Page 20 of Rebels Rising

I frowned, stepping back automatically as if I could physically put space between me and this conversation, suddenly uncomfortable. I may be able to admit to certain things to myself inside my head, but speaking them aloud to another soul was out of the question. No way.

Once those words were out there, there would be no putting them back.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ I said, my mask of superiority and indifference falling back into place far more smoothly that I liked.

His expression turned sad at my response, and I was torn. A part of me wanted to take it back and spill everything I was thinking, release all of my unchartered emotions on this man so he could take the weight of their load, but the larger part of me shut it down.

‘I’m serious, Cadmus. When you’re ready, if it’s what you want and as long as you mean it, I would be glad to have you join us.’

I couldn’t speak, my stare boring into him. I hoped my eyes weren’t giving away my emotions, but I had a feeling they were shining through bright and clear for him to see without my permission. His answering smile was soft, knowing, and patient, and I just knew he could see right through me.

Well, metaphorically. Physically, that was currently a given.

No point in denying it when the jig was already up. I may as well just be honest with myself as well as Bromm, though that wouldnotextend to the woman in question. I was certainly not ready to put myself out there like that, the idea of rejection twisting my stomach so harshly I actually felt sick. I could act as tough and uncaring as I wanted, but the reality was I was afraid. Always afraid. If I didn’t put myself out there, I couldn’t get hurt. Not again.

But Bromm wasn’t taking my silence for what I had intended it to be. Instead, he was calling me out on my bullshit, and he didn’t even have to say a word to call his damn victory.

‘So what if I do have feelings for her?’ I snapped. I knew I was using anger as a shield, but it was an involuntary response that I was perfectly happy to keep in place.

‘I think you’ll find she’s more open to letting people in than she seems,’ he responded evenly.

‘The last word I would use to describe Artemis isopen,’ I snarked.

‘She’s very open when she wants to be,’ he said, a smirk pulling at his cheeks.

‘Yeah, I’m sure,’ I deadpanned, but the image of her on the floor, legs spread wide as she held Bromm’s cum inside her had my cock stirring. It wasn’t the most ideal situation, and there were shadows that haunted the memory no thanks to that scientist bastard, Demari, but my cock still stirred at the image she had presented. She was definitely more open in some ways than I had previously seen, but she was no longer hiding behind the mask of a man. Could she be open to more? With me?

‘You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, I’m just saying I won’t stand in your way if it’s what you decide. Though I won’t be going anywhere. We’re a packaged deal now, you know.’

The silence descended once again, heavy with unspoken words and feelings desperate to escape. I wasn’t in love with her, but the potential to fall was so much greater than I had ever experienced before. It was terrifying. It was exhilarating. It was overwhelming.

‘I highly doubt a woman like that would ever look twice at a prick like me,’ I confessed, my voice small yet cutting through the quiet like the sharpest of blades.

‘I don’t think she would have let you touch her in the first place if she wasn’t at least attracted to you. She has a soft spot for all of us, but she won’t make the first move.’ He paused, his face twisting as he mulled over his own words. ‘Okay wait, I take that back. She might make the first move sexually, but you’ll have to let her know if you want to bring emotions into it. She’s not so good with expressing those without a little guidance.’

I chuckled. ‘She’s something else.’

His grin was blinding and a reassurance I hadn’t even known I’d needed. ‘Indeed.’

CHAPTER 7

Artemis

Everything was so bright, loud, and busy. I watched from my rooftop perch as people bustled about the city below, no one bothering to look to one another as they went about their business, no one pausing to breathe in the fresh air or take in the stunning view of the sunrise peeking over the mountains, staining the sky pink, purple and orange.

None of those people realised how good they had it. They took their freedoms for granted. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that if they were ever to end up in captivity, surrounded by plain, windowless walls and breathing in stale, recycled air they would wish they’d paid more attention.

It was one of the reasons I sat up here and people watched. All of those lives and not one of them ever bothered to look up. Not one of them ever bothered to slow down and just simply exist in the moment. It was always onto the next, always moving, never stopping. It was such a travesty, and I couldn’t look away.

Oh, how I would have killed to be so ignorant.

It also put some things into perspective for me. If I’d never been taken in by The Program, I never would have appreciated the everyday things everyone seemed to miss. It was like they skimmed past the parts of living that made life exciting. The things that made life worth living in the first place. The wonders of their planet and their people. The way they could enjoy their lives however they saw fit, but they chose this life of mundane boredom that they always seemed to complain about, yet they rushed into it regardless like it was their most precious priority.

I wanted to throttle them.

I wanted tobethem.

Movement out of the corner of my eyes had my gaze drifting to the side, the out of place shadows drawing my attention. A man was stepping from a doorway, hair ruffled, lipstick smudges staining his skin around his mouth and his neck, and he was still in the process of buttoning up his shirt. Awoman stepped out behind him, leaning over to press a kiss to the corner of his lips. He deepened the kiss, grabbing her around the waist and drawing her closer, their bodies pressed together in a heated moment of passion. When they separated the woman’s face was flushed and she gazed up at him under fluttering lashed, a shy but coy smile tilting up her bruised lips.

---