I’d made my intentions clear—I was in this, with her, for the long run. I wanted to say more. I wanted to tell her how I felt about us, abouther, but Tess’s breath fanned my neck in fast, warm pants, and the words grew too big and clogged in my throat, sticking there.
I nudged her down and undressed us both. Words wouldn’t come, so I used my body to show her. And if she didn’t understand that I loved her, then I’d show her again tomorrow.
Chapter 5
TESS
The sun rose in spectacular fashion, pouring warm splashes of dawn-pink light into the open side of the bungalow. Watching the jungle-thick air brighten and change from Shade’s arms and the hot-blooded sex that followed made me wish we were here for more than just two days—and for an actual vacation. Getting out of bed early wasn’t even hard when the stocked kitchen provided fruit, juice, sweet trigrain rolls with chocolate centers, and fresh-ground coffee complete with cream and sugar. A delicious three-course breakfast magically—well,robotically—appeared at our doorstep only a few minutes after we pushed selection buttons on a wall-mounted menu. The Aisé Resort was heaven.
The Gano River, however, was hell.
Shade kept us well back from the bank until the lumbering-on-land-but-deadly-in-the-water cyclodiles mostly cleared out and went back to their den or burrow or mud pocket or whatever it was they had upriver. A few lingered, their knobbly backs breaking the surface like prehistoric monsters before disappearing again under the eddying ripples.
A multicolored flutter caught my eye. “Shit!” I flapped my arms wildly, but the graceful long-necked bird swooped down from the treetops and landed in the middle of the river anyway. Two seconds later, it disappeared in a thrashing of foam and feathers. A bit of pink, yellow, and white plumage popped back up and swirled downriver on a blood-soaked current.
I made a face. “Awesome date, Shade. You took me to murder highway.”
He shrugged. “Predators. Prey. It’s just the natural way of things.”
“Says someone who’s only been a predator.”
He went quiet, and I instantly regretted my words. I hadn’t meant to bring up his bounty-hunting days and ruin our morning together.
“Mostly,” he finally said, “but not always. I’m pretty sure I was easy prey for Scarabin White when he was holding my father’s gambling debts over my head.”
I tightened my ponytail, getting my hair off my sweaty neck. “You were young and grieving. Anyone might have made the same mistakes.”
He looked away and then back at me, a small self-critical smile flattening his mouth. “Maybe.”
“If you’d won that bet White offered, it all would’ve worked out. You’d have had your docks, debt-free. We all make choices, and only hindsight can tell us if they’re good or bad. I’m choosing to protect Mareeka and Surral and Starway 8, even if it means the Overseer getting some enhancers from my blood.”
Shade took my hand in his and led me toward what looked like a bridge, although I was kind of hoping the long, narrow, vine-hung contraption wasn’t our next destination. The cyclodiles were already terrifying enough.
“I hope you don’t live to regret your decision, like I regret mine,” he said.
“I don’t regret your decision.” I swung our joined hands a little. “It’s selfish, but I don’t.”
Shade rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze firmly trained on the river. The hand that held mine squeezed. “You know what? Maybe I don’t regret it anymore, either.”
My heart leaped, the hard beat rocketing heat through my whole body in one quick rush of blood. Grinning, I ducked my head.
“Careful now.” Shade snagged me around the waist and whirled me away from the riverbank. As we spun, I saw a flash of teeth. Heard the snap of jaws. I yelped, getting ready to run. Shade clamped a hand around my arm.
“Shh. Hold still. They’re attracted to sudden movement and noises.” His voice just a hint of words in my ear, he added, “Having one eye means their hearing is well-developed.”
I didn’t move a muscle, not even to breathe. The beast turned and slipped back into the water with a scaly twist, the tip of its ridged tail disappearing last.
Quietly, I dragged in a shaky breath. “I thought they were done with their breakfast.”
Shade wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled my neck. “Mmm. Youaretasty. Can you really blame them?”
“Yes!” I shoved away from him, his warm kisses not enough to distract me from the remnants of total terror. “And I’ll blame you when I’m dead, mauled and eaten by cyclodiles.”
He chuckled, as though thatweren’ta genuine possibility right now. “Let’s cross the bridge. We climb up and away from the river on the other side.”
I eyed the bridge, getting my first good look at it now that we were closer. “Yeah, I don’t think so. Ropes? Wooden slats? Hung between two trees?That, Mr. SRP, is a hazard to humanity.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure, Captain Bailey? Besides, I wouldn’t be a Space Rogue Phenom if I didn’t know which jungle bridges were safe in the galaxy.”
