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“I, uh, think so,”Celiasaid, trying not to pant.Honestly, theDarkTwingot on her nerves but he also made her heart pound and her pulse race.Whatwasthatabout?
“Good—thenI’lldo the other one,”Fierceturned her to the other side and breathed on her left ear, sending more chills down her spine.
Totry and distract herself from his closeness and the way his hot breath was sending shivers through her body,Celialooked around the grotto where they found themselves.
Itwas a vast, underground space that had the air of a place that was long abandoned.Therewere smooth walls with paintings and decorations on them, butCeliacouldn’t quite make them out.Afaint, silvery glow came from somewhere above, casting just enough light to make everything seem shadowy and dream-like.
Orhaunted,Celiathought, and shivered again.
“There—you should be good now,”Fiercestraightened up to his massive height and looked down at her critically. “Unlessyou need me to warm up something else?ShouldIbreathe on your fingers?”
“Uh, no.Nothank you,”Celiasaid stiffly. “I’mfine now.”
“Youonly have to ask,lelka,”he rumbled. “Don’tbe embarrassed or ashamed—keeping warm is a matter of life and death on a planet likeTranqPrime.Wehave to take care of each other.”
Theintense way he was looking at her, madeCeliafeel uncomfortable.Suddenlyher nipples felt tight and she had to squeeze her thighs together because of the tension she was feeling from being so near theDarkTwin.
Butbeing uncomfortable made her short-tempered.
“Afteryou told meIstink likePeter,I’msurprised you want to be near me and warm me up at all,” she said, frowning.
“Yeah,Ican still smell him on you,”Fiercegrowled, clearly not taking the bait. “ButIcan smell your scent too,Celia.Andit’s fuckingdelicious.”
Celiadidn’t knowwhatto say to that—things were getting much too intense with theDarkTwinas far as she was concerned.Luckily,Holdchose that moment to come back over to where she andFiercewere standing.
“You’reright—the hinges aren’t fixable,” he said to his brother. “Iwedged the door shut as well asIcould.Hopefullyit will still look secure from the outside and nothing will try to get in.”
“Isthat going to be a problem, do you think?”Celiaasked, putting a hand to her throat.Shestill rememberedFiercementioning that there was a huge, carnivorous predator around here.Whatwas it called?AV’ranna?Yes—that was it.Shecertainly didn’t want to run into one of those!
“We’llbe fine,”Fiercesaid dismissively. “Wejust need to get moving and find that moss.”Heshook his head. “Ihope thatKatknows what a pain in the ass this mission is!Thisfucking moss better be the seventh wonder of the universe for all the trouble we’re going to in order to get the fucking stuff.”
“Lightenup,Brother—it’s an adventure.Andwe get to spend time with our lady,”Holdtold him.Helooked atCelia. “Areyou all right?Yourears look a little red.”
“I’mfine.Fierce, uh, warmed me up,” she said shortly. “Canwe go now?”
Withoutwaiting for an answer, she turned…and nearly stumbled directly into a deep ditch running through the middle of the grotto.
“Whoa, sweetheart!”Fiercegrabbed for her arm and pulled her back before she fell.
“Oh!”Celiaclutched at his arm as she stumbled back and away from the edge.Shehadn’t even seen the ditch—possibly because of the dim lighting and all the shadows. “What’sthatdoing there in the middle of the floor?” she demanded, looking down into it with a frown.Oncloser inspection, she saw that it wasn’t just a ditch—it was a kind of mini river that was flowing sluggishly through the deep groove. “Whydid they have a river in the middle of their living area?”
“Thatwas their heating system, back when this was a working grotto where people lived,”Holdexplained. “Mostof the residents ofTranqPrimeare able to live here because they are sustained by geothermal heat—there’s a lot of volcanic activity underground and it heats the water, which they channel to run through their grottos and keep them warm.”
“Really?That’sfascinating,”Celiaexclaimed.Shefrowned. “Butthis river doesn’t look very warm, though.Imean, it’s not steaming or anything.”
“No, it’s not.”Holdknelt by the side of the river and dipped his fingers in.Hedrew them out with a hiss and dried them quickly on his coat. “It’sbarely above freezing.Thatmust be why this grotto is abandoned—their source of heat went cold.”
“Well, let’s not stay in this fucking place any longer than we have to,”Fiercegrowled. “It’sfucking weird in here with all the shadows.”
ForonceCeliaagreed with theDarkTwin.
“Iknow, right?Itfeelshaunted.”Sherubbed her arms and shivered.
“We’llhave to at least stay overnight unless we can find the jewel moss in under an hour,”Holdwarned. “Thesun will be setting soon and we can’t risk going back outside during the night—the temperature drops too sharply.”
Celiacouldn’t imagine it getting any colder outside than it was.Thetip of her nose and her fingertips were just now beginning to thaw—though her ears were warm, thanks toFierceand his hot breath.
“Let’sgo then,” she said. “Er…which way is it?Dowe have any kind of a map?”
