He used his blaster on its lowest setting and shot the tinder. It lit instantly, and in a few minutes, the bigger branches and logs were catching fire. He held his hand up to the antigrav light and commanded it to release. It fell into his hands, unlit.
"To save its energy, in case we need it again," he explained when Midori looked at him quizzically. But truth be told, he preferred the firelight. He loved how it lit up Midori's face and spun her shadow onto the cave walls.
"I don't suppose you have anything to eat, do you?" A grumble from Midori's stomach punctuated her question as she sat down next to the fire.
"There were some dried rations in the escape pod. I put them in the solar-thermo bag."
He retrieved the dried meat from the shiny black bag and gave her a stick. Her face contorted with disgust when she took a bite, but she didn't complain. She just took one bite after another as she continued the meal.
"Cael, what are we going to do? Neither of us are dressed to survive a trek down a mountain in the snow. Our supplies are limited, and we don't know where we are or if there's anyone out there to help. Maybe we should have stayed closer to the escape pod. What if we're the only two people on this planet?"
Cael sat down next to her and considered Midori's questions. She was right. They were in a grave amount of danger. However, staying near the escape pod posed equal danger of being discovered by Lord Krissayr's men. If that happened, Midori would be taken away from him and sent to be the mob boss's personal slave. There'd be little hope of saving her from that fate, even if he became the King of Zyranth.
"Maybe we could stay here in this cave. This could be our home until someone arrives."
"Perhaps," Cael answered. He didn't want to scare Midori, but he knew whoever showed up hunting their homing beaconwouldn't be someone they'd want to meet. Their best chance of getting her home would be to find civilization, if there was one.
Midori stifled a yawn with the back of her hand. "I can't believe I'm so sleepy after being asleep in the escape pod."
"It's the letdown after having so much adrenaline released. We've been through a lot today. You should rest."
"I don't know how I'm ever going to sleep on this cold ground, even with a fire burning," Midori said, eyeing the cave floor.
"I have something which will help." Cael took all the articles from the solar-thermo bag—medical tools, dried rations, the anti-grav lamp—and placed them on the floor. He then removed his boots and pulled the bag over his feet and around his legs. It grew as he pulled, stretching out to engulf him completely.
Midori's eyes widened as Cael pulled the bag around his shoulders. "What kind of voodoo magic is this?"
"I'm not familiar with voodoo, but I can assure you it's not magic. The fibers fold in on themselves and shrink down. I've just pulled them apart. It's large enough to fit a family of four, if need be. Come in. I assure you, between the solar-thermo bag and my body heat, you'll stay quite warm."
Midori took a deep breath and blew it out as she pulled off her shoes. "I'm sure I will."
SIX
Hold it together. Hold it together. Hold it together.
Yes, you are about to get up close and personal with the sexiest, four armed, blue alien you've ever seen, but that doesn't mean you need to lose all self-control.
A little self-control? Maybe. No. Bad idea. Hold it together.
Midori slid into the strangest expanding sleeping bag she'd ever seen and laid down next to Cael. The fabric stretched to allow space between them, but it didn't matter. Midori was intensely aware of Cael's body only a few short inches from her own. She was warmer. That much was true. In fact, now that she was inside, she was almost too warm. With the fire behind her and Cael's body in front of her, she was now in danger of sweating while she slept. She didn't relish the idea of waking up to find her clothes soaked with perspiration.
You know what you need to do. Just do it.
What if he interprets it as a suggestion I want . . . more?
What are you talking about? You DO want more.
Yeah, but I don't want him to know that. Do I?
Midori sighed and blew at the hair sticking to her sweaty brow. She hadn't been this close to a man in a long time. Shewasn't sure what she wanted to happen. Nothing? Everything? What if Cael wasn't even attracted to her? Over the past two weeks, she thought she'd caught signs he had feelings for her, but what if he was just being polite? Maybe he saw her as a pet of sorts. His people were blue with four arms for crying out loud! Would he even be able to find her attractive? Did she want him to?
A pulsing throb between her legs told her yes; she very much wanted him to be as attracted to her as she was to him. But what if they weren't even compatible in that way? What if their parts didn't even match up?
But imagine what those four hands could do! Not to mention the tail.
Midori squealed and opened her eyes to see Cael looking at her questioningly.
"Sorry. I'm . . . a little out of my comfort zone. Excuse me, but I'm hot, so I'm going to just . . .”
