Lost in Barbarian Space (13 page)

“Let’s not worry about a wreck right now.” Colm was more worried about keeping them alive.

Honor hit a red button near the canopy and the entire shattered canopy popped outward.

Together, they climbed out.

Colm felt his boots sink into the snow. The wind hit, and it was like an icy blade. He pulled his coat tighter around his body.

“Goddammit.” Honor was touching her thigh. “My right leg is burning.”

“I can carry you—”

“No. I can walk.”

He would see how she went. If her leg was too bad, he was carrying her, her protests be damned. He looked around, but saw no features, no shelter, just snow.

He wasn’t going to mention the wolves.

Honor held her Sync close to her face. “I can see the storm about to hit. We’re just on the edge of it.” She looked up at him. “It’ll last for several hours and we can’t be topside in it. It looks like there’s an entrance to an ice cave a klick that way.” She pointed and took a step.

He saw her wince. Colm slid his arm across her shoulders. “Your leg is hurting.”

“Not enough to stop me getting out of here. It’s damn cold.” Her voice was laced with determination.

His brave warrior. “Then let’s go. I’d prefer it if I was the one keeping you warm.”

“Get me out of this snow, warrior, and we can keep each other warm.”

Together, they started walking.

Chapter Ten

Honor concentrated on moving through the thick snow. They hadn’t gone far when her Sync iced over. The screen flickered and died.
Dammit
.

“It’s too cold for my Sync. I’ve lost the map. We’ll have to look for the entrance to the caves visually.” God, they’d be lucky to find anything in these conditions.

The cold was beginning to seep through her suit. It was designed to withstand the cold…but not the conditions the storm was bringing. She shivered.

Suddenly, Colm tugged her toward him. He pulled her in under his coat and wrapped it around them both. The shock of heat made her moan. The fur was warm, and the warrior even more so. She let it sink into her.

“This will slow us down,” she said.

“I won’t have you cold.”

The implacable will in his tone made her smile. “Thanks.”

They kept walking, the snow getting deeper, and the temperature dropping more. It was hard going, and with every step, Honor’s leg burned.

She wasn’t sure how much farther they’d gone, when she realized her eyelids were starting to droop. She shook her head and fought to stay conscious.

But the lethargy was sinking in, and she was losing the energy to fight it.

Her next step made her stumble and she fell to her knees in the snow.

Suddenly, she was scooped up into hard arms, the fur resettled around them. She was too cold to complain. She snuggled into Colm’s chest. “I have a confession to make.”

He made a small sound that rumbled through his chest.

“I like you holding me. My father never did. He was always trying to toughen me up. Running obstacle courses and sparring against my brothers.” She knew her father loved her, but he was a military man. “Snuggling and cuddling have never been part of my life.”

Colm’s arms tightened around her.

“I bet your family was perfect. Strong warrior father, caring mother, loving family.” It seemed Markaria had perfected strong family units.

Silence. She felt Colm’s body go stiff. She frowned and blinked her heavy eyelids. What had she said wrong?

“My father was a warrior.” Colm’s voice was almost as icy as the snow around them. “My mother was an artisan. She made jewelry.”

Silence again, and Honor felt the terrible tension in his body grow.

“What happened, Colm?” she asked quietly.

“My father…got sick. It made him angry, short tempered, dangerous.”

There was so much pain in his voice. She knew for a Markarian warrior, control was vital. Protecting people was vital.

“My father was violent, and my mother couldn’t handle it. She…provoked him even more, and would add fuel to his rages. But my father did the unthinkable…and used his strength against us.”

“He
hit
you?”

Colm nodded. “I spent as much time away from my home as possible. With Kavon. My mother escaped into her work. Eventually, they hated each other.” Final words.

She read between the lines. He’d been raised in a battle zone. There’d been no gentle hugs for him, either.

“What happened?”

“My father beat my mother to death and then killed himself.”

God
. “I’m sorry.”

His jaw hardened. “I will
never
mate.”

A boom sound in the sky above them. Colm stopped and they both looked upward.

Bright flashes of light flickered through the thick clouds.

Honor struggled to see. God, she really hoped it was a rescue from the
Drake
. “I can’t make it out.” She frowned, straining to make out any details.

Then she got a glimpse of the craft…and the wild splashes of color on the side.

She shook her head, her hands clenching in the fur. “It’s not one of ours.”

“Then we best get out of sight,” Colm said.

He kept walking, with heavy, deliberate steps. The wind howled past them, tearing at the fur coat. The snow whipped into their faces. Even with Colm’s hot body beneath her and the fur around her, Honor was feeling the cold again. It was seeping in like an insidious intruder.

“I think we should be near the cave entrance.” She couldn’t see a damn thing. A lump the size of a rock lodged in her throat. What if they didn’t find the cave?

Colm stopped. “Be quiet.”

She went still. “What?”

“I heard something.”

Her heart tripped. “Wolves?” She fumbled under the fur for her laser pistols.

Colm was frowning. “I don’t think so.” He put her down and slowly scanned the area. Then he marched over to a spot and crouched on one knee.

Honor hurried after him and stared.

They were footprints. Humanoid footprints.

But they were
huge
.

When Colm started to follow them, she wasn’t sure it was the best idea. But soon, the prints just…stopped. Like whoever had made them had disappeared into thin air.

Colm brushed at the snow, and a second later she spotted the opening he’d uncovered. Beyond was a sloping tunnel entrance into the ice caves.

Honor didn’t know whether to be excited or worried. But she did know they couldn’t stay out here in the storm with pirates after them and wolves prowling around. She clumsily opened her backpack and pulled out a flashlight. She flicked it on.

Colm entered first and Honor followed, steadying herself as her boots slipped a little on the slick ice.

“God, it’s beautiful.” The walls were a deep, rich blue that looked almost like glass. It was still cold, but without the howling wind and driving snow, the air felt much warmer than above.

They walked deeper into the tunnels.

“We need to find somewhere to rest and tend your wound,” Colm said.

“I can make it.”

The tunnel snaked lower, and the temperature increased from cold to cool. Her shivering had stopped.

Soon, the tunnel opened into a small cavern. The walls were covered in a silver-blue moss that glowed with tiny pinpricks of light.

It looked like a fairy grotto in some ice queen’s castle. “Wow.”

“We have a similar plant on Markaria that grows in the north. It is infused with mites, an early version of the nanami.”

Honor studied the moss-like plant, touching it with her finger. “It’s bioluminescence.”

“Here.” Colm pointed to a large rock. “Let me see your leg.”

Honor moved over to him. Now that she was feeling warmer, the pain in her leg was much more noticeable. It was throbbing like hell. When she reached Colm, he gestured again, and she realized he wanted her to take her trousers off.

“Are you just trying to get me naked, warrior?”

“When I get you naked, you won’t need to ask me my intentions.” He looked at her. “Now let me look at your wound.”

She unfastened her enviro suit and pulled it off, then her cargo pants beneath. She tossed them over the rock. In just her shirt and panties, with goose bumps prickling her skin, she gingerly settled on her discarded trousers. Now she could see her wound, and she winced. The gouge across her thigh looked bad.

Colm rummaged around in his pack and pulled out one of the basic first-aid kits. He opened it up and pulled out some antiseptic pads. He started cleaning her wound.

“How do you know your way around a first-aid kit so well? I wouldn’t have guessed you had them on Markaria?”

“We do now. Medical supplies and tech were the first things Aurina helped facilitate trade for.”

He took his time, working diligently to remove the blood and clean her wound. Soon, he pressed an adhesive over it. Then he stroked her thigh. His warrior hands were callused, and they rasped against her skin. She shivered and this time it had little to do with the cold. He stroked higher, moving to her inner thigh, his fingers moving in tiny circles. Little shivers of sensation worked their way through her body. He moved higher, teasing the edge of her black panties.

“I’m going to fuck you.”

“Oh?” Her voice was breathless.

His finger toyed with the edge of her panties, then it slipped under. “Not here. It isn’t safe yet. But I’ve had a taste of you. I want more.”

“Well, I want to fuck you, too.” She leaned in and nipped his bottom lip. “I don’t usually have time for men. They’re usually intimidated and idiots…I never expected a barbarian warrior to be like you.”

He moved his finger and it sank inside her. Honor moaned.

“I enjoy surprising you, my little warrior.”

“I’m not little.” Her voice was strangled. “Colm…”

“I regret I can’t fuck you here, Honor. The footprints outside have me wary. We need to move deeper into the tunnels, and find somewhere safer to hole up.”

That clever finger kept sliding inside her deeper and deeper. Honor fought back the small cries trying to escape her throat.

He leaned closer. “I want you safe.”

“Colm.”

He smiled. “Are you going to tend to my wound now?”

Trying to make coherent words while he was teasing her like this was difficult. “Your nanami will heal you, right?”

“It still needs cleaning.”

“You expect me to do it while you’re…”

“While I’ve got my fingers inside you?” He slid another thick finger into her damp heat. “Yes. I like the flush on your face. I like the tight feel of you.”

Honor let out a shaky moan. She felt full and stretched. She reached blindly for the first-aid kit and pulled out some wipes. She cleaned the blood off his face, her gaze on his, gasping as he kept sliding his fingers inside her. She loved seeing the flashes of bright gold in his eyes. Soon, her entire body was shaking, drowning in sensation. Once she’d finished cleaning his wound, she realized that the injury was completely healed.

She dropped the wipes and grabbed his thick wrist. “God, Colm.”

He thrust inside her again, his thumb brushing her clit.

Honor came, arching her back, and biting down on her lip to muffle her scream. The orgasm tore through her, stronger even than the last time he’d touched her.

As she came back down, she realized she was in his arms. He was stroking her back and murmuring sweet words to her.

She smiled. Damn, she liked this warrior. He could be tough and hard, but also sweet.

He pulled back with a smile. Then he lifted his hand and licked his fingers. “Get dressed, Honor. We need to find somewhere safer.”

She got to her feet, her knees shaky. Somewhere safe? Honor decided there was no place safe, as long as this diabolical warrior was by her side.

***

As they moved deeper into the ice tunnels, the temperature increased even more.

Colm was pleased to see the pink in Honor’s cheeks, although he suspected it was at least partly due his touch, and not just from the rising heat.

His cock was still semi-hard and tight against his trousers. He so desperately wanted to be buried inside her.

Honor was his.

He couldn’t keep her, and he knew it would break him to let her go.

He would live knowing that she was far away from him, beyond barbarian space, with someone else touching her, kissing her, loving her. His hands curled into fists by his sides. It could never be him. He would never do that to her.

He focused back on his task. They’d seen no sign of wildlife, or clues that anything was using these tunnels as a home. He slowly relaxed. Whatever had left the footprints at the entrance, he prayed they were long gone.

For now, they just needed somewhere comfortable to rest.

Finally, he spotted a small side cave off the main tunnel. It wasn’t very big, but the entrance to it was partly hidden by a sheet of ice.

“Here,” he said.

Inside the cave, one wall was covered in the glowing moss, giving the small space a shimmer of light. Another wall was a sheet of ice so shiny, he could see his reflection in it.

Honor looked around and nodded. “It’ll do. She dropped to the floor and started opening her bag. “I’ve got some nutri-bars in here. They don’t taste that great, but they’ve got the nutrients we need to keep us going.” Her gaze ran up his body. “You look like you need a fair bit of energy, warrior.”

He grunted, sure he’d hate these nutri-bars. He decided his little warrior looked tired. He’d make sure she rested. After he’d devoured every inch of her, lodged his cock deep inside her body, and spilled his seed.

He was pleased the temperature down here was quite pleasant. He shrugged off his coat and laid it down on the floor before he sat down on it.

“Come here.”

At his low command, Honor froze. “I don’t do well with orders, barbarian.”

“I was warrior just a second ago, now I’m barbarian?”

“If the name fits.”

“Take your clothes off, Honor, and come here.”

She rose slowly to her feet, her gaze never leaving his. They stayed there, locked in a silent battle of wills.