Arise (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 3)

by L. Stoddard Hancock

  “I know the location of the Resistance’s base.”

  Saevus’s smile quickly evaporated. “How -”

  “I will get to that,” said Soren, smirking as he realized, for once, he had the power. “But first.” He looked down at his slave, frozen at the president’s feet. “Fiona has recently had some stolen memories returned, and she would like to share them with you.”

  Fiona looked up at him, her lip quivering. Soren knew he was wicked in that moment, but it was all for the greater good.

  CHAPTER 37

  Xander sat with his head pressed against the table, his eyes struggling to remain open as he watched Deryn work. While she had a thermos of coffee by her side, she’d barely touched it and seemed to be running mostly on adrenaline.

  Normally, her strong will and determination were what attracted Xander to Deryn. And those eyes. And freckles. And that plump bottom lip he liked to bite. And that shapely little ass. And those breasts with those pointy pink nipples he loved to suck ...

  But her strong will and determination!

  While normally sexy, in that moment they were a real boner killer.

  Xander’s eyes began to close again and he vaguely saw the movement of her head turning.

  “Xander, if you’re that tired then go to bed. You don’t have to stay up with me.”

  Xander whined. “If I go to bed then I’ll get no sexy time.”

  His eyes opened and he watched as Deryn rolled hers.

  God, he was attracted to that too. He licked his lips.

  “If you go to bed, I’ll wake you when I’m finished here.”

  He lifted his exhausted head and rested it on his hand. “No, you won’t. As soon as you get back, you’ll decide I look too cute to wake up and you’ll just snuggle in fully clothed and go to sleep.”

  Deryn chuckled. He had her pegged. “And here I thought you liked snuggling.”

  “I do like snuggling. After sex.” He whined as his head hit the table again. “Come on, Deryn. We’re still playing catch up after our dry spell and I’m horny.”

  “Are you horny because Dax is having sex with two girls tonight and you’re stuck with just one?” she quipped with an expression far too tense to be casual.

  Xander crinkled his nose. “No, because my one is better than his two any day. I’m horny because I’m me. This shouldn’t be news to you.”

  Deryn smiled. But, just as quickly as it appeared, it faded. “I would very much like to have sex with you tonight, Xander, but my wants come second right now. I need to finish this.”

  He lifted his head again, watching closely as she tweaked the hover plates on her boots. A gravpack was on a hologram in front of her and she scrolled through its innards, trying to find a way to improve her boots. In the few hours since dinner she’d successfully figured out how to have her boots function on their own, but there was no control. The test dummy would just hover endlessly, even when she gave it a human mind.

  “Why are you so determined to get that working?” he asked.

  “Because this war’s end is coming quicker than we anticipated and I’m not physically prepared for it,” Deryn admitted. “I’m not going to just stand on the sidelines. I will fight.”

  “I know you will,” he said. “I never thought otherwise.”

  “Yeah, well, Talon -”

  “Who gives a fuck what Talon told some blue-haired merman?”

  “Merman,” she repeated, cocking an eyebrow.

  Xander shrugged. “He’s from the ocean, those fucking merpeople are from the ocean. I don’t know, I’m fucking tired.” His head hit the table again. “My point is, he may have said it, but he hasn’t restrained you in any way and he isn’t going to. If you want to fight he won’t stop you. But, after everything you’ve been through, I get where he’s coming from.”

  Deryn’s head snapped in his direction, her eyes flaring in a way that made her freckles dance. He smiled as they danced right off her nose. There was a high likelihood that this was just the exhaustion playing tricks on him.

  “I just mean, there’s a chance we might lose. Don’t say there isn’t,” Xander added firmly the moment he saw her lips begin to move. “Sam hasn’t received approval to help us yet and, if he doesn’t get it, we’re vastly outnumbered. We could lose, and if caught there’s a good chance you’ll be made a slave again. Unless I’m caught too. Then I’m pretty sure they’ll reactivate my wristband -” He lifted the fake one he wore in its place while his wrist continued to heal. “- install a mind-control chip and have me publicly execute you. Then I’d be kept alive, forced to do the president’s bidding and live with the fact that I killed the person I love most in this fucked up world.”

  “That’s twisted,” said Deryn.

  Xander shrugged. “Saevus is a twisted fellow. I don’t have confirmation from him that that’s what he’d do, but I know how his mind works. He’ll want to punish me and death is too easy.”

  Deryn sighed and went back to work.

  Xander watched her for a few minutes, her face scrunched in concentration. She was exhausted. He could see it in the way she moved, but she’d never admit it. There was no way she could be doing her best work. She needed rest, and if he left her alone to her own devices she wouldn’t sleep at all. She’d stay up all night working on something she wouldn’t finish because her mind was too foggy, then go straight into the early morning upper body workout April had promised to do with her.

  There was really only one solution.

  He needed to fuck her to sleep.

  So, with a heavy head but strong resolve, Xander stood up. He walked over to where Deryn sat, wrapped his arms around her waist and edged his hands under her shirt.

  “Xander, what are you doing?” she asked as he kissed her neck.

  “Seducing you,” he admitted, moving one hand under the wire of her bra. Ah, there was that squishy jewel he loved so much. He had to admit, her right breast was his favorite. He didn’t have a reason for it, it just was, and at that moment he really wanted to have her right nipple between his teeth.

  Before Deryn could protest, he had her turned around and sitting on the table in front of him.

  “Xander, I need to work -”

  Xander silenced her with a kiss, only breaking contact to tear her shirt over her head.

  “We can’t do this here -”

  His lips were quickly back on hers, but only for a moment. He was salivating thinking of that poor breast not getting the attention it deserved.

  He flicked the clip of her bra and tossed the confining item aside. His mouth immediately dropped to that right nipple.

  When Deryn tried to protest again, he undid the button of her pants and slipped his hand inside. His fingers happily played with her clit while the other hand gave the left breast some attention.

  It wasn’t long before her back was on the table, her breath quickening as his fingers moved inside of her. She came fast and hard.

  “The next one will be around my cock no matter what,” said Xander.

  Deryn giggled. “You really don’t care that you’ll never have a threesome again?”

  “Who said I’ve had one before?”

  “Obviously you have. Before me you had no standards.”

  “Judgy, judgy.” He leaned forward and kissed her bare stomach. “Yes, Deryn, I really don’t care. Granted, if you wanted to have one, and not one with fucking Sam, I’d be all for it. But if it’s just you and me for the rest of our lives that’s more than alright with me. I don’t know if you realize, but I kind of love you. A lot.”

  “I kind of love you a lot, too,” said Deryn, sitting up and kissing him.

  “Then we should celebrate our love!” Xander tossed Deryn her shirt and pocketed her bra. Once she had the shirt pulled on, he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder.

  Deryn squealed with excitement as he carried her out of the lab and toward their bedroom. As they approached their door, they were a little surprised to see Talon and Ni
ta just arriving at theirs.

  “What are you two doing out so late?” asked Deryn, propping herself up straight on Xander’s shoulder and glancing over hers.

  “Just talking,” said Talon.

  “We’re trying to figure out how the hell Sewick knew where our base is and if that information is more dangerous in his hands or Soren’s.”

  “My money’s on Sewick, the devious bastard,” said Xander. “Sorey is too obsessed with this one to ever betray her.” He gave Deryn’s bottom a spank. She squawked and swatted him. “At least not completely. And you have the similar hand with Sewick.” He pointed at Nita. “Use it.”

  Nita opened her mouth to speak but he beat her to it.

  “I’m not saying you have to do anything with him, just make him believe you’re considering it. Forget your damn morals for a second and use that body - which I would happily caress if I weren’t a taken man - to manipulate him. It’s not that fucking hard.”

  Deryn was fuming over his shoulder. “I swear to god, Xander, if you express an interest in one more woman tonight!”

  Xander laughed. “If you’ll excuse us. We’re going to have sex. It’s even more fun when she’s all riled up.”

  He turned and opened their door, Deryn now facing Talon and Nita and covering her pink cheeks with her hands. “Dammit, Xander! What have I told you about being inappropriate?”

  “I’m sure you told me to stop but I march to the beat of my own drum, darling. It’s part of why you love me so much. Goodnight!” Xander kicked the door shut behind him.

  Talon and Nita stood there for a moment longer, staring at the closed door.

  Nita smiled. “You have to admit. Your sister’s lover has style.”

  Talon groaned. “Are you trying to turn me off?”

  “Not at all. Why don’t I carry you inside and give you a little sugar?”

  “Neetles, no! Not again!”

  Nita ignored him and put her shoulder against his waist, successfully lifting him over it. He struggled at first, but then she spanked his ass. He began to laugh and she knew she’d won.

  “I’m in charge tonight, baby!” she said, opening their bedroom door and skipping inside.

  Talon did not object. There was something damn sexy about a girl who could skip so easily with a one-hundred and eighty pound man propped over her shoulder.

  • • •

  The next morning, Deryn woke with the sun. She was amazed at how refreshed she felt after only two hours of sleep.

  She lay there for a moment, wrapped in Xander’s arms and feeling so unbelievably happy. Spotting the small blackbird tattoo on his finger, she gave it a stroke. Then she placed hers beside it.

  “Just two blackbirds who have flown home together. Hopefully forever,” she whispered.

  “No hopefully,” he whispered back. “Just forever.”

  Deryn took his hand and kissed the blackbird. “Alright. Forever.”

  Xander opened his eyes ever-so-slightly. He glanced down at her and smiled. Then his eyes kept going. She followed them, noticing her breasts were showing.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” she said, covering them with the quilt. “I need to get up and do things and, I’m afraid, you’re not one of them.”

  “But you will do me later, won’t you?” he said, pulling the quilt off of her breasts again and giving the nipple a stroke.

  “Do you really never tire of this?” Deryn asked with a smile.

  “I love sex and I love you. Why shouldn’t I have both as much as possible?”

  Deryn leaned in and kissed him. She slyly rolled off of the bed before he could grab her and protest. “We’ll continue this later but, right now, I need a shower. Also, please do me a favor and shave off that growing scruff of yours. My face feels like it has rugburn.”

  Xander pouted for a minute but was too exhausted to fight her on it. As a Guardian, he was required to shave before work every morning. Now that he was free to do as he pleased, he’d decided to take advantage of that and grow a beard. Unfortunately, he’d discovered that his hair grew slowly and in patches. There would be no beard, not even a small one in his future.

  Xander closed his eyes and quickly fell back asleep.

  Deryn got dressed, kissed his cheek and left the room.

  She showered quickly since she was supposed to meet April even earlier than usual. The Peace Ops officer had promised to help her build the muscle she needed to operate a gravpack. It obviously wasn’t going to be enough to get Deryn into shape before the war came to a head, but at least it was something.

  While in the shower, Deryn heard several sets of footsteps enter, all heading toward the back of the room where the larger family showers were located. Since there were no children at the base, she assumed they were just taking advantage of the extra space.

  After drying off and changing, she went back to their bedroom to drop off her toiletries.

  While putting things away, Deryn heard a quiet voice calling for Cupcake. She looked around and spotted their two-way earpiece on the floor. She picked it up and pressed the button without placing it in her ear.

  “Hey, Bronson. I’m just heading out but I’ll give you to Xander.”

  As she shook Xander awake, she could hear Bronson say something but missed what it was. Xander shoved her away. Then he grabbed a pillow and placed it over his head.

  “I need to leave but Bronson’s calling. Wake your ass up and give him an update.”

  Xander groaned but let her remove the pillow. She placed the earpiece in his hand and left just as he was bringing it to his ear.

  Realizing she was running late, Deryn walked quickly in the direction of the training grounds. So quickly that she accidentally ran into someone as they were coming out of the bathroom.

  “Sorry,” she said, looking up and seeing Dakota, who turned beet red.

  Then she looked over his shoulder, spotting April and the girl from the night before walk out behind him. Both had big smiles on their faces. April didn’t smile much, so it was a bit unsettling to see her looking so -

  Satisfied.

  “Oh,” said Deryn as realization suddenly dawned on her.

  “I seem to be running late,” said April.

  “I can see that.” Deryn tried really hard not to laugh, but she couldn’t help it. “You know, there are rules. Only one person per shower.”

  Dakota’s cheeks were still flushed. “Who says we were all in one -”

  “I was in there taking mine when you all walked in.”

  “Your rules are so primitive,” said April, tying her wet hair into a bun. “I need to grab some equipment before we begin. Do me a favor and get me coffee.”

  “Yes, I imagine you need to replenish your energy.”

  A ghost of a smile crossed April’s face. She pinched Dakota’s bottom, making him jump before heading off to her room. The other woman followed her, looking just as bashful as Dakota and keeping her eyes glued to the ground.

  Deryn grinned at Dakota.

  “That wasn’t what it looked like.”

  “Yes, it was,” she said, walking toward the mess hall.

  Dakota followed her. “Okay, you’re right. It was. But I don’t want you to think less of me because -”

  Deryn laughed and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Dax. My boyfriend is a well-known slut. I have absolutely no reason to judge you.”

  Dakota smiled and lazily placed his arm over her shoulders. “I have heard stories about him. All true?”

  “Most likely. But he wears it like a badge of honor. And you should too.”

  “One night does not a slut make.”

  “Two women, Dax.”

  His smile turned dopey. “Yeah. It was great.”

  “Better April than Hera any day.”

  He nodded in agreement. “No joke, that girl knows what she’s doing. Thank god, because Autumn and I didn’t have a clue where to begin.”

  “I’m assuming Autumn is the other ...”

 
“Yeah, she’s ...” He paused, only then realizing something. “Shit. She’s Cress’s ex.”

  “Oh, the complicated web you Blackbirdians weave.”

  “I’ve always thought of us more as Blackbirders.”

  “Blackbirdites.”

  “Blackbirdees.”

  They laughed together, something that was finally starting to feel natural again.

  Then they came face to face with Hera, Cress and all of the others getting kicked out of Blackbird that morning, their bags on the ground as they packed food from the kitchen for their journey.

  Hera took one look at Dakota’s arm around Deryn’s shoulder and began to fume. But, before she could speak, someone else called Deryn’s name.

  She turned. Xander was standing there in nothing but a pair of thin pajama pants. He was breathing erratically as he stumbled toward her.

  “Xander, what’s wrong?” asked Deryn, holding out her arms so he could collapse into them.

  Xander cried as she held him, not caring who was watching in that moment. He clung to her, his knees buckling until they both ended up on the ground.

  “It’s Del,” he finally said once he was composed enough to speak. “She ...” He hiccupped. “She and Anan are dead. Saevus has all of them but Chace and he knows Ronan is his.”

  “Who did you say was dead?”

  They both looked up to see Cress standing there. When neither answered, he spoke again.

  “Who did you say was dead?”

  Xander gulped and repeated, “Del and Anan.”

  “How do you know that?” demanded Cress, grabbing Xander’s shoulders and looking desperate. “How the hell could you possibly know that?”

  “I have a Guardian ... a friend on the inside. They witnessed it and informed others we’re in contact with. Chace got away and he’s with them. They’ll take care of him.”

  Cress stood up straight and gripped his hair. “Anan ... Anan is dead. Anan is ...”

  Hera hurried forward and wrapped her arms around him, probably the first heartfelt gesture Deryn had ever witnessed from her.

  “Anan was like a little brother to him,” said Dakota, crouching down beside Deryn and Xander. “Neither have families anymore. They were it for each other.”