by Lyn Brittan
Amber took the back off the phone, removed what he assumed to be the SIM card and with a pouty look that was laughable with its over the top feel, she tossed it into the rubbish bin. He shot her a thumbs-up before she turned towards the ATM.
Moments later, she was back in the car with an unreadable face. “I loved that phone. Here’s the money.”
“Sorry.”
“It loved me too.”
“Really sorry. We’ll get you another one after we prevent the end of our world.”
“It won’t be the same.”
“It sucks that your phone was the only one ever made by that entire company. I’m sure you’ll find a way to soldier on.”
She flopped back against the headrest. “Yeah. Everything’s wrapped up at work. We’ll have to save the blood and gunfight cleanup until later. So, how much of this is known to our peoples? How can you possibly wage a war now and keep our secrets?”
She was right of course, and that was the reason he had to shut this down fast. The last war happened in a dark world, devoid of science, satellites and twenty-four hour news cycles. Sure, myths had been written about it, but only as whispered laughable things wrapped up as one of the many foolish tales of long-dead cultures. The results of any such bellicose actions now would include a trip to secret government laboratories. It sent a shiver down his spine, and sharks don’t shiver easily.
A hand squeezed his thigh. “We save the world. How hard can it be?”
Amber’s lopsided grin was too cute for the situation. Dangerous too, it could make him lose sight of the goal. Still…
As her small hand lifted, he put his own over it, guiding it back down to his leg. “If we weren’t going 80 on the interstate, I’d be kissing you right now.”
“Have you forgotten that I’m The Keeper?” she asked, though she hadn’t made an effort to move her hand again.
“What happened to, ‘Or Amber’?”
“To be perfectly honest, she’s freaked. I think for both of our sakes, we’d best let the Keeper hold the reigns,” Amber said and pulled her hand away. “We need clear, focused minds and…”
“If I drop it to 70, we can make out in the backseat like a couple of pups.”
She graced him with a throaty laugh, followed by a peck on the cheek.
“I will take that, thank you very much. I’ll need it. We’re driving hard, Amber. All night if we have to.”
****
He’d meant the ‘all night,” she discovered. Grand Forks, North Dakota, over 2000 miles away, would require 10-hour driving days, all done under the radar. After an eternity, they stumbled into a less than spectacular motel in the middle of Utah. The room reeked of urine, musk and mold. Tight, and could use a bit of airing out, but there was no way in hell Amber was going to turn on the air conditioning unit. Who knew what kind of spores would be released to nestle a new home in her lungs.
The phone was old fashioned and corded. She dropped its receiver the second after picking it up, then wiped her newly gritty hands on the side of her work suit. Rustling up some tissue from her purse, she used one to hold the phone and the other to dial, though she could still feel the grit beneath her fingers.
“Hey, Fergie, it’s me. Sorry, I won’t be able to make girl’s night tonight. Oh, just on a little unexpected vacation. Reward for time served, I guess. You too. G’night,” she said and hung up.
Amber wanted to flop down on the bed and cry, but couldn’t of course. Not only didn’t she have extra foundation, but in addition, everything about the comforter screamed bio-hazardous waste and death. The next best thing was to stand and cry and so she did. That was how he found her. She hadn’t noticed him coming in, but couldn’t help but melt into the strong arms that closed in around her.
“Amber, that’s enough. It’s not entirely your fault.”
“What?” Her head shot up, but he winked down and smiled.
“Just making sure that you’ll still have some fight left in you. Go on to sleep. I’ll take the floor,” he said, pulling away.
“I think I’d rather have the floor.” She wiped her nose with sleeve of her jacket. On her second swoosh across her face, she noticed Seljuk’s green eyes roaming from her, to the bed, the floor and then off to something just over her left shoulder. He briefly made eye contact before running, running, across the room to the large wooden rocking chair in the corner. Then, with all the un-princely exuberance of a six year old, the grown man screamed, “dibs” and dove into the seat. His grin was ear-to-ear, revealing slight dimples she hadn’t noticed before. The man had seriously gone from dangerous in the morning, to sexy in the afternoon and was now curiously close to cute.
“I can be persuaded to share this with you. Unless, of course, you’re rather spend the night wrapped in the crusty reminders of lovers past? At least, I think that’s what the stains are.”
“You are disgusting!”
“You know I’m right.”
“How are we going to make this work, Sweet Prince?”
“You straddle me?”
She shook her head and tried her very best to look pissed.
“I straddle you?”
That earned him a kick to the shins.
“Ow! Or, or, Lady of Death, I could kindly let you place yourself between these fantastically well-muscled thighs of mine - tree trunks, really - and offer my body as an armor of protection against all hurt, harm and danger.” He stretched out his arms. “May I?” She nodded and found herself gently pulled into his lap. He rotated the chair so they faced the closed window. She realized pretty quickly that it hadn’t been done for the view of the puke olive curtains, but rather, it allowed him to put his legs on the radiator just under them, creating a pseudo hammock effect for her to rest on.
“Try to get some sleep, Keeper. Unless you’re one for uniformity and think we should make our own crusty—”
“Shut up,” she said weakly, smiling into his chest.
She’d just started to fall asleep when she felt his lips nudge her forehead. “Don’t even think about having a bad dream. I’m here. Nothing’s going to hurt you.”
She’d woken up in the same position, but with something pressing against her lower belly.
“I really need you to wake up now.”
Between the fog of first waking and the still welcoming warmth of sleep, the piercing pain of being pinched on her shoulder shot through.
“I’m trying not to be rude, but you need to pole vault outta here. Pun intended. C’mon, Amber.”
Another pinch.“Ow! Knock it off!” She rose, but apparently not fast enough for Seljuk, who was heavy handedly shoving her away.
“Yes, you are heavy. You have wretched morning breath. There’s also a solid trail of slobber running down your neck and I still need you to get up.”
Only then did Amber realize what’d been pressing against her. She looked up to Seljuk’s sheepish face. He looked all of twelve: red-faced and eyes downcast.
“I am born with the morning physiology of a man,” Seljuk said, completely monotone. “I’m really not trying to be an ass about this, but any sort of shower in that bathroom is out of the question.”
She stood, shaking with silent laughter.
Seljuk on the other hand remained in the chair. Now hunched over, his elbows rested on his knees and his head in his hand. Eventually he let out a long gust of air, but still hadn’t looked up when he said, “You move a lot in your sleep. Twist, even. I mean you really dig in there.”
She really did howl then and more than a little tension was released when Seljuk joined in with her. She wiped tears away with the palm of her hand. “How about we find a nice little drive through and drown our sorrows in coffee and grease?”
Seljuk set off another round of laughter when he rose, readjusted, groaned and walked out the door. He called out, not once looking back. “Grab our stuff. Me and what’s left of my pride will meet you in the car.”
Amber took a little longer than necessary to get
out there, but eventually made it to the vehicle.
“Question.”
“Yes,” she answered with a wide-mouthed grin.
“Are you ever going to let me live that down?”
She pretended to think about it, raising and weighing her two hands in the air. Mustering the best serious face she could, after a clicked tongue she said, “Probably not.”
“Right. Got it. Let’s get some coffee.”
The ride was easy. Comfortable. They talked about everything other than the threat to their watery universe. Seljuk freely and openly shared stories about his close relationship with his younger brother and the early days of his reign. In turn, she shared her life as an only child. Her relationship with her grandmother was not only precious, but also sacred. The words flowed as easily as water.
“She taught me of both worlds—water and human. She loved both too. Mom, well, she’ll never leave land. She’s a hippie, ya know? Lives in Portland. Great lady, but Gran knew the scrolls had to come to me. I miss her every day,” she said in a voice low and heavy.
Seljuk reached over and silently squeezed her hand, but didn’t interrupt.
“I don’t take my responsibility lightly, Seljuk. I wouldn’t disrespect you, your people or my Gran by doing so. I’ll fight to the death to keep those scrolls safe. I need you to know that.”
“Amber?”
“Hmm?”
“At the next stoplight, I’m going to kiss you and you will definitely enjoy it.”
And sure enough, she did.
By midday, they had their driving schedule down to a science. They’d each drive 150 miles before stopping and switching seats. It allowed well over two hours of sleep between shifts and cut down on any eye-strain.
During her third shift, the hammer behind her eyes went off, but her body’s screams for a break went unanswered. The drive, Crispin, their being so far from the sea, everything came down on her. She slumped in the seat, yet knowing that she wasn’t alone kept her going. The man next to her, surely he missed the salty air as much as she did. And weren’t his people the ones in the most immediate danger? And yet he hadn’t complained. Not much, anyway. He’d even gone out of his way to make things comfortable for her. Her. The woman keeping him separated from what he most needed.
“I’ll make it right, Seljuk. I promise.”
“You’d better,” he said, eyes still closed.
“I thought you were asleep.”
“Can’t. You’re thinking too loud over there. Oozing guilt and shit. It’s annoying.” He lifted one eyelid and pointed at her. “Knock it off.”
“Just like that?”
“Yep.” Both eyelids were now closed. “I need you to be mad. Not scared. Not guilty. But pissed and ready to fight.”
“And you’re not scared?”
“Can’t afford to be. There’s too much riding on what we do and if we do it right, no one will ever know.”
“Hardly seems fair.”
“Fairness cuts both ways. How fair is it that I was born with what I have? How does the expression go? ‘Of those to whom much is given, much is required’? I am a prince and I protect people. That’s just the way. Every so often, people forget what a prince really is. He’s not just someone born lucky. It’s a job, a responsibility to go to fucking war, no questions asked. A prince isn’t someone to be worshipped. He’s someone who makes sure his people get the lives they deserve to have.”
He sat up then, reached over and brought her chin towards him. After a lingering kiss, he leaned back and turned towards the window.
****
Seljuk managed to find a nice hotel five hours later, just inside the South Dakota border. It was on the main drag and near a large strip mall, complete with grocery store. He was dead tired but starving. The hotel room had two queen-sized beds and a half-sized kitchenette complete with pots and pans. Some overzealous designer had painted the walls in gray and yellowish stripes. The paintings may or may not have been hung upside down.
“You hungry?”
Amber had collapsed face down on her bed seconds after entering. “I could eat.”
“Good. I’ll cook.”
“And now I’m up,” she said. “You? Cook?”
“Me. Yes.”
“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you? Take requests?”
“No, but I do need an escort for the store. To help keep the women back, you understand.” He raked his hand through his dark brown hair, held out his hand and together they walked out the door and down the street to the market.
Seljuk chuckled to himself midway through the spice aisle. Amber was rattling off about how best to season salmon. She couldn’t be more wrong in her assessment but he was happy to hear her out. He liked the sound of her voice. Liked the way her hands moved as she tried to make a point.
He didn’t so much like the way she snapped her fingers in front of his face.
“You’re not listening to a word I’m saying, are you?”
“It’s just that you are so wrong about this. Listen, Merlid, trust a shark to cook a fish.” He flicked her nose, but not once did the smiles leave either of their faces. Seljuk hooked an arm around her neck and drew her close. “I appreciate food. It’s very hard for humans to get it right and so I sacrificed myself, cooking and testing new recipes, day after day, hour after hour—”
“You poor thing.”
“Oh, it was tragic. But somehow I managed to become as perfect at cooking as everything else I do.”
“Should I be worried?”
“What on earth for? Fish, I cook. Merlids, I eat.”
“Seljuk!” Amber slapped him on the stomach.
“Mmm. I eat, you slap. This is getting better by the minute.”
“You are unbelievable,” she hissed, red-faced and grinning.
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Now, stop being dirty in the aisles.” He kept her within arm’s length as they finished up. When it came time to cook though, she had to go. The woman was bossy along with her wrongness. In fact the only way to get anything done was to banish her from the closet-sized kitchen while he finished up. There was no dining room per se, so he placed his salmon masterpiece on the edge of her bed.
“Smells good.”
Seljuk fingered a chip on his dish. “My genius is wasted here. But not,” he added quickly, “on the company.” He held a forkful to her mouth. “What do you think?”
The look on her face confirmed his awesomeness. As if there was any doubt in the first place. He patted himself on the back and feasted. He had no idea how long it took him to eat his pile, but when he was finished, he looked up to see her staring him down.
“I’ve never seen a man enjoy the fruits of his labor so much.”
“It’s good fruit,” he said and licked the plate.
“Do you clean too?”
“I’m not cleaning anything. Tell me one thing better than going to sleep with the smell of salmon in my nostrils?”
“What if I sent you off to sleep with a kiss on your lips?”
“Distant third.” He was full of shit and he knew it. The second she leaned over he was lost. She didn’t seem to be though. To his surprise, she pushed him back on the bed. Well, she tried to anyway and he sure as hell was willing to help her out.
Her breasts were pressed on him. Her right knee…left knee…who cared which knee was between his legs, nudging his cock. Her mouth tasted like rich salt. Her hands were skidding up and down his torso. He even thought he heard her growl. Complete sensory overload.
Stringing together complete thoughts became harder by the second. So were other parts of his body. He moved to get her clothes off, but his mind raced faster than his abilities. He fumbled with the buttons of her shirt, eventually giving up, much to the loss of her blouse.
The hose were even less of a challenge.
She was perfect. Soft. Rubbing. Ugh. He knew he only had two good words left in him. “Can I?”
She laughed, said
yes and dug her hand down his pants. He. Was. Done.
He flipped her on her back, drew up both of her knees and dove inside her body. To hell with foreplay.
No other thing in life felt better than what he felt right now.
“Seljuk.”
“I’m right here, baby.”
He pulled out to dive his head between her legs. He flicked the folds of her, tasted where his cock had just been. Her clit was hard, begging for attention he readily gave. He rolled his tongue over it until she screamed out. Then he kissed his way up her body, until he found her mouth and put his cock back where it belonged. She was still shuddering from before. Then again, so was he. His strokes were uneven, erratic, but somewhere between the first stroke and the last, his chest clenched, his heart flipping in the weirdest way. With each stroke inside of her, he felt a connection binding her to him. He knew that when this night was over, his entire world would be changed forever.
Chapter Three
She woke up with a dorky smile. She knew it. Felt it happening. She saw Seljuk grinning at her and still couldn’t get it off her face. “Hey, you.”
“Morning. I called downstairs … they’re sending a sewing kit up with breakfast. Sorry about the buttons on your shirt. In my defense, I also did that,” he said, tracing her smiling lips. She returned the gesture, silently stating the obvious. She let her finger travel lower and lower until it lingered on the odd necklace hanging from his neck.
“My forehead became very well acquainted with this last night.” It looked like a miniscule silver canister with liquid inside and intricately decorated. “It’s lovely.”
Seljuk kissed her, got out of bed and whipped the thing behind his back before answering. “Crispin’s not the type of guy you fight without a backup plan.”
“And that plan is to poison him?”
He fingered the chain. “No, the plan is to shoot him. Our boy has a bit of a reputation. And this is in case he gets the drop on me.”
“Suicide?” Her voice was sharp even to her own ears.
