#SampleSunday #Snippet from Raif's Story (new #PhoenicianSeries #novel coming soon!) #SciFi #mystery #thriller
It's been just about a month since I last posted a sample or snippet so I figured it was time to share another nibble or taste of where the new book will be. The snippet shared here is still in draft form, remember, so it's still possible any or all of this material might be replaced, deleted or modified from the form presented here when the final book comes out.
This snippet is from the last third of the book and sets up a lot of story threads that are picked up in Conditioned Response . The events described here, like the characters, are fictional. Any resemblance to real people is coincidental (or imagined ;-))
Raif rolled over onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow to take a good, long look at the woman in the bed next to him. Girl, he corrected himself. Julia Travis was still a girl, just barely a week past legal age, though she had more woman in her than some of the doxies he’d bedded. What had he been thinking when he’d accepted this gift from the Seven Chiefs? And what had they done to her? Julia had barely acknowledged his existence last week when he and Jared had taken her and Freddie out to dinner but now...this whatever this was. What kind of spell had they cast on her? Would it wear off? Would she suddenly realize he was just a Proctor after all?
She nuzzled towards him and wriggled in a sleepy stretch, seeking out his arm as a pillow, then she tilted her head back to look up at him and ask, “What? What’s wrong now? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No, you’re not.”
“Sure, I am.” He ran a hand lightly over her long, silky legs. Her skin gave the term Privilege Class silk a whole new meaning. He really had no right to her, he decided, not knowing how he’d gotten her. He shouldn’t have let those old men give her to him this way, like she was a thing, not a person. She didn’t even know that she’d been tricked like this. The only thing worse than knowing she’d been bent without her knowledge or consent to serve his lustful needs was the fact he still had no idea what price he’d have to pay to have had her. He wouldn’t have turned it down not matter the cost. He couldn’t have found that much will power inside himself. They knew that. They’d been inside of himself, inside his mind and heart and soul. They’d known just what to offer him.
They’d told him to enjoy himself, enjoy her, but it was hard to enjoy something you knew had hidden costs. The Seven Chiefs weren’t the type to forget a debt. He knew that much about these Phoenicians already. They hid behind old man faces but they thought like young men—eager and ambitious young men. They were playing some kind of game and stacking the deck to win a later hand. Raif had no idea what the game was or he’d play right along; he might even win a hand. He was pretty good at most games of chance, able to calculate even complicated odds, but this was different.
He didn’t even know where the game began and where reality left off. It would bother him every time he touched Julia Travis, wondering if she really enjoyed his touch or if it was the old men making her feel that way. He’d wonder when she looked up at him the way she was now if that was her own smile or if Cadmus had made her do it. Was she just his puppet or could she still think for herself? And what about the last few hours? Had Cadmus been watching them do it? Had he used Raif’s mind to spy on them while they’d been going at it? Had Cadmus even known how it had felt for Raif to slip inside her? Could Raif ever trust any moment in his life to be private again? And just how far was their reach anyway? If he asked them directly, would they tell him? Were they watching him now? Did Cadmus know he was thinking about these things?
Raif tried to sense his own thoughts, to identify if someone were touching his mind, but he couldn’t be sure of anything. He wasn’t even sure if the feeling of his hand touching Julia’s ass right now was real or imagined. Suddenly, he couldn’t wait to get back to Phoenician land and have a private little sit-down with the Seven Chiefs. He’d definitely neglected to lay down sufficent ground rules for how this whole arrangement was going to work.
Julia’s brow furrowed and she lifted a hand, stroked her fingernails over his beard stubble, scratching lightly. It sent a chill down through him, which seemed to please her enough that the crease between her brows disappeared. At least that reaction he knew was due to himself not the old men manipulating her. She dove her fingers into his hair and pulled until he tilted his head to the side, then she massaged his temple with her thumb.
In a thoughtful tone, she said, “You are much too serious for someone who’s admiring my scenery. What’s really going on inside the pretty head of yours, and how do I get it to stop?”
“I’m just thinking about the future, where all of this is going.”
She drew back and almost looked shocked, which he supposed was a good thing, an authentic feeling anyway. She sat up and scooted herself around to face him, folding her legs into a pretzel and giving him a stunning view.
“Going?” She snapped, obviously trying to sound stern but failing to instill any sense of threat given the pose. “This isn’t going anywhere. You’re pretty enough and...” She ran her eyes down his length and his dick thickened under her visual touch. She extended her hand and ran just one fingertip lightly over his shaft, stirring the embers of desire back to life. “...well, you’re really good at what you do but sorry, no one is that good in bed, not even you. Besides, I’m too young to get serious, remember? You’re the one who said it!”
“I remember, and you are. Me, too. Both of us are too young to get serious about something like this. We’re just having a little fun between friends, but—”
“No! No but! What’s gotten into you, Raif?”
“Don’t you ever think about the future?”
“Of course, I do! Here’s what I think. I’m gonna rule the whole fucking Council and when I do, I’ll buy your contract and maybe a few others then you you can all take turns fucking me all night. How’s that sound?”
He grinned and pulled her down next to him then rolled over onto her. “Like a horny little teenager talking a big talk, but I’m not sharing you with anyone else.”
“So I can’t sleep with some like Richard Gaultier, only a Proctor? Is that it?”
“You’re already sleeping with both of us and that should be enough for any girl.” Her smile faded. “What?”
“I was kidding. I wouldn’t sleep with Richard Gaultier. Where did you get the idea I’d sleep with an old fart like him?”
He leaned back on one elbow. “You don’t remember who he is? I explained all that to you, this afternoon in Security Holding.”
Had Cadmus wiped her memory? Raif had had a long conversation in Security Holding with both Julia and Shayla, explaining to them about his dual identity as Richard Gaultier. He’d done it not only to reveal his secret identity to Julia, but to explain to them both how their lives were going to be connected from this moment going forward. In addition, the financing of both of their Council Seats was going to be coming from Gaultier and Raif needed Julia to be on board with protecting the lies from discovery. It was in her vested interest, but he couldn’t let himself forget her youth made her naïve about some things. Not sex, apparently, but she didn’t seem to know much about the realities of business.
Julia chewed her cheek then said, “I remember we were talking in Security, and that girl was there, though I’m not sure why. I think there was some mention of Gaultier funding me on next year’s Council but…there was something else about that Phoenician girl—”
“Her name is Shayla. Please don’t call her that Phoenician girl. She’s a part of us now.”
“Us? Whatever. Fine, Shayla. But why is some Phoenician here? I mean,” She scooted out from under him and sat up again, pushing her hair back off her face. “not her specifically, but how come a Phoenician’s running for the Council? I don’t get—wait, I’m missing a few hours, aren’t I? It’s like someone—” She gasped. “Shit! Did someone Adjust me? Raif, could that have happened? Have we been together since we left Security? Please tell me you’ve been with me every second since we left Security.”
She clutched at his arm and sounded scared. Now he wished he’d never gotten her involved in this whole mess. “I have, and…” He swallowed and committed to the lie. Obviously, Cadmus had touched her memory of the conversation, but why? And if Raif told her again, would Cadmus interfere a second time? For that matter, would Cadmus keep his promise not to touch Raif’s mind? How could Raif even know? It was clear to him now, Raif was going to have to find a better method of organizing his thoughts, his memories—a method that allowed him to perform self-checks and detect when he’d been touched, Adjusted or otehrwise, as it seemed the Councillors had nothing on the covert methods of the Seven Chiefs.
Raif assured her, “No one’s Adjusted you, Julia. You’re fine. Maybe I was too vague when I explained it to you.” He sat up and sat facing her. He had to look her in the eye for this, see her reaction. “Let me tell you again about this secret I shared with you.” Her eyes sharpened with interest. “You can’t tell anyone else but I told you before, I’m Richard Gaultier. He and I are one and the same man.”
“What?”
“I created him, years ago, to get around Dramond, to hide money and now—”
“No way! You’re the Privilege Class old fart funding my Seat? I distinctly remember seeing a file on him. You showed me a—”
“A fake file, with fake records and fake information, all of which I fabricated five years ago. I made up that family line and selected a respectably old age for the monarch then inserted him into the Breeding Selections. He’s not old money. His money is only five years old, since the day I made it. There’s no such family in the Archives the Original Members brought. I made it and him and the whole line of Heirs up. Gaultier, his history, everything, all a front for me to lead a double life. You must remember some of this.”
“But he owns—”
“I own it. All of it. It’s all mine, including the decision to partner with you on the Council Seats.”
“Partner?” She crossed her arms which reflected nicely on her supple young breasts. He could definitely partner with that.
“Yes, we’re partners—well, Gaultier, you and Shayla are partners. She knows about Gaultier, too, but I don’t think she really understands the concept of a secret. Her people don’t lie. Lucky for us, she doesn’t talk much.”
#
To read more about Raif, Julia and Shayla, be sure to get your copy of Conditioned Response today. The book from which the above snippet is taken has not yet been titled, but it will precede Conditioned Response in the series. Follow this blog and/or "like" The Phoenician Series on Facebook to be sure you get news of when the book is released!
Thanks for stopping by!
-Friday
@phoenicianbooks
This snippet is from the last third of the book and sets up a lot of story threads that are picked up in Conditioned Response . The events described here, like the characters, are fictional. Any resemblance to real people is coincidental (or imagined ;-))
Raif rolled over onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow to take a good, long look at the woman in the bed next to him. Girl, he corrected himself. Julia Travis was still a girl, just barely a week past legal age, though she had more woman in her than some of the doxies he’d bedded. What had he been thinking when he’d accepted this gift from the Seven Chiefs? And what had they done to her? Julia had barely acknowledged his existence last week when he and Jared had taken her and Freddie out to dinner but now...this whatever this was. What kind of spell had they cast on her? Would it wear off? Would she suddenly realize he was just a Proctor after all?
She nuzzled towards him and wriggled in a sleepy stretch, seeking out his arm as a pillow, then she tilted her head back to look up at him and ask, “What? What’s wrong now? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No, you’re not.”
“Sure, I am.” He ran a hand lightly over her long, silky legs. Her skin gave the term Privilege Class silk a whole new meaning. He really had no right to her, he decided, not knowing how he’d gotten her. He shouldn’t have let those old men give her to him this way, like she was a thing, not a person. She didn’t even know that she’d been tricked like this. The only thing worse than knowing she’d been bent without her knowledge or consent to serve his lustful needs was the fact he still had no idea what price he’d have to pay to have had her. He wouldn’t have turned it down not matter the cost. He couldn’t have found that much will power inside himself. They knew that. They’d been inside of himself, inside his mind and heart and soul. They’d known just what to offer him.
They’d told him to enjoy himself, enjoy her, but it was hard to enjoy something you knew had hidden costs. The Seven Chiefs weren’t the type to forget a debt. He knew that much about these Phoenicians already. They hid behind old man faces but they thought like young men—eager and ambitious young men. They were playing some kind of game and stacking the deck to win a later hand. Raif had no idea what the game was or he’d play right along; he might even win a hand. He was pretty good at most games of chance, able to calculate even complicated odds, but this was different.
He didn’t even know where the game began and where reality left off. It would bother him every time he touched Julia Travis, wondering if she really enjoyed his touch or if it was the old men making her feel that way. He’d wonder when she looked up at him the way she was now if that was her own smile or if Cadmus had made her do it. Was she just his puppet or could she still think for herself? And what about the last few hours? Had Cadmus been watching them do it? Had he used Raif’s mind to spy on them while they’d been going at it? Had Cadmus even known how it had felt for Raif to slip inside her? Could Raif ever trust any moment in his life to be private again? And just how far was their reach anyway? If he asked them directly, would they tell him? Were they watching him now? Did Cadmus know he was thinking about these things?
Raif tried to sense his own thoughts, to identify if someone were touching his mind, but he couldn’t be sure of anything. He wasn’t even sure if the feeling of his hand touching Julia’s ass right now was real or imagined. Suddenly, he couldn’t wait to get back to Phoenician land and have a private little sit-down with the Seven Chiefs. He’d definitely neglected to lay down sufficent ground rules for how this whole arrangement was going to work.
Julia’s brow furrowed and she lifted a hand, stroked her fingernails over his beard stubble, scratching lightly. It sent a chill down through him, which seemed to please her enough that the crease between her brows disappeared. At least that reaction he knew was due to himself not the old men manipulating her. She dove her fingers into his hair and pulled until he tilted his head to the side, then she massaged his temple with her thumb.
In a thoughtful tone, she said, “You are much too serious for someone who’s admiring my scenery. What’s really going on inside the pretty head of yours, and how do I get it to stop?”
“I’m just thinking about the future, where all of this is going.”
She drew back and almost looked shocked, which he supposed was a good thing, an authentic feeling anyway. She sat up and scooted herself around to face him, folding her legs into a pretzel and giving him a stunning view.
“Going?” She snapped, obviously trying to sound stern but failing to instill any sense of threat given the pose. “This isn’t going anywhere. You’re pretty enough and...” She ran her eyes down his length and his dick thickened under her visual touch. She extended her hand and ran just one fingertip lightly over his shaft, stirring the embers of desire back to life. “...well, you’re really good at what you do but sorry, no one is that good in bed, not even you. Besides, I’m too young to get serious, remember? You’re the one who said it!”
“I remember, and you are. Me, too. Both of us are too young to get serious about something like this. We’re just having a little fun between friends, but—”
“No! No but! What’s gotten into you, Raif?”
“Don’t you ever think about the future?”
“Of course, I do! Here’s what I think. I’m gonna rule the whole fucking Council and when I do, I’ll buy your contract and maybe a few others then you you can all take turns fucking me all night. How’s that sound?”
He grinned and pulled her down next to him then rolled over onto her. “Like a horny little teenager talking a big talk, but I’m not sharing you with anyone else.”
“So I can’t sleep with some like Richard Gaultier, only a Proctor? Is that it?”
“You’re already sleeping with both of us and that should be enough for any girl.” Her smile faded. “What?”
“I was kidding. I wouldn’t sleep with Richard Gaultier. Where did you get the idea I’d sleep with an old fart like him?”
He leaned back on one elbow. “You don’t remember who he is? I explained all that to you, this afternoon in Security Holding.”
Had Cadmus wiped her memory? Raif had had a long conversation in Security Holding with both Julia and Shayla, explaining to them about his dual identity as Richard Gaultier. He’d done it not only to reveal his secret identity to Julia, but to explain to them both how their lives were going to be connected from this moment going forward. In addition, the financing of both of their Council Seats was going to be coming from Gaultier and Raif needed Julia to be on board with protecting the lies from discovery. It was in her vested interest, but he couldn’t let himself forget her youth made her naïve about some things. Not sex, apparently, but she didn’t seem to know much about the realities of business.
Julia chewed her cheek then said, “I remember we were talking in Security, and that girl was there, though I’m not sure why. I think there was some mention of Gaultier funding me on next year’s Council but…there was something else about that Phoenician girl—”
“Her name is Shayla. Please don’t call her that Phoenician girl. She’s a part of us now.”
“Us? Whatever. Fine, Shayla. But why is some Phoenician here? I mean,” She scooted out from under him and sat up again, pushing her hair back off her face. “not her specifically, but how come a Phoenician’s running for the Council? I don’t get—wait, I’m missing a few hours, aren’t I? It’s like someone—” She gasped. “Shit! Did someone Adjust me? Raif, could that have happened? Have we been together since we left Security? Please tell me you’ve been with me every second since we left Security.”
She clutched at his arm and sounded scared. Now he wished he’d never gotten her involved in this whole mess. “I have, and…” He swallowed and committed to the lie. Obviously, Cadmus had touched her memory of the conversation, but why? And if Raif told her again, would Cadmus interfere a second time? For that matter, would Cadmus keep his promise not to touch Raif’s mind? How could Raif even know? It was clear to him now, Raif was going to have to find a better method of organizing his thoughts, his memories—a method that allowed him to perform self-checks and detect when he’d been touched, Adjusted or otehrwise, as it seemed the Councillors had nothing on the covert methods of the Seven Chiefs.
Raif assured her, “No one’s Adjusted you, Julia. You’re fine. Maybe I was too vague when I explained it to you.” He sat up and sat facing her. He had to look her in the eye for this, see her reaction. “Let me tell you again about this secret I shared with you.” Her eyes sharpened with interest. “You can’t tell anyone else but I told you before, I’m Richard Gaultier. He and I are one and the same man.”
“What?”
“I created him, years ago, to get around Dramond, to hide money and now—”
“No way! You’re the Privilege Class old fart funding my Seat? I distinctly remember seeing a file on him. You showed me a—”
“A fake file, with fake records and fake information, all of which I fabricated five years ago. I made up that family line and selected a respectably old age for the monarch then inserted him into the Breeding Selections. He’s not old money. His money is only five years old, since the day I made it. There’s no such family in the Archives the Original Members brought. I made it and him and the whole line of Heirs up. Gaultier, his history, everything, all a front for me to lead a double life. You must remember some of this.”
“But he owns—”
“I own it. All of it. It’s all mine, including the decision to partner with you on the Council Seats.”
“Partner?” She crossed her arms which reflected nicely on her supple young breasts. He could definitely partner with that.
“Yes, we’re partners—well, Gaultier, you and Shayla are partners. She knows about Gaultier, too, but I don’t think she really understands the concept of a secret. Her people don’t lie. Lucky for us, she doesn’t talk much.”
#
To read more about Raif, Julia and Shayla, be sure to get your copy of Conditioned Response today. The book from which the above snippet is taken has not yet been titled, but it will precede Conditioned Response in the series. Follow this blog and/or "like" The Phoenician Series on Facebook to be sure you get news of when the book is released!
Thanks for stopping by!
-Friday
@phoenicianbooks
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