Page 44 of Ashfall
His name rolls off me in a breathy moan, and my back arches as he glides a finger through my slit. “I knew it, fucking soaked.” His words have me pushing against the pressure, and he answers my prayer as he glides inside me. I twist my head over my shoulder, one hooded eye stealing a glance at a man who’s lost that cool, controlled front he’s displayed outside this room. His head rolls back, the muscles bulging up his thick throat with the strain. The grip on my hips tightens, and I know it’ll leavebruises in the shape of fingerprints, and I’ll look at them and smile at what they represent. When his head snaps back, his eyes lock back onto mine, and it spreads goosebumps over my skin, making me feel like I’ve been caught in a predator’s grip.
The impatience inside me is brave enough to entice it closer, and I shift forward, then slowly arch back until my ass presses against him. I do it again, and when he doesn’t move, I huff out a sigh of frustration “Lev, please.” My brows crease, and the thread that seemed to be securing its self-back together in his silence, unravels itself all over again.
“I love it when you beg with my name on your lips.” The guttural scream that comes from my soul is muffled when he slams into me, the material of my once whole t-shirt scrunching beneath me. My breath is caught in my lungs as he slides against that spot inside me at a pace that makes my eyes roll to the back of my head.
The bed dips beside me and my eyes open briefly, enough to see his foot step onto the mattress. He tilts himself at an angle that throws me over the edge, the pressure of his length now constantly pressing against my orbit of pleasure. The coiling in my core gives way to an orgasm that rattles every fiber of my nerve endings. Noc’s groan has me tightening around him, his words hissed through gritted teeth. “Fucking hell.” I collapse on the bed as he withdraws, sending a shudder through my tensed muscles.
I roll onto my back, my hooded eyes staring up at this otherworldly creature that stands before me. He reaches up, biceps tightening as inked hands spread through his damp hair, his chest rising and falling in sharp breaths. He flashes me a blinding smirk, sending welcoming flutters around the center of my heart. “Don’t look at me like that,” he mumbles, and I laugh as he shakes his head, grabbing a towel I laid out for him, the spray of the shower filling the room.
I flop my head back on the bed, laying in the blissful aftermath. A darkened outline shades over my eyes, and when I lazily open them, Noc’s face is mere inches from mine. His lips come to claim mine, and the kiss is a stark contrast to the way he just fucked me. It's soft, tender, and silently possessive. When he pulls back, my pulse lurches at the way he looks at me, his whisper tickling over my lips. “I love you.” He pushes up, not even waiting to hear if I’ll return the sentiment. I hear him step into the shower, and I couldn’t even force away the grin if I tried.
The next morning,we’re all gathered in the command center to formally report. I woke up earlier and found the bed beside me empty, which had sent a small shred of unease through me. That was until I remembered that Noc would have likely been called up earlier to meet with James and Burrows. I stroll into the room to find Hunter, Rhaine and Adam already here, and I sit in the empty chair next to Adam. “Sleep well?” he asks, typing away on his laptop and, just before I gear up to poke his eye, he looks up at me with a smile. “You look better, none of those deep shadows under your eyes that have been there the last couple of weeks.” And here was me, thinking he was taking a leaf out of Phantom’s book and going in for a jab. I smile.
“Yeah, thanks. It helps when you have an actual mattress too, I suppose.”
He huffs out a laugh. “Tell me about it, and at least the rooms are more soundproof… partially.” My hand whips out and slaps his chest, his laptop almost skidding to the floor before he grabs it. He raises his own defense. “Sorry, sorry. I couldn’t resist. I just thought you were trying to send morse code through the wall.” I groan, sliding down into the seat further, and Adam’s laugh only grows, his hand reaching out to shake my shoulder. My eyes peek open, I glimpse Hunter and catch the way he winksat Rhaine, her blush tells me that at least I’m not the only one enjoying themselves at night.
Phantom comes in next, running at a pace you would take if you’d missed the school bus, and plops down between us all. “I’d just like to announce that I will never take quarters at a US base for granted, ever again.” The room filters with laughter and hell don’t I agree with him. Hawk strolls into the room, James and Burrows hot on his heels. The room falls silent, the lights dimming as the large screen on the wall comes to life, providing a soft hue.
Adam leans over to me and whispers in my ear, “Not sure if I prefer this, or when Hawk had to use a twig to point at the map.”
I bark out a laugh at the memory, “The twig added to his character, that’s for sure. Birds like their sticks.” Adam manages to keep his laugh more concealed than mine, the only giveaway is the shake of his shoulders. My gaze shifts to the front, catching eyes with Hawk who raises a questioning brow, and I smile like a child caught elbow deep in a cookie jar.
But then I'm immediately drawn away as my senses intertwine with the awareness of Noc entering the room. He's in an official military uniform, which includes dark camo cargos, combat boots and a shirt with his badge and number stitched into the side. My heart flips cartwheels at the nostalgia, finally able to revisit those times without the pain they used to bring, knowing the truth behind his absence. Normally they’d cause my throat to constrict with emotion, but this time it makes my throat gulp in hunger.
“Morning team.” Noc's voice is still laced full of that morning roughness, and it sends a low boom across the room as everyone acknowledges him. I'm a tad slower whilst I deal with the feelings he sent straight between my thighs. My “Morning, Sir” comes slower than everyone else's so he hears it. His eyes glance up from paperwork on the desk to lock onto me in a warning,one I hope I'm punished for later. And the way he hides his amused smirk with the back of his hand, tells me I will.
“Intelligence have managed to pull the upload data and gather everything from Graves’s files.” I hold my breath as Noc eyes each of us as he speaks, the screen behind him pulling up various files. “Graves has been smart. There were almost a hundred of these documents. They’re a mixture of reports, meetings and random letters with dates and numbers throughout. Some relate to specific military objectives – others, we can’t quite figure out at this point. But they may hold the key. He wants us on a fool's errand, there are 147 possible bases across the seven states.” My eyes narrow as I scan over the documents on the screen. Some of them don’t even read like anything Graves would say, some seem like made up reports, the events not coming to mind as my eyes shift over the details.
Hawk speaks up as the screen shifts. “We’ve also tracked every legitimate security firm in the US. None have been called out to protect anything in the areas we’ve located. So, he’s either gone underground or sourced one through Volokov.” My spine stiffens; Graves has anticipated this. The man always seemed to have a backup plan for everything – an escape route neatly planned out.
Noc takes over. “We’ll continue to look over the files and extend our search for overseas security firms. This part may take us the longest. So, I need you all to be ready at any given moment to intercept him. We will not chase the weapon, that’s for Viper-3 and chem warfare to handle. You guys will be alerted of any sightings of Graves. We unfortunately need him alive. The piece of shit has a lot of crimes to answer for.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
nyx
It's been nine staggering days since Graves landed in the US. He's gone completely dark again, not a hint of smoke left behind. The man knows how to hide. He’s planned for this eventuality, hence the precision in his disappearance. He’s hadyearsto plan his ascension, so naturally, he'll have planned the fall too, probably thinking he’d never have to use it. I’m patiently hoping we find the gap in his armor. We’re working with every source available at our fingertips to locate him, across the entire country, but still... Nothing. And it’s not a good sign. Noc’s unease grows by the day. And I’m filled with a burning agitation, more sinister than what I felt that first day I discovered Noc was alive. This time, I know what lies ahead.
My phone shows it’s almost 2100 hours, Noc is passed out next to me after another heavy day. Curfew for our base is 2130. But we're not just regular military, we’re classed as VIP, so we have a little more free roam - within reason. I have enough clearance, for instance, that I can head to the fitness center without issue. And it’s steadily becoming a nightly routine for me to head over and run my lungs to near rupture on the treadmill, fifty minutes at a continuous speed until I head back, shower and try to shut off. It's easier than before, knowing Nocwill be sleeping beside me, but it's clearing my head beforehand that gutters my mind.
As soon as I hear the soft snores coming from the man beside me - small rumbles that are far too adorable for an animal like him - I take that as my queue to slink out. I slide a pillow beneath him to replace my form, then head to slide my trainers on. It's less than a nine-minute walk from our quarters, and there's regular nightly patrols who’ve picked up on my new routine. None of them would dare say a fucking word anyway. I push through the double doors, eyes zoning in on my usual machine, but the room is cloaked in darkness. “Shit.” I can't work out where the damn light is, my fingers patting the side of the interior walls. I head back out and search the outer walls, hand skimming for a light switch. Just as I head further down the corridor, I hear the dim buzz of bulbs whizzing to life behind me.
I swing my head back, seeing the faint illumination of a white light bleeding out from underneath the doors. The lights must be censored, so I guess they just took a while to come on tonight. The treadmill I use is over at the far end, nearest the window that shows the rolling distant hills, and when it’s a clear night like this? The stars are always visible. It’s an image I know so well. My feet would pound hard against the rubber belt, staring into the night sky with longing; it used to make me feel close to Noc when I lost him, and now, it’s bringing a different sense of calm knowing I have him back.
I step up onto the treadmill, the button beeping loudly as I begin a slow walk to warm up the muscles in my legs. I connect my earbuds to my phone and shove them in, scrolling for this evening’s perfect song. Just Pretend by Bad Omens shuffles on.Perfect. My hand reaches out to place my phone in the holder, the other jabs at the speed, increasing to get ready to slam it for the chorus starting. But my phone doesn't go in the holder, there’s already another one placed inside. My handgrips around it; someone must have left this earlier. I lean over to place it on the other machine, but something makes me pause. The darkened screen lights up on the lock screen with the movements, and a bone chilling breeze sweeps over my entire body.
The screen is black, but there’s bold, red text sparking to life with a message, and the first thing that I notice is my name:‘Open me Nyx’
My hand slams the emergency break, skidding the whizzing band beneath my feet to a halt. My eyes fly over the empty gym, but there’s no one here, and I don't feel that unwanted prickle over my neck when I know I'm being watched. I walk myself backward to the far wall, eyes scanning over the room a million times until I feel the cool plaster connect with my back, ensuring I have a view of the entire floor. The tremble in my hands starts to increase, thumb flicking up the screen to find that it isn't password protected.
A small red circle glows above the messages along the bottom banner, indicating a message – but it feels like a subtle warning. My finger hovers over it, eyes snapping up to do another scope of the room. When they lower, I open it. A video plays, the static filling the empty brick room of the gym, the loud thump of footsteps mixes in as the camera points to the ground. Five footsteps… ten footsteps, then they stop at twelve. The black boots freeze in the camera as it slowly tilts to reveal a figure slumped over in a chair. It appears to be masculine figure, they’re dressed in civilian clothing, a dark woven bag over their head.
Their arms are restrained behind them on a chair, and blood dampens the color of their clothing. The only reason I can tell they’re alive is by the small visible dips of their head, trying to remain calm and controlled. A hand reaches out, dragging the hood harrowingly slowly from their victim’s head. My joints fusetogether. The familiar profile of that face, a face I last saw almost four years ago, one I only imagine as I speak through letters.It's my dad.
His face is full of shadowed bruises, mixes of blues and purples forming along the creases. I take inventory of the blunt force trauma to the back of his head, going by the dried blood that streaks over his forehead. It carves downwards bands from his head, cutting across his tanned skin. He's awake. But he doesn't acknowledge the camera. His face from this angle gives nothing away, but that’s dad. Never shows pain, never shows fear. Never, shows weakness. The voice that expels from the phone has my knees buckling from beneath me, and my back slides down the plaster, ass hitting the ground with a thump whilst my heart collapses along with it.
“Daddy dearest here, seems to be as idiotic as his wife. One little message to him, that his poor daughter was in jeopardy, had him running to me like the fool he is.” My teeth clench hard as the sound of Graves's voice gnaws through my nervous system. “And of course, a father’s love knows no bounds. He didn't even hesitate. I must say, I thought it would take a little more convincing to get him to come to me. But it seems as though a simple threat that I had his precious Brodie in my hands was enough to have him step out of the shadows.”
