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Chapter 18

“Jendar let us borrowone of the quad vehicles.” Eden grinned at Blaze as he walked toward her. He was gorgeous. His muscles rippled beneath his clothing, and the purple gleam was back in his eyes, where it belonged.

“Great. It’s a hike to the waterfall.” The smile he gave her didn’t reach his eyes. “How’s Nipper?”

She climbed into the quad vehicle, and he sat beside her. “Fast asleep after a check over from the vet. She fixed his paw. Then he ate a huge meal and curled up on my bed.”

“I’m glad he’s okay.”

“He’s better than okay. He helped us on that Pecket ship. Nipper is a hero.”

Blaze nodded, his gaze on the horizon. “The Pecket won’t forget him anytime soon.”

Eden slid a glance his way. “We don’t have to go if you’re not up to it. Those Pecket dragged you through hell and back. We can always postpone if you need to rest.”

“No way. We need some alone time.” He grabbed her hand and kissed the knuckles.

“Good. And I’m driving.” Eden rumbled the quad bike past the animal pens, making sure not to disturb them, then floored it once they were out of the sanctuary gates.

The surrounding landscape was lush forest and green spaces. The air tasted clean.

“You know where you’re going?” Blaze said.

“Sure. I checked with Jendar. She told me the best spot, where we won’t be disturbed.”

Blaze stroked a hand along her arm, sending a shiver of heat through her.

Eden glanced at him again. Her heart was racing abnormally fast. She needed to get a grip. She was like a lovestruck teenager going on a first date. This was Blaze. She knew him.

A silence stretched between them.

Eden shuffled in her seat. “The animals don’t seem to have suffered any ill effects.”

“They’re all good. Everything is getting back to normal.”

It didn’t feel normal to her. It would never be the same between her and Blaze. She didn’t want it to be. She wanted him in her life for good. And he seemed to want that, too. But even though he had his hand resting on her knee, he seemed distant.

“Are you still pissed about the attack? The Pecket will pay for what they did,” Eden said.

“They killed four of the workers at the sanctuary,” Blaze said. “They’ll definitely pay.”

She nodded. “The Intergalactic Council has been informed. They won’t do this again anytime soon. Jendar’s talking about getting a fleet to do regular fly-bys. That’ll deter anyone from stealing the animals.”

“Yeah, I heard about that. That’s great.”

Eden frowned and focused on the road. Blaze was definitely elsewhere. His preoccupation wasn’t about the animals or the safety of the sanctuary. Her stomach flip-flopped. He hadn’t changed his mind about her, had he?

“I dropped by to see the guys,” Blaze said.

“Oh! Bad news?”

“No, they’re stable. Ranger wants out of his bed, but that’s not happening anytime soon. Gunner’s awake, and Wilder was so spaced out on meds I couldn’t get any sense out of him. He kept talking about some hot nurse who needed to give him a bed bath.”

Eden laughed. “That’s not like Wilder. He’s the strong and silent type. He must have been jacked up from all the meds.”

“He was as high as a spaceship. I’m glad they all made it.”

“Yeah, me too.”