Cecelia felt heat creep into her cheeks and her throat went tight.God, he sounded amazing, like pure sin drizzled in dark desire.His chest was rock hard against her back and she remembered his ripped, scarred, broad body from yesterday, every muscle chiseled to perfection.
“Y-yes,” she said, raising her voice slightly so he could hear her over the rush of wind.“I’m fine.”
Chancing a peek over the edge of the hovercraft, she swallowed as a shot of adrenaline spiked through her system.They were up high.Very, very high.She craned her head to see around Rixavox’s body and she could see the place where she’d been staying, but it was already a dark metal speck in the distance.How fast can this thing go?she wondered.
It was like flying in an open air plane, standing up, while going at lightening speeds, but she adapted quickly.Rixavox didn’t seem concerned, so she figured it was safe.Shortly, Cecelia managed to calm her racing heart and she asked, “How far do we have to travel?”
“Half of a span,” he replied.“I will put the cold shield up later, which will slow our pace.”
Half a day?
Hopefully I won’t have to pee, she thought.
They traveled in silence for a long time and gradually continued their ascent until they were level with the mountain tops.It felt considerably cooler than down below and for that, Cecelia was thankful.Sweat no longer beaded her forehead and she could take a breath without feeling like hot bricks of air were being shoved down her throat.
Eventually, Rixavox leveled out the hovercraft and his arms on her loosened.Cecelia took that to mean she could step away but for some reason, her feet didn’t want to move.He was warm and smelled like rain and it had been a long, long time since she’d had a man’s arms around her.She allowed herself a brief moment of weakness, to savor the closeness of another.
“Do you wish to rest, Sessela?” he asked her, his chest vibrating against her back.
And she really, really liked the way he said her name.It was so damn charming.
Swallowing, she told herself she should step away.Maybe he was trying to politely direct her away from him.
She could take a hint.
“No,” she murmured, ducking under his arm, and scooting out of the way.She was strangely tired of sleeping.She’d slept most of the day yesterday and the entire night, even though it had been interrupted with vivid, jarring dreams.Besides, when would she ever experience something like this again?It was like having her own private tour of Luxiria and she intended to see it all.“I’ll just, uh, sit over here.”
His blue eyes tracked her as she nestled herself down close to the edge of the hovercraft.She laid her arms on the metal barrier and rested her chin there, so she’d get the best view below.
Admittedly, it was hard to see details from how high up they were, but Cecelia could still appreciate the rolling black sand hills, the jagged mountains and the golden light that lit up the dark landscape.Behind her, Rixavox was silent and he remained that way for quite some time.
Eventually, the black sand gave way to large jungles of…trees.Or at least what she believed to be trees.They were tall and skinny and white, making them easy to spot.Then she spied sparkling pink bodies of water, so glossy that they almost looked like spills of oil.When they passed over a giant mountain range that must’ve stretched hundreds of miles in both directions—so far that she couldn’t see where it ended—she could only feel a dizzying sense of awe.Everything was overwhelming.At times, she didn’t even believe her own eyes.
The mountain range seemed to act like a barrier for the Luxirian heat, because a few minutes after passing over it, she noticed the sudden chill that swept through the hovercraft.The skies seemed darker past it too and heavy dark grey clouds loomed overhead.
So strange, she thought, craning her neck to look up at the sky.The twin suns were barely visible now but the cold air felt amazing on her skin.
The longer they traveled, the colder it got, however.
Soon, it was a littletoocold.When she wrapped her arms around herself, Rixavox finally spoke.
“Come, Sessela,” he called over the loud, rushing wind, repeating his words from earlier.Cecelia slowly rose from the ground, hissing a little when her joints ached.How long had she been sitting?
As she approached, Rixavox grabbed a fur blanket that had been tucked away in a corner and immediately wrapped it around her, before encircling her once more in his arms.It was the same position they’d started out in and Cecelia let out a little sigh as warmth seeped back into her bones.She suspected she was running a slight fever, but the heat felt too good.
“I apologize, female,” Rixavox murmured next to her ear, running his hand down her blanket-covered arm.Cecelia shivered at his touch.“We cannot use the cold shield for a little while longer or it will drain the fuel too much.”
“It’s okay,” she said, glancing up at him briefly.His eyes looked almost navy blue in the dark light.“I’ll be fine in this.”
Hesitantly, she wondered if she should move away again, but when she made the move to do so, his arms tightened around her.
“Nix,” he said, his voice dropping to an even deeper tone, as if the word had been torn from his throat. “I wish to warm you.”
Cecelia held her breath at his words, staring forward into the vast expanse of Luxiria, but she didn’t see much.
Even in her limited experience, she knew that his words would’ve been the human equivalent of flirting.He held her against him tightly, as if afraid she would leave.Yet, he’d hinted earlier that she should move away and he hadn’t spoken to her at all during the first part of the journey.
It was confusing.What was even more confusing was why she was overanalyzing it in the first place.She’d told herself not to get involved, but it seemed that her body, judging by the way it perked up at his touch like a dog expecting a treat, was ignoring her mind’s wishes.
