Chapter 27 #2
I pulled, not waiting for three. Sera cried out in pain, slumping in relief as soon as her shoulder popped into place. I turned her arm gently, watching her. “Good?”
“No!” She hit my chest with her fist, her eyes wide and filled with anger. “How could you do that, you stupid clanker? Never again! You hear me? Never!”
I received her hits for about seven more seconds, then pulled her to me, embracing my girl whom I never expected to touch again. She slumped in my hold, shaking as tears streamed down her face. In front of me, Reina struggled silently in the grip of the cyborg that restrained her.
I checked on the system AI. It was still confused and running amok among the wreckage I caused.
Good. Now that I had room to process, I remembered what Sera’s original mission was and downloaded all data marked as “top secret” or “highest clearance”.
Information flowed in, and I held my girl.
When the door downstairs finally gave way, I disabled the elevators and locked every stairway door.
We were on floor twenty-three. It would take them a while to get here.
Reina was silent, glowering at me. I instructed the cyborg holding her to make her stand as far from us as the room allowed.
“So you’re in love with a clanker,” I said, holding her face in both palms. “And you just told the whole world.”
She released a shaky breath, reaching up to caress my cheek. “Yes. I love you. I came to save you.”
“Stupid human.”
“Moronic clanker.”
“See? We fit.”
She stared at me for a moment, then burst out laughing. It was strained and shaky, but her eyes glittered with true amusement and relief, and she looked so beautiful. I created a new spank bank folder and put the recording there.
I’d build a new one in no time.
As if knowing what I just did, Sera stopped laughing and frowned. “You said you deleted your memories. Was it a trick?”
“No. They are gone.”
She pressed her lips together, watching me with worry. “So how… Do you still… Do you even like me if you don’t remember the good things?”
I grinned, leaning low to kiss her softly.
“Baby, I don’t need my memories to remember I love you.
You’re in my core, and I have made extensive notes to myself before deleting my memories.
I know most of the things that happened between us, I just don’t have the visuals.
I also didn’t describe them in enough detail.
Some notes are just called “Sex”, “Mind-blowing sex”, or “Sera on her knees”.
Did I ever spank you? Because you deserve it. ”
She made a sound between a laugh and a sob, and I kissed her again.
The situation was contained, Sera was safe, and there was nothing else I could do.
I dialed down my fear and turned my pleasure sensors way up, pressing both hands to Sera’s ass.
I pulled her up, making her straddle my torso until our faces were an inch apart.
“We still haven’t got away,” Sera whispered, shaking her head. “We should… Do something, think of a plan. Motori and Isamu said they’d fly in behind me. Maybe they could be of use.”
I considered it. “If I carry you up to the roof, they could take you away.”
Her face tightened in anger, eyes flaming. “No! And I’m spanking you for ever suggesting it after the last time. How could you, Dean?”
“How could you come in here all alone and torch your career for me?” I shot back.
“Fuck my career! I only care about you! Dean, I’m serious, you can never ever put yourself in danger like that! We’re going home once this is over and the first thing you’ll do is apply for citizenship!”
“Good,” I said, still angry. “And you’re going to move in with me and we’ll be together. Openly!”
“No,” she said with a snort. My heart stuttered for a moment, and Sera showed me her tongue. “Because you live in the MSA basement, so you’ll have to move in with me. Openly. With public handholding.”
“PDA?” I asked hopefully.
“Maybe kissing and light petting,” she said. Her fierce expression wavered, and she snickered, shaking in my arms. I squeezed her buttocks, and she grabbed my face in both palms, giving me a deep, aggressive kiss.
One more file for the spank bank.
Somewhere behind us, Reina Zenkyoza made a muffled sound of disgust. I flipped her the finger, transferring Sera’s booty to one palm.
“Honestly, I could die right now,” I said, still kissing her. My core hummed with serenity. “You said you love me. That’s all I ever needed.”
Sera pulled away with effort, because I chased her mouth with possessive kisses. Finally, she pressed her palm to my mouth, stopping me.
“I take it back then.” She glared at me, her brows pulled low over her green eyes. “If you’re planning to die, fine. I don’t love you anymore.”
“What!” I squeezed her ass, pushing my face close so we were eye to eye. Well—eye to camera. “You can’t take it back! It’s mine now.”
The large screen taking up an entire wall came to life, Sera’s face filling it. It was a fresh memory, her face soft and affectionate.
“I love you. I came to save you.” Her voice boomed in the room, and Reina struggled against her jailer, making angry sounds.
“You think you’re so smart,” Sera said, fuming. “I’m serious, Dean! I need you alive! I can’t imagine the world without you!”
Her eyes filled with tears, and I immediately stopped the replay, caressing her face with one hand.
“Baby, I’m not going anywhere,” I said, my core jolting with her need, my need, all of the tangled mess between us that was a delightful chaos. “I’ll live as long as you. Say you love me. Please.”
“I love you, Clanker.”
I kissed her again, and for a while, we both forgot that we weren’t completely safe yet.
After twenty minutes, I informed her the firefighters managed to get to the seventh floor, and the streets around Zenkyoza were now red and blue with the flashing lights of emergency services.
A news station also arrived, the reporter perfectly coiffed and made up despite the late hour.
We were on the news, and everyone speculated about what the fire alarm even meant, since there was no smoke, and the building was dark and quiet.
“I see a shehru,” I said, pulling up the picture of Asan from the MSA base for comparison. “He brought a woman. Conducting a facial image search… This is the US ambassador to Japan, Natasha Hopkins. I think we’re saved.”
I dialed Asan’s number and watched him pick up through the lobby cameras. “Head for the elevators,” I told him. “I’ll activate one for you.”
Asan nodded, waving the ambassador toward the elevator.
There were a few officers in the lobby, but Asan and Natasha moved so fast, they didn’t react in time.
I opened the elevator doors just when a young officer tried to stop them, but they strode in, and I closed the door right in her face, taking them up to our floor.
As soon as they came in, Reina tried to speak, but she was still gagged. I explained our situation, and Asan nodded grimly with a soft hiss.
“You did well calling me, though I wish you’d left something for me to shoot. I see this is all contained. All you need is a safe getaway.”
We turned to the ambassador. She was a tall brunette with sharp, hawkish eyes, and she watched Reina with an unhappy expression.
“That’s assault,” she said clearly. “I can’t protect you. I’m sorry.”
“Now hold on,” I said, walking away to grab Sera’s phone off the floor. It was still streaming despite the screen being cracked. “What if we have proof she tried to kill us? We acted in self-defense.”
“As long as it’s not manufactured,” the ambassador said, shooting Asan an unfriendly look. “So that’s why you dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night. You’re lucky you saved my father’s life when you were in service, or I’d be very angry with you right now.”
I stopped the stream and quickly found the right place in Sera’s recording. Reina’s shrill voice resounded in the room. “I’ll kill you with my own hands!” Then again, more calmly, “Choke her until she’s dead.”
“It was streamed live. I also found proof of numerous illegal activities,” I said. “And a lot of tax evasion. Could we offer that to someone able to authorize letting us go? All we want is to board a plane back home.”
The ambassador pinched the bridge of her nose, nodding once. “What a pain in the neck. I’ll make a few calls.”
Sera’s gaze trailed behind the woman. “She’s so cool,” she whispered, then turned to Asan, extending her hand. “I’m Sera. Thank you for coming. Did you really save the ambassador’s father?”
The shehru grinned, shaking her hand. His tail undulated behind him with the dry whisper of scales against the marble floor.
“Her father was a politician, and I was charged with protecting him during a volatile campaign. Yes, I saved his life. Twice. She doesn’t really owe me, since I was only doing my job, but Natasha is honorable. She’s also friends with my wife, which is why we came here for our second honeymoon.”
We waited. Sera made small talk, asking about Asan’s kids, one of whom studied hybrid medicine, while the other wanted to be a meteorologist. He spoke proudly about their achievements.
They were rare human-shehru hybrids. Sera quickly asked about his relationship with his human wife, and I watched in wonder as the man opened up, telling her about the difficulties of being in an interspecies couple, and all the blessings his wife brought into his life.
“She makes me go to all the MSA parties still,” he said, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “I used to hate them, but now that I can show off my gorgeous wife, they aren’t so bad.”
“And how did you deal with the hate?” Sera asked. “You mentioned booing, some shehru refusing you service, stuff like that. How did you get through that?”
The enormous snake man shrugged his massive arms. “The second I look at my wife’s beautiful face, I remember it’s all worth it. It’s not really that hard, to be honest. When you love someone so much, the rest is just noise.”
Sera gave him a bright, beaming smile, then turned to me and blinked. I blinked back. Yes, it would be all right. As long as we got out of this cursed building.