Page 61 of The Program

‘Shit,’ Artemis cursed. ‘We have to hurry.’

‘I’ll get the rest of them and meet you at the hangar bay,’ T suggested, but was immediately shot down by Artemis.

‘Not a chance. I don’t trust you not to run off and spill your guts to yourmasters.You’re not leaving my sight.’

The vehemence in which she addressed him worried me. The last thing we needed as a group was for contention to build and form as an obstacle to our goals. But we didn’t have time for a therapy session now. We were going to have to find a way to get along long enough to work together, and then I could grab some snacks and settle in for the show.

Artemis was sexy as fuck when she was mad, and though nowreallywasn’t the time to allow for such thoughts they continued to invade my mind. My horniness would dissipate eventually, but I hadn’t had the chance to finish yet after she’d interrupted so it might take a while… I would probably bust a nut or two if I got to watch her beat someone up. My cocks were already weeping at the thought, only made worse by the mental imagery I conjured to go along with it. No doubt the front of my pants was sticky with precum as it seeped through the material.

My dreams were going to feature the moment Artemis first made her presence known while I was stroking myself, only instead of either one of us covering any body part I would keep pleasuring myself while she watched. I’d look her in the eyes with my own half-lidded and conveying my desire for her while she licked her lips, the thought of tasting me making her pupils dilate and her nipples to strain against her shirt. She’d rub her thighs together in an attempt to relieve the throbbing pressure building in her core…

‘Cadmus!’

‘Huh? What?’

‘That must have been one good stars-damned daydream, but we need you focused.’ Dorian snapped his fingers in front of my face and I smacked them away.

‘Right,’ I cleared the lust clogging my throat that made my voice deeper and huskier. ‘Focused. Sorry.’

‘If you won’t let me out of your sight, at least let me call my contacts to give Markus and Alexander a message. Tell them where to meet us,’ T offered.

Artemis’s face scrunched in indecision, but she eventually nodded her agreement. There was no time to dwell on the mistrust between them, and a leap of faith was necessary in order to continue forward.

‘Tell them to meet us in the hangar bay. I won’t tell you where I docked my ship, but I will say that I have one ready and waiting.’ Her response was terse like even speaking to the oversized Tornu guard was a pain, let alone offering up any sort of information critical to our escape.

‘And us?’ I asked, hoping I hadn’t missed anything important while imagining what Arty looked like out of that awful jumpsuit…

‘We head to the facility, grab Reece and Adara – though be prepared to find them in a… uh… not-so-great state… Then you all help me carry out at least two dozen toddlers. Got it? Good. Let’s go.’

She didn’t give us the option to argue, already heading off in the direction I assumed was where we needed to go. The six of us cadets reformed around Artemis while T trailed at a distance to keep up appearances. We waltzed through the academy without anyone the wiser, barely even running into any guards, and though I noted how unusual that was I didn’t think anything of it. I didn’t walk the halls of Nova Academy past curfew, so I wasn’t aware of their shift schedules. For all I knew there were more guards posted than normal.

Yes, I was aware that was nothing more than a weak attempt to convince myself that there was nothing to worry about. Of course I wanted everything to run smoothly, for us to get our friends and the swarm of babies and be gone before anyone was the wiser, but lyingtomyself wouldn’t change anything.

In fact, it was probably the worst thing I could do right now. These people, my friends– the first real friends I had ever had – needed me to have my head in the game. This wasn’t a joke. It wasn’t a simulation. We weren’t playing a video game. This was our reality and each of us would need to pull our weight if we were to get out of here alive. Including me.

Bromm had somehow wedged his way in beside me so that he was flush against Artemis from the back, and a strange twinge of jealousy sparked the adrenaline to flow through my veins at the way his left hand sought out hers,their fingers discretely intertwining out of everyone else’s line of sight. I only caught it because of my position in the formation. It was also how I caught the look of utter disbelief on her face, quickly chased by hope as she glanced surreptitiously at the Griknot royal out of the corner of her eye.

My oddly visceral reaction to the scene shocked me to my core, the surge of jealousy in my veins potent and hot. It was probably just because I had noticed her as a woman and found her attractive, but she was obviously already spoken for and I didn’t like it when I didn’t get what I wanted. It made the chase all that much more alluring when I had to work for it, but this wasn’t the type of scenario that would end well.

I mean, technically when I took whatever I wanted that meant I sometimes took from someone else, but I’d never cared about them missing out before. I didn’t want to take from Bromm, though, and yet I couldn’t shake the images my brain had conjured.

I could, however, shake the entire thing from my mind for the time being while my attention was needed elsewhere. I’d more than likely lose interest soon enough, anyway.

Someone nudged me from the other side, and I physically shook out my limbs to rid myself of these thoughts and feelings. My arousal was becoming a hindrance.

Focus, Cadmus, I chastised myself.This is your chance to prove to yourself and everyone else that you’re not a useless, self-absorbed idiot.

We left the academy without any fanfare, and while I wanted to believe that was a good sign, I knew better. This was the calm before the storm, and we were about to be in for a rough time. T’s presence was a big clue that The Program was already aware of our movements and Artemis’s arrival.

Looking at her now and the way we blatantly protected her, there would be no arguing that lines had been drawn and we’d chosen a side. We’d put all our eggs in Artemis’s basket and were about to face the consequences of that decision. For better or for worse.

But hey, I was always up for an adventure.

If only I’d known just how naïve that was…

CHAPTER 23

ALEXANDER

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