Grady's Awakening by Bianca D'Arc Page B

how she was holding up every once in a while.
    To be honest, she loved flying. It was an amazing feeling to be as free as a bird and see things from above as the hawks and eagles must perceive them. It made her long for wings of her own. Of course that was impossible.
    She tried not to think about Grady. Being carried like a satchel across vast expanses of woodland without the ability to talk easily to her companions while in the air made for a lot of time alone with her thoughts. She wondered where he was and what he was doing. She wondered when she would see him again—if ever. And mostly, she wondered if a relationship with a warrior Prime was even possible for someone like her. They both had limitations. She was a secret inductee in a secret society. He was a closely monitored experimental test subject. How in the world could a relationship between them work? And did he really want a relationship, or was he being a romantic fool, carried away by the moment and the new emotions bombarding his system?
    She grew depressed thinking that in all likelihood he’d find some other woman before they ever saw each other again. A hunk like him wouldn’t go unclaimed for long. Not if the Alvian females got wind of how truly gifted he was in the sack. She’d never had better. Heck, she’d never even dreamed of anything better than Grady Prime, between her legs, pumping them both into ecstasy. She shivered, just remembering the climaxes he’d given her. They were that good.
    And likely never to be repeated. After a while, she decided to chalk it up to a great memory and try to get on with her mission. She had a complicated road to walk over the next weeks and thoughts of Grady, and what might never be between them, could only cause her problems. She had to focus. Things were bound to get dangerous in the next few days, and she had to be on her best game.
     
    She only let herself think of Grady deep in the night, when she was preparing for sleep. She said a little prayer for him, hoping he was safe and hoping he’d meant what he said about finding her one day. It would be nice to see him again, she decided. Even if he’d moved on. But if he hadn’t…
    She was making herself crazy with thoughts of him. She had to coax herself to sleep each night when she and the winged brethren made camp.
    After a few days of near constant travel, they had arrived near their destination. They’d flown through mountain passes that allowed them to keep their altitude as low as possible. It was still heady. The air had been thin and the temperatures cold, but the high tech fabric of her uniform had been designed by Alvian materials engineers to withstand worse. The Patriarch himself had overseen her supply and had given her the best clothing and equipment, though her most valuable assets were her martial arts skills and her mind.
    The same mind that plagued her with thoughts of Grady when she least expected them. She’d replayed their night together in her memory many times as the soldiers flew her through the sky.
    She couldn’t go on this way—distracted by memories of a man who frankly scared her now that she had time to think about it. She had important work to do. She had to at least try to scour him from her mind and concentrate on the work at hand.
    Hanlon set her down after the final leg they would travel together and gave her the smallest lift of one side of his mouth. She was right. He was charming when he smiled.
    “We are instructed to go no farther with you. You will walk from here.”
    “I know,” she said, smiling back and earning a quizzical look from the handsome angel. That’s how she thought of them. Angels. Though she tried hard not to call them that to their faces. But what else could they be? Tall, gorgeous, fair-haired and muscular with wings , for cripes’ sake. Those were angels in her book all right. “Thank you for taking me this far. I really enjoyed flying with you and Shaugness. It is an experience I will