Chapter 40 #2
When he thought of what The Four had done…
a hot emotion grew inside of him, similar to what he had felt on the Guardian, but more unsettling because it was associated with Calypsons he respected.
They had made the wrong choice and had admitted as much to him before he left, but after everything Iax had learned and experienced, it was more erroneous than what they had conceded.
He and Wynn neared the lift, and the door slid open. With a hand on her spine, he guided her inside. As it ascended, more inquiries from The Four pressed inside his skull. The closer he and Wynn neared, the easier it was for them to do so.
He had never thought it intrusive before, but now he fought to keep parts of himself hidden from their probing.
“What’s wrong?”
Wynn’s question snapped him out of his silent battle, and he realized he had pressed his fingers against his temple.
He dropped his hand. “An ache that will ease soon.”
She opened her mouth, perhaps to suggest a painkiller, but the lift stopped on deck eight, the door revealing a corridor thickened in green growth.
Wynn gasped, then rushed out, her hands reaching for the plants, but she stopped a few centimeters away and looked over her shoulder at him, a question in her eyes.
“You can touch them.”
She refocused on the plants. Some had leaves almost microscopically small, others were larger than her head. Reaching up, she stroked the underside of one such leaf, making it shiver with pleasure.
She gasped, then stretched her arms wide, touching the growth on both sides of the corridor at once. “This is amazing.” The greenery surrounded her, making her skin glow.
His time in her greenhouse emerged in his memory, the concentration and contentment she experienced there. Lifeforms of this nature gave her happiness. Surround her with plants. He loved seeing her like this, wanted more of her joy, and would endeavor to make that happen.
But first, The Four were waiting.
She walked forward, arms outstretched, and he followed. A gasp burst from her lips, and she snatched her hand back, cradling it against her chest.
“What is it?” he asked, rushing toward her.
“I cut myself on something.” She turned over her hand. A thin streak of red scored her finger from the tip of her pinkie to her palm. A single bead of blood gathered.
He cradled her hand, and his emotions surged.
Anger joined the caustic feelings that roiled below the surface with each step closer to The Four.
To see her hurt was unacceptable. He searched the foliage for what had harmed her.
A barbed vine hid among the different shades of green covering the bulkheads, its spikes stretched outward.
He shook his head, slightly baffled as he returned his gaze to her hand. “It should not have harmed you. The barbs retract when someone is near.” He looked into her eyes. “It must not sense you.” In the same way he could not taste her thoughts?
A frown clouded her features as she tore her gaze from his to stare at the injury. “I’ll be more careful in the future.” She flexed her fingers, but he held fast.
“Allow me.”
She nodded after a moment, and he lifted her fingers to his lips. With one flick of his tongue, he stroked the side of her hand, then pulled her smallest finger fully into his mouth, stimulating her Calypson cells.
Her breath caught in her throat, and her pupils dilated as she watched. She tasted of iron, and salt, and her distinct flavor of earth and warmth. When he let go of her pinkie with a pop, the skin had completely healed, with the blood removed.
“That was a turn on,” she whispered, her cheeks full of color. “Can we go somewhere private for a bit?” Her throat bobbed in a swallow.
The request delivered a surge of blood to his cock, but he reluctantly shook his head. “After we have spoken with The Four.” From their insistent badgering in his head, they would seek them out and interrupt them if he and Wynn were to take time to pleasure each other.
He took hold of her hand and tugged her along, being sure not to guide her too close to plants that should have been protecting her, not harming her.
They continued down the corridor, the foliage thickening and retreating in intervals. Ahead, thick bands of black and green growth kept the double-wide doors open, revealing a tall space filled with plants of all shapes and sizes, and the lifeforms who lived within them.
A small noise escaped Wynn, and he looked to where she stared, not at the greenery, but at those who waited for them. The Four.
They had seen his tender actions to heal her, had probed his mind enough to know they had been intimate many times now, though he had tried to keep these experiences private.
They had seen what he had done on board the Guardian, knew what lengths he would go to if the same thing were to happen again.
They had seen too much. He could taste their shock and confusion.
And he found he did not care.
He tugged Wynn forward to meet them, officially completing his mission.
But the first direct thought The Four shared had him pausing mid-step.
Humans have corrupted you.