“Hello? Earth to Mylo? Did you hear me?”
“Apologies, female. I am listening for water.”
“What about fire? I’m freezing over here.”
The night would be cold. They had discovered no kindling thus far. “We will share the reflective blanket for body heat.” The blanket in question was currently wrapped around his mate.
“You make it sound so romantic.”
“You are teasing me.”
“Yes, I am, big guy. I like the way your nose scrunches up when you think.”
“My nose does not scrunch. It is a noble and proud nose.”
“It does and it’s adorable.”
His mate smiled. He heard it in her voice.
“So, are you going to talk about it?”
Ah. She lowered his guard and seized her opportunity. “Very well.”
“You’re not even going to pretend not to know?”
“You want to ask about my teleportation. What else could you want to talk about?” He did not wish to discuss what the Suhlik had done to him but it seemed easier in the dark. The dark shielded him from pitiful looks. He was not a creature to be pitied.
“Okay, I’ll start. What the hell, Mylo? You can teleport! That is so freaking cool. How? Since when? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her reaction was not what he expected. “I can. Since I was a child. You know I was a foundling. The Suhlik engineered this ability into me. They made me into an abomination. And that is why I did not tell you.”
She squeezed his hand. Again, not the reaction he expected.
“So is it more a Nightcrawler ability or do you just phase through stuff like Kitty Pride?”
“Those words mean nothing to me.”
“Can you move yourself at a distance or are you limited to moving through objects?”
“Both.”
Another squeeze, followed by a swing. “That is so cool.”
“You do not understand, female. The Suhlik stole me as an infant. They slaughtered my family. They changed my genetic code to be their instrument. This ability separates me from the clan. It makes me different. An abomination.”
“Oh, sweetie.” She stopped, tugging on his hand to pull him in. She rested her head against his chest. “If you had ever shown up to date night with me, you’d know that I freaking love superhero movies. Love ‘em. And maybe I’ve always had a thing for big, strong alien men because they remind me of Superman. I don’t know. We’re not analyzing me right now. What I do know is that having a mutant power has always been my deepest wish. Well, you know, along with being rich, and beautiful, and dating the boy from third period math and my mom being alive, a super power was it.”
“I am not a mutant.”
“You just said the Suhlik changed your genetic code. That sound like a mutation to me, sweetie.”
He searched her words and tone for distaste or worse, pity. “You are not revolted?”
“Because of the teleport thing? There are lots of things about you that make me want to pull my hair out but teleportation ain’t one.”
His chest rumbled. He was unsure if he was pleased or frustrated. Vexing female.
“You said you can hear water. Will there be enough to bathe? We stink.”
“We are close,” he said.
They continued their journey in the darkness. He reviewed their conversation. He could not find a single hint of pity from his mate. She accepted his greatest flaw without hesitation. It excited her.
He would never understand how the female mind worked.
Daisy
Tired and cold, Daisy did not notice when Mylomon stopped moving. Not until she walked into the back of him. “What is it?” she asked. More Suhlik? Wild animals? A four-star hotel and luxury resort?
Please be a four-star hotel.
“We’ll make camp here.”
Daisy swung the flashlight wide, examining their location. It was a cavern with a curved roof. The walls glimmered in the light. In the center was a pool of water. Steam curled off the surface. “Is that a hot spring?”
“Yes. This place has many such features.” It wasn’t a four-star hotel and luxury resort but it was close enough.
“Is it safe?”
He crouched at the edge and scanned it. “Safe to drink when cool.”
“Safe enough to have a bath?” Every part of her smelled like rotten eggs. Sulfur. Ugh.
“Yes, but we do not have a fire to dry yourself.”
Right. No fire equaled shivering wet in the dark cave. No thank you. “Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow we will gather fuel for a fire, then you may bathe.” Mylomon opened the supply bag and gave her a ration bar and a bottle of water.
“I can’t believe you totally turned down skinny dipping with me.” She took a small bite. She was hungry enough to shove the entire bland bar into her mouth but she paced herself.
“We have no fire. You will be cold and your immune system compromised. I will not allow you to become sick.”
“You can’t forbid me from catching a cold, Mylo.”
“I can and will.”
She snorted but did not argue. She washed down the rest of the tasteless bar and finished off the water. A yawn escaped.
“Rest, female. Tomorrow we hunt and forage for supplies.”
Daisy shivered. The steam from the hot springs was warm near the pool but on the edges of the grotto, the air was damp and chilled. “You don’t think we’ll be resc—retrieved?” Not rescued. There was nothing to be rescued from.
“Only tomorrow knows but a wise warrior prepares.”
So that was a solid nope. No rescue. They were on their own, at least for the next while.
“I guess the clan is busy chasing down whoever let off the gas.”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m sure the warlord has many objectives.”
But her husband wasn’t sharing them with her. Fine. Be that way. Daisy said, “There’s only one blanket.”
“We’ll share.”
“On the ground?”
“You said you lived in the wilderness during in the war.”
“A cabin in the woods. We had a mattress.” She and Meridan had shared a bed, more for the body heat than the lack of additional beds. The winters got cold in the mountains.
Mylomon sat down, back against the stone wall and folded his legs lotus style. He patted his lap. “Come. We will do this as we did before.”
“You mean when we were locked in a morgue? Charming. Let’s repeat that.” Though sarcasm laced her tone, she couldn’t help but lick her lips.
Mylomon raised an eyebrow. “Sleep, female.”
“Just sleep?” What was getting into her? It was more a question of what wasn’t getting into her. She was tired, cold, hungry, stinky and seriously thinking about climbing all over her gorgeous purple husband. She should straddle his lap, grab him by the horns and pull his mouth to hers.
Daisy shook her head to clear her thoughts. Calm. Control that libido. There’d be plenty of opportunity for horn grabbing in the future, preferably with a bed, two blankets, heat and food. “Just sleep,” she said.
She climbed into his lap. She jostled for a moment, trying to get comfortable.
“Female, are you doing that on purpose?” Mylomon sucked in his breath, his body going stiff.
A lot of him going stiff.
A smile ghosted across her lips. Good to know her husband wasn’t as immune to her as he pretended. “I’m trying to get comfortable. See. I stopped moving.”
“You’ll be the death of me,” he muttered.
Daisy bit back the sarcastic reply of “yeah, but what a way to go” or “you love it.” She was feeling playful and Mylomon didn’t play. He was super serious all the time. She rested her head against his chest. The thud-thud of his heart pounded a soothing rhythm. Her breathing slowed, matching his. His arms settled around her and the blanket enveloped them. Warmth soaked into every muscle.
“This is a lot nicer than last
time,” she said.
“We have a blanket now.”
“That’s not what I meant. I like you better this time.”
The muscles in his abdomen tensed. “You don’t mean that.”
“Mylo, my dear husband, you can walk through walls but you can't read minds. Don’t tell me what I think.” She tried to keep her voice sweet. She tried. She wasn’t looking for a fight. Not really.
“No one likes me,” he said.
Exhaustion made a pretty strong argument to keep her mouth shut and go to sleep. Correct him in the morning. Ignore the self-loathing. Go. To. Sleep.
She couldn’t ignore a person in pain.
Daisy shifted, tilting her head back to look at him. Shadows completely hid her husband’s face but she had an idea that he frowned. Glowered. Tried to intimidate her to leave it and not talk about it.
What a bunch of garbage. You don’t say something like “no one likes me” and then not want to talk about it.
She should have taken that psych class in school.
“Your clan likes you.”
“I frighten them. They tolerate me.”
Right. Assassin. Mylomon didn’t play by the same rules as the rest of the clan. “The warlord likes you.”
“Perhaps. I believe Paax respects me but he is resentful about past decisions and punishes me with a heavy workload.”
“Is that why you’re never home?” He said nothing but his arms gave a gentle squeeze. “What about Mercy?” It was hard to imagine the very pregnant Mercy disliking anyone. She always had a smile on her face.
“Paax’s female hates me.”
“What? Why?” The possessive need to defend Mylomon stirred in her, which was ridiculous. Mylomon was a full grown male. He was huge. He did not need a mouthy little woman to defend him.
“Actions I took under orders from the previous warlord.”
The pointed comments Mercy made, which Daisy overheard, about stabbing and blowing up houses made sense. Order from the previous warlord, Omas. Right. No one in the clan voluntarily talked about the disgraced warlord. Everyone agreed that the clan thrived under Paax and that seemed to be enough to satisfy the urge to gossip.
“Did Omas like you?”
He stroked her hair, his touch so light as to almost not be perceived. Then, “I do not know. I liked him. Once.”
“That sounds like there’s a story involved.”
With barely a touch, he somehow worked her hair free from the braid and his fingers ran through her hair. He seemed content to stroke her hair.
Daisy elbowed him in the stomach. “That means I want you to tell me about it.”
“Hmm. Oh. Your hair is not one solid color. There is variation in the strands. It is very pretty.”
“I’m surprised you can see anything in the dark.”
“Mahdfel vision is stronger than Terran.”
“Don’t change the subject. Story time, bub.”
“Omas was the warrior who found me.”
“When you—”
“Yes.”
He grew silent. Daisy didn’t press. He might be thinking about all the things the Suhlik had subjected him to when he was a child and unable to defend himself. Or he may have been remembering the warrior who carried him to freedom, like a proper superhero. Or he might have been thinking about how his butt was getting numb on the stone floor. She had no way of knowing.
“He was not always insane” Mylomon said at length. “Once he was a honorable warrior and a good warlord. He was my friend.”
A friend whose defeat and death he helped to orchestrate. Yup. Totally needed those psych classes.
“Many people care for you,” he said, squeezing her in an embrace again. “It is impossible not to like you.”
“Glad you think so but people find me annoying.”
He tensed again. “Who would dare say that to you? Speak their names and I will avenge you.”
“Chill. I was exaggerating.” She patted his chest for reassurance. It was like striking stone.
“You care for many people. Meridan,” he said. Then, after a pause, “Vox.”
“Merri is my best friend, you know. After our mom died, she tried so hard to take care of me. Still does. Sometimes she doesn’t treat me like I’m an adult but that’s okay. I know she’s overbearing because she loves me. I do the same to her.”
His chest rumbled in agreement.
“She’s so serious, you know. If I left her alone, she’d just work and sleep. Work and sleep. So I make her be social. I drag her out to dinner, to films and whatnot. She says I’m immature but she needs to lighten up. Live a little.” She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand.
“And Vox?”
“Are you jealous?”
“Perhaps. You spend much of your free time with the male.”
Daisy remembered back to Vox’s concerns about being alone with another male’s mate. “He’s careful. We only hang out in public areas. No closed doors. Never alone. Besides,” another yawn, “he’s only there because you’re not.” Given a choice, she’d rather spend time with her husband.
“I ordered him to keep you company.”
Daisy sat up straight. “Did you?”
Nearly blind in the dark, she felt him nod. “Truly.”
Huh.
All those evenings she spent alone, he thought of her. Gave her companionship, even though it was not his. She misread the situation entirely. Mylomon was busy. He held an important position in the clan. Was that not what Vox tried to tell her but she was too stubborn to listen? Her husband wanted to spend time with her but couldn’t, so he sent her friend.
“That’s sweet,” she said. “Thank you.”
His arms pulled her back in and settled around her. “Tell me about this Date Night that I missed. What would we do?”
“It would be a lot like this, actually. Talking. Getting to know each other. But with more, you know, smooching.” Hopefully. Stars, she wanted smooching.
“Interesting.”
“Interesting so let’s try it?”
“No,” he said, voice firm. “We have no fire. It is too cold for nakedness.”
“Wow, naked smooching. That’s a big leap of logic there, sweetie. I mean, it sounds fantastic. I’m totally on board but how about we just start with a good night kiss?” She tilted her face upwards, ever hopeful.
“Agreed.”
His lips brushed against hers, soft and hesitant. It was sweet but not what she craved.
Daisy surged upwards, hands planted on his shoulders and claimed his mouth with her own. Her tongue licked the seam of his lips and pushed, opening him to her. Hot and wet, their tongues entwined. A shiver of delight coursed down her. She nipped at his lower lip and pulled away. “Good night, love,” she said, voice husky.
His arms stiffened.
Shit. She’d never said the word love before and yet it slipped out. Surprise. Well, it was a hell of a good kiss. What should she do? Assess. Adapt. Make a joke. Play it off like it was no big thing, like it wasn’t their first kiss and she didn’t accidently confess her love.
Daisy patted him on the chest. “Schedule in some more smooching time for tomorrow, sweetie. I liked it. We need more of it.”
His muscles relaxed. “We have a full agenda but I’ll see what I can do. Good night, female.”
Chapter Thirteen
Daisy
The cave slowly grew lighter. Outside the sky was a soft, foggy white. Mist hung in the canyon below. When patches in the mist cleared, they saw the noxious green fog still remained. They were going to be stuck here for a while longer.
Daisy washed her hands and face in the freezing cold water of the grotto. Mylo handed her a ration bar. Bland and dense, she chewed her way through the bar.
“We need to conserve the rations,” he said.
“Right, because they’re so tasty. We might scarf them down.”
“Because they are nutritionally balanced and we do not know what kind of sustenanc
e we will find here.”
“Food is food,” Daisy said, mimicking his words in a gruff tone.
“All food does not have the correct vitamins and minerals our bodies require.”
“Are we going hunting?” Her interested perked. She shoved the remaining portion of the bar in her mouth and got to her feet. The last time she was on Earth, she went hunting with her father. They came back empty handed but the time together was worth it. Hunting with Mylo could be the bonding opportunity they needed. He liked knives. They could talk about knives while he stabbed the local wildlife.
“I am hunting. You will remain here.”
Her hand went to her hip. Mylomon planted his feet on the ground. Battled positions assumed.
“I don’t think so, bub.”
“What is a bub?”
“Oh, no. Don’t distract me by being all cute because you don’t know idioms or slang. That only works on me once.”
He grinned, just the smallest flash of white teeth against his dark complexion.
“I can hunt,” she said.
“Not here. This is an unknown environment. You have no idea of the animals on this planet.”
“And you do?”
“I am Mahdfel.” He folded his arms over his chest. He had made up his mind and the conversation was over.
Right, right. Daisy rolled her eyes. He was a superior alien warrior. What a garbage reason if ever she heard one. “I’ll stick to small prey. Bunnies are bunnies everywhere.”
“Do you know why this is a dead planet?”
This sounded like a trick question. “Kalen said that the Suhlik invaded here long ago and killed the original inhabitants.” Which would have happened to Earth if the Mahdfel hadn’t shown up to save day.
Mylomon nodded. “And the Suhlik use chemical weapons. Weapons that alter the environment. Weapons that mutate.” He emphasized the last word, mutate. At least he listened to her little speech about being pro-mutant. “Bunnies here are not necessarily bunnies.”
“Mutant bunnies,” she said.
“Yes. Please remain here while I scout and hunt.”
“And if you don’t find killer mutant bunnies?”
“Then I will give you my rifle and sit by the fire, enjoying the life of a lazy male.”
Mylomon: Warlord Brides (Warriors of Sangrin Book 3) Page 10