The Radical (Unity Vol.1)

by Lynch, S. M.

  His arms tightened and he panted against my chest, his lips gently brushing by breastbone. I couldn’t have foreseen how intense and emotional our union would be. I don’t think he had predicted it either.

  I tipped my head back to offer him my throat and he held my breasts while he licked my hollow before kissing all over my neck. His morning stubble was glorious, raising heat wherever he touched my skin. He was really making love to me and it made me fall harder with each moment I spent with him and I had no way to stop it. Nor did I want it to ever end. My heart was pounding and roaring inside my chest, for the very first time.

  ‘Seraph, I could fuck you all day.’

  He ran his hands down my abs and kissed my shoulders. I felt the pulse of another orgasm; the sight of him worshipping me made me gasp with lust. His arms were ripped, veined and glistening with sweat. He rocked us, our arms tight around each other’s bodies. I threw my head back in total and utter ecstasy.

  I held my hands tight in his sweaty hair and let my feet rest on the bed behind him, pivoting so I could gain control. I swept over his groin with reckless abandon, letting him suckle my breasts while I rode him. It got so frantic and I screamed while he grunted and groaned. His hands were running rampant, wild, across my body ‒ and the animal in him thrilled me. I bit his neck and it made him squeeze my butt so hard ‒ I slapped his steel ass in return.

  ‘I love it when you’re nasty,’ he moaned.

  ‘Oh yeah?’

  He nodded and bit my nipple in just the right way. I reached for his and twisted – and he threw his head back and growled, ‘Yes!’

  We were grinding and fucking by that stage if we weren’t before. I wanted him to show me what he really had packing in his body but it was too late. I felt a torrent of contractions burgeoning inside me and the sudden but brilliant change in his tactics stopped me dead – he grasped my butt and rolled me hard, down on him, three or four times, gritting his teeth.

  ‘Come for me, angel.’

  We cried out together, shouting into each other’s mouths. My elbows rested on his shoulders, my arms wrapped around the back of his head and I clung to his sweaty hair. I looked into dark, mysterious eyes and flinched because he was so gorgeous and coming because of me. I watched his face contort while he flowed into me and I threw my head back as the heat of him – plus the introduction of his thumb against my clit – made me come one, last time. It was perfect.

  Eyes closed, we caught our breaths. He pulled me tight against him and it was the most emotional moment of my life, he was holding me so close. He caressed my back with tender strokes of his fingertips and we embraced in the middle of the bed, our cheeks pressed together, my arms tight around his neck. My hair lay in ropes between us, stuck to my skin and his, our combined sweat having matted it. He gathered it all and rested it down my back, stroking loose strands away from my face. His mouth twisted while he fought his smiles and I thought he was so damn cute. My heart hurt so much. I was falling in love for the very first time.

  ‘That was so hot,’ I moaned, kissing his wet lips.

  ‘Your hair is something,’ he said, and kissed my cheek. ‘I love red.’

  He had the look of love about him and it was even more delicious than any of those orgasms he had just brought me to my knees with. I kissed his Adam’s apple and sighed. His hands were all over me and I loved it.

  ‘Why so relieved?’ he asked.

  ‘You didn’t make me feel cheap. That was a first,’ I admitted, my arms tight around his neck.

  ‘Me too,’ he revealed.

  ‘Hmm.’

  We fell back on the bed, his arms beneath me. He slipped out of me and I mourned the loss, my emotion clear for him to see. I held his shoulders and kept him close and he didn’t stop kissing my mouth, cheeks and throat. Our bodies were so warm and soft together as we relaxed. He was beautiful, his face red and sweaty, his eyes shining bright.

  ‘I love the way you feel,’ he said, smiling into my eyes, ‘I knew it would be like this.’

  ‘Hold me.’

  I started shivering and shaking uncontrollably, my body recovering from the miraculous pleasure he had just evoked in me. He brought the covers over us and the heat radiating from him revived me.

  ‘Better?’

  ‘Yes,’ I told him, closing my eyes.

  He stroked my cheek and warned, ‘I can’t stop kissing you.’

  ‘Then, don’t.’

  I looked up into his eyes and smiled. He made my whole body feel light and fused, my spirit regained and aligned once more. We got better acquainted with slow, tentative kisses, our bodies so perfectly entwined I knew I would never go back.

  We realized it was still early and we slept a little longer, our bodies wound so tight together.

  I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to leave his arms.

  ‘Shall I order breakfast?’ he asked from the bedroom while I was drying off in the bathroom.

  ‘Sure, just get everything. I’m starved!’

  A few minutes later I came out dressed in black leather pants, knee-high biker boots and a grey polo neck. My hair was loose and I had applied minimal make-up.

  I walked into the dining room and right into his arms, soon finding his hands all over my back and behind.

  ‘You’re gorgeous,’ he told me, breathing in my throat.

  ‘Don’t get between me and my food, Hardy,’ I chuckled.

  I held his cheeks and gave him a quick kiss before immediately heading for the breakfast trolley that had just been brought to the room.

  We seated ourselves at the stupidly big dining table and I noticed he was wearing dark corduroys, a black sweater and brown leather boots loosely laced.

  ‘I see they chose the type of clothes they imagine you wear.’

  ‘Don’t get me started on these fucking threads,’ he chuckled, giving me a wink. His eyes roamed my body with a smirk and I reached over to thump his shoulder. He took my wrist quickly and kissed the inside, eyeing me with more than just fierce desire.

  We could have stayed in bed all day if it weren’t for the obvious awaiting us. His face fell when he saw my expression change.

  ‘The food turned up pretty quick. And the clothes. They somehow seemed to get our sizes pretty spot-on?’ He eyed me curiously.

  These are fiercely intelligent people, I thought. You have no idea how much they know.

  I pierced a sausage and tried to act indifferent to his questioning. It was becoming difficult to keep up the pretense of not being related to the Operator. To avoid any more of his questions, I retrieved my xGen and powered it up, no longer caring if it gave us away.

  I continued to eat and navigate the news networks and grabbed Ryken’s attention when I exclaimed, ‘The jets are off the ground?’

  ‘I know. I checked the news earlier.’

  ‘Why didn’t you say? We can get back now.’

  ‘And how might we do that? We’re the country’s two most-wanted people, and as soon as we get within five miles of an airport, we’re more than likely to get caught!’

  I stood to stare out of the hotel room windows, just as I would if I were in my own apartment that morning.

  I glanced over at him. ‘Oh ye of little faith.’

  He still didn’t know about my connections. I returned to the table, took a slice of toast and ate a corner of it.

  ‘We got here, didn’t we? Stop being so defeatist “Mister I Need a Plan”.’

  He looked a tiny bit hurt until I rose again and kissed his forehead.

  ‘I need to make a call. Let’s not panic until I’ve spoken to my friend.’

  I went to the bedroom and Camille answered, ‘Hi Seraph, did everything work out at the Ritz?’

  ‘Yeah, we’re still here but we need a way out. How’s the probate movin’ along?’

  ‘Oh, yes, I got them to hurry things along. The money should be going through today, it might even be in your account already.’

  ‘That’s great. Thanks, Camille.�
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  ‘Listen, Seraph, just get back to New York, will you? Get back and stay low if you can. I can only help so much, my hands are tied if you know what I mean.’

  ‘Yes, I will call you once this is all over…’ and just as I was about to hang up, I dropped to a serious tone, ‘…wait, Camille… I am sorry I left York without a proper goodbye. And thanks, thanks for everything.’

  A smile spread across her face and lit up her face. She shook her head, ‘Please. No need. It is my duty.’

  ‘Goodbye, Camille.’

  With our stomachs full, we were ready to make a plan of action. I checked my account balance to find it at a healthy figure of 2,565,001ED. I showed the balance to Ryken and he chuckled.

  ‘How do you suggest we get back home, Richie Rich?’

  ‘I have an idea…’

  I headed to the wall panel and spoke directly, asking Ashoka to come up. Within two minutes, she was in our suite.

  ‘So, what can I do for you? And may I say, you both look so much better this morning. I hope everything was to your satisfaction?’

  Her eyes flitted between us as if assessing what may have transpired within the confines of our surroundings. When I sat beside Ryken and his hand wrapped around mine, it seemed to thrill her.

  I got straight to the point and motioned that she sit down nearby while I went over our plan.

  ‘Everything was perfect. Now, I… we… have quite a large request to make. We need a private jet. It is imperative we get back to New York. In fact, I received a very important message telling me to do that very thing…’ I bored my eyes into hers, hoping she got the gist. UNITY knew exactly who I was, they had to, ‘…so as you’ve probably realized, we’re in a bit of a fix and need help getting to the airport too.’

  Ashoka’s face flushed, she pursed her lips, and began, ‘Miss Maddon, there are a lot of services we would extend to you, but I’m not sure…’

  ‘I have funds, Ashoka. Money is no object. I just need you to get us out of here safely, in any manner possible, and charter a jet for us. Can you do that for me? If you need time to figure this out, fine. If you need some assistance, you are more than welcome to speak with Camille Honoré about this, yes?’

  With the mention of Camille, she gulped. Everyone feared her, except me. I knew deep down she was a pussy cat. Ashoka seemed to weigh things up in her mind for a few moments, before she decided, ‘I don’t see why I can’t accomplish all those things. I’ll just need you to transfer some funds for me when I’ve found your transport.’

  I gave Ryken a triumphant smile and he whispered, ‘Who is Camille?’

  I smiled and shook my head. That would keep.

  Ashoka made to leave and asked, ‘Can one of you handle a motorcycle?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Ryken asserted immediately.

  ‘Great. I’ll get a member of staff to get my husband’s out of the garage for you. It’s your best bet. You will be able to leave via a secure exit and get to the airport within ten minutes.’

  CHAPTER 20

  We were new lovers already, despite having known each other for five minutes. Ashoka had left our suite more than two hours ago and I had used the spare time to sift through my vast inbox. Meanwhile Ryken had used his time to plan the route to Thames Airport.

  In our nervous state, neither of us dared talk or cogitate too deeply. Could I tell him a little of my aunt’s true life in order to reassure him we weren’t entirely alone in this battle, because there were people out there keeping a watchful eye over our movements?

  I’d fired off some messages to colleagues, as well as my lawyer in New York, plus Francesca, but honestly I wanted to damn it all to hell. It was all garbage, all of it, and though I still remained determined to give Officium a hard time of it, I wondered if new tactics would be required.

  My aunt, the unassuming head of UNITY, was dead. Would Camille take her place, unofficially leading in her stead, or would I be asked to step up as the only living relative of the woman who was a symbol of hope to so many? I wondered whether I could carry on as Seraph the hardcore reporter, or if, a life beneath ground beckoned.

  Ryken’s concentration was centred on his xGen to determine which of the various routes to the airport would be quickest, safest and least likely to bring us anywhere near Officium’s reach. He muttered quite frequently without realizing I was watching him over the top of my xGen’s screen. He was built like a warrior, not a medical man or academic. I sensed so much about him already yet I daren’t face it, just like I hated the thought of him knowing a certain amount of nepotism had “helped” me along the way. I had an extraordinary career behind me that had seen me sleep on a variety of surfaces so unlike the plush mattress of that hotel suite.

  That was the truth I was facing – my career would never be the same again, for one reason or another. It was over, in its former guise, and I was facing an uncertain fate. No amount of money could smother my uncertainties over our future.

  I sat on the bed propped up with various cushions, while Ryken’s arms stretched across the back of the sofa. We felt certain we’d break something in the other rooms.

  ‘So, are you sure you know which way we are going? Recite it to me again.’

  Ryken rolled his eyes. ‘Seraph, have you forgotten what I used to do for a living? I know okay, don’t worry. You can leave one thing to me, alright?’

  ‘Sorry!’ I retaliated, and he knew I was hurt. I got up to pace about. ‘Look, it’s just that, I feel a total fish out of water in this country. In New York, I feel secure. I mean, my life is pretty damn crazy there, but I still feel like I have some sort of control. Here, I feel totally ill at ease, and that was even before those freak shows started chasing us.’

  ‘I got the feeling you have some issues with control,’ he teased lightly, but it rubbed me up the wrong way.

  ‘Not now,’ I warned. ‘It isn’t the time to incite that side of me, not now.’

  ‘Short fuse, angel?’ he continued, risking it a little more.

  ‘Barely held together by a thread. Protect yourself and keep your speculation to yourself, baby,’ I snapped sarcastically.

  ‘You know what I meant. Unless you’re in charge, you’re not interested. We went to Stratford, we came here, now we are going back to New York… all at your insistence.’

  ‘Please, do let me into your own thoughts on a way out, dear.’

  I stared at the window but no amount of self-control could contain my long sigh.

  ‘Seraph,’ he breathed, with a heavy sigh to match mine, ‘if I had a plan, I would let you know. I understand you are unaccustomed to having a partner, which is fine. But now you have one. So deal with it.’

  I was loathe to realize I cared what he thought of me, that I was now no longer a power of one. I considered why I was feeling unsettled and looked back at him, seeing his expression of unease. He felt it too.

  I walked over and he stood in expectation. Our arms wrapped around one another and he leant down to kiss me fiercely.

  I pulled back, on the verge of tears, ‘I wouldn’t have churned out the stuff I did without going it alone most of the time. I’ve been self-sufficient, independent and totally untrusting of everything and everyone but myself. It’s how I survived.’

  ‘What about a little more than survival? Like, actually living,’ he entreated me, stroking my cheek.

  ‘A daydream, a fantasy, an impossibility,’ I insisted, my hand stroking his shoulder and the other pressed over his thumping heart. Earlier when we had been in the act, I had listened to that pounding in his chest and feared the strength within. That organ must have been superhuman in size and strength, because its pulse fired like a rocket and reverberated like no noise I had ever heard before.

  ‘What if I said, I could get us away free. Not easily, but I could.’

  ‘To where, Ryken?’ I demanded, my hands behind his neck, tightening with frustration.

  ‘Anywhere. I have friends too, or else how would I still be alive?’r />
  ‘What, friends?’ I eyed him with suspicion.

  ‘Pals from the good old days,’ he winked. ‘We could leave, on that motorcycle, but go somewhere else. Not Thames Airport, not NYC. We get far, far away, and we survive. Ultimately, we live. This world is no better off with or without us.’

  I threw my body away from him and stepped back. Everything he said was an insult to the very bones of my being. That dizziness crept back up on me and I sat on a corner of the bed.

  I had to tell him. There was no other choice. He needed to know the full story. I bowed my head and instructed, ‘You should listen very carefully to what I have to say. I mean it.’

  He attempted to sit by my side but I insisted he sit on the couch. I took some moments before I began, my hands clasped together, my eyes facing the floor.

  ‘I know what you’re doing. You are trying to run from what you really are, from what we really are. I might do the same thing if I were the me of last week or last month, before I hotfooted it to England and found myself in York. Things happened there… and they changed me.

  ‘Don’t doubt that I know what you are thinking even before you do. I see hundreds of scenarios wherever I go. I also trained myself to spot people’s tells. Your right index finger is chewed, while the rest remain manicured. You bite it when you feel uncomfortable. Your hands are steady, your stare level, your stance steely in any given situation. Yet when you mentioned your father, you bit that nail. When I mentioned your affair with Suranna, I caught your tell again. I know these are your ghosts, your tells, the ones you feel you have let down. They are most other people’s too… the ones we left behind.’

  He wanted to speak but I held a hand up, determined to say what I needed to.

  ‘I thought I saw everything around me in perfect clarity and that’s why I lived like that. The foibles, desires, needs and wants of others, they sickened me. I had no empathy. I had to be, more, you know? Like, nothing mattered and ever would, unless I let it. The thrill of menace and mayhem kept me going, kept me alive. I had nobody to care for, nothing to lose, no bargaining chips over my head.