Synnr's Hope

by Kate Rudolph

  “No powers,” he warned. “Don’t want to get electrocuted.”

  “God damn it!” She shoved back from the table and stalked through the water, splashing her way across the room and looking around madly. “There’s got to be a way to stop this. It’s a puzzle.” She turned the normal water faucet on and off, but it didn’t have an effect on the water coming in through the ceiling. “Is this even real? Or is it a simulation.”

  He didn’t know. The water soaked through the fabric of his clothes and chilled him. But the simulator downstairs was powerful. It didn’t matter. They had to solve the challenge. “Feels real enough to me.”

  Lena closed her eyes, and he could see the moment she centered herself. She gave a firm nod and met his eyes. “Let’s do this.”

  Stopping the water was the first and obvious priority. Lena took her half of the room, getting down on all fours to check under the sink and soaking herself to the bone while Solan worked the other side of the room. They covered every inch, moving in perfect harmony. They flipped every switch, turned every knob, and tried rearranging anything they could to see if some combination of actions would stop the water from flowing in.

  By the time Lena was done checking under the sink the water was up to their waists. They moved as one to the door, pulling on the handle with combined strength, and still nothing. They even tried getting Lena wedged against the door, her legs on the wall and Solan’s arms wrapped around her to create as much leverage as possible.

  The door didn’t budge.

  “This thing shouldn’t be water tight,” Lena scowled as she splashed down. They were both shivering in the cold as the water climbed up to their chests. It was getting close to Lena’s chin, and who knew what would happen when it got too high.

  How were they supposed to solve this one?

  The computer had given no hints. They’d been dumped into the test without warning. What was the objective? How could they win? Maybe the only option was to lose.

  “We can call this thing off,” he offered as the water started to lick at Lena’s neck. They both had several feet to float, and they probably should. Fighting against the water took a lot of extra energy.

  “Not while we’re breathing.” She was breathing hard, but her eyes were determined.

  He couldn’t help but smile at that and flash a little fang. She smiled back and he wished they weren’t in the middle of a challenge.

  Then it was back to business. “Can we use anything to plug the spouts?” She was looking up at the ceiling where the water was pouring in.

  It wouldn’t solve the problem, but it could buy them time. Solan stripped off his shirt and swam towards the nearest spout. For a second it seemed to work, until the pent up force of the water sent it shooting out.

  “Brazon’s bowels!” Solan swiped at the water in frustration and spun around. And that was when the answer came to him. “The window.”

  “What?” Lena was busy with her own hole and having just as much success as he was.

  Solan swam towards it. It was set high in the wall and tiny. He wasn’t sure if he’d fit. But Lena definitely could. And even if only she got out, she could try and open the door from the outside. As an added bonus, the water would pour out, so he wouldn’t drown. “If we can’t stop the water, we need to get out of the room.”

  “Yes!” She grinned right along with him and swam up towards the window. But opening it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

  They banged against it, and Solan even grabbed a chair to try and shatter it, but with the water as high as it was, it was impossible to get the leverage.

  Lena swam away while Solan continued his assault to no avail, and a minute later she was back, holding a pointy knife and a mallet she must have found in one of the drawers.

  “I’m not sure stabbing it will do the trick,” he had to say, though at this point any idea was worthwhile.

  She bumped him out of the way and he floated back. “Let me try.”

  He watched her work. She used the pointy edge of the knife to score the bottom of the window, making a small indent and really digging it in there. Then she took the mallet and hit the hilt, sending a jolt through the glass. It didn’t break, but cracks started to appear, and Solan felt ready to hope. Maybe this was it.

  Lena had to kick her legs to stay in place and he got behind her, wrapping himself around her waist and wedging his legs as best he could against the wall. She took another swing and more cracks appeared. On the third swing, the glass shattered. Lena carefully began to clear it away and the water drained out the window.

  Then the room lit up with normal lights and the water stopped pouring in from the ceiling. As soon as the water got below the height of the window, the glass seemed to magically repair itself and Solan realized that Lena hadn’t broken the actual window, but one provided by the simulator.

  “Challenge completed successfully,” the voice of their computerized tormentor announced.

  Lena whooped in joy and swung towards him, throwing her arms around his neck. Solan was already hugging her back, having not let go once they were no longer in imminent risk of drowning. He squeezed her tight, relief and joy mingling in a heady mix of emotions. Finally, a win.

  After a few minutes, they let go, and he was relieved again when the kitchen door opened. They dripped water down the hallway and Lena was starting to shiver.

  “So the window was fake but the water was real?” Lena asked. “How do these simulations work? We don’t have anything that sophisticated back home.”

  Home. Of course she still thought of Earth as her home, even if she’d never return. Why did that make him feel strange? Solan ignored it. “I’m not sure,” was his answer. “I never bothered to learn much about the simulators. They’re mostly just used to play games.”

  “One hell of a game,” she muttered.

  He smiled.

  The green light shone bright when they were back in the room and tension leeched out of them when they saw it.

  “I’m going to warm up in the shower,” said Lena, giving an exaggerated shiver. She looked at him for a long moment, and he was sure she was about to say something, but eventually she turned away, leaving him alone.

  Very well.

  Solan stripped off his shoes and pants, his shirt abandoned back in the kitchen, and grabbed a towel from one of the drawers. He’d barely managed to pull on a dry pair of pants when Lena came out of the bathroom.

  “The water’s not working. I guess pumping a million gallons into the kitchen is kind of wasteful.” She shivered and stripped off her top before reaching for a towel.

  Solan had to tear his gaze away, but he’d be thinking of the brown skin of her chest whenever he closed his eyes.

  “We’ll warm up faster if we lay together.” He didn’t even recognize the sound of his own voice and he must have been mad to offer it.

  Lena’s gaze snapped up and she looked at him for a long while, as if she was waiting for him to retract the statement.

  He didn’t. Instead he sat down on his bed and pulled the blanket back. He realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt, but he didn’t grab for one.

  Lena shrugged and slipped her pants off, stalking towards him in just her underwear. It was every fantasy come to life and the kind of torture Solan couldn’t imagine.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  She climbed in beside him. “Relax, soldier. More body heat, more warmth. That’s science.” She didn’t seem at all self-conscious of her near nudity, and the chill of her skin was notice enough for how cold she was.

  He put his arm around her, careful to pull his hips back so she didn’t notice if his cock decided it wanted attention. This was for warmth, nothing more. But as he lay there with her soft, slowly warming skin pressed against him, the promise of more lay heavy in the air.

  FOR THE FIRST TEN MINUTES, Lena didn’t think much about their positions. She was freezing and would have gladly taken another dozen blankets. It didn’t help that her
hair was still wet, but digging out a hair dryer would have taken too much time, and she’d been shivering. Though she shuddered to think of what it would look like in the morning.

  The second ten minutes she became aware of the fact that she was basically naked, her body pressed against Solan’s shirtless torso. And was that the tip of his cock brushing against her? She wanted to tip her hips forward to find out, but she was almost certain he’d freak out. It was miracle enough that he’d invited her to lay with him in the first place.

  And he was so warm she never wanted to roll away.

  It was cold in the house, too cold for comfort after their involuntary swim, and Lena had no idea where the thermostat was, if there even was a thermostat. Maybe the computer lady could turn up the temperature, but if that happened she wouldn’t have a reason to stay close to Solan anymore. And she was going to take advantage of this for every second she could wring out of it.

  Her nipples were tight nubs, and it wasn’t from the cold any longer. She dragged in deep breaths and her entire body was a live wire. She could feel her spark, really feel it for the first time, electricity flowing through her veins and mingling with Solan’s. Unless she really concentrated she usually didn’t feel their connection. But not now. Now they were as connected as two people could be.

  Well. Almost as connected.

  She shifted just a bit, her body caught between wanting to press forward and pull away. Now would be the perfect time to press her lips against Solan’s and take another desperate taste of him, but if she made the first move, he’d reject her. Again. He’d made his point. And she wasn’t going to take any more than he was willing to offer.

  She shifted again and a groan tore out of him, guttural and utterly sexual.

  Fuck.

  Would it really be that bad to kiss him and see where things went? Yes. If he let it happen, they’d have an awkward as fuck morning after where, at best, he’d pretend it never happened. Or he’d call it a mistake. She didn’t want to be his mistake, and even if she was willing to settle for that, she didn’t want to be his mistake and be stuck with him for weeks and weeks and weeks until the murder house decided they could leave.

  No, thank you.

  They were still facing each other and she could feel his eyes rake over her face. Her tongue darted out to lick her suddenly dry lips and Solan groaned again. He was staring at her as if she was a work of art and lightning danced alluringly in his eyes. She really wanted to kiss him. What was that mistake stuff she was worried about? It wasn’t a big deal. She’d live.

  He shifted, and there was his cock again. She could picture it in her mind’s eye. She hadn’t been able to get it out of her head since that day in the locker room. Why had she looked? Why was he still wearing pants?

  The sound of their breathing was too heavy for the enclosed room, loud enough to be deafening, and a single word between them would shatter it. Lena’s fingers trailed down his arm and up over his chest, tracing his naked muscles and memorizing them. She wanted him to kiss her, to touch her, and she was trying to do everything she could to make him see that.

  Except ask.

  Because if she asked, it would break the spell.

  His spark tugged on hers, and she sent a bit of her power towards him. She was getting better at the exchange of power, neither giving nor taking too much, letting their power cycle together without a worry for what belonged to whom.

  His thumb came up, tracing over her cheek, her jaw, her neck. Lena tilted her head towards the side, giving him better access. He took his time with the vein there, letting his fingers scrape it. His sharp fangs made him look vampiric, and she’d gladly let him drink if only he would move a bit closer.

  His finger continued lower until it hit the top of her breast and teased over her nipple. Lena made a sound; she couldn’t stop herself. Solan’s finger stopped moving for a minute and they stared at one another. She could see indecision in his eyes. He was torn between continuing to feel her and pulling back.

  If he pulled back, she might go mad.

  An eternity of a second later, he continued on, skimming his fingers down her side until his hand cupped her hip. He guided her forward until she was flush up against him and could finally feel the full outline of his cock behind his pants.

  Lena let her legs fall open. The lightning in his eyes sparked so bright it blotted out the color, and then his hand was in her hair as he crushed their mouths together.

  Yes.

  Good.

  God.

  This was what she’d wanted, what she’d been on the edge of begging for. His tongue twirled with her, devouring her, and Lena craved it. Craved more of him, lit up from the inside, all thoughts of the cold forgotten.

  There was no hesitance this time, no holding back. He kissed like a man who knew exactly what he was doing, knew exactly what he wanted. And that was her. This was better than before, when they’d been caught up in the moment and succumbed to desire. This was heady and real. There wasn’t going to be any pulling back, any retreat.

  Good. Lena would go mad otherwise.

  He rolled them until he was on top of her, looming and pressing her down into the mattress. The blanket slid away, but Lena couldn’t remember what cold felt like, not when she was burning up inside. The bed had seemed big enough for two, but this way of laying was preferable to that side-by-side nonsense they’d been doing before. She didn’t care if he crushed her; she’d gladly take that and more. Lena hiked her leg around his hip to keep him in place, no longer worried that the smallest movement might push him away. She knew what a determined man looked like, and Solan was sure.

  She let out a little cry that she might have been embarrassed of in other circumstances as he moved away from her lips. She could kiss him all night and be happy. But when he wrapped those sinful lips of his around her nipple all disappointment dissolved into even more pleasure. Hot damn, the man knew what he was doing.

  Those fangs of his teased the delicate skin of her breasts, scraping but never hard enough to make her bleed. It should have worried her on a primal level to submit to a predator’s touch, but she loved it. And she wanted more.

  He gave.

  And gave.

  Could she come from this alone?

  She didn’t get the answer. He moved farther south, seating himself at her entrance and using that skilled tongue against her sex. She was already on edge, had been wanting him for weeks, compounded by the devotion he paid to her body. It was too much and not enough and before she knew it, she was crying out and coming.

  He pulled back, the grin on his lips sated and devious. He pushed his pants down and there was his cock, jutting up, all proud and alien and hard. He stroked it twice and Lena was transfixed.

  “Say you want this,” he growled, the sound rumbling over her and making her shiver.

  “Oh fuck yes I do.” Nothing could have stopped her at that moment. She didn’t care if the light turned red and the room filled up with water again. She was going to have him.

  There was something wild to him as he entered her. Not vicious, but inhuman. Primal. She felt it too. A need pounded deep inside her and she couldn’t resist it as they moved together, his thick alien cock filling her up, the stimulator teasing her clit and nearly sending her over into a second orgasm.

  But she wasn’t ready yet. She wanted more pleasure, more of him.

  She breathed in and held on tight, reveling in his muscles and his masculine scent. Sex had never been this intense before, this all-consuming, and she wasn’t going back. Now that she had Solan, she was keeping him. Whatever she had to do to make that happen.

  His teeth scraped against her shoulder and Lena shuddered at the reminder that she was a long way from home, wrapped up in a man that wasn’t human.

  It didn’t matter. He was hers. There it was. That primal need to claim him, to be claimed by him. Any other time and she might have been terrified of it, but right now she knew that nothing could be more natural. This had
been meant to be since the moment they were both born.

  He filled her up and then something started.

  “Fuck,” she growled, the curse ripping out of her. Was he vibrating? “What—?”

  He kissed her rather than spoke and Lena didn’t need words, not when his cock was driving her mad with lust. She crashed into the orgasm, body tightening around him, muscles rippling as he emptied into her with a roar.

  They came down slowly, wrapped together, neither willing to let go.

  Lena didn’t want to fall asleep, no matter how good she felt. She feared that when she woke up in the morning, this Solan, her Solan, would be gone.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  SOLAN WOKE SLOWLY, his body warm and sated and his arm trapped under Lena. She shifted in her sleep, freeing his arm, and Solan rolled away, sitting up as his mind struggled to make sense of the situation. It wasn’t much of a struggle. They’d had sex. Just like he said they couldn’t.

  He wanted to do it again.

  Now that he’d given in he couldn’t see why he’d resisted at all in the first place. It had been... transcendental. But were those his real emotions? Or was it the Match talking?

  “Have a crisis later,” Lena muttered, tugging on his arm and guiding him back down to the bed. “I need warmth.”

  He smiled as he laid down and curled himself around her. He didn’t know what time it was, but the light was glowing green above the door and he decided to take advantage while he could. Lena slept peacefully in his arms, and soon he drifted off alongside her.

  Hours later, he woke again, but this time remained lying down since Lena still slept. The urge to push her away and demand that things go no further between them had mostly subsided. Now he was just... confused. He’d thought Matching would make things frenzied, would make it impossible to pay attention to anyone but his Match. He’d thought there wouldn’t be leisurely morning cuddling and drifting off to sleep. Yes, the sex had been more satisfying than any he’d had before, but he didn’t know if the bond between them had anything to do with it. It could have just been Lena.