by Coralee June
"Oh, God. Yes," I cried out as he wrung out each and every bit of pleasure from me. It pulsed through my veins, my lips parted as I sighed out in satisfaction. I leaned back against Jacob's chest as the waves calmed.
We stood there for a moment, lost in the intensity. It was jarring and bittersweet. We skipped so many steps, and dived into the physical complexities of our relationship. Although on an emotional level, I was deeply connected to each of them, this was still new. I doubted myself. Doubted my judgement. Here we were, at the threshold of the end of the empire as we knew it, and I was more worried about claiming this new beginning. I grounded myself in this moment while releasing control.
"We need to get you back," Jacob whispered, and I slumped in disappointment. There was so much here I wanted to explore. My feelings and desires were validated, and now I wanted to bask in all the possibilities.
"I don't want her going back there," Maverick said while pulling away. He swiftly dropped to his knees and placed a soft, slow kiss where his skilled fingers just were. I sucked in a breath and squirmed, the sensitive nerves firing off like zaps of electricity. He pulled away and fixed my dress before standing with a smirk.
Somehow, my declaration of love, combined with our desperation to make every moment count, made us all forgo whatever boundaries we drew up in Dormas.
"She has to," Jacob interjected, but his voice was hoarse. "I want to continue this, fuck." Jacob spun me around and kissed my lips, his tongue diving in and branding my mouth with his taste. Emboldened by everything, I drifted my fingers lower and lower until they were exploring his erection. I moaned into his mouth as I began massaging his length over his pants.
"Honey, we have to stop," he choked out. From the corner of my eye, I saw Maverick watching us with a hooded expression. Jacob pulled away just as my fingers slipped beneath the waistband of his pants, and I pouted.
"Look, I don't care what these fuckers think about us, but we have to be careful. Besides, Maverick needs to focus. There won't be a future for us if we all become vaccine rejects," Jacob said with a frown. His words were like an icy cold shock to the system.
"Fine," Maverick finally said. "But she's going to work in the lab with me. I want to have my eyes on her and keep her away from Cavil as much as possible."
"Can you actually do your work?" Jacob asked with a mischievous grin.
"Yes, I have a lab assistant that'll be joining me tomorrow. He supposedly has notes that could help solve the puzzle of this mutation. I think he’s just a spy to make sure I don’t lie about my findings."
"Okay, I'll talk to Jules and see what I can do. For now, we need to get her back and come up with a plan for dealing with Webb," Jacob said.
"Who’s Webb?" Maverick asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"He was one of the guards that brought me here," I replied in a soft voice.
"Did he hurt you?" Jacob and Maverick asked at once.
I thought back to Blan's hard slap and his choke hold, then closed my eyes to fight away the fear that coursed through me. My expression must have shown my terror because Jacob cursed and clenched his fists.
"We need to get out of here," I whispered.
Jacob leaned in closer as Maverick grabbed my hand. "Tallis is working on it. In the meantime, stay with us."
“There’s also another soldier, Blan. He’s...he’s worse than Webb. Much worse.” My face shadowed, and I tried to keep my breathing even.
“We’ll keep you safe.”
Chapter Six
The next morning, Dominique outfitted me with the apron their servers wore, and without pause, directed me to serve breakfast. Once again, I entered the dining room and felt the stares of everyone at the table. Dominique sat on a stool on Cavil’s left. I noticed that she didn’t have a plate of food, nor was she included in the conversation. She held Cavil’s napkin for him and cut up his food. She anticipated his every need. I shuddered at her complete devotion and the distinct emptiness behind her eyes.
Jules looked like she had been crying, and I couldn’t help but stare. Her cheeks were puffy, and I noticed her hands tremble as she reached for her teacup. As I passed Cyler, his fingers brushed my leg, and I was comforted by his touch, as well as excited by how his hand lingered lightly. I ached to see him. Since my time at the lab, I had felt this insatiable hunger. I wanted more.
"I just don't understand why you can't get him to talk, Miss Black. You were engaged, were you not?" Commodore Cavil asked, bringing me out of my thoughts about Cyler. He shrugged before plopping a grape into his mouth.
"We barely knew each other. The engagement was broken off before we could even establish a friendship. Josiah Stonewell is a virtual stranger to me," Jules forced out. Her eyes were hard, yet glassy as she rubbed her neck. Her fetter looked dull compared to her elegant attire, but shined in the light of the dining room. She brushed a stray hair behind her ear, and when her eye connected with the fetter on her wrist, she froze, as if just remembering it was there.
"Well, for a virtual stranger, you sure were moved by our interrogation techniques." I stiffened at Cavil's words as I served Huxley. My broody twin’s hand grazed the back of my thigh, but his eyes didn't meet mine when I looked curiously at him. Was his touch intentional? Was he trying to reassure me?
"Any decent human would be affected by the sort of torture your men were inflicting," Jules barked, her hands shaking as she grabbed her cup of tea.
Dominique lightly shook her head when I went to serve Cavil before taking the tray from me to serve him herself.
"Walker, perhaps you can help," Cavil said as Dominique poured him more orange juice. He grinned maniacally before taking a sip, pausing for effect. "When checking your Walker registration, I noticed that you served the Stonewells prior to being traded to Dormas." For the millionth time since arriving in Ethros, I cursed that stupid registry. Although I wanted to see Josiah, I had a feeling that this would not end well.
I shuffled my feet and entwined my fingers behind my back. What would he need from me?
"I've tasked my soldiers with finding the team of scientists that developed X. Maverick seems to think that their initial notes could unlock the key to finding a cure for the vaccine rejection. I'll have Blan escort you on a trip to our prison. Let’s see if you can get anything out of him."
I immediately tensed up at the mention of Blan and prayed one of the guys would intervene. Going anywhere alone with him was liable to get me killed.
"I'll take her," Cyler said casually, but his eyes were unwavering. "I've spent some time with Josiah, perhaps I can be of assistance."
For a moment, Cavil looked menacingly at Cyler. They were both silently asserting their dominance through their stares. After a few breaths, it was Cavil that broke, nodding his assent. Cyler smiled. "Very well. Just keep out of Blan's way. This is a very important investigation, you know."
I made my way back to the kitchens and robotically washed the dishes from breakfast in the scalding hot water. I experienced a déjà vu of sorts, washing dishes, hurting myself to avoid the hurt in my heart. I worried about Josiah. Last time we saw one another he was sick and possibly dying from whatever concoction Lackley injected him with. Jules' reaction to seeing Josiah meant that this was bad. Very bad. She didn’t even care for him. I wasn't sure how it made me feel, either. There was the worry, of course. I felt empathy and sadness, but I didn't feel that all-consuming heartache that once consumed me when anything bad happened to Josiah. I really had moved on, and I wasn't sure what we were anymore. Friends? Maybe. Strangers? Absolutely.
After a couple hours of cleaning away in a numb and sad haze, Cyler strolled into the kitchen. He wore a grave expression as he approached me. “You ready, Babe?” he asked, and I smiled at the nickname. I always loved hearing such a tender sentiment in his rough voice.
“No, but I will be.”
Once free from Cavil's manor, I expected to be brought to the prison, however, Cyler pulled me towards the Walker quart
ers. Within moments, we were opening the door to my small room and he was guiding me inside.
"I'm so sorry, Ash, so so sorry," he cooed while guiding me to the bed and laying me down while settling beside me. We stared at one another for a brief moment before he gently kissed the tips of my fingers and the inside of my wrist. He moved up and placed his hand on mine before brushing my curly hair out of my eyes.
I always imagined our first kiss to be like two magnets colliding and clashing from the inevitable pull. I took in his tenderness and soft eyes. This was nothing like my strong-willed Dormas leader. This was soft. Attentive. Unexpected. Perfect.
"I wanted to see you sooner, but I didn't want to make you more of a target. Cavil seems particularly interested in me," he murmured while cupping my cheek. He kissed me again, but this time with more passion. My tongue snaked out and licked his bottom lip, making him growl. Cyler pulled away and sat up. For a couple breaths, he simply drank in my appearance. His gaze felt like a gentle caress. It followed every dip, every curve of my figure and branded his appreciation on every inch of me.
Then Cy maneuvered me so that I was straddling his legs, my Walker dress hiked all the way up. We sat there for a moment, staring into each other's eyes before he spoke again. "I'm so sorry for what you're about to see, Babe. So fucking sorry." I swallowed and wrapped my arms around his neck. "We can't stay here but another minute. I think they have someone following me."
"Why is Cavil doing this? Didn't you have an alliance with Ethros? Dormas would have shared the cure. He didn't have to go to such extremes." I rested my head on his shoulder and settled deeper into his lap, surprised to feel his hard length pressing against me. I gasped as he grabbed my ass and positioned me so that it was pressing against my core. His dark eyes filled with amusement. He wanted there to be no question about what he’d rather be doing.
"Cavil has always hated Lackley. I think they’re distant cousins? Cavil isolates his people. He controls the signals coming in and out. Their code is too complex. We can’t even send out a call for help. Lackley might have come into power by developing X, but Cavil brainwashed his people into some twisted codependency. I’m not sure what’s worse. They worship him here. I need you to be brave for me, okay?" I squeezed Cyler tighter.
"Can you come here tonight? Every noise I hear I think is Webb or Blan. I always feel safe with you."
Cyler grabbed my face and kissed me. This was the Cyler I knew and loved. Demanding. In control. He took what he wanted, and he wanted me. Once again, he anchored his hands to my hips then began grinding against me. He pulled at my bottom lip with his teeth and moaned.
"You have no idea how much I want to spend the night here making you feel safe, but I can't. I need to keep an eye on Jules and help Kemper figure out a way to remove these fucking fetters." Cyler traced a finger over my wrist where the fetter was proudly anchored. "I'll send Patrick or Hux," he finally said before kissing me again. "I should have kissed you in my treehouse," he whispered. "It would've been a better first kiss than this."
I leaned back and looked into his dark eyes while smiling. "There are still many firsts to be had, Cyler Black," I said with a wink, and Cyler looked like he wanted to flee the room before he did something reckless, like kiss me and forget all the problems plaguing the empire.
With stormy eyes, he leaned closer and trailed his tongue along my neck. Cy sucked on a tender spot below my earlobe before whispering.
"Many firsts indeed."
The prison was a small two-room building a short walk from Commodore Cavil's home. It was dark inside, the only sounds were wheezing and dripping water. Cyler held my hand as my eyes adjusted to the dark, and I gasped when I saw Josiah's deformed and slumped-over form chained to a brick wall behind thick bars. Blan's towering figure was standing over him.
"You've got another visitor, Governor," he said in a chipper tone while wiping Josiah's blood from his knuckles and backing away. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't know why Cavil sent a Walker to do a soldier's job. You won't get anything out of him that I haven't already," Blan said. It was dark, but I sensed a lightheartedness in his voice—he enjoyed the torture.
Josiah's eyes were swollen shut, and black bruises covered his face. Pools of blood collected on the concrete floor where he sat.
I tried to keep my voice steady as I gripped Cyler's hand. "M-Master Stonewell?" I called softly. My voice made Josiah stiffen, and he slowly sat up taller.
"Ash? Is that you?" he coughed out as more blood started dripping out of his mouth.
"It's me, Jo," I let go of Cyler's hand and opened the barred door to join him and Blan inside the cell. I knelt down near him so that we were eye level, ignoring Blan's menacing smile.
"Ash, are you okay? What happened after you left Lackley's lab?" he asked, his voice gradually becoming more animated, despite the swelling and injuries.
"I'm fine," I lied. "Jo, you look terrible. If you know anything, you have to tell them." Tears welled up in my eyes as I took in his broken appearance. How did we get here?
"I can't," he growled before hunching over.
"You can't or you won't?" I replied. There was still so much I didn't understand. How did he get stuck under Lackley's thumb? Why did he kill his father? Who was Josiah Stonewell?
"Both."
I stood and turned to Blan. "How do you expect him to tell you anything if he's half dead?!" Seeing Josiah like this infuriated me. We would never be lovers, but he would always be someone I cared for.
“I won’t tolerate some Walker bitch questioning my methods,” he growled in response.
“Your methods are barbaric!” I screamed back. My outburst seemed to anger him because without warning, Blan backhanded me, and I fell to the floor. My cheek hit the hard concrete, and Josiah's blood covered my dress and face.
"That’s how I like to see my Walkers: cowering at my feet." He smirked as I looked up at him. Blan wiped spit from the corner of his mouth and licked his bottom lip before rearing his fist back once more. I threw my hands up to protect my face from any further assaults just as Cyler stormed forward and punched Blan. The loud crack of bone bounced off the walls of the prison.
Josiah choked out my name in a hoarse voice as he struggled against his chains. "Ash, Ash! Are you okay? Answer me!"
Blan fell, out cold, onto the ground. His cheek was already swelling from the force of Cyler's punch.
I grasped my own cheek and shook away the pounding pain. "I-I'm okay." Cyler bent over and cradled me in his arms. Silent tears streamed down my cheeks as I grasped his shirt. Although everything hurt, I was more worried for him. Cavil would surely punish us for hurting one of his men.
Josiah leaned against the brick wall in relief once he realized I was okay. "The second I get out of here, I'm killing him," Josiah said
"Get in line, Stonewell," Cy replied.
"Is anyone else listening in?" Jo asked.
Cyler gently let go of me, surveying the room before walking away to check outside. Josiah coughed up more blood, and I itched to search Blan's body for the keys to Josiah's chains, but the fetter on my wrist stopped me.
"This is a fucking hell hole, why are you even here?" Josiah asked. "Cavil is crazier than Lackley." Josiah coughed up more blood, and I crawled over towards him. With light fingers, I touched his face and he winced at the contact. Blan let out an unconscious moan.
"You can’t trust anyone," Josiah explained with a hiss. Cyler stomped loudly back into the room. I shook my head in confusion.
"Lackley thinks he’s doing right by the world. He thinks he’s preserving the human race. He thinks he’s just weeding out the unworthy." Josiah coughed. "But Cavil? He’s deranged. He enjoys the pain and gore."
"Tell us something we don’t know," Cyler said sarcastically.
"None of the remaining scientists are alive. Lackley killed them ages ago, it's why he needed Maverick," Josiah explained. I wiped my blood-stained hands on my dress. “Ca
vil wants the names of the scientists. Once he finds out they’re dead, he’ll kill me. I’m only here because they think I have information they want. Not to mention...” Josiah trailed off.
"Tallis and Mia are supposed to be in Galla talking to your mother. We were hoping that she'd gather the Galla army to rescue her son so we can escape," Cyler said, ignoring Josiah’s cryptic comment.
Josiah let out a sad chuckle. "She doesn’t care about me. Linda Stonewell is all power and politics. You know she's the one that got me involved with Lackley? She told me that he would be a good mentor. I didn’t realize she was fucking him in secret."
"Lackley and Linda?” I asked, in shock. Lackley visited a few times, but I never suspected something other than obligatory politeness was going on between them. “What are we going to do?" My voice wavered as I watched Josiah wince.
Cyler punched the wall again just as Blan groaned and moved. While shaking the sting out of his fist, he continued to pace. Each stomp seemed to pound against the concrete floor.
"Do you think you can survive a bit longer?" I asked Josiah. He looked rough, but he needed to pretend he had information for Cavil for just a little longer if he wanted to live.
"I'm hoping to die first," Josiah said dramatically.
Cyler scoffed. "You're not going to die. As long as they think you have the information they want, they'll keep you here," he grumbled.
"Wait," I began. "We need to hint that Josiah knows more. Jo, you need to bargain with them. Send them on a wild goose chase. It could buy us time," I said eagerly as Blan moaned and tried crawling to a standing position. His painful grunts gurgled as if blood was caught in his throat. Cyler swiftly kicked him in the temple, knocking him out.
"That could work," Cyler mused while stroking his chin. "Do you know any dignitaries far away from here with strong ties to Lackley? Someone that wouldn't come without a fight. If you can send him far away for a couple days, keep him occupied, it might give all of us a chance. We need time.”