by Anna Hackett
Ry’s lips moved into a grim smile. “Got you.”
As laser fire erupted from the ship, Ry leaped off the statue, arms held out at his sides. He hit the icy ground, bending his knees as he slid to a stop.
“Elana!” He knelt down and held his hands out, cupped together.
She aimed right for him, sprinting fast.
Ry didn’t look up, but he felt the pirate ship moving in above him. He felt the hot gust of air it kicked up and heard the roar of the engines. He imagined its laser canon swiveling to take aim.
Elana didn’t slow down, trusting him implicitly. Her boot hit his gloved palms and he tossed her upward.
She flew into the air, throwing her arms above her head. God, she was something.
She slapped the boomer against the ship’s hull and then she was dropping. She hit the ground, rolled, and skidded to a stop.
There was a muffled thwump. Ry reached Elana’s side, gripping her arm. They watched smoke billow out of the side of the pirate ship.
It tilted like a drunken crewman before it wobbled crazily. Together, they watched it fly sideways, heading back out over the snow plain.
“Yes!” Elana punched a fist into the air and looked up at him. She jammed a celebratory elbow into his side.
Ry grinned. Damn, she was gorgeous.
The air between them changed, filling with something charged. He wanted to grab her and pull her in for a hard kiss.
His hands curled into fists and he watched shutters slam down over her eyes.
The elation and shared trust between them morphed into a chasm. One Ry wasn’t sure how to span. For the first time in his life, he wished he was good with words and emotions.
Elana cleared her throat. “We’d better get back to Goldie and Arus.”
“Well, that was exciting.” Goldie dusted off her trousers as Elana helped her out of her hiding place. “Nothing like a firefight with a starship to get the blood pumping.”
Elana smiled through her churning emotions. It seemed nothing could dampen Goldie’s spirits.
But as she helped a rattled Arus up, she heard Goldie cough—a harsh hacking sound. Elana frowned. That didn’t sound good. She made a mental note to check the woman over once they were safe.
“Too much excitement.” Arus muttered as he slipped an arm around Goldie.
“You can never have too much excitement, my boy.” She smiled at Elana. “You and Phoenix make a hell of a team. Shame you’re leaving after this trip.”
Elana tucked a strand of hair back under the hood of her coat. “We’ve worked together a long time. We know each other’s moves.”
Goldie tilted her head. “Sometimes when things are right in front of us for so long, we go blind.”
Elana frowned, trying to work out what Goldie was saying. Ry strode up.
“These ruins don’t offer much in the way of cover. We can’t stay here.”
“But they are simply fascinating.” Arus wandered closer to a giant statue. “I don’t detect any Earth influence. They seem to be very ancient.”
“You think people were living here when the Ventura crashed?” Elana asked.
Arus circled the statue, his handsome face lost in thought. “I’d need to do more study, but my gut says that these are older than even the Ventura.”
“Why would anyone want to live on such an unforgiving planet?” Goldie mused.
Ry put his hands on his hips. “My guess is that this place wasn’t always so cold. Look at these carvings.” He pointed to a slab of fallen rock.
They had artwork engraved on them and a sheet of ice covering it, almost like protective glass. Elana frowned. “Crops. In the pictures, they’re growing crops.”
Ry nodded. “My guess is that there was once a thriving culture here, but the climate changed and destroyed their civilization.”
Elana stared across the broken remains of the settlement. It made her sad to think of a once-thriving culture destroyed under the snow and ice.
Movement out of the corner of her eye made her tense and spin. She stared at a nearby hunk of rock. Nothing moved.
She frowned. Maybe she was starting to imagine things.
Another movement.
A small creature peered around the rock, curious blue eyes set in a white face. Elana gasped. “Look.”
Goldie made a happy noise. “Oh, hello there, little guy.”
The creature was about the size of a dog. It slunk toward them, staying low and cautious. Stars, it was incredible. It wasn’t covered in fur, but instead was covered in small icicles of white-blue ice.
Beep. “It doesn’t have a heat signature.”
The creature froze at the noise. Elana saw Ry had a scanner out.
“I don’t think he’s going to hurt us.” Elana took in the cute button nose and brilliant blue eyes. The animal seemed incredibly cautious, afraid almost.
“It’s made of ice,” Arus breathed. “Amazing.”
The creature moved, the faint light catching on its icy body. Inside, she saw the flicker of functioning organs.
Goldie held a hand out and stepped forward, but the animal backed up, then turned and ran. Within seconds, it disappeared into the ruins.
Ry slipped the scanner away. “Come on. We need to get to the mountains and find decent shelter.” He looked up. “There’s a storm coming.”
Elana hitched the straps of her backpack higher and set off. “I know I’d prefer a warm tent and a hot drink.”
Goldie snorted. “I want a hot bath and a hard, hot body beside me.”
A startled laugh escaped Elana. Arus was grinning and even Ry was smiling.
“Can’t help you with those, Goldie,” Ry said, striding ahead.
“You sure, young Phoenix?”
Elana watched the older woman’s bold gaze run down Ry’s body and Elana swallowed a laugh.
“I’m sure,” Ry replied firmly.
They left the ruins behind and soon Elana found herself knee-deep in snow again. Ugh. She’d always loved visiting the icy planets her ice-mining family had mined on, but she realized a quick visit for the odd snowball fight was not the same as being stranded in the frigid ice and snow.
Her chest tightened. She was certain Dare and the others would find them. Pretty certain.
They trekked on and Ry’s prediction turned out to be right. Snow started to fall.
It wasn’t too bad, at first. For a second, Elana even thought the big, fat snowflakes were pretty. But as the flurry started to thicken and the wind turned even colder, her gut churned. They weren’t going to make it to the mountain range. They needed shelter soon.
Finally, they reached the foothills at the base of the mountains. By now, she could barely see more than a few meters ahead. At her feet, dark rocks poked up through the snow, and she maneuvered around them.
Ry paused, gloved hands on his hips, and studied the terrain as best he could. “We’ll set up the tents on this side of that hill.” He pointed. “It’ll give us a bit of protection from the wind.”
She knew what he wasn’t saying. They couldn’t be choosy. They needed to get out of the wind and snow before they froze to death.
Ry and Elana got to work, quickly erecting the first good-sized survival tent. Thankfully, the things practically put themselves up. While Ry scooped snow around the perimeter of the tent to both anchor it and insulate it, Elana helped Goldie and Arus inside. Lines of exhaustion marred both of their faces.
“Now, you both have sleeping bags in your packs, and food,” she told them.
“Don’t go heavy on the food,” Ry warned. “We need to ration it. We don’t know how long it will be before we’re rescued.”
Goldie nodded her head tiredly. “Do you think the pirates will follow us?”
“Not in this storm,” Ry answered.
“Get some rest,” Elana said, fastening the tent closed.
With the wind tearing at their clothes and biting at the exposed skin on their faces, she and Ry quickly erected and anchored their ten
t. When they ducked inside, the howl of the wind instantly decreased to a dull roar.
The tent was fairly generous, but Ry’s big form dominated the space. He dropped down, sliding off his pack and laser rifle.
“Get a warm drink into you.” He held a small pack out to her.
Elana sat and cracked the small survival pack, feeling it instantly begin to warm up between her hands. She tore open the top and sipped. Hot chocolate. Perfect.
It wasn’t long before the small space warmed up. She knew the tent was made of a high-tech fabric that kept the heat in, and actually generated some heat of its own. She’d help Ry pick them out when he’d re-stocked the Pathfinder a few months back.
Not that she’d imagined they’d be using them anytime soon.
Ry clicked on a small light, before pulling a bundle from his pack and setting it on the floor. He opened the bundle, revealing the broken remains of the beacon. He selected a multitool, and got to work, trying to piece the device back together.
The temperature in the tent got warmer, and soon they were both able to shed their coats and cold-weather trousers. Elana dug in her pack for some food rations and held one packet out to him.
He grunted and took it, gobbling the contents up in a few bites. Elana picked at hers, watching as he worked on the beacon.
“Fuck.” Rynan muttered a string of curses. He tossed his multitool on the floor of the tent, and it bounced twice. Her gaze flicked up to meet his. His eyes were stormier than the snowsquall outside.
“I can’t fucking remember how to fix this.” He pressed his palms to his eyes.
“Take it easy, Ry. We just crashed, trekked through thick snow, and evaded a pirate ship intent on gunning us down. I think you deserve a rest.”
“Resting won’t get us off this hunk of ice.” He shook his head angrily and looked at her. “Guess you won’t be leaving the convoy quite as soon as you wanted.”
“That’s not really important right now.”
“No, I guess it isn’t.” Frustration crossed his face and he looked like he wanted to say something. Then his face went blank. He tossed back the rest of his food and drink, and shot to his feet, his head brushing the roof of the tent. He grabbed his gear and started yanking it back on. “I’m going to check on Goldie and Arus.”
A second later, he unfastened the opening. A blast of icy wind rushed inside, as he ducked out.
Once he was gone, Elana pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead on her them.
Apparently, Rynan Phoenix preferred the frigid snow to her.
Chapter Eight
Rynan ducked into Goldie’s tent, desperate to escape the constricting confines of his tent. With Elana so close, the heat of her, the smell of her…his self-control was at the breaking point.
“Everyone okay?”
Goldie looked up, wrapped in a sleeping bag. “Fine. Arus is sleeping.” The older woman nodded to the man asleep beside her. “He was a little…overwhelmed.”
Ry couldn’t blame the guy. “We’ll get you out of here.”
“I don’t doubt it, my boy.” She winked. “You don’t strike me as the type to get overwhelmed.” A smile brightened her face. “Besides, we might still find my treasure while we’re here, trudging through the snow.”
He shook his head. It appeared that Goldie’s optimism was unflagging.
“We need to stay put until this snowstorm lets up,” he told her. “That’ll likely be a few hours.”
Goldie nodded. “How’s your girl? You were worried when you couldn’t find her after the crash.”
“She’s not mine, and she’s fine. Elana is tough.” To the bone.
Goldie raised a brow. “I detected some…tension between the two of you.”
Ry blew out of breath. “Forgive me, but not your business.”
She waved a hand. “I’m an old lady, Phoenix. That makes everything my business.”
He hunched his shoulders. “She quit.” The words burst out of him.
“Why?” Goldie asked curiously.
“Because…I’m her boss and I won’t go beyond that.”
The older woman tilted her head. “She wanted to take things further, and you told her that you couldn’t because you were her boss?”
“Yes.”
“And so she quit.”
Frustrated anger churned inside him. “Yes. She put sex over her job.” Over their friendship. Over him.
Goldie shook her head. “You struck me as a smart man, Mr. Phoenix. It appears that I was wrong.”
He frowned.
“She gave up a job she’s clearly very good at and loves for you.”
He froze. “What?”
Goldie smiled. “Ah, I see my wise words have penetrated.”
Elana gave everything up for him? Fuck. His brain whirled. He’d only ever had his brothers. In all his life, there’d never been one person who’d put him first.
“I don’t know your girl well, but it only took one look for me to see that lovely, competent Elana is in love with you.”
Goldie’s words were like a sucker punch, and Rynan struggled to pull in a breath. “I…don’t believe in love.”
Goldie let out a cackling laugh. “Doesn’t mean it isn’t real, Rynan. From the look on your face, you feel something for her too. Something that you’ve no doubt been denying, in your own growly, alpha-male way.” Goldie looked almost gleeful.
He raised a brow. “Enjoying yourself?”
“Immensely,” Goldie said with a smile. “Now, I’m going to get some sleep, and you’d better go and sort out your mess, Rynan Phoenix.”
“Get some rest,” he growled at her.
She shot him another knowing grin. “I’ll probably get more rest than you will.” She shot him a saucy wink.
With a shake of his head, Ry slipped out of the tent and into a wall of white. It hardly seemed possible, but the wind had picked up even more, and flurries of snow swirled blindingly around him. He could barely see the second tent. He revised his estimate. It would probably be many hours, if not days, before the storm passed.
His chest felt like it was surrounded by a tight band. Elana and everything he felt for her whirled inside him.
He’d been a fucking, cowardly idiot for too long.
Elana was in love with him.
He reached the entrance to the other tent, urgency filling him. When he ducked inside, Elana looked up at him. She was leaning over the bits of the beacon, one piece clutched in her hand as she worked on it.
“I thought maybe you were considering sleeping outside in the storm,” she said dryly.
Ry shed his coat and dropped to his knees in front of her. “We need to talk.”
Elana did not want to tread this ground again. “I’m not going to change my mind, Ry. I’m not staying.”
“Why did you quit, Elana?”
He shifted closer to her and she felt all her muscles go tight. “You know why.”
“I need you to spell it out for me.”
God, how much more pain did she have to endure? “You said you wouldn’t touch me because you’re my boss. I quit, so that excuse was gone. So, you were free to choose me.” She shot him a sad smile, pain slashing at her chest like claws. “But you didn’t choose me, so it’s time for me to go.”
“Elana—” His voice changed—softened and lowered.
“Don’t, Rynan.” She held a hand up. “I’m in love with you—” wow, that was both cathartic and terrifying to say to him “—but how I feel is up to me. I know you don’t feel the same—”
He grabbed her so fast she squeaked. He yanked her against him and his lips crashed down on hers.
Oh. God. Sensations cascaded over Elana. Need, longing, love. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back. The taste of him filled her and she tangled her tongue with his.
The next thing she knew, he was lowering her down to the sleeping bags she’d laid out earlier.
She sank her hands into his hair, moaning a
gainst his lips. “Who are you and what did you do with hard-headed, stubborn Rynan Phoenix?”
“I finally wised up after the crash and a few wise words from Goldie.” His gray eyes glittered.
“Is this real?” Elana murmured.
One of his big hands tugged at her jumpsuit. He found the fastening and parted it down the middle. “Let me prove it to you.”
She felt his mouth on her neck, his callused fingers brushing over her chest. “Ry.” She arched up.
His fingers brushed her nipple. “You are so damn pretty, Elana.”
Suddenly, he went still, and she felt a spike of fear shoot through her. No. He was going to pull away again.
But when she looked up into his intense face, his gray eyes were glittering down into hers.
“God, Elana. I’ve watched you for so long. Smelled your scent. Felt you brush against me. Heard you laugh.”
Her chest tightened and all she could do was stay trapped by his intense eyes.
“I’ve wanted you for years, but I’ve denied it, ignored it, and fought it.”
Something bloomed inside her. What? “Rynan…”
He lowered his head and kissed her again. She rolled him over, and got him on his back.
Straddling his hips, she leaned over him. “I’ve watched you for years. The way you work, train, and protect. The way you are your usual loyal, smart, and sullen self.”
“I’m not sullen.”
She pushed his shirt up and pressed her lips to the center of his chest. “You are. I like it.” Another kiss. “I like everything about you, Ry. I feel like I’ve wanted you forever.”
“So take me.” A gruff command.
She did, leaning down licking and kissing his chest. She loved the solid muscles and the skin that still held a bronze tint, even though he spent most of his time on board a starship. Her body trembled and she blinked, scared she was only dreaming. She was finally touching Rynan. He helped her yank his shirt over his head. She traced her fingers over the tattoos wrapped around his biceps, across his chest, then down over his hard abs. The feel of him beneath her hands made it crystal-clear that she was wide awake.
He groaned, shifting beneath her. “My turn.” He tumbled her onto her back.
