“It will have to wait until that storm blows over,” he suggested as the wind whipped harder, rolling pink waves onto shore.
“We’ll picnic in the Rover until it blows over. Climb in.” The seats had been folded down, but he still had to crawl in before he could sit. They closed the trunk just in time. The rain fell in sheets, removing visibility and pounding the roof.
Leila didn’t seem bothered as she pulled out the samosas he’d bought. Unheated, but still delicious. With just the dim light of the trunk for illumination, they sat companionably munching.
“You got all the water you needed?” Such a suave and sexy start to a conversation.
“I hope so. I tried to grab samples from the surface, some closer to the bottom, as well as from the darker concentrated areas.”
“You didn’t get any on your skin?”
“I wore the thick gloves that go past my elbows and a face shield in case of splashing.”
“Good. I saw some of the petrified animals. That lake doesn’t mess around.” Their calcified remains had jarred, as it showed creatures literally frozen in time.
“What’s crazy is how flamingoes thrive, though, in those same waters. Did you know they can ingest almost boiling water without harm?”
“That is kind of insane.” He chuckled. “How many more weird facts do you know?”
“Too many to count,” her rueful admission.
“You think this water will work against the aliens?”
She shrugged. “No way of knowing until we actually test it on Blue.”
A sharp crack of thunder startled her hard, and without thinking, he put his arm around Leila and drew her close. “It’s just the storm.”
“Sorry. For a second, I thought someone shot at us.” She stayed close to him.
“I doubt Hassan managed to follow. I took a twisting route here.”
“I’m just worried because we did tell customs we’d be visiting the lake and also bought that permit from the agent.”
“How common is the name Leila?”
“Common enough.” She sighed. “Guess I’m just paranoid.”
“Don’t be scared. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Her head tilted so she could lock eyes with him. “I believe it, even as I’m not sure why you’d even bother to protect. I wasn’t very nice when we first met.”
“Understandable. You were forced out of your comfort zone.”
“You mean my anti-social cocoon.” Her lips twisted. “In retrospect, I might have taken my isolation a tad far.”
“Why, Leila, are you saying you want friends?”
“Not really.” Her nose wrinkled. “Maybe just one.”
“And who might that be?”
“Asterion.” He stiffened, and she giggled. “But there’s someone else I’d like to get know better as a lover.”
“The next words out of your mouth better be my name,” he growled teasingly.
“How’s this instead?”
Her mouth met his in a soft, sensual kiss that ignited the senses, the taste and feel of her intoxicating. He dragged her onto his lap and threaded his fingers through her hair, enjoying the embrace.
