The Alliance Boxset Books 4-6

Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Almost three hours later, Destin gazed out of the window of the transport as it flew over the area now known as New Chicago. His breath caught when he saw all of the work that had been completed during his absence. Pride swelled through him at seeing the new buildings already completed and the ones still under construction.

The wall that had divided the city was completely gone. The scar from the wall was still present, but he was seeing progress spreading from the middle of the mark dividing the city outward, both east and west. The few historic buildings that had not been destroyed in the fighting over the years and were salvageable stood out against the new construction. Cargo transports, assembly drones, and construction bots littered the city.

A soft whistle drew his attention. He looked over at Trig. The other man was staring down at all the destruction.

“I’m taking a guess that this is not the way your city looked before our arrival. Why would you humans destroy your own world?” Trig murmured with a shake of his head.

Destin could see the slight disgust in the other man’s expression. He gazed down at the city, seeing it from Trig’s point-of-view. His jaw tightened when they passed over the remains of the Harrison Hotel Electric Garage. Completed in 1930, the building was one of the tallest left standing in the Chicago area after the first year of fighting. It had been Kali’s favorite place to retreat and it was where she had saved Razor’s life.

At the moment, it was surrounded by construction platforms. There was a lot that the Trivators could do with new technology when it came to rebuilding the city, but reconstruction of the historical buildings was left to the humans. The preservation of as many historical sites as possible were paramount to Destin. He wanted future generations to have some visual examples of their history and heritage to show them what life had been like before Earth received their first contact.

“What is it?” Sula asked, reaching over to grasp his hand.

“It’s good to be home,” Destin murmured, staring down at the city.

“It has changed for the better since I was last here. I now see hope for a better future.” she said.

“So do I,” Destin murmured, his lips curving up at the corners.

Destin felt Sula squeeze his hand. His throat tightened with emotion when the transport made a wide circle over the city. He knew that Trig had requested the pilot to do a tour so he could see all the progress that had been made since he’d been off planet.

He looked across the lake. A large skyscraper that looked like it was straight out of a science fiction movie rose up in front of them. It had been under construction when he left, but it looked like it was complete now. He shook his head in disbelief. Something that should have taken years to build was completed in less than one. The same went for many of the other buildings that were standing like sentinels dotted across the horizon. This one would be the headquarters for New Chicago as well as apartments for him and many of the others who had fought beside him. The other buildings were housing for the residents of the city. It had been one of his first goals: shelter from the biting winds and horrific winters for everyone.

“Prepare for landing,” the pilot instructed.

Destin sat back and looked out the front windshield. The transport swept in a wide arc before aligning with the opening in the center of the building. He released a deep breath when the vehicle they were traveling in passed through easily. The craft rotated while hovering in the opening. It turned in midair before gently setting down on the landing platform. Even as they undid the straps holding them in, Destin could feel the platform moving the transport out of the landing area and back into the protected area of the building.

He bent and grabbed his duffel bag when the door opened. Trig jumped out and turned to help Sula down. Destin walked to the open door and stared out. A grin lit his face when he saw Tim and Mason standing off to the side near a door. He jumped down out of the transport and shouldered his bag.

He strode across the docking area to his two friends where they stood waiting. They both walked forward, grins on their faces. Tim reached him first and slapped him on the shoulder.

“Good to have you back, Destin,” Tim said with a broad grin.

“Ain’t that the damn truth,” Mason added, his face creasing into a crooked smile.

“This place… The city… They both look incredible,” Destin said, waving his hand at the opening behind him. “And this….” He paused, turning in a slow circle as he looked around. “I can’t believe it’s done.”

“Yeah, well, while you were off playing, we’ve been working our asses off,” Mason chuckled. “I tell you what, when those aliens decide they want to build something, they don’t do it half-assed.”

“It’s good to be back and to see what was done while I was away,” Destin admitted.

“How’s Kali? Is she—,” Tim started to say before his smile faded and his lips became taut. “What is she doing here?”

Destin stiffened and turned. Sula and Trig had walked up and were standing behind them. His gaze flickered to Tim and Mason’s faces. Both men’s expressions held a barely suppressed sneer of contempt.

“This is Councilor Jersula Ikera. She is the Usoleum representative who was assigned to act as a liaison between the Alliance Council and the rebuilding of New Chicago. She is also with me,” Destin added in a warning tone. “Sula, I’d like to introduce Tim Daniels, my right-hand man, and Mason Cruz, the best damn builder on the planet.”

“It is a pleasure to meet both of you again,” Sula replied, extending her hand in the Earth greeting.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Tim replied, not taking her outstretched hand. “What do you mean she is with you?”

Destin didn’t miss that Mason hadn’t said a word, nor the fact that Tim had ignored Sula’s outstretched hand. His eyes narrowed at their rudeness and his lips tightened when he saw the flash of uncertainty cross Sula’s face. She lowered her hand back to her side. Taking a step closer to her, he wrapped his arm around her waist in a protective, and obviously possessive, statement.

“As in ‘she is with me’,” Destin repeated with a slight bite to his voice. “Any disrespect toward her is disrespect toward me.”

“Destin…,” Tim muttered, glancing at Sula then back at Destin.

Destin shook his head grimly. “I want to drop my stuff off at my apartment and give Sula time to settle in. Her belongings are being transferred here. When they arrive, have them delivered to my quarters. I’ll meet with the team in one hour to get a briefing on everything that has happened since I left and to discuss any new developments that need to be seen to,” he ordered.

“I’ll show you to your apartment,” Tim muttered, glancing over Destin’s shoulder to Trig. “What about that one?”

“Trig will need accommodations, as well,” Destin replied.

“I’ll show the alien where he can stay and inform the others about Destin’s return,” Mason muttered with a jerk of his head. “Come on.”

Destin didn’t miss the tight, assessing look in Trig’s gaze at Mason’s attitude. He knew that getting his people to accept the aliens wasn’t going to be easy. He had hoped that working with them side by side for the past year would have made a difference. True, the alien species doing the rebuilding were smaller and less threatening than the Trivators, but still… Tim and Mason both knew and respected Cutter and some of the other Trivators who had worked with them over the past two years since Colbert’s death and the end of the war.

“What floor are we on?” Destin asked, following Tim when he turned toward the lifts set into the wall behind them.

“Nothing but the best for the leader of New Chicago. You get the penthouse,” Tim replied in a cool, distant tone. “Most of it isn’t furnished. There is still some work that needs to be done on the interior. The kitchen, one of the bathrooms, and the rest of the furnishings should be completed within the next couple of weeks. Still, you’ll be able to live in it while the work is being done.”

“I’m sure,” Destin murmured, holding Sula’s hand as the lift rose. “Thanks. What safety precautions have been installed to make sure that the top residents are not cut off in the event of a transport or shuttle accident?” Destin asked.

Tim gazed at him. “Each unit has an external room with an escape pod capable of holding up to ten people. The pod will automatically eject once life forms are detected inside if there is a structural failure. It is capable of flying up to twenty miles before landing, but is programmed to identify and land in the nearest green area. The Trivators are huge on green areas in their designs. The city will be larger than before, but contain half the number of buildings, if you remember,” Tim explained.

“I remembered discussing it in the planning sessions, but wasn’t sure it was a possibility,” Destin replied with a pleased nod. “In the original designs, there were only two such pods per floor.”

“Yeah, one of the alien engineers working on the building thought it might overtax the pods if there were additional people attending a function. She was also concerned that residents could become trapped and unable to reach a pod in the designated area. The change in design is the primary reason the apartments aren’t completely finished,” Tim explained, stepping out of the elevator on the one hundred and twenty-fifth floor.

“It seems strange being in such a fancy place after so many years living in the rubbles of the city,” Destin remarked. He paused when Tim stopped in front of a door across from the lift.

“I know what you mean,” Tim stated, pressing his palm to the door panel and waiting for it to open before he stepped back and motioned for Destin and Sula to enter first. “Welcome home, Destin. I’ll show you how to program the door.”

“Thank you. I appreciate everything you’ve done while I was gone, Tim. I look forward to finding out what else was accomplished.” Destin responded, releasing Sula’s hand when she tugged at it so that she could walk over to the large expanse of windows and look down at the city.

“Yeah, well… I’d like to know what in the hell happened to you, too; and, how you ended up with a Usoleum bit… broad on your arm.” Tim muttered under his breath. His gaze was fixed on Sula’s slender back.

Destin’s jaw tightened into a stiff line and he could feel a hard, steely mask settle over his features. An air of displeasure and warning settled between him and his best friend, who was also his second-in-command. The only reason he didn’t physically strike out at Tim was because he knew Tim had a right to be distrustful of the Usoleums, namely because of Badrick.

“She isn’t like him,” Destin stated.

“She looks a helluva a lot like him to me. Same color hair, same color skin, same build,” Tim gritted out with a glare of distrust at Sula.

“Tim…,” Destin waited until his friend turned his eyes back toward him. “She isn’t like Badrick.”

“How do you know… for sure?” Tim demanded.

“I know,” Destin replied, not clarifying anything.

Tim returned Destin’s look with one of his own before he turned back to the door. “I’ll go help Mason get the group together,” he said.

Destin watched Tim leave. It wasn’t until after the door shut that he realized that neither one of them had remembered that Tim needed to show him how to reset the control panel. He would have to get Tim to show him when he saw him again.

He turned, feeling the silence descend in the room. His gaze swept over toward Sula where she was silhouetted by the brilliant blue sky and fluffy white clouds. From his vantage point in the room, all he could see was the sky. He walked silently across the thick carpet. He couldn’t see the scarred surface of the city until he was almost in front of the window.

“For the first time, I can honestly see a brighter future for my people,” Destin said in a quiet voice, staring down at the buildings still under construction. “It is just like Kali and I used to talk and dream about.”

He turned his head when Sula didn’t answer him. It was only then that he saw the single tear glistening on her cheek. Her arms were wrapped protectively around her waist.

“Sula…,” Destin murmured, turning her to face him.

She shook her head and lifted a trembling hand to wipe the tear from her cheek. A soft, uneven laugh escaped her and she blinked. He reached up and grasped her hand before she could return it to her waist.

“I assumed I would not be very welcomed due to the previous events,” she said.

“I’ll have another talk with them, this time with all of them,” Destin promised. “Most of them lost family and friends in the fighting. Badrick was instrumental in supplying weapons to Colbert and his followers. Some of them were separated from their families when Colbert took over. Tim was one of them. His younger sister, Lina, is one of the missing women. A few people who knew Lina said she was rounded up with a group of women and then taken way.”

Sula glanced down at their joined hands. Destin could feel her hands tremble as he spoke. It wasn’t just that, and he knew it. There were a lot of unhealed scars left over from not only the fight with Colbert but also because of their resentment toward the aliens for making first contact which had set off a horrendous chain of events on Earth.

“I will do everything I can to help locate her. If… If you have any images of the missing women, that will help. I promise, Destin. I promise to do everything I can to locate the rest of the missing women,” Sula whispered, gazing at him.

Destin’s lips curved into a tender smile and brushed his thumb across her damp cheek. “I know you will. If there is one thing that I have learned about you over the last several months, it is that you are one helluva a tenacious woman when you set your mind to something,” he murmured.

“I hate crying,” she sniffed with a rueful shake of her head. “I never cried until I met you – well, almost never.”

“I know,” Destin replied, brushing a tender kiss across her lips. “But, you are a beautiful crier to me.”

Sula chuckled and lifted her arms to wrap them around his neck. He could feel her warm breath against his skin, and he moaned softly when his body responded to her as she pressed up against him. His lips moved along her temple and his arms tightened around her waist.

“I wish to hell we were still on the spaceship. I want to make love to you, but I need to go meet with my team,” Destin breathed, bending his head to kiss the long column of her neck.

“I could pleasure you before you go,” Sula suggested, sliding a hand down his chest and across his flat stomach before she moved it lower. “You would have time for that.”

Destin reached down and gripped her wrist. His eyes glittered with desire. His thumb brushed over her wrist, feeling her pulse quicken at his caress.

“It wouldn’t be fair to you,” he muttered in a terse voice. “Your pleasure comes first.”

Sula’s bottom lip pouted, and she gave him one of her wide-eyed, sad looks. A giggle escaped her when he groaned and captured her lips, crushing them in a deep, passionate kiss that quickly spiraled out of control. His body throbbed with the desire to take her now.

Releasing her lips, he turned her until she faced away from him. Pressing a series of hot, open-mouth kisses along her neck, he positioned her until she was facing the large expanse of tinted windows that looked out over the city. She gasped softly when he slid his hands down her arms before gripping her hands and placing them on the glass.

“Stay like that,” he ordered in a thick voice filled with need.

“Destin,” Sula moaned when he lifted the silky, almost transparent silver cover up around her waist and pulled her leggings down to her thighs. “What…?”

“I want you, but I said your pleasure first. We’ll come together,” he gritted out, unzipping his jeans and pushing them down part way before he wrapped an arm around her waist and aligned his c**k with her entrance. “I need to play with you.”

“My breasts,” she moaned, staring at his reflection in the window. “They… They are so sensitive… Yes!”

Her loud cry echoed through the room when he slid both of his hands up under her top and grasped the pebbled tips between his forefinger and thumb. Her ass moved back against his stomach and her small, firm breasts filled his hands. The sudden touch of liquid on the bulbous tip of his c**k told him that Sula’s body was already opening for him.

“That’s it, Sula, open more for me,” Destin murmured, pinching her swelling n*****s between his fingers. “Open….”

A shudder ripped through him when he felt his c**k start to slide into her. The head of it swelled, filling with blood as he became more aroused. He could feel the four nubs along the inside of her v****a when he slid past them. The moment the head of his c**k sank all the way in, he could feel the muscles lining her vaginal channel begin to pulse.

“Sweet heaven,” Destin groaned when she tilted her hips so he could sink deeper.

“I… like… this,” Sula whispered, trying to keep her head up so she could watch the expressions flashing across his face reflected in the window. “I want more….”

“Oh, you’ll get it,” Destin promised. “Like this….”

His fingers tightened on the soft flesh of her hips and he thrust forward, burying his c**k as far as he could go. Sula’s guttural moans echoed through the room and her head fell forward while her fingers curled against the glass.

“You are mine, Sula,” Destin muttered, pulling his c**k back against the muscles trying to keep him inside before thrusting forward again with hard, deliberate strokes. “Say it. Say you are mine.”

Sula’s head slowly rose and she gazed back at him with an expression filled with desire. Instead of answering him, she closed her eyes and smiled. For a second, Destin thought she was going to ignore him before he caught her softly whispered words.

“I am yours, Destin, but you are mine as well,” she murmured before she opened her eyes to look directly into his. “How does this feel?”

“How does…. What the…?” Destin’s strained tone hissed through the air.

“It is a talent Usoleum females have for pleasing her male. I’ve been practicing it,” Sula whispered.

Destin was speechless. A shock ran through his c**k, stimulating it until he felt like he was literally going to burst if he didn’t come. His body jerked when it happened again, this time a little stronger than before. His hips took on a life of their own, matching the rhythm of the pulses surging around him. The head of his c**k was squeezed and released. Every inch of it was caressed, stroked, and squeezed. A shudder ran through him when he felt his body surging toward a powerful orgasm. Sula’s body responded, gripping him as if begging for more.

Bending forward, he slid his hand under her shirt again and desperately grabbed for her n*****s. His body was draped across her back, his legs together while hers were spread open for him. With a grunt, he pinched her swollen n*****s hard, increasing the pressure until she cried out, her body overstimulated and her orgasm coaxing his c**k to the edge of his control. Destin’s grip tightened when he felt her channel close around him, pulsing and sending miniature shocks along his length.

Another loud cry filled the room, this time a masculine one when Destin’s control snapped and he came hard, filling her womb with his hot semen. His arms pulled her up against him and he straightened his legs until she was caught completely in his grasp. She was his captive, their bodies locked together.

“I am yours, Sula,” Destin muttered, locking his legs so that he didn’t sink down to the floor as the last of his semen drained from him into her.

“I know,” Sula whispered in a shaky, relaxed voice.

Destin chuckled and slowly lowered her feet back to the floor. It would be a few minutes before he could safely pull free. Until then, he rubbed his hands up and down her side and stared out over the city.

“You’ve been holding back on me. I think we’ll need to do a little more exploring to discover what else you can do.” he murmured.

Sula groaned when she felt his c**k begin to slide from her over-sensitive channel. Destin had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from echoing her groan when she tightened briefly as the flange around the head of his c**k caught before sliding free. His hand ran down over the curve of her ass and without thinking, he slapped it lightly.

“Oh!” Sula reacted with surprise, straightening and glancing over her shoulder with wide eyes. “Why did you do that?”

Destin reached out and rubbed where he had gently slapped her. “For almost making me come first, and because I wanted to,” he replied with a grin before he remembered he was supposed to meet with Tim and the others. “I have to go. Your belongings should be delivered at any time. Stay here, if you don’t mind, until I return.”

Sula nodded, pulling up her leggings and smoothing her cover over her hips before she turned to face him. He cleared his expression so she couldn’t see that he was concerned for her safety. Tim and Mason’s barely veiled hostility towards her worried him. He pulled his jeans up and tucked his shirt in. Thank goodness he had not remembered to put his belt on this morning, or he might have ended up coming in his shorts.

“I will. It will give me a chance to explore and complete some work that I haven’t finished.” Sula promised, glancing around the sparsely decorated living room. Destin leaned forward, brushing a lingering kiss on her lips. Once again, he wished he could just say to hell with all the responsibility he had taken on. He would much rather spend the rest of the day exploring Sula – exploring with Sula, he corrected in his horny mind with a sense of exasperation.

“You are addictive,” he muttered, reluctantly pulling away and turning. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“I’ll be here,” Sula said, following him to the door and opening it. “Destin….”

Destin turned to look at her. “Yes….”

Sula opened her mouth and closed it before she opened it again. “Be safe,” she said.

“Always,” he promised, grimacing when the lift opened and Trig stood in the middle of it. “Surprised to see you here, Trig.”

“I thought I’d give you two time to settle in,” Trig quipped, his assessing gaze taking in their flushed and tousled appearances with a grin. “Looks like I was right.”

“Shut up, Trig,” Destin muttered, walking over and stepping into the lift.

Thankfully, the lift doors closed and cut off Trig’s laughter. Destin did not want Sula to be embarrassed. He leaned back and shook his head.

“I can always order you thrown in jail,” Destin muttered when the lift began to descend.

“It wouldn’t help you. I’d just escape,” Trig replied, leaning back against the railing.