She took in the rest of the boat as she staggered to her feet, swaying slightly. The baby might have helped with her concussion, but he hadn't healed it. At least not entirely.
She looked over at the huddled group of fishermen. They wore simple clothes, warm looking jackets layered over pants and sweaters.
Kira shivered at the reminder of just how cold she was. Every hint of breeze cut right through her, setting off another round of shivering. If she didn't get warm and soon, she risked hypothermia.
Right now, though, she had to make nice with these people. Not an easy task with the way they watched her with a deep suspicion edging toward hostility.
She tried a small wave and non-threatening smile. They clumped tighter together. One reached for a club lying against a barrel.
Maybe her smile wasn't as reassuring as she'd hoped.
Graydon landed with a thud between them and her, his back to the strangers, his knees bent, his face a mask of rage.
He looked like a man who'd prepared for war and had already resigned himself to the necessary losses. If he’d been any other, she might have named the look on his face one of terror.
Kira braced. That stunt she'd pulled was bound to draw criticism. As well it should. She'd acted rashly, off-balance by the call for help. She'd been arrogant. This wasn't the before of the burst, where she could muscle her way through anything and come out the other side a little dinged up but otherwise unharmed.
She should have waited. Discussed her suspicions with him.
She understood the chain of command, and her actions, purely motivated as they were, broke that in a big way. She'd take any rebuke he chose to give her.
"I suppose I should explain," Kira started.
Her words seemed to break Graydon out of the thoughts he'd been locked in. He crossed the deck with a few powerful strides. His hands closed around her arms, and he jerked her close, warm lips landing on hers. They were filled with the desperate need of someone who'd lost the most important thing to them. His kiss was scalding hot, a perfect counterpoint to the chill trying to steal her thinking.
Instinct took over.
Kira met his fury with her own, pressing herself against him. Death had come too close today, and she needed a reminder that life wasn't just risk and danger. It was about this too.
Graydon didn't pity her for her upbringing. He'd tasted loss. He understood duty and sacrifice. If she let him, he could meet her on an equal playing field.
The undulating sound of the babylu-ongintruded. They broke apart but didn't go far.
Graydon's gaze was searing as they breathed, millimeters apart.
"That was some greeting," Kira finally said in a voice far breathier than it should be.
His expression hardened, his eyes turning to ice. "You will never do that again."
Kira's mouth quirked. And there was the asshole she knew and was unwillingly drawn to. "We'll see."
"We will not," was his response as she forced herself to step back.
Without his warmth and the hard line of his body against hers, she could feel the full impact of the chill. She was conscious of the way her clothes clung to her, and her hair streamed around her face sopping wet.
"I see you, Kira. I'm not going anywhere," Graydon said.
"We'll see about that," she said as she faced the baby.
"Yes, we will.I'll prove it over and over if I have to—until you trust me with all that you are,"Graydon murmured.
Chills skated along Kira's spine. Those words were filled with a promise, the universe recognizing the vow being made and cementing it into place.
As if reading her mind, Graydon smiled, the easy expression doing nothing to alleviate the darkness in his eyes. "The Tuann do not make vows lightly. The Mea'Ave has a habit of making them binding—and this is one I will submit myself to wholeheartedly."
Kira didn't respond. She couldn't.
There was a heat in Graydon's eyes that dared her to deny it so he could prove it. It was both thrilling and terrifying.
