by Gun Brooke
“Should I show you, perhaps?” Caya moved farther down and kissed Thea’s neck, just below her ear.
“Yes!” Thea arched her back. “Creator of all—yes!”
“I like it like this.” Caya pushed two fingers inside Thea and rubbed the heel of her palm against Thea’s hard, throbbing clitoris. Thea began a slow, steady rhythm. Fingers in, palm up, fingers retracting, palm pressing down, over and over. “Feel good?”
“Better…than good.” Thea tipped her head farther back, moving her hips in tandem. “Holy Creator…oh…oh…Caya…”
*
Caya couldn’t take her eyes off Thea. Glistening from perspiration, her head tossed back against the pillows, Thea keened unintelligible words as her hips danced faster and faster against Caya’s hand.
Caya mimicked the movements, pressing her hips forward. Every time Thea moved, Caya rubbed her slick folds up and down Thea’s slender thigh. She knew she was going to orgasm soon and wanted desperately for Thea to join her.
Thea’s breasts, bigger than her own, moved with the same rhythm, and the temptation became too much for Caya. She caught the closest nipple between her lips and sucked it deep into her mouth, where she worked it greedily with her tongue.
Thea began convulsing only moments later, squeezing Caya’s fingers inside herself hard as she came in wave after wave. “Caya, darling…don’t let go. Please.”
Caya had to let go of the now-bright-red nipple to answer. “I won’t. You’re amazing, so ama—oh, Creator. Thea…” Going rigid, Caya arched against Thea, shamelessly rubbing her wetness all over her hip and thigh as she came. She wanted to tell Thea how good it was, how supremely fantastic she felt, and how much she wanted her to never let go, but her vocal cords were tied up in knots. All she could do was whimper and moan as she pressed against Thea’s sweat-soaked body. Her fingers were still locked inside Thea, and Caya was reluctant to remove them for fear of losing their new, fragile connection.
Eventually, Thea withdrew, slowly separating them as she moved onto her side. Before Caya began to feel too cold, Thea wrapped her arms around her, holding her close as she pressed her lips against Caya’s neck. “What…I never would have guessed, no matter how much my mind conjured one hopeful wish after another. I never would have guessed.”
Caya returned the kisses, pressing her lips against Thea’s forehead, her hairline, her mouth. “Guess what?” She wasn’t quite following.
“That you actually could want me like this.” Thea wiped at beads of sweat running down her temples, or were they tears? Perhaps both, Caya surmised and hugged Thea even tighter.
“From the first time I saw you,” Caya said, her voice not quite stable. “I was yours from that day onward.”
Thea’s eyes snapped open and she cupped Caya’s face. “And the same goes for me, darling. From the first day.”
As they lay there, hearts calming and bodies mellowing, Caya absentmindedly dragged a blanket up over them. Thea hummed gently and kept touching Caya’s hair, winding it around her hand. Just before sleep claimed them, Caya thought of how everything was going to seem so different tomorrow. Surely taking this enormous step as individuals also meant they were more on an equal footing now?
Chapter Fifteen
Waking up alone had never hurt as badly. Caya sat up in bed and listened for sounds that would indicate Thea’s presence but could hear only the familiar, distant hum that always emanated throughout Pathfinder. After such a long time aboard the vessel, she really had to listen hard to distinguish it.
Why had Thea left without waking her? Did she regret their night together? Or perhaps Thea was trying to be considerate and letting her sleep? Still, how could she not realize that waking up alone was difficult after the first time she’d ever made love to someone, and not just someone, to Thea, the woman she had dreamed about, fretted over, and generally been so torn up about, she’d gone half-crazy while being locked up.
Caya got up and went through her usual morning routine while debating if she should page Thea, but she opted not to. She refused to start their future, no matter what it might be, by being clingy, needy, and even worse, demanding of Thea’s attention. The woman was the damn president. She had more than two million individuals to attend to and a ship to deliver to Gemocon. Caya finished her breakfast and recycled the dishes. She couldn’t help but smile at how awkward her sister still was using the recycler and dispensers on a daily basis. As traditionalists, they’d been used to cooking food, doing dishes by hand and laundry in an old-fashioned laundry machine. Briar usually stood well away from the recycler when pushing the dishes through the slot. Caya felt like that sometimes, as if the apparatus would demolecularize her fingertips.
Caya checked the time, as she expected Briar to arrive around ten and realized she had an hour before they needed to head to their clinic. She was excited about who they might see today and if they would get some feedback from Ameeli about the outcome of their first session. As she wondered about Ameeli’s relationship with her husband, Caya’s thoughts returned to Thea. Their night had been all about increasing passion. Each time they’d made love was more intense than the previous, even if they were growing more fatigued. They had eagerly turned toward each other twice more during the night, hungry for the closeness and connection. The last time, Caya had mapped Thea’s entire body with her lips. A small voice in the back of her mind asked if it was as a precaution. Perhaps Thea thought this might be the last time—perhaps she had woken up to reality and changed her mind.
The door chime rang out, making Caya jump. Briar was early. Maybe she wanted to grab some herbal tea before they were off to the clinic. Pressing the door sensor, Caya lost her smile when she saw Lieutenant Diobring.
“Good morning, Lieutenant.”
“Good morning. The president wants you to join her by the jumper gate.”
Caya’s heart fluttered, and she couldn’t stop a broad smile from returning. “All right. I’ll just page my sister and let her know.”
“No need, Ms. Lindemay. She is informed.” Diobring spoke fast.
What was up? For Thea to haul Caya out of her quarters with only one guard and take it upon herself to inform Briar—a new emergency must be occurring that needed both her and her sister present. “Where are we going?” Caya asked as she pulled on a long, thinly spun cardigan and stepped out into the corridor.
“Need-to-know basis.” Diobring pressed his lips into a fine line as he strode next to her toward the jumper-gate area.
“I would imagine I need to know as I’m actually going there.” Annoyed at Diobring’s somewhat overbearing tone, Caya slowed down. “What’s going on? Another terrorist attempt?”
“I said, need-to-know basis.” Diobring sent her a sideways glance, and Caya suspected his impatience was mounting.
She remained quiet as they walked quickly along the corridor. No matter if Thea saw this as yet another demand on Caya’s part, she would insist Diobring be taken off the roster as part of her guards. She wasn’t comfortable with him being the only one in charge right now, as she normally had at least two, more often four, guards securing her safety.
The jumper gate was not very crowded, as most commuters had already gone to or from their workplace. Caya stopped by the gate that the president and the cabinet members used and which Thea always insisted Caya use when in transit.
“No. Come on. Farther down.” Diobring took her by the arm and pulled her along. “We’re getting into the tunnel to use an official government jumper car.”
“What?” Caya had ridden in one of those several times, and as far as she knew, they weren’t located in the far end of the gate. All the military and government jumper cars sat parked in the tunnel bulkhead at the president’s gate. “I’m not going into the tunnel over there. That’s crazy.” She stopped and yanked her arm free. “And just so you know, don’t ever lay your hands on me again.”
His eyes narrow slits as his anger radiated away from him in waves, Diobring reached f
or her again. “You’re not in a position to make a judgement call on what’s safe for you or not. You have to come with me.”
“I don’t, actually. I may be in the president’s protective custody, but I’m not a prisoner of the military or law enforcement. This is not a comfortable situation. I want to return to my quarters. Now.” Caya turned around and began walking back. She realized her mistake when two large hands slammed down on her shoulders and pulled her toward the tunnel.
“No. No! Let me go!” Caya called out, hoping some of the people at the jumper gate would react. They did cast glances her way, but naturally, Diobring’s uniform assured them he was in command and all was as it should. “I said, let go!” She slapped her communicator over and over, but it only gave a ticking sound and seemed broken. Thinking of Adina’s self-defense classes where she had taught Caya how to free herself from an assailer, Caya raised her leg, bent it at the knee, and slammed it backward, trying to aim for the soft cartilage below Diobring’s kneecap. She had to have managed a decent hit as he cursed and staggered backward, momentarily letting her go.
Caya didn’t wait to check out his condition. She took off down the corridor, about to pass the regular jumper gate when she saw a jumper had come in and, judging from the blinking orange-colored light, was close to leaving. Knowing she took a risk of Diobring catching up with her, she changed her mind and jumped through the gate. She barely squeezed through the closing doors of the closest car. Sliding onto a seat, she looked frantically out the window. To her relief, Diobring stood on the other side of it, slamming his fist against the jumper car. He had to be trying to open the doors, but as the jumper cars had already started moving, the fail-safes would not allow that. Caya stared at the furious man, wondering how she could have trusted him. Suddenly he pulled out his side arm and pointed it at her through the window. Falling back onto the seat, Caya saw the window shatter.
*
Thea walked along the corridor from the Assembly to her office, listening to her first assistant, Palinda, rattle off messages. She had to force herself to focus, as her mind, if unchecked, would immediately return to Caya as she slept next to her, undulated beneath her, or looked at her with her amazing eyes and said things like “I’m yours,” and “Nothing has ever felt this right.”
“Madame President? You have a message from Briar Lindemay.” Thea’s third assistant handed over the special communicator that Thea used for the handful of people she wanted to have access to her at all times.
“Thank you.” Thea stepped aside and tapped the device. “Thea here, Briar.”
“Now, where have you whisked my sister off to? She and I have clients to attend to in less than fifteen minutes.”
“Excuse me?” Thea had been glancing at a tablet, but now she snapped her head up and frowned. “What’s that about Caya?”
“I came to get her and she’s not home. She has to be out somewhere, because the guards are with her.” Briar spoke faster. “The thing is, she was well aware of our sessions at the clinic today. She was excited and wouldn’t just forget.”
“And I have no idea where she may have gone.” Cold dread ran along every bone in Thea’s body. “Have you asked Adina?”
“Yes. First of all, she has no idea. Nor do Korrian or Meija.”
“No one else has the authority to escort her anywhere. Let me check with the master guardsman. I’ll page you right back.” Thea handed her tablet over to her first assistant. “Thank you, Palinda.”
Paging the master guardsman didn’t reveal anything at first. Then he paged Thea back within half a minute, which made her tremble.
“Madam President. The guards at Ms. Lindemay’s quarters aren’t responding. I’ve deployed a team to investigate. I double-checked the guest quarters. Nobody is there.”
Thea’s stomach clenched so hard, she could barely breathe. “Put out an all-ship alert to law enforcement and fleet security officers. Ms. Lindemay is of great importance, not only to her family and loved ones, but to Pathfinder’s safety as well. I will page Commander KahSandra to head up the search from here.”
“Aye, sir.” The master guardsman spoke rapidly. “I’ll also put a special unit to locate the team of guards that were on duty last night, as well as the ones that took over this morning.”
“There was only one guard last night when I—when I paid a visit to Ms. Lindemay.” Thea paced back and forth now, opening and closing her hands to try to get some feeling back in her numb fingers. “Lieutenant Diobring had taken over the guard duty. As I was there, I thought it was quite enough, as my own guards stayed while I was present.”
“I see. I’m not sure why Lieutenant Diobring would be on guard duty at all, but I’ll look into it, sir.”
“Do that, and get back to me as soon as you have something new to share.”
“Yes, sir.”
Thea stopped in the middle of her pacing and regarded her staff that was patiently waiting for her. She began walking toward them, and her steps suddenly felt heavy. A bad feeling erupted in her chest, and Thea was now sure that no matter what the master guardsman found out, it wouldn’t be good. She motioned for her staff to keep walking with her as she paged Commander KahSandra. She briefed the commander on the current situation and gave her a presidential order to take charge. The woman’s calm, assertive tone helped instill some calm, but Thea had to confess to herself she was frantic about Caya. Where was she? Was she in trouble, or had she for some unfathomable reason finally escaped her incarceration? After all, she had loathed being cooped up in the luxurious guest quarters for so long.
No. She had to reel herself in. Caya wouldn’t have made love to Thea, allowed her to be the first, and told her how much she cared only to disappear without a word. And even if Caya hadn’t cared like this for Thea, she wouldn’t hurt her sister and her friends. She wouldn’t betray the people she had vowed to help. Caya was so ready to help, even when she had been furious at Thea, she had faithfully shared her visions and done her part for the good of Pathfinder.
Again, Thea used her communicator, this time to update Briar. It was hard, as Briar was frantic and close to panicking. Luckily, Adina showed up at the corridor outside Caya’s quarters to join Briar in the search.
Thea wanted to do something practical to locate Caya but knew others were better equipped. She would have to sit by and wait, carry out her daily routine, until her people reported back to her.
Her communicator beeped as she stepped inside her office. She closed the door behind her, wanting privacy as she hoped this would be Caya and everything would turn out to be a misunderstanding. Instead, it was the master guardsman again, and this time he sounded so somber, Thea’s knees gave in and she had to sit down in one of her visitors’ chairs before she fell.
“Report.” Thea pressed her fingertips against her trembling lips.
“We have found the four presidential guardsmen that were unaccounted for, sir. They were all stacked like cattle in a small storage room six doors down from Ms. Lindemay’s quarters.”
“Stacked?” Thea tipped her head back. “Are they alive?”
“No, sir. All of them had syringes sticking out of their necks, sir. Madam President. It was done execution style. I’ve never seen something so callous. Crimes of passion, yes, horrific sights. But this…Someone got rid of them like garbage.”
“Did I know any of them, Master Guardsman?” Thea hoped not. She wasn’t sure if she could remain calm.
“One. A young woman, Guardsman Vimini. She was usually on your night shift, sir.”
“Yes. I know who you mean.” This was worse than anything she could have imagined. “Guardsman Vimini was a dutiful and conscientious woman who never took a chance on anything, always double-checking. Triple-checking, most often.”
“Yes. She was one of the best of the new ones.” His voice stark, the master guardsman spoke quietly. “I’ve turned the crime scene over to the law-enforcement agents. They are aware of Caya Lindemay’s disappearance. They’re loo
king at it from several angles.”
Thea’s communicator beeped again, signaling another page. “I’m being paged, Master Guardsman. I have to let you go.”
“As am I. It might be a joint message, sir.”
“All right. We’ll talk more later, Master Guardsman.”
Thea changed frequency and answered the page. “Commander KahSandra here, sir. I have new information from witnesses at the jumper gate. Some who stayed behind just to report what they witnessed have disturbing new information. I wanted to relay it to you, the law-enforcement agents, and the master guardsman simultaneously to save time. The witnesses all describe a similar scenario, individually. A man fitting Lieutenant Diobring’s description came to the jumper gate with a young, blond woman. Most of the witnesses identified the woman as Caya Lindemay right away as they recognized her from the reports of the terrorist attack at the hospital on cube eleven. Diobring apparently hurried Ms. Lindemay along and then started pulling her in the opposite direction, onto the tracks. Ms. Lindemay began to resist and managed to get away from him. She entered one of the jumper cars just as it was closing the door and began to leave. Lieutenant Diobring then pulled out a sidearm and began firing through the walls of the jumper car.”
“Oh, Creator of all things cherished,” Thea whispered. She wrapped her arms around her waist and bent over, certain she was going to be sick. Her stomach burned as if she’d swallowed an entire bottle of pure white garnet.
“And Caya?” she managed to whisper huskily.
“No sign of Ms. Lindemay. The jumper cars in question are on their way back for the next full route, and we’ll hold them here until forensic agents have gone over them. If—if Ms. Lindemay has been injured, there’ll be traces of blood.”
Only by pressing her hands so hard against her mouth she was likely to bruise herself could Thea prevent a whimper from passing her lips. She pulled herself together after drawing a few breaths. The others listening in came with advice and questions, giving her time.