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Chapter
Fifteen

Two
weeks before the wedding, Kane cleared his schedule of everything that couldn’t
wait until his return from
NorthCentral
. There was
still plenty to do for the members of Ace’s and Harper’s bridal party. Each of
the Weathermen was in the bridal party, and Kane didn’t want to travel back and
forth, so he was staying in
NorthCentral
until after
the wedding.

Julianne
had cleared her schedule as well, but Patti had insisted she take along her
laptop. Kane took his, too, but he promised her he’d only work when she had to
so they could have as much time free of their jobs as possible.

Transportation
between the cities was unrestricted, but with only electric vehicles used
underground, it was also slow. A train system connected each of the cities to
the others. Kane had arranged a private car for them, and while it wasn’t
large, it did prevent them from having to sleep and eat with strangers.

It
would take them approximately thirty hours to reach their destination, but Kane
hadn’t wanted to feel like a sardine the entire time. Julianne teased him about
it, but he noticed how impressed she was with his ability to secure this car
for them. “You can go and find a berth in the general car if you want,” he
said, sipping his drink, “but I’m staying here for the journey.”

She
laughed softly. “No, I think I’ll make the sacrifice and act like royalty
instead.”

“
I’ve heard you say that before. Is that really how I
come across?”

“
No, not really. Well, all right.
Most
of the time. I’m not used to it, Kane. I come from humble
beginnings.”

He
shifted his weight on the seat to face her. “That’s exactly why I enjoy
pampering you. Don’t you think you deserve this?”

“
It’s not a question of deserving it. It’s a question
of necessity. Your lifestyle is extravagant and elitist.”

He
smiled. “My father and grandfather would have strokes if they heard you say
that.”

“
How do
you
feel about it?”

He
hated it when she nailed him like that, but at the same time, it was part of
her charm. She never let him get away with shit, and he loved her for it. “I’m
more careful with money than you probably realize.”

“
I know you are, but that’s not what I asked you.”

He
was so in love with this woman, and he hadn’t told her yet. He was afraid to.
Not because he wasn’t sure how she felt, or because he was afraid to say the
words. Once his father found out, he would be all over it and this time he
wouldn’t confine his remarks strictly to his son.

Kane
didn’t give a shit if his father disapproved of Julianne, but he most
definitely did care whether any reaction from his parents would hurt her. He
hadn’t wanted to tell her what his father had said that afternoon in the
apartment, but the words had spilled out. Once the horse was out of the barn,
it was damn difficult to get him back inside.

She
was so easy to talk to. He’d never been the kind of man who discussed his
feelings with anyone. He’d been taught not to, but Julianne made it damn near
impossible for him to keep them inside at all. Kane wasn’t used to that. He’d
always considered it a sign of weakness, but also knew that, too, was a holdover
from his upbringing.

Julianne
challenged him, and he loved that about her because no other woman had done it.
She forced him to see himself from an entirely different angle, and it made him
a better person because of it.

“
Kane? Where did you go just now?”

He
blinked a few times and then smiled. “I’m still here. Just digesting everything
you said.”

“
And?”

“
And you’re right. My lifestyle is extravagant and
elitist. Do you want me to sell the apartment and stop collecting antiques?
Should I give up my box seats to the symphony, and sell my loge at the arena?”

“
Now you’re teasing me.”

He
scooted closer and put his arms around her. Thirty hours alone with Julianne in
this cramped, but private, passenger compartment of a train. Oh, the decadent
things that raced through his mind right now! “I am teasing you. You call the
way I live what it is, but you enjoy it, just the same. Don’t tell me you
don’t.”

It
was endearing the way her face colored slightly. When she rolled her eyes, he
wanted to hold her in his arms and never let her go. “I enjoy it. You’ve got me
on that one.”

“
Then let me do this. Allow me the pleasure of seeing
your face light up, and watching the emotion in your eyes. You’ve seen the list
of charities and organizations each of the Weathermen support. It’s not like we
aren’t giving back.”

“
Oh, I agree. I know you’re giving back. All of you.
The work you’re doing to find the hackers alone is more than most organizations
in existence today will ever do.”

“
See there? I’m not entirely self-serving.”

“
You’re not self-serving, Kane. I didn’t mean to imply
you were. This is simply a lot for me to get used to, that’s all.”

“
Get used to it, Julianne, because I want you in my
life.”

They
gazed into each other’s eyes, and the words were right there. All he had to do
was let them slip out. He swore he saw the same emotion in her eyes, but then a
steward knocked on the door and the spell was broken. Kane had completely
forgotten he’d ordered lunch. That’s what this extraordinary woman did to him.

After
they ate and the dishes had been cleared away, Kane asked Julianne if she
wanted to explore the train, but she said she’d seen enough of it earlier after
they’d first boarded. He and Julianne were staying in one of the apartments in
the same building where Ace and Harper lived.

 
All
of the Weathermen who were coming in from out of town were staying in
apartments on the same floor, so while he and Julianne would have some privacy
and time alone, Kane knew most of the next two weeks would consist of them
spending more time with the other Weathermen than with each other. Because he
had her all to himself until the train pulled into the station in
NorthCentral
, he did not want to waste one second of it.

He
reached into his bag and pulled out a smaller one. Then he folded the table
into the compartment in the wall where it fit, leaving the seats and a small
area where they could stand. There was a second table that folded out from the
wall in this area, much smaller than the main one, but it was just the right
size for the bag he placed on it.

She
grinned as she eyed it. “What’s in there?”

“
Our entertainment for the journey.” Kane removed a
bottle of lube, a blindfold, leather bondage cuffs, two floggers, and a box of
condoms.

She
laughed, but he could see the excitement on her beautiful face. “Are you
serious? In here?”

He
slid the lever on the door that would illuminate a discreet
Do Not Disturb
sign on the other side.
Then he made sure again that the door was locked. “Unless this train has some
sort of emergency, we won’t be bothered.”

She
glanced toward her left. “The walls aren’t that thick.”

“
Then you’d better be quiet.”

He
advanced toward her, which didn’t take much effort in this small space, and
kissed her like he might never have the chance to do it again. He never tired
of tasting her. There wasn’t once square inch of her body that his mouth had
not sampled, and each time his tongue or lips touched her again, it was as
heavenly as the first time. When he released the kiss, he held her gaze as they
silently undressed each other.

They
knew this dance well now, but it still sent shivers down his back. She glanced
out the window, but he cupped her face gently until her gaze was once more on
him. “We’re speeding past the countryside at over seventy miles per hour. They
won’t see a damn thing.”

Once
outside the cities, the dwellings were few and far between. They’d been
designed so no one had to live isolated from others unless they chose to, but
few did. Kane imagined it was because the ones who had done so on the surface had
been the hardest hit when the storms became violent and unpredictable. They had
fewer resources and less help. Those types of memories didn’t leave a person,
and he knew if that had been his fate, he’d choose never to live far from
others again.

But
Kane didn’t want to dwell on the days of living on the surface right now. He
only wanted to make love to Julianne, his true love. The woman he’d waited his
entire life for.

****

Julianne
gasped as Kane turned her around and held onto her breasts from behind. “Lean
your palms on the window.” She did as he asked, staring out at the farmland
racing past them. There were a few homes, but he was right. Even if they
happened to be watching the train, they wouldn’t catch more than a quick
glimpse of them, and that was only if they also happened to be focused on this
particular window.

When
he slipped the blindfold around her head, she moaned softly
.
“
Now you don’t
need to worry about the people watching you.”

She
loved the humor in his voice, and the way in which he’d once again seemed to
read her thoughts.

“
Place your arms behind your back.”

She
did, and he fit the leather cuffs on her wrists and clipped them together.

“
I’m going to help you turn and kneel on the seat.”

His
hands guided her body to the left, and then down to the bench where she knelt.
He placed what felt like a small pillow under her head.

“
Keep your face turned toward me.”

“
I’ve never had sex on a train before.”

“
Neither have I.” Kane wrapped cuffs around her ankles,
but instead of clipping them together he told her to spread her legs a bit
more, and then she felt tugging as if he was threading something through the
rings on the cuffs. “You’re safe, Julianne. I’m attaching the ends of the rope
to the furniture that’s bolted to the walls.”

“
Thank you for telling me.”

“
I want this to be fun for you, and it won’t be unless
you know that nothing harmful will happen to you.”

She
smiled. He was always so careful with their play, and she appreciated that. It
was still new to her, and he was right that it was a lot more fun when she felt
safe from the beginning. The first sensation on her body was the mop flogger,
brushing over her ass cheeks, thighs, and middle back.

He
always used it to warm up her skin, and she loved the feeling of the soft
leather falls against her. It moved her into the right head space for play, and
ramped up the anticipation level to crazy heights. Being blindfolded made it
even better because she didn’t know what he’d do next.

She
waited, holding her breath after the flogger was gone, and then braced for the
next toy, but instead it was Kane’s tongue she felt, licking every square inch
of her body. Julianne moaned loudly, writhing against her bonds but knowing she
wasn’t going anywhere and loving that fact. This was her favorite thing now
before sex, and during it. To be completely under Kane’s control with no clue
what he had planned for her.

He
never pushed her limits too far, and she always had a
safeword
.
She hadn’t had to use it yet because he had an instinctive knack for knowing
when she’d had enough during play. She’d never known anyone like him, and knew
she had found her soul mate. Now she merely needed to summon the courage to
tell him that.

Chapter
Sixteen

Julianne
was so close to coming, but Kane kept her there, poised on the edge, as he used
first his tongue and then his fingertips to torture her. When he finally
stopped, she was breathless and panting. She cried out in pain and pleasure as
the dreaded leather paddle with holes in it came down across both ass cheeks.
He smacked her pussy and breasts with it a couple of times, and she thought he
was going back to her ass, but instead he brushed a feather tickler over her
skin.

“
You’re such a damn tease,” she whispered.

He
kissed her, tongue and all. “You love that about me. Admit it.”

“
Yes. Yes, I do. I love that about you.”
I love everything about you. I’m in love
with you.

“
And the paddle? Do you love that, too?”

She
giggled. It was a familiar conversation by now. “I still have a love-hate
relationship with it.”

The
feather tickler was gone as fast as it had appeared, and now he struck her
across the ass cheeks with a stiff flogger. She knew this toy well. It was also
made of leather, but the falls were thinner and more abundant than the ones on
the mop flogger. They were hard and thin as well, and the sensation they
produced was similar to being swatted with a few dozen rubber hoses at the same
time.

“
How about this one, baby?”

“
I like this one very much.”

He
never used this particular flogger on her breasts because it hurt her too much,
even when he was holding back, but he used it on her pussy. That was followed
by more from the feather tickler, and it was at that point Julianne slipped
into the peaceful, floating state that Kane had told her was called subspace.
She called it her “Kane is playing with me and I love it” space.

She’d
researched the term, but all it really boiled down to in her mind was a huge
endorphin rush, where every happy thought she’d ever had flooded her mind at
once until she wanted to dance, laugh, and cry for joy at the same time. She
hated leaving it.

When
Kane finished with the feather tickler for the second time, he teased her with
his fingers again until she couldn’t take anymore. Her pussy was soaked now.
She knew he could feel it, but he loved it when she begged him, just the same.
“Kane, please. Fuck me. I’m so wet for you. I need you inside me.”

“
Oh baby…” He nuzzled her neck and licked the sides of
her breasts. “I don’t think you’re quite ready yet.”

“
I am! Please…”

He
slid his dick into her mouth, and her pussy contracted in tiny spasms. He
usually warned her before he did that, so the unexpectedness of it sent her
arousal through the roof. He pulled out almost as soon as he’d entered, and she
cried out in frustration.

Kane
chuckled. “I am loving you like this. You should see yourself right now.” He
smacked her ass cheeks gently. “Tied up, blindfolded, your pussy juices running
down your thighs, and your skin all flushed. It’s the fucking sexiest thing
I’ve ever seen, Julianne.”

“
Thank you,” she whispered.

Without
warning again, Kane slid two warm, wet fingers into her pussy, and then as soon
as he removed them, his dick was inside her, fucking her slowly. When he
reached underneath to flick her clit, the orgasm that had been building for the
past thirty minutes exploded, sending contractions radiating out to her fingers
and toes. He never failed to make her come.

Before
it ended, he withdrew and filled her asshole with more lube. She heard him put
on a condom, and could barely stay still in her excitement. Kane slid his cock
into her ass, gently, as he always did, and Julianne let go and enjoyed the
sensations.

“
I love fucking you this way.” His voice was rough and
gravelly, and that tone never failed to excite her.

“
It feels incredible.”

“
Yes, it does.” He thrust lazily, and she squirmed in
anticipation once more because that usually meant he was far from ready to
come. He pulled out, she heard him remove the condom, and then he was behind
her, licking and sucking her pussy like he was a dying animal trying to lap up
every last drop of water from the only source around for miles.

“
Oh,
fuck
!”
Another climax washed over her before she barely had time to acknowledge it had
built, and he still didn’t let up until he’d forced the last contraction from
her. He kissed her again, tongue and all, but Julianne didn’t mind. She was
used to tasting her own pussy juices in his mouth now.

“
Are you all right? I need to come, and I want to do it
in your mouth.”

“
Yes. Oh, yes.”

Kane
held her head still and fucked her mouth without mercy, but she didn’t mind.
She adored this. It was so animalistic and raw, and she knew how much he
enjoyed it, which made it all the more pleasurable for her.

When
he came, her mouth was so full she couldn’t swallow all of it, but she was used
to that, too. He kissed her again, and then he took off the blindfold and undid
the cuffs. He gave her water to drink and cuddled with her on his lap, stroking
her damp hair and back. “Julianne, I never grow tired of you. Never.”

“
Mmm
… same here.” She could barely
form a coherent thought right now.

“
Just think of all the fun we’ll have by the time the
train pulls into the station.”

She
giggled. “They’ll need to reupholster this bench.”

“
Not to mention clean the floor.”

She
snuggled closer to his damp, hard body. “You don’t really care, though, do
you?”

“
Not a bit. I’ll buy the damn train car if they make a
fuss about it.”

She
rolled her eyes. He would say something like that. “I’m sure we’re not the
first people to have sex in here.”

“
I’m sure that’s true.” He eased them down until they
were lying side-by-side, and she closed her eyes and listened to his soft
breathing as she drifted off to sleep. This was where she wanted to stay for
the rest of her life. In Kane’s arms, safe from hackers and the storms on the
surface.

****

Julianne
barely had enough time to take a shower and put on fresh clothes before the
train pulled into the station at
NorthCentral
. Ace
and Harper were meeting them, and she was nervous about it, although Kane had
assured her there was no reason to be. She’d spoken with Ace on a video chat
for his interview, so she knew what he looked like, but had never met Harper.

In
addition to Harper, Liane Peyton, Emmett Radcliffe’s fiancée would be there, as
would Angela Davidson, Dominic Greco’s fiancée. She’d interviewed all of the
Weathermen except
Viggo
Ingram and Blaine Parker, and
both had promised to fit her in during these next two weeks. Julianne was
excited about finally finishing all of the interviews, but she was more excited
about having other women connected to this enigmatic group of men to hang out
with.

Ace
looked even better in person than he had on the video chat, and Julianne was
insanely jealous of Harper on sight. Long, wavy blonde hair and stunning blue
eyes, she was a bit shorter than Julianne, but with a curvy body that screamed
sexy. No wonder Ace had been smitten from day one. Kane told her that none of
them had ever believed Arturo Charles Easton would fall in love.

“
There they are!” Harper pointed, and then practically
danced in the station while Julianne and Kane approached. Kane grinned, leaning
close to Julianne as they walked. “Ace told me she is so excited to meet you.”

“
Really? Why?”

He
gave her a confused look. “Because she knows your work at
UTU
. Liane and Angela do, too. They’re all experts in IT.”

“
I didn’t realize that.”

“
You should be interviewing them as well.”

“
Then maybe I will do just that.”

He
winked at her, and her heart fluttered at the intimate gesture. Perhaps this
would be even more fun than she was anticipating? She’d make three new female
friends and get some articles from a woman’s point of view. They never had
enough of those.

Harper
gave her a big hug, which surprised the hell out of Julianne. “I’m so glad
you’re here! How was your trip? I’m such a huge fan of your work at
Underground Technology Update
. I’m sorry
… I’m fan-
girling
all over the place here.”

Ace
and Kane both laughed, and Julianne just stared at Harper. “Um, thank you. And
congratulations. To both of you.” She glanced at Harper’s left hand.

“
Oh, here. You want to see the ring?”

“
Holy shit.” It was a huge diamond surrounded by tiny
sapphires. She’d never seen anything so gorgeous, and especially not since
everyone had been forced underground. Where had he found it?

“
I love it.” Harper gazed up at Ace like he’d hung the
moon. “But I love him more than any ring or possession.”

Ace
glanced down at his fiancée with nothing short of adoration in his dark eyes. A
sharp wave of jealousy coursed through her as the two exchanged a hot kiss,
right there in the station, with people all around them. She wasn’t jealous
that Harper had Ace. She was envious of their intimacy, and of the commitment
they’d made to each other for the rest of their lives. Would she ever have
that?

Would
she have it with Kane, or was she fooling herself that she saw the same emotion
in his eyes that she felt for him? What if she told him she was in love with
him and he freaked out? His father hated her, and Kane was tied in every
possible way to his family and their company. If they forced him to choose,
he’d never pick her. He couldn’t.

“
I’m sure you two want to get to your apartment,” said
Ace. “The building isn’t too far from here. Once you’re settled, come up to my
apartment. That’s where we’re all meeting tonight.”

They
walked with the two toward the station exit.

“
You’re all on the same floor,” said Harper. “This is
going to be so much fun!”

Kane
took Julianne’s hand as they walked along, and she squeezed it tightly. Harper
talked non-stop, pointing out various points of interest as they walked. Her
enthusiasm for both her city and the coming two weeks was infectious, and by
the time they reached the building where she and Ace lived, Julianne was
smiling.

It
was impossible to stay envious of Harper for long. She had such an unassuming
quality about her, and Julianne looked forward to spending more time with her.
She was also very intelligent, and that was made obvious when Julianne asked
her about her work at ACE Communications.

“
I’m over two teams right now. One is the group working
on cross-referencing user names between the public forums on Ace’s various
websites, and on the forums where known hackers and weather geeks hang out. The
other team is the newest one. They’re checking IP addresses and machine IDs of
people we suspect might be involved in hacking activities. Each of the
Weathermen has teams doing this now.”

Julianne
caught the cautious look that passed between Kane and Ace, and she hoped Kane
knew by now that she wouldn’t go back on her word. Not one sentence of what
Harper told her about the work these teams were doing would end up in her copy
for any story.

“
You’ll meet Liane Peyton in a bit,” said Harper. “She
built the database where we’re storing all this info.”

“
When will you take it to the department of Homeland
Cyber Security?”

Kane’s
eyes widened. “How did you know that’s what we intend to do?”

“
It makes sense. This isn’t confined to one city, so
any prosecution would have to be at the national level. HCS is over this kind
of crime, so that’s who you would go to.”

“
Told you she was intelligent,” said Kane, grinning
down at her.

She
returned the grin. “Thank you. So, when do you take this information to them?”

“
When we have enough solid proof that these same people
have infiltrated or have attempted to infiltrate at least half of our
companies.”

That
was the first time Kane had acknowledged to her that they had discussed law
enforcement. “You think they’re targeting your companies?”

“
We now believe whoever is behind the Tommy Twister
virus that sent The Madeline Project rogue was or still is working for one or
more of us. In addition, we believe it was several individuals, not necessarily
working in the same location. It’s likely more than one of our companies is
compromised.”

They’d
entered the apartment where she and Kane would be staying for two weeks, but
Julianne didn’t glance around just yet. This was more important right now.
“What makes you believe that?”