“Why? You’ve been hiding from him this entire time. Even when he knew you were there, you didn't let him see you. So, why now?”
“Most benefiting now,” she said, smirking.
His grip tightened around her waist. Not enough to hurt, but enough to let her know he was tense. And she kind of liked how hard his body felt around her.
“Did you tell him your secret?”
She shook her head, and nearly giggled when she felt him relax. Not much. She probably wouldn’t have noticed at all if she had been wearing her letter jacket instead of the envirosuit that was so tight on her body. But she did feel it. He was relieved.
“Tell me how you do it,” he said. It wasn’t quite a request, and it wasn’t quite a demand, but it straddled somewhere between those two points.
“Cannot,” she said.
“Why not?”
“Safety.”
“It’s not safe for you to tell me?”
She shook her head. “No. I keeping my secretforsafety. If you are knowing, I losing my power.”
He couldn’t argue with that either. She smiled, stroking her hand over his face. Enjoying the hard contours of his squared jaw, hard cheeks, and strong nose. He would never win any great beauty contests, but there was something so interesting about his face. Like modern art. No classical beauty there, but fascinating to the eye nonetheless.
He let her touch him without complaint. Just looking up at her like he was waiting for her to change her mind and divulge her secrets anyway.
“You know we won’t hurt you,” he said, his voice oddly calm. Was it easier for him to talk to her through the comm and helmet? “You’re taking advantage of that fact. So, why keep the secret?”
She smiled behind the helmet. “Wanting more.”
“What more? What do you want from us, Haven?”
The sound of her name in that rough, rocky voice made shivers dance down her back. It was wonderful – like ice cracking over a lake or crystal clinking in a cave. A sound that emulated music, but couldn’t be added to a harmony. Like a well oiled machine humming or a familiar gear spinning. She couldn’t quite describe how that voice forming her name made her feel, but she liked it.
But the question…
What did she want?
Honestly, Haven didn't really plan ahead. At least, not in the way that she supposed normal people did in regard to their lives. She didn't have five or ten year plans. She didn't even really understand how people planned things like ‘get married by thirty’ or ‘reach manager by next year’. So many things were outside of their control, how could they plan for things like that?
She did make plans. Her termites were proof of her forethought. But she made those to protect her now as well as a year from now. She wasn’t laying the foundation for anything. She was just following her curiosity and trying to live free and happy.
So, when he asked her what she wanted, that was the simple answer.
But if he wanted an actual answer…
“I am wanting to stay,” she admitted. “I am being happy. I don’t wanting to leave. If you are thinking to get my secrets, you won’t forcing me to leave.”
He didn't respond immediately. And when he finally did, it wasn’t verbally. He turned his head away and pushed her over so she was laid across his shoulder. It was an obvious attempt to hide the look on his face that she allowed because she could feel her heart beating fast in her chest.
Vytln walked her out of the engine room. The moment they crossed the barrier line on the floor, she felt an immediate change in the pressure of her suit. It had protected her against heat and noise so well, she couldn’t feel the change in those, but it was like there was a weight off her body that made her feel lighter as he crossed the room.
Haven didn't fight when he once again slid her into the trap. She fell into her nest and turned back, but he hadn’t closed the hole immediately. He had his hand up on the mechanism, prepared to pull it down, but he was hesitating, Looking at her. And maybe it was easier to communicate through the mask and the comm after all, because she kept them on as he said-
“I get restless when you’re out of the trap. I don’t know if I evencanlet you go anymore.”
It was as much of a confession as he was able to give. He closed the trap, tightening the hole again, before he walked away. Haven watched him go as she sat back against her pillows. Thinking to herself about what just happened.
About what might happen.
