Chapter 38 #2
“While that is oddly true, what we’re about to do doesn’t mean we’re going to skip our much-needed conversation later, understand?” he asks.
She licks her lips, and he almost passes out. “If that is what it takes.”
James doesn’t break eye contact as he guides her head forward. As his tip brushes against her lips, a bead of pre-cum smears across them. Her rosy tongue sweeps out, tasting it. “Mmm,” she murmurs. Thick, dark lashes flutter and an involuntary groan escapes James’s mouth at the sight.
As his grip on her hair tightens, her mouth opens, and he presses himself inside.
“Fuck, Kate. I’ve dreamed about this. Your fucking mouth.
” Then he eases his grip, letting her take over.
Her hands tighten around his thighs, her nails digging in as she works her way up and down his length, licking and sucking.
Her mouth is hot as sin, but it feels like heaven.
When he gets too close, he tugs her hair, pulling her away. “You’re way too good at that.”
She grins at the praise, saying, “Thank you. You could have had that a long time ago if you weren’t so stubborn.”
He shakes his head, laughing as leans forward, kissing the corner of her lips before pressing her backward until her back hits the seat. “As if I’m the only stubborn one in this relationship. You ready for me?” he asks as he reaches between her legs to confirm.
“Zephyr, yes, you ridiculous man,” she ekes out between heavy breaths.
Her thighs spread, and he can see the glistening mess she is. Then he’s hovering over her, lining himself up. “I would take my time, but I’m sure security is on their way.”
“Fuck,” she says as he presses in. He can’t help but feel proud at her use of the word. Not to mention turned on.
He works in methodical, pulsing strokes, thumbing her clit in the way he’s learned she likes. Her body tenses and her teeth sink into his shoulder as she quakes beneath him. Feeling her flutter is fucking heaven, and it takes his full concentration not to follow her over the edge.
He keeps moving, determined to cement his position as the man in her life.
Her second one comes as he pulls her atop him, making her play with herself to get there as she rides him.
All the while, he buries his face in her perfect tits, nipping and caressing while he mentally chants a prayer for strength.
He refuses to let their first coupling to end before he can give her a third.
Footsteps sound outside, and angry voices float through the door. Damn. There’s always later. Assuming he survives.
No. Fuck that. He lifts her off him, spinning her so she is facing bubble’s wall. They look out over a crowd of swarming bodies who can’t see them. “Hands on the back of the couch and widen your knees.”
She does as he tells her, and he settles himself between them before sliding inside. “God, you’re even wetter than before.”
There’s more rustling outside the bubble, then a knock which reverberates hollowly. Kate glances behind him at the door.
“Don’t focus on them. Focus on me.” Over his shoulder he yells, “Fuck off.”
Then he goes to work on number three. By now Kate is quivering, barely able to hold herself up, so James snakes an arm around her waist to bear some of her weight. A guttural moan escapes him as he yanks her viciously back onto himself.
Between Kate’s throaty pants, he can hear whoever has been knocking on the door punch a code into the exterior lock panel. Then the lock and the door hiss open. With how his mostly clothed body is positioned, he’s covering Kate’s nudity, though he isn’t entirely sure she’d mind being watched.
“Eyes forward,” he instructs, wrapping a hand around her throat from behind to angle her jaw.
Then he glances over his shoulder. A man in an official-looking uniform stares at them from the doorframe, mouth agape.
“Get the fuck out,” he spits through gritted teeth, having no doubt the man will comply.
At least for a little while. He doesn’t stop moving.
It’s not like people aren’t having sex in every corner of this weird establishment, anyway.
Finally, the man loses the battle of wills with a sigh. “Five minutes,” he says.
“Ten,” James counters, which gets a little shiver out of Kate.
The door clicks shut, and James resumes his punishing pace.
It doesn’t take long before Kate’s inner walls grip him tight.
Thank goodness he only has a few minutes because he isn’t sure he could last any longer.
Pure bliss has almost sent him flying over the edge half a dozen times.
Gripping her breasts, he slams in a last time before his vision darkens, and an obscene pleasure burns through him.
When he finally comes back to reality, he realizes he’s clinging to Kate as if she were the sole life preserver from a plane that’s crashed into the sea.
Ironic, because in so many ways, she is.
He kisses her shoulder and her neck as he slowly releases her.
“James, that was . . .” Kate trails off.
“I know,” he says, softly kissing her lips as he turns her to face him. “I think we both needed that.”
He takes the napkins from his pocket that he collected on the way in and cleans up the mess he’s made between her thighs. She’s staring at him with awe, and he wonders if his expression is the same.
“I’m glad to know sex is an option for making you compliant,” he teases, giving her a wink as he helps her off the couch.
She returns an eye roll, saying to no one in particular, “My boyfriend is ridiculous.”
It earns her a chuckle.
Her legs tremble slightly as he helps her adjust her dress. Because he knows she’ll like it, he says, “You look thoroughly fucked, sweetheart.”
She offers him a giddy, half-crazed smile, and he can’t help but pull her in for a kiss.
“Beautiful,” he says, brushing a stray strand of hair from her temple.
Her grin becomes smug as the door behind him opens, and he can’t hide his amusement as he snatches his jacket off the couch, tossing it over a shoulder.
He offers the opposite arm to Kate. She takes it, leaning on him as he leads them out of the bubble.
As they pass the security guard and the four stunned patrons, he notes their envious glances.
He’s pleased her. Now he can only hope he’ll have enough time for his body to recover before she’s ready for the promised round two.
On the SAT ride back to her unit, a contented Kate leans into his side. “James?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“The woman you met with today—she was from your time?” Kate tenses, waiting for his answer.
He sighs. “She was, but I don’t think she had the money to make the purchase.
” That put the woman in a similar position to him, which he didn’t like at all—for either of their sakes.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it until he figured out his own precarious situation.
A fact that in his past, he would have blown right by, but now .
. . now it bothered him more than it should have. “She said she’d be in touch.”
Kate’s body relaxes. Was she jealous? Was that why she was with someone else when he found her?
One fight and she thought they broke up.
Surely she’s got the message now. Never hurts to double down.
“Kate, you are the only woman I want, okay? If that changes, you will be the first to know—explicitly—but I don’t think it is going to. ”
She nestles into his side, humming pleasantly.
He gives her thigh a squeeze, clearing his throat. “And you’ll let me know explicitly if things change for you, right?”
She sheepishly grins up at him, saying, “Yes, I will do that,” before tucking back in.
Back at her apartment, he changes the particle panes to a starry night sky scene, noting the two packages sitting by her desk.
He stifles an exasperated sigh, because if it were during his time, he’d already be making sure she had enough money to do whatever she liked.
But as it stands, he is still a work in progress.
He tells her about Astra and Lucas from A Quadrant and the PalmPrint they bought.
“I doubt they’ll last a year,” she says, and he readily agrees.
She keeps stealing glances at the two packages as he rushes through the rest of his story. Clearly, she has something on her mind.
“Yes?” he asks when he finishes.
She points to the packages. “Those are the only two I was unable to return.” A proud grin lights up her face. “In three to seven days, I will have enough funds to pay for an additional month. Maybe more, depending on if you sell another PalmPrint.”
His chest squeezes tightly, and he wraps an arm around her waist, drawing her close. “You’re dying to say I told you so, aren’t you?” he teases, but he can’t help but feel staggering gratitude.
She shrugs, reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss him.
“I don’t deserve you,” he says.
She gives him a look that says, Not that again. “This means we can finally relax. Now you have breathing room to get IdenTECH off the ground, and maybe even solve your identity!”
She’s so hopeful that he can’t bring himself to mention Viper is still out there, capable of causing trouble, though James can’t think of what else the man could do besides turn him in .
. . But how could he have known James is a reincarnate?
He couldn’t. Getting their accounts frozen is as far as Viper can take it. They are probably in the clear.
“Sure, a little downtime won’t kill me.” He smirks, and her eyebrows twitch at his attempt at humor.
“Once enough of the returns go through, we’ll make the extension.
Go change into something more comfortable.
” He makes his way to the kitchen to pour them a glass of Vine.
His thirty-five-year-old body needs time to recover.
He plans to spend the entire night making sure she knows how much she means to him.
He’s closing the cold storage when his device pings. It’s a message from Sable. In all caps. Hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
JUST FOUND OUT INSPECTORS ARE COMING IN THE MORNING.
THEY’RE TEMPORARILY SHUTTING US DOWN FOR AN INVESTIGATION AND SENDING EMAILS TO ALL GROW CUSTOMERS REQUIRING THEM TO TURN THEIR MANUPARTNERS IN BY CLOSE OF BUSINESS ONE WEEK FROM TOMORROW.
DECOMMISSIONINGS WILL BE HALTED. IF WE WANT TO INITIATE PLAN B, WE’VE GOT TO DO IT FIRST THING!
James’s heartbeat stutters. It shouldn’t have come to this.
They were supposed to have three more days.
With Kate’s sales, her returns that would show up over the next couple days, and the PalmPrint they sold, they could have made the next payment in plenty of time.
Were there other reincarnates like him that would get caught up in the recall, too?
He shakes his head. There’s no point considering it since he can’t do anything to help them. He can’t help anyone if he’s dead.
Viper? he asks Sable.
Plan B was a big risk, but what choice did he have?
Possibly, she responds. Too many recent violations. They want to inspect the entire facility. If he alerted the authorities, it would be enough to push them to act. We need to get you out of GROW’s system before they shut us down.
His mind flashes between the image of Kate beaming at him, proud of herself for returning her precious purchases, which somehow signifies everything meaningful in this new version of his life and the very real possibility he might not survive this.
He types, Did you find a candidate ready for a Peaceful Passing Procedure?
I identified a 298-year-old lab tech. I’ve already messaged him. 07:00? Sable asks.
He takes a deep breath. Sable has kept her word until this point, becoming a friend, albeit the strangest one he’s ever had.
Well, besides Jett. She wouldn’t let him get decommissioned, and she was upfront with him about the risk.
His stomach rolls, and he’s uncertain if he can handle the Vine he takes a sip of.
“James, is everything okay?” Kate leans on the counter, studying him.
He clears his throat. Although she’s tentative, there’s a hint of cautious optimism that looks so good on her he’s unable, possibly unwilling, to dampen it. “Small setback, but nothing to worry about.”
While he feels a little hypocritical about the lie, “Sparing the feelings of another” was number seven of acceptable reasons to lie in the Respectful and Considerate Conduct Course manual he devoured.
“Give me a minute to send a message. I’ll join you in a moment.
” He slides a wineglass to her, and as she walks away with it, he watches her hips sway through the gauzy fabric of the nightgown she slipped into.
If only he’d come to his current conclusion months ago—but he doesn’t have time for regrets.
Plan B could fail, and he could die a second time.
The last hour has given him emotional whiplash.
It takes all his focus to stay grounded in the present moment.
He will not fail himself or her. Still, tonight, he will make love to her, absorb every shiver, every breath, every touch—everything that makes Kate special—because there is a very real possibility it could be their last time.