Chapter 8 #2
Relda felt an overwhelming rush of emotion fill her. She tried to talk, but her throat was so thick she couldn’t get any words out. She looked at them all, and saw no fear, no terror. They were looking at her the same way they always had.
Hunt wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. “Relda’s tired. She’ll catch up with you all soon.”
There was a chorus of well wishes and admonishments to rest as Hunt tugged her into the cool interior of her house.
The girls fussed around, telling her they’d cleaned her rooms and put a tray of food upstairs for her.
Pria came forward and pressed a bottle into Relda’s hand. “To help you…relax.”
It was a massage oil. The girl had listed the scents on the side in a flourish of handwriting. As Relda read off the names, her eyes narrowed. They were all aphrodisiacs.
Then the girls were gone in a flurry of activity.
“Come on, beautiful.” Hunt nudged her up the stairs.
She walked into her rooms. There was no evidence a life-and-death fight had gone on here, no sign of the nano-droid remains. Everything was just how she liked it.
No, everything was how she loved it.
She’d thought she’d been holding herself back from the people here…instead she’d made herself a home without even realizing it.
“I…I…” For once, she couldn’t find any words.
He dropped onto one of the couches and with a tug, tumbled her onto his lap.
He stroked a hand down her arm. “I told you to give them a bit of time to process. Despite all that incredible power locked in your decidedly delicious body, they know you. Relda the businesswoman, the rescuer of young girls, the sensual woman. You’re one of them, and they don’t want you to go anywhere. ”
Oh, how she wanted to believe that. Wanted to belong. Wanted to stay.
“It’s dangerous—”
“Timothy Li will not be telling anyone about what happened here.”
Hunt’s cold tone gave Relda goosebumps. “What did you do?”
“I had a little…chat with him. While you were sleeping.”
“He’s still alive?”
Hunt shot her a look. “Unfortunately, yes. I’m still a sworn marshal.”
And a good man.
She cupped his face, felt the scrape of the stubble on his cheeks, his blue eyes were locked on her.
“Li’s in a cell. With Westin.” A muscle in Hunt’s jaw flexed. “Relda, the people here, they will protect your secret. And I’ll protect you with everything that I am.”
Tears welled in her eyes.
“Relda, I want you to stay.” He pulled in a long breath. “For a long time, I’ve been dead inside. Losing my family, then so many men and women under my command…it all eroded bits of my soul away until I was filled with dark spaces. I’ve been surviving, but not really living.”
She bit her lip, wanted to pull his head to her chest and hold him. “Hunt—”
“Shh, not finished yet.” He pressed his hands over hers. “You brought me back to life. One look at you and all this vibrant color crashed into my gray world.”
She sighed. Could the man be any more perfect?
“Every conversation with you intrigued me. Every time I’d see you from a distance in the market, laughing or flirting, you drew me in.
Watching you with those girls you say you don’t love, made me start to slide just a little bit in love with you.
And then when I finally had you in my arms, well—” he smiled “—I really felt like you’d brought me back to life. ”
Her lips twitched. “You’ve completely shattered my image of the strong, silent soldier. You say such wonderful things.” She clutched at him.
“Stay.”
Just one simple word, but it was filled with so much. For Relda, it was the ultimate risk, the ultimate act of trust.
And she did trust this man. With her body, her life, and most importantly, she knew she could trust him with her heart.
“Yes.”
With a wild smile, he yanked her forward, his mouth taking hers. The kiss was hard and frantic, tongues sliding, like they were trying to devour each other.
Then it softened, Hunt’s hand sliding into her hair. She moved, straddling him, holding him as close as possible. She didn’t plan to let this man go. Ever.
When she pulled back for air, she saw his aura shining bright around him, all those blues she could stare at all day. And at the heart of it all, she saw a new color—violet. The color of a deep and true love. A warm glow filled her.
Then she felt the prickle of energy as a foretelling closed over her.
It was just a flash. A tiny, brief image.
Of Hunt sitting on the same sofa. Cradling a baby girl in his arms. A girl with a wild tangle of brown curls and ice-blue eyes.
The sweetest pain pierced Relda’s chest. Her deepest, unspoken dreams were coming true.
Hunt straightened. “What is it?”
She started undoing the buttons on his shirt. “I just had a little vision of the future. Our future.”
“And?”
“Well, first off, I can tell you that you’re about to get very lucky, Marshal Calder.”
He helped her pull his shirt off, leaving his muscled chest bare for her hands. “I already am, Ms. Dela-Cruz.”
She pressed her lips to his. “And our future looks pretty amazing.”