uncle Jin later on. Was she really going to cower in a corner and let it pass her by?
She didn't think so. Someone had to stop these monsters. While that person probably wouldn't be her, she could at least do her part.
First step—observing the enemy.
With that pep talk in mind, Elena steeled herself and crawled forward to peer through the metal grates to the room below.
The man stared off to the side at something out of sight.
Elena shifted to try to get a glimpse of what had caught his attention, but couldn't see anything from her vantage point.
She settled back, forcing herself to study the Tsavitee instead.
Her aunties used to say that the more beautiful something was, the deadlier they were likely to be. This man reminded her of that warning. The Tsavitee version of a golden dart frog. A venomous amphibian native to a Haldeel colony planet. Its skin was a highly sought after prize on the black market, not only for its beauty but also its medicinal properties.
However, few were willing to take the chance of hunting them. One drop of the venom it secreted through its skin was enough to fell twenty people.
This person was like that. An alluring poison.
Strangely, he resembled a human. Or maybe a Tuann. At least a little.
There were discrepancies, however. His height for one. He would dwarf even the tallest Tuann. His limbs were longer than natural for either species. The length of his fingers was off too. Each one possessed an additional phalange. Or maybe it was a metacarpal. Elena never could remember which was which.
His eyes were different too. Creepy looking, for one thing.
They were larger than either a human's or a Tuann's. There was also no pupil. Just an unrelenting gold that made him look blind.
Except his head turned as he tracked another's approach, proving he was anything but.
Elena stifled her gasp. What was Elise doing here?
"You've put yourself back together quite admirably, my dear," the Tsavitee crooned.
Elise was in bad shape. Her powerful presence much fainter than it had been upon their arrival. Weak, as if she was hovering on the cusp of life and death.
There was a hitch to her walk. A slight limp she was trying to hide. She also held herself carefully. As if something still hurt somewhere deep inside.
Her skin was unnaturally pale. Bloodless, making the bruises under her eyes stand out in stark contrast.
"A little light torture," Elise drawled, her voice sounding far stronger than the state of her body suggested. "Nothing to get worked up about."
"Your threshold for pain is unusually high. I'm quite impressed. Both you and the Phoenix are exceptional specimens. It's a pity the lab and research behind your creation was destroyed during your escape all those years ago. I would have loved a chance to study what they did to you."
"Yes, such a pity, my lord," Elise agreed.
Auntie hadn't been lying about the egg donor's courage. Her ability to stand in front of that monster and not flinch was impressive.
Elena couldn't have done it.
"I advise against further failure, my dear. Next time, I won't punish you. I'll punish them."
The Tsavitee lord nodded at the bank of tanks.
Elise's expression was calm as the lord circled her. A flash of rage crossed her face when he leaned down to sniff the hair at the back of her head. The emotion gone so fast that Elena thought she'd imagined it.
By the time the Tsavitee crossed in front of Elise again, her expression was as placid as it had been before. As if she'd flipped a switch and buried everything that she was feeling.
"You and the Phoenix. Both so distressingly sentimental." The lord tsked. "It's the only failing in your design that I can find. Your handler should have trained that out of you first."
Elise didn't comment, watching the Tsavitee with a blank expression.
He stepped to the side and nodded at the tanks. "A visit is in order, I think. A reminder of what’s at stake and who holds your leash."
A crack appeared in Elise's control as her eyes flicked to the tanks. She swallowed, her throat working.
"Your children have missed you."
Elena jerked back in surprise, the action causing her to bump into a canister. She froze at the small tink.
Please don't have heard that, she begged. Please.
"My, my, it sounds to me like we have another vermin infestation in my lab," the Tsavitee crooned, dashing Elena's hope. To Elise, "Bring them to me."
Elena backed further into her nook, her eyes darting back and forth.
There was nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide.
If she ran, they would see her immediately.
All she could do was hug the wall and hope her egg donor didn't think to look where she was.
Something hit the back of Elena's knees.
"Psst. Down here, Elena mine."
Elena whirled, her mouth falling open at the sight of the lu-ong spawn's head poking out of an air duct cover on the wall. "Uncle Jin?"
"Catch it," he ordered.
Elena barely reacted in time as the cover fell forward. She lurched to grab it before it could hit the ground.
The lu-ong spawn jerked its head at her. "Get in!"
With the sound of footsteps slowly stalking toward her, Elena wasted no time, squeezing into the narrow opening. It was a tight fit. Possible only because of her prepubescent body.
"Help me get the cover back into place," Uncle Jin whispered.
Elena grabbed the cover, pulling it into position as Elise rounded the corner. The spawn flattened its body partially on the cover, the other half clinging to the floor of the air duct. Like that, he held it in place, allowing Elena to draw back her hands so her finger tips wouldn't show.
She'd learned long ago not to question how Uncle Jin did some of the things he did. Instead, taking his sometimes miraculous feats for granted.
