Lost to Him for Eternity

She woke with a start.

To the light of the small LED lamp flickering above her and the sensation of a muscled, thick arm wrapped around her.

Xion.

He was tucked in behind her, his face in her neck like he was breathing her in.

When she shifted, his arms tightened.

With a sigh, he curved his body even closer, giving her his heat, his strength, his security.

She closed her eyes at the bliss of it.

No wonder she'd rested like a baby in utter peace.

She nestled in, luxuriating in his hold.

Until her eyes flew open once more, and memories of the last few days hit her.

A wave of guilt washed over her.

Her actions had led to the man embracing her being thrown to the wolves.

He'd undergone an agonising experience because of her.

Now, she and Xion were in a world of emotional angst.

They'd liked one another other; damn, they'd slept together and had the best sex of her life.

Their brief affair had been pure bliss till her brothers intervened and ruined everything.

Fokk, how would they navigate their escape, feelings, betrayal, and the wariness and tension that had risen like a wall of ice between them?

She had no idea.

She peeked at him, lying so close she could see every eyelash.

Was he thinking of her like she was of him?

Because she was still yearning for him, her soul still aching and burning with desire for him, her body thrumming anytime he was close.

Since his kidnapping, though, she sensed his fury directed at her and her family.

She hoped by now he'd worked out she'd been forced into this position and that she'd still wanted to back out regardless of her safety.

To gain back his favour again, he'd need to see her true heart.

No more lies and dishonesty, she promised herself.

It didn't help that she was also beset with a lack of confidence that he'd have any feelings for her other than a passing fancy.

She was nobody's prize, from her children to her choice of profession and her family's criminal background, in light of Xion's career as a man who upheld the law.

Hell, he had every right to want to wash his hands off her altogether.

Still, she held onto a tendril of hope, which stemmed from how incandescent their lovemaking had been.

How it had lifted her soul to a new dimension.

How he now was wrapped over her, his sensual as fokk body heating her backside, with one thick thigh between her own.

She had no choice but to wait for Xion to come around of his own volition.

All she could do was take each moment as it came.

Including turning her head to breathe in his essence, his fokkin' sensuality, because the truth was Xion Sable was under her skin, and her heart jolted, lost to him for eternity.

He sensed her wake in his arms.

He longed to ask a myriad of questions but was too tired to push for answers, too weary for more heartache.

He needed to be on his A-game when he demanded what he wanted from her.

However, he didn't want to think too far ahead, but keeping her at arm's length was a torture he was finding more challenging to resist.

So he let himself fall back into the bliss of her essence and slumber.

As the night wore on, Xion drifted in and out of consciousness, floating in a semi-awake state as his metanoids healed.

He slept in short intervals, which he didn't mind, given that he kept opening his eyes to the most fascinating woman beside him.

Fokk, she was one of a kind.

He couldn't stop thinking of her, reacting to her every breath, moan, and shift in rest.

Each time Katya stirred, Xion opened one eye and angled it over her.

It was like she and he were wired, connected on an atomic level, for he sensed all her movement and energy, and he liked the feeling.

Revelling in it, the hours passed as his metanoids worked hard, their resurgence rebuilding his torn ligaments and muscle tissue.

Xion was patient, waiting for them to restore him to full strength, knowing he'd need every iota of power he could drain from them soon.

Xion checked his wrist comm and listened for any approaching noises.

There were none.

As dusk fell over the purple and magenta volcanic landscape beyond, he sensed a buzz in his skull.

He sent a test burst to his neural node, and to his surprise, it lit up in his meta-vision.

He was back in business.

He sat up and inspected his wounds.

They were almost all healed.

Fokk yeah.

He angled his head and re-established his neural links, sending a silent greeting.

A response was received, and he added data about his location from his wrist comm and flicked it back.

With reluctance, he unwound himself from the sleeping woman, reached for his provision, drank water from a pouch, and roused Katya.

She stirred like a feline creature.

‘Xion,' she purred, her eyes soft as they fell on his crouched form beside her.

The husky utterance sent a jolt of raw heat to his cock.

He groaned and bit his lip as she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

He tagged the dawning of awareness, the flare of need in her eyes, followed by dampening down as their present reality hit.

‘Time to move,' Xion growled, his voice timbred and laced with desire, dragging his eyes from her, tamping down his everlovin' craving for her.

Katya blinked up at Xion, her eyes still heavy with sleep.

She nodded at his words, pushing herself up from the ground with a groan.

Despite the sand, the cramped cave had not been kind to her stiff muscles.

They gathered their belongings in silence, a sense of unspoken tension hanging between them.

When they ventured out of the cavern, the sun was setting, casting an eerie glow over the rocky terrain.

Xion led the way, quiet, prowling like a meko panther ahead of her as they navigated through the uneven landscape.

Katya stumbled over a loose rock, and Xion caught her arm before she fell.

She gazed up at him, a soft thanks shining in her eyes.

He blinked, and the walls he had built between them fell as his expression softened for a moment, revealing a rare vulnerability beneath the layers of distrust and deception.

But then he turned away, forging forward.

They pressed on until Xion paused, glancing up to the darkening skies.

‘The Tachy is above us.'

Katya's gaze followed his. ‘Stealthed?'

He nodded. ‘Naam, I've re-established my neural link to it and Mirage. We need to get to it,' he added, urgency lacing his words.

They headed for a slope nearby as a humming sound filled the air, growing louder and more distinct with each passing second.

Moments later, his sleek, black ship touched down from the atmosphere, its metallic surface gleaming in the dying light of day.

The craft blended seamlessly with the darkness, its hull visible against the starlit sky.

Xion gestured for Katya to stay back as he input a series of commands into his wrist comm, activating the Tachy's ramp.

With a muted whoosh, the stairs descended, revealing the ship's interior bathed in soft illumination.

Xion motioned for Katya to follow him as he led the way into the vessel's safety.

Once inside, he sealed the airlock behind them and made his way to the cockpit, settling into the pilot's seat with practised ease.

The ship hummed to life around them, the control panels lighting up with a muted blue glow.

Katya took in the luxe fit-out with some measure of awe and settled into a crash couch while Xion's fingers danced across the console.

‘We're clear for takeoff,' he murmured.

The thrum of the Tachy's engines rumbled beneath her feet as the craft lifted off the ground and soared into the night sky.

The stars streaked past the windows, casting a mesmerising display of light and shadow as they ascended higher into the atmosphere,

‘Where are we going?' Katya spoke up, her voice just above a whisper in the hum of the ship's engines.

Xion didn't tear his gaze away from the controls as he replied, ‘Anywhere but here. I have a hankering to get the fokk out of Iccythria.'

His tone was dry, betraying his simmering rage at recent events, sending a shiver down Katya's spine.

She leaned back in her seat, the gravity of their situation sinking in.

The ship cut through the darkness, leaving behind the turmoil of the planet below. Katya stole glances at Xion, studying his profile in the soft glow of the control panel. There was a hardness to his features, a steely coldness that worried her.

Still, she ventured to ask the one question she needed answered with urgency. ‘Xion, would you please consider fetching my mother and babies? They're at an ALMQ holding, and Mirage has the address. I have no other way to free them.'

He huffed, turned his beautiful head and nailed her with a cutting look. ‘Why would I do that? For you?'

Her heart sank, but she lifted her chin and met his icy gaze. ‘It's not for me. I know I've diluted your trust beyond measure. But all my actions and choices so far, what I was forced to do, was for the children I've spent years protecting. They're innocent and don't deserve to be caught up in any more bull shit.'

He raised a brow, his eyes still aloof.

‘Please.'

He folded with a loud suck of his teeth, slicing his eyes towards her. ‘Location?' he barked.

Mirage piped up through the speakers with the coordinates of the secret destination they'd shared earlier with Katya.

‘How many?' he growled, cutting his gaze to the Iccythrian woman.

‘15, including my mother.'

He scoffed. ‘We can't fit all of them in this corvette.'

He sat back in his chair, deep in thought.

‘I think I might know someone who can help,' he rasped after a few moments. ‘Mirage, would you please initiate a comm link?'

‘To whom?'

‘Fokkin Duke. He needs to weigh in on this.'

With a furrowed brow, Katya observed as a commlink was initiated, and soon, a handsome Iccythrian man's face shimmered to life on the massive holo screen.

‘Twice in less than a week,' Duke groused with no preamble, his holo form appearing larger than life on Xion's bridge. ‘I must be the luckiest man in all Pegasi.'

‘You are,' Xion shot back. ‘Not just anyone gets the privilege of my attention.'

‘What do you need, Rider?'

‘We've got an urgent situation, and it has to do with your King.'

Duke cursed with a bitter laugh. ‘K'Sumi? What's the loser gone and done now?'

Xion gave the Eden II-based Ccyth fixer a breakdown of events to date.

‘He's fokkin' gone and lit his rear end on fire, has he?' Duke growled.

‘He's used a proxy to gain my father's services to kidnap my mother, children and Xion,' Katya expounded, stepping into the camera frame.

‘Katya D'Hanna, in the flesh,' the Ccyth man drawled, his eyes raking over the beautiful woman beside Xion. ‘Last we spoke, Xion, your ass asking for intel on her, and now you're rolling together. You clued on who you are in cahoots with, Sable?'

‘You know nothing, whoever the fokk Ccyth you are,' Katya challenged.

‘Oh, she's feisty,' Duke whistled, his brow shooting up with comical effect.

‘Sounds like you prefer your Ccyth women served in handmaiden or chattel mode,' Katya shot back.

‘Does she know who I am?' Duke asked in jest, waggling a finger at Katya, his handsome face arranged in mock offence.

‘Children, stop fighting,' Xion interjected, lips twitching despite himself. ‘Duke, back to your royal rogue uncle -'

‘Uncle?' Katya repeated, cocking her head in surprise.

‘Naam,' Xion smirked, amused by the banter between the two. ‘The man you insulted is Ccyth regal stock, albeit one absconded from his duties at House DKRT.'

Katya's eyes rose, and then she shrugged. ‘I'm aware of your people, but I've no time for nobles; I never have.'

‘Not like I give two fokks. Tis why I'm not taken aback at your lack of interest in my sovereign status, given I, too, feel the same,' Duke murmured. ‘That said, K'Sumi is my uncle on my mother's side.'

‘I had no idea,' Katya grunted, surprised. ‘Can you offer us a sit rep on the man?'

Duke's face folded into earnestness, and he leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. ‘Here it is. House ALMQ is weak. My uncle lost his gold and diamond mines in a series of recent earthquakes. His water reserves and access to energy stockpiles are dwindling, and many are rallying against him to take over as Supreme Leader.'

‘How has he stayed in power so long?' Xion asked.

‘By wielding bribes, shutting dissent and pure intimidation, all hallmarks of a man grasping on to diminishing power. I suspect he wants something you Riders have. Whatever it is, it must give him major leverage over his enemies and offer him his last chance to hold onto his diminishing influence.'

Xion jerked his chin in agreement. ‘We're getting close to figuring out what it is. The problem is with me off the board; he may harm Katya's kids and mother, who he's detained at a location on LeCythi. We seek air support, and perhaps a few gun bunnies, to jack up House ALMQ's shit, then get them out and to safe harbour once we've rescued them.'

Duke sucked his teeth. ‘I can wrangle what you require, but it'll come at a cost.'

‘You know we Riders are good for the bank,' Xion said.

‘Not that kind. I'll need to pull favours and call the one person I dread to contact.'

Who?'

Duke paused, rubbing a hand over his frustrated face. ‘My mother.'

Xion spluttered in mirth. ‘What the fokk? The Grand Duke is afraid of his mother?'

‘You don't know Iccythrian mothers.'

‘He's right,' Katya said, ‘and from what I recall of the Khosana, she's formidable.'

‘Fokk formidable,' Duke groaned. ‘She's a zilla monster on the best days and an inflamed dragon at her worst. You'll owe me, Rider, big time. Fokk me and pray for me.'

Duke rang off with Xion's laughter in his ear.