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His head lowered. His eyes locked with hers. She tensed.
Gently, he touched his lips to hers.
AJ melted. Hesitantly, she parted her lips. He coaxed her mouth open a little more. Exploring, enticing. She sighed, savoring the texture of his tongue on her lips. His cock stirred against her hip. Kaden deepened the kiss, just a little, breathing into her mouth as his lips captured hers.
AJ responded instinctively, drawing in his breath as if it were the essence of life itself.
It is, her ever-rational mind observed. Deliberately, she shut her thoughts down and kissed him back, met his growing ardor with her own. He made a sound she’d never heard before, a rumble deep in his chest, and thrust into her.
AJ gasped. Her pussy was still wet, and he slid in easily, with no foreplay this time.
“You kissed me,” he growled.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes. I kissed you.”
He ground his hips against her, rubbing her core of pleasure until it began to throb.
“Kiss me again.”
She crushed her mouth against his, opened it to welcome his tongue. He slammed his cock into her, claiming her mouth and her pussy at the same time. AJ wrapped her legs around his waist, sucking on his tongue while she tightened her sheath around his iron-hard shaft.
Kaden shuddered deeply. She felt his cock pulsing and came, right then, a shattering climax that left her limp and trembling in his arms.
Chapter Fourteen
The next day, AJ wandered around smiling at everyone she met. She spoke sweetly to Miriam, even hummed one of the melodies she’d learned to play, while doing her hated chores.
She could have blamed her surging hormones, or the barrage of physical sensations constantly assaulting her on Neodyma. She could have chalked it up to all those nights with little sleep or told herself it was a result of the radical change in the strict daily routine she’d followed for years. But whatever the cause of her symptoms, the diagnosis was clear.
She’d fallen in love.
AJ had heard about love, watched the ancient movies, read the classic books extolling the virtues of that emotion. She recognized its symptoms. Thinking about him constantly when they were apart. Finding his smallest gestures and habits endearing. The way a wavy lock of his hair fell over his face sometimes, so one eye peeked out from under it. The sound of his laugh, booming out at the most unexpected moments. The way his gaze caressed her face.
The way her heart soared when she caught sight of him.
On Earth, love was considered an archaic sentiment, one that impeded the rational performance of one’s duties in life. Now, she understood why. She found it hard to put Kaden out of her thoughts long enough to concentrate on her mission.
But she had a job to do, so that afternoon AJ took advantage of a few stolen moments in the garden to take Dianna into her confidence. The young woman’s expression darkened with fear when AJ explained the danger of rare earths falling into the wrong hands. She told Dianna she’d enlisted the help of one of the men who came to the Lyceum, keeping Kaden’s identity a secret until she was sure she could trust Dianna completely.
“You said once that you’d do anything to get away from here. Are there other women you trust who feel the same way? Harlots – or even Sisters?’
Having one of the Sacred Sisters on their side would be invaluable. The Sisters had much more freedom to move about. They weren’t watched constantly. And they had access to the Lyceum’s storehouse.
Dianna nodded. “I think Sophia might help us.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. I thought of her, too, but I haven’t known her as long as you have. Can we meet here again in two days’ time? By then, I’ll have a plan laid out.”
Later that day, AJ began another story for Sophia. This one the tale of Axyon 5, a planet with an atmosphere that could sustain life, in a solar system near Earth. When voyagers first reached the planet, they were stunned to discover the remnants of an advanced civilization destroyed thousands of years ago by a massive iridium blast. Sophia was as horrified as AJ hoped she’d be.
“This cannot be true!”
“Sadly, it is.” AJ reached out, took Sophia’s hand. “So many innocent lives lost. So much beauty destroyed. Imagine such a thing happening here on Neodyma.”
“I cannot bear to think of it.” Sophia’s eyes filled with tears. “If only someone had been able to stop the destruction.”
AJ seized her opening. “What if you discovered this planet risked the same fate? Would you have the courage to act?”
Sophia reached out, gently stroking the closed petals of a deep-purple moon lily. “This garden did not exist before I came to the Lyceum. I’ve spent years tending it. I raised these plants from seeds, even the trees that tower over us now. Some of them were smuggled to me, forbidden gifts from men I entertained. I would lay down my life to save my beloved children.”
