CHAPTER 38 #3
“Hmm. Yes,” I murmured, brushing her lips with mine as I continued stroking her.
The need to erase the barriers of fabric keeping me from her slick heat was maddening, but I hadn’t waited this long to give up the game so easily.
“You’re perfectly aware. And that only makes you want me more, doesn’t it?
” My thumb circled her clit again, slow and relentless.
She writhed, but I held her steady, spreading my knees to cage her against the desk.
“If word got out,” I whispered, savoring the way every sentence made her tremble, “that the immaculate Centurion Davina Lachlan surrendered to the enemy, your spotless record would be ruined forever. And that drives you wild.”
I removed my fingers from her core, only to draw them up in a slow caress up her thigh. The first finger slipping beneath the fabric had her going taut. Then she buckled demanding more, and I caught her mouth in a slow, devouring kiss that left both of us breathless, then nipped my way to her ear.
“But don’t worry, sweetheart,” I growled. “It’ll be our secret. Only we will know that you gave yourself to me unbidden.”
With that, I pushed all the way to her center—
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Three sharp knocks came from the door. We both froze, breathing hard.
“Who’s in there?” a faint, deep voice called from the other side. I knew that voice.
The High General.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Panic flickered across Davina’s face as our current predicament sank in. It was so out of place, it kicked me into action. I moved fast, lifting her off the desk and setting her down. Her legs buckled, and I held her steady against me.
“You okay?” I asked in a low voice.
She nodded, her cheeks blazing red and still a little breathless.
The door rattled loudly. “I asked who’s in there!”
“Stay quiet,” I whispered, praying that she’d listen for once. Then, in a much louder voice, I called, “Coming!”
“Captain, is that you?”
“You need to hide,” I said, voice a rough whisper. “Once we’re gone, wait for a few minutes and then sneak out in the same way you sneaked in.” Whatever that was. “Understood?”
She nodded, and I hated not being able to stay there to fully see the fear become determination. Hated even more not to be able to finish what we’d started.
“Yeah!” I called as I walked towards the door.
As I pulled on the handle, pretending not to know the lock was on, I turned to confirm that Davina wasn’t in sight, only at the last moment remembering to return the second chair to its corresponding desk with a flick of my finger.
“What in the Evergreen?” I muttered loudly, when the door didn’t budge.
“Captain, I swear if you don’t open this godsdamned door in the next five seconds—”
Unbolting the lock, I let the familiar weight of the mask I’d worn most days of my life settle, and pulled the door open.
Feigning outrage, I spoke before she had the chance to. “I keep saying it. This damned bolt needs fixing or replacing altogether, it snaps closed on its own if the door is allowed to fall shut with slightly more force than it likes.”
Tetteh’s eyes narrowed, moving between the bolt and me. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“It’s hardly a topic I deem relevant enough to escalate to our High General, no matter how annoying.” I made a show of holding the door fully open. “Please, come in. I was just finishing here.”
“Finishing what?” Her tone said she hadn’t fully bought the story about the faulty bolt, but she followed me.
“I was going again through Sircelen’s file, to try and find anything I might have missed before.
” I stopped just in front of the desk, ignoring the pulse of heat that shot to my groin at the echo of what Davina and I had been about to do just a minute before.
Any trace of her was gone. I waved over the files and records opened on the surface.
“I think I’ve got something.” My mouth dried.
I didn’t want to reveal what we’d found, but we’d need her approval in order to travel to Kairis.
“I was about to head out to find you. I’d like to have transport arranged to Kairis. ”
Tetteh scanned the pages laid on top of the desk clinically. My heart pounded as silence stretched, but I realized the restricted reports were gone. I guess I owed Davina for that. The few pages left on display were enough to justify my request.
After a beat, the High General straightened, a severe expression painted on her face. “Permission granted,” she said.
I didn’t dare let the relief I felt show. Instead, I busied myself folding and tidying all the files. “Thank you. We’ll leave tomorrow, then.”
Her gaze didn’t leave the side of my face as I returned the files to their respective shelves.
“Sergeant Kaa has been assigned to a different case,” the High General said curtly as I set to folding the map. “But given that one of the Widesightians is being sent home tomorrow, I don’t anticipate that to pose a problem.”
“Of course.”
The air was tense as I finished clearing the desk. Only when I straightened and turned to face her, did she speak again.
“I hope I don’t need to remind you how critical this case is, Captain.
I allowed you to take it because you swore you were the best suited for it, but it’s extending far longer than I expected.
If I don’t have results within the week, you will be removed from it, along with the remaining Widesightian. ”
Time is running out.
“Of course, High General,” I said smoothly. “I’m close.”
“For your sake, I certainly hope you are.”
With that, she moved towards the exit. I didn’t dare look back once as I followed, not doubting for a second that Davina would know how to find her way out.