“You are small and soft and have no claws.”
“I have a brain.”
“Brains are delicious. They are the first thing predators eat.”
She stared at him, unsure if he was joking. His expression gave nothing away.
“That’s… disturbing,” she finally said.
His lips twitched in the almost-smile she’d learned to recognize. “I am attempting humor.”
“Maybe stick to being the strong, silent type.”
He caught her hand as she reached for her suit, his grip gentle but insistent. “I am serious, Alina. I do not trust your people. Especially that Martin. His scent clings to your memories like rot.”
She flinched at that. She’d told him about Martin during one of their long conversations, trying to explain the complicated web of relationships and politics that awaited her return. He had listened, but his protective instincts had flaring at every mention of the other male’s possessive behavior.
“Martin’s harmless,” she said, though even she didn’t quite believe it. “He’s annoying and entitled, but he’s not dangerous.”
“You do not sound convinced.”
“I’m not.” She sighed, pulling her hand free to start dressing. “But I can handle him. I’ve been handling him for months.”
He watched her with those bright blue eyes, his vertical pupils narrowing slightly. “And if you cannot?”
“Then I’ll figure something else out.” She pulled the suit up over her hips and winced, her muscles still a little sore from the unaccustomed activity of the previous night. “I have to do this. If I don’t go back, they’ll come looking. And if they find this place… If they find you…”
“I know.” He came to her side, towering over her. Even knowing how gentle he could be and how carefully he controlled his strength, his size still took her breath away. “I will stay hidden. I will wait. But if you do not return within three days?—”
“I’ll return.”
“If you do not,” he repeated firmly, “I will come for you.”
The certainty in his voice sent a shiver down her spine—half concern, half something warmer. “That would be a spectacularly bad idea.”
“Perhaps. But I will not leave you to face danger alone.” He cupped her face in his hands, his scales warm against her skin. “You are my mate, Alina. Where you go, I follow. This is not negotiable.”
Mate.The word still felt strange, too big for what they’d become in such a short time. And yet she couldn’t deny the rightness of it, the way her heart seemed to recognize the claim even as her mind struggled to catch up.
“Three days,” she agreed. “But please. Stay hidden. Don’t do anything… dramatic.”
His lips curved into something that was definitely a smile this time. “I make no promises.”
Getting out of the cavern was significantly easier than getting in, mostly because she didn’t have to do the work herself. He carried her easily up the steep slope she’d descended, then insisted on carrying her through the twisting passages, his footsteps sure and silent despite the uneven terrain. He moved through the darkness like he was born for it, which in a sense he was. The tunnels were part of him, he’d said. Part of his connection to this place. She didn’t fully understand what that meant, but she trusted him enough to let herself be carried.
The rockfall that had blocked her path on the way in proved no obstacle for him. He scaled it one-handed, his other arm cradling her against his chest like she weighed nothing, and moved easily through the cramped space.
“You’re showing off,” she muttered against his shoulder.
“Yes.”
At least he was honest.
Neither one of them wanted to separate when they reached the rover so he joined her in the cab as she made her way slowly back up the lava tube to the larger cavern. They emerged just as the first rays of sunlight were painting the pale Martian sky. The dust from the storm still hung in the air, giving everything a hazy, dreamlike quality, but the wind had died to barely a whisper.
He climbed down, but he kept her hand in his. The sunlight caught his scales, turning him into a creature of living gold, and her heart clenched painfully in her chest. “I should go.”
“You should.”
