grunted.
“We’re being observed,” he muttered. “You’d think they would be tired and go to sleep.”
“They seem to be too horny to sleep.”
Mace grunted again. “I suppose so. Doubt many of them see women that often. Most women are smart enough to live in the civilized areas, not out here with the bandits.”
Andie almost asked him where these civilized areas were and what “civilized” entailed these days, but he faced her and bent low, his mouth near her ear. She grew absolutely still, not certain what he would do.
“I’m sure the last thing you want is to be touched by any of us,” he murmured, his words so soft that she had to strain to hear them, “but will you pretend to be enduring my... concupiscence for a few minutes? I don’t want Bedene to think we’re plotting something.”
The warmth of his breath on her ear and the nearness of his lips made her shiver, but Andie made herself focus on his words. “Are we?” she murmured. “Plotting something?”
“Maybe. I at least want to explain myself and why it would be a bad idea for you to sneak off on your own.”
Andie tensed. Had he overheard her speaking with Min-ji? No, he hadn’t been in the cabin then.
“I’m just assuming you are, based on what I’ve seen of you,” he added, a hint of dryness in his tone.
“Go ahead. Explain.” Andie wasn’t open to the idea of not trying to escape, but she would hear him out.
Remembering his request—and almost laughing because who the hell used the word concupiscence?—she stepped closer to him, resting her hand on his shoulder. She tilted her chin back, wondering exactly how realistic he wanted to make things. The activity in the loft had dwindled, but she remembered how distinctly that couple’s noises had drifted down, mostly the man’s. Marisa had been very quiet.
Mace leaned against the wall and rested his arm on her lower back, easing her closer. He bent his head again, his beard brushing her cheek as he kept his lips close to her ear. Andie rested her free hand on his pectoral muscle. In the stillness of the cabin, she could feel his heartbeat beneath her palm. It was faster than normal, considering they were at rest—more or less—and she wondered if he was nervous. Or aroused. Or both.
He cupped the back of her head gently and whispered, “The smart part of my brain, the very small smart part, is telling me that it’s ludicrous to trust you when I’ve only known you a day, but...”
Andie blinked, surprised that he was worried about trusting her .
“I guess because you’re also a soldier,” he went on, “and because we share a common enemy, I believe I can rely on you. I also don’t want you running out into the woods tonight, but I know what I want won’t matter to you, and you need an explanation as to why.”
He paused—waiting for a response?
“Yes,” she murmured, her mind too busy spinning circles as it debated his words to come up with anything more cogent.
“First off, my name is Theron. It won’t mean anything to you, but they’ll recognize it, so please keep calling me Mace. I’m an officer in the Cascadian Alliance Army. I was sent to infiltrate a group of these time-traveling kidnappers, to figure out their operation, where they’re selling their ill-gotten booty, and also to find their time machine, so it can either be destroyed or taken, to ensure they can’t keep going back for people. We also need to know where they’ve taken the women they’ve already stolen, so we can try to get them—you—back to your time period. Nobody with a brain wants to risk a situation where one of our ancestors is stolen and we end up never existing. As I’ve recently learned—” he snorted, the noise sounding wry, “—the military has a second machine, one we can use to send you home, so you just need to stick with me. I thought about going back and trying to destroy the machine in the cave tonight, but I didn’t want to leave you all alone with
“We’re being observed,” he muttered. “You’d think they would be tired and go to sleep.”
“They seem to be too horny to sleep.”
Mace grunted again. “I suppose so. Doubt many of them see women that often. Most women are smart enough to live in the civilized areas, not out here with the bandits.”
Andie almost asked him where these civilized areas were and what “civilized” entailed these days, but he faced her and bent low, his mouth near her ear. She grew absolutely still, not certain what he would do.
“I’m sure the last thing you want is to be touched by any of us,” he murmured, his words so soft that she had to strain to hear them, “but will you pretend to be enduring my... concupiscence for a few minutes? I don’t want Bedene to think we’re plotting something.”
The warmth of his breath on her ear and the nearness of his lips made her shiver, but Andie made herself focus on his words. “Are we?” she murmured. “Plotting something?”
“Maybe. I at least want to explain myself and why it would be a bad idea for you to sneak off on your own.”
Andie tensed. Had he overheard her speaking with Min-ji? No, he hadn’t been in the cabin then.
“I’m just assuming you are, based on what I’ve seen of you,” he added, a hint of dryness in his tone.
“Go ahead. Explain.” Andie wasn’t open to the idea of not trying to escape, but she would hear him out.
Remembering his request—and almost laughing because who the hell used the word concupiscence?—she stepped closer to him, resting her hand on his shoulder. She tilted her chin back, wondering exactly how realistic he wanted to make things. The activity in the loft had dwindled, but she remembered how distinctly that couple’s noises had drifted down, mostly the man’s. Marisa had been very quiet.
Mace leaned against the wall and rested his arm on her lower back, easing her closer. He bent his head again, his beard brushing her cheek as he kept his lips close to her ear. Andie rested her free hand on his pectoral muscle. In the stillness of the cabin, she could feel his heartbeat beneath her palm. It was faster than normal, considering they were at rest—more or less—and she wondered if he was nervous. Or aroused. Or both.
He cupped the back of her head gently and whispered, “The smart part of my brain, the very small smart part, is telling me that it’s ludicrous to trust you when I’ve only known you a day, but...”
Andie blinked, surprised that he was worried about trusting her .
“I guess because you’re also a soldier,” he went on, “and because we share a common enemy, I believe I can rely on you. I also don’t want you running out into the woods tonight, but I know what I want won’t matter to you, and you need an explanation as to why.”
He paused—waiting for a response?
“Yes,” she murmured, her mind too busy spinning circles as it debated his words to come up with anything more cogent.
“First off, my name is Theron. It won’t mean anything to you, but they’ll recognize it, so please keep calling me Mace. I’m an officer in the Cascadian Alliance Army. I was sent to infiltrate a group of these time-traveling kidnappers, to figure out their operation, where they’re selling their ill-gotten booty, and also to find their time machine, so it can either be destroyed or taken, to ensure they can’t keep going back for people. We also need to know where they’ve taken the women they’ve already stolen, so we can try to get them—you—back to your time period. Nobody with a brain wants to risk a situation where one of our ancestors is stolen and we end up never existing. As I’ve recently learned—” he snorted, the noise sounding wry, “—the military has a second machine, one we can use to send you home, so you just need to stick with me. I thought about going back and trying to destroy the machine in the cave tonight, but I didn’t want to leave you all alone with
Similar Books
