The Tenth Legion (Book 6, Progeny of Evolution) (13 page)

“Oh Ed, don’t
stop!”

A quickening
of the pace told her his orgasm fast approached. His head pressed
between her breasts, covering them with hot moisture from sharp,
desperate breaths.

Right before
climax, he grew larger, causing her to have a last collapse into a
whole-body thrill. A spasmodic flushing of fluid coursed into her.
Every muscle in his body tensed. He took and held a deep breath
while hot seed spurted into the darkness of her sheath.

In the middle
of the shared orgasm, she cried out, “Aliff, I love you Aliff!”

Aliff. Who the hell is Aliff?
Lorna wondered, slipping into post-coital
afterglow.

CHAPTER EIGHT

T
he
second their vital signs
settled down, Ed’s lips caressed her nipples. A new erection rested
on her thigh, hot and sticky from their last encounter. If he’d
heard her outburst, he gave no indication.

One thing
she’d forgotten about vampire lovers was their stamina. Humans
usually burned out before she was satisfied.

Happily, she
lost count around two am.

With the
arrival of dawn, Lorna saw light gathering behind a set of drapes
at the far wall of the room. They’d dozed for an hour or so after
their last try. Being close to him gave her a warm feeling of
intimacy she hadn’t felt in decades, maybe since the early days
with Mike. Lorna plumbed the depths of the covers, finding his
swelling shaft. A drowsy, satiated grin crossed his face.

“On your back,
big boy,” she said in her cop-in-charge tone.

With a languid
shift of weight in the small bed, she mounted him. Her thighs
gripped the fleshy undercarriage between ribs and hips. Enough of
the growing daylight entered to make out shapes, along with shades
of black and gray, but not color. The blanket lay in a pile on the
floor. His great chest spread before her, dark against the
sheets.

“Will you ride
me like a draft animal?” he asked playfully.

As she impaled
her sex on his member, her mind became awash in hormonal chaos born
of sexual desire, and drifted into unexplored levels of
consciousness. While there, a single realization hovered, barely
understandable in the convoluted darkness in her head.

Aliff said the
same thing.

That name
again.

Not about to
spoil a good orgasm, she postponed further contemplation of the
matter. Afterward, they fell exhausted into each other’s arms,
sleeping until a soft knock on the door woke them.

“Mr. White,
it’s Ulbert.” A soft, elderly voice came from the other side of the
door. “It’s past nine.”

“Come in,”
Ed’s voice boomed out in an automatic response. Then he gasped, no
doubt remembering he was not alone, but before he could say another
word an ancient, spry, little hybrid dressed in a dark suit with
matching tie entered, carrying a tray with coffee, in addition to a
morning snack. Lorna pulled the covers over her head, trying to
become as small as possible.

“Lorna.” Ed
addressed the disheveled lump of bedding beside him. “I want you to
meet Ulbert, my manservant. Before me, he served Father for fifteen
years.”

“Pleased to
meet you, ma’am.” A British accent spoke from beyond Lorna’s dark
sanctuary. Understanding the awkwardness of the situation, the
owner added, “I’ll leave these here. May I get something for you,
ma’am?”

Lorna’s head
surfaced from the covers. “A beef bagel sounds lovely, if you have
one.”

“Right away.
And, sir, I’ll tell Housekeeping to wait until…shall we say
ten-thirty…before coming to the room?”

“That will be
satisfactory,” said the voice of the Chairman.

Not fazed by
his employer’s abrupt assumption of the detached CEO persona, the
little man turned warm eyes to Ed. “If I may say, sir, it is good
to see you entertaining again.” Before Ed could react Ulbert
departed.

Lorna muffled
a simper into the sheets.

After Ulbert
left, Ed made a small frown, commenting, “Sometimes the old fellow
presumes too much in our relationship. He thinks because he bounced
me on his knee, he can take liberties.”

Lorna shook
her head. “Don’t you see? He loves you. All of them do. They
understand how hard you work, and appreciate the sacrifices, but
they worry about you, too.”

“It’s not like
I can die of a heart attack.”

“True, but
going mad isn’t out of the question.”

Ed regarded
the door through which Ulbert had departed. “Do you think so? Do
they love me? They never say.”

“You might be
famous and powerful, but you’re a rock when it comes to reading
people.” Lorna began to dress.

Defensively,
he snapped back. “What makes you such an expert?”

“I’m a cop.
That’s my job. You’re surrounded by a wonderful family, not to
mention concerned employees. Maybe they don’t say anything because
of the way you keep them at arm’s length. Once in a while, try
asking how their day went.”

“But there’s
so much to do, and never enough time.”

“Trust me. The
work will always be there. Ask yourself this—when you’re on your
death bed, what will you recall about your life? Not the projects
you completed or your place in corporation history. You’ll remember
family or relationships. A child’s first word. Your wedding night.
The face of a dear friend. So make time to live those moments.
Don’t die without memories.” In the following silence, Lorna
wondered how much of the advice she gave him applied to her,
too.

“You sound
like my Aunt Cassie in her later years.” Ed walked over to the
curtain and peeked out. “It’s going to be a pretty day. How about a
walk around the island before I put you back on the plane?”

Since
abandoning plans to escape in favor of accepting Ed’s hospitality,
Lorna had lived in each moment of their time together. His last
remark jolted her back to reality, bringing out the certainty the
visit would soon end.

Ed pulled back
the drapes. A panorama of mountains and jungle with a seaside
village on an aquamarine bay flooded in. They were several hundred
feet above the water. The glass of the other windows in their line
of sight blended into the cliff face. She assumed the same was true
of theirs.

“The main
house was carved from the face of a small mountain,” Ed explained.
“The Operations Center, including my office and room, are in what
remains of the mountain. The drapes are lead-lined for
communication security.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Just in
case you were curious.” He winked.

A gray motor
launch turned between two outcroppings marking the harbor entrance.
“Part of your navy?” she asked, perching on the edge of the bed
while putting on panty hose.

“We have three
of them. One’s on patrol at all times to keep out trespassers.”

Lorna admired
Ed’s profile. Grandmother Sam’s face came to mind. For generations,
this tiny lycan had generously contributed the genetics of red hair
and bright-green eyes, along with a turned-up nose, to the richness
of the family tapestry.

“Tell me about
your grandparents.”

Ed paused to
organize a response. “Grandmother ran the corporation before
turning the reins over to my father. She’s the practical one.
Grandfather Jim is the scholar and dreamer. They loved this house
very much, so everyone was surprised when they moved to Mars the
year after Aunt Claire, passed away. She was the last of their
children.”

“Having a
child die before you do must be the worst thing in the world.”

Ed turned with
a concerned expression. “Do you have any children?”

“No. I don’t
want to watch any of them grow old and die before me.”

“It doesn’t
have to be like that. What I mean is, yes, barring accidents,
hybrids die before the parents. Fight the inevitability, and all
you’ll do is come to the end your life bitter and angry. Accept it,
and you can enjoy your time together. My grandparents and their
children, even Cassandra at the end, chose the second option. My
father carried the positive view into his life with Mother. I did
the same with Miriam, my wife. No one regretted it.”

For Lorna, the
mention of Miriam White seemed like her ghost had entered the room.
Lorna moved close to Ed, wrapping her arm around his to guard
against she who sought to reclaim him. To ward off her rival, Lorna
returned to the original subject.

“Do your
grandparents live in a house like this on Mars?”

“Oh, nowhere
near,” he answered. “Life there is still rugged. Despite the
terraforming efforts, space—farmland, residential,
manufacturing—all space is at a premium. They live in four rooms,
doing their share along with the rest of the colony. They endure
the inconveniences in the belief the future for our kind lies
there, rather than here.” Ed stopped. A sad, faraway expression
came over his face. “From the day he became CEO, my father ardently
supported Mars colonization, gradually convincing the rest of the
family and the board of the project’s value.”

Snapping out
of his reminiscence, he faced Lorna, continuing in a tone filled
with pride. “Grandmother is the mayor of Main Colony. Grandfather
teaches in the university, while pursuing scholarly projects in his
spare time. They look like humans in their thirties.” Ed smiled at
the recollection, continuing, “On his last web cam visit,
Grandfather announced that after almost a century together, they
still copulate every night, sometimes more than once. He maintains
they are the happiest couple in the two worlds.”

At first, the
frank description of the First Parent’s sex life shocked Lorna, but
then she remembered how, among The Others, the sexual activity of
relatives and friends served as dinner table conversation. Human
cultural norms, which had dominated her life for the last fifteen
years, had fuelled the initial distress.

While she
stared at the face of the far mountain, solar panels flashed the
morning sun, silver like heliographs. Ed came up from behind,
entwining her waist. In response, she rubbed the crown of her head
against the morning stubble on his chin.

“I envy my
parent’s and grandparents’ happiness sometimes.”

“How so? You
had a good marriage.” She turned her head and gazed up. “Didn’t
you?”

“Miriam was a
wonderful woman. Australian, you know. But how do I put it? She was
not The One. Not someone I could spend eternity with. She felt the
same, I’m sure. My parents were Christians. When they died, they
anticipated reunion in a higher place. For Miriam and me, one
lifetime sufficed.”

“Yet you
stayed with her until she died?” Lorna asked.

“Don’t confuse
love with loyalty. I owed her for all she did, for all she gave to
me, not to mention the boys. I would not dishonor her or them by
seeking a new mate.”

Lorna squeezed
his upper arm. “She’s been gone for how long, three years? Why
haven’t you found someone? You have two worlds of women to choose
from. Three worlds, if you count the Moonbase.”

“That’s the
problem. What I do, the power, the wealth, all of it is separate
from what I am. I hope to find The One, someone who recognizes the
difference.” He sighed. “I have to face that she may not exist in
this life. Maybe, after my time on Earth is done, when I no longer
have obligations to the world, I shall meet a special female. I
will come to her, as a man to a woman in the hope she will love Ed
White for simply being Ed White.”

“Maybe the
difference is you love many in a lifetime, but are “in love” with
only one. I love many, have loved many, but never found the one I
could be “in love” with. Does that make sense?”

Ed nodded in
silent, solemn agreement.

Lorna’s
allusion to her own history caused her to speculate they were more
alike than had first appeared. They existed at opposite ends of the
social and economic scale, true, but were still two wandering souls
seeking their destiny. A crazy delusion swept her, suggesting they
could be good for each other. Putting the idea aside, she changed
the subject.

“Well,” Lorna
erupted cheerily, giving his upper arm a couple of quick pats. “If
we’re going to take a tour, I need to return to my—uh, your
grandparents’—room to freshen up.”

“Certainly,”
he answered distractedly. “I’ll call at eleven. We’ll have lunch at
the waterfront.”

* * * *

Lorna sat
under the blazing lights of the vanity, part of the room once
belonging to The First Parents, peering out across the large, empty
space. The massive elegant furniture appeared small. So much had
happened since she’d awoken on the great, round bed. She’d changed,
but in what ways?

For certain,
she needed time alone to figure everything out. Their shared night
of passion was the least part. Small things like putting his scent
on the handkerchief, or the way they fit together when standing in
his room at the overlook of the bay came to mind. These events, at
first sight trivial, were both important and profound, up there
with the surprise of discovering common viewpoints on so many
topics. Ed had told her things about himself that he may have
shared with others, but never, she was certain, to the depths
they’d explored.

Police
experience told her that. In his face arose the same detached,
faraway expression suspects and witnesses assumed at a specific
point in an interrogation. They came into the room determined to
say nothing or what they wanted the police to know. But soon
enough, she has them spilling everything. Just before they broke
down to confess everything, or implicate everyone, they assumed the
same mien Ed had. From then on, pure untold truth would roll
out.

A picture of
the two Eds came to mind. The Chairman Ed stood, vast and
unapproachable. Like a god sitting in the clouds on a gold throne,
detached from the individual ambitions and desires of the tiny
creatures below who tilled, warred, and loved. As a conscientious
shepherd, he managed the best interests of his flock, sometimes at
the expense of individual members. While his charges often did not
get what they wanted, they always got what they needed.