Aria fell forward, her head resting against the pillow, biting into the fabric. Her fingers were clawing at the sheets, desperate for a way to channel the surge of pleasure racking her body. Ryden stopped for only a moment to let her body adjust, but then he began to move in earnest.#p#分页标题#e#
With every thrust Aria took him to the hilt, his balls slapping against her ass. The pleasure was building with such speed inside her that she forgot to care who heard her and just screamed in absolute bliss.
Ryden rode her body, pulling her up to meet his powerful pace, leaving Aria to surrender herself to the motion, seeing stars before her eyes. Her body was giving in long before her desire did. She could no longer feel her legs and barely managed to hold herself up, but her pussy was wet for Ryden, needing more of him.
"Yes, oh God yes," she moaned, losing track of what she was saying. "Fuck, fuck, oh fuck oh God yes so good, yesyesyes..."
She tried to push back, but her whole body was nothing but a leaf in the wind, racked to the core by Ryden's strong body pounding into her. Aria sobbed in breathless satisfaction, feeling her orgasm come with a force that scared her, threatening to make her black out.
She tried to warn him, but the general knew already, his grip slipping on her hips, fucking her with unrelenting vigor until she was cumming, hard. Aria's entire body convulsed, the orgasm hitting almost like a shock wave, at one second a lightning strike to her body, leaving her drained in the next.
Through her own blinding climax, Aria felt the general groan behind her, his hips pounding his seed deep inside her pussy. Her body was limp in his hands when he finally pulled out after the last, sharp thrusts.
Aria collapsed on the sheets, gasping for air. For a second, she was honestly afraid she'd faint from the sheer force of her finish, but she managed to keep her consciousness at least. Nothing else worked, however. Her body felt like a doll with its strings cut. If a fire alarm sounded, she couldn't have lifted a finger to move.
Ryden pulled her into his warm, sure embrace. That was fine, Aria thought, that was good. In her gerion's arms, that's where she wanted to be. On that day and all those that followed.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Ryden
As the Conqueror healed and Aria said her goodbyes to those people she'd miss, Ryden made sure that the war wasn't forgotten. It was the one thing that Brions hated the most. Bloodshed was never a goal of its own, but if it happened, there was a lesson to be learned from it.
On the other hand, he was still a Brion general and so was Diego Grothan. And while it was true that the galaxy had many misconceptions about them, there was a lot of truth as well. They were not threatened, not by anyone.
Since the Elders had decreed that they should try to get along with the union , the generals had simply stayed away from them. It was much better to let the politicians deal with the being nice part. They had wars to wage, and showing weakness more often than not tended to get you killed.
So now that they had been forced to interact with the council and the disastrous consequences that it brought, there were a few things Ryden simply couldn't leave the way they were.
The Fremma fleet was the easiest to deal with. After the Triumphant had jumped into the system, they'd been keeping as much distance as it was possible to have, hiding on the other side of Ilotra. To the commander of the Fremma, Ryden sent a simple message:
"I remember. You might as well do the same. We are Brions. We are always the victorious side."
He didn't wait for a response to that. Of anyone, it was the scavengers who had the practical mind to understand that notice loud and clear. In fact, now that the war was over, the fleet suddenly remembered very important matters in the opposite direction of Ilotra.
Diego found Ryden's note to be amusing, as he did enjoy his twisted sense of humor.
The Koliar were a different matter. The new commander sought no revenge upon Ryden directly, but their overall mood was still cold enough to freeze space around them. They handled them in the simplest way possible: as a challenge. When the Conqueror's engines came back online, both the Brion warships turned as one to face the Koliar to see if they'd want to settle the old score.
They didn't.
Fight for another day, Ryden thought, standing on the bridge of his ship.
He had to wonder if he'd still have the vessel if someone else had been leading the Gray Armada in Stavor's stead. He mourned the enemy, as was the Brion way with opponents that had earned their respect.
His hands had healed, but from time to time a surge of pain still went through them. It was a source of grim amusement for Ryden, as if Stavor refused to die and was living on through him.
The final matter was the council.
"General," Captain Hastien said. "A message from our ambassadors."#p#分页标题#e#
"Put them through."
The holoprojector came to life, casting the room in a blueish glow. The Brion ambassadors stood there, each of them broadcasting from their rooms. Their stance was fearful, Ryden noticed at once. As Brions themselves, of course they were most anxious to see if he'd make any of them pay for their silence.
Ryden had considered that, but he decided against it. The orders from the Elders had been clear. The Brions had to stay in the union and—if possible—avoid fighting with them. That last part was added with a good amount of humor, because the Elders were Brions too after all. Not to fight with the union wasn't really in their nature.
"How is the mood on Ilotra?" Ryden asked.
The leader of the delegation, Ambassador Goyen answered, shrugging. "As well as you might expect. Tired, but hopeful."
"What about the council?"
Goyen allowed himself a small sneer. "As ever, as well."
"That needs to change," Ryden said, perfectly aware that in his own way, Klaen was right about them all. "You need a new speaker. One who at least makes a show of impartiality."
Goyen snorted, giving him a long look.
"I suppose you have someone in mind, General," he said. "Need I point out that—"
"I'm not putting a gun to your head," Ryden cut him off coldly. "I'm merely implying who I would give my vote to."
His voice was dark and low when he spoke again, catching the ambassador's attention at once.
"The orders from the Elders were clear. We need the union as much as they need us. But what went on during the war is unacceptable. Put someone else in charge or we will."
"Are you giving us orders on how to rule?" Goyen asked, although it was clear he knew the answer. "It's hard to sell our peaceful image like this."
"I'm making a suggestion to my representatives in the council," Ryden said dismissively and then added with a snarl, "And you should not forget. We are not peaceful. We simply choose to be. You know that as well as I do."
The ambassadors exchanged looks, but Ryden couldn't have cared less if they liked what he had to say or not.
"Quite a suggestion with two flagships in the system," Goyen said at last.
Ryden snarled, seeing the ambassadors wince like he'd hit them.
"We are merely here for the time being," he said quietly. "Perhaps you should remind the council of that. We will leave and not interfere, but we are never far away."
***
Aria brought him the news a few days later when they were preparing to leave. Her beautiful face was shining with sincere joy, her blue eyes alight with naked relief.
"Did you hear?" she asked, almost clapping. "They took Klaen down from his position as the speaker for the council. Oh, you should have seen his face! He kept screaming it was your doing."
"I might have suggested it," Ryden said, waiting for her reaction.
He'd considered not telling her, but found it to be impossible to keep secrets from his gesha. Aria looked startled for a moment.
"Did you threaten them?" she asked very quietly. "You and Diego Grothan?"
"All we did was suggest a recall of the speaker."
"But nothing else," Aria said, the plea clear in her voice.
"Nothing else," Ryden promised her. "I spoke to my ambassadors and suggested a candidate, but neither I nor Diego ever set our foot in the council room when they voted."
"So Wellack was elected honestly," Aria finished with visible relief. "They just made the right decision. For a change."
The general nodded, a smile playing on his lips, watching her simple joy. It pleased him too, to hear the Palians would lead the union for a while. They had their differences, but at least they could hold the other responsible for honest disputes.
"Almost makes me want to stay," Aria said, looking at the screen showing Ilotra. "Now that there is hope the council will actually function like it was supposed to."
Ryden said nothing, watching his little Terran. He knew the words she was about to say long before she did, but they were all the more sweeter for the wait.
Aria turned away from the moon and walked over to him. Ryden pulled her into his arms and gently caressed her hair.
"I love you," Aria said. "There is nothing that could make me stay. I have only one place in the galaxy now, and that is by your side."#p#分页标题#e#
The general brushed a curl of her golden hair away from her face, looking at his gesha.