“You don’t believe in love.”
He nuzzled her throat. “I do now.”
Her chest swelled and she felt like she was going to burst. She gripped onto him, listening to the thud of his heart. She wanted to believe. Wanted his love so desperately. But she’d been burned before and part of her was afraid he was mixing up sex with love. When he returned to his regular life, would he still love her, a salvage rat from nowhere?
“Tell you what, let’s get out of here alive and when this mission is over, we’ll talk.”
He was silent, his gaze searching her face before he gave her a nod.
“Tough guy, I’d love to stay here with you inside me all day. But we’re in a dangerous maze full of stuff out to kill us. And we have an ancient treasure to steal.”
“I’m running scans for anything moving near us. We’re safe for now.” He pulled back. “But yes, we need to finish this mission. I want you out of here.”
“No arguments from me.” She pushed at her hair, winced at the tangled mess. “Believe me.”
He moved away, and when he slipped out of her, she felt a sense of loss. After this was all over, she vowed she was going to convince him to spend some time with her. Just the two of them. Maybe they could book a cabin on one of the luxury starliners in the Pacifico Quadrant. Wallow in a private pool, try some gambling at the casinos, and dine in the restaurants. Or maybe just stay in bed, locked in their cabin, the entire trip.
As he stood and redid his trousers, Malin tore a strip off the bottom of her dress and cleaned up the best she could. She wrinkled her nose. After they got out of this stars-forsaken mazeand off this rogue planet, first thing on her agenda was a long, hot shower.
He gripped the back of her neck, rubbed. “Ready?”
“I’m ready to get out of here.”
He grabbed her hand, and together they headed down the path leading off the platform.
At the first junction, the path was obvious. A line of flames ran in a groove filled with some sort of flammable liquid.
They followed it. Slowly, the gradient of the ground increased. At the top of the slope, Mal glanced back and saw the maze laid out before them. A twisting labyrinth pieced together from scrap. The brainchild of a heartbroken madman.
She had always admired her father’s single-minded love for her mother. But here, this maze was the reflection of the dark side of love. A creation born out of a deadly obsession.
Maybe being someone’s single obsession wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
Maybe life needed balance. Love tempered and enriched by other things.
Mal thought of Dathan. Once a risk-taking rogue who only cared about the next treasure hunt, love had changed him. For the better. He now had far more than just treasure hunting in his life.
“Malin?”
Shaking off her thoughts, she hurried up beside Xander. They crested a hill and before them was the next challenge.
Metal ropes and hanging platforms hung over a huge empty space. Suspended bridges led to grids of metal, which led to more platforms. It was like a floating obstacle course on steroids.
And stationed across the rope maze were robots of all shapes and sizes. Some marched back and forth on their bridges, others perched like birds on their platforms, ready to pounce.
Mal’s chest was tight. How could they possibly make it through here? In the heart of the maze was a single circular platform.
An altar sat in the center of the platform and resting on top of it was the Antikythera.
“That’s it?” she asked.
Xander nodded. “Yes.”
She leaned close to the edge of their platform and looked down. She couldn’t see anything except a yawning darkness with no end. “Can you tell how far down it goes?”
“No base registers on my sensors.”
Her stomach turned. “Right. So don’t go over the edge.” She looked back to the assortment of robots guarding the way. “Suggestions?”
