He longed for the isolation and silence of the ice plains. Earth had so many noises—voices, buzzing lights, beeps and dings, jingling bells over doors, grumbling engines. This planet was a chaos of sound and movement.
Chaos had not been a good surname choice. He should have been called Ice Silence. That is what he wanted. Yes, Sintaz was lonely. His people were leaving the harsh planet for better opportunities, but it was still home. It was safe. It was familiar. Snow and Frost had been there where he could protect them. He longed to go back.
But what about Elle? Her frail human body would not survive the Sintazian winter without meticulous preparations. As much as he liked infusing her with heat that wasn’t exactly practical on a daily basis. He’d have to hunt for their food, tend to other chores. She’d spend half the year in an ESC snowsuit. He couldn’t stop every earth hour to warm up a wife.
His body stirred, giving a completely different opinion on the matter. “Shall I warm you again?”
“I’m so tired,” she mumbled, shivering. “I just want to sleep.”
It appeared that their mating had been a temporary fix. He held her closer, willing her to take his body heat. She looked as if she wanted to open her eyes but couldn’t. Her lashes fluttered.
Her hand dropped weakly from his chest onto his lap. She slumped against him. This didn’t feel right.
“Elle?”
She didn’t answer.
Ice had never put clothes on a woman, but it wasn’t exactly glacier excavation. He grabbed her clothing and began slipping them over her body. Then, he took his clothes and added that over the top, tying the pants beneath her chin around her head to cover her ears. He held her tight against his body, setting her on his lap so she touched as little of the floor as possible.
“I never meant to hurt anyone,” she mumbled.
He didn’t understand why she would say such a thing, now, in this place.
Where moments before he’d fantasized about staying in the cold cocoon of the semi-trailer, he now willed it to stop. He had no idea how far it was to Colorado. He kept his eyes open, watching and listening for signs that he should do something more for Elle. He held her hands, then rubbed her legs—anything to give her heat. He even tried kissing her, but she didn’t respond.
Ice didn’t know what to do—and that terrified him.
If she died, it would be because she’d tried to save him. The burden of that knowledge would rest upon his head.
A small moan left her as if she began to revive herself, but she didn’t speak or look at him.
Suddenly, the vehicle shifted, and his tarp seat slid over the metal floor. He caught his feet on the door, still holding her. The engine cut out even though the sound of the refrigeration unit still hummed.
He heard faint noises, much different from the sounds of travel. Ice kicked the back door, reverberating it. He kicked it again, and again. Someone fumbled with the latch, and he stood, not caring that he was naked as he held Elle in his arms.
The door slowly lifted and a scared voice yelled, “Who’s in there?”
Ice kicked the door upward, forcing it to lift all the way. The man in the red jacket stared at him in surprise. His mouth worked, but no sound came out.
“We are going to a costume party in the desert,” Ice stated. He leapt out of the cargo hold, still holding Elle. City lights surrounded them like tiny dots over the night landscape. The truck had stopped in a nearly abandoned parking lot near similar vehicles.
Ice strode toward a metal fence. The warm air counteracted the warmth of his body and he felt himself cooling. When he looked back, it was to see the driver pulling a small container out of his pocket. He glanced at Ice, and then the bottle, before throwing the item far away from him.
Ice walked along the fence until he found an opening. No one was around to witness their escape from the truck besides the driver, so he kept walking, unsure as to where he would end up, but knowing it was best he kept moving.
Chapter Thirteen
Elle felt like she’d been run over by a tank and dumped in the bottom of a bog. Everything hurt, some parts from the hard ground she now lay on and some from the sex marathon in a refrigerated semi-trailer.
She laughed before even opening her eyes. None of this seemed real, and she thought for a moment she’d be waking from a dream.
Instead of a warm bed, she found herself staring at the inside of a box. Her feet stuck out the open end. The dirty smell of city streets wafted over her.
She felt movement beside her. Ice had rolled up her sleeve and was studying the inside of her elbow.
What in the world…?
He adjusted his weight and held up a small syringe. It took a moment for her to realize he meant to inject her with whatever it was.
