CHAPTER 13
Grayson was falling head over heels for the woman sitting by his side. A woman he’d come close to losing. Barging into that room, after knocking out the two thugs guarding the door, and seeing Leila about to be sliced had just about stopped his heart.
Rage had engulfed him, and he wanted nothing more than to kill.
Would have murdered the fucker, too, if she’d not stopped him.
Hearing her story, the reason why she’d ended up at Tower, had only made him admire her more.
How many women would have lacked the courage to escape?
It chilled to know she almost died in her attempt to flee.
Leila was a survivor and a warrior, even if she didn’t recognize it.
And she wanted him.
He’d kind of hoped she did, but when she made that comment about them watching a sunrise together in bed? He almost said fuck the mission.
Alas, Grayson had always been the responsible sort. Just ask his coaches. He never missed an early practice. Never got sloshed the night before a game. Always put in the work and never slacked.
This mission was more important than any hockey game, even the Stanley Cup—which the Leafs’ fans might disagree with, but they were a rabid breed of their own.
People counted on Leila and Grayson to maybe find a way to stymie the aliens, to ensure humanity didn’t become food for their hungry, ugly, four-armed asses.
Would this lake hold the key? They’d stopped to get the permit needed to visit and were now minutes away from possibly finding out.
“There it is.” It appeared suddenly, a vast expanse of pink that seemingly undulated because of the hundreds of flamingoes standing in the shallow parts. In the distance, a dark mountain rose, making the rose color even more distinct.
“It’s beautiful,” Leila exclaimed.
“And toxic,” he reminded. “No drinking or swimming.”
She snorted. “As the scientist, I’m well aware. Shall we get started?”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Put on some protective boots, for one, and gloves. While I collect samples, why don’t you see if you can spot the meteor that hit in the area?”
His brows rose. “And how am I supposed to recognize it? Seems to me like there’s lots of rocks lying around.”
Her grin proved wide as she said, “It won’t be easy, but some things to look for would be a rock with a black crust, which would have formed around it during its passage through the atmosphere.
Most are magnetic, but since this one was of alien origin, not sure if that still applies.
Oh, and they’re usually heavier than they look. ”
“Shouldn’t I be guarding you?”
She arched a brow as she looked left then right. “I’m pretty sure we’ll have time to see any threats coming.” The flat area would make it easy to spot anyone.
It didn’t take long for her to collect samples—bending over to scoop the water, looking cute in her knee-high galoshes with her hair tied back—but Grayson had yet to find a rock that might be the meteor. Freaky animal statues, though? He’d seen more than a few.
“I’ve got everything I need,” she chirped after they’d been there just over two hours.
“Should we head back?”
She planted her hands on her hips and chewed her lower lip. “While I want to say yes, we should probably try to find the chunk of asteroid, if only to verify that it’s inactive because of the lake and not something else.”
“Won’t exactly be able to find it if it sank,” he observed, glancing over the vast expanse that appeared to shift in hue from light pink to dark.
“While the lake isn’t very deep, ten feet at the most, I agree it isn’t clear enough to see the bottom.” She frowned as she stared across it.
“How about we walk the shoreline together to see if anything stands out.”
“I’ll join you in a minute. I want to properly pack my vials and jars so they’re ready if we need to make a quick departure.” Her gaze went to some people arriving on foot, tourists by the looks of them, given their cameras and the pointing. No doubt, she feared the asshole might have followed.
Grayson couldn’t properly keep an eye on her and scour the beach.
He did his best, though, gaze scanning the ground then turning back to look at her, standing by the trunk of their vehicle.
The tourists had their cameras out and pointed excitedly, especially when the flamingoes suddenly took flight, a pink wave that rose into the sky and flapped off.
For a second, he thought they caused the sudden brisk breeze that arose, but the tugging air grew stronger.
The sky darkened as dark and heavy-looking clouds replaced the lighter gray ones of the morning.
An empty-handed Grayson headed back for Leila, stating, “Storm rolling in. We should probably head out.”
“Not quite yet. Check out what I found in our supplies.” She held up a metal detector.
“Looking for treasure?”
“No,” she laughed. “But remember how earlier I said some meteors have a high metallic content?”
“You also said this one might not.”
“Doesn’t hurt to try.” She waggled the device.
“It will have to wait until that storm blows over,” he suggested as the wind whipped harder, rolling pink waves onto shore.
“We’ll picnic in the Rover until it blows over. Climb in.” The seats had been folded down, but he still had to crawl in before he could sit. They closed the trunk just in time. The rain fell in sheets, removing visibility and pounding the roof.
Leila didn’t seem bothered as she pulled out the samosas he’d bought. Unheated, but still delicious. With just the dim light of the trunk for illumination, they sat companionably munching.
“You got all the water you needed?” Such a suave and sexy start to a conversation.
“I hope so. I tried to grab samples from the surface, some closer to the bottom, as well as from the darker concentrated areas.”
“You didn’t get any on your skin?”
“I wore the thick gloves that go past my elbows and a face shield in case of splashing.”
“Good. I saw some of the petrified animals. That lake doesn’t mess around.” Their calcified remains had jarred, as it showed creatures literally frozen in time.
“What’s crazy is how flamingoes thrive, though, in those same waters. Did you know they can ingest almost boiling water without harm?”
“That is kind of insane.” He chuckled. “How many more weird facts do you know?”
“Too many to count,” her rueful admission.
“You think this water will work against the aliens?”
She shrugged. “No way of knowing until we actually test it on Blue.”
A sharp crack of thunder startled her hard, and without thinking, he put his arm around Leila and drew her close. “It’s just the storm.”
“Sorry. For a second, I thought someone shot at us.” She stayed close to him.
“I doubt Hassan managed to follow. I took a twisting route here.”
“I’m just worried because we did tell customs we’d be visiting the lake and also bought that permit from the agent.”
“How common is the name Leila?”
“Common enough.” She sighed. “Guess I’m just paranoid.”
“Don’t be scared. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Her head tilted so she could lock eyes with him. “I believe it, even as I’m not sure why you’d even bother to protect. I wasn’t very nice when we first met.”
“Understandable. You were forced out of your comfort zone.”
“You mean my anti-social cocoon.” Her lips twisted. “In retrospect, I might have taken my isolation a tad far.”
“Why, Leila, are you saying you want friends?”
“Not really.” Her nose wrinkled. “Maybe just one.”
“And who might that be?”
“Asterion.” He stiffened, and she giggled. “But there’s someone else I’d like to get know better as a lover.”
“The next words out of your mouth better be my name,” he growled teasingly.
“How’s this instead?”
Her mouth met his in a soft, sensual kiss that ignited the senses, the taste and feel of her intoxicating. He dragged her onto his lap and threaded his fingers through her hair, enjoying the embrace.
Passion had them ignoring the storm raging outside. Thunder rattled the windows of the Range Rover. Buffeting winds caused it to slightly rock, and rain pounded so hard it almost drowned out their panting breaths. They might have kissed forever if someone didn’t shoot out their windshield.