R-339 moved towards the door, then paused on the threshold. He turned back, his gaze finding Adjar one last time.
“For what it’s worth,” the ranger said, “I’m glad you survived. Both you and Rhyx. Mars has been empty of your kind for far too long. It’s good to see you return.”
Then he was gone, mounting his mechanical horse with that same fluid grace. Within moments, he had disappeared into the daylight, leaving them alone once more.
He stood motionless, processing everything he had learned. Another survivor. A connection to cyborg technology. The suggestion that Mars itself was changing, preparing for… what?
Jaz’s arms wrapped around him from behind, her cheek pressing against his back between his folded wings.
“That was a lot,” she said quietly.
“Yes.”
“You okay?”
He turned in her embrace, pulling her close. His wings curved around them both, creating their own private sanctuary within the sterile walls of the ranger station.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Everything is changing so fast. I woke up expecting to find… I don’t know what I expected. But not this. Not a world where my kind are hunted and our existence is a secret to be exploited.”
“You’re not a secret anymore. Or an exploit.” She reached up to touch his face, her fingers tracing the line of scales along his jaw. “You’re mine. And anyone who wants to change that is going to have to go through both of us.”
A soothing warmth spread through his chest at her words.
“You would fight for me?”
“I already have.” She smiled, that rare warm expression that transformed her practical features. “I dragged yourunconscious body through a blizzard, remember? This is easy by comparison.”
He kissed her then, slow and deep, trying to convey through touch what words couldn’t adequately express. Gratitude. Love. A fierce determination to protect this impossible, extraordinary female who had given him a reason to believe in the future.
When they finally broke apart, she was breathless.
“We should probably use these next few hours to rest,” she said. “It’s going to be a long journey to Dustfall.”
“Probably,” he agreed.
“And we should eat something. Check our supplies. Plan our route.”
“All sensible suggestions.”
“So why are you looking at me like that?”
He let his hands slide down her back, settling possessively on her hips.
“Because we are alone and we have time,” he said. “And while I agree that rest and food and planning are important…” He nipped at her earlobe, feeling her shiver in response. “I find that I am not yet ready to let you out of my arms.”
“Adjar—”
“Tell me to stop and I will stop. Tell me that you need rest more than you need me, and I will simply hold you while you sleep.” His voice dropped to a rumble. “But do not tell me that you don’t want this. I can feel your heartbeat, Jaz. I can smell your desire. You want me as much as I want you.”
She was quiet for a long moment. Then her hands clutched his shoulders and she pulled him down towards her.
“One hour,” she said against his lips. “Then we’re being responsible adults.”
“One hour,” he agreed.
It took considerably longer than that.
CHAPTER TWENTY
