He nodded, holding out his hand for hers. “Come,” he said.
She bit back a choked laugh. “Under different circumstances.” She slid her fingers into his own, his larger hand swallowing hers.
“Do you always joke when you are scared?” Domik asked, grasping her fingers and tugging her gently.
She gasped as she slid into the pod, landing on his chest, her face so close to his he could count her eyelashes. Her slight weight was not unpleasant, even feeling right in a way nothing else ever had. He lifted a hand to rest in the middle of her back, holding her snugly against him.
“No,” she breathed. “Not usually.”
She was so close that he could see flecks of green and gold in her eyes, the combination deeply beautiful. Domik broke away with difficulty, using his free hand to close the pod doors. A hiss as the door snapped shut, and the pod pressurized. They were enclosed. Together. Alone.
CJ wriggled on top of him, her breath coming in short pants.
Domik’s hand smoothed up and down her back in slow strokes. He made low, soothing noises in his throat and she stilled, her head resting against his chest as she took a slow breath.
“Domik?” Her voice was small.
“Hmm?”
“Thank you for not leaving me.”
He stilled. Leave her? Never. Not while he still had breath in his lungs. Not while his heart still beat. All the words he had held back rushed forward in a flood, and he pressed his lips tight to keep them back.
A loud boom, and a flash of light blinded him and, instinctually, he slapped his hand against the button to eject the pod from the ship.
As the pod disengaged, Domik stared through the window in the pod’s doors as the shuttle filled with flames. Doing some quick calculations in his head, he realized they had mere seconds to be clear of the vessel before it was engulfed. The vacuum of space would only do so much. They had to be clear.
A helpless feeling washed over him, his stomach dropping like a stone.
Were they too late?
