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This afternoon, he’d been drunk on his horht, it’d be a conscious choice, one that would haunt him forever "The answer is no It’ll continue to be no"
A blush of color across her cheekbones, so fucking innocent he called hiet this far But then she parted her lips and he couldn’t remember what he meant to say
"Why not?" she insisted "There’s a connection between us"
It was all he could do not to take what she was offering His cock pounded with every beat of his heart, hard and painfully ready to take her, mark her "Have you ever been with a man, Katya?"
"You know I haven’t"
Yeah, he knew Psy didn’t believe in such inti - we do this, it won’t only be physical sensations you experience"
A steady look, but he felt the fine tremors that snaked over her body, they were pressed so close "I’ll feel more bonded to you"
"That’s one way to put it" He couldn’t let go, couldn’t step back "This afternoon, you learned to hate me a little"
She didn’t answer
"Tell"Yes"
It felt like a fucking lance through the heart, for all that he’d known it already "We do this, think about how badly it’s going to hurt when I have to throw you into a cell"
She physically flinched "I know things will change I’m ready"
It would be so easy, so very easy to let her talk hiainst hers "Or are you just hoping I’ll spare your life if we fuck?"
Her entire body went stiff at the deliberately crude stateripped her hip instead "Hate h yet, or - "
"You’ve ry hands "Now let o!"
He heard the break in her voice, and it broke hi her to hi till he whispered, "Shh, I’ve got you"
A pause "You said that towhisper "You saved ht"
Unspoken were the words that it was a life he could no longer protect
When they slid to the floor, he leaned back against the wall and held her as close as humanly possible They sat that way for hours, until dawn streaked its way past the horizon
Chapter 19
"The situation in Sri Lanka," Shoshanna said to Henry, "were you responsible?" They’d been a tea to increase their combined power in the Council, but after the incident with Ashaya Aleine’s prototype ied She was certain he’d sustained brain da him, whatever had happened had unleashed another part of his personality - one that could lead to their downfall
"And if I was?" He sat across from her, eyes dark, without expression
She checked her shields to ensure they were locked tight Henry was a telepath, 95 on the Gradient He could sweep through aspeed Satisfied she was still safe, she sat back in her own chair "It wasn’t you," she said slowly "You’re smart You learn from your mistakes" He’d never confirmed it, but she knew he’d been behind the spate of public violence by Psy approxio, violence that had led to renewed support for Silence "Given the way the PsyNet functions, violence will only spawn more violence And you want Silence to hold"
"Not just hold, less They’d both learned to use such little "humaniseling media
"No?"
"No I want it to consume the Net, until there isn’t even a whisper of dissent"
Pure Silence hat Shoshanna wanted as well, but"What about the Council?"
"Perfect Silence will eliaze "We’ll all think with one mind"
"Io so far as to kill her to achieve his aie, we’re too individualistic to forht, one not Shall ait and see?"
She gave a slow nod, moved to the true reason she’d asked to ether than we are apart"
"Yes"