Page 35 of Dark Gambit Reliance
"Frankly, I don't know. After them, Jade would be the most influential, and if she kills Igor, she would be the natural successor. That's the Kra-ell way. But if I was to choose the next leader of the compound, it wouldn't be her. I don't like her attitude toward humans. She's not cruel or anything, but she's dismissive of us. Can your people free the humans?"
Still trying to figure out how to wash such a mass of hair, Marcel smoothed the shampoo over the lengths. "I don't know if that's possible. They know that aliens walk among humans, and when we get involved, they will also know about us. It's impossible to thrall away a lifetime of memories, but they can be compelled to never talk about it." He started massaging the shampoo into her scalp.
Sofia moaned. "That feels so good that it's hard for me to think."
He chuckled. "Do you think it's easy for me to think while staring at your ripe berries?"
A smile curved her lips. "I can help with that." She cupped her breasts, robbing him of the sight.
"Don't do that. I want to watch."
"If you wish." She removed her hands and arched her back, so more of her breasts were above the water. "Immortals don't look alien. You could pretend to be humans with extra powers. If I believed you, they would too."
"You suspected that there was more to me than that." He kept massaging.
"Only because I got close to you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have suspected a thing."
"That's an option."
If they wore the exoskeletons, they would look like an army of invading aliens, but once they controlled the compound and removed the suits, they could say that they were a special task force of whatever. The United Nations or NATO.
"The other problem is that most of these humans were born in the compound. The young ones can adapt to living outside of it like you did, but the older ones might prefer to stay."
"They should be allowed to leave if they want to."
Talking about what would happen after the liberation had the effect that Marcel had intended. Sofia was no longer anxious about her family's survival and was instead thinking about their future after being freed.
"I agree. Can you lean your head back so I can wash the suds off?"
As she rested her arms on the sides of the tub and tilted her head back, the elegant arch of her torso was a work of art that Marcel would have loved to capture in a painting or a sculpture, but regrettably he had no artistic talents.
"You're so beautiful, Sofia," he murmured.
25
SOFIA
The way Marcel said those words sent a delicious shiver of desire down her spine. Or was it her front?
Yeah, definitely her front.
Starting with her nipples and going down to her core. No one had ever called her beautiful, let alone so beautiful, and definitely not with so much feeling, and never with her name at the end.
She'd been called pretty, slender, and graceful, but no one had ever called her beautiful.
It shouldn't feel so good, but coming from Marcel, who was usually so dry and laconic, it was special.
Twisting her hair, she wrung out the excess water and wrapped the thick rope around itself on the top of her head.
"Can you please hand me the towel?"
Marcel arched a brow. "Don't you want me to join you in the tub?"
Sofia hesitated. It could be nice to share a bath, but what she had in mind was better done on a bed, especially since they had resolved to use a condom.
Talk about a mood spoiler, but it was necessary.
The last thing she wanted was to start transitioning, lose consciousness, and regain it to find out that it was all over, and Mother forbid, her family didn't survive.