Page 31 of The Last Aquarius
“Any more snakes?” he asked to keep her talking.
“A few fins, but none that have dared come ashore since you killed their friend.”
He reached the hole in the ground and dropped to his belly. “I’m dropping down a line. I want you to loop it around your waist and I’ll haul you up.”
Within moments, Ishtar stood beside him, murmuring, “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I don’t know about you, but I think we’ve done enough exploring for the moment. Want to head back to the citadel?”
At her nod, they began trudging, and to his surprise, she had an unexpected question for him.
“Why do you keep pretending you’re interested in me as a sexual partner?”
“Who says its pretend?”
She paused. “Because we barely know each other.”
“And?”
“I’ve not been very nice.”
“I’ll admit you can be a bit prickly, but you know what they say, sometimes the prickliest fruit is the sweetest.” Besides, he understood why she acted the way she did. Guilt could be a heavy burden to carry. His friend Leo had suffered from it and been the orneriest bastard for years on account of it.
“I’m not sweet.”
“Debatable. I’d have to kiss your lips to see if that’s true.”
She stopped walking and gaped, at a loss for words.
He could have pushed it, but instead, he resumed walking and tossed a casual, “Hey, just so you know, if you’re worried something like those snakes might have infiltrated the citadel, I’m more than willing to share a bed for protection.”
“The citadel is secure,” she grumbled, taking long strides to catch up, but as she passed him, she added, “And we’ll have to share because there’s only one mattress.”
Well damn. Now he was the one speechless, but his lips worked and they were smiling.
Maybe this Mars trip wouldn’t be a waste after all.
CHAPTER 11
What possessedIshtar to mention they’d have to share a bed? She could have told him he’d have to bunk on the floor or lied and claimed she’d be sleeping elsewhere.
Blame the fact he wouldn’t stop making comments that reminded her she was a woman, and a desirable one at that. Reece made her feel alive, a sensation that she’d long lost and pretty much forgotten. Being with him she didn’t feel alone. He even had her yearning for his touch. For the first time in forever, she felt desire and liked it.
They entered the citadel and waited as the room pressurized and cleared the air. A press of the red button on her wrist—tapped three times in quick succession—released the seals on her suit. A watching Reece mimicked her actions.
The helmet came off and a sweaty-faced Reece grimaced as he apologized. “Sorry for stinking up the suit. The snake incident stressed me a little.”
“A little?” She snorted. “I’m not ashamed to admit they completely freaked me out. Glad they didn’t drown or eat us. In better news, we can bathe. While the wells weren’t enough to supply a citadel full of citizens, plus grow crops, we should have more than plenty to shower with.”
She showed him to a bathing chamber and how to use the faucets and their version of a toilet. Not quiteDemolition Manwith the shells, but confusing to a newbie. It took a moment before anything sputtered from the long unused tap.
“Sweet. It’s warm,” he exclaimed, running his hand under the spray. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and began lifting.
While tempted to stay and watch—maybe even join, a naughty thought that came out of nowhere—she instead left him and went into an adjoining room—her old room, not that you could tell it once belonged to a queen. The grandeur had long been stripped and only a mattress with bedding remained planted directly on the floor.
The first wave of refugees had taken as much as they could, and then when Atlantis had been completed, the settlers stripped almost everything else, their way of holding on to their past. If Mars ever did revive, they’d have to spend a lot of her stashed wealth to purchase what they needed just to live. A blow to her finances she’d gladly welcome.
The shower, while lukewarm—the deep chill from below ground hard to counter with weakened heating systems—eased some of her tension. The plunge into the lake and the snakes had been terrifying, but now she had a new worry.
