Lindsay Buroker - Encrypted

“ Ah?” A hint of speculation entered his eyes. “But you made it clear I wouldn’t have a place on your islands.”

“ There are other countries in the world. Maybe we could find one where you’re not wanted dead on sight.”

“ That might be a challenge. Doubly so, since I’m a penniless vagabond with nothing to offer you except myself.”

“ I’m rather fond of yourself.” Tikaya scooted to the edge of the table to sit closer to him. “And…” She laid a hand on his bare arm. “Did you not say you appreciate a challenge?”

His gaze dropped to her hand, then returned to her face, and he smiled, the quirky half-smile that made her insides tangle. “This is true.”

She leaned into him, breathing in the scent of lye soap. His bare thigh touched hers, warm even through her clothing. Too much clothing. She really ought to…

Rias slid his fingers through her hair, and she forgot her thought as goosebumps rose across her flesh. He removed her spectacles, and set them aside.

“ So, have you decided?” He bent and kissed her neck, warm breath tickling her skin. “Is this thing the bed?”

“ Uhm.” Tikaya laid her hand on one of his broad shoulders, then slid it down his arm, tracing the dips and rises of the muscles. “What?”

He drew back, eyes narrowed in mock accusation. “You’re not thinking about runes, are you?”

“ Furthest thing from my mind.”

“ Really?”

“ Well, it’s definitely a distant second place to something more prominent.”

“ Oh, good.” He tilted his head. “I am the something, right?”

She grinned. “Let me answer your first question. I think our current seat is the human equivalent of a coffee table. I believe that sphere over there is the bed. You get in and warm air floats you up and supports you. You can just lay there or there’s an option for, ah, undulation.”

“ Sounds fascinating.”

He slid off the table, faced her, and slipped his arms around her waist. She leaned into him, lips parting, and invited in his warmth. She tangled her fingers in his damp hair, pulling him closer even as his arms tightened around her. Where he had been hesitant before, asking permission, he was sure now, and she felt his need. And her own. It had been a long time for both of them, and she could never remember wanting someone so much. Not just for now, but forever.

His grip loosened, and she voiced a muffled protest, but his lips smiled against hers, then he knelt. He gazed up at her as he unlaced her boots, and her breath caught at the adoring tenderness in those gold-flecked eyes. She recovered and dug into the buttons of her uniform jacket. Her fingers didn’t seem to work as well as they should.

“ I miss my dress,” she muttered.

“ Me too.” Rias’s eyes crinkled as the first boot clunked to the floor.

She shucked the jacket, annoyed when her arm caught in the sleeve. By now, he knew she was no graceful gazelle, but it would have been nice to undress competently.

She started to tug the shirt over her head, but hesitated. It was silly-he had already seen her naked and was clearly interested-but a self-conscious twinge stilled her hands. With Parkonis and those scattered few before, she had shared bench space in the cute-but-not-beautiful part of the arena. Even before Rias turned into some legendary Turgonian hero, she had known he belonged up front, in the I-could-have-anyone-I-want seats. Tonight, he wanted her, but if by some miracle they made it out of here, would that change? When there were more attractive options available?

“ Tikaya?” Rias asked gently, concern in his tone. The second boot had joined the first, along with the scratchy wool socks, but he still knelt, face tilted up, watching her.

“ Sorry, it’s nothing.” The future was a murky incorporeal place; best to enjoy what was real, what was now.

Rias stood, body solid and warm between her legs, but tense. “Please, tell me. I don’t want any more secrets, any more misunderstandings. I’m on your side out here, above all others.” His eyes probed hers. “Do you trust me?”

She blinked. “That wasn’t what I was doubting. I mean, I wasn’t doubting. I was just wondering if…if you saw me, back when you came to Kyatt to talk to our president, if I’d been in your path somewhere along the way…would you have noticed me?”

“ Ahhhh.” Rias grinned and the tension melted from him. “Indeed so.” His eyes grew hooded, sultry, and he leaned into her. “Especially if you’d been wearing that dress that so nicely accents your curves.”

He slipped his hands beneath her shirt and massaged his way up from her waist. She shivered at the sensations those callused but gentle fingers stirred. He kissed her mouth, her jaw, and down to her neck, and she closed her eyes, arching into him.

“ You do know…” he murmured against her throat, lips sending spirals of heat to her core. “Those dazzling blue eyes are rather rare in Turgonia. Exotic.” He spoke slowly, lazily, kisses punctuating his words. “And it’s always a challenge to find a lady of sufficient height.”

She would have laughed, but his mouth returned to claim hers, and she met him with equal intensity, humor forgotten. He broke away only long enough to say, “You’re a beautiful woman, Tikaya, and I love you.”

She gave him a fierce hug before turning to other matters. There was not much talking after that, and fortunately he proved more adept than she at removing military uniforms.

Tikaya woke with a start. The soft light of the room left her confused as to the time. She was in the sphere, with its shelf of air acting as a mattress. Though she had no blanket, a cocoon of warmth kept the alien bed cozy.

Rias sat next to her, head cocked, ear toward the window.

She touched his bare back. “What is it?”

“ I think I heard a scream.”

“ Not one of mine?”

“ Not this time.” He smiled and kissed her before crawling past her and out of the sphere. He reached the window before she maneuvered off the air cushion.

“ Better get dressed.” Rias jogged to their piles of clothing and tossed hers on the bed.

“ What’s going on?” She tugged her shirt over her head and tied her hair back.

“ I can’t see. There’s some kind of fog out there.”

As soon as Tikaya had trousers and boots on, she hustled to the window. A gray-blue haze made it impossible to see more than a few feet. She could not make out the reservoir, the walls, or the ground where the marines camped.

Rias belted on his sword and checked the rifle.

“ Wait,” Tikaya said as he headed for the lift. “What if it’s poisonous? What if everyone is already…”

Rias hesitated, one foot on the blue circle.

A yell of pain pierced the walls and was cut off.

“ They’re not dead yet,” he said.

But he did retrace his footsteps and find the towel he had used earlier. He tore it lengthwise, handed half to her, then wrapped the other half around his head to cover his nose and mouth. She tied hers and followed him down the lift.

Rias slid the door open and paused to listen before venturing out. “Stay close,” he whispered.

They slipped outside. The haze stung Tikaya’s eyes. Even through the cloth, she smelled an odor reminiscent of burnt coconut.

Rias led her toward the camp. Visibility ran only a few feet in the dense fog. They reached the first prone form, Agarik, still under his blanket.

“ Is he…” she started.

Rias knelt and checked for a pulse. “He’s breathing.”

“ Sleeping?”

Rias shook Agarik’s shoulder, which elicited a snore, but nothing more wakeful.

“ Not the type you can be roused from apparently,” Rias said.

They crept farther and found more sleeping marines. None of them could be shaken awake, and Rias stopped trying.