Korac stared at the potential catastrophe. Why the Hell was Nox situating their most destructive tectonic weapon on Earth’s most devastating tectonic chasm? The plan to save the Icarean race never once changed over the last twelve thousand years. Invade, conquer, and inhabit Earth. If the colossal Tantamount ever detonated, the chain reaction set off by the event would render the planet uninhabitable. So why—

“General Korac, we’re ready to affix the Tantamount, sir. On your say.”

The geyser contained the bluest water Korac ever laid eyes on, reflecting the clear late afternoon sky. It steamed from lava pooling around the crater, leaking out of fissures to harden into rock further downstream. Magnificent view. Too bad he only saw the making of a new Cinder.

“Sir?”

Korac swallowed a foreign sensation and repeated Nox’s orders, “Mount the weapon.”

Dread. He felt dread for the first time since—Elden, help him. He ran a hand through his hair. The last time he experienced anything like this was during Celindria’s sentencing eight thousand years ago. The punishment for betraying Nox and establishing the First Wave Progeny rebellion? Exile and fifty lashes with a barbed whip.

Korac volunteered as the enforcer. An opportunity of a lifetime. But when the whip struck her and tore the flesh from her bones, he knew fear. The wound refused to heal. Somehow, she deactivated her nacre. An impossible feat. When she sensed his distress, Celindria peered over her shoulder at him.

Korac shuddered at the memory. He would never forget the smile she gave him. The same smile she gave him in the Martyr Complex pit. Nothing good lived inside her. Anything close to her withered and—

“Godammit!” Korac kicked a rock to oblivion. Would this cycle never end?!

“Sir?!”

“Carry on.” To let his soldiers see him like this… inexcusable. But to stomach this installment any further asked too much of him. “I’m checking the perimeter. See to the last of it, Second.”

“Yes, sir.”

Korac opened his wings and left the nightmare in his wake. He needed an escape, and he imagined a few ideal ones nearby. Under the shade of tall pines and grand maples, he found a secret slice of heaven. Cool springs peppered the grove set against the mountainside. Birds sang to one another, and squirrels pilfered the forest floor. He liked Earth.

Retracting his wings, Korac took off his combat boots and removed his fitted black tee and tactical pants. He set both axes on the pile of clothes, briefly caressing the right one. With nimble fingers, he braided his hair while considering a cut. His own chuckle caught him off guard as he imagined the Progeny Lt. General’s reaction.

Along with the Tantamount stress, Korac craved Sagan to the point of distraction. So close. Likely in residence at Iona-29 within the last twenty-four hours. Not even forty miles away. Yes. He sighed as he hopped into the water. Her skin, her scent, her laughter. She was the only salve for his conflicted mind and wounded heart. His Sagan. He heard her voice even now.

“Take the base by yourself? That’s fine. Make a weapon with a traitor? Okay, I guess. But spend all your free time in the sky when I can’t fly, yet?!”

Wait.

A feminine growl of frustration scared off all the wildlife. To prevent disturbing the water, he gently waded to the edge of the pool. Peering around a boulder, Korac slow-blinked once. Twice.

With her back to him, Sagan roughly tugged out of a white t-shirt and grappled to escape her denim cut-off shorts. A trick of his imagination, surely. She kept the matching black panties and bra, and he suddenly didn’t care if she was a mirage or not. The illusion swept her blond hair into as much a ponytail as a bob allowed. All the while her muscles and curves bunched and stretched. He fixated on every sensuous line and freckle.

The woman of his dreams paused at the edge of the water some distance away. She peered left. Then right. Before she peered over her shoulder, he hid behind the boulder.

Korac smirked. He waited for a grand entrance, as always. Checking on her after he heard a splash, he caught her submerging into the pool sans lingerie. The only salve…

Sagan leaned her head back against the rocks and sighed heavily.

He climbed naked out of the water and padded around the boulder. A thought sprung to his mind and a boyish impulse he thought died millennia ago overcame him. Korac ran, jumped with a flip over her head, and cannon-balled into her spring.

Sagan squealed and shrank into the water, shielding her nudity. He loved the shift in her expression as she recognized him. From lethal to slightly annoyed. Atramentous amethysts to violet shards.

Pride puffed his chest, and he grinned. Sagan’s glare melted into a radiant smile. Her elated warmth lifted his spirits. He missed being in love. “You are a most welcome distraction.”

Breathless, she said, “You know? Right now… you’re the one person I’d let invade my privacy like that.”

Alone. Secluded. Nothing between them but a few feet of water. He purred, “I plan to invade more than your privacy.” He swam over until only a breath separated them. As she watched, her smile faded. Replaced with the same fascination as watching a tiger pace in its cage.

The sweet scent of her arousal filled the distance between them.

Sagan’s chest heaved as she inhaled. When she captured his scent, surprise filled her eyes. He tried for a less predatory gaze and more pleased with her. Mating as an Icarus with a nacre was so very different from their pairing in her dreams.

Did she understand the distance between them? Why he left it there?

The Lt. General swallowed and waded across the last. Yes. She did. He loved her for it.

Sagan searched his eyes and on a breath she set her mark, “All of it to you.”

Her terms pleased him, but—

“Are you sure you want that?”

“It’s how I want you. How you want me.”

“No touching unless I say. Sound is permitted. Eyes open unless I say. Safety word?”

No hesitation. “Butterfly.”

“Agreed.” And already hungry, he reached for her.

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Sagan held up a finger and climbed out of the pool. Water sluiced off her, and he suddenly felt very thirsty. Much to his curiosity, she searched her pockets. She smiled shyly as she produced a lighter.

Korac’s mouth fell open. He couldn’t stop it. A bottom never put in a request before today. “You remembered?”

“How could I forget? Second best orgasm I ever had.”

He smirked and raised an eyebrow.

Sagan’s smile deepened from shy to bashful. “Rayne. Oral. In the shower.”

“Challenge accepted.” At the bloom in her eyes, he demanded, “Pick the axe or the combat knife then get back here without further delay.” After another second, he thought to ask, “Do you always carry the lighter on you?”

Sagan went stiff as she collected her axe. Breathy, she confirmed, “Yes.”

With a sound deep in his chest, Korac said, “That’s my girl.”

Standing over him at the edge of the pool, gloriously naked, she looked down at him with love in her gaze. “Until eternity takes me.”

“Sagan.”

“Yes.”

“Drop your axe and the lighter.”

When she obeyed, his scent grew stronger. He stood and took her by the waist. She made to reach for him until he shot her a glare.

She dropped her hands and nodded. “Understood.”

“Understood, what?”

Sagan shivered, and goosebumps claimed her skin as Korac carried her back into the water. “Understood, master.”

He closed his eyes at his favorite word on her lips. She belonged to herself, but relinquished control to him. Ready? Yes. He was certainly ready for her, but he needed to make her ready for him.

When Korac opened his eyes, Sagan studied him attentively. He cupped her face and brushed his lips lightly on hers. She did not kiss back. No one followed instructions like her. He leaned to her ear, “Your pulse is intoxicating.” He pressed his lips to her carotid before taking her earlobe between his teeth. How hard would she let him bite?

Her body trembled for him. Yet, she remained still as commanded. Perfect. After a tease with his tongue, he released her ear for now. She gasped when he sucked her neck and captured her pulse with his teeth as his hands mapped a star chart of her body. She tilted her neck, exposing more of her skin for him. So eager. When the war ended, he would take her blood. But not now. Too much risk.

To reward Sagan, Korac’s hand traveled low as he shifted to gaze in her eyes. Breath hitching, she maintained eye contact as he teased her. He raked one long fingernail up her spine, leaving a stream of crimson. Her eyelids fluttered, and still she fought to keep them open. At her obedience, he licked his lips and said, “You may kiss back.”

When he took her mouth, she moaned, giving him permission to come inside. Hot. Heady. Hungry. Four fingernails on one hand clawed into her back. He found home with the other, and her knees buckled. Still, she never grabbed for him. She trusted him to keep her from falling.

Korac growled his approval and rewarded Sagan. Taking both her hands, he placed them at the curve of his back. She purred into their kiss and licked his bottom lip. He pulled away. She dropped both hands without so much as a pout. Her lips swollen and her face flushed with their kissing, her beauty arrested the war inside him.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, master.”

Before his eyes, she shifted to Atramentous. Amethyst fire.

“You’ve ruined watermelon for me, woman.” She yipped as he tossed her over his shoulder. He smacked one cheek hard enough to leave a mark. She laughed into his back. He hoped she appreciated the view.

Breathless, she accused him of lying. “I don’t believe that’s a genuine complaint.”

Korac sat Sagan’s very nice ass back down on a shallow shelf along the shore. He kept his eyes locked on her as he reached for the axe and lighter nearby. She never wavered.

“Your trust in me matters more than the outcome of this war. Did you know that?”

“You won’t hurt me unless I ask. And I trust you to hurt me only enough to feel good. It’s clarity for the pleasure you pay me as a reward.”

Korac grinned. Sagan’s understanding aroused him more than her bare skin. He hovered the flame against the blade, blackening it. “This isn’t like in our dreams.”

“No, because now I know what I want. And I’ve never been more ready.”

“For that, I will allow you to touch me for the rest of this session.” His grin faded as he turned to her and tossed the lighter to shore. “But keep your eyes on me.”

“Yes, master.” Cupping his jaw, she kissed him, and he purred for her. She held onto his waist for what she knew came next. Korac broke the kiss to stare into Sagan’s eyes as he pressed the fiery blade against her back.

Tears sprung as her gaze widened, and he reclaimed her lips. She cried out against him. To his surprise, she wrapped her legs around his hips. As the axe seared her, Sagan ground against him and moaned into his mouth. He let her skin breathe. It cooled from the air and healed from her nacre within a minute.

He separated them just enough to ask, “You want it? You want what comes next?”

“Yes, please, master.”

She angled her hips, and he angled the blade. Sagan took Korac in as he sliced into the burn mark. She threw her head back and cried out. With her eyes open.

And Korac lost his self control. He slung the axe back to its mate and grabbed hold of Sagan’s wrists. Pinning her roughly onto the slate shelf, he dipped his head and kissed over her nacre. She writhed on the rock and arched her back for him. Against her chest, he growled, “All the rules are off. Take from me what you need.”

Together, they laid claim to each other. On opposite sides, but to the same end. Searing more than Cascading Light, he dared fate to separate him from her. No matter how the war ended—No matter what trial awaited him, Korac would always find her.

Sagan sat up and kissed the pulse point on his neck and whispered against his ear, “Please, master?”

His eyes fluttered closed. Clenching his jaw, he assented with a single nod. Sagan bit into Korac’s vein, and he found his shelter in her. She was mercy for the prison in his mind, and he filled her in every way possible.

Her draws on his lifeforce ended as he gently eased her away. Unused to this much trust, he searched her eyes. When she gave him love in return, he swallowed before confessing, “You’ll be able to keep up with Rayne now.”

She laid back on the shelf, open to him. “Will you teach me how to fly?”

The Tantamount, the war, Imminent—all flooded back to him. He needed days with her, and, even then, would never meet his fill. But the prelude to the finale officially commenced. It was by divine charity they shared this much time together.

Sensing the tension, Sagan sat up and covered herself. She softly cleared her throat before saying, “I’d better get back.”

Korac cradled her face. “No—please stay. A little longer.” He sighed in frustration. “I have some bad news, and I wish it could wait.”

“Can we get dressed? I feel like we should discuss work with our clothes on.”

Korac took his time raking his gaze over her exquisite nudity. He purred, “That’s a damned shame.”

The radiant smile she rewarded him with lit his heart ablaze. Then she followed it up with a splash of water in his face and the start of a race to their abandoned clothes. He paused climbing into his pants to watch her dress. He blurted, “I love you.”

She whirled on him after fastening her bra. Shocked but elated, she confessed, “I love you more.” As she hopped into her shorts, she added, “But things must be real shitty for you to tell me like that without some super grand Icarean General gesture.”

Korac smirked at Sagan the way she liked. “It is that bad. But we’ll get through it.”

Her eyes went grave with concern. “What makes you so sure?”

“You tried to kill me with a portal to Hell. Even in a lifetime as long as mine, that comes along only once.” He crossed the distance between them, cupped her nape, and kissed her hair. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Sagan smiled for him, but Korac caught the sadness in it. On a sigh, she said, “Well, you’d better get your shirt on and tell me the bad news.”

In his tactical pants with his fly spread wide, he chuckled. “Is this not dressed enough for you?”

Her eyes took in his shoulders, chest, abs, and the bones of his hips. Wordlessly, and with a little drool, she shook her head.

“By Elden, I love the way you look at me.” He growled and wrenched the shirt on.

A few minutes later, she perched on a boulder. He leaned his side against it with his arms crossed. “And that’s it. In six days, the Progeny surrender, or Nox destroys Earth.” He shook his head and dropped his arms. “There’s something wrong with him. I can’t place it, yet.”

Sagan offered, “He’s a homicidal megalomaniac with daddy issues?”

Korac shot her a look. “Very astute of you.” An idea struck him. “Which reminds me. I have something I need you to hold on to if I am to remain a double agent with his gorgeous head fully attached.”

“What is it?”

He retrieved the small device from his pocket and placed it in her outstretched hand. “A transponder. No mic. No cam. Location only; like GPS. Nox wants to keep tabs on your world-hopping ass. Consider it punishment for your stunt at the fortress two days ago.”

She laid on the rock and looked over the edge at him with her chin perched on the back of her hands. She batted her lashes as she asked, “What stunt? What fortress?”

With a flourish, Korac summoned his wings and elevated himself to match her gaze. “You’re the sexiest pain in the ass I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.”

“Then you won’t mind if I also request your aid for my side?” Sagan dared poke his nose.

Korac raised a brow and left the suspicion in his voice, “What did you have in mind?”