Rune stares at me blankly. “We’re doomed, aren’t we? Mine will be the last generation of humankind. Ever.”
A shiver racks through my entire body. Sarah’s eyes dart from Rune’s to mine and back again. “Kate is what they call you?” she asks.
I nod and try to cover a yawn. I’m cold and tired and my head is getting all muddled up. I’m running on pure adrenaline right now. God, I would kill for a coffee.
“Would you like to rest and update to optimal health?” she asks.
“I don’t have armor,” I say, huddling the blanket tighter around me.
Rune stands immediately. “Come, Kate,” he says holding out his bare hand for me.
I hesitate before taking it and chance a peek at Sarah who is staring at us in horrified wonder. We must look dangerous to her, insane. All she’s ever known is what the men on this ship have told her. All she’s ever done or seen is the tunnels in this stupid dark metal can. Taking your armor off and skin-to-skin contact is forbidden, unheard of, unthought of even. How lonely it must be to never be allowed to touch another human in sixty-two years.
I reach up and take Rune’s hand. The women all gasp in unison. They gape at us, mouths open, as we walk toward the docking station fingers entwined.
Rune positions himself in front of me and makes quick work of ridding himself of his armor.
“What are you doing?” I gasp.
“You’re still shivering—half my chest plate and this pathetic cloth is doing nothing to save you from the cold and I can see the exhaustion and muscle strain you’re enduring. Let us switch belongings for a few moments.”
His armguards are off, his feet bare. The only thing left is the armor below his waist.Oh God, am I going to see Rune naked?A swarm of butterflies flip wildly around in my stomach. Around us the others fall into whispery conversations.
His hands reach to the middle of his waist and still; his eyes flash up to mine. For a moment we both watch each other, without a word, but not without thought, I’m sure.
I wonder if he’s afraid or embarrassed like I’ve been made to feel this whole time. His eyes drop down to my lips and my cheeks catch fire. Without thinking, I unwrap the blanket halfway off my shoulders and slide the width of it over his back, so both of us are huddled in the middle of it. “Here,” I whisper. “This should give you a little more privacy.”
The warmth of our bodies under the cover of the blanket sends an ache through me. An unwelcomed and unwanted one.
I take a deep breath and try to focus my eyes on the ceiling somewhere while Rune pulls the rest of his armor off and stands bare before me.
“There is something here in the air between us that cracks with electricity,” he whispers.
You have no idea, mister.
He shifts his weight and it brings him closer, so close that something smooth and hard brushes against my belly and his breath hitches. “Kate, I think…you should really put on my armor now,” he says.
It’s insane. Crazy. Freaking ludicrous that I don’t want to—I would rather stay like this for just a few brief minutes with his eyes staring at me like that. “I know,” I whisper. It’s just exhaustion, that’s all. Seriously.
Neither of us move.
Rune’s lips part and his warm breath fans across my skin. I want to lean farther into him and let that heat ignite fire to my body.
“Kate,” he says hoarsely. “You really need to cover…” His gaze darts from my eyes to my lips, over and over again.
“I will,” I murmur. “But it’s so warm like this and I’m so freaking cold. Cold and tired.”
Then, softly, so softly, he traces his fingertips down my spine and a low moan rumbles in the back of his throat. I shift closer, just a little, fighting the urge to rock myself against him.Oh God, this is not good. Kate, step away from the alien asshole.You’re delusional right now. Overtired. In a dream state.
Back and forth, his fingers trail over my flesh until they slip slowly around my hips and tremble along my waist. “Your skin,” he whispers. “It feels like it’s melting against my hands.” His fingers drift even slower now, more deliberate over my stomach, up and up, until they touch the bottom curve of my breasts.
“MaybeI ammelting,” I breathe, closing my eyes.
The pads of his fingertips brush up past my nipples sending a zinging sensation through my entire body. I can’t stop the gasp that slips past my lips.
The sound stops him cold and my eyes fly wide open. Our eyes meet, and I can see the ache in his expression, it’s the same one he must see in mine. His hands drop and fall to my hips, his fingers digging into my skin.Will he try to kiss me?I want him to, even with all the chaos going on around us, God, I want his lips on mine. It doesn’t make sense. There’s no logic to it. It’s more than want, it’s an achy wanton need. I lift up on my tippy toes to reach him.
“Kate,” he growls, his expression full of conflict, anger. “Put. On. The. Armor.”
