by Danielle Monsch, Cate Rowan, Jennifer Lewis, Jeannie Lin, Nadia Lee, Dee Carney
She closed the door and the small room dimmed. Not trusting herself, she squeezed past Langley to climb down the first half flight to sit on the next landing. Dust covered the stairs and gritted as she sat.
“We have a few hours to wait.” Langley shifted his position on the top landing. “Why aren’t you next to me?”
“Now you’ve gotten me out of there, you have no obligation. I know you felt guilt over Madame Gothel keeping me prisoner. You can go home with a free conscience.” She shut her mouth before she babbled.
“Is that what you think? I had sex with you because I felt guilty?” He puffed out an angry breath. “I wanted you. I still want you. Don’t keep yourself from me.”
Damn. His heated response shot through her straight to tingle in between her legs. It wouldn’t hurt to say goodbye, to just once, have him inside her on the ground, if high at the top of a skyscraper was the ground.
She crawled up the stairs on her hands and knees, breathing heavily, the stale air dissipating as she drew near his hot, clean scent. Langley tilted his head, his frown softening as his chest rose and fell in the same rapid excitement as her own.
“Come here,” he growled. His deep voice stroked over her and settled inside, to slick her panties and make her mouth water.
She stopped a few steps below where her head was level with his crotch. Giving her own command, she held her breath to see if he’d comply. He’d always been so dominant in their encounters before. “Spread your legs.”
For a second, he frowned again before he spread his legs and gripped the handrails until his knuckles turned white.
The dust from the stairs coated his pressed slacks. The bulge at his crotch destroyed the lines of his pleats. He’d never looked so disheveled or so delicious. She nudged his stomach and he leaned back, his rough breathing filling her ears. She unbuttoned him and slowly edged down his zipper.
His cock, long, hard, and utterly familiar, fell into her open hand. She stroked up and down with the amount of pressure he liked. He groaned and his hips rocked up.
“Shhhh.” She kissed the tip of him and whispered against the hot skin of his head. “Don’t move.”
She licked him. He made a strangled sound but didn’t move as she engulfed him entirely. Showing no mercy, she sucked hard, wrapped her hand around his base, and shoved the rest of his erection to the back of her throat. The sounds of her mouth moving on him excited her. The rush of giving him orders thrilled her, made her hungry. She wiggled her ass in the air as she knelt on the stairs.
His hands ran along her naked scalp, cupping her cheeks, holding the back of her neck.
“I can’t see you at all. I want to see you,” he whispered.
In her room, she’d done this to him. He’d tangle his fingers in her hair and watch, avidly, his cheeks tinted red until he’d curse, twist her body around, move her legs to straddle his face, and shove his tongue inside her. She groaned around his cock.
“Stop, Zel. I’m going to come. I need to be inside you.”
She pulled back with one last stroke of her tongue. “You were inside me.”
But she wanted the same thing. She stripped off her sweats, shucked off bra and panties, and was thankful he couldn’t see her so bare, without a strand of hair to flow down over her breasts. She climbed the stairs, straddled his waist, and sank onto him in a greedy rush. At no time in her life had she ever felt so naked, yet connected, and in control. Filled. He held her against him tightly. They didn’t move, just enjoyed the sensation of their joining.
Something between them was different. It hummed through her body, but she couldn’t figure it out, couldn’t stop the inevitable need to slide up and down his length.
He tilted her chin up and dipped forward. He missed her lips, kissing the side of her face, but he licked his way into her mouth. She whimpered and started to move on him. At first, she rocked slowly but she couldn’t keep the taunting pace. She grew frantic, moving so that the fabric of his slacks rubbed against her naked skin in a way that pitched her lust even higher. With a wicked skill, she tried not to think about how he’d acquired, he moved his hands to make her crazy. He cupped and molded her breasts, stroking in circles, tighter and tighter until he teased her nipples.
She shuddered and came up on her knees to get closer and take him in further. The hard stairs bit into her skin but she didn’t care.
His guttural moan punctuated a pinch to her nipples.
“Oh, yeah. That’s it,” she chanted, giving him encouragement, turning the tables and being the one giving the praise instead of the other way around.
She rocked hard, grinding down on him, making him fill her more, going deeper. She needed him completely. Inside her far enough to warm the cold places.
“Perfect. You’re perfect.” He licked her throat. His breathing came in pants as he loosened his hold and moved his mouth down to engulf a nipple. His fingers reached between them to press on her clit. Every movement gentle and reverent, his entire being focused on her, he seemed to know only her. Nothing else existed but them.
“That’s it.” She bit her lip to keep from screaming. She needed this. She needed him so much it scared her as much as excited her.
Unable to keep from tumbling over the edge, she pressed down and met her climax with a full body arch. He surged up into her, his hands tight on her hips as he came with a growl in his throat and one word on his tongue. “Zel.”
The way he said her name broke her heart.
She wanted this. Every day. But it was impossible.
Long moments passed. They hadn’t moved, but held each other. She couldn’t believe he wanted to hold onto her like she did him. This must have been his goodbye.
Her eyes stung and her legs protested her crouched position. She eased off him and found her clothes littering the stairs.
“Don’t stay so far away.” Langley patted the stairs next to him. He had a trail of dust on his cheek. His hair was ruffled. His shirt wrinkled, his slacks bunched around him. Though they’d both reached their peak, he was tempting, a sexual allure encouraging her to straddle him again. It was impossible to resist his nearness. Not while he was here.
Dressed, she sat next to him. He put his arm around her waist and hugged her tight.
“Tell me more about your life at Mother,” he cajoled before he yawned.
Nuzzling into his chest, she yawned, too. She swatted him. “Don’t do that. It’s contagious.”
He chuckled.
“I’ve already told you about Mother.”
“I know. Just. Tell me again.”
“A researcher made me. Gave me to Mother. He visited with me once a week and took me outside the compound. He used to run occasional experiments on me. It’s not as if he were an actual father. My handlers made sure to let me know he didn’t donate genetic material but combined me from at least twenty samples from various segments of the population. I’m a mutt.” She swiped at her burning nose. She didn’t want to talk about this. “The sun has gone down.”
“And they tutored you at the academy but didn’t want to put you at risk by letting you be an agent.” He stroked her back and leaned his head on top of hers. The small movement warmed her. “What will you do when you go back?”
Not really for risk to her—though that was part of it—but she’d not been an agent because she wasn’t human. And her hair was too noticeable, too valuable. Her entire life they’d told her its worth, but never what they planned to do with it. She’d doubted there was a plan. Lately, she’d begun to be a bit suspicious of Bovine’s handling of her and her hair, but he’d always been like a father to her—despite the agents’ attempts to put distance between them—and she couldn’t think he’d do something to hurt her.
“I’ve been working in the botanical department. Monsieur Bovine will take me back like nothing ever happened.”
“And you’re sure this Bovine guy means nothing to you?” He sounded jealous. He always had when she brought up her mentor, Mother�
�s equipment chief, and she’d never been able to resist teasing him. Purely for a spiteful poke at Langley for not freeing her, she’d never told him Bovine was her creator. Since she’d never see Langley again, she needed to clear the air.
She laughed. “He does mean something to me. I love him.”
Making a sound, halting her explanation, he gently extricated himself and left her alone, cold on the concrete risers. She froze as he climbed the steps to the door. With an impatient tug, he ripped at the bandages on his face.
She snapped at his foolishness. “Stop. I’ll help you. Don’t hurt yourself.”
But he’d already pulled most of them off. The bandages floated down the stairs.
He turned his head toward her, his eyes bright, angry, hurt. Strangely, he looked exactly the same, sans glasses. She’d expected…something. Something else. Something to make him look different, like her. A strange sinking sensation ripped through some hope she’d had; if he looked like a mod, he’d stay with her. But her fool legs still went to him, desperate to stay near for as long as possible.
Except for the snarl he directed her way, he looked perfect. “What will your lover think when he learns you’re carrying my child?”
She swayed on the stairs, black spots dancing in her vision. He gripped her and crushed her to him. For a moment, she reveled in his strength, the hard chest, the firm legs pressed against hers, but then the truth flooded her.
Never doubting what he said was true, she accepted she was pregnant. There was only one way she could be that way. They’d monkeyed with her insides. Her womb. Her heart. He’d never wanted her. She shouldn’t have let herself fall for him. All she’d ever been was a creation, alone, and Gothel used her like an experiment.
A choked sob ripped from her throat. Tearing herself out of his arms, she pushed through the door of the stairs and ran out onto the roof, a blur as tears clouded her vision.
Being prisoner in a tower was nothing to this pain. She’d fallen into a trap of her own making. She had to get away. Now.
Before he could catch up to her, she darted into the next emergency hatch, slammed the door, and clamored down the stairs.
What had they done to her?
Chapter Six
‡
Langley’s eyes hurt and a dull pounding headache throbbed through his head and down his spine.
He hadn’t meant to lash out. He’d planned on getting them off Gothel Island and taking Zel home. Then he’d sit down with her and explain. Her admission that she loved this Bovine man had shocked him, but now, more than anything, he wanted his family together. He wanted this baby. He wanted Zel.
Zel would see this as a betrayal. One more bio-researcher reached into her life and toyed with the fabric of her being. He’d hoped beyond hope she wouldn’t blame him. The hate on her face when she’d run was clear, even without his glasses.
He damned his new eyes. The better than perfect vision had shown plainly how she couldn’t get away from him fast enough.
The door stood open in the night he could see through quite clearly, thanks to his new status as a mod. She was nowhere. Long moments had passed while he stood frozen in place. She’d probably already gotten to the street and flagged down a hovercab. She’d go to the Mother compound, back home, and he’d never see her again. He wouldn’t be able to get a message to her, much less get access to the grounds, or her.
A floating island silently slid through clouds above, the red lights of its engine winking.
He couldn’t go back up there, and he’d risked his position with NOMBIO.
He stood, unmoving, reliving the memories, hating himself for speaking rashly, until the sun came up.
By the time he trudged down the stairs, he was sure he’d never be happy again. He’d claimed that emotion for only a short time in his life, when he’d been with Zel. Nothing had ever compared to her. The rest of his life would be empty, denied the right to know his child.
He drifted through the lobby, ignoring the stares of landers when he stepped through the emergency doorway. Out in front of the building, he waited for a hovercab. The only place to go was where he’d sent Bennet, Mason Heights, a small retirement section where Islanders sent revered servants when they left employ.
It was near the capitol quadrant, where GOoSE’s governmental offices headquartered and the Mother compound sprawled for miles. He tried not to think of how close to Zel he’d be as he sat in the craft watching the city zip by. It took hours. New Castle was the size of a quarter of the hemisphere. They’d come to ground quite far away.
During the ride he had time to think even more, not really seeing the miles and miles of buildings—no green space—and mobs of people who scraped by. They’d have only moving sidewalks for transport. Above them, hovercraft flew, going about the day either servicing the needs of those on the floating islands or the few middle-class grounders who could afford them. By the time he found Bennet’s address, he had a plan. Well, not so much a plan, as a way to get to Zel and plead his case. If she’d hear him out.
Ignoring the pounding in his head, he checked out the neighborhood he’d bought into for Bennet. The lines of condos stretched down the street as far as he could see. Hovercraft buzzed over the three-story row in smog filled skies. A rare costly treat, small patches of green, most planted with bamboo, sat to the side of each doorway. Bennet’s little garden was barren since he’d just arrived yesterday. Langley announced himself in the intercom next to the solid metal entryway.
Bennet opened the door, peered at him, and admonished. “Have you taken your pills, sir?”
His former employee, now friend, wore soft slacks and a pullover. His hair wasn’t styled as usual but fell in a soft mass of uncombed gray. Yesterday he’d dressed with a certain amount of polish, slick, in an impeccable suit while today he looked kinder, relaxed.
Langley stepped inside and immediately warmed. “You’re going to be a grandfather. And you have to help me win the child’s maman back.”
Bennet’s eyebrows rose to his hairline and his mouth dropped open. Surely the man knew he was the only father he’d ever had. Like the efficient valet he was as well, Bennet recovered himself with due speed and within moments, had Langley sitting on a couch, hot tea in hand, and medicines taken. His headache receded to a dull throb, Langley told him everything. “And I’ll need a place to stay for a while because I’m not going back up there.”
“What can I do?” Bennet sipped his own steaming tea.
“I don’t know. I thought you’d have some ideas.” Langley put his empty cup on a side table. Whoever had furnished the condo had made it pleasing and homey. Nothing like Gothel Island. “I know how to get her in the same room with me, but I don’t know what to say.”
Bennet looked at him with the stern expression that never failed to get results. “Don’t you, sir? You’ve never not known what to do. Even as a pesky junior leaguer, getting into your mère’s botanical trials. You knew what to do when NOMBIO approached you and gave you secret data codes for transferring evidence against Gothel Island. You knew how to get them small bits of information to help, even though you hadn’t had time to crack into the truly illegal experiments. You knew it would take time. You knew the sacrifices. You knew you couldn’t set Zel free or it’d ruin your mission. Now it’s all changed, but you know what to do.”
He supposed he did know, and it scared the hell out of him. Even if he could have Zel, she couldn’t accept him when his family had betrayed her so. Still, the only thing to do was make things right for her and others like her.
The dull shine of Bennet’s hand around his tea cup sent a rush of understanding through Langley. For years, he’d loved Bennet. Not once had he cared the man was a mod. An Islander had replaced Bennet’s arms when he was a child to make him a more powerful laborer. When Langley had seen him in the kitchens and discovered a mutual interest in reading a series of fantasy novels, they’d struck up a rare friendship. Even rarer, Mère complied with Langley’s wish
es and hired Bennet, his elder by at least a decade, as valet.
Had Langley ever really thought mods and bio-creations were inherently wrong?
In the stillness, Bennet sat patiently until Langley cleared his head of the quagmire. Though he wanted to tell Bennet he thought of him as an equal, saying so wouldn’t matter. Bennet had always understood him.
“Time to…” Bennet never finished.
A knock on the door brought them both to their feet. Out of habit, Langley waited for Bennet to move toward the front entry. “Who?”
At the same time, Bennet rushed out an answer, “NOMBIO approached me not an hour after I arrived. I think they’re watching the place.”
“They have no right,” Langley growled.
A man barged in before Bennet could step back.
Dressed in an ill-conceived disguise of a concession stand worker’s tunic, an agent Langley had dealt with before strolled through. Nothing hid his superior strength and wealth. The trendy cut of Keith Harwich’s dark hair, the clean fingernails of the hand he extended, and the bit of a tan that only came with spending time on the Islands portrayed the typical man who dealt in the power plays between the megacorps, GOoSE, and other groups with money. Langley greeted the straightforward and passionate NOMBIO enthusiast. “Harwich.”
“Monsieur Gothel. I’m here to invite you to NOMBIO headquarters to discuss your next move.” He shook with a firm hand and quirked a look up at Langley before striding toward the main living area. “I assume you’ve brought what we need to stop Gothel Island from the insidious practice of researching with the biologically tainted.”
Battling back a strong urge to land a facer into the smug man’s complacent expression for calling Zel—and for that matter, Bennet—tainted, he reminded the man in a chilled tone, “This is my friend Bennet’s residence. If he is amenable, we might take a moment and discuss what I have.”
“Of course you may…” Bennet began.
“My apologies.” Harwich sent a reproachful look at Bennet’s mod arms and then sat stiffly across from where Langley forced his knees to bend and take a seat.