Ever So Madly

by J. R. Gray

  I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it. Her cheeks pinked a little, and I had to wonder if the reaction was also training.

  “You forget I already know what to call you, but if you prefer J.” I half shrugged, wondering what the big deal was.

  “Today I want to be just J. It’s easier.”

  My mind spun. Jacob rolled his eyes. J’s lip curled up, and she scowled at him.

  “What does your name matter?” I released her hand, drawing her attention back to me.

  She scooted to the edge of her seat, bringing her face closer to mine. I was suddenly hot, remembering how she tasted. “Because we are no more than equals sitting here, and I don’t want to change your perception of me.”

  Usually the class division stuck, even at university. But then Jacob had seemed to know all the “scabs” as he had put it the other night, and was more than friendly with a few I knew resided in my building. It struck me his bias wasn’t against me, or my kind, but against anyone talking to her. It was the only fitting explanation.

  “I knew you were of noble birth the moment you spoke. You play the part well, but you have tells.” It was a white lie, but I’d figured her out. I turned into her a little, inhaling her scent, stifling the moan threatening to leave my lips.

  “Can you be sure it’s not the other way around? I could be of low birth with years of training.” She cocked her head to the side.

  I leaned even closer, taking a chance in the packed room and trailed my fingers down her spine. “I don’t think anything less than a century of pure bloodlines and rigorous poise could have produced a more perfect act. It’s impossible.” I met her gaze.

  “Then why didn’t you dismiss me when you saw through my mask?”

  Because I’m wearing one myself.

  “Because I’ve seen what’s hiding inside, and it’s not the usual elitist crap. You fascinate me.” I dropped my voice to a whisper. “You’re not like them.” I nodded at the rest of the room.

  She turned into me, her lips nearly touching my ear. “How do you know?”

  “Because I’ve worn a mask my whole life, so I can see right through yours.”

  Her soft cheek touched mine. As she pulled back, my stubble caught on her skin, causing a slight burn between us. There was so much in a glance, and then it was gone. She smiled and nodded. It was all the conformation I needed.

  My gaze barely strayed from her for the next hour. She would look over, and I wouldn’t look away. We held a silent conversation with our eyes, and I wanted to get lost with her. She couldn’t possibly feel what I was. But it was hard to imagine something so intense being one sided.

  She trailed her fingers up my thigh, and I dropped my eyes from her face for the first time, shocked at how close her hand was to my groin.

  “What are you doing?” I hissed under my breath.

  She used her left hand to scribble out a message on the screen her scan bracelet projected onto her arm. It was barely legible. I have to combat your staring somehow.

  I swiped my hand over her arm to erase the screen then wrote with a finger, So, you decide to arouse me?

  She grinned coyly, turning her arm to tease with her fingers again. I narrowed my eyes and growled. She retracted her hand and skimmed over the image of my words, touching them, before she erased them.

  She wrote, Something tells me you’re not used to someone who can match you at your game.

  She was right. I’d experienced two types of women: those who dropped their clothes instantly and those searching for husbands. Those kinds were all about the hook. Neither had held my interest. A beautiful body was nice to look at, and I had given in to many, men and women, but I’d learned none of them held my attention, so I stopped trying.

  I grabbed her hand as it moved to my hip, pulling it to my lips so I could kiss her palm. Strands of blonde hair fell in her face as she smiled, and I used my other hand to tuck them behind her ear.

  Pulling her hand down from my lips, I used the screen on her arm again. Spend the day with me?

  She looked from the words to me and back. I could hear Jacob sigh from the other side of her. I wanted to snarl at him to stay out of it.

  I placed my hand over the screen holding her arm. My skin prickled. We weren’t two people meeting for the first time. Whatever she was, our souls were the same. I had known her before, and I couldn’t let it go.

  She dropped her blue eyes to my hand and tapped it. I moved it and she wrote...

  Chapter Six

  Jocelynn

  I can’t... I could feel Jacob’s eyes burning into me.

  Later then? Give me your scan? He reached down to dig in his bag, pulling out an old beat up communicator. Not like the one I wore. His looked like he had dropped it off a bike on a high speed chase.

  The lecture ended, and the people around us started getting to their feet.

  I looked at Jacob then shook my head. I knew what he was thinking with a single look. “I’m sure I’ll see you around,” I said to Madden.

  His face fell, and it hit me in the chest like the hilt of a blade. The sensation was unnerving. Men never affected me.

  “I’m sorry,” I said as Jacob urged me to my feet with a hand on my shoulder.

  “When will I see you again?” He stood in our way.

  I looked at Jacob then back to him. “If it’s meant to be, we’ll see each other.” I would never say it out loud, but it would be. Never before had a stranger captivated me like this. My heart picked up with one scowl from him, and he’d had an intense effect on my mood. I was instantly elated.

  “Playing hard to get.” He took a step after me as Jacob urged me back.

  “No games. I’m leaving it to fate.” I had to keep face in front of my brother. I could tell he was already disapproving of the relationship. Had my brother not been there I might have ditched my afternoon meetings and spent the day with him. I would put myself in his path at some point now that I knew he was here. I could risk it. Jacob was allowed to have fun as long as he wasn’t attached. I could do the same. I tried to convey this with my gaze, but he didn’t know me well enough to pick up on the cues.

  He narrowed his eyes. “I’ll find you again, and I’ll figure you out, J.”

  I was sure he would—with my help.

  “Good luck. I’ll be rooting for you,” I teased as Jacob dragged me off. We walked out of the bowl-shaped room heading toward the top, mingling with the crowd.

  Chapter Seven

  Madden

  I watched her walk away, knowing there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. I started up after her, determined to think of something before I caught her. Students closed in around us, and I tried to push my way through them, but it grew impossible as she faded into the distance. I wanted to chase after her, and I lifted a foot to do just that when I was grabbed from behind. It was enough to jerk me off balance. I whipped around, only to see a flash of red parting the sea of people. I pushed a hand into my hair.

  “Fuck.” Day one and I was already distracted from what I came here to do. There was no point in forming an attachment to anyone when I needed to spend three years here and get out. The color wasn’t going to leave my mind, and neither were the reason I had to get off Harden.

  There was no way I was staying here or going back for that matter. I dug out my ancient comm and checked the time. My next lecture would be trade, and I had less than an hour to find the place I needed to be. If I got high marks I hoped they would let me transfer from the program to something more beneficial. I didn’t care about trade or the internal or external politics of House Akillie.

  And yet, I still wandered around the streets, hoping I would run into her again before I slipped into the next lecture ten minutes before the class was slated to begin. I didn’t bother getting out my tablet or any note taking utensil. I had learned more about trade than I would ever need from my parents.

  The rest of the students looked about as awake as the great sleeping dragon and as
lively as a stuffed cat. It was warm, and a middle-aged man took a space in the middle of the room and unloaded his equipment. He wore tweed slacks and a clashing jacket of the same material. The colors gave me a headache. He slipped on a pair of glasses and touched the side, instantly projecting a class overview in the center of the room above his head. As he spoke, the image changed, reflecting his words.

  I would put hard earned money on the fact that he’d been in his position for a long time, and his speech was well rehearsed and hadn’t changed one syllable in a decade. I had already started plotting the questions with which I would throw off his perfect lecture. I had to get good marks, but there was no rule against having fun while doing it.

  Lifting my hand in the air to start the fun, I paused, distracted by a cloaked figure who sat beside me. I lowered my hand before the teacher saw and turned to look at the man who sat directly next to me when more than two dozen seats were open around the hall.

  The man didn’t turn toward me, and he didn’t lower his hood. I stared for a moment but then refocused on the lecture. I had to pay attention to absorb the material as well as time questions to baffle the unknown professor.

  “How do you ever expect to find me again, when you are so unobservant?”

  I gasped and turned in my seat. A few students turned to look at me, but I ignored them. “What are you doing here?”

  “I figured I’d slum it and see how the beginner lectures are.” She lowered her hood and turned to look at me with a devious grin across her red-stained lips.

  “I should be situationally aware when my stalker is sneaking around with a giant black cloak on?” I raised my brows at her, hiding my smile.

  “You should be situationally aware at all times.” She drew one knee in to her body and turned toward me in her seat. “Isn’t the cloak a nice touch? I stole it from my brother.”

  “And where is the killjoy?”

  “I’m assuming swindling an unknowing man into bed with him, but he could already be in bed. My brother is quite good at these types of activities.” She was so blunt about her brother’s exploits. It intrigued me.

  “And yet he’s so protective over your company.” I took a chance and brushed my fingers down her arm.

  She dropped her gaze to where I touched her, but didn’t pull away. “Ironic, isn’t it?”

  “A bit hypocritical, but I’m sure it’s because he cares about your wellbeing, as I am a lowly scab.” I waited for her reaction.

  She gasped, looking me right in the eyes. “Then I shouldn’t be here, or…”

  The sarcasm dripped from her words.

  “Maybe not if you’ll get in trouble.” The banter was more of a turn-on than even the first night.

  She started to get to her feet. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t let her leave. She turned, picking up her bag, and I made a rash decision, grabbing her by the arm.

  “Don’t go,” I hissed.

  She wore a smirk when she sat back. “If you insist.”

  She’d called my bluff like a pro.

  “You are infuriating.”

  “Act like you don’t love every minute of it.” She leaned in closer to me, and I realized my hand was still on her arm. She hadn’t moved to shrug me off.

  I brushed my fingers against her ribs. “I do. Now tell me when I can see you again?” I wanted to get to her before the class ended and she vanished.

  She dragged her teeth over her lip.

  The muffled background noise of the professor suddenly stopped, and my gaze flickered to the center of the hall where he stood. There was a question posed to the class on his projector, and he turned a slow circle waiting for an answer. I could feel Jocelynn’s eyes on me.

  I closed my eyes and raised my hand. I assumed she got hit on regularly by the cookie cutter elitists. I never wanted her to see me that way.

  “Yes, you there.” The professor pointed at me.

  I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “I know your question is on the trade route structure and the economic threats the terrorist organizations pose to it, but I think I have a more insightful point than the purely economic risks and the stress to the House’s resources to protect the routes.” I took a deep breath. He meant the Reds and the other fringe groups like them. I glanced down at J, and she waited expectantly. “I think it’s more than the structure of the trade routes causing the issue. I think the fringe groups are growing because of unrest, and they’ve found the structure of the routes gives them easy access for exploiting the House of Akillie and the Emperor. If we could allow for varied routes and allow for a daily randomized flight paths this would minimize the risk.”

  Both of the professor’s brows shot up. “But then how is smuggling controlled? Without the established trade routes, ships can avoid check stations, and we lose all control of tax.”

  He thought he had me, but people like him never thought outside the box. “I disagree. I think with varied trade routes only known by the House Guard and the captains the day of the mission we can maximize policing and free up Guard ships to watch for smugglers. There is new tech being tested for inventory scans and doc downloads from Time2.”

  “I’ve heard of no such tech.” He tried to call my bluff just as J had done, but I had him.

  “I do believe it is slated to be presented at the Worlds’ Fair tomorrow morning. If I may?” I pulled a microchip from my pocket and held it out to him. “They haven’t thought of using the tech for trade but…” I shrugged.

  He waved me down, and I placed it on his tablet. I flipped through the preliminary reports filed in the House library before the Fair started. When I found the one I wanted I opened it up, highlighted the section I meant, and projected it to the class.

  The bells chimed, and he turned to the class. “Think on it until next week.”

  As the room started to clear, the professor gave a low whistle and turned to me. “Why are you in my class?” He turned to me.

  “Because new students start at the bottom.” I flashed him a smile.

  He looked me over for a long moment. “I want you moved to my five hundred level class.” He picked up his tablet and handed the microchip back to me. He hit a few keys. “What’s your name, kid?”

  “Madden.”

  “You’re moved. I’m sending you the meeting times." He hit another few keys. “You’ve got me impressed.”

  I looked back to where J sat, and she was gone.

  Chapter Eight

  Jocelynn

  I hated leaving him, but his point was too perfect. The Baron would be sitting in on a security meeting I had ditched to find Madden, and if I presented it there before the conference tomorrow I would blow them all away. We had been discussing the very same trade issue for more than six months as the raids continued to grow weekly. I didn’t have time to waste, but I would make sure he got all the credit.

  My mind was spinning as I burst into the meeting, finding it drawing to a close. I straightened up, staying by the door as all the eyes in the room lifted to my disturbance. The Baron was the last to look up after he finished reading something on the projected screen in front of his seat.

  “And what do we owe the pleasure, Jocelynn?” His gaze was harsh, but after eighteen years of such looks they didn’t faze me like they did his underlings.

  “I did not expect the meeting to be wrapped up this soon.” I stalled, meeting my brother’s eyes.

  He shook his head at me.

  “Well, when there hasn’t been a solution to the issue in some odd months you can expect meetings to be short, but clearly you have other more important things to attend to, so you are excused.” It was a harsh dismissal even from him.

  “I figured finding a solution to the issue at hand was better than listening to an update stating nothing has changed, as you said yourself. But if you don’t think it to be a good enough excuse then I shall go.” I inclined my head slightly and turned, counting back from five in my head.

  Before I got to zero he
spoke. “Do enlighten us.”

  It was wrong of me to embarrass him, but I was not about to take an ounce of shit for missing one meeting when Jacob did it weekly. I crossed to the large holographic table and took my seat. Tapping the screen to bring up my keyboard, I navigated through the presentations on the fair tomorrow.

  “Why is she wasting our time with the Worlds’ Fair?” one of the men commented, clearly annoyed I had spoken to the Baron like I had.

  “Give her a minute,” Jacob snapped.

  I found what I was looking for and flicked it up on to the projector to display in the middle of the room for all to see.

  “I found this.”

  The room was silent while everyone read the brief description of the presentation for tomorrow.

  “Jocelynn, my temper is getting short,” the Baron said.

  “It is the ability to transfer data at Time2. It makes weigh stations and check points void.” I waited and let it dawn on him.

  “Now, if we use it with this—” I flipped another new tech to the screen about encoding data with tracing flags for unique identity. “If we combine these two, then we can put more of our House Guard resources toward holding off raids, but the beauty of randomized trade routes is the fringe groups won’t know where to attack.”

  No one spoke. All eyes were on me. I sat with my back stiff from all the years of stringent training.

  “I want all the science officers there in the morning. No exceptions.” The Baron tapped the table and stood.

  The room clambered to their feet, bowing their heads as he turned and left. I sat back and breathed. Jacob sat on the table in front of me and waited until the room cleared.

  When the room was empty he spoke. “You ditched the meeting to chase down errant tech you heard about where?” He curled his tongue over his teeth.