Hello everyone. I have split this chapter into two parts. This is the first half, the second still needs some editing. It will be out next week. I appreciate the comments, hope everyone enjoys the story so far.
Leslie examined herself critically in the mirror while putting on the finishing touches of her makeup as she got ready for work. She had never been particularly vain about her appearance and had rarely bothered with makeup, but now she couldn't believe the changes to her body. Everything was firmed up, everything! Her body was now well-muscled, stomach toned with a hint of a six-pack even. The fat that had built up over the years was almost gone, and her breasts were bigger, and getting firmer. Like the other girls, she probably wouldn't need a bra soon. The breasts were perfectly formed now, with mouth-watering nipples jutting out as if waiting to be kissed, she didn't know how large they would get, but she suspected they had not reached their final size. They were at least a very full C cup now.
Her hair, which had never been anything to brag about, was now long, lustrous, and falling down to the middle of her back. The other female colleagues were envious of the way she looked. Leslie giggled at the thought, she had never been glamorous, and if they could see her naked, they would really be jealous. Her legs were smooth and toned as the rest of her, and to quote Rhys, you could bounce a quarter off her ass it was so firm and tight. No more having to shave either, she mused, admiring her bare mons. Another change that she had no choice about, but Rhys liked it, and now it seemed she did as well.
Her face looked younger, but Rhys had said not too young, at least for now. It wouldn't do for her to change into a hot 30 something. She felt a pang of disappointment at that; truth be told, she wanted to look as young as Sandy or Amancia. Still, she thought, cupping her breasts, she looked better right now than she ever had. Leslie turned her head, looking at herself in profile. The changes were subtle, but her nose was slightly upturned and her chin not so prominent. She made a kiss at the mirror; her full red lips were as luscious as Amancia's. She could always say she had a body makeover if anyone asked.
She put on her skin-colored bodysuit, enjoying the feel of it against her skin. Leslie had no idea what Amancia used to make it, but her body loved the feeling of being encased in it. The bodysuit fit tightly, molding itself to her skin showing off every curve. Even her nipples stood out, probably because the material made her skin tingle, and she never got hot in it.
The symbiont still worried her, though. Amancia had assured her that she would be able to communicate with it soon, but the idea of something growing in her still terrified her at times, and the way she felt about Rhys had changed. For whatever reason, Leslie now burned to please him, to satisfy him, and she couldn't comprehend the swirling maelstrom of raw emotions that she felt; anger, despair, shame, submission, arousal. Leslie wondered why her body betrayed her whenever she was with him, and no matter how sated, each time, she wanted more. A part of her knew that the more he took her, the more she would submit, a moth that couldn't leave the light. The light scorched her soul, ignited fires within that she couldn't resist. She hated it but loved it even more, and that was the most terrifying part; she was changing, and she had no say in the matter.
Leslie admitted that she was a difficult person, always had been and probably always would be. It wasn't something she was proud of, but she wasn't ashamed of it, either. It's just the way she was, her nature. In the past, she was aggressively difficult--sometimes out of pure malice. That was where she got her reputation and why her colleagues either feared or hated her. It was also why she had been alone. Let's face it, she admitted to herself, what man wants to put up with a bitch all the time, but more than that, she had lived alone inside a fortress of her own construction. No one was allowed inside, that is how she survived. Now that carefully constructed world had come crashing down, Rhys had destroyed the barriers that had protected her, and without those barriers, she was vulnerable once more. Rhys! How could you hate someone and yet desire them desperately?
"Almost ready?" a sensuous voice purred in her ear, interrupting her thoughts.
"Yes, just let me put on the pants and blouse."
"Hmm, don't you think you should take out the butt plug, or are you planning on wearing it all day?"
"Leslie blushed, you're right, I forgot," she said, shimming out of the under-bodysuit."
Amancia smiled; she doubted Leslie forgot, but Rhys had ordered her to have it in her whenever she orgasmed. That meant no 'nooners' for her. She expected that pretty soon, Leslie would be wearing it to work every day. They both knew it was Rhys' way of exerting control when he wasn't there, and though Leslie claimed to hate it, she was always anxious to put it into her bottom when she arrived home.
"Tonight we are going to the base, and tomorrow we drop off Thea's new toy that Kiania wanted and take care of Bao's want-to-be boyfriend. We also get to meet the team Rhys has put together."
"I know," Leslie said, thinking about all that entailed. It would be her first time to meet Mei since they had taken her. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She was annoyed there was a new woman she had to share Rhys with and guilt for what they had done to her, but she desperately wanted to see Rhys again; her body hummed just thinking about it. Amancia was equally anxious to get back to him. This was the longest she had been away since waking up in his home when this all started. The time away was especially difficult for Amancia, though. Leslie still didn't understand all of it, but the relationship or bonds that the symbionts had forged between Rhys and Amancia differed from the rest of them.
Kiania had stayed to train the mercenaries, and Amancia had become her guard and bed companion. Leslie was interested in seeing how Kiania was doing; two weeks of training and her reports were good. Besides, she missed her, it had been good, more than good having both Kiania and Amancia with her.
Rhys had known what he was doing when he selected the men, she had to admit. They were completely off the grid, with no connection to the Pentagon or the CIA. They had given them comms implants and little bombs in their heads that ensured loyalty, though they did not know about it. They had added that little bit of insurance at Amancia's suggestion. A kill switch that could be used remotely should one of them attempt to betray them or get captured by the Om.
Sighing, she decided she was ready. This week had been brutal, and there were more and more questions being asked. China was a shit-storm as she expected; the Chinese somehow suspected the body was not Mei. There were still questions about the rescue in Nigeria that wouldn't go away, and someone in the national security council and the Pentagon was taking an interest in the records of the fight with Nazir. The answers they were coming up with worried her, there was only so much she could deny before suspicion fell on her. Add to that her own duties as Rhys intelligence chief, sleep was hard to find, but three hours were enough now, and with the AI, she watched various hotspots worldwide while searching for the Om.
***
Dave, or Sarge as everyone called him, grinned as he hit the last of the Trangrods. The team had only suffered one causality this time, their best effort so far. He took off his helmet and looked at the other four men; "good job, but Slippery over there isn't living up to his name," he said, eyeing an embarrassed soldier. No one knew how Anthony got his nickname. He was medium height, medium build, just sort of a medium person, Dave thought. But he was quick as a snake and deadly; ex-army though Dave didn't hold that against him, after all, not everyone was good enough to be a marine.
They were still learning how to use the armor and weapons, a massive upgrade from what they were used to. Rhys hadn't been kidding when he said they would get new gear; it gave him a hard-on every time he climbed into the armor and picked up the monster gun they were training on. Though speaking of a hard-on, the woman training them was hot enough to get a rise out of a dead man. Dave still hadn't figured it out yet, and Rhys played his cards close to his chest, but he had a few ideas. Kiania had scared some of the guys after they had seen her move, shoot and fight, Dave had never seen anyone do the things she could do. She had taken each on individually, then in pairs, and made it look easy. Rhys had just watched with a smile as the men were thrown around the mats.
Dave had thought he knew Rhys, but now he wasn't so sure. There were lots he wasn't telling them, and training to kill robots that moved like greased lightning led to lively speculation at night over beers; that and the embedded comms gear and a tactical heads-up display inside a helmet that looked like it came out of an iron-man movie. The "Tactical Grid" display took some getting used to, but it was turning out to be a significant force multiplier. Using that, they could coordinate fire like never before. The fact that they were training to fight alien-looking robots was not lost on any of them.
The team Rhys had put together was good, no doubt about it. All experienced combat types. Dave himself had tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and various contract jobs in South America and Africa and was the oldest of the group at 35. Mike was another marine; he was the long-range shooter. Tall and wiry his experience was primarily Afghanistan, but he had also spent some time in the urban warfare environs of Iraq. Anthony, aka Slippery, was army and had three combat tours and experience with explosives. William was short and stocky and more of a heavy weapons type. He liked to be called boom boom, but no one would use the nickname. Both of them had extensive experience in the Middle East. Rumor had it William had been involved in the fighting in sub-Saharan Africa, but he didn't talk about it.
Isaac was the quietest of the group and the only non-American. He was former IDF and apparently had spent some time in counterintelligence. Dave suspected he had been an officer, but Isaac never talked much about himself. Sarge was satisfied with the team so far and with the woman Kiania. They hadn't been in combat yet, but he liked what he had seen.
***
"So when are you going to bring them all the way in?" Sandy asked from the kitchen where she was taking some time to cook something herself.
"Tonight, We will drop off Kiania's little assassin bugs, and you will take them for a ride and see how they react to their new reality," Rhys said, walking in and coming up behind her. He rarely saw the girls in the kitchen; the AI and the robots had adapted well to human preferences and turned out gourmet meals at the push of a button. However, seeing Sandy standing there at the counter brought a feeling of domesticity, and Rhys decided it was a good look. He also admired Sandy's tight pants and heels. The green blouse she was wearing fitted tightly, showing off her breasts. The pants clung to every curve and moved and rippled with every step. It was a version of Kiania's combat pants, but no soldier ever went into combat looking that sexy, especially with the heels she was wearing.
"Hmmm, that's nice," Sandy said as Rhys put his arms around her and pressed up against her back. She wiggled her bottom, pressing back into his groin. "That's even nicer," she said in that husky sexy voice of hers that drove Rhys crazy.
Rhys could feel himself responding to her closeness, the way she smelled, her long red hair, the way she moved against him. "It is nice," he agreed, burying his face in her hair, breathing in her essence. "I love you," he said, kissing her neck gently.
"And I love you, but if you don't stop it," she teased, "I am going to be forced to remove your clothes. I am making Crab Rangoon, and if you don't step back, the food will burn.
Rhys chuckled into her ear, you have five minutes to finish, then those pants are coming off he growled.
Sandy gave him a smile that promised a good time. "Whatever you command, oh great leader," she teased, "but can we talk while I finish these?"
