Extinction (19 page)

“Chai,” I said softly and he stopped. I took his arm
and turned him to face me. The muscles in his shoulders were so tensed; I could
physically feel his need to smash something. He was filled with so much pain
and anger and my breath hitched. 

“Not now, Lexie,” he grunted and tried to pull away
from me. But I wouldn’t let him. We’ve wasted too much time already. Both of us
could’ve died. I wasn’t going to let another minute go by without letting him
know how I feel. I stretched on the tips of my toes and held his face between
the palms of my hands, making him look into my eyes.

“I love you. Nothing else matters.”   

For a moment he stood completely frozen, then a wild
sound came from his throat and his arms went around me, crushing me to his
chest. His lips came down on mine. He kissed me hard as if he wanted to erase
all the bad memories from his mind. He lifted me in the air, to reach my lips
better and I wrapped my legs around his waist. His hands tangled in my hair. The
physical need for him inside me was overwhelming. He moved in a blur and
carefully lay me down on the bed, not lifting his lips from mine. He was lying on
top of me and I pressed my body against his, but no matter how hard I tried, I
couldn’t get close enough. I needed to get closer. I tugged at his shirt and he
lifted his lips only long enough for me to pull it over his head and toss it
across the room. I felt the warmth of his skin beneath my hands as they roamed
over his shoulders and down the planes of his back. There was still too much
between us and my hands reached for my own shirt. I needed to feel his skin on
mine. I tugged on my own shirt, but his hands caught mine and stretched them
over my head. His lips, gently tracing the line of my jaw down, moved to my
throat and when he lifted his head, both our breathing was irregular.

“I love you, little one.” His eyes caressed my face.
I never thought I’d hear him say it. Tears welled in my eyes and a single tear
escaped and rolled down my cheek. He frowned. “You’re crying,” he said and
touched the tear with his fingertip.

“I’m happy,” I whispered and a smile tugged at his
mouth. I pressed my lips against his and he kissed me back with a fever that
took my breath away and an ache spread through my body. His hands wandered over
my thighs and reached behind my knees. He pulled me upright with him so that we
were both sitting, my legs still wrapped around him. His hands slipped beneath
my shirt, wandering over the sensitive skin of my ribs and I couldn’t contain
the groan of pleasure that slipped from my mouth. 

He lifted his lips from mine and grinned at me. How
I missed to see him smiling at me. I wanted more. I never wanted to be
separated from him again. I wanted to show him how much I loved him. I didn’t
care what happened between us before. The hurt I felt before was gone.

My hands slid down his chest, trailing the flames of
his tattoo to his stomach. My fingers rested on the buckle of his belt. I
wanted him more than anything in the world. 

He caught my hands and pressed them to his cheek and
smiled.

“We need to rest,” he said and lowered me back on to
the bed and lay down next to me, pulling me close to his chest. He had the
self-control of a priest. I wanted to protest, but I knew he was tired and I
stifled a sigh and snuggled close to him. He was asleep within minutes and for
a while I listened to his rhythmic breathing before I finally fell asleep.

      Chai was still
soundly
asleep and I watched him as he lay next to me. I could never get enough of how
beautiful and strong his face was. He looked so peaceful and a little smile
hovered on his lips. I wondered what he was dreaming. I carefully shifted to
the edge of the bed, I needed a shower. I tiptoed to the bathroom and stopped
at Chai’s side of the bed. I bent and softly placed a kiss on his cheeks.

 “I love you,” I whispered into his hair.

 His arm snaked around me and he pulled me on top of
him and I yelped in surprise. I thought he was still fast asleep. He opened his
eyes and a satisfied smile plucked at his lips.

“Where are you going?” he said lazily as his hand
wandered down my spine, distracting me of any rational thoughts.

“Nowhere,” I said without thinking as his other hand
joined the one on my back. The length of my body pressed against his and I
blushed. He was driving me nuts.

“Good.  You’re not going anywhere, my little wood
nymph.” He lifted his head and pressed a trail of little kisses on my throat. “You’re
hot,” he mumbled between planting kisses on my neck.

“So are you,” I replied and giggled.

“No, I mean you’re skin is hot.” He frowned and
scanned my face. “You have a fever.”

I wrinkled my nose at him. I felt fine. “You’re
making me hot,” I said and blushed as he laughed and flipped me over on the
bed.

“You must go and see Sylvain. Let her make sure
you’re okay.” His face turned serious.  “I...I had to save you. The DNA…I’m
sorry.”

I pressed my lips against his, cutting off his
words.

“I don’t care.” I whispered. “You did what you had
to do. I understand.”

“Promise me you’ll go see Sylvain.” I nodded and he
relaxed. He rolled off the bed onto his feet in one fluid movement.

“Why don’t we rather stay in bed?” I asked
hopefully. There were a lot more pleasant things I could think of doing. Chai
laughed at me as if he could read my thoughts.

“I wished I could. But I can’t. Bill needs all the
help he can get and the Vandelrizi did a lot of damage to the ship. There’s a
lot of rebuilding that has to be done.”

Mentioning the Vandelrizi brought me back to reality
and I sighed deeply.

“Did a lot of people get hurt?” I asked
tentatively. 

“Yes. But we were lucky, it could have been much
worse. We weren’t prepared. It won’t happen again.”

“Arianna and Gaios weren’t hurt?” I asked, suddenly
scared that my friends were hurt while I was having indecent thoughts.

“They’re fine,” Chai reassured me. “Who do you think
killed fourteen of the Vandelrizi? They are arguing of course who killed the
most.” He didn’t have to say it. I knew I killed the fifteenth Vandelrizi,
Nuevo.  I shuddered, but tried to not let any emotion show on my face. I didn’t
want any thoughts of what happened spoil this beautiful morning. Chai and I
were finally together. Chai picked up his shirt from the floor where I tossed
it last night and grinned mischievously at me as he got dressed. I blushed as I
thought about last night. If he hadn’t stopped when he did…why did he stop? Didn’t
he want me as much as I did him? Before I could stop myself thoughts of him and
Emily in his room entered my mind. They spent a lot of time together. And I saw
they he kissed her. I knew he was only with her to find out who she was working
with, but still. Did they…

“Don’t look so worried,” he bent over and softly
kissed me. “We’re safe for now.”

      I found Erich
in the infirmary when I went to see Sylvain. His left arm was suspended in a
sling across his chest, but it didn’t stop him from pulling me into a bear hug
when he saw me.

“Shit, Lexie,” he finally said, letting me go. “You
scared the hell out of me. We thought…don’t ever do something that stupid
again.” He tried hard to control his own emotions and I shifted uncomfortably. I
wasn’t used to having so many people care about me. It made me more determined
than ever to fight for our freedom, but it also scared me that I had so much
more to lose than ever before.

“I had to do something. I couldn’t let him kill any
of you.” I said and rocked on the balls of my feet.

“I know and I would’ve done the same,” he said
gravely. “But you’re my sister. I haven’t seen Bill so upset since your mother
died and Chai…he went ballistic. I thought he was going to tear this place
apart. I want you to be safe and happy.”

“If you don’t stop, I’m going to cry,” I threatened
and Erich punched my shoulder with his good arm. 

Sylvain interrupted us and impatiently shoved a
thermometer in my mouth and I pulled a face at Erich. She wasn’t pleased that I
left last night without saying a word and now developed a fever. Erich left
with a roll of his eyes to find Bill and convince him to get some rest. He had
been working nonstop since the attack and Erich was worried about him. The last
few days had taken a toll on everyone.

After a couple of minutes Sylvain took the
thermometer from my mouth and stared thoughtfully at it. 

“You’re temperature is elevated,” she finally said
and gave me an accusing look. I was definitely in the dog box.

“I’m not feeling sick,” I replied and it was the
truth. I felt great, like I could climb a mountain.

“Maybe you’re coming down with the flue.” Her face
softened and she gave me a reassuring pat on the arm. She couldn’t stay angry
for long. She reached for a bottle on a trolley and gave me an aspirin. “Take this
and you immediately let me know if you feel anything is wrong.”

“I will,” I promised. 

      The mess hall
was transformed into a wonderland. Arianna and Gaios did a wonderful job. The
lights were dimmed and candles decorated the tables, offering platters of
snacks and drinks. The middle of the room was emptied to make space for a small
dance floor. Gaios installed a stereo and music filled the room. People were moving
their bodies to the rhythmic beat and Bill twirled Sylvain around the dance
floor. She squealed every time he made her spin. I giggled as Erich dipped
Arianna in front of me, nearly dropping her on the floor.  She looked like she
was about to strangle him.

Bill was right. This was just what we needed. Morale
hit an all-time low on the ship after the attack. We needed a night of fun, to
do something normal. My birthday party was the perfect excuse. Technically my
birthday was a couple of days ago, when I was still unconscious after being
shot by the soldiers in the infirmary.

I haven’t seen Chai yet. I self-consciously
straightened my dress, wondering if he would like it. The dress had a tight
fitting bodice that clung to my chest, leaving my shoulders bare and showing
just enough of my curves to make me blush. Waves of pale blue silk flowed from
the bodice and ended just above my knees. I didn’t recognize myself. Arianna
spent hours on my hair and make-up, transforming me into someone else. She even
found me a pair of silver strappy heels that gave me some much needed height. The
St. Christopher medal was the only piece of jewelry I wore. I never took it
off.

Warmth crept up my back and electricity filled the
room. I could feel his eyes on me, before I saw him and my heart fluttered in
response. Chai wore a pair of smart black pants and a black button-down shirt. He
looked incredible. His eyes widened as his gaze wandered over me, taking in
every inch. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat.

“You look…You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever
seen.” His eyes wandered to my lips and I instinctively licked the pink
lip-gloss. “Lexie, you’re making it very hard for me when you look like that.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” It was the closest I had
come yet to tell him straightforward what I wanted. Until now he had been in
perfect control and stopped every time before we crossed the line. I didn’t get
why. He took my hand and pulled me closer to him. His arms went around my waist
and he slowly moved to the music.

“I didn’t know you can dance,” I said as we moved
across the floor.

“I’m Wonder boy. I can do anything.” He grinned and
pulled me tightly against him. There was something very protective and possessive
in the way he held me. A couple of younger boys from the rebel group were
staring unabashed at me and I blushed at the almost eager look on their faces
as they looked at me. Chai’s eyes narrowed and they quickly turned away. He
lowered his head and pressed a kiss on my bare shoulder.

“I have something for you.” He pulled a rectangular
box from his pocket. A red bow was pressed on top. He swallowed hard as he held
it towards me. I never thought I’d see the day he was nervous. He shouldn’t be.
I would love anything he gave me, even if it was a rock.

I lifted the lid of the box with trembling fingers. Inside
a bracelet rested on a bed of cotton wool. I lifted it from the box - intricate
gold and silver leaves were entwined with small flowers. Blue stones adorned
the center of the delicate flowers. It was breathtakingly beautiful. On the inside
was an inscription and I twirled it to read it. It was in a foreign language
and I raised my eyebrows questioningly at him.

“It says that your mine now and forever.”

“It’s beautiful.” I swallowed hard at the lump in my
throat. I wasn’t going to cry, not even happy tears. Chai took the bracelet
from my fingers and clasped it around my wrist. The light reflected of the blue
stones.

Happy birthday, little one.

“Thank you.” I managed to say. 

I love you
.
My heart soared and I threw my arms around his neck, not caring who sees when I
show him how much I liked my present.