Alex settled into a crevice against the snow covered mountains with Gina’s limp body draped across his lap, trying to keep them out of the worst of the blowing winds. She was so still in his arms, his heart hurt. Checking the biosuit monitors, he knew she was breathing. But watching that bitch Mira shoot her had taken years off his life. And made one thing very clear.
He wanted a hell of a lot more with Gina than a few weeks of lust.
But first she needed to wake up.
He leaned against the snow bank and shifted her around so he could watch her face through the helmet’s clear visor. He desperately wanted to stroke her cheek, to lay kisses across her closed lids. Come on, Gina, come back to me. Wake up, baby.
Glancing up and searching the snow for any sign of Nate and BinRal returning, he allowed himself a moment to wonder what would happen when she did wake up, now that she was inside a suit. Would she really be able to read his mind?
The idea should bother him a lot more than it did. Just days ago he’d considered telepathy an abhorrent invasion of his privacy. Yet, as he thought of Gina being able to see into his thoughts . . . Of all the people in the universe, having this one woman read his mind was both dangerous and, surprisingly, okay. He had no idea what she’d find in there. That gave him pause. Would she run screaming from the man he was if she could see that deeply into him? Would his feelings for her push her too far? He knew she wanted him. She’d put herself between him and a blaster—stupid ass move though it was—and he’d never forget that bravery. But watching her get shot had tipped a fine balance between control and anger. He was dangerous like this. If she woke up, read those blood-thirsty thoughts, would he ruin any potential between them?
Maybe the M-SIDs would take awhile to kick in. Maybe they’d have a few minutes before she could read his thoughts, a little time for him to…explain.
He ran a hand along the side of her helmet, the closest he could get to a caress, and watched her breathing. As her eyelids began to flutter, hope rose up to clog his throat. That’s it. Wake up.
Gina? Come on, baby. Come back to me. That’s it. Good, girl. You can do it. The litany ran steadily and comfortingly through her mind as she struggled past the blankets tangling her brain. The first thing she noticed beyond the voice was the strange taste of the air. After a moment, she felt the gentle pressure of sensor pads pressed against her pulse points. The sound of wind raged around her, but it was muted and distant.
She was in a biosuit, outside, in the middle of a blizzard.
She opened her eyes and launched herself upward. No you don’t. A firm hand eased her back down. “Gina? Listen to me, honey. It’s Alex. Are you okay? Can you hear me?”
She blinked against the white-blue snow and turned to focus on him. He was wearing a biosuit too. They were out in the middle of what looked like a snowfield in a pocket at the side of a mountain. There was no sign of the tunnel, Mira, Louis, or Nathan. “What happened? Where’s Nathan?”
I can’t believe you did that to me, and now all you can think about is Nate. “He’s fine. He’s with BinRal, and they’re on their way. BinRal’s ship was sabotaged. That’s why he was late.” Damn, but I need to kiss you. If you ever do anything like that to me again, I’ll wring your neck. “As for what happened . . .”
Gina frowned, slowly realizing she was hearing a lot more than he was saying out loud. “I can hear your thoughts,” she whispered, not sure whether the mike in her suit would pick up her voice. It must have because his expression shifted to a different kind of concern.
“I thought you might. I wasn’t sure. I was hoping the scanners wouldn’t activate so quickly.”
“Only takes about thirty seconds. And I’d love to kiss you too, but lifting the visor in this weather wouldn’t be wise. What happened to Mira and Louis? The house?”
His thoughts came at her in a tumble of emotions and images that she couldn’t sort through and was embarrassed to try after the first few rather graphic images formed. But his thoughts of sex were easier to take than the deep emotions churning in him.
“I disarmed Mira after you were stunned. Nate had to kill Louis. Unfortunate, since we could’ve gotten information from him.” He shrugged. “We didn’t have much time. There were more people in the house, so we had to get out and blow it fast.” I wasn’t letting anyone else near you. “We put you in the suit to protect you from the weather and the worst effects of the stunner shot. The destruct was down to five minutes by the time we were ready to go.” I almost killed that bitch for shooting you. “We tried to get Mira into a suit to bring with us. We were hoping to pump her for more information. She gave us a bit to go on,” thanks to you, “but I suspect the one orchestrating all of this will disappear now.” There’s no place he’ll be able to hide from me. “Mira started screaming when we tried to put her in a suit. Went berserk and ran back up the tunnel. She didn’t have time to get out before it blew.” And even if she had, I’d have killed her eventually.
“Am I still in danger?” Gina frowned as she tried to sort through the chaos of his spoken and unspoken comments.
Not while I’m around. “I doubt it. The person or people that bribed Mira don’t know what she’s told us so they can’t risk coming after you again.” I’ll eat them alive if they think they can hurt you.
“So, I’m safe as long as you’re around?”
“Yeah. You are.”
“Then, just exactly how long are you planning on being around?”
“You can read my thoughts? You tell me.”
Gina closed her eyes, searched through the chaos of images and words, half phrases and feelings racing through Alex’s mind. When she found what she was looking for, she opened her eyes and smiled. “That long, huh?”