“I really need you to be my eyes and ears, Cara,” he began, and I shook my head.
“He’s going to recognize me the moment he lays eyes on me. He’ll demand my return and if you don’t give me back, he’ll declare all-out war with the Syndicate,” I responded, shaking my head.
“He won’t recognize you because he’s not going to see you,” he answered vaguely.
“How will he not see me if I’m by your side?” I asked and he grinned.
“The house down the block has been modified for a purpose like this. There are many extremely well-hidden secret passages, with two-way mirrors and invisible panels for observing meetings like this one. You’re going to watch from inside one of them and then I’ll excuse myself and meet you inside one of the hidden soundproofed rooms where you’ll tell me everything you see and hear,” he said.
“Don’t underestimate Credare. He’s an extremely dangerous man,” I said hesitantly, and he nodded.
“I know. That’s why I need you,” he replied, and my heart beat nervously at his words.
“Tell me everything you know about him,” Bane asked, and for a moment, I hesitated. But then, I thought about everything Bane had done for me. He’d saved me from that slaver and taken me in as his own. Had fed me. Had clothed me and given me shelter from the dangers of Dryac. He’d protected me from everything.
He deserved to know. At that moment, I decided that I trusted him. I told him everything.
I told him how I’d ended up working for the Association, how I’d been caught stealing and had been taken before Credare himself. I told him about the brutal training programs where I’d learned to be a lethal operative under his rule and how I’d been threatened with death should I ever fail. I even told Bane about the number of men and women I’d been forced to kill as a result of it.
Bane listened in silence, his expression never wavering. His expression remained neutral, even began to soften with his pride. The more I talked, the more comfortable I became.
When I was through, he smiled warmly back at me.
“I’d never make you kill for me,” he murmured, reaching for me. His thumb brushed across the back of my hand and he sighed. I closed my eyes, enjoying the warmth of his touch for the briefest of seconds and then I looked back at him, cocking my head as I did so.
“I’d kill for you if I had to,” I answered, and I meant it. Being here with him was the first time I’d felt truly free since I’d been a little girl and I wasn’t ready to give that up. I wanted more of it and I would do just about anything to keep it.
He didn’t answer, instead staring at me with interest. I turned away and finished my breakfast, taking another sip of coffee before I pushed my plate away.
“Well, let’s get to it then,” I declared, doing my best to hide the sliver of anxiety deep in my belly. Bane nodded and the two of us rose to leave.
* * *
The next several hours passed by in a blur. Bane spent them directing his men, placing them in strategic positions and ensuring that all of them had access to high-tech weapons in case things went south with the Association. I took a fair amount of time exploring the hidden passages in the walls, finding the mirrors and the shimmery panels that allowed me to see through organic material with just the touch of my palm on a biometric scanner. There was one at the end of the sitting room, another in the dining room, and others scattered throughout the rest of the house.
The biometric panels allowed sound to pass through the walls, almost as though I was sitting right next to the people within each of the rooms.
I had removed my boots, ensuring that my footsteps didn’t make a sound. I moved through the house as stealthily as I could, observing the assigned positions of all the guards, analyzing each exit and entry, as well as memorizing the paths through the modified home. Finally, when I felt comfortable with the layout, I went to find Bane.
He was waiting in the bedroom by himself, scanning through data on the Association’s ship path toward Dryac on a holographic screen emitted from a small, spherical device on the bed. I slid open the entry panel to the hidden passage and entered into the room with him. He lifted his head, smiling in my direction when he saw me.
“I had a feeling you were there, my little human,” he murmured.
Just the sound of his voice caused a thrill of excitement to surge through me and I pressed my thighs together in response. His eyes studied me, narrowing as he saw my desire for him grow by the second. My lips parted with hunger.
“Come here,” he demanded gently, and I obeyed, sighing happily when his hands reached for me, dragging up and down my thighs. His fingertips ventured dangerously close to the folds of my pussy and I gasped with surprise.
His fingers explored even higher along my legs, underneath my skirt and then he grasped the edges of my panties before dragging them down my legs. He helped me to lift my feet and then he removed my panties entirely, leaving me bare before him.
I shivered with desire, entirely breathless.
“You’re going to stay bare for me today, little human. I want you to remember that this little pussy is mine and that when this day is over, it’s going to get the good hard fucking it deserves,” he warned, and I shuddered with need.
His fingers pressed in between my legs.
“Naughty girl. You’re so wet already,” he said, and I whimpered with pleasure as he dragged his touch up and down my pussy, taking special care to press against my clit just softly enough to tease me, but not hard enough to make me come.
“Please,” I begged, wanting the day to be over already so that he could take me to his bed.
