Code: Revelation by Boris Sanders
Introverted computer scientist Maximilian Gutenberg had no intention of acquiring a crystal with a being trapped inside, especially not one with the power to save— or destroy—humanity.
Her name is Lucy, and she cannot escape her prison until her mission is complete. A mission she keeps secret from everyone, even Max.
But she needs his help.
To gain his trust, she offers to get rid of his abusive boss in one week, and get him that promotion he always wanted. She’ll make him the hero of his own life, a man worthy of recognition, in exchange for helping her complete her mission.
This could be the opportunity of Max’s life, but he can’t help but wonder if Lucy is as good as she seems… And exactly what mission she must complete to regain her freedom.
Set in a dystopian, futuristic city built miles into the sky, “CODE: Revelation” is a powerful, psychological thrill ride that calls into question the nature of good and evil, and the importance of taking control of your own destiny.
FREE on Kindle Unlimited
Find more from this author on:
Amazon
GoodReads
Facebook
TwitterAbout the author:
Boris Sanders began writing at a very early age, so much so that, to his mother’s surprise, the doctor who delivered him insisted having seen some marks that resembled words inside her womb. His intellect is quite advanced, having learned 37 languages by the age of 14, of which 35 were created by him, don’t have a written form, and are only spoken and understood by him. In addition, he has a photographic memory, as long as an actual photo was taken at the time.
In his spare time Boris likes to swim in waterless pools and investigate the mysteries of the universe, while sitting on his comfortable couch, effectively doing nothing. He has a particular taste for olives of any kind.
What inspired you to write your book?
I wanted to write a story that was different from the rest. I like psychological thrillers since watching Death Note, when it launched, so I decided to venture on this road too. First I created the world, I was trying to imagine a Sci-fi city that was different from all the others portrayed on similar books, after that, the rest came bit by bit. My corporate background certainly played a part on it.
Here is a short sample from the book:
“Good night, Master.”
“Good night, X,” Max replied, even though he knew it made no sense to wish a robot good night.
***
As he opened his eyes, Max found himself in an ample room. The floor and ceiling seemed to be made of marble, and there were several Greek columns around him. He couldn’t see very far due to the area’s poor illumination, but he could hear water splashing somewhere. He came to realize that he wasn’t alone for he could hear voices, sometimes whispers, and even laugher at times, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. They were talking in a weird language he didn’t recognize, but he was certain that it was men’s voices.
He ventured through the dark with caution, following the voices. The closer he got, the brighter it became, until he got close enough to notice the source of the voices. There were five men, all of them naked, in a huge pool right in the middle of the room, talking to each other. As he got closer he was sure one of them would spot him, but none of them reacted, so he took the opportunity to study them further.
One of them talked more than the rest. He was the only one with a beardless face, and his neck seemed bent slightly forward, but what caught Max’s attention were the man’s eyes. They were two different colors: one was black as the night, and the other blue as the sky. Maybe it had something to do with his different eyes, but the man had a powerful stare. Max was still analyzing him when he was startled by a voice next to him.
“Do you like what you see? You’ve been staring at him for a while.”
Max then noticed a little girl next to him. “What an odd place for a child to be,” he thought. She was cute, but unconventional. She had silver hair, which was weird for a child to have, to say the least. Her skin was as pale as a sheet of paper, and Max wasn’t sure whether his eyes were deceiving him, but her eyes seemed purple. “It must be a trick of the lights,” he convinced himself.
“What is a little girl like you doing here? And how come you speak English and they don’t?” She couldn’t be more than 7 years old, and Max felt weird asking questions of someone so young, but he had so many that it was hard for him to even know where to begin.
“Oh, sorry, you can’t understand, can you? Let me give you a hand with that,” the girl said. She snapped her fingers, and suddenly the men switched from whatever language they were speaking to English.
“And then I charged into the center of the enemy formation. As soon as I met Darius, he thought he had me because he had prepared for it, but of course, I had expected him to be, and had a counter measure: a double phalanx! That broke his center, and he had to flee for his life!” said the man with the mismatched eyes, and all the others started laughing.
Max stepped out of the shadows. Now that he could understand what they were saying, they didn’t seem so threatening. “What’s a phalanx?” he asked as he got closer. He couldn’t explain it, but that man had something different about him.
But no one answered. Worse than that, nobody even looked at him; he was utterly ignored, and their conversation continued.
“How cute! Are you trying to make friends? They can’t hear you, dummy.”
“Why not? And you still didn’t explain why you’re here; and how did you change their language like that?” Max decided to ignore the brat’s insult.
“Well, I kind of work here. Yeah, I guess you could see it like that,” the girl said, balancing herself on the tips of her toes playfully. It was clear now that she was deliberately choosing which questions to answer and which to ignore.
“So you’re trying to convince me that a little girl like you works here? What are you in charge of, playing with dolls?” Max was trying to make fun of the obvious lie that the girl had just told him, until he realized something. “Oh my god, are you being kept here against your will? Are they hurting you here?”
“Hurting me? I think you’ve got it wrong.”
“You don’t have to hide it, I can help you! As soon as I find a way out, I will sneak you out with me.” Max was already scanning the room, looking for an exit.
“You don’t understand. Watch: Alexander!” the girl said, now looking at the man with the mismatched eyes, and he instantly looked at her, got up in a hurry, and ran in her direction despite being naked.
As soon as he was just two feet away, he bowed. “Nike! Do you have a message from the gods for me? Or maybe an omen?”
“Yes,” she answered with a devious smile. “The gods say that the only way for you to win your next battle is to prove yourself worthy. And to do that, you must carry a horse on your back.”
“A horse, you say? I shall do as the gods bid, but I’m not confident of how I could possibly accomplish it.”
“Use your intelligence instead of brute strength, Alexander. But you must do it now.” It was weird for Max to see such a young girl commanding such a big man. He’d had his doubts before, but was sure now that she definitely wasn’t normal.
“Hmm…” Alexander scratched his beardless chin. “Well, a baby horse still counts as a horse, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, a smart idea, just as I expected from you. Just make sure no one sees you. You don’t want to start a rumor that the king is going crazy.”
“I will do it at once, Nike! Thank you for helping me!” Alexander bowed again, and stormed out of the room, still naked and ignoring the cries of the men that had been talking with him before.
“As you can see, I’m fine here. No need to try to sneak me anywhere!” Nike was now looking at Max with a cheeky smile, as if she was purposely not telling him everything.
“Ok, that was weird. Where are we, anyway? And did you just ask a naked man to carry a horse just to make a point? And why can you talk with them, but I can’t?” Max had so many questions that he could barely keep his thoughts straight.
“Do you always ask so many questions? Geeze! We don’t have that kind of time; there’s more to be seen.” And with that, the world around Max shifted, and everything changed.
Chapter 3: Wildest Dreams
As the world around Max unfolded, he found himself in a completely different place than before. The first thing he saw was a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling, maybe bigger than himself. It was certainly unique, with beads and engravings all over, and it illuminated the entire room even though the room itself was enormous. Paying more attention to his surroundings, he noticed that the chandelier wasn’t the only reason for the room’s brightness; it was the furniture, which was covered in gold. It seemed that someone had painted all the wood or metal of the furniture with golden paint, and that made the room much brighter than it ought to be.
This time it seemed that he was alone; the girl, Nike, was nowhere to be seen. He decided to explore and went closer to a table to inspect it. It appeared it was made of the finest materials, and it had beautiful drawings and colors on it. The walls around were white, but with golden frames and symbols decorating them. In the center of the room there was a huge bed with green curtains; it had a beautiful design and golden details fixed to its top.
If Max had to guess where he was, he would’ve said a king’s room. It was so luxurious and all of it seemed to be ancient, no technology in sight. He was still exploring the room's details when the doors flew open and a man stormed in. He was clearly nervous, and was speaking with someone in an exasperated tone in a weird language that Max couldn’t make out. He thought it sounded like French, but he wasn’t quite sure. After all, languages weren’t that important when everybody in the world shared one.
Max noticed that there was an old lady behind the man, and as soon as she got inside the room, the man slammed the door shut in one swift movement. He was pacing the room, and one of his hands was on his head, meddling through his short black hair, while the other was scratching his beardless chin. He was talking quickly. and seemed quite stressed. The woman didn’t say anything but was giving him her full attention, until she suddenly looked at Max.
“Sorry, youngling, you can’t understand him, can you? I will fix it for you.” She snapped her fingers, and at this moment, three things happened. First, the man automatically switched to English; second, Max noticed that the woman had exactly the same impossible purple eyes that Nike had; and third, he recognized the man that was with her. He was none other than Napoleon Bonaparte.
“I gave them one job, and that’s the result?! I should have known! If you want something done well, you have to do it yourself! I would have done better, if my name isn’t Napoleon!” shouted the, then emperor of France.
“Calm down Napoleon, you know your stomach gets worse when you get yourself stressed like that. There’s no such thing as an accident; it’s fate misnamed.” The old woman was talking to Napoleon as if he was her grandson.
“You are right. I don’t mean to complain, but sometimes the pressure of running an empire is just too much! Sometimes I think it will be impossible to win this war…” Napoleon sat down on the bed with his head in his hands.
“Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools! You are capable; remember what happened in Marengo? You won even though you were outnumbered.” Now she sounded more like a teacher than a grandmother.
“Why am I in Napoleon’s bedroom? What the hell is happening here?” Max was sure he was losing his mind.
“You are seeing a tiny fraction of my life, child. I want you to understand some of it,” she said, looking again at Max, her purple eyes fixed on his. He noticed that even though she was old, her eyes showed vast experience, as if she was much older than a person could possibly be. It also seemed that Napoleon couldn’t hear anything that she was telling him.
“Are you some kind of war councilor or something?” Max looked towards Napoleon, who was now talking again in French, and apparently didn’t require an answer to keep the conversation going. “Why are you showing me this? Why am I here?”
“Are you uncomfortable here, dear? Well, we still have one more stop, anyway.” And just as she said it, the rich room they were in turned instantly into a small village.
The village was simple, with several small houses mostly made of wood. There were lots of people, apparently of Indian descent, walking around, including several kids. Again, Max noticed that no one was paying him any attention. It was as if he was invisible, which he actually believed he was, as crazy as that sounded.
Some distance away from the rest of the people, there were a man and a woman looking at the horizon, talking. Just as a bug feels unexplainably attracted to light, he felt compelled to approach them, and as Max got closer, his suspicious were proved correct. Despite the woman being in her forties and the sun being relentless, her skin was as white as snow. And as soon as he approached, she looked at him, smiling just as before, and her purple eyes seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. Max heard her fingers snap, and just as it had happened before, the man started speaking English.
“When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator,” said the man, while appreciating the sunset.
He was bald, short, and was wearing round glasses. Based on his appearance, and their surroundings, Max came to the impossible conclusion: the man was none other than Mahatma Gandhi himself.
“The creator will be pleased that you like the work,” she answered, turning to look at the villagers. “It’s your mission to save these people, to free them and all the others, and I will aid you.”
“I am but a servant,” Gandhi said humbly.
“No, you are a leader! You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
“I see. You always help me see the bigger picture; I am truly blessed to have you by my side.”
“You must live as if you were to die tomorrow, but learn as if you were to live forever. I will help you with the latter,” she said with a soothing smile.
“Wait a minute,” Max said. “Are you actually trying to tell me that you were the one that told Gandhi ‘You must be the change you wish to see in the world’?”
“Yes, and I believe you just saw the exact moment it happened,” she answered plainly, now looking at him.
“So you were friends with the naked Greek guy, Napoleon and Gandhi, is that it? Are you some kind of ghost with a god complex?” It was difficult for Max to make sense of everything that was going on. It seemed that the more information he got, the more confused he became.
“Well, just so you know, ‘the naked Greek guy’ was Alexander the Great. And answering your question, I’m not a ghost.” It took a while for Max to realize that she had finally answered a question about herself, mainly because he was still perplexed, thinking that he had seen one of the biggest conquerors of ancient times not only naked, but running to carry a horse because a little girl told him to.
“It looks like even you can run out of words.” She seemed to be entertained by the whole situation. “I showed all of that to you for a reason, Maximilian. I have a mission, and all those people that you saw tried to help me accomplish it, but they failed. I believe with you it could be different.”
“Let me see if I’ve got it straight. You want me to help you do something that neither Alexander the Great, Napoleon, nor Gandhi could do? Who do you think I am? That’s way above my pay grade.”
“It’s not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles. It wasn’t that those great men tried to help me; they became great man exactly because they tried to help me in the first place.”
“Are you promising me success in exchange for me helping you? Are you trying to involve me in a pyramid scheme?” Max had to admit that a ghost running a pyramid scheme would’ve been a first.
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to answer your questions now, our time is almost up.” She looked uneasy. “We will talk again, and I’m sure you will change your mind. You’re still young. The more sand that escapes from the hourglass of our lives, the clearer we should see through it.” And just as she said it, everything around him started to fade.
The village was gone, the people vanished, and even the dirt under his feet disappeared; he was now standing on a white floor. Everything had become white. The only thing left was the woman, but even she was starting to fade. Her paper-white skin became transparent until it was completely gone. The last part to disappear was her big purple eyes, staring deeply into Max’s, as if she was looking into his soul.
And then Max woke up.
Related products
-
The Chronicles of Koa: Netherworld by K.N. Lee
What would you do if a demon threatened your mother’s life? If you’re like Koa, you’d sharpen your enchanted sword and go after him… Our world is threatened by the creatures of an alternate land called the Netherworld. Good thing Koa and the Netherworld division are there to keep the vampire population in check. Koa is a powerful half-blood with a mysterious past. Her best friend is her boss, she has a cursed mother, an enchanted sword, and an attractive human pet. Koa also has a problem. A Netherworld serial killer, with a taste for little girls, threatens everything Koa has worked hard to protect. Not even Koa’s boss, Halston can stop him. But he knows one prisoner that can. Too bad that prison is in the Netherworld. Is Koa ready to journey to the Netherworld to release the one creature that can break her mother’s curse and protect all that she holds dear?
-
The Thornwood Plot by Daniel Wright
A fantasy spy thriller adventure, a cross between James Bond and epic fantasy. (Or if John Le Carre wrote Game of Thrones). Here’s the blurb: “In an era of tension and turmoil, when the balance of power between kingdoms, duchies and empires is in constant flux, Omen Altier, Knight Paragon of the Ashenian Order, is sent forth on a mission of the gravest peril. The young knight’s task: to infiltrate deep into a hostile nation, and kidnap a traitor to crown and country and see to his safe return. His compatriots for this assignment include the cynical but more experienced Sir Jav and the naive Lady-in-Waiting Adica, their mark’s former servant. In an ancient city of secrets and shadows they must navigate a web of deceit that threatens to consume them. Alone and far from home, they are beset by dangers both from without … and within.THE THORNWOOD PLOT is a wicked adventure set in a world filled with danger, betrayal and temptation that takes the reader on wild ride until the very end! This book is definitely a must have!”
-
The Queen of Carleon (The Legends of Avalyne Book 1) by Linda Thackeray
Avalyne is at peace. The Shadow War has come and gone and the kingdom of Carleon is now restored. King Dare, a mortal man has finally wedded his elven love Arianne. As they prepare to usher in a new era of prosperity across the land, the Queen happily announces the impending arrival of an heir.
Arianne’s joy is short-lived when she discovers that an ancient evil has emerged from the wreckage of war with a monstrous plan for her baby. Determined to protect her very mortal husband, Arianne embarks on a quest with her two companions, the warrior maid Celene of Angarad and Keira of the Green, to journey to the far corners of Avalyne before the enemy can plant a seed of evil in the heart of her unborn son.
-
Aloft by Ben Rovik @BenRovik
Junior technician Ensie Thalanquin is the odd girl out in the Aerial squad. Building flying machines should be an exciting life, but years of being alternately teased and ignored by her fellow Petronauts have turned it into a grind.
Cooper Carper is a hard-working machinist whose boss has made him his personal whipping boy.
Love was the last thing they were looking for when they went to work. But sometimes love pops up in the most unlikely places…
Can they keep a relationship afloat despite the differences in their backgrounds, the meddling of their superiors, and the pressure of a dangerous flight test a few short weeks away?
I’m an author, actor and dad living outside Washington, DC with my wife, baby girl, and a brawling pair of cats.
My current projects are the humorous fantasy series “Mechanized Wizardry” and a related series of medium/short length pieces called “Petronaut Tales.” The Petronaut Tales are set in the same fantasy world, but give me license to play with new characters and genres, including romance.
With “Aloft,” I was inspired to write a romance about characters who weren’t especially beautiful, and who spent most of the lives feeling overlooked and out of place. Meeting each other is what lifts them up to do great things, even through adversity and danger.
Why not write about a passion-fest between two supermodels? Because most of the world’s passion-fests are between ordinary folks. I wanted to explore the reactions of two characters who didn’t ever imagine themselves capable of feeling a love that strong, let alone inspiring it in someone else. And I wanted to show how love can make people stronger, which was easier to do with characters starting from a lower-status place.
Sample from Book:
Ensie smoothed out the dog-eared corner of the blueprints for the dozenth time. She shifted her weight on the bench, feeling the warmth of the sun on the back of her neck. She was too poor to own a watch, but she resisted the temptation to duck out into the hallway again and check the sepia-faced clock mounted on the wall. It had been 10:20 on the spot when she’d checked it moments ago. That meant that, by now, twenty-five minutes at most had passed since she’d left Mister Upforth and the rest of his team. And Upforth had said Cooper—or was it Carper?—would meet her in fifteen minutes. But the drafting room might be hard to find, for a civilian who’d never seen the Aerial compound before. And there had been an awful lot of wood left in that cart for just one person to move quickly. Even someone so tall, with those big arms and broad shoulders…
“You need to get a hold of yourself,” she said aloud, pressing her palm against the desk. She closed her eyes.
You’re an Aerial technician. Your ‘naut wants a consultation from a civilian firm. You’ve been trusted with getting information vital to the success of your project. This is Business with a capital B. Not some kind of private—
—and don’t you dare even finish that thought, because seriously: this is Business.
She scratched the space between her too-thick eyebrows as she looked at the door.
And even if it wasn’t Business, the morose thought crept through her defenses, it’s not as if anything’s going to happen. Any friendly vibes you’re getting are because he’s good at his job. Do you really think that there’s anything about you that would inspire unprofessional thoughts in a civilian guy like him? When he’s meeting all the other wisecracking Aerial girls and the Parade squad knockouts on the same day? Count yourself lucky you’re getting to talk to him at all. You’re just—
The door inched open. Ensie leapt to her feet behind the desk. There he was.
“There you are,” she said, rubbing her hands against her hips.
“So sorry,” he mumbled, turning sideways to come through the narrow door. He sounded a little out of breath. “I… I thought I heard you say ‘third building on the right,’ but I must have misheard. That’s actually the, uh, fuel center, I learned, where you guys are doing some crazy things with petrolatum…”
“Oh, gosh, you went to the refinery?”
“Yeah, through a back door. Got a little turned around with the fumes. But then someone—I forgot his name—pointed me here…”
“Spheres, I led you to the refinery without a mask! I am so sorry. I don’t know why I… I meant to say ‘first building on your—’”
“You did. I’m sure you did. I just heard it wrong—”
“No, no, I’m sure I said… I don’t know what I said!”
“Listen, with these ears, all bets are off. It’s a miracle I’m here at all.”
“It is.”
They stood facing each other with their hands flat against their hips. The sunlight illuminated the lower halves of their bodies.
“I’m Ensie,” she said, for no reason.
Why, oh why, oh why do I speak?
He smiled at her. His teeth were a little small and his gums were a little long, so when he smiled he looked like a kid, with a child’s whole-hearted good humor. “That makes, what, the third time we’ve done introductions?”
“I’m sure, probably,” she laughed. She touched her fingertips to the desk and found herself leaning towards him. “My third time, at least. And somehow I’m still not sure what your name is! Carper? Cooper? Caper?”
“Cooper Carper, actually.”
She felt herself smiling like a porpoise. She ordered her lips to stand down. Business. “Nice to meet you, Mister Carper,” she said, very professionally.
“You too, technician.”
She tilted her head at him. ‘Technician?’ Who are you, Sir Tomas? “You can call me Ensie.”
“Well, then,” he said, pressing the door closed behind him with a click, “you can call me Cooper.”
Business!
“I’m on a project now for a concept craft called the Flicker,” she said, brushing the blueprints with her hands as she stared fixedly at the parchment. Cooper came over to the side of the desk to look. His hands floated in space for a moment as he considered resting a big palm on top of the desk to lean over the plans, as she was doing, which would have brought their heads very close together. But instead his hands interlocked behind his back in a sort of parade rest and he just bent his head to look down. Ensie tried not to watch him as she folded the dog-eared corner back into place for the thirteenth time.
She laid out the specifications for the grasshopper-like craft, discussing fuel projections, the airflow models they’d run, and the properties of the alloys they’d debated for the hollow, curved wings. Cooper’s head bobbed up and down, and he offered a succession of mmm’s and I see’s at appropriate times. As she heard herself talk, she fidgeted with the bottom edge of the desk and only allowed herself quick glances up at his face. It was hard to tell if he was following the run-down at all, which gave her a heavy feeling in her stomach.
Burn me. Maybe Mister Upforth had a good reason for wanting that woman Skye to be the one to talk to me…
“So,” he said at last, shifting his weight. She looked up at him. “What exactly do you need us for?”
“Just wanted to, uh, forge a partnership with Upforth’s for a consultation on our ranine apparatus. That’s all.”
Cooper nodded. His forehead was wrinkled with vigorous thought. Ensie folded her hands together and tried not to let her disappointment show. He had the look of someone at an absolute loss for the right thing to say. Please, please, don’t be stupid.
“Honestly?” Cooper said.
“Mmm-hmm?” she said, tucking one of her bangs back into her hairnet.
For a long moment, he just looked at the plans. Then he shook his head and gave a heavy sigh. His hands reappeared from behind his back and he leaned down so quickly their foreheads almost brushed.
“Mister Upforth’s going to kill me,” he said, “but I don’t think you need us at all. The ranine designs you already deploy don’t have any trouble getting a Bulwark Petronaut off the ground, do they? And a Bulwark ‘naut in full armor’s gotta be eighty percent of the weight of this Flicker; maybe even the same, if their suits are steel and this alloy of yours is as light as all that. And I can’t imagine your test pilots are bulked-up the way Bulwark grunts are. I mean, who flies your things?”
“Knighted ‘nauts and expert techs, mostly,” Ensie said, her eyes widening. There was a whole new energy to him.
“So, right! When I think of a burly man or woman in armor jumping through the air no problem, and then I envision someone on the svelte side—like you—piloting a Flicker that, all things being equal, is the same weight but with, you know, better airflow?”
“Hang on,” she said.
“Sure. Sorry. I know I don’t have the right terminology—”
“Did you say, uh.”
She pressed her lips together. Business! But there was no hope.
“Did you say I’m ‘on the svelte side?’”
Cooper’s looked down at her. His face went gray with horror.
“I hope that word means what I think it means,” he whispered.
She looked to the far wall. Cute? Petite? Is that what you meant? She longed to ask him that like a Parade squad nymph would say it, drifting towards him with an archly raised eyebrow and a lazy, kissable half-smile. But just playacting through the line in her head set a swarm of nervous giggles buzzing around in her throat, perilously close to her voice box, and it was all she could do to keep a lid on them.
“You’re.” Was that my voice? The word was a mortifying squeak.
Ensie swallowed and tried again. “You’re right that the aerodynamic profile of the Flicker sure beats an armored ‘naut,” she said, folding the corner of the blueprints back for the fourteenth time. “And weights are comparable. But the jumping action we’re thinking of is on a different scale.”
“Ah, okay. Higher elevations.”
“Yes, but more importantly, jumping’s the primary locomotion for the Flicker. A ‘naut can leap around from time to time, sure, but most of what they do is run. A totally different use of the coils and their, uh, built-in suspensions. Their legs.”
“Whereas the Flicker does nothing but jump,” Cooper said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Jump, and glide, and jump, and glide. You see? That’s why we need to make sure the coil box we build can handle tons of impacts, and launch with tons of force; but not so much force that the pilot loses control. See? It’s tricky.”
“It’s tricky,” he agreed. Cooper raised his hands. “To be honest, though, I’d trust you Aerials more to make it work right than I’d trust us.”
“But, uh.” Was he really going to walk out of her life because he was too honest to land his company a contract? Keep him. Keep him here! a hungry voice blared out somewhere inside her.
“You must have done something this size before,” she said, hurriedly.
“Oh, sure. We’ve worked big carriage suspensions. A motorized dais that raised and lowered, too, and had a bunch of dancers leaping around on it for, uh, a play or something.”
“See? So Upforth’s could lend experience with scale, while we figure out the whole ‘aloft’ part.”
“Ensie. I just want to be sure we wouldn’t waste your time.”
Ensie took a deep breath through her nose. “It would take a lot of time,” she said slowly. She curled her hands into little fists, rubbing her thumbs against her fingers as she looked up at him. No giggling. No giggling!
“We’d have to meet, uh… quite a few times, probably.”
Cooper looked down at her. His hands unlocked from behind his back and floated to his sides. “Quite a few times?” he said, quietly.
“Oh, yeah. A big project like this could take hours and hours of collaboration.”
He nodded. One of his large fingers pointed to the desk. “Here?”
As he tapped the surface of the desk, Ensie thought of purposes for the wide flat surface that had never even crossed her mind before. She’d never wanted to get started on a collaboration so badly.
“Or your workshop,” she said. “You know. Whichever sounds more productive.”
“Either sounds good to me.”
“Great.”
“Great. Can I say—”
“I just want to—”
They both spoke up simultaneously, and leaned a little closer at the same time. It brought them many centimeters closer than either had meant independently. Ensie froze there. He was so close that her hairnet was almost brushing the center of his chest. She turned her face up to him and saw something very interesting in his eyes.
“You first,” she whispered.
Cooper took a long moment before speaking. “Can I just tell you that I’m looking forward to working with you?”
“Likewise…” Ensie shifted her hand so their fingertips on the desk were touching. “Cooper.”
He shifted his hand on top of hers. Warm pressure, skin-to-skin, flooded up her arm and into her chest. The contours of his rough palm were fascinating as she explored them through the fine hairs and delicate nerves of the back of her hand. Her vision went a little blurry as she dedicated all her brainpower to experiencing his touch against her skin.
A massive noise clattered through the hallway just outside. Ensie recoiled before she recognized the sound of the tool cart for what it was. Cooper started too, raising his hand up and away. He flushed the color of an overripe apple and he refused to meet her eyes as the tech outside pushed the noisy cart from one workroom to the next.
“I.” Ensie brushed the nonexistent dust off the blueprints again, trying to get her voice under control again. Cooper slowly put his hands behind his back.
“That, uh.” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. That was unprofessional of me, and I’m sorry.”
She looked up at him.
“I shouldn’t have… I mean, I didn’t mean anything by, by touching you.”
“You didn’t?”
“Well, I… it’s not… There’s a time and a place, that’s all. Unprofessional,” he rambled, shaking his head.
Ensie felt the grain of the desk beneath her hand. “I made you think unprofessional thoughts,” she murmured.
Their eyes met.
“It’ll never happen again,” he said, something low coloring his voice.
Ensie raised one eyebrow in an unspoken ‘really?’ she would have been very proud of if she had been able to see herself.
Sunlight flooded the room as their lips pressed together.
-
The Grower’s Gift Progeny of Time 1 by Vanna Smythe
In 2102 the Earth is plagued by draughts, floods, and blizzards that come in the middle of summer. The rich and powerful of North America have pulled back into the six remaining megacities, erasing all trace of a central government and leaving the millions displaced by the environmental crisis to fend for themselves in the dying world. But sixteen-year-old Maya is certain she was born with the power to heal the Earth and make it habitable again. The only place she can learn to use her gift is a school, which is run by the ruthless head of the city of Neo York. But the school is only a front for a facility where they will extract Maya’s magic and then discard her. Only Ty, the heir to the city, can keep Maya from being destroyed at the facility. And Ty’s loyalty to his family has never wavered. Will his growing love for Maya be strong enough to save her?
-
Kindred The Alexa Raines Chronicles by J.L. Masters
Book 2 of the Alexa Raines Chronicles.THEN:
4000 years ago she was sold by her parents to serve as a temple maiden. The priests forced her into a sacred ritual which painfully transformed her into a human phoenix. A creature that cannot die.After rebirth, she was furious and murdered the priests with her new powers and ran away. Wandering for years, she was found by a “wizard”, someone well versed in the arcane magical arts, and she taught her what she truly was, gave her a secret name, and taught her magic over the course of decades.
NOW:Alexa Raines died saving her lover from the deviant creatures who tortured and abused so many hapless women in search of power and pleasure.
Alexa has resurrected now and is looking for serious payback against those demons. She will travel across worlds to exact her special blend of bloody justice and woe unto any who stand in her way!
-
DRAINED by Kristy Steward
Marianne leaves behind her family and friends in Connecticut to make a new start at a small college in New Orleans. Soon after her arrival Marianne senses something is very wrong on the university’s campus. However, her thoughts of returning home vanish when she meets her charismatic literature professor Caleb Church. Convinced she wants to stay, Marianne sets out to find the source of her unease. Digging deeper and deeper into the college’s dark history and secrets she discovers things that should not exist and soon finds herself in grave danger. Will Marianne and the love of her life survive?
-
Desired By the Wolf: Part 1 (BBW Werewolf / Shifter Romance) by Mac Flynn
A mysterious stranger. A full moon. A strange lust.
Lenore Anderson’s plain world changes the night she meets the newcomer, Nick Connor. The new owner of a deserted old house, he exudes charm and questions. Why did he move to their small town? How is he so rich? And why does he look at Lenore with such hungry eyes? Those questions lead her into his strange, dark world and into his strong arms, and he’ll never let her go.
Desired By the Wolf: Part One the first entry in the three-part Desired By the Wolf serial, and is not intended to be read as a standalone story.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.