Synarchy Book 2: The Ascension

by DCS

  No one had known Liliana like Kyle had. No one had loved Liliana like Kyle had, either. Ever. In that moment, Simone knew that she could feel for no one what she felt for Caleb. She closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and tightened her hands. "Then kiss me," she breathed, opening her eyes and locking their gazes. "Really kiss me, and don't stop."

  §

  December 1, 2012 - 10:22 PM

  Loyalty Airlines International Airport

  Cargo Runway #17

  “Why am I here?” Nicholas leaned down into the open window of his cousins’ sedan.

  “Call it in that the security team for this shipment is going radio silent for fifteen minutes,” Amadeo said.

  Nicholas arched a brow. “Why?”

  “Obviously, because it’s not cargo in that plane, Nicky.” Olivia gave him a condescending smile. “Just do it.”

  Nicholas ignored Olivia’s crassness, lapsing into thought. “I can’t guarantee this. Not with all the new security protocols in place.”

  “Be convincing,” Amadeo said. “The plane lands in ten minutes.”

  “Do this right, Nicky, and you’ll never miss a tip from the Brotherhood again.” Olivia winked.

  The look that Nicholas gave Olivia was sharp and deadly. Warning. He didn’t give a fuck what rank she was, he would kill her if she made a remark like that again. “I’ll see what I can do.” Stepping away from their car, he jogged over to the hangar. Flashing his credentials to the guard, he waited while the Dion Corp security guard pulled the finger print scanner from his pocket and pressed Nicholas’s thumb onto it. Identity confirmed, the guard opened the door to the wide, open space ready for one of the usual late night transports. Five guards prowled the perimeter, always alert. Three Packdog Operators stood near the waist high robots that would unload the plane’s cargo, smoking and chatting. Nicholas climbed a metal staircase to the small office above the hangar’s security pod.

  Nicholas smiled at the sergeant in charge. “I need to radio into headquarters.”

  §

  December 1, 2012 - 10:25 PM

  Alcyone Island

  Phoenix Resort Hotel

  Heedless of the game in which Simone was submerged, the eyes on them, or the crowd that surrounded them, Caleb’s arms engulfed her as he brought his chin down and covered her mouth with the needy weight of his own.

  A flood of memories surged through Simone, filling her mind with glimpses of their past; his face—Kyle’s face--limned with early morning light, crisp sheets folded against the blade of his hip, the eager grip of his hands on her shoulders, his mouth on her breast; moments of tender affection and explosive passion that settled in her consciousness like dust on a windowsill, only to burst into the air in a flurry of golden chaos as the past gave way to the present and left her reeling; left only Caleb, with his heart beating against her chest and the taste of him on her tongue. Making a quiet but fierce sound of need into his mouth, Simone wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body flush against his.

  Caleb didn’t want to break the contact. He truly didn't. He wanted to trace the curves of Simone’s body with the warm pressure of his hands and reacquaint himself with every inch of her. He wanted to reminder her, in this lifetime, what it felt like to be loved.

  He was going to, just in a more private setting.

  With great effort, Caleb pulled his mouth away from Simone’s. "I have a suite upstairs. And as soon as we get there, I promise, I'm not going to stop kissing you," he whispered, and drew back, only to take Simone’s hand and fold it in the crook of his arm.

  Neither of them noticed the almost too intent stare of Kayla. Pausing mid-sentence in her conversation with Dominic, Kayla took a step to the right and watched Caleb and Simone walk over to the bank of elevators. Across the room, standing at the bar behind Lucien—who was actively engaged in talking to his “birthday presents”—Vasco noticed. It was the first time that he had seen an openly predatory look in his aunt’s eyes. It gave birth not to a sense of dread, but one of cold knowing. He desperately hoped he was wrong.

  §

  December 1, 2012 - 10:33 PM

  Loyalty Airlines International Airport

  Cargo Runway #17

  Nicholas walked back to the Sedan, tucking his hands into the pockets of his light coat. It never got very cold on the island, even in the winter, just windy and rainy. “It’s done,” he said when Olivia rolled down her window.

  Olivia eyed him with patient amusement over the rim of a raised glass. “Great job, Nicky.”

  “What did you tell them?” Amadeo asked, leaning over to look up at Nicholas

  “I told them I had a birthday present for the triplets on the plane, and since it had to be taken out of the crate before it was delivered, I didn’t want the potential for a leak. I said I needed fifteen minutes and that Lieutenant General Terenzio was with me to ensure security while communications was down.”

  “That’s very smart of you.” Olivia winked at him, and then turned her head to watch as the big cargo plane made a smooth landing on the runway. It taxied slowly inside the hangar, and two outside guards pulled the big metal doors shut.

  “What’s on the plane?” Nicholas eyed the two of them.

  The sound of fierce shouts and the dull thud of gunfire tainted the air of the immediate vicinity. A dark smile spread across Olivia’s mouth. “A present from the Brotherhood.”

  §

  December 1, 2012 - 10:33 PM

  Alcyone Island

  Phoenix Resort Hotel

  Caleb had Kyle's eyes. Simone felt him in Caleb's touch. She saw the same humor glinting in the glances he had cast her way. Their personalities weren't all that different, but that was where the similarities ended. Caleb did not taste like Kyle. He did not smell like Kyle. The angles of his body felt foreign beneath her hands, but he was warm. He was reassuringly solid, and she had wondered for some time now just what it would be like to be pressed against him in a moment like this. It was exquisite. Traces of the man he had been mingled with the man he was, the man who had driven Simone quietly crazy the last five months, and she was powerless against the pull of her body and the call of her heart. Echoing the groan that escaped Caleb when she yanked him into the elevator and kissed him, she ripped open his shirt, heedless of their surroundings. Caleb gave a short, husky laugh against her mouth. "If you keep that up—” He was forced to hiss in a breath when Simone smoothed her hands over his chest. “—we'll never make it to the room."

  "That's never stopped us,” Simone panted, lifting into Caleb to claim his mouth again. He did nothing to help the matter by kissing her back, harder. Absently, he heard the elevator ding and doors behind him open. At the last possible second, he jerked his foot back, his heel catching the doors to make them reopen. Caleb swept Simone into his arms, backing out of the car.

  Bumping their way down the hall, Simone plied hot, open-mouthed kisses over the side of his neck and into the hollow of his throat, and wrapped her legs around his waist. Her shoulders barked up against a door. “Keycard,” Caleb mumbled against the curve of her jaw. “Pocket.” Simone slipped a hand into his pocket, seized the keycard, and reached behind her to slide it into the lock.

  "Doorknob," she murmured into the underside of his chin. "Now."

  §

  December 1, 2012 - 10:35 PM

  Loyalty Airlines International Airport

  Cargo Runway #17

  The first version of Programmable Life Forms were government sanctioned, genetically created grey aliens designed to “abduct humans.” The first version allowed the Roshaniya to test their mind control technology on unwitting suspects as well as explore forms of genetic manipulation. The newest version of the PLFs, as they were called, were actually soldiers to use in combat. They were all six feet tall, thickly muscular, with solid, soulless black eyes that had no irises. They were dressed in Special Forces fatigues, with the All Seeing Eye that was found on the back of the one dollar bill tattooed on their left
cheeks.

  Nicholas stared in shock as they marched out of the hanger. One PLF broke the rigid formation to shoot both outside guards, then fell back into the marching line. Amadeo got out of the car just as a line of SUVs came screeching to a halt near his vehicle.

  “When the mafia is just not enough.” Olivia was almost orgasmic. “Time to take this family back.”

  The PLFs stopped in front of the cars. One broke formation again, coming from the far right side to meet Amadeo’s approach. Amadeo shook the captain’s gloved hand. “You were briefed?”

  “Yes, sir. On the plane.” The PLF’s voice was low and creepily monotone.

  “I’m looking forward to seeing your men in action, Captain.” Amadeo removed the keycard from his pocket, passing it over to the PLF. “You’ll need that to get into the security center.”

  “Yes, sir.” The captain saluted Amadeo, and then turned on his heel and shouted a command. The rest of his men fanned out and climbed into the SUVs. Amadeo watched them move, a sense of finality sharpening the reality of the moment.

  “We’re on a time table, cousin!”

  Olivia’s shout pulled Amadeo into motion, and he got back into the sedan. “Meet us at the hotel, Nicky,” Olivia said, rolling up her window. Their car led the deadly entourage from the back roads and straight for downtown.

  Nicholas climbed back into his own sporty vehicle and immediately pulled the cell from his pocket. “Name dial, Leone Vaughn.”

  §

  December 1, 2012 - 10:44 PM

  Alcyone Island

  Phoenix Resort Hotel

  Caleb twisted the knob, uncharacteristically clumsy in his passion and haste. He kicked the door shut and didn't bother with a light. He bumped into an end table, which sent a lamp crashing to the floor, and Simone caught them against the wall, distractedly hoping in that precarious moment that they didn't fall. Heedless of the small destruction, Caleb kept moving, until they tumbled over the arm of the couch. He yanked out his earpiece, and quickly set his sidearm on the floor. Once his hands were free, he impatiently pushed the beautiful dress up Simone’s thighs and set his mouth open and warm against the column of her throat, the tip of his tongue marking a damp path on her skin.

  Simone shuddered. Closing her eyes and drawing a sharp breath, she arched into Caleb and tugged his undershirt over his head, so that she could kiss the warm slope of his shoulder and tease the tightly coiled muscles with the scrape of her teeth. For a moment, Caleb savored the heated play of Simone’s lips and teeth. In the next, her dress joined his shirt in a pile on the floor. Intimate columns of moonlight gazed in through the tall windows of the suite, exposing all of Simone’s sexy, feminine curves to the natural light and Caleb’s heated, memorizing gaze.

  "Christ, you’re beautiful," Caleb whispered as he cupped a strong hand around the curve of her breast and lifted it to his eager mouth.

  §

  “I think we have a problem.” Vasco touched his brother’s shoulder.

  Lucien set his empty glass on the bar, excused himself from the women, and turned to his brother. “What’s wrong?”

  Vasco didn’t answer right away. He watched Kayla pull her cell phone out of her pocket and step away from the crowd to take a call.

  “V?”

  “Call Headquarters, tell them to get our plane ready and have a team standing by. Operation Ghost is a go, right now.”

  Lucien’s brows shot up, but he didn’t hesitate to pull the phone from his pocket, pressing the speed dial button. “Talk to me, brother.”

  Vasco took a step away from the bar as a line of SUVs came screeching to a halt on the sandy beach, earning angry shouts from the party goers. “The Brotherhood’s calling check.”

  §

  “Me?" Simone looked down at Caleb, lightly shivering as he set his mouth on her and flushed her with heat. "Look at you." Pressed over her body and with cool moonlight slanting down his back, he could have been a Grecian statue, hewn out of marble and exquisitely detailed. Simone had seen him—Kyle—from this angle countless times, and the sight still sent a peal of sensation right through the middle of her, down to the damp heat growing between her thighs.

  Caleb laughed huskily against her skin. He lifted his head, and his humor faded in the darkened, passionate glow of Simone’s gray eyes. He captured her mouth, got rid of his pants, and then he rose over her, to position himself between her thighs.

  Simone cupped Caleb’s face between her hands, holding him against her as she kissed him slowly and deeply, over and over, and grazed his hips with her thighs. "Don't stop." Soft pleading limned the edges of her murmur. "Caleb, don't ever stop."

  §

  “Goddammit, Amadeo, stop!” Christopher shout¬ed furiously.

  The party had been over run. One moment, there was celebration, family and friends. Now, dead bodies littered the floor. Most were security. The ballroom doors that faced the beach had been yanked shut and were guarded by the PLFs.

  Those still alive were being held at gun point, by their own family. Nicholas had looked briefly surprised to discover that his father was actually part of all of this, and immediately wonder if the old man had known about his family.

  Once some measure of order was attained, Amadeo went over to Lucien and struck him.

  Lucien grunted, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He worked his jaw back and forth, wincing slightly, and leveled his gaze on Amadeo. “Your uniform shouldn’t read Lieutenant General. We’re going to give you a new special title: Olivia’s bitch.”

  Amadeo hit him again, viciously. When Lucien fell to the floor, he began kicking him. Stopping at Christopher’s shout, Amadeo smirked coldly. “He’s not going to be alive much longer to protect you, Lucien. Don’t feel too secure, all right?”

  “Go fuck yourself, Amadeo,” Lucien wheezed.

  It was difficult to watch his brother get beaten and not lose face. But, he managed. “How do you intend to get away with this?” Vasco asked nonchalantly.

  Olivia set a calming hand on Amadeo’s shoulder and looked pointedly at Vasco. “When you’re all dead, the army will have no choice but to follow our orders. And there are more of us on the way.” Her smile was razor sharp. “Where’s your sister?”

  When Kayla finished giving an order to PLFs’ captain, she walked over to Isabella and Christopher. “I know where they are.”

  §

  Don't stop. As if he ever could. Neither could he make them wait any longer. Caleb curved his hand around Simone’s hip, stilling her for the slow penetration that took his breath away.

  This was what love felt like, Simone thought. The faint stirrings of affection that she had felt for Victor, once upon a time, were like tiny sparks flickering in the dark. They were nothing compared to this consuming blaze of emotion. She lifted into Caleb, reaching for him with her hips, and moaned into his shoulder as he slid home.

  Caleb’s eyes snapped shut as Simone closed around him, pulling him deeper. She felt so good, he thought it impossible that he could spend any lifetime without her. Struck with the blissful weight of emotion and the nerve blazing passion that wracked him, he lifted his head just to press his cheek against hers and breathed into her ear, "I love you. I know I do."

  Shuddering under the sweet torture of Caleb’s words and the delicious friction of their bodies, Simone pressed a hand to his cheek and held him close, committing to memory the way the light played over his shoulders and silvered the fine hairs on his arms. This would be a moment she would remember for ages. "I love you," she murmured with breathless intensity. How could she not love the man who she had loved countless times before? "I always have. I always will."

  "Show me.” Caleb demanded huskily, a second before his mouth smothered hers.

  §

  “Show us, Christopher. Show us all that proud loyalty, now.” Dominic’s smile was cold and laced with the shadow of victory as he watched Kayla walk over to Christopher, pull back the hammer on her revolver and press the muzz
le against his forehead.

  Isabella let her eyes fall shut. She was no fool; she knew what happened next—to her little brother. Her heart began to ache, and her years felt like a sudden weight on her back. She pressed her hand to the left and found John’s, squeezing it tightly. John had been in charge of her personal security for years. And some of the rumors about their relationship were true. It was a small comfort when he squeezed back.

  Kayla’s gray eyes were a blank steel wall as they locked with Christopher’s. “Choose.”

  §

  Simone had little choice, as those two simple words infused her with a fresh dose of memories. How many times had Kyle said them to her the lifetime before? A hundred times? A thousand? And how many times had those two simple words coursed through her, ripping a sharp cry of pleasure out of her? At least once more, before Caleb sealed their mouths and the first tightening of sensation slipped through her. Simone pressed against him. She lifted her hips. She spread her knees and dug her nails into his shoulders, urging him closer, begging him deeper as she slaked her thirst for old lusts and new love in the heat of his mouth.

  §