Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,160

touch intentional? Was he trying to reassure me?

"Any decent human would be affected by the sort of torture your men were inflicting," Jules barked, her hands shaking as she grabbed her cup of tea.

Dominique lightly shook her head when I went to serve Cavil before taking the tray from me to serve him herself.

"Walker, perhaps you can help," Cavil said as Dominique poured him more orange juice. He grinned maniacally before taking a sip, pausing for effect. "When checking your Walker registration, I noticed that you served the Stonewells prior to being traded to Dormas." For the millionth time since arriving in Ethros, I cursed that stupid registry. Although I wanted to see Josiah, I had a feeling that this would not end well.

I shuffled my feet and entwined my fingers behind my back. What would he need from me?

"I've tasked my soldiers with finding the team of scientists that developed X. Maverick seems to think that their initial notes could unlock the key to finding a cure for the vaccine rejection. I'll have Blan escort you on a trip to our prison. Let’s see if you can get anything out of him."

I immediately tensed up at the mention of Blan and prayed one of the guys would intervene. Going anywhere alone with him was liable to get me killed .

"I'll take her," Cyler said casually, but his eyes were unwavering. "I've spent some time with Josiah, perhaps I can be of assistance."

For a moment, Cavil looked menacingly at Cyler. They were both silently asserting their dominance through their stares. After a few breaths, it was Cavil that broke, nodding his assent. Cyler smiled. "Very well. Just keep out of Blan's way. This is a very important investigation, you know."

I made my way back to the kitchens and robotically washed the dishes from breakfast in the scalding hot water. I experienced a déjà vu of sorts, washing dishes, hurting myself to avoid the hurt in my heart. I worried about Josiah. Last time we saw one another he was sick and possibly dying from whatever concoction Lackley injected him with. Jules' reaction to seeing Josiah meant that this was bad. Very bad. She didn’t even care for him. I wasn't sure how it made me feel, either. There was the worry, of course. I felt empathy and sadness, but I didn't feel that all-consuming heartache that once consumed me when anything bad happened to Josiah. I really had moved on, and I wasn't sure what we were anymore. Friends? Maybe. Strangers? Absolutely.

After a couple hours of cleaning away in a numb and sad haze, Cyler strolled into the kitchen. He wore a grave expression as he approached me. “You ready, Babe?” he asked, and I smiled at the nickname. I always loved hearing such a tender sentiment in his rough voice.

“No, but I will be.”

Once free from Cavil's manor, I expected to be brought to the prison, however, Cyler pulled me towards the Walker quarters. Within moments, we were opening the door to my small room and he was guiding me inside.

"I'm so sorry, Ash, so so sorry," he cooed while guiding me to the bed and laying me down while settling beside me. We stared at one another for a brief moment before he gently kissed the tips of my fingers and the inside of my wrist. He moved up and placed his hand on mine before brushing my curly hair out of my eyes .

I always imagined our first kiss to be like two magnets colliding and clashing from the inevitable pull. I took in his tenderness and soft eyes. This was nothing like my strong-willed Dormas leader. This was soft. Attentive. Unexpected. Perfect.

"I wanted to see you sooner, but I didn't want to make you more of a target. Cavil seems particularly interested in me," he murmured while cupping my cheek. He kissed me again, but this time with more passion. My tongue snaked out and licked his bottom lip, making him growl. Cyler pulled away and sat up. For a couple breaths, he simply drank in my appearance. His gaze felt like a gentle caress. It followed every dip, every curve of my figure and branded his appreciation on every inch of me.

Then Cy maneuvered me so that I was straddling his legs, my Walker dress hiked all the way up. We sat there for a moment, staring into each other's eyes before he spoke again. "I'm so sorry for what you're about to see, Babe.