Page 26 of Stealing the Star Stone

Chapter Eighteen

The moon, Lethara

A punchbowl waterfall

All out of faith.

Day Three.

With each second that passed, Nova could breathe a little easier.

She’d never kick a man between the legs again.

Well, maybe if she wanted him incapacitated so she could run away.

Her groin was in excruciating agony. She tried to stand, to assess their surroundings, but could barely rock onto her knees.

“That was a dick move,” she hissed.

“You were supposed to leap, not fall.” He set the bag against a wall under a canopy of rock—a good place to spend the night.

She tried not to dwell on his warning. The idea of sharing warmth with him made her skin tingle, and her balls twinge, or was that the residual pain leaving her body? Damn, she hoped so, but the sane part of her knew it wasn’t.

He peeled off his coat and sprawled on a nearby boulder to dry.

She shivered, four times drenched, once covered in mud. At least she was clean. Not much of a consolation as cold as she was. She’d started to dry after finding the star stone, her damp jeans chaffing her inner thighs.

Now, as she stood there, watching him reveal every inch of a body she knew too well, aches began to register. Her thigh, a hip, and a shoulder burned, no doubt bruised from hitting those rocks.

“Want a bottle of water and a protein bar?” he asked, digging in the bag. He was naked, his almond-toned skin glowing as the light faded. Chunks of hair stood on end, almost sheared off at the scalp. Why hadn’t she noticed that before?

A muted yellow light rose from the pool, at the bottom slithered the eels and tiny green fish.

She stripped, splaying out her coat beside his. Boots, socks, jeans followed, then she marched into the orange water and floated.

He came to the edge and watched her, the underside of his breasts painted an eerie blue.

“Eels heal,” she said, catching her breath when one nudged her chin in passing.

“Well, that explains this.” He waved his bite-marked arm. “In the excitement, I forgot about the numbing pain. Only realized as I undressed that I was fine.”

“Scarred, though. Healed Orien’s knife wounds too.” It was her body that showed the brunt of their adventures, but she wasn’t angry. They’d survived, had a stone, and might live to find another. “Let me know when they swim away.”

The sky was littered with stars. No light pollution diminished the full impact of their magnificence. It was a scene she wasn’t familiar with.

Here, a shattered submoon arched across the sky. And not a single satellite pretended to be a shooting star.

“They’re done,” Eli said.

She swam to shore and walked out, accepting the offered bottle of water and protein bar. As cold as she was, she sat on the rock and leaned her back against the wall. Only time would dry her. As to warmth, that would come as soon as they settled down for the night.

As she ate, she tried not to notice his taut nipples, the curve of a hip, the soft-yet-muscled thighs. Nor did she want to dwell on their almost-kiss. Like she’d stated, it didn’t count.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you…” He glanced at her, then at the stars. “Have you been experiencing something odd, like sensing my emotions?”

She shifted then found the same spot because it was a little warmer than the rock around it. “Yes.”

A slow smile formed. “Phew. Was worried I was losing my mind.”

“Must be a side effect of this.” She flashed the blue tattoo crawling past her inner elbow. Day four’s symbol would appear soon.

Capping the bottle and shoving the empty wrapper into the bag, she spread her thighs, shivering at exposing herself to a breeze. She tapped the ground between her legs. “I’m thinking you sit here, and warm my front while I warm your back. Let’s hope our clothes dry soon.”

He swiveled, thrusting his ass in her face, before he sat. “Watch your balls,” he said, shuffling back.

Sighing, she cupped them until he leaned back. She slipped her arms around him, one across the collarbone, the other under his breasts, and pulled him closer until they were flush.

A sweet moan escaped him. “I didn’t realize how cold I was.”

She gritted her teeth, fighting the visceral reaction her body had to him. If everything he did aroused her, this would be a long night.

Strange cries, squawks, and chirps filled the air, peppered with fragrant flowers and wet sand. She rested her head against the rock, content to watch the submoon.

Their breathing evened out, and she was halfway to falling asleep when the caress of finger across her forearm snapped her eyes open. And of course, her cock had to harden.

“Stop turning me on, damn it.”

“I’m not doing a thing. It’s all you, buddy.” Then he wiggled for added affect.

She tightened her hold, crushing him against her. “One more move and you’re sleeping on your own.”

When he brought his knees up then stilled, she slumped. It had been a trying day, not that she knew what time they’d arrived. Frederik had awoken them at two, and after all they’d been through, she was beat.

Now if her raging libido would calm the fuck down, she could get some sleep.

The moon, Lethara

At the base of a waterfall.

Onward, just hornier.

Day Four.

Jerking awake, Nova found her face buried in the curve of Eli’s neck. It would be so easy to press a kiss there, to trail her lips to his jaw and angle it for a full-on kiss.

“I’ve gone mad,” she mumbled, hugging him tighter.

“What is it?” he whispered, stirring.

“Nothing. Go back to sleep.”

He wiggled, the bastard, twisting to gaze at her. “Did you hear something?”

Despite the growing ache in her groin, she didn’t dare breathe. Their faces were inches apart, nose to nose. Even in the moonlight, she caught the warm amber in his eyes.

“My ass has fallen asleep,” she whispered. It had, but as a distraction, it could work.

“Mine too,” he rasped, his breath fanning her lips.

She made to get up, hoping to break whatever the hell this was. But instead of leaning away, he didn’t move. Their lips met for a second.

It was long enough.

She groaned, cupped his cheek, and kissed him.

Like before, his lips were so soft, pliant, like rubbing hers across rose petals.

Tasting herself was nothing like she’d expected.

It wasn’t her mouth anymore. It belonged to him.

When he swept a tongue over hers, all resistance crumbled.

She delved in, desperate for something she couldn’t put words to.

The kiss—slow, luxurious, exploratory—ramped up the emotions swelling inside her.

She refused to name them. This was nothing more than an adventure to him.

She was…nothing more.

She broke away. “Sorry,” she said, slipping from behind him.

Standing with her back to him, she prayed the cool air would calm her…ardor. She glanced down, sighing at her impressive hard-on. It throbbed, making demands she struggled to silence.

In the distance, a dark red coated the horizon, like paint pooling at the bottom of a canvas. Dawn would be soon. She checked the coats and clothes, finding them damp but wearable. Grabbing her coat, she headed back to Eli…

When had she started to think of him as anything other than Thorne? The asshole had fucked and forgotten her, with zero regrets. The old hurt didn’t rise to fuel her anger. She scowled. Great, she’d gone and forgiven him in the last three days.

She stomped to him and froze, catching his gaze on her. But what flittered across her mind was another woman, older, with his eyes, scolding him about his frown.

“A smile has potential to change the world. The right one at the right time is your power.” She stroked his chin and ruffled his then-short hair. “And you, my pumpkin, have the most beautiful smile in the world.”

“Nova?”

She blinked, snapping herself out of the vision.

Odd things, he’d said. Studies had been done about memories being stored on a cellular level.

That had to explain this madness. She’d been too long in his body and was now recalling his childhood.

If they didn’t swap soon, she’d have to suffer through his one-night-stands.

Including the night she’d given him her virginity.

“We can rest for another hour or two.” She draped the coat over him, then squeezed behind him. The rock shared the warmth from her body.

As the world awoke, squeaks, shrieks, barks had her jumping.

She tightened her arms around Eli, keeping him close.

All their weapons rested beside the bag, the laser rifle leaning against the wall.

That was near enough to reach. The sun peeked over the horizon.

When its rays reached them, they added an extra layer of heat that made her groan.

A cup of hot tea would be heavenly, but without a way to light a fire and boil water, the chances of her getting anything remotely tea-like were slim.

Eli stretched, pushing up the coat. He clambered to his feet and scowled. “Got to pee.”

“Saw some foliage to the west, but don’t touch anything. Who knows what this moon’s version of poison ivy looks like.”

He marched across the shore, muttering about hating to drip dry.

Grinning, she dressed, peeling on the damp jeans and coat. Cold, wet socks had to do, made almost bearable in her equally wet boots.

“Where’s your T-shirt?” he asked, striding to her, breasts jiggling.

She swallowed and cast her gaze down. “Cut it up for your wounds. Must have unraveled when you cooled off in the pool.”

“Not that I mind…all of that.” He gestured to her exposed chest.

She smiled. Being able to walk around shirtless was a benefit. “My turn.” She abandoned him, choosing a different bush to hide behind. Her cock had softened, so she didn’t have to use thoughts of strangling Orien just to pee.

She chuckled. “I’m getting better at this.” She zipped up and headed back.

“Why do you say that?” he asked, tugging on a boot. At least he wasn’t waltzing around naked anymore.

“No pee on my boots,” she said, waving a foot. “Where next?”

“Follow the river, I suppose. Only way out of this place.” He stood and held out a halved protein bar. “We can share.”

She bit into it, rolling her tongue around its mealy texture. “Want to test the star stone before we try for another?”

“You think it will work?” He stopped and pulled the egg out of the bag.

With the protein bar clenched between her teeth, she placed her hands on the star stone and waited, praying for any reaction. A zap made her snatch her hands away. The blue tattoo extended another tendril and formed what she had to assume was the symbol for four.

“Well, I guess that answers it.” He shoved the stone into the bag and offered it to her.

She sighed and looped it over a shoulder. “Right. We need directions.”

Along the shore they strode, until he called her name, waiting for her to stop.

“Forgot the rifle.” Back he hurried then froze. “Um, Nova-honey, there’s something here. Bring the book.” He flicked his fingers at her. “Quick.”

She sprinted to him. Sure enough, along the wall was a line of letters, glowing in the morning sunlight. “How did we miss it?”

“The light, maybe,” he said, taking the book from her.

“Why does it feel like a treasure hunt with super high stakes?”

He grinned. “Because it is.”

“So, what does it say?”

He ran his finger over the page. “Y’know, I’m starting to know some of these symbols.”

She shrugged. “You’ve been deciphering them. Practice makes perfect.” She tapped wavy lines. “Let me guess, ‘river?’”

“Life is in the motion, even when the path is not clear.” He snapped the book shut and handed it to her. “We’re to follow the river. I think this’s a man walking on water. As silly as that idea is, that’s my hunch.”

“Wait,” she said, lowering the bag to pull out the book with the cave locations. “We’re here.” She tapped the spot that looked like a convergence of rivers into a waterfall. “And if we follow the river, we land here.” At an irregular circle that resembled a lake name ‘Vael’Tir.’

“Shit, one of those islands, maybe?”

“Okay,” she packed away the book, “we have a direction. If all goes well, we’ll be swapped back by sunset.”

“Then we’ll worry about escaping this place without getting caught.”

She smiled. “Baby steps.”