Grady's Awakening (11 page)

They came together twice more in the night, dozing in between, naked under the stars. It was a breezy night. Grady cuddled her and eventually used the tablecloth to cover her like a blanket, while the actual blanket kept them warm and dry beneath.

Grady was a considerate lover. He made certain she was ready for him before sliding home and pumping for what seemed hours, making her come over and over before finding his own pleasure in her body. He encouraged her to be creative and she rode him during one of their more memorable climaxes, bouncing hard against his thighs, shouting her delight to the moon.

They lay together deep in the night and slept in each other’s arms. When the sunlight roused them, Grady took her again, loving her slow and long, drawing out the pleasure, to hold against the future when they would be parted.

As they dressed and packed up, Gina felt sad. She’d only just found this wonderful man and within hours, she’d be leaving, perhaps never to see him again.

“What’s wrong?” Grady Prime was observant, she’d give him that. For all that he was new to having and interpreting emotions, he was getting very good at it.

“Just thinking about things I can’t change.” She tried to put a brave face on it, but apparently failed when he drew closer, pulling her into a loose embrace. His eyes, when she met them, were filled with determination.

“I will find you again, Gina. I will come for you, no matter where you are or what you are doing. You’re mine.” His possessive words shocked her. “I’ll give you some time to get used to the idea, but remember this—I have never failed to track down a target and you just rose to the top of my list.”

“I’m not your enemy, Grady.” She made a small attempt at humor though her heart was in turmoil.

His lips brushed lightly over hers, and she struggled to focus.

“Never that, little one. But I will be your mate. Mark my words and do not forget me while you pursue your duty. As soon as I am free to do so and you have had time to come to terms with my claim, I’ll come for you, Gina. Even the Patriarch cannot stand in the way of true mates. It is our oldest and most sacred law.”

“You believe so strongly that I’m your mate? How can you know this soon?”

“My race has done it this way for centuries. A Hum, a Kiss, an Embrace. That’s all we need to recognize our perfect mate. I believe in my heart that you’re it for me, Gina.” He released her fully, though his gaze stayed locked with hers. “We will do the tests so you can see the proof, when I return. For now, think of me as you go about your mission. I’ll most certainly be thinking of you.”

Chapter Five

There was no one in her life that Gina respected more than the
Zxerah
Patriarch. He’d taken her in and given her a home when all she’d ever known had been destroyed. He and his followers had protected her when she could no longer protect herself. She owed him. But more than that, she loved him like the family she’d lost. He was part father, part protective brother at times, and he made her feel secure. It was unfortunate that he could never return the sentiment.

He was Alvian and therefore emotionless. Even the
Zxerah
had embraced the genetic alterations that had changed the rest of the Alvian population from almost ferally aggressive to completely unemotional in a matter of a few generations. The
Zxerah
had rushed to embrace the genetic changes that they now realized were detrimental to the further existence and evolution of the Alvian race. Now the
Zxerah
embraced a new strategy. They worked behind the scenes—as they always had in Alvian society—for change. Big change.

And Gina was going to be instrumental in the first steps of that change. Or so she had been informed by the Patriarch. He’d come to her weeks ago with a mission she was loath to reject. In fact, she relished the idea of being among the first to set the wheels in motion that could save both their races—Alvian and human alike.

“Your skills and your temperament are perfect for this mission, Gina. And Eve says too, it must be you, though I would have chosen you for your skill even without her input.” The Patriarch had given her a smile, though it lacked true emotion. He’d once explained he felt echoes of emotion that sometimes plagued him—most often longing for something he couldn’t understand.

Eve was another adopted human member of the clan who had a strong gift of prophecy, and it was her gift that often guided the Patriarch in his seemingly quixotic moves. Gina had just a touch of foresight herself, and she’d felt the rightness of his request that she take on this mission. Though she might very well be going into a lion’s den, she knew she was the right person for the job. Why? She couldn’t say exactly. But this was as it should be.

“I understand, Patriarch.” She had bowed her head, but hadn’t broken eye contact—a show of utmost respect.

“You must make contact with these people and put them in touch with the others. It is vital they discover each other’s existence and learn to work together in whatever small ways they can as soon as possible. Things are moving fast. We must all be ready when the time comes.”

“Yes, Patriarch. I’ll do my best.”

“You will succeed, daughter.”

Gina had stilled. He’d never called her that before. It was a sign of respect reserved for those students granted the highest rankings in the
Zxerah
way. Gina had come to the
Zxerah
as an adult, already highly trained in traditional human martial arts. The way of the
Zxerah
was even more intense. She’d learned a great deal in the years since her adoption into the clan, but none of the human adoptees had ever been granted the title of daughter or son of the clan. It was a high honor and totally unexpected.

Tears had gathered in her eyes. She had refused to let them fall. The Patriarch had noticed anyway and a kind smile graced his face.

“You deserve the honor, Gina. You are the best of the human students in our clan. And it is good to see evidence that this honor touches your emotions, though I cannot fully comprehend such things. It gives me…hope…if the ancient ones allow me to take such a word to describe the echoes I feel when I look into your eyes. I pray all our clan will one day be able to feel as you and your human brethren do.”

“I hope so too, Patriarch. We human
Zxerah
will keep the flame of hope alive for you until you can join us in feeling its warmth.”

He had grasped her hands and she felt the tingle of his power. He wasn’t an old man, but he was one of the holiest, strongest, most powerful and at peace beings she’d ever known. He had vision. Not the kind granted to some psychic humans. It was the powerful, non-psychic kind of vision. He knew what he wanted and believed in his convictions strongly enough to act on them in a way that would change not only his life or his clansmen’s lives, but the lives of all Alvians and humans on earth. He was a visionary with no psychic gifts. Only the power of his own beliefs.

It was enough.

It had to be.

Gina set out on her mission later that morning. She had said farewell to Grady Prime as they left the small clearing that had been their own private Eden for the night. He was utterly devastating, but she had a mission to perform that was more important than anything else. No matter how much she might wish otherwise.

She felt his eyes on her as she left the compound accompanied by the two winged soldiers the Patriarch and Sinclair Prime had chosen for this mission. The team of winged brethren was tasked with flying her across the many miles she had to traverse. They would take turns carrying her short distances, then they would rest a few moments and tackle the next leg of the journey.

Hanlon was a strawberry blond who would be cute if he ever smiled and Shaugness had dark blond hair and a constantly dour expression. This was the first time, to her knowledge, that the winged brethren had been asked to work closely with one of the human adoptees. She knew they were curious about her—as curious as they could be, seeing that they had little emotion to call their own—but they didn’t ask any questions other than to inquire how she was holding up every once in a while.

To be honest, she loved flying. It was an amazing feeling to be as free as a bird and see things from above as the hawks and eagles must perceive them. It made her long for wings of her own. Of course that was impossible.

She tried not to think about Grady. Being carried like a satchel across vast expanses of woodland without the ability to talk easily to her companions while in the air made for a lot of time alone with her thoughts. She wondered where he was and what he was doing. She wondered when she would see him again—if ever. And mostly, she wondered if a relationship with a warrior Prime was even possible for someone like her. They both had limitations. She was a secret inductee in a secret society. He was a closely monitored experimental test subject. How in the world could a relationship between them work? And did he really want a relationship, or was he being a romantic fool, carried away by the moment and the new emotions bombarding his system?

She grew depressed thinking that in all likelihood he’d find some other woman before they ever saw each other again. A hunk like him wouldn’t go unclaimed for long. Not if the Alvian females got wind of how truly gifted he was in the sack. She’d never had better. Heck, she’d never even
dreamed
of anything better than Grady Prime, between her legs, pumping them both into ecstasy. She shivered, just remembering the climaxes he’d given her. They were that good.

And likely never to be repeated. After a while, she decided to chalk it up to a great memory and try to get on with her mission. She had a complicated road to walk over the next weeks and thoughts of Grady, and what might never be between them, could only cause her problems. She had to focus. Things were bound to get dangerous in the next few days, and she had to be on her best game.

She only let herself think of Grady deep in the night, when she was preparing for sleep. She said a little prayer for him, hoping he was safe and hoping he’d meant what he said about finding her one day. It would be nice to see him again, she decided. Even if he’d moved on. But if he hadn’t…

She was making herself crazy with thoughts of him. She had to coax herself to sleep each night when she and the winged brethren made camp.

After a few days of near constant travel, they had arrived near their destination. They’d flown through mountain passes that allowed them to keep their altitude as low as possible. It was still heady. The air had been thin and the temperatures cold, but the high tech fabric of her uniform had been designed by Alvian materials engineers to withstand worse. The Patriarch himself had overseen her supply and had given her the best clothing and equipment, though her most valuable assets were her martial arts skills and her mind.

The same mind that plagued her with thoughts of Grady when she least expected them. She’d replayed their night together in her memory many times as the soldiers flew her through the sky.

She couldn’t go on this way—distracted by memories of a man who frankly scared her now that she had time to think about it. She had important work to do. She had to at least try to scour him from her mind and concentrate on the work at hand.

Hanlon set her down after the final leg they would travel together and gave her the smallest lift of one side of his mouth. She was right. He was charming when he smiled.

“We are instructed to go no farther with you. You will walk from here.”

“I know,” she said, smiling back and earning a quizzical look from the handsome angel. That’s how she thought of them. Angels. Though she tried hard not to call them that to their faces. But what else could they be? Tall, gorgeous, fair-haired and muscular with
wings
, for cripes’ sake. Those were angels in her book all right. “Thank you for taking me this far. I really enjoyed flying with you and Shaugness. It is an experience I will never forget.”

“It was our duty.” He didn’t seem to understand the concept of gratitude, but he was so cute, she couldn’t resist teasing him.

Gina stood on tiptoe and placed a kiss on his cheek that brought even more puzzlement to his eyes. She giggled. It felt good. She hadn’t had a lot to laugh about in recent years.

“Duty or not, flying is amazing. You are a very lucky man, and I thank you for sharing that with me. Have a safe journey back and please thank Shaugness for me too.”

“You’re welcome,” he said belatedly. They’d left Shaugness at the last stopping point where he’d made a small camp. Hanlon would fly back to meet him. They would rest a day or two, then begin the arduous journey back.

He left her without further ado, and Gina got down to the business at hand. She had a trek through the wilderness ahead of her and more than likely a confrontation of epic proportions when she reached her destination. She checked the compass on her wrist chronometer and oriented herself with the landscape. It looked very different from the ground, but she knew where she was.

She set out hiking and hoped she’d reach her destination within a few hours.

It was actually only three hours later when Gina recognized the first of the monitors that had been set around the perimeter of the old base. Her target was the old NORAD installation in the mountains of what had once been Colorado. The Patriarch and the seers believed there was a group of humans holed up inside the high security facility and it was her job to make contact.