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pinks of a rising sun up her leg, and blended into yellow on her torso and arms. Her hair was flying out behind her, streaming along her body, so many shades of gold and bronze, with a metallic luster, incredibly thick, grown for decades. She had been performingLoss of the Sun,a solo choreographed for her by the artistic director of the Parthonia Royal Ballet. Kurj switched off the holo, unable to face the conflicts it caused him. Looking at her, he saw a lovely woman. As a small boy, he had loved her the way a child adored a loving parent. He wanted that innocence back. He despised himself for noticing her beauty. Nor would he ever forget the last time she had dancedLoss of the Sun.After the performance, she had come home and found her second husband and her son trying to kill each other. As much as Kurj had loved his first father, so he had hated the second. Darr Hammerjackson. Roca had met Darr when Kurj was eight. Before the marriage, Darr had made himself everything a lonely widow would want; afterward, he had shown the truth, a monster hungry for Roca s power. Even at such a young age, Kurj had seen how Darr threatened, manipulated, and strove to control Roca, and through her, the immense power she wielded. He knew the games Darr played with violence and with her emotions, building on her conviction that her duty as a Ruby heir bound her to him. No divorce. No disgrace. Kurj had lain in bed at night, supposedly asleep, while Darr hurt his mother. The memories seared. She had thought she protected her child by shielding her mind, but his empathic link to her had been too strong. He had lived every painful blow, every hateful word. He remembered vividly the day he realized he had grown taller than his stepfather. Kurj had been clumsy then, shooting up fast, struggling to adapt to his large body. Darr was berating him more than usual, ridiculing him for knocking over a vase. Agonized from knowing how Darr brutalized his mother, Kurj had finally snapped and attacked his stepfather, first with his fists, then with shards of the vase. He had felt Darr s anger that his unwanted stepson dared defy him, felt Darr s bitter jealousy that Roca loved her son more than her husband. Kurj fed on that rage, driven into a fury fueled by shame. If he had just been Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html a little stronger, a little faster, a little smarter, he could have killed Darr. He would never forget what Darr had said to him that day:You re a sick, dirty boy. You want her for yourself, don t you? You want to fuck her, you bastard. You should leave and never come back. Go, before your sickness corrupts everything decent.That moment had devastated Kurj s life, ruined the innocence of his love for his mother, and haunted him from that day forward. He could do nothing more to Darr; his stepfather had died in prison. But Kurj would purge the universe of the Trader Aristos, who thought it their gods-given right to treat mass numbers of humans the way Darr had treated Roca. No matter what it took, even if it killed him, he would destroy the Traders. No one would hurt his mother again. Especially not her own son. 6 Hidden in Blue Roca drifted awake, content. Her face felt icy, but the rest of her was warm. She stretched under the heavy covers And rolled into a warm body. Sweet memories of the night washed over her, vivid and sensual. Pressing sleepily against Eldri s back, she put her arms around his waist. Ummm& He turned over and gathered her into an embrace. You really are here. She kissed his chest. So are you. He gave a drowsy laugh. Thisismy castle, after all. A beautiful castle. Just like its owner. Do you think it stopped snowing? Her node had been at work while she slept, updating her facility with English. I ve no idea. He nudged her onto her back and slid along her body, pulling the blankets over his head. Then he began to suckle her breast. Oh& Roca closed her eyes, her hands entwined in his long hair. When he slid his palm lower on her body, she groaned. What he did with those hinged hands ought to be outlawed. Anything that felt that good couldn t be legal. His desire flooded her mind, until she couldn t separate it from her own. Eldri kept at it until Roca lost control. Their minds were already blended and her peak burst over them both, intensified. He struggled to hold back, but then, suddenly, he pulled himself up along her body, bringing his hips between her thighs with a powerful thrust. Almost as soon as he entered her, he cried out. She felt his release as strongly as her own, a wild burst that took away her thoughts. As Eldri collapsed on top of her, Roca gulped in breaths. She had forgotten how good it felt to be that crazed with desire and have it so soundly satisfied. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html I am glad I soundly satisfy you, he murmured smugly. Her face flamed. Stop listening. Listening to what? My mind. Don t know what you mean. Then how did you know how I felt? It is obvious. Mischief flared in his voice. How could you not be pleased with me? She thumped his head. This is certainly swollen. Eldri laughed. That s because you make me feel as if I could take on the whole world. His voice softened. You are no ice queen, Roca. Not in your heart. Under that armor, you burn. Roca didn t know how to answer. She had never before experienced such an intimate link with anyone, not even Tokaba, her first husband, whom she had loved deeply. Eldri scared her. After Darr, she had never risked opening her heart again. She wasn t ready for this. Her link with Eldri existed on many levels, sexual, yes, but emotional and mental as well, and less defined qualities she barely understood. She needed time to stop fearing the nascent connections they were discovering with each other. More than ever, she wanted to stay. But nothing had changed: she had to leave. They held the memorial service outside Windward. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |