I gasped for air and smiled at him, laughing through the gasps. “I trust you…”
The look in his eyes was warm and happy, with a fleeting moment of sadness, maybe, but then he was leaning back into me to kiss me again.
“Let’s go to sleep…” His thought reverberated through my mind. “Sweat will be dangerous right now, once it evaporates, it might create a freezing layer in our clothes. As much as I’ve enjoyed this.” He didn’t stop kissing me while he Willed his thoughts into me, and he squeezed my ass.
“You might be the only man who has ever said no to me.” I couldn’t help but Will a touch of sadness to him, playful though it might be. I also knew he was right.
“Don’t mark me a noble gentleman just yet,” he said and bit down on my lip teasingly. “I just want us to make it through the night alive so we can enjoy each other even more in the future.”
I pushed back from his kiss and then kissed his nose. I spun around so he was holding me from behind again, holding his arm close between my breasts and his hand against my cheek. He thrust gently into my ass and I bit down onto his thumb as I laughed.
“None of that, just yet, charzbos…”
“I’ll get you to call me Cartari sometime soon.”
“Maybe. It’s hard to forget you’re a barbarian who held me captive.”
“Are you no longer captivated by me?”
I laughed. “That’s different.”
He nuzzled into my neck and kissed it. “Good night, Zaya.”
“Good night…” Cartari… I said it mentally, but couldn’t say it aloud, just yet. I looked into the orange, red, and yellow flames and was lost in their glow. After all, what I said was true. I really didn’t know him, and while I was trusting him, to an extent, what was to stop him from leaving me, or controlling, or crushing me with his mind? I should make sure I didn’t forget that he had powers I couldn’t even dream of. Not just telepathy, but telekinesis, too.
I hugged him tighter and closed my eyes. For now, he was keeping me safe. For now, I would let him.
Twelve
Cartari
I listened to her breathing even out as she fell asleep, clutching my arm and laying against my hand. I could still taste her lips on mine. Well, that had been a pleasant surprise. It had taken a lot for me to stop it, but my concerns had been three-fold:
One, it was true that if we sweated, we ran the risk of making ourselves colder in the long run, at a time when we couldn’t risk evaporative cooling, when it was hope against hope that the table legs would last us through the night.
Two, I wasn’t entirely certain that my mental connection was done with its hold on her… After all, why had she suddenly become telepath-able? The connection between us was so intense… I was eager to see if she could read any other Vailstorans.
Three, if she really was running from Blatson, was somehow pledged to him, then my loyalty needed to be to this mission first. I couldn’t allow a woman, albeit, a beautiful, smart, engaging, enigmatic, alluring, vixen of a woman, to derail those plans. If we showed up at Blatson’s compound and I found out that she was his runaway bride or slave, or little sister, for all I knew, then I needed to do all I could to make sure she went back to her rightful place, no matter the circumstances in which Blatson had procured her. Farian needed this deal with Vailstor. We needed their calasis mines, and they needed our frajili. That was the trade I was authorized to make. If Blatson said no, I was to duel him, kill him, and help empower Truloy, another General, who, from what I heard, I would like a lot better.
It was a heavy task Commander Axis and King Kajo had put before me, and I couldn’t fail them.
I was anxious about the fact that I hadn’t been able to report in to them, but my handy comm was long gone by one of the guards and there just hadn’t been an option to go to my spaceship when we were fleeing the city. I wondered if Axis would send a ship after me if he didn’t hear from me soon. I had been radio silent for over a week at this point. I wondered how long it would take for Axis to move to Plan B.
First and foremost, I needed to know if Zaya was really running from Blatson… Before we got any closer, before we bonded any more, and definitely before she delved further into my brain.
I sighed and held her tightly, smelling the lavender and peppermint and the fire flickering just feet away. Mostly, I just wanted to hold her and keep her safe… The power of the mental connection was mind blowing. I hadn’t let her in as deep since that first time. I wondered what it would be like if I did. Now that she had learned a few tactics for emotional Will restraint, would that intense, breathtaking connection still be there? Part of me wanted to feel it again, part of me was afraid of how vulnerable it made me feel.
And that pain in her heart… So much pain… Had Blatson put it there?
My hands tightened into fists around her. Whomever had put it there… I didn’t want to let any other harm behalf her.
For tonight, I told myself. As I fell asleep right now, I can let myself
