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Maklr held her close against his chest and dropped to the ground.

He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her, his tongue darting into her mouth.

Nell’s hands roamed his chest, exploring Maklr’s rock hard muscles through the soaked white shirt he wore.

She straddled his legs and began to unbutton his shirt.

His violet hand covered hers, resting above his heart.

“Kisses for now,” he said. “Everything else can wait.”

“If you insist,” she said.

Maklr cupped her cheek. “Oh, I do.” He pressed his lips against hers.

This time, his tongue teased the seam of her lips.

When she parted them, he slid his tongue inside her mouth over hers.

The kiss seemed to last forever as they explored each other.

Nell gently pushed on Maklr’s shoulders, and he lay back on the sand.

She leaned over him, her breasts pushing against his chest.

The sun dipped behind a cloud. Nell shivered at the cooling air.

“Did you hear that?” Maklr asked, breaking the kiss.

Nell rested her head against his chest. “Your heartbeat.”

“No.” He shook his head.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

“Now I hear it.” Nell sat up and looked around, a hint of sadness on her face. “We should head back.”

“Probably.” Maklr stared at Nell. “We can always come back. Who knows, you might even get me to jump off the ledge again.”

Nell stood and wiped the sand from her pants. “I’m going to dry my feet first before I put my shoes on. Otherwise, it’s going to hurt walking back.”

“True.” Maklr patted his knee. “Put your foot here. I’ll wipe the sand off.”

Nell obliged, swallowing a chuckle when Maklr’s hand swept the bottom of her foot. “Careful, my feet are ticklish.”

“Good to know,” Maklr teased. He hopped up from the beach, extended his hand. She slipped her hand in his and they headed back toward the cabin.

“Aren’t you going to put shoes on?”

Thunder clapped overhead.

Maklr shook his head. “No. Let’s get back before we both get soaked.”

“Good idea. When we get back, do you want to shower first? I didn’t mean to roll you onto the sand.”

They raced back to the cabin, the door sliding shut behind them as the sky opened up with rain.

“No, I’m fine. You’ve got more sand on you than I do. I’ll stay in the other bathroom so as not to soak the floors.” Maklr headed toward the second bathroom.

“Deal. Give me a few minutes.” She grabbed a plush bathrobe from the closet and dipped into the bathroom, the shower turning on moments later. Nell hurried under the running water, scrubbing the sand off her legs and out of her hair. She wasted no time in drying off.

“Maklr, I’m out,” she called.

A shirtless Maklr opened the bedroom door to find Nell standing at the far wall wearing the bathrobe.

Nestled underneath his arm was a change of clothes and two folded towels.

“Thanks,” he said. One of the resort’s oversized beach towels hung low across his waist. “Hope you don’t mind, but I dried off a bit.

Didn’t want to catch a chill with the wet clothing. ”

Nells mouth went dry and she shook her head at the sight of Maklr’s broad chest. “No. Not at all,” she said, her voice low. “Go shower,” she said.

“You’re dressed up,” Maklr said as he walked into the living room. “Going someplace special?”

“You look handsome.” Nell gestured at the light pink summer dress she wore. “While you were showering, I took the liberty of making a reservation at the resort’s premier restaurant. Would you care to join me for dinner?”

“Am I appropriately attired?” Maklr asked.

“Let’s find out.” Nell winked.

“We’re going to get soaked again,” Maklr said.

“Not quite.” Nell activated the door. A resort conveyance shuttle waited for them to board. “See?”

“You think of everything.”

“We can order while we ride there, and the meals will come out shortly after our arrival.”

“Exciting. I’ll have to ask Charlotte how she knew of this place.” Maklr chose his meal after Nell.

“Arriving at your destination.” The conveyance chimed twice with a musical note and slowed to a halt. Maklr exited first and lifted Nell out.

She gave her name to the hostess, who sat them in an intimate booth against the far wall. Before long, their server arrived, bringing their chosen meals.

“This was a lovely dinner. Thank you for thinking about it,” Maklr said.

“You’re welcome. I thought it would be the perfect way to end a wonderful day.” A look of disgust and horror flashed over Nell’s face for a split second before she plastered on her usual neutral look.

“Nell? Is everything all right?”

“No.”

“What?”

Nell motioned with her head in the direction of the largest Klagan. “He’s here. Different women this time.”

“The restaurant’s quiet. He won’t make a scene.”

Nell snorted. “Think again.”

Philtan headed in their direction. “Mind if I sit for a moment?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

Maklr looked at Nell. Her face remained impassive. “For a minute. We were finishing up.”

“I saw.” Philtan turned to Nell. “Nell, I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I’m sure Maklr’s told you sometimes I speak before I think or act. Or,” he paused, “do a lot of things. Thinking isn’t my strong suit.”

A slight smile crossed Nell’s face. “I didn’t think you meant anything harmful. I'm just,” she started. “There’s a lot of things I’m still working on.”

“But you’re getting better, right?” Philtan asked, his voice gentle.

“Slowly. I’m braver than I was.”

“But you still don’t like men,” Philtan said.

“I don’t dislike them. More of a distrust.”

“After what that bastard did to you,” Phil said, ending his thought. “And I’m sorry we couldn’t catch him.”

“Who?” Maklr asked.

“The one who followed Nell around on the ship.”

“Conversation ended,” Maklr said. His voice got deeper, almost to a growl.

Nell stood up. “Can we go back now, Maklr?”

“Absolutely.” He took her hand. They left the restaurant, strolling into the night air. “We can wait for the conveyance here.” Maklr tapped on his tablet. “One should arrive shortly. What was Phil going on about?” Maklr asked.

“Everyone loves to dream that they’d be their own hero.” Nell said, avoiding Maklr’s intense stare.

He shook his head, wisps of white hair flying in the early evening breeze. “I’m not sure I understand,” he said. “What are you trying to say?”

“I failed. I’m no hero.” Nell picked at her nails. “I didn’t do anything to prevent what happened to me. And he still lives.”

“That’s not the way I see it.”

“I just,” Nell paused, throwing her hands in the air. “I just let things happen and stopped resisting, since it only caused me more pain.”

“You did more than most. You survived Nell. Not only did you survive, you’re thriving now.

The Nell that arrived on Ashuk a few days ago would never have gone zip lining, or jumped into the waterfall’s pool.

Don’t look back. Look how far you’ve come.

” Maklr ran his black claws through his signature mohawk.

“What you didn’t realize, either then, or now, is that you are the hero of your story.

Nell, my sweet Nell, you are truly a hero, a survivor of a hellish experience. ”