The three Caelum behind the first copy his motions.
It’s not Pious standing in front of me with three of his guards. It’s Rune. And Jex and Tore, and another. My eyes dart over each one of their faces and settle back on Rune’s. My heart stops. He saved meagain.
I fling myself at him, arms around his neck, my shivering body against his, and hug him. He stumbles back with the force of me, but his arms, although cold and clad in steel, wrap themselves around me. “What is this?” he whispers breathlessly in my ear, tightening his hold.
“This is a hug, you big idiot.” I lean my head back and look into his eyes.
“How many times does this make, Kate?”
“Shut up, asshole,” I smile.
His hands slowly slide down my spine, gentle and feather soft. “Why did you stay? Why did you follow Pious?” Cool alloy fingers stretch out and press themselves into the small of my back.
“He told me Claire was here, in the preservation lab,” I whisper through quivering lips.
“She’s not, Kate. I made sure she stayed on Earth, where you wanted her to be.”
I shiver against him.
His head jerks back, and his expression turns to worry. “Your body temperature is too cold,” he snaps.
“I-I’m freezing,” I say with a violent shudder.
“Tore!” he yells, without taking his eyes from mine. “Retrieve clothing for Kate.”
“Clothing, sir?” Tore questions.
“Armor. A blanket. Anything. Her body temperature is too low,” he says in a rushed voice.
Jex moves closer toward us then, cupping his gloved hand over Rune’s shoulder. “General, may I remind you this is an escape? Staying here waiting for Tore to find cloth of some sort for the female will be detrimental to reaching our goal.”
“Fine,” he growls, sliding his hands off me and detaching his upper armor from his chest and arms.
“Sir? Without any armor you’re unarmed and visible—”
“Yes, quite. But,” he says, sliding the armor around my shoulder and pressing his bare chest against mine, “I need to raise her body temperature.”
The moment his warm skin touches mine I gasp and melt into him. I can’t help myself, he’s so toasty and smooth, I heat up instantly. “Oh my God,” I whisper.
“Are you praying to me?” he whispers back, sliding his hot cheek against my cold one.
“No,” I breathe out, with a laugh. “It just feels nice.”
“You lie, Kate. This is a lot more than nice,” he says as his lips move against the shell of my ear. My heart pounds at the base of my throat and my stomach fills with a fluttering wave of butterflies.
“Ahem,” Jex clears his throat. “Far be it from me to break up this little—well, I must apologize, I’m not sure what this is—but sir, we need to vacate this room immediately.”
Rune’s hand slides quickly up my back and cup around the back of my neck. “Will you come with us? Will you let me help you?”
“Yes, yes! Get me the hell out of this room,” I say, grasping my hands around his arms. Now that he’s warmed me up a little, I don’t want him to stop touching me.Shit. That’s not good. I back away until the back of my legs hit against the metal slab of the bed.
Rune’s eyes drop from mine immediately, and devour the rest of my body. My neck, my breasts, my stomach, my legs, and linger on what’s in between them. I want to cover up, but I don’t know what to block from his view first, his eyes are moving fast up and down my entire body. He’s taking every inch of me in. A curl of desire twists and aches deep inside me. It makes my breasts fuller and heavier, tightening my nipples to hard smooth pebbles. “Stop looking at me like that.”
He swallows hard, staring at my breasts, then dragging his gaze back to mine. “I-I’m trying but I just…I just can’t,” he whispers.
Jex grunts and moves between us, holding out his hand for me to take. “Female? If you would just follow along this way—”
Rune growls out a curse and shoves him out of the way. “No. No one touches her.” His tone is ice-cold and full of rage. “No one lays a finger on her. No one!”
