Page 50 of Only Rogue Actions
“I could stay like this forever,” he declared.
I nuzzled his jaw with my nose.“Me too.”
He turned onto his side and drew me into his arms so that we were face-to-face.I pushed a lock of black hair off his forehead.I loved seeing Kyrion like this, completely at ease and totally relaxed, and the same sensations reverberated through the bond.I would never forget the horrors we had faced in the maze, but right now I was going to enjoy every single second of our time together.
Kyrion ran his hands up and down my arms.Then he frowned, and the sticky cobweb in my mind pulsed with curiosity and more than a touch of wariness.“Did you find anything in Jeffrey’s files to support your theory that someone else was involved with Roderick Battis?”
I shook my head.“Nothing yet, but I messaged Daichi and Tivona right before you returned to the suite.”
Daichi Hirano was Kyrion’s chief of staff.He was currently hiding out on Corios with his uncle, Touma Hirano, a spelltech who dabbled in all sorts of illegal things.Tivona Winslow was my best friend and a skilled negotiator who was running Quill Corp in my absence.The three of them, along with Zane, had been gathering intel and keeping an eye on things in the Imperium while Kyrion and I were on the run.
“Daichi and Tivona will help me with the files tomorrow,” I continued.“I’m going to take a closer look at everything in the morning, but I’m pretty sure of what I’ll find.”
Kyrion’s frown deepened.“Which is what, exactly?”
I explained my theory, and Kyrion’s face darkened like a storm cloud.
“Are you sure?”he growled.
I considered his question.I wasn’t sure.Not in a proven, scientific way like I would be when testing a new brewmaker or blaster in the R&D lab, but my seer magic kept whispering that I was right.“Yes, I’m sure.”
Kyrion spat out a string of colorful curses.“I don’t know who’s worse, the Techwave or Callus Holloway.”
“I would vote for Holloway.The Techwave just wants to use and kill me.Holloway wants us both under his thumb to drain and torture as long as possible.”
Kyrion’s eyes darkened again, and the sticky cobweb of him bristled with anger.I traced my fingers over his forehead, trying to smooth out the deep, worried line there.Kyrion sighed, then leaned into my touch.
“We need to deal with the Techwave and Holloway,” he said.“Take the fight to them.”
I nodded and kept tracing my fingers over his forehead.“I have some ideas about how we can do that—tomorrow.”
I pushed on his shoulders so that he was lying flat on his back.“Our enemies can wait.Right now I am much more interested in you and me and making the most of this big, comfortable bed.”
I slung my leg over his hips so that I was straddling him again.I rocked forward, and he hardened beneath me once more.The frown vanished from Kyrion’s face, although his eyes quickly grew darker again, this time with desire.
I grinned.“There’s another position I want to try.Care to guess what it is?”
Kyrion growled and pulled my head down to his.Our lips met, and everything else melted away.At least for the rest of this night.
EPILOGUE
NEREZZA
“Atthistime,investigatorsbelieve mechanical issues are to blame for the transport crash, which claimed the life of Roderick Battis, the presumed heir of House Battis, along with several other members of House Battis ...”
General Orion Ocnus crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.The overhead lights made his short dark brown hair look like needles jutting up out of his ruddy scalp.“Another bloody failure.This is becoming a bad habit of yours, Nerezza.”
At his snide comment, my hand fisted around my wineglass.Fury roared through me, but I resisted the urge to hurl the glass at Ocnus.The general was standing next to me, and we were both in my luxurious suite, watching the gossipcast images of the transport crash on the holoscreen.I wasn’t going to soil my own space by doing something so childish as throwing wine in the condescending bastard’s face.No matter how much I wanted to.
Ocnus turned toward me, his bushy eyebrows lifting, like he could sense my white-hot rage.Maybe he could.Despite my loathing of him, Ocnus was nothing if not observant.A clear challenge sparked in his black eyes, as though he was daring me to reveal my true feelings about the situation and especially him, but I wasn’t going to fall into that trap.
I raised the glass to my lips and took a slow, deliberate sip.The wine was an excellent vintage, with notes of apples and berries, but right now it puckered my tongue like vinegar.I swallowed the wine and plastered a benign expression on my face.
An angry flush crept up Ocnus’s neck.He didn’t like being kept waiting.Too damn bad.
“If you’ll recall, approaching Roderick Battis wasyouridea,” I replied, my voice as smooth and even as the glass in my hand.
Ocnus harrumphed.“Yes, well,you’rethe one who made the arrangements.”
