“And none of it heats?”
She shook her head.
He’d been taking care of the minimums of personal hygiene on his cruiser—with water that quickly and easily heated up. It wasn’t equipped for showers, though.
“Clothes get cleaner with warm water,” he said, glancing at their discarded apparel.
“Cold gets rid of blood,” she answered with a shrug.
She said it so matter-of-factly, likesuch is the rebel’s life.
Shade frowned. He wasn’t sure how much blood he could stand to see her lose. None already seemed like enough.
“Does this fold sell tanks and water?” he asked, herding her into the bedroom.
“TheFold,” she corrected over her shoulder. “And yes.”
“Permission to make a few changes to the system?” He grabbed a big sweater off the foot of Tess’s bed and dropped it over her head.
She wiggled into it, getting her arms through the sleeves and pulling her hair free from the neck. “Permission granted.”
“Permission to get on your bed?” He gently tugged her right over to the edge of it.
Her cheeks flushed a gorgeous pink. “Permission granted,” she said again, her eyes dipping over his naked body as she reached for him, her fingers feathering against his waist.
Shade captured her hand, his skin jumping at her cold touch. “Oh, no you don’t.” He pulled back the covers on what was really a one-person bed, making a curled-up Bonk lift his head. Still freezing, Shade got in and guided Tess down next to him. When they were curved together like spoons, he covered them both up.
She went still in his arms. “Shade?”
He gripped her tighter and then threw his leg over hers, embracing his inner caveman when it came to pinning her down. That would suffice for now. Later, he’d use other methods to get her underneath him and keep her there.
“I need to recover from that ordeal you call a shower,” he grumbled. “And you’re tired. I’ll still be here when you wake up.”
It wasn’t something he could see from behind her, but he thought she smiled. There was a change in her body language that gave it away, even though she didn’t say anything or turn around.
Settling in, Shade nuzzled the back of her neck, inhaling the scent of her damp hair and clean skin. Tess sank into him, relaxing against his chest in a way that sent satisfaction blazing through him.
Holding her as tightly as he dared, he rubbed a lazy thumb back and forth over her stomach. It must have soothed her, because Tess fell asleep fast. A few minutes later, Bonk picked his way over Shade’s thigh, angling for a spot in between Tess and him. He wasn’t about to let that happen, and the tabby finally gave up and went back to where he’d been before, warming Shade’s back. Bonk started purring, his paws pressing into Shade’s shoulder. Knead, knead, prick.
Shade was worn out like he’d rarely been before, but he didn’t want to close his eyes just yet. As he lay there in between Tess and Bonk, he felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time. The last time a similar feeling had barreled through him, he’d been young and cared for, with loving parents and what he’d thought was an easy future ahead. Now, he wanted to be the provider, the protector, but nothing about the future looked easy to him.
There were a thousand differences, but the core of the feeling remained the same: family.
He just hoped Tess felt it, too.
Finally giving in to fatigue, Shade let Bonk push against his shoulder and cradled Tess as she slept.
Chapter 32
Shade was asleep. His breathingwas deep and even, his body relaxed. He was nice and warm now, and I didn’t move, not wanting to wake him up.
I let him rest, leaving my thoughts to carry me away. After an hour of lying there nestled against his warmth and strength, my imagination had taken me all over—to some places we’d already been together, and to a whole bunch of others I still wanted to explore with Shade.
Desire coiled low in my belly, and I started to ache for his touch.
To hell with it; he could sleep later. I turned in his arms.
Shade opened his eyes as I half sat up and pulled off my sweater.
