Free Unlocked by Maya Cross

this. "But how does that work?"
    " Well, the council has sixteen members, one of whom is in charge. By all appearances, they are just a regular member of the group. Anything that requires their attention as the Archon is dealt with through the Alpha computer network. The commands come anonymously, so nobody but the Archon and their lieutenant know the source."
    "Lieutenant?"
    He nodded. "The Archon chooses a second in command, someone to take over if anything happens to them. They're like a backup. Otherwise, there would be no way to choose a new leader when the existing one dies. The lieutenant is the only other person that knows who runs the show. It's a little eccentric, I know, but it works."
    "I was going to say paranoid, actually."
    "Maybe that too. We didn't always do things this way, but about five hundred years ago, one of our enemies managed to infiltrate the group and, through the Archon, they learned everything. We lost hundreds of members and years of progress. So we devised a system to stop that happening again."
    It all seemed incredibly mysterious, but then again, that was true of the entire situation. Besides, on some level, that just added to the coolness of it all. I was basically living in a conspiracy theory!
    I couldn't help but smile as the full implication of what he'd said sank in. "So, when you said you didn't know, was that you telling the truth, or you toeing the company line?"
    "That was me telling you I didn't know," he replied, a twinkle in his eye.
    "Right. But if you were in charge, I'm guessing you probably wouldn't tell me anyway, right?"
    There was a twinkle in his eye when he replied. "Perhaps not. I need to keep some secrets, Sophia."
    I sighed dramatically. "I suppose that's fair. Well then, mister councilman, what do we do now?"
    I'd intended us to talk a little more about the problems we faced, but apparently he had something else in mind. In response he gently rolled me away from him, then pulling me close until we were spooning. Although I still wore my top, I was naked from the waist down, and the position pressed my bare ass against the growing hardness between his legs. I felt my body stir again.
    "Now, we make up for lost time," he replied, his voice growing husky.
    And despite the weight of the discussion we'd just had, he quickly convinced me that that was exactly what I wanted to do.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Sophia
     
    The next few days were a mixture of frustration and joy. By night, I had Sebastian back. We ate together, we talked, and we spent a great deal of time reacquainting ourselves with each other's bodies. Although it hadn't been that long since we'd been intimate, it felt like I was discovering him for the first time all over again.
    However, while the sun was up, things were different. As much as we both wanted to just shut ourselves away and ignore everything, the fact was, Sebastian still had a job to do. The threat — whatever it was — wouldn't disappear on its own. If we wanted any hope for some kind of normality in the future, we had to take action.
    Or should I say, he had to take action. Although he tried to keep me in the loop, my involvement was strictly second hand. There was no way for me to attend their meetings without putting us both at risk. He'd return to his room, which was now our room, and brief me on what had happened that day. They had a few leads, but so far they'd hit nothing but brick walls. Aside from that they apparently spent most of the time fighting about what the next step was.
    I tried to amuse myself while he was gone, but it was hard. I wasn't used to being left to my own devices. I hadn't had more than a few days to myself since high school. It didn't help that I was confined to quarters. Until things were safe, Sebastian insisted I did not leave the building. I read a lot and watched more TV than I had in my entire life, but within a few days I felt dangerously close to breaking point. I began having visions of myself as one of those