Strange Skies (15 page)

The stubble on his face tickled my hand but I couldn’t pull away. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to pull away from him again. “You’re right. You don’t deserve it,” I said, though I didn’t move my hand. “I’ll let you try to earn my trust, but I’m not making any promises. And if you ever shoot me again, we’re done. A girl has her limits.”

James kissed my hand. “No more shooting.”

The ship thudded softly against the ground, and James grabbed the side of my chair to keep his balance. Max whipped off his headset and turned around to us. “We’ve arrived. I’ll be right here if you need me. You only have one hour before we leave, so get moving.”

James walked over and clasped a hand on Max’s shoulder. “Thanks a lot for this. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem, happy to help out.” Max tipped his head toward me and I smiled.

The hatch door opened and James ushered me through. I stepped out into a small clearing in the center of some trees. Trees that looked exactly like the ones around our camp. I looked around. Nope, just more trees. It was the opposite of surprising.

James came up behind me and laughed. “I know what you’re thinking. Be patient.” He grabbed my hand. “This way, through those trees there.”

The foliage was dense and thick but in less than twenty steps, we were out of it. I looked up and gasped. “The beach! It looks so different at night.”

Now that we were out of the woods, I noticed the sky was lit up with stars, including the Weeping Boy. The two moons hung low like glowing orbs just above the horizon. And the sand took my breath away. It glowed a sparkling pink as though it was lit from underneath. The beach shimmered in iridescent color.

“Tell me that isn’t the coolest thing you’ve seen,” said James. “There was nothing close to this on Earth.”

A light, warm breeze caressed my skin as I kicked off my shoes and wiggled my toes in the shimmering soft sand. Specks of pink glowed across the tops of my toes.

James tugged at my arm. “C’mon, I didn’t just bring you here to look at it.” He pulled me down to the water’s edge. “We’re going in.”

My heart pounded in my chest. The thing I’d dreamed of doing forever—swimming in real water—was about to happen with James. I stared out into the abyss of ocean.
The water sparkled from the moonlight as the waves undulated across the surface. The warm water lapped over my feet, and I inhaled a deep breath of the fresh air. I was in real water and still couldn’t get over that I could breathe whenever and wherever I wanted, without the use of any suits or contraptions.

A large wave crashed onto the shore and soaked my pants from the knees down. “Uh, I didn’t exactly bring a swimsuit,” I said.

A mischievous look came over James’ face. “I didn’t say you needed one.” With that, he peeled his own shirt over his head and threw it into the sand. I tried not to stare but the moonlight highlighted his abs. God, he was gorgeous.

He took a step toward me and playfully tugged the bottom of my shirt, er, his shirt. “It’s not like I haven’t seen you before.”

I gulped, remembering when I’d woken up in nothing but bandages and a medical gown. His lips brushed mine and the butterflies in my stomach kicked in. I stepped back and pulled the shirt over my head before tossing it next to his. This was my chance to figure out how to swim, and we only had an hour, so I had to make it count.

James took out his gun and dropped it in the sand, then yanked his pants down and stepped out of them. My jaw dropped. He looked downright hot standing there in nothing but underwear. He grinned, then turned and raced into the water. “Come catch me,” he said and dove under the surface.

This was actually happening. I hesitated and looked around but the beach was deserted. Oh, what the hell. I pulled the gun from my waistband and put it with James’ before slipping my pants down over my hips. After a deep breath, I dropped them all the way to my feet. All that remained were my thermoplastic panties. Though I dreaded getting them wet, there was no way I was taking them off. I waded into the water and made it waist deep before James surfaced again. He stood about ten feet away from me and ran his hand through his hair. I was all too aware that the moonlight didn’t hide the fact that I was half naked. His eyes traveled down my body and back to my face.

“You’re beautiful,” he said. “Come here.”

I took another step and shivered.

He moved through the water toward me. “Are you cold?”

I shook my head and undid my braid so that my hair fell around my shoulders. “No.” It was true. The water was warm. It was the intensity of his stare that made my body react.

We met in the water and all I could think about was him kissing me again. Instead, he came around behind me and put his hand on my waist. “Are you ready?”

Yeah, I’d never been more ready. I leaned back into his body. “For what?”

He laughed and caressed my side. “To swim. Isn’t that your dream?”

My body tingled at his touch. I wanted to swim, and we only had an hour. “Sure.”

He pulled one of my arms back a little and then swept it over my head before doing the same with my other arm. He murmured into my ear. “This is how people used to swim on Earth when there was water, except you’d be horizontal.” His hand trailed down my arm and lingered at my lower back.

I wished I could see his face. I turned to face him. “So far your swimming lesson seems as unorthodox as that medical exam back in my room in the bunker.”

James laughed again. It was such a rare sound from him. I’d never seen him like this before and it made him even sexier. I leaned toward his lips. He kissed me briefly then pulled away. “After you learn how to swim. We live near water now and you should know how to do it.”

It was the first time ever I’d wished he was more like Markus. “You’ve never been swimming before, Mr. Expert, so how do you know how to do it?” I challenged.

“I don’t, I only saw an old video on the Net. This is my first time too,” he said. “You can watch me make a fool of myself first.”

I smiled. “Twist my arm.”

He dove under again but rose to the surface and moved his arms in the way that he’d moved mine. It wasn’t graceful, but it got the job done because he moved a few feet in the water before he came up coughing. “It’s harder than it looks, but at least it’s freshwater,” he said when he caught
his breath. “Oceans on Earth had salt in them.”

I tried to ignore the water dripping off his body and scooped up a handful of water. “Mmm. Just like Caelia Pure.”

He laughed. “Okay, enough stalling. Now you try.”

I cringed. It would be just my luck that I’d die trying to learn to swim.

“Fine. Here goes.” I put one arm in the air as I glided forward onto my stomach. Water went up my nose and I sputtered back upright again.

James eased up to my side. “Take it easy. I’m right here. Try again.”

I wiped the water from my face. “Okay, I’ll start out with what I did in the creek.” I leaned back and floated, staring up at the dazzling sky. James stood next to me but I didn’t dare look at him. I still wasn’t over the fact that I was mostly naked.

His hand reached out to touch my stomach and I shivered again. One of his fingers lightly grazed the underside of my breast and heat spread through me like fire. If I didn’t start swimming, I was pretty sure I was going to jump on him. I flipped over and moved my arms in the water. When I didn’t get very far, I remembered that James had also kicked his legs.

After the need to breathe became apparent, I stood up and faced James. He was a good ten feet away. I fist pumped in the air. “I did it!”

James gave me a thumbs-up sign. “I’m impressed. Now swim back to me.”

He didn’t need to tell me twice. I dove under and pumped my legs as I rotated my arms. When I rose out of the water and smoothed my hair back, I didn’t see James.

“You overshot me,” he said and laughed from behind.

I couldn’t believe I’d just swam in the ocean—it felt incredible. Something I’d dreamed of for years but never thought would happen. I turned to face James and walked to him. My nakedness was bothering me less and less under the intensity of his stare. I still felt vulnerable, but there was something liberating about allowing myself to be exposed to him. It felt natural. He took my hands in his.

His eyes drilled into mine under the light of the moon. I was nervous but we didn’t have much time left. “So I swam like you wanted me to.”

“And?” He reached out his hand toward me.

I smiled. “It was amazing, but I’m just wondering if we’re done?”

James grasped my hips and pulled me to him in the waist-deep water until our chests touched. “No,” he said. His voice sounded huskier. “We’re not even close to done.”

He leaned down and kissed my shoulder with feathery light kisses and moved slowly up my neck until he reached my mouth. I parted my lips and he kissed me slowly while he caressed my lower back with his hand. His
kiss intensified and we slowly stepped toward the glowing shoreline as our mouths moved with greater urgency.

My hands traveled up and down his body as I explored every inch of him. My fingers traced the areas on his arms where he’d been shot by the Consulate, and then I touched the scar I’d seen on his lower back when we were in the bunker. I pulled back. “Where did you get this?” I asked breathlessly.

He nuzzled my neck and murmured into my ear. “It’s the sign of the Resistance. Kale marked all of his soldiers. Britta had it too.” His hands were all over me again. “Any more questions?”

I groaned. “No, I’m good for now.”

We reached the shoreline and James eased me down onto the pillow-soft sand. I pulled him to me and brought his mouth to mine. Our bodies tangled together. His hands. My hands. The last bits of clothing coming off. Overwhelming sensations vibrated through me. Only the occasional lapping of gentle waves against my legs grounded me to reality. I forgot about everything else. There was no Consulate, no Kale, no dead mother or sister.

There was only James.

Chapter
FOURTEEN

A
S WE HEADED BACK TO CAMP IN
M
AX
’
S SHIP
, I
HAD THE BRIEF
selfish thought to tell Max to keep going, to take us somewhere where James and I could be safe together. My head rested on James’ shoulder as I sat in his lap. Max had taken one look at us and hadn’t mentioned a word about flight safety. My clothes were damp, and I had sand in places I didn’t know was possible, but I didn’t care. It was the messiest I’d been in my whole carefully controlled life, and I’d never been happier.

James stroked my hair. “Is it bad that I don’t want to go back?” he asked.

I sighed. “You stole my thoughts.”

He kissed my neck. “It will all be fine. We’ll do what we planned and then get out.”

James sounded so sure, but doubt nagged at me. What if something went wrong? I nuzzled closer into him. His
arms were strong and I felt safe there. Like nothing could hurt me, and it all could turn out okay. “Tell me about our first escape attempt that I don’t remember.”

“Let’s see. Alec knew Dr. Sorokin’s routine and snuck me into your room between rounds. When I first asked you to escape with me, you slapped me. I deserved it, by the way. It took a lot of talking, convincing, and explaining before you finally agreed.” He chuckled. “Took even longer before you let me kiss you.”

“I kissed you? Back in the containment center?”
Those dreams had been real
.

James leaned into my ear. “A few times, but you held back, until the day we ran. Right before we got caught, you kissed me like you meant it. It gave me hope.”

A heat spread through me as I recalled that kiss. The one I’d thought was just an amazing dream.

James ran his hand up my arm. “That’s why I was so confused when you came into the bar that day when I was talking with Sonya. I thought we were okay.”

I shook my head. “I can’t believe how powerful those drugs were. Even though I can remember everything now from before the containment center, my time there is still like a thick fog.” I traced circles on his arm with my finger. “I’m still trying to come to terms with everything.”

I thought of all that the Consulate had done to me, to James, to Dad, to the countless other victims they’d amassed. Maybe taking them down wouldn’t be the worst thing. Maybe Kale was right. As we flew over the
night-blanketed landscape, a question still nagged at me. “James, I have to ask. Do you still plan to get revenge on Allan Davis and the others who killed your family?”

He squeezed my hand. “Yeah, I still plan to get even. But I won’t compromise your safety again now that I have you safe.”

I looked into those hazel eyes of his. “I think Autumn and Callie would have loved this place. They wouldn’t know what to do with all these flowers and leaves.”

James smiled and squeezed my hand. “Yeah, they’d think Caelia was pretty kick-ass.”

Markus, Lucy, and Alec were all asleep when we got back. The sky had a few tinges of gray, so we didn’t have long to rest. James and I crept into Markus’ hut and curled up together on the extra cot. I’d wanted to go to James’ hut, but he worried that if we stayed away any longer, Alec would send out a search party to find me. Plus, we didn’t have much time before we had to get moving. James and I lay facing each other and stared into each other’s eyes. “Can I ask you something?” I whispered.

“Shoot,” he said, then winced. “Sorry, bad choice of words.”

“The thing about us both being able to fire my dad’s guns? I don’t get it. It’s so rare for two people to have the same exact vibration.”

James didn’t say anything for a minute. “I’m not sure, but have you ever wondered … Never mind, it’s cheesy.”

“No, what?” I prompted.

James laced his fingers through mine. “Do you believe in soul mates?”

I stiffened. With everything we were facing, I didn’t think I could handle where this conversation was going. “Maybe, why?”

“It’s just that … I’ve read a lot on the Net, watched videos, though I’m sure not as many as you have. Even back when there were tons of people of Earth, it was rare to hear people say they found their soul mate. But once in a while, you’d hear a story. Like they were meant to be together.”