Free Grady's Awakening by Bianca D'Arc Page A

wanted to feel this feeling for just a little while longer.
    “I can handle it if you can. And I’ll be right by your side, Gina. Let them look all they want. Without emotion, they will never understand what draws us together. If we feel anything for them, it should be pity.” Grady squeezed her fingers reassuringly.
    “Do you really pity those who can’t feel?” His response would tell her just how far he’d come from the emotionless Prime he’d been most of his life.
    He sighed heavily as his steps slowed. “I pity myself for having spent so many years not feeling as I do now. I pity all beings who question but can never understand the answer, even when it’s staring them in the face.”
    She gave his arm a final squeeze before letting go and opening the door to the communal mess. “You’re a good man, Grady Prime.”
    He followed her inside and together they went to gather their meal.
    “You make me a better man, Gina. Being around you inspires me to be better than I was yesterday. You’re a good influence.”
    His words, spoken low so that only she could hear, made her feel warm inside. They spent the next few minutes gathering food from the cafeteria-style setup. Armed with full trays, they sought a place to sit at one of the long tables arranged in rows around the room. This early in the morning, only a few were occupied by early risers or those coming off night duty.
    “After breakfast I must work on my investigation. I will probably be free to eat lunch around noon. Will you join me? Or can you spend some time with me later today?”
    She loved the way he couldn’t quite hide his eagerness. He was so new to emotion, he had a kind of eager puppy quality to him. At the same time, she realized he was somewhat fragile. Lack of understanding could cause him to misinterpret and bruise his sensitive feelings. She had to remember that and be careful of him. Hurting this beautiful soul was the last thing in the world she wanted to do.
    “I’ll meet you here for lunch,” she agreed, marveling at the grin that passed over his face. “And I can meet you for dinner as well. I should be through with my preparations by sundown. There isn’t much left to do here. I was expecting to leave, just not this soon.”
    “Will you be gone long?”
    She was glad to see he knew enough not to ask her where she was going. “A few weeks, if all goes well. Maybe longer. I don’t really know. As long as it takes to either accomplish my goal or fail utterly.”
    He laughed at her graveyard humor, warming her with his easy camaraderie. She’d missed this kind of thing. Sure, the humans among the Zxerah were the next thing to siblings, but they’d all walked hard roads to become members of the Brotherhood. Grady Prime had been through hell too, but it seemed to affect him less. He appeared to revel in each newfound feeling and his delight in the simplest of things was contagious. It just plain felt good to be around him.
    On more than one level. He made her feel feminine and almost…pretty. She hadn’t been supermodel material, even in her youth. She was short and sturdy. Muscled from her pursuit of Olympic gold and her need for survival ever since, she had an athlete’s body and a plain face. Neither ugly nor gorgeous, she was used to men admiring her martial arts skills, but not the kind of fascination she saw in Grady Prime’s eyes. He made her feel beautiful.
    “Then your mission is like mine.” His words brought her back to the conversation as he scraped his plate with his fork. “It’ll take as long as it takes. Though I assume the Council will reel me in at some point if I don’t show results. Until then, I have some freedom.”
    “What will they do with you?”
    It suddenly occurred to her that he was an experimental subject. In all likelihood he’d been sprung for a mission and might have to go back to being a prisoner of the medical establishment after it was over. She didn’t want that for him. It made