“Deimos says to tell you hello.”
“He knows then? About us?”
Roman nodded. “I wouldn’t be hiding it at all if I could, you know that. He’s my son. I trust him. And he likes you. In fact, I had to tell him this because he said he’d flirted with you several times and you steered him away from it. I can’t believe I’m competing with my son for a woman.”
She laughed. “He’s a boy, Roman. A good one. You’ve done a job you should be proud of. But a boy. I prefer the man.”
“Very good answer. Now come on before I rip that blouse from you to feast on your nipples. The color makes your skin look . . . well, I want to lick you. All over.”
She shivered. “I’ll cash in on that later.”
The place she took him was on the edge of the first circle. The capital buildings and complex occupied the center, or inner circle. The Families also lived there. It was the most heavily guarded and considered the safest of anyplace to live or be in the capital. The first circle was where Abbie far preferred to be. It was filled with a wide array of people, Ranked and non-, from all walks of life. Mostly professional because the housing was more costly, and closer to the vents that provided heat and energy to the housing and commercial units. Littered with wonderful cafés, shops, parks and social halls like the one they were on their way to.
Social halls usually had a theme of some kind or another. Either a type of food or dance music, sometimes a particular neighborhood culture. This one, called The First Circle, was one of the latter.
The bright lights and the sound of music spilled out of the doors as they approached. Daniel and Georges had met them not too far from Abbie’s building and they’d all made their way there. The evening had been brisk but the mood was light. Abbie was relieved her brothers seemed to like Roman although Daniel remained a bit wary. She couldn’t blame him. She was sure his siblings would have been the same given different circumstances. Sadly, Alexander Lyons seemed to want to destroy her but she didn’t know much about his sister Sophia other than she’d helped raised Deimos and Corrin and appeared to be one of those exceptionally beautiful, sheltered Family females who were petite, protected and coddled. But she’d done the right thing and helped her family, and that meant a lot in Abbie’s opinion.
Roman liked Daniel Haws. Abbie’s older brother was very strong and smart. Most importantly, he was obviously protective of his sister. In fact, Daniel had been the one to find Abbie after her attack. He’d fought off the others and had ended up having to go into the corps early to avoid lockup. His records, though locked to prying eyes on the outside, had shown a man with a great deal of courage and inventiveness in the service of the Federated Universes. He worked on one of Comandante Ellis’s special teams, but they didn’t speak of it.
Georges was a lot like Abbie, vivid, lively, gregarious even. He didn’t walk; he seemed to eat up the path with great, galloping steps. His smile was infectious, and he and Abbie seemed to feed off one another. It was so interesting to Roman that both siblings were far more professional and calm when doing anything dealing with the MRD. They both believed in what they worked for, which was a very powerful motivator. Roman understood that. It also made a huge difference to Roman, to his overall feelings about their proposals.
The social club was a riot of color and scents. The moment they’d taken their seats, great heaping plates of food and pitchers of fermented juice were placed before them. Roman dug in, loving the taste of nearly everything he tried. Funny how he’d never eaten so many of the things before him. He’d been born and raised in Ravena, here in the capital, and yet, he’d never experienced a social hall or eaten the spiced bread he used to sop up the juices of a rice and vegetable dish.
It wasn’t that his world didn’t have moments of fun. He laughed all the time with his boys. But he’d never been to any place like this one. He’d never seen this sort of dancing and singing, servers wending through the crowd like dancers themselves, avoiding dropping the trays held high above their heads.
“I told you it’s not all like what you saw out in the edge of the second circle today. Even out there you’d have seen social halls similar to this one. Although more like the one Jaron went to the night of the killing.”
He leaned in, speaking into her ear, “Next lesson you can be naked and then tell me about how it all works between circles. I mean, I know the basics, obviously, but there are things you understand better than I do. I want you to share that with me. I need your insight.”
“All right.” Her voice was lower, clearly affected by his comment about her being naked but also pleased. He liked that he’d made her happy.
“Come and dance with me.” He stood and she took his hand, laughing.
Out on the floor, the heat of the crowd melded with the libation and the scent of Abbie’s skin. There was no one out there but the two of them. She moved like she was made for dancing. The music caught her and she let it flow through her like breath. He simply stood near her, swaying, and watched.
Her hair flowed around like a dark river. Roman scented her soap as she moved close. Her eyes went half-lidded, her lips carried a secret smile. She was magic there on the floor, fey, like a little pixie. He wanted her to alight on his hand and never leave.
The club filled up with laughter. With celebration and music. These were his people in a very real sense but he was convinced he’d never seen them more clearly than he had right then. Smiling, in love, a bit drunk, out with friends, everyday citizens enjoying their lives just as he did. Although he was fairly convinced the unranked knew how to enjoy themselves far more than the Ranked. He’d never seen anyone kick up their heels like this with such utter abandon. He’d seen hired dancers and the mistresses his brethren brought around. But this was different.
And quickly, that elation fell away as he realized he’d never have this with her as Roman. The thought of it felled him and he had to have her. He had to bury himself inside her to know he was real. To know they were real, even if fleeting.
“I need you, Abbie. Can we go? I have to go back home in the early hours and I want every moment I can get with you. Please.”
She looked up, standing on her toes and kissed him. She gave him what he needed and didn’t ask for anything in return. She could be using him right now for her MRD goals but she wanted him to see it himself. No one in any ’Verse was like her.
“Come on, then. If we hurry we can get a tram.” She pulled him through the crowd. They said their good-byes and hustled through the crowd, many of whom called out to her, and she smiled and waved as they slipped out into the night beyond the hall.
Chapter 14
The cool air outside was welcome as they half ran, laughing, holding hands, to the nearby tram stop and jumped on.
She climbed into his lap. The tram was empty, the night rushed through his hair but it was all her. Her scent wrapped around him as she ground herself down on him.
She caught his surprise. “You’ve never done anything like this.” A statement. A true one.
He shook his head slowly, caught in the honey of her.
“Shall I stop?” She tilted his head, her lips hovered just above his. Her hair had slid forward, screening their faces.
In answer, he stretched up just that breath away, meeting her lips, feeling them curve into a smile.
“Let me give you this memory. Something that’s only yours and mine. Touch me.”
He found the waist of her shirt and caressed the soft skin of her bare belly beneath, warm against his hand. Her nipple beaded against his palm, hardened further when he peeled the material of her bra back and pinched it between thumb and forefinger.
“No one knows it’s you,” she whispered in his ear, ending on a gasp.
She was right. He was anonymous. He could do the things he’d always wanted to but couldn’t because he was the face of House Lyons. The freedom in anonymity hardened him, brought a rush of pleasure through his system.
He bit her neck and sh
e arched with a small, hushed sound of arousal in his ear. The scent of her pussy reached his nose, sticky sweet and ready. His free hand made its way under her skirt and found her bare to his touch.
She laughed, knowing he’d be surprised.
But her laughter died away as he thrummed against her clit, his fingertips sliding through the slick folds of her cunt. Instead, she whispered, “Yes.”
The natural rocking of the tram as it moved through the city brought friction against her pussy.
The world passed them by, flickering, wafting through the windows as he worked her pussy, fingering her until her breath against his neck quickened.
“I’m going to make you come. Right here, right now when anyone can see.” As he said it, he pinched her nipple and her clit.
“Yes, you are,” she said, right before biting into his shoulder. Her cunt clasped around his fingers as she came in a hot rush against him.
“That’s right, give it to me. I love the way you feel, Abbie. Hot and wet, just waiting for my cock.”
She lifted up. “Fuck me right here, then.”
Could he? Could he be as bold as the woman in his lap, offering to let him fuck her on a public tram?
“We’re four stops away. Can you do it in time?” She let her head fall back, her hair falling away, exposing the line of her body to him, to anyone who might be looking on from the windows they passed by.
It felt like someone else’s hands undoing his pants, like someone else’s hand holding his cock but definitely her pussy welcoming him, soft and inferno-hot. She held onto the seat behind his head and rode him with utter abandon.
It was as if he watched two other people fucking. Something so intimate and rare, so beautiful it made him ache deep inside. Silly really. It wasn’t their first time together, or, gods willing, their last. It wasn’t excessively carnal; in fact, the way her skirt sat on his lap, none of their skin was actually exposed.
But it was the act, the act of being inside her, fucking her in public as they moved toward their stop. The inexorable reality of coming deep within her cunt before they stopped, the way he knew people looking out their windows could see them and might wonder if indeed he was fucking the beautiful brunette woman on his lap—these things made his pleasure sharp and nearly unbearably good. Made them special in a way he’d hold close forever.
She sat up, looking into his eyes, a smile on her lips as she gave herself to him, as she took at the same time. “You’re close.”
He nodded, for once, words not on the tip of his tongue, rather buried in a place he couldn’t seem to let go of.
“Fill me.”
Arching up, holding her down on him, he did.
They nearly ran from the stop back to her building, arms wrapped around each other’s waists, happy. His humor slipped away as they got inside.
“I have to go soon.” It felt as if the words ripped him in half.
He caught the way she blinked back tears. “Why don’t you shower? It’ll get rid of the color in your hair. The color contacts are disposable according to Daniel. He says the skin-darkening effects of the pill should wear off by morning. Would you like me to scrub your back?”
“Yes, please.”
She laid out fluffy towels and turned on the water, which heated quite quickly.
“Pretty good. My water isn’t even this fast to heat.”
She blushed. “This is my big vice. Don’t tell anyone.” She pushed him into the stall and crowded in behind him.
“What? Showers with men?”
She snorted and he lost track of his words for long moments when she began scrubbing his back, her fingers digging into his knotted muscles.
“No, water. I got a rise in credits recently and I think it all goes on water fines. I can’t help it. I love long, hot showers. I’ve defended so many of the family members of the people who own and run the building and my siblings’ buildings, they often look the other way.”
He scrubbed the color from his hair, grinning. “My oh my. Until this point I had the feeling you were perfect in every way. Defender of the downtrodden, a childhood in the outback, taking care of your family and those who needed you. A social conscience that brings you to the brink of losing your license to practice the law, even. But here it is, your dark secret. Abigail Haws is a water criminal.”
She slapped his ass with the washing cloth and slathered her soapy hands all over his reviving cock.
“A girl needs a bad habit or two.”
He turned, rubbing his soap-slick body against hers for the pleasure of contact. “I can be three, can’t I?”
“You’re much more than a bad habit, Roman Lyons.” Her voice lost some of its amusement and he knew what she meant.
“There’s no reason to even think about that now. How’s my hair?”
She looked up. “You got it all. Give it one last wash and rinse and use that cream there to soften it. The chemicals will strip it of moisture. I’d offer to help but I can’t reach.”
“You are awfully short.” He kissed her nose. “Do I look like the sort of man who’d worry about how soft his hair was?”
She laughed. “Yes, as a matter of fact, you do. It’s actually quite attractive I must say.”
He worked on holding back a smile but he couldn’t. Instead he made sure she saw him work the cream into his hair, liking quite a bit that he would smell like her for a while at least.
“Would you like some tea before you go?” she asked as she got out. He liked the way her breasts swayed as she handed a towel his way.
“I should probably just go. It’s already very late. Sophia will be arriving or have arrived already. I’ll need to be smart about how I leave.” He got dressed in his regular clothes, putting Roman Lyons back on as he did.
She nodded. “Right. Well, take the back lift. It leads to an alley. Follow it to the end and cut behind the next few buildings. Keep the hat on and your coat collar up. You will end up down near the blue tram line. You’ll be fine from there.”
He bent and kissed her. “I wish I didn’t have to go.”
She nodded. “I know. But you do. Comm me when you can. Thank you for coming with me today, and for tonight. Not just the dancing and dinner but the tram. I’ve always wanted to do that.”
“Me, too. Obviously I don’t get around to fucking in public much.”
She smiled and he felt better for having put the smile on her face.
He kissed her again, needing to have her taste in his mouth. “You gave me a gift today. All of it. I’ll come to you soon. It’s your turn to learn about my world next.”
“I can’t wait.” She winked and looked out into the hallway. “All clear. Be well.”
He left quickly, not wanting to prolong his departure or he’d never go.
He followed her directions and found his way around, quietly and quickly. Once he got back out into the plaza near the administration building, he was far enough from her place that no connection would be made. Still, even among the people out walking, he was just another person to not bump into. He cherished this last bit of anonymity, not knowing when he’d get it again.
Once back at home, he checked in with his staff, looked in at his sleeping sons and went into his room after leaving a note for his sister. His muscles were pleasantly sore after the many hours of sex he’d enjoyed in Abbie’s company. She challenged him in a way he’d never been before. No one had dared to, he supposed. But she also made him comfortable. Made him forget about the trappings of who he was. With her he was simply Roman. Not anything but a man who wanted her and that simple thing made being with her sweeter than anything he’d experienced before.
Chapter 15
“Just what exactly do you think you’re doing, Abbie?” Daniel sat down on her couch with a glare in her direction.
“I’m fixing a button that fell off my sweater.”
He raised one brow in her direction.
She sighed because he saw right through her. “Fine. I’m not doing
anything. It’s just a thing. Between me and him. It has nothing to do with anyone else. Leave it.”
“I can’t leave it. You are going to get hurt here. This can’t go anywhere, you know that. He can’t be with you. You can’t be with him. You can’t plan to be his mistress!”
“Of course not!” She sent him the same glare right back. “I’m annoyed you’d even suggest such a thing.”
“People do all sorts of crazy and ill-advised things for love, Abbie. You know that as well as I do. Look at our parents. Do you really think Dad is good enough for Mom?”
“He has a good heart. He just doesn’t know how to—”
“How to be a father? How to be a husband?”
“He did the best he could. He’s helped so many people, Daniel. People who needed it. We had Mai, those other kids didn’t have even that. He was it for them.”
Daniel sighed, flicking a piece of imaginary lint from his pants. As if real lint would dare to alight there. “Why do you make excuses for him? After all you’ve suffered? You would have no need for spectacles if he’d been a decent father! You’d not have been attacked and savaged in the streets if he’d had a safe place for us to live. Instead he worried more about his causes than his family and you nearly died. Nyna hides behind her food. Georges rarely takes anything seriously unless you do.”
“What about you, Daniel?” she asked in a soft voice, hating the pain she heard in him.
“I turned into a killer, Abbie. Every face I saw was that Ranked bastard and his buddies who raped you. I killed them over and over because I couldn’t kill the real thing. I’m angry all the time because I failed you. And now I see you in this thing with him and you will end up hurt. There’s no way around it. I see how he looks at you, I’m not saying this is one-sided. But he can walk away. What about you?”
She swallowed hard, knowing if she cried, it would only make him feel worse. Instead, she placed her mending to the side and sat next to him on the couch, putting her head on his shoulder.