If we had to split up, Eli and Chira would take Havil, Anja, Kee, and Varro while Nilo and Lexi joined Torran and me.
Torran didn’t have anywhere to practice with ranged weapons, so we decided that we would use our own plas pistols and rifles. Valovian weapons weren’t that different, and we’d had some limited experience with them thanks to the war, but a delicate rescue mission wasn’t the place to test our knowledge. We’d spent countless hours with our weapons. Familiar was better.
By the time we stripped off our armor and did a debrief, it was nearly dinnertime. Torran cooked us a local meal that was as delicious as it was unfamiliar. We’d all taken to sitting in the same seats we’d had on Starlight and yesterday’s grim silence had been replaced by laughter and teasing.
But as the sun sank behind the horizon, my tension started climbing. Kee, Lexi, Nilo, and Varro planned to visit the monitoring station as soon as it was fully dark. Kee and Lexi hadn’t been able to find a remote way to override the surveillance system, so they were going to have to get close to breach it.
I knew they could take care of themselves, but I never liked it when my team was in danger—especially when I wasn’t there to watch their backs.
Havil and I cleaned the kitchen while the others went to get ready. “Are you okay?” Havil asked once we were alone.
“Yeah, I just overdid it this morning in the gym, and I’m worried about Lexi and Kee. Once they get back, I’m going to spend fifteen minutes in the heated pool.”
Havil dipped his chin in acknowledgment. “I know that Nilo can seem rather frivolous at times, but he is an excellent soldier. He and Varro will keep your team safe.”
I smiled gently at him. “Lexi and Kee can keep themselves safe. But that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about them.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
It took Lexi and Kee four excruciating hours to break into the surveillance system without getting caught. But when they returned, just before dawn, it was with proof that someone was in the bunker. It was just a short clip, and it didn’t show Cien or Morten, but it did show a person in dark armor walking across one of the underground rooms. It was all Kee could pull in the time she’d had.
We decided that it would be better to discuss it after sleep, so everyone headed to bed. I’d been up for nearly twenty hours, but the adrenaline of the last few wouldn’t let sleep come easily.
I needed to relax, and short of sex—which I firmly put out of my mind before I could think about taut muscles, black hair, and dark eyes streaked with silver—the heated pool was the next best thing.
Since I didn’t have a swimsuit, I changed into a pair of boyshorts and a sports bra, then covered them with the short robe I’d found in the bathroom. I piled my long, curly hair into a messy bun on top of my head. I looked ridiculous, but everyone else was either asleep or heading that way, so no one would know.
A fifteen-minute soak and then I would sleep.
The hallway was quiet and dim. I slipped through the house on silent feet and smiled when the pool room door slid open at my touch. The air was warm and humid, and I could already feel the heat working the knots from my sore arms.
I was so focused on getting into the heated water that I failed to notice the pool wasn’t empty until I’d already dropped my robe and dipped a foot in. Movement in the corner of my eye startled me so badly that I screamed and flailed.
I lost my balance, but before I could flop into the water like a drunk fish, Torran’s power clamped around my body and set me back on my feet.
“Are you all right?”
I glared at him. “You’re supposed to be asleep!”
He tilted his head. “So are you.”
Torran wasn’t wearing a shirt and I could see the tops of his broad shoulders. The water obscured the rest of him. Was he wearing anything at all? I paused, torn. Getting into the pool with him was such a bad idea, but my arms ached. The heated water would do them good, and a shower just wasn’t the same.
“Join me,” he invited, his voice neutral.
Still, I hesitated. “You don’t mind?”
He gestured around. “The pool is big enough for both of us.”
I wasn’t sure that statement was true, not with how flushed I felt from looking at his shoulders, but I eased into the water with a hiss. It was delightfully hot, just shy of scalding. I wouldn’t be able to stay long, but already I felt better. I tipped my head back against the edge and closed my eyes.
I dug my fingers into my left triceps, working on the knots. What I wouldn’t give for a massage right now . . .
“Would you like some assistance?” Torran asked.
I opened my eyes, but he hadn’t moved from his spot on the other side of the pool. “Are you reading my mind?”
“No.” The corner of his mouth tipped up. “Were you thinking about my hands on you?”
Heat that had nothing to do with the water temperature burned through me. I hadn’t been, but now I was. “I was wishing for a massage, if you must know. I overdid it a bit this morning.”
This morning that felt like a hundred years ago.
“Come here and I will massage your arms for you.”
Temptation, thy name was Torran Fletcher. I cleared my throat. “It’s probably safer if I stay over here.”
Torran frowned. “You think I’m a danger to you?”
“No,” I said, drawing the word out. “Not like you’re thinking.”
His frown melted into a heated smile. “Then let me help you. I would do it from here,” he said as his power gently clamped around my biceps, “but I need to reserve my strength for the attack.” His tone turned gentle and coaxing. “And you need to be in top form, too. Let me help you. Please.”
Despite the tumult of the past two days, I trusted him. He’d been looking out for me, in his own way, even when I thought he’d betrayed me. I crossed the distance separating us, until I was within arm’s reach.
I held out my right arm. “Okay.”
His long fingers circled my wrist and drew me closer. “Shh,” he murmured when I stiffened. “I’m just making you more comfortable. I remember and respect the boundaries you’ve set.”
Not while we’re bound by a life debt.
Torran drew me into his lap, with my back against his chest. I found it impossible to relax when I was so close to him. Then his strong fingers started kneading the muscles of my shoulders, pressing into an incredibly tight spot just below my neck. I groaned and let my head drop forward.
Torran paused. “Tell me if it’s too much.”
“Keep going,” I demanded.
His chuckle vibrated through me, but he returned to the massage. By the time he turned me so that he could work on my right arm, I’d forgotten everything except how good his hands felt. He had remained coolly professional, but I burned everywhere he’d touched.
And some places he hadn’t.