The Sunfire (42 page)

“If I can’t torture you one way, I’ll
torture you another.” She lifted up slowly, and came down again even more
slowly.

Grabbing her by the shoulders he flipped
them over, pinning her against the mattress as he thrust into her.

Sofia gasped, wrapping her legs around him
as her body surged to meet his.

His rhythm was hard and fast. He was out of
control, desperate for her even though he was deep inside her. When the
explosion came he clenched his jaw to keep from roaring, dropping his head onto
her shoulder as he poured himself into her.

He shuddered with the aftershocks. When the
storm finally passed he realized he was holding Sofia so tightly she probably
couldn’t breathe.

He relaxed his hold as he looked down at
her. His heart was still pounding.

“That was amazing,” she whispered, staring
up at him with luminous eyes.

He rested his forehead against hers,
“You’re amazing,” he said, his voice shaking a little.

He rolled onto his back, keeping his arm
around her so he could bring her with him, stroking her hair as she rested her
head against his chest.

Sofia made a small, contented sound, and
his body twitched in response.

It was hard to believe, considering it had
been less than a minute since he’d pulled out of her, but he was ready to make
love to her all over again.

But she was draped against him, languorous
and sleepy, her breathing already starting to slow. So he willed his body to
calm down as he cradled her against him, content he finally had her just where
he had always dreamed.

In his arms, in his bed and in his life.

*****

Sofia woke suddenly. It was still dark in the bedroom, and
she was woken by the empty void in the bed next to her. For a brief instant she
thought she had been dreaming and as always, when her dreams came to an end she
found herself awake, alone and empty.

However, sudden movement in the bed next to her interrupted
her reverie, and she rolled over to observe Jon slipping back under the covers
next to her. She was suddenly filled with a sense of wellbeing, as she felt him
behind her, holding her securely against his chest, one arm around her waist. A
wave of lust passed over her at the feel of his strong body pressed so close.

“Jon?” she whispered.

“Yes,” he answered, nuzzling the back of her neck.

Her body flushed with pleasure. “What time is it? Where have
you been?”

“It’s a little before dawn, we are currently in orbit above
Eden Prime. I’m sorry for waking you; I just wanted to check on your father,
his safety is still my responsibility. As for you…” His hand moved up her torso
to cover her breast.

She arched back instinctively, her bare bottom coming into
contact with his hard length. “How long have you been like this?”

He played with her nipple, tweaking it between his thumb and
forefinger. She squirmed against him as moisture flooded her centre. “Just an
hour or so,” he murmured into her ear.

“Jon. You’ve been awake this whole time?”

“Yeah. I couldn’t sleep, I felt like I’ve slept enough over
the past five years. You’re lucky I didn’t ravish you in your sleep.”

She arched back against him again. “You could have woken me
up. How about my father? Is he still also asleep?”

He groaned. “Yes. He is asleep. Looks like him and the Doc
had their own celebration. I found an empty bottle of very expensive scotch in
his apartment. He will be fine when he awakes, but will probably have a hell of
a hangover.” His hand slid down to her hip and he pulled her tight against him.

“So why are we back at Eden Prime so soon? I was looking
forward to a couple more days more to enjoy my vacation. I was a little vague
about when I was planning on getting back to work.” The way Jon suddenly
stilled behind her indicated she was probably not going to like the answer to
that question.

“News of your father’s rescue has already leaked to the
media. They are talking about nothing else across the data-nets. Already the
Senators from the Rim Worlds have gone on record to say they will never again swear
an oath of fealty to him. They are threatening to withdraw from the
Confederation. The Senate has been called into emergency session.”

“I must go, this is all my fault,” Sofia cried trying to
disentangle herself from Jon.

However, he would not let her go and simply tightened his
hold on her. Jon’s hand trailed down her torso to come to rest between her
thighs, where he started small, circular strokes that made her gasp. “We still
have time, as it’s a few more hours before the assembly is due to start. Anyway
your father has announced he will speak before the Senate.”

“Jon I must go with him, I need to be at his side. This is
entirely my fault. It was my decision to abdicate, my decision to pass power to
the Senate, my decision to run away from my responsibilities.” Sofia could feel
Jon’s hands stop, his breathing still as he contemplated her words. She knew
that part of him must be tearing up inside, the desire to protect her, to lock
her away conflicting with his desire to respect her wishes, to give her the
freedom she insisted upon. She held her own breath, wondering what she would do
or say if he refused her this request.

“Very well,” he conceded, releasing the breath he had been
holding, his body relaxing. “Then I will also be in attendance, as I swore I
would protect you both, with my life if necessary.”

She was assaulted by a sudden, tidal wave of affection for
him
—
and another wave of lust, this one so powerful she
moaned. “I need you inside me. Right now.”

“I’m on it.” His voice was low and rough and the sound
vibrated through her.

She felt him nudge at her entrance. She moaned again,
arching her lower back, and a second later he pushed inside.

He stretched her, filling her in a way she’d never
experienced before. He rolled her onto her stomach and then pulled her up onto
her hands and knees, thrusting deep. The sensation was so intense she cried out.
When he reached around to stroke the aching, throbbing juncture of her thighs,
it felt like only seconds before she came apart.

He came too, gripping her hard as he slammed into her one
last time, his whole body tensing and then pulsing inside her. Their arms gave
way at the same time and they collapsed together onto the bed. She drew a deep,
shuddering breath.

“Wow,” she said, her voice muffled by the pillow.

She loved his weight on top of her, pressing her into the
mattress. She loved the ragged sound of his breathing, and the way he pressed
kisses against her neck, shoulders and back.

Another wave of affection overwhelmed her and she twisted
around to face him, sliding her hands into his hair and pulling him down for a
kiss.

He kissed her back as if he meant it, and as Sofia gloried
in the feel of his lips against hers she realised suddenly that she meant it,
too.

“Together,” Sofia breathed aloud.

“Together,” Jon echoed.

The Senate, Eden Prime, Eden System

Jon looked around the massive hall of the Confederation
Senate with something akin to disbelief. He had been in this very room more
times than he could count during the years. He had been present for speeches,
proclamations and inaugurations. It was in this very room he had been present
for the founding of the Confederation. Yet he could not once remember it ever
being this unruly. The session had not even started yet and it already looked like
a riot was underway on the Senate floor.

Part of this was the way in which the Senate had been
partitioned for historical reasons. In the very centre of the great hall was
the Imperial throne, to reflect that all power radiated out from the Emperor.
This seat was currently vacant, as Jon had insisted that Marcus and Sofia
arrive only at the last minute, just as the session was scheduled to get
underway.

Surrounding the Imperial throne were the Senators of the
Core Worlds. To show their original support for Edward Aurelius they were
seated at the feet of the Emperor, his very first vassals. Surrounding them,
making up by far the bulk of the rest of the great hall, were the Senators of
the Rim Worlds. Those worlds that were forced to swear fealty to the Emperor or
face complete annihilation.

All in all it seemed to Jon like a castle under siege,
surrounded on all sides by people baying for blood. The only thing keeping the
bloodthirsty hordes back was the small circle of the Senators from the Core
Worlds. They looked small in number and were far outnumbered by the Senators
from the Rim Worlds who seemed to be pressing in on all sides.

“Well this is certainly a sight I never thought that I would
live to see,” Paul quipped at his side, as the two of them looked out across
the masses. “A general brawl in the Confederation Senate. We don’t need to
worry about the rest of the Confederation. These idiots are going to kill each
other before the civil war even starts.”

Jon had read the same intelligence reports as Paul had and
shared the same opinion. Officially the Confederation Navy was meant to be
independent and to enforce the peace. However, in reality the navy consisted of
detachments from the various Core and Rim Worlds. Already the navy was starting
to fracture with individual worlds demanding the withdrawal of their forces
back to their homes for defence purposes. Even worse was that old grievances
were already coming to the fore, with the Confederation Navy already stretched
too thinly to keep the peace. The Rim Worlds were already closing their borders
in preparation for a pre-emptive strike by the combined fleets of the Core
Worlds. Meanwhile the Core Worlds were already preparing their fleets for a
strike by the combined forces of the Rim Worlds.

Jon was fairly certain the result was going to be a near
simultaneous pre-emptive strike on each other. The outcome was going to
reverberate through every planet in the Confederation, like a great line of
dominos, each being drawn into the conflict by another. Exactly the same way
the last Great War had started, over five hundred years before. The result of
that had been the deaths of millions, the collapse of interstellar trade and
the human race on the brink of complete disintegration. Jon had little reason
to believe this war was going to end any differently.

“Do you think it was worth it?” Paul interrupted his
thoughts.

“Sorry,” Jon replied. “Do I think what was worth it?”

“Rescuing Marcus. At the time we gave little thought to the
consequences, perhaps we should have. It might have been easier if he had
remained dead.”

Considering the question carefully Jon replied. “Does it
make me a terrible person if I reply that I don’t care? Sofia grew up without a
mother. It was within my power to return her father to her. I never gave a
second thought about the cost.” Jon remembered the delight in Sofia’s eyes when
she had embraced her father that morning, after they had finally made it out of
bed. A young woman who by some miracle had her father returned to her. In
return the smile she had given him, the look of childlike, innocent delight.
That was worth more than any price.

“No, not a terrible person,” Paul said. “A person blinded by
love perhaps, but not a bad one. Well anyway, the session is going to get
underway soon and I need to see to the security arrangements.”

Jon observed the session was indeed soon to begin, as he
noticed a detachment of fully armed marines pushing through the crowd. Jon knew
somewhere within that group would be Sofia and her father.

“Then everything is ready?” Jon asked grimly.

“It is. I have a squad of marines on standby to escort
Marcus and Sofia out of the Senate at the first sign of trouble. We have an
assault shuttle on standby to evacuate them. The
Protector
and the 12
^th
Fleet is already on alert and they will provide fighter escort to the shuttle
if required.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Jon said, but without
much conviction. Both he and Paul had been in riots before and this was what it
was going to turn into. There was already a charge in the air, a feeling of
restless anticipation. Like a few moments of still before a storm was about to
break. “I need to take my place next to Sofia and Marcus.”

“Good luck,” Paul replied. “I think we are going to need
it,” he added under his breath.

As Jon pushed his way through the angry crowd, making his
way towards the centre of the Senate he was able to observe more than one
poorly concealed weapon. Jon had been amazed to discover a number of the
Senators were carrying personal weapons and when challenged had claimed
diplomatic status and refused to be searched on the grounds of privacy and
diplomatic immunity.

Jon was incredulous there was no Senate law on members
bearing arms, as under the rule of the Emperor anybody entering the Senate
chambers would have been thoroughly searched, even the diplomats. Anybody
caught bearing arms would have been executed.

However, under the Confederation such rules and legal
niceties were expected to be observed. Jon just ground his teeth together in
frustration. Only reassured by the armed marines that had been placed around
the perimeter of the hall and the snipers he had personally deployed covering
the rest of the great hall. In total there were more than enough weapons
present within the Senate to equip a small army and hence Jon was fully
expecting a scene of carnage in the very near future.

Stepping up onto the podium to take his usual place beside
the great throne, Jon observed the squad of marines disperse around the raised
platform, allowing Marcus and Sofia to take their assigned places.

With a simple nod of acknowledgement in his direction, Sofia
first approached the speaking platform, as one of her duties as Confederation
President was to start the proceedings. Looking out among the multitudes of
people who were shouting, arguing and bickering, she announced in a clear
voice, that rose above the background noise.

“Senators, friends, and citizens. I have stood in this place
and addressed you all many times before. I have spoken to you as a Senator, I
have spoken to you as a President and I have spoken to you as a friend.
However, for the first time I am speaking to you as none of these. For today I
speak to you as a daughter, who has had her father returned to her. I lost my
mother when I was young, and for a time I thought I had also lost my father.
That I was truly alone in this world. You might remember my father. Perhaps you
remember him as a tyrant, a dictator, nothing more than a bully who enforced
his will upon you. However, I remember a different man. One who held me in his
arms while I cried after my mother passed away. I remember a man who used to
leave the lights on in my bedroom, as I was afraid of the dark. I remember him
as a man who no matter what the crisis, no matter how important the engagement,
no matter how large the audience, always took the time to read to me. You might
consider him as a person who cared for nothing but his own power. However, just
a few days ago I heard this man offer everything, all his power, wealth and his
very life just to spare my own. So today I stand before you as a humble
daughter, grateful to have my father back.

I only have one request, as I have already sacrificed so
much for you, family, future, happiness, and my love. I have never asked for
anything from you in return before, but I ask it today. I ask that you listen
to what my father has to say before you pass judgement. For it is easy to cast
the first stone of hate, but far harder to accept the hand of reconciliation.

Therefore I yield the floor not to the Imperial Emperor, but
to a great man, Marcus Aurelius. My father.”

As her speech had progressed the room had become still. The
arguing stopped, the shouting fell away, the bickering ended, and every eye in
the room turned to face Sofia. Every ear in the room strained to hear her
words. When she had finally finished, all eyes focused towards the raised dais.
As the hundreds of Senators watched open mouthed, Marcus Aurelius stood, a
thoughtful expression on his face. Instead of approaching the podium he crossed
to his daughter and enfolded her in a tight embrace.

The couple stood like that for many minutes, tears of joy
and relief on their cheeks. In front of a crowd of hundreds, broadcast to tens
of millions, but to them it mattered not as finally they were reunited, once
again.

The couple were about to break apart, one to retake her
seat, the other to take the podium and to make a speech that would decide the
fate of hundreds of worlds and of tens of billions of people. However, it was a
speech that was never to be, as before they could separate the echo of a single
gunshot resounded throughout the Senate.

Jon was already moving, before the echo of the shot had even
faded, but he already knew that he was too late, as together father and
daughter both fell to the floor.

Motionless.

End of Book Two.

The Redemption
Trilogy concludes with Book Three “Pax Imperia” available in the fall 2013.

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