Sophia smiled as her sister’s face came to mind, but it was bittersweet because she missed her terribly. “Mind you, our mother was always quick to warn Cora that she’d have droopy skin if she didn’t stop.”
“Ah yes, the importance of maintaining appearances. Something you were raised to be obedient to.”
There was a note of judgment in Decima’s voice that irritated Sophia. “It’s no more ridiculous than you insisting on banishing feminine graces. Aren’t you maintaining appearances as well? Ensuring that you are taken seriously as a Guardian when your gender threatens to set you apart? We aren’t so different.”
Decima’s expression hardened but there was a hint of vulnerability in her eyes.
“Well spoken.” Bion’s voice came from just outside the entrance to the alcove. With the light behind him, his silhouette glowed as he entered. “Guardian Decima likes to think herself very far removed from her own gender.”
Decima faced off with Bion, embodying the supreme confidence Sophia admired in her. There was no quivering, no hint of unsteadiness. She didn’t even seem to notice the fact that her head barely reached Bion’s shoulders.
“We all have our weaknesses,” Decima purred. “Captain Donkova likes to believe himself so accomplished, but he is as fallible as the rest of us.” Bion frowned but Decima held up a delicate finger to quiet him. She cast her gaze toward Sophia. “Which accounts for his attempts to smother you with his devotion to your training.”
Bion suddenly grinned. “I assure you, Guardian, I was very careful to avoid smothering her last night. Novices’ beds are rather small when there are two in them.”
Decima shook her head. “If you wanted me to depart, attempting to shock me is rather a predictable method to employ. Somehow, I expected more originality from you, Captain, but it isn’t the first time you’ve disappointed me.”
There was a note of reprimand in her tone that made Sophia curious. Bion’s eyes narrowed in response. Decima turned and left without another look back at Sophia. It was a kindness, one Sophia wasn’t ignorant of. Her temper flared to life as she struggled to control the rise of emotions Bion’s suggestive statement had aroused in her. Aroused.
“Of all the presumptuous statements,” she exploded.
Bion cocked his head at an angle and crossed his arms over his chest. The pose made him look impossibly large, the sleeves of his uniform straining as his biceps bulged. She wanted to stop noticing things like that.
“You really are no gentleman.”
His amused expression ignited her temper further. She just couldn’t squelch the urge to stick her finger out at him and move closer. “Only a knave would allow himself to be thought my lover when you haven’t even stolen a kiss.”
She jabbed him in the center of his chest, her finger still pressing the maroon wool of his uniform when he struck. He unfolded his arms in a flash, sweeping her arm aside in a fluid motion, then completing a full circle around her waist and clamping her against his body. He flattened his hands against her back, pressing her forward so that there wasn’t an inch of space between them before his mouth smothered her gasp. She really had never been kissed before.
Bion swept every last doubt from her mind with a firm conquest of her mouth. His lips were hotter than she had ever imagined. The contact was alarming and she pushed against his chest, but he cupped the nape of her neck and continued his assault. Yet it wasn’t crushing; he tenderly teased her lips with his, tasting her and sending a flood of sensation through her.
Her body filled with pleasure as excitement tore through her belly with a fierceness that stunned her. Bion took full advantage of her paralysis, tilting his head so that their lips might fit together more completely. The delicate skin was suddenly alive with sensation that overwhelmed every thought she had, sweeping it away and
“Ah yes, the importance of maintaining appearances. Something you were raised to be obedient to.”
There was a note of judgment in Decima’s voice that irritated Sophia. “It’s no more ridiculous than you insisting on banishing feminine graces. Aren’t you maintaining appearances as well? Ensuring that you are taken seriously as a Guardian when your gender threatens to set you apart? We aren’t so different.”
Decima’s expression hardened but there was a hint of vulnerability in her eyes.
“Well spoken.” Bion’s voice came from just outside the entrance to the alcove. With the light behind him, his silhouette glowed as he entered. “Guardian Decima likes to think herself very far removed from her own gender.”
Decima faced off with Bion, embodying the supreme confidence Sophia admired in her. There was no quivering, no hint of unsteadiness. She didn’t even seem to notice the fact that her head barely reached Bion’s shoulders.
“We all have our weaknesses,” Decima purred. “Captain Donkova likes to believe himself so accomplished, but he is as fallible as the rest of us.” Bion frowned but Decima held up a delicate finger to quiet him. She cast her gaze toward Sophia. “Which accounts for his attempts to smother you with his devotion to your training.”
Bion suddenly grinned. “I assure you, Guardian, I was very careful to avoid smothering her last night. Novices’ beds are rather small when there are two in them.”
Decima shook her head. “If you wanted me to depart, attempting to shock me is rather a predictable method to employ. Somehow, I expected more originality from you, Captain, but it isn’t the first time you’ve disappointed me.”
There was a note of reprimand in her tone that made Sophia curious. Bion’s eyes narrowed in response. Decima turned and left without another look back at Sophia. It was a kindness, one Sophia wasn’t ignorant of. Her temper flared to life as she struggled to control the rise of emotions Bion’s suggestive statement had aroused in her. Aroused.
“Of all the presumptuous statements,” she exploded.
Bion cocked his head at an angle and crossed his arms over his chest. The pose made him look impossibly large, the sleeves of his uniform straining as his biceps bulged. She wanted to stop noticing things like that.
“You really are no gentleman.”
His amused expression ignited her temper further. She just couldn’t squelch the urge to stick her finger out at him and move closer. “Only a knave would allow himself to be thought my lover when you haven’t even stolen a kiss.”
She jabbed him in the center of his chest, her finger still pressing the maroon wool of his uniform when he struck. He unfolded his arms in a flash, sweeping her arm aside in a fluid motion, then completing a full circle around her waist and clamping her against his body. He flattened his hands against her back, pressing her forward so that there wasn’t an inch of space between them before his mouth smothered her gasp. She really had never been kissed before.
Bion swept every last doubt from her mind with a firm conquest of her mouth. His lips were hotter than she had ever imagined. The contact was alarming and she pushed against his chest, but he cupped the nape of her neck and continued his assault. Yet it wasn’t crushing; he tenderly teased her lips with his, tasting her and sending a flood of sensation through her.
Her body filled with pleasure as excitement tore through her belly with a fierceness that stunned her. Bion took full advantage of her paralysis, tilting his head so that their lips might fit together more completely. The delicate skin was suddenly alive with sensation that overwhelmed every thought she had, sweeping it away and
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