by Alison Aimes
“She’s a good person. I hate to think of her in such a precarious position.”
“I tried to get her to come with me, but she refused.”
Her chest squeezed tight, touched he would so willing to take on responsibility for another.
“Why wouldn’t she come? Do you think she thought it was a trick?”
“I asked her the same thing. She said she believed me.” He grew very interested in examining one of her dirt samples. “Said she’d seen the way I looked as I carried you away from the saybak. That it was clear I’d never hurt you. That I’d do whatever it took to protect you.”
Bella’s heart stuttered a beat. Ava had seen the same thing she did. Caine was a good man. The only trouble with a champion, though, was you didn’t know if their urge to protect was because that’s just what they did or because they thought you were special.
He set the dirt sample down. “She said to tell you she was sorry, but she couldn’t come now. She said you’d understand. Their team lost two more soldiers yesterday. One to the dust storm. The other to some kind of food poisoning. Tensions are running high, and she’s worried about your buddy Winthrop.”
“Is he dying?” Guilt speared through her. She never should have left them.
“He’s fine.” A hard edge had entered Caine’s voice.
She pretended not to notice. “Then why is Ava worried?”
“Winthrop and Pogue aren’t getting along. Each blames the other for your disappearance, and with every passing minute, Pogue’s growing more resentful of Winthrop’s orders. There’s a definite leadership struggle underway, and Ava isn’t sure how much longer Winthrop’s influence will last or what Pogue will do if the rescue team doesn’t show up soon.”
“All the more reason for her to get as far away from Pogue as possible.” But she understood Ava’s reluctance to leave what seemed safe. Bella herself had been willing to forgive far too much when it came to Winthrop and Pogue simply because they were familiar. Looking back now, she realized she’d been all too desperate to cling to the rules and order of Council life. No doubt a side effect of growing up in a society that demanded unquestionable adherence to the established hierarchical authority. It had taken Caine for her to see how clearly she’d placed her trust in the wrong men.
Unfortunately, her needs weren’t the only one at stake here.
Bella ran a hand down her face, wishing for answers she didn’t have. “Did you tell Ava about the rescuers?”
“Yes, but she doesn’t believe it. She refuses to believe it.” He let out a long sigh. “She just patted my hand and assured me I was mistaken. Said there’d been a lot of recent technological advances in shuttlecraft. That the rescue team knew what they were doing. That they would find a way to land. Then she got all sad…mumbled something about how escaping her family and the Council wouldn’t be that easy.”
Bella’s eyebrow rose at that last comment. There was clearly far more to Ava’s story, little of it good. “Can we just kidnap her?” 225’s pack would find the campsite, eventually.
“No. Your soldiers have too many guns, and they’re twitchy enough as it is. Spying on them from afar is risky enough.”
She let out a long, slow breath, her chest tight. “Which is why I need to go back and tell them myself what’s going on.”
He stiffened. “You’re not going back there.”
“It isn’t up to you.” Still, worry skittered through her. He wasn’t suggesting he would keep her against her will, was he? He’d been so adamant about her being the one to make the choice to keep their deal, she never once considered he wouldn’t also allow her to sever the deal.
“It isn’t?” He took a step closer. “We made a deal. You told me anything in return for keeping you safe. And I’m telling you you’re not going back there. It’s too dangerous.”
She stood firm. “They’re my colleagues.”
“Are you forgetting what happened last time?” He plowed a hand through his short hair. “If not for that saybak, things would have gotten ugly.”
“That was because you were with me. It won’t happen when I’m alone.”
“Alone?” he roared. “You want to go there alone? No way.”
She must be crazy because, despite her annoyance over his highhandedness, his protectiveness warmed her. Comforted her, too. It would have been an easy out for him to agree. A quick and painless way to send her on her way and wash himself of an increasingly heavy burden. Instead, he was scowling and tense, his legs spread wide apart, barring her from the exit, proving that he really meant it when he said he wanted her to stay.
And God help her, but she didn’t want to leave him just yet either. Truth be told, if it was just about her needs, she was almost certain she wouldn’t have wanted to leave at all. She’d have preferred to find a way past his defenses. Learn his past. Relish the present. Turn his protectiveness into something deeper.
But burying her head in the sand was impossible.
“I’m sorry, Caine.” She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “My colleagues need my help. And the fact is, we both know I can’t stay here forever anyway.” There. It was said. She held her breath, waiting for his reaction.
“Is this about this morning?” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Because I told you. I want you to stay.”
She raised her hand to touch him—and then fisted her palm by her thigh instead. “This…This isn’t about that. It–it isn’t about you and me at all.”
He took a step closer, his chest heaving, red stamped across his carved cheekbones. “Are you sure about that? Are you sure you’re not just running scared? Getting to know the real Dragath25 criminal and not liking what you find?”
No!” Her heart beat fast. Too fast. Making her wonder if there was any truth to his challenge. Not that she didn’t like what she was finding. But that she liked it—him—too much. Too much to stay in something that felt all too temporary.
But that wasn’t all of what was going on. She knew that, too. “It just feels wrong to be here when I should be helping my colleagues.”
His nostrils flared, his eyes narrowing. “Colleagues? Or that Council Doctor?”
“Colleagues.” She forced herself to say the rest of what needed to be said. “Plus, why not now? We both know I have to go back sometime soon. My brother and sister and all those left on Earth are depending on me to return, and staying near Winthrop is the only way that will happen.”
Jaw clenched, Caine’s gaze shifted away from hers, freezing when they landed on the heap of wires in the corner. “You want to help them? Stay and help me get the jammer running. Your Command Council Officer may be the key to drawing the rescue shuttle, but those soldiers will never make it within a hundred metrals of him if the jammer isn’t operational.”
“But you don’t need me to work on—”
“I do.” He still hadn’t looked at her. “I do need you.”
Her heart skittered and took flight. Could it be they weren’t only talking about the jammer anymore?
“Give me a few days.” His gaze slammed back into her, his expression unreadable again. “I’ll see what I can do with the jammer, and in the meantime, I’ll deliver a message from you to Ava. Maybe something written in your own hand will persuade her of the dangers. And I’ll make sure you’re back with him–,” he swallowed hard, “–with Winthrop–when the time comes.” He nodded once. “I’ll get you home, Bella. I swear it.”
Her. He’d get her home. Not the two of them.
She rubbed at her chest with the palm of her hand. “Okay.” It was settled. Her worry put to rest. He’d take her back if and when the time came. So why did it feel as if her chest were being torn in two?
“Okay?” One eyebrow rose, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. “That’s it?”
“I trust you, Caine. If you say you’ll get me home, I know you will.”
He nodded, his jaw still clenched tight.
Done fighting her instinct, she walked over and
wrapped her arms around him—or, at least, around as much of him as she could, his hard chest as comforting and warm as ever. “Thank you for everything.”
For an instant, he’d just stood there awkwardly, a little stiff, a lot unsure. Then his arms came around her and he gripped her tightly. “You’re welcome.” His voice was gruff.
She’d have given anything in that moment to know what he was thinking.
Was he secretly cursing the deal he’d made and the burdens of extra responsibility and risk it had heaped upon him? Or, like her, was he floored to discover that, if not for her worry over her siblings and the approaching rescue shuttle, she could stay in his arms forever and be happy?
Chapter Fifteen
The ripple of warm water against her shoulders soothed Bella’s nerves.
While the rest of Caine’s home might be sparse, this side chamber was indulgence itself: a patchwork of vivid emerald moss and red smooth rocks surrounding a small clear spring. It might not have the dramatic plants or pink lake of the Oasis, or the purple fruit and fan-shaped palms of the first cave Caine had taken her to, but it was equally lovely in its own quiet way. Even the melodic plinking of condensation slipping back into the water was calming.
Exactly what she needed right now.
She’d retreated here after a strained dinner. Sure, Caine had wolfed down the meal she’d made, praising her efforts while his jaw worked overtime pretending she hadn’t overcooked the meat. And if she hadn’t thought him a good guy before, that act of kindness alone would have told her everything.
But tension still vibrated between them. Questions about the future, worries about what would happen tomorrow, returning with a vengeance the moment she’d stepped out of his arms. She had to return home. That she knew. Even if the thought of leaving Caine here alone made her stomach twist and her throat close tight.
Sighing, she scooped up handfuls of water. The droplets slipping through her fingers no matter how hard she tried to hold them close. Just like Caine himself.
Her hands blurred. She blinked fast.
What she needed was some distance. Some perspective. Even if she could somehow convince Caine to come with her, what did she think would happen? That somehow things would work out between them? She would still be a junior scientist bound by Council rule to do whatever it took to keep her siblings fed and housed. Plus, she had no idea who was waiting for Caine back on Earth. Or anything about his past for that matter. What he’d done to end up on Dragath25. Who the hell Gwen was.
Maybe Ava was right. Maybe her dreams of a possible future between them were foolish. Maybe they were nothing more than desperate pipedreams based on the intensity of the moment.
Her fist hit the water surface, sending spray flying into her face.
“Am I interrupting?”
She swiveled around at the rough rumble of Caine’s voice, her vision clearing as the water rolled down her face.
Her breath caught in her throat.
He stood on the bank above, one arm stretched above his head, his fingers tucked into a rocky ledge, his other hand behind his back.
It was a stance with forced casual written all over it. Still, it didn’t matter. With his chest bare, his legs planted far apart, his pants dipping low on his hips, the position put every slab of mouthwatering sculpted muscle on display.
Her nipples grew hard, her blood heating. And from the slow, smoldering half-smirk that eased across his face, he knew exactly what looking at him did to her.
Maybe amazing sex was all they’d ever really have, but at least it was something.
“You’re not interrupting at all.” Purposely wading to the more shallow section, she brought the soap across her chest in a slow, deliberate caress. “I was just getting cleaned up.”
His grip on the ledge tightened, his gaze tracking her every move. “You missed a spot.” It was more a growl than a sentence.
She kept her smile to herself. The spring might soothe some of her worries, but only being in Caine’s arms could make them all disappear for a while. “Hmmm. Care to help me get it?”
“Hell yes.” He prowled forward. Only to stop short. “Uh, no.”
She frowned. Caine wasn’t one to hesitate. “If this is about what I said before about leaving—”
“No.” He cut her off. “I know why you said it. And I may not like your plan, but I do admire the way you look out for your colleagues and your siblings.” He took a deep breath. “This–this is something else.” His hand came from behind his back. “I meant to give you these before.”
Her chest went tight.
Clutched in his big hand was an explosion of color, a tangle of stems and petals in blue and purple and yellow and pink, some standing up straight while others drooped over his hand.
“Flowers.” She blinked fast. “You brought me flowers?”
“Yea.” He shuffled his feet. “They got a little crumpled in the pack.” He shook his head. “I meant to give them to you right away, but I got distracted.”
“They’re beautiful.” She waded forward, her arms outstretched, a corresponding riot of color exploding in her chest. “The best gift I’ve ever gotten.” Actually, the only gift she’d ever gotten. “Where’d you find them?”
“Oasis. The purple ones grow near the banks while the pink and yellow are in the trees.”
The picture of him scurrying around collecting flowers almost brought her to her knees. He’d done so much for her already. Kept her safe. Killed to protect her. And now this.
Forget distance. Forget perspective. Forget pretending to herself her heart wasn’t involved. She was going to seize every moment she could, and somehow, some way, she was going to figure out a way to take Caine with her when she left Dragath25. Even if they weren’t meant to be in the long run. Even if he dumped her the second they were back on Earth. Maybe she didn’t know everything about his past or how this woman Gwen factored into his life, but she knew enough about him to know he didn’t deserve to die alone on Dragath25. She was getting him off this hellhole and back to the kind of life a good man like him deserved. With or without his help.
She held out her hand. Slowly, he crouched at the edge of the ledge and handed them over. Cradling them like a child, careful not to let even one slip through her grasp, she lifted them to her nose and inhaled.
The fragrance was amazing. Floral. Sweet. Precious life, beauty, and hope all tangled together. Just like what she felt in Caine’s arms.
“I want you here, Bella.”
Her gaze flew to his.
“I know I’ve been a moody pain in the ass. I know I can sometimes get a little too intense about safety. I know I’m not the chattiest of guys. But none of that is any kind of reflection on my thinking about you.” He cleared his throat. “I’m glad you’re here.” His gaze trailed from her eyes to her lips and back again. “I understand you have to go—eventually. But until that time comes, I want you here with me. Not just because I’m the best one to keep you safe. Or even because of the deal.” He sucked down a deep breath. “Just…just because.”
It was another incredible gift. And one she knew was all the more precious because it hadn’t been easy for him to offer up.
“I want to be here.” She looked up at him standing so beautiful and so alone on the rock above and her heart twisted. Please, oh please, let me figure out a way to save him as well. “Not just because you can keep me safe or because of our deal, but…but just…just because as well.”
Maybe she should have said more. Maybe she should have admitted exactly how she felt. Or confessed her plans. But she couldn’t. Not when the future was so uncertain between them.
“So we’re okay?” His gaze had that hungry look again.
With a final deep inhale of their fragrance, she dipped the stems in the water and placed them gently a safe distance from the edge. “We’re more than okay.” She held out her arms again—this time for him. “Join me?”
In the next heartbeat, water splashed onto the
bank, his chest warm and slick against her skin, his soaked pants slapping against her legs as he lifted her flush against him.
Laughing, she wrapped her legs around his waist and trusted him to keep her afloat. “Eager much?”
The droplets of water clinging to his long, spiky lashes only made his expression more intense. “I’m going to seize every second I’ve got.”
That wiped the smile from her face. “So am I.” Locking her gaze with his, she cradled his square jaw in her hands and brought their foreheads to touch. “Just because.”
Chapter Sixteen
“I may never move again.” Bella rolled off Caine’s slick body, flopping onto her back to stare overhead at the lush canopy of the Oasis, her breathing still frantic from their latest bout of sex, her skin flushed from the mix of midday heat and arousal. The warm lake water lapped at her toes.
“Mmmm.” He slipped his hand around her ass and slid her close enough to press fully against his side, hip to hip.
After five blissful days together, Caine still wasn’t much of a talker, but he communicated his wants just fine.
“Thanks for bringing me here again today.” She studied an unusual purple flowering vine high up in one of the trees, making a note to take a closer look when she regained the use of her legs. The flowers Caine had first given her were still her favorite, but she’d discovered quite a few other varieties since then, adding to her spectacular collection and her growing scientific understanding of the fragile environment.
“You’re welcome.” His fingers interlaced with hers, their palms pressing close. It had become a habit. One she cherished. “I like it here, too.” His voice was roughened by sex and sleepiness. “Don’t know why I never really hung out here before.”
She hid a smile. She knew why. Until a few days ago, the man hadn’t known the meaning of taking a break. He’d spent all waking minutes hunting, training, or working on the jammer. Was it no wonder he was wound so tight? Was it no wonder he’d forgotten there was more to life than simply surviving?