Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Axton’s knees were getting close to his chest. He let out an enraged roar. He had to just sit here and let Xenia die from some Rahl-engineered booby trap. He was so fucking sick of being a failure.
He tightened his grip on her hand and with his other, he made a fist and slammed it into the floor.
The floor gave way.
They both dropped like metal to a magnet and into some sort of chute.
He pulled Xenia closer and wrapped his arms around her. They slid downward, moving faster and faster.
Then they shot out the end.
He got the impression of darkness and empty space.
They hit the ground with a hard thump.
Axton landed on the bottom, with Xenia on top of him. The impact forced all the air from his lungs and sent a sharp pain shooting through his shoulder. He groaned.
“Are you okay?” She scrambled upright until she was straddling him. She started patting him down, his face, neck, shoulders.
He groaned again. “I’ll be fine.”
Then it hit him. They were alive. Alive.
He sat up, cupped her cheeks, and kissed her.
She went rigid for a second. Then she threw her arms around him and kissed him back.
There was no hesitation this time. It was a wild kiss. Hot. Abandoned. A celebration of the fact they were still breathing.
She tasted so damned good. A taste that could quickly become a dangerous addiction.
He needed her. He needed that tight, strong body beneath him. She whimpered against his mouth, her tongue stroking his.
But he wanted her safe first.
He tore his mouth from hers. “We need to get out of here.”
She nodded. “I think we’re in some sort of storage area beneath the warehouse.”
It was old. There was stonework that was clearly done centuries before and a lot of dust. It had obviously fallen out of use years ago.
They both stood and studied the space. Xenia tightened her ponytail which had come loose during their fall, and his gaze snagged on the glorious red strands.
He couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and rubbing the red silk between his fingers. He wanted to see it spread across his sheets, or better yet, his skin. “Let’s get out of here, baby.”
She stilled. “Baby?”
“It’s an endearment. You’re supposed to like it.”
She tilted her head, considering. “I do like it. No one’s ever called me anything but my name or title before.”
He gripped her hand. “Didn’t your parents have pet names for you?”
Her head lowered. “I didn’t have parents.”
“What?”
“I was abandoned. Security raised me.”
Abandoned. No family at all. Centaxians prided themselves on the achievements of their offspring. Who had been there to show Xenia she was valued? Loved?
“Well, I’ll call you all kinds of pet names. Baby, gorgeous, beautiful—” again he couldn’t stop himself and he nipped at her lips “—and I’ll do it while I’m sliding my cock inside you.”
She shivered.
“Come on.” He turned. “Let’s find a way out.”
They started searching the darkness. Axton wished for his now-lost ion light.
“Look.” She strode toward one wall.
Dim lights clicked on, illuminating jagged blades of all sizes lining the wall. Rahl weapons.
“They were storing stuff down here,” he said.
“I may hate the Rahl, but they make beautiful swords.” She stroked a finger along the hilt of a sword with an obsidian-black blade. “The craftsmanship is amazing.”
He was caught for a second watching her face. He wished she’d look at him like that. “There has to be a way out.”
She turned away from the weapons. “Keep looking.”
He headed in one direction and she went the opposite. At least with the lights on, he could see better. He found some other supplies haphazardly piled around. Then he spotted what looked like stairs heading up into the darkness. He took a step forward.
“Axton.” Xenia’s voice echoed through the space.
“What did you find?”
“Artifacts! They look like they might be from private Centaxian collections.” She held up something, and he saw the glint of gold.
Taken during the looting. His pulse spiked. “Any sign of the Codex?”
“No. Sorry.” She stepped closer to the boxes, then stopped. “Oh, no.”
Her voice had changed. “What?”
“Axton, stay back. I’ve stepped on a pressure sensor.”
A pressure sensor? A chill skated down his spine. For what? He headed in her direction.
“Stay back, dammit.” She slashed a hand through the air. “You are so stubborn. There could be more.”
He halted a few meters away. “Are you detecting anything?”
“No.”
“No explosives?” He wouldn’t put it past the Rahl to have left some surprises to protect their cache.
She released a breath. “No. Nothing. But that doesn’t mean anything if their explosives don’t show on scans.”
He reached out a hand. “Step off and let’s run.”
“Move back.”
He didn’t budge, just made a “come” motion with his hand.
“Damn you.” She stepped off the sensor.
He grabbed her hand and they sprinted. But after a few steps, he didn’t hear anything—no explosions, no nets coming at them, no trapdoors giving way. He tugged her to a stop.
“Nothing,” he said, with a laugh.
Then a small sound reached them. The sound of something small rolling along the stone floor.
Four silver balls came into view, skimming across the floor, converging on Axton and Xenia.
Shit.
“Explosives!” Xenia yanked his arm. “Run.”
“That way.” He pointed toward the stairs he’d seen earlier.
One of the balls hit a pile of supplies. They exploded in a blinding flash of white light.
Another ball ran into a stack of boxes and exploded.
Thick, black smoke filled the air. Flames leaped from box to box, igniting into an inferno.
Two balls were still rolling toward Axton and Xenia. As the first one neared, he pulled Xenia to the side.
The ball altered course, tracking them.
Dammit. He grabbed his timepiece off his wrist. He’d played VelocityBall in his teens and hoped his arm was up to it. He threw the timepiece.
It hit the ball dead on. The explosion knocked Axton off his feet and a wall of wicked heat washed over him.
“Up.” Xenia was there yanking him upright.
The smoke was worse now and he coughed. He stumbled after her.
The final ball appeared out of the smoke.
Shit. He looked up. Saw the steps just meters away.
He wrapped an arm around Xenia’s waist, and at the same time, she grabbed him. Together, they jumped, both of them using their enhanced strength.
They flew upward. Behind them, the final ball exploded.
Flames engulfed them. Axton pushed Xenia’s head against his chest and curled himself around her.
Then the flames were gone and they slammed into a door at the top of the stairs hard enough to dent it.
With a groan, he hit the steps, still cradling her.
She struggled out of his arms. “Your shirt’s on fire.” She slapped at him.
At that moment, he didn’t care. His vision was blurry, his hearing was off, and pain was an all-over throb. He didn’t care about any of it. They were alive, maybe a bit singed, but nothing a medscope couldn’t fix.
Xenia’s face was streaked with black, her eyes were red and watering, and her hair had been ripped free of its tie. It fell around her face in a tangled mess.
He’d never seen anything more beautiful.
“Axton, focus.” She shook him a little. “What’s my name?”
“I don’t remember. Do I know you?”
She gave him a light smack on his arm. “I think you’re fine.”
“I know who you are. Xenia Alexander. The most beautiful CenSec I’ve ever seen.”
Now she cupped his face. “You’re covered in soot and charred skin. You need a medscope.”
He plucked at the burned ruins of his shirt. There wasn’t much left to cover his back and chest. And what was there—he touched a raw burn on his chest and winced—was stuck to his skin. “You have to help me heal this. If my private physician sees it—” Axton shuddered. “The man is evil.”
“Come on.” She held out a hand. “I’ll get you home and healed. Right after I call in a CenSec team to put out the fire downstairs and do a sweep of the building for any more traps.”
Xenia pressed a palm to the lock beside the door. Her eyes glowed neon green as she interfaced with it. Seconds later, it gave a beep and opened.
They stepped back into the warehouse.
She slid an arm under his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
He didn’t need any help, but he leaned on her anyway. He liked the feel of her too much. “We smell like smoke.”
“Yeah, we need to get cleaned up and get that medscope on you.”
“I have one at home.” The slim devices were expensive and could heal any small-to-medium-sized wounds.
“Great.” She glanced up at him. Her eyes back to their regular cobalt blue. “And we need to get that Sync charged.”
“Yes.” Creator, he’d almost forgotten about the map.
Xenia cleared her throat. “Then I plan to let you get me naked and show me those fun, dirty things you promised me.” She sent him a smile that was somehow shy and wicked at the same time.
Axton stumbled, his mind going blank.
Then all kinds of images flared to brilliant life in his head. “Come on.” He grabbed her hand. “Transport. Now.”
Wow. Axton’s house was amazing.
Xenia pulled the transport to a stop and stared up at the three-story home, not far from the Capitol Building. It looked like cubes of synth-glass stacked on top of each other. They were coated with something so you couldn’t see in, but she bet you got a good view of the city from the inside.
She lived in the Centax Security Compound, and while her apartment wasn’t small, it was nothing like this.
He led her up to the door. She eyed the raw, red burn on his back and winced.
“Did the team make it to the warehouse?” he asked.
“Yes.” She’d called Xander and arranged a CenSec team. “He’ll let me know if they find anything. He told me my priority was seeing you get to a medscope.”
Axton pressed his palm to the bio-lock on the polished metal front door. “I have a couple of other priorities.”
“Welcome home, Prime Saros,” the computer chimed. The door opened.
He waved Xenia inside. Lights clicked on automatically, bathing the space in a golden glow. It was all glass, metal, and warm woods.
She stared at the floor. “Real wood?”