“When you and your friends captured me and took me to a laboratory?” he offered.
Elle stiffened as if he’d insulted her. “They’re not my friends. They’re people I was hired to work with. If I had known that aliens were real, that you were real, I would never have taken the job. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. If you had not taken the job, I would not be free right now. You would not be my girlfriend.”
His comment made her laugh, and he smiled. He liked her laughter. It was better than the worry that had been lining her features since the policeman pushed her onto the hood of the stolen car. Even now, he pictured the panicked look on her face as the man patted his hand against her. No one would touch his woman without her permission. Ice would not allow it.
“Why do you all want to marry so badly, anyway?” she asked. “Oh, crap, that’s the driver.” She pointed at a man in a red jacket coming down one of the aisles. “Hurry.”
Elle ran around to the back of the truck and pulled a pin from the bottom of the door. Throwing a lever to the side, she lifted it by small degrees before leaning around the side of the truck. “Get in.”
Ice felt cold air hit him, and he sighed in relief. Finally, some reprieve from the heat. He set the bag inside and leaned forward. He then braced his foot to push through the narrow door space on his stomach. Inside, he stood, looking around. Small blue lights illuminated the white walls. Brown boxes wrapped in clear plastic were stacked along the side walls and held into place by yellow ties. The cold felt great against his skin. He didn’t realize how badly he’d missed the feel of it. Even his wounds began to tingle.
“He’s almost here. Pull me in,” Elle said. Her hand darted beneath the door. He didn’t hesitate as he grabbed her and slid her along the floor. He then pushed the door shut, trying to be quiet as he forced it down. The sound of the latch falling into place clicked and he let go.
“Wait, don’t,” Elle cried, hurrying to the door and pulling on it. She couldn’t get it to move. “We have to get out of here.”
“Why?” Ice turned to look at the cargo. He leaned closer. It was hard to read in the dim light, but he made out a few of the words. “Are chicken patties dangerous?”
Her breath came out in tiny puffs of air and she gripped his arms. “This is a refrigeration truck. They get down to like negative twenty degrees Fahrenheit.”
He took a deep breath and smiled. This would be a very pleasant journey.
Elle squeezed him tightly. “Ice, I’ll die at negative twenty. Humans can’t be that cold. I need a heat source.”
She again tried to pull at the door. The trailer began to vibrate and rock. Seeing her panic, he tried to help. The door wouldn’t move.
“What are we going to do?” She hurried toward the front of the truck and began striking it with her hands, yelling, “Hey, we’re in here!”
Cold air blasted from a grate next to her.
She fell back, lifting her arms as if they could protect her from the gust of air. Ice pulled the jacket from his shoulders and wrapped it around her own. The truck rocked. Her yelling did not alert anyone.
As good as the cold air felt against his skin, he could tell it had the opposite effect on Elle. She trembled violently. He looked around, finding cloth tarps piled near the wall beneath the air conditioning unit. He pulled them toward the back of the truck and piled them against the boxes, away from the air.
Ice sat on the floor and motioned at her. “Come. I have heat.”
“We have…to get…out…of…here,” she said through chattering teeth.
“I have heat for you,” he repeated.
“Ice, I?—”
“Come.” This time the word was stern. He motioned to his lap.
Elle inched closer to him, rocking as the truck swayed to the left. She stumbled a little, and he caught her hand.
She gasped, clutching his arm with icy fingers. “You’re…warm.” She practically fell against him as she knelt on the ground. “You’re like…a fire.”
When she burrowed into his chest, he reached for her hips and lifted her onto his lap. Her legs straddled him. He would have to deal with the discomfort of their position if it meant helping her. He did not wish for her to die. “No. I believe fire melts ice quickly. I do not.”
Elle’s head rested against his shoulder. He felt her breath on his neck. His body began to vibrate with need, even as she shivered in his arms. By small degrees, the temperature of her body warmed.
“Thank you,” she whispered against his neck.
“I will share my warmth with you anytime, Elle,” he answered. “You are my girlfriend.”
“I don’t think that means what you think it means,” Elle said, “but right now, I’d agree to anything so long as you don’t let go.”
