From his voice and face, she could tell he understood the gravity of what he was asking. She stood. "I'll get them, but I would like to make a solemn ...equest. Please only let me touch them. I already feel it was a violation to keep the books in the first place, let alone peruse them." That's fine, Mrs. Radson," Cassie said."Yeah, no prob," Ned said. "You're the best one to understand 'em anyway."Debby nodded her appreciation and headed away, her heart pounding. She wished she had taken the time. .”Calara put a hand around her friend’s waist and gave her a comforting squeeze. “I know ... it’s horrible to even think about.”Letting out a heavy sigh, Dana leaned into the hug. “After the Battle of Terra, I was getting worried I might learn the schematics for a Quantum Annihilator some day. That if I built something capable of blowing away a planet, I’d be responsible for all those deaths. But now? I’d be begging John to let me pull the trigger on Kirr-inax...”“You’re not the only one,”. Ignoring me they both turned their attention toward Maria and she looked helplessly at me. One of them said, "So sweetie, thought about it? You gonna give me a taste?"I stood up and back handed him as hard as I could and he and the chair he was sitting in went over backward. I put my foot on his throat and pushed down hard and pointed a finger at the other guy who was just starting to come out of his chair and said, "Sit! And stay there unless you want me to crush this asshole's larynx."The guy. Artemus was certain he could sustain torture and interrogation, but what Cleopatra spoke of seemed something otherworldly. For a brief moment, his resolve wavered.The cloth fell away, and she circled in front of him again. Slowly, with meticulous detail, she slid her index finger down the length of his rock hard shaft, the perfectly manicured nail lightly caressing the tender flesh. Artemus let out an involuntary moan at her touch. Her very finger seemed charged with energy.If just a single.