Pity.
His dick ached, but otherwise, he felt good. More positive than in a long time. Maybe ever. It was as though he’d finally let go of the things that had been holding him back.
He felt like together they could save the world.
He still hoped that saving the world somehow coincided with his mission. But if it didn’t, then he would choose the rightcourse—not the one he’d been set upon from the moment he was born.
That was what it was to be human. You got to choose.
And he’d chosen Kaitlin. In some ways, that was seriously scary.
Still, he was glad she’d decided against stealing the time machine. Because, although he’d said he’d support her, he thought it was areallybad idea—one doomed to failure.
“Are you going to lie there all day?”
“Night,” he murmured. “It’s nighttime.”
“Okay. Are you going to lie there all night?” She cocked her head to one side and studied him. “Don’t you want to know what Christa has found?”
He rolled over and then sat up, scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Maybe. But this conversation is not over.”
“I know.” She licked her lips again, her gaze wandering down over his body, and his heat surged through him. “We’ll finish it soon.”
Would she let him in? And if she wouldn’t, would he hold out? Refuse her his body? He grinned at the thought. That would be a definite case of cutting off his nose to spite his face.
But he wanted her mind as much as he wanted her body. He’d grown up in a small society where everyone was in each other’s heads. Nothing held back. No lies. He wanted that with Kaitlin.
He stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets. “You once told me you wanted a world with no more lies,” he said. “Well, I want that as well. At least between the two of us.”
She nodded. “I told you—I’m working on it.”
He supposed that was the best he could ask for. And it was far more than he had once thought he would get from her.
It just wasn’t enough.
He brushed past her and opened the door. The group were in the lounge area, seated around a coffee table with a laptopplaced in the center. They all looked up with varying levels of interest as he entered, Kaitlin behind him.
“Hmm, you look pretty pleased with yourself,” Rose said to Kaitlin. “But Kane still looks a little on the tense side, so I’m guessing he didn’t get laid.”
“Mind your own business,” Kane replied though with zero hope that would happen.
“Nope,” Janelle murmured, her eyes widening, and a wicked grin curved her lips. “My brother is holding out on her. Kane’s playing hard to get.”
He pursed his lips but decided not to respond. Instead, he went and sat down in one of the free seats. Kaitlin had located the drinks cart and was pouring herself a glass of wine. She hesitated, then poured scotch for him, and brought the drinks over. She handed him the scotch and then sank down close beside him and sighed.
“Does this ever get annoying?” Steve asked. “I mean, you have zero privacy.”
“You get used to it,” Rose said.
At that moment, the screen on the laptop lit up and Christa’s face appeared. Jake stood behind her with one hand on her shoulder.
What had she found? He’d been too caught up in Kaitlin to wonder, but now he could see the barely suppressed excitement on her face, and his curiosity rose. But first things first. “You’ve got the place secured?” he asked.
“Yes,” Jake replied. “We have guards all around the perimeter, and extra surveillance set up around the cavern. If anything moves, we’ll know about it.”
“Good.” There, he’d proved he was cool about all this. Time to move on to the interesting stuff. “What have you found?”
“We got inside,” Christa said. “There was a panel beside the door. When Jake put his palm on it, the whole thing just slid open.”
