A Kiss For a Cure (8 page)

Zeus was temperamental. One day aggressive, another playful. She wasn’t willing to risk Cai’s safety on the off chance Zeus wanted to try hunting them.

Her problem with the ecosystem was that adult whites in particular needed the high-protein, fatty meat of seals as they got older. Seals weren’t able to live in this environment. There was no oxygen for mammals to breathe on the reef. Without the natural progression of the sharks’ diet, Jordan and the other scientists could only guess at the implications to the white sharks’ future.

Zeus circled closer, moving slowly. There wasn’t anything overtly aggressive about his behavior, but she knew from firsthand experience how quickly a shark’s demeanor could change.

Cai’s hand groped for hers. She offered her bare skin to him, hoping he would be able to sense and channel her calmness.

On one hand, it still took her breath away to be this close to an animal with as much power and majesty as Zeus. On the other, it was bone-chilling. For now, she was content to allow Zeus the freedom to circle. As the shark glided through the water above them, she decided to take a chance and reached up with her free hand to run her fingers along the underbelly.

Zeus’ body undulated gently at her touch, like a child tickled.

Jordan released the breath she’d been holding. Squeezing Cai’s hand, she let him go and gestured for him to stay put. Rising slowly in the water, she put a little distance between Cai and herself as Zeus turned to come around again. She took a moment to breathe deep and center herself, finding an inner calm she channeled whenever she handled her sharks.

As Zeus approached, she fanned her hands out as big as they would go and gently kicked, rising in the water. Zeus angled for her, his mouth opening and closing, showing her row upon row of razor-sharp teeth. Reaching out, she grasped his snout and lifted it away from the reef bed. Slowly, Zeus rose until he was upright in the water and completely immobile.

Her breath hitched. Between her two hands she could count the number of times she’d successfully induced tonic immobility on her sharks.

Withdrawing her hands, she gently backstroked in the water. On a smaller breed of shark, the hypnotized state could last for up to fifteen minutes. But a shark the size of Zeus wouldn’t be out for more than a few moments.

Waving at Cai, she gestured for him to head for the Center. She waited until he’d gotten a head start, before kicking off.

When she glanced behind her, Zeus was nowhere to be seen.

Chapter 7

Cai scraped his hair back and tied it out of his face. The preparations for dinner were done, but he didn’t want to start cooking without Jordan. Experiencing her world yesterday, sharing the most important part of her life, solidified his desire to be part of it. She might not love him now, but given enough time he knew he could win her over. But time wasn’t on his side.

She’d spent a big chunk of the day in the lab working with the data she’d gathered from the sharks and waiting for his serum to finish. The idea that an injection could take the place of a real person was appalling, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell her. She wanted to help, but not in the way he needed.

He needed to show her.

They’d managed to unpack most of her belongings. It surprised him that as the daughter of affluent nobility, she owned little. A dining table was one of the things she lacked. Cai created one by stacking plastos and laying the lid of the largest container over the makeshift table legs. They’d have to sit on the ground, but with a sheet thrown over the top, it wasn’t half bad.

Behind him, the doors whooshed open.

“I’ve got it.” She waved her hand at him, clenched in it was something small and white.

He straightened from arranging the table. “What is it?”

She stopped short, staring at the table as if it were the first she’d ever seen. “What are you doing?”

“Setting the table.”

“Oh.” Her brows drew down into a line.

“What did you come up with?” He gestured to a spring-loaded syringe. The kind used for emergency injections.

She held out her hand, grinning. “It synthesized. I tested it twice and got the same results. This could be your answer.”

He didn’t want to crush her excitement, but he couldn’t see how this solution was anything but a temporary fix. One he didn’t need with her in his life. This serum violated the things he held dear, his way of life.

“Aren’t you excited?” Her smile transformed her face. She was beautiful when she smiled. He’d give anything to keep it there.

He spoke slowly, trying to couch his feelings in words that would not hurt her. “It’s a lot to take in. Much of who my people are is our dependence on feedback. Our culture is built around celebrating it. Giving that up is…strange.”

“But don’t you want independence?”

He closed the distance between them and grasped her shoulders. “Do you want rid of me that badly?”

Her head jerked back. “That’s not what I said.”

The fabric between them dampened his awareness of her, but not enough he couldn’t pick up on the flutter of nerves.

“I know. But it’s, difficult, for me to think like you do.” He smiled to soften his words. He plucked the syringe from her palm and examined at the clear liquid inside. It was an innocent gesture. A solution, in dire circumstances, could save his people. “It’s safe?”

She cleared her throat. “There’s always a margin for error without extensive testing.”

“Only one way to find out, right?”

He put the business end to his arm and clicked the button. The needles pierced his skin and injected the liquid in a matter of seconds. It didn’t hurt or instantly blacken out everything around him.

He offered the empty syringe to Jordan, who went to a section in the wall he hadn’t noticed before. She dropped it into a slot, and away it went.

“It should hit you in about fifteen minutes.” She paced toward him, rubbing her palms on her thighs. He stood still, as if that would help him to be aware of the change. “I’m going to take a quick read so I know what to compare it to.”

She pulled a hand scanner from her pocket. Cai offered her his other arm and let her focus on the numbers on the screen.

“Am I dying?” he asked when she didn’t say anything.

Her head snapped up. “No. Do you feel okay?”

He chuckled and winked at her. “Feel fine. How are the numbers?”

“Good.”

“Great. Hungry?” He pushed a stray curl out of her face.

“Yeah.” She glanced over his shoulder. “You already cooked?”

“No.” He took her hand and pulled her toward the kitchenette. “We’re going to cook together.”

“Cai, I don’t know how to cook anything. I’ll burn it.”

He led her, still protesting, into the kitchenette and stood her at the miniscule counter space.

“You won’t burn it. I won’t let you.” He grabbed the washed vegetables, laid them on the cutting board and stood behind her. He’d already set out a knife and everything he’d need. There wouldn’t be time for her to escape. Circling her with his arms, he suppressed the urge to lean into her, pin her to the counter and kiss the juncture of her neck and shoulder.

Clearing his throat, Cai took her hands in his to direct her. “Grab the lettuce. You’re going to want to cut off this end.”

Jordan let him guide her hands, though after a few dices of the knife, he let her lead. Touching her like this, her back to his front, was exactly the kind of trust and familiarity he wanted to cultivate between them.

“Now what?”

He grabbed the rest of the ingredients for a salad and put them in front of her. “Practice your chopping skills. I’m going to show you how to make
salahi
. It’s a dish we make at holidays. I thought it was appropriate.” He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek and stepped away.

She grumbled, but set to work. He gathered the meat and the ingredients for the sauce.

Cooking with Jordan took longer, but it was enjoyable. He turned on some Christmas music and tried to not think about his upcoming surprise.

Cai scrubbed his face, his shoulders sagging. He hadn’t realized how much the last few days had taken out of him physically. Exhausted, he rested his hip against the counter and watched her stare at the CU. He needed to put the salad on the table, get their drinks and move things to the table. He should be hungry. He wanted to eat, but his stomach wasn’t rumbling.

“I think this is done.” Jordan popped open the unit.

“Don’t grab it. The pan is hot.”

“I know that.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder and used a bath towel commandeered for kitchen purposes to remove the pan.

Finally mustering the energy to do even the simple task of relocating the food, he made it to the table and sank down on the floor. He hadn’t even gotten the pillows from the bedroom to make it more comfortable, or turn the ambient lighting on. He was just too tired.

* * * *

Jordan brought the plates to the table. The music and decorations transformed her quarters from sterile to cheerful. It was still a bit of a mess without furniture, but everywhere she looked was something that made her smile. It was sweet how much Cai did to make her feel special. She hoped her serum worked. It was the greatest gift she could offer him.

“Do we need anything else?”

He tilted his head back and blinked at her. His eyes were almost completely black, the brown engulfed by the iris. Her heart stuttered to a stop and her vision hazed. She pushed back the fear.

“Cai?” She circled the table and put her hand to his forehead. “Are you feeling okay?” His skin felt cool and clammy. A lump rose in her throat, making it hard to breathe. This wasn’t right. He should be laughing at her, telling her to eat something. Instead, his eyes fluttered close and the color leeched from his face.

“Yeah.” He leaned into her touch, his eyes half closed. His breath came out in short pants. “Just tired.”

“Listen to me.” He didn’t react to her fear. Cai always responded to even the slightest change in her emotions, and now he didn’t even bat an eyelash. She knelt by his side and guided his chin to face her. “I want you to follow my fingers with your eyes, okay?”

“I’m fine.” He slowly tracked the back and forth motion of her fingers.

She jumped up and retrieved the scanner. “No, you’re not okay. When did you start feeling different? Think about it.” She hated how long it took the scanner to read him when she finally got it running. Was her foolishness going to kill him? She’d wanted to help him, give him everything she never would have.

Why did she push Cai to try something experimental, when she didn’t know enough about him? A few hours spent examining his DNA didn’t mean she understood the inner workings of his body. He’d put his life in her hands, twice, and she was gambling with it.

“My fingers feel numb,” he mumbled.

The scanner beeped at her. The numbers were all wrong. Before they’d begun, she’d rigged the scanner to rate the activity of his
pur
. The initial scan read at least sixty percent of the system was actively involved. Now the number was down to a measly fifteen percent. Sweat broke out along her hairline and down her spine.

“Cai. Cai. Listen to me.” She patted his face. “I need you to tell me how to jumpstart your systems.”

“Jor, something’s wrong.” His hand rose slowly and grasped her arm; his voice was a pained wheeze.

“I know,” she said as calmly as she could, and still her voice sounded strained. “Your heart rate is low, but your
pur
numbers are what I’m worried about.”

“Kiss me.”

She would do anything to keep him alive.

Jordan dug her fingers into his hair and kissed him. His mouth was lax against hers–no teasing lick of his tongue or press of his lips. She willed it to work, pressing their faces harder together than was necessary. Cai didn’t hold her; his hands didn’t even touch her.

Breaking the kiss, she shoved him back from the table. She straddled his lap, grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked it off. She removed her own shirt and wrapped her arms around his shoulders so their skin touched.

She kissed him again.

His arms rested lightly against her back. He didn’t kiss her in return, but his mouth tilted toward her. She imitated his touch, the way he thrust his tongue into her mouth and held her face exactly where he wanted it. She willed him to take control, to live, to anything.

His palms pressed against her ribs and lower back. His tongue flicked the underside of hers. A small sign of life. A little bit of hope.

“Cai, stay with me,” she pleaded against his mouth.

He brushed a kiss across her lips and she clenched him closer. Each touch sent miniature bolts of lightning ricocheting from her lips to her toes. She’d never kissed someone who made her feel anything but distracted or mildly aroused. Cai involved her entire body in kisses.

“Yes,” he whispered.

Jordan shuddered.

“I need you to keep kissing me.” Cai’s soft skin brushed hers as he spoke, his breath fanning her face. One of his hands burrowed into her hair and tugged her face to his.

She needed to take readings, to see if his levels were rising. But after one more kiss. She wanted to be closer to him. He made her feel, when she hadn’t felt in a long time. The desire to crawl into his body, to be with him was taking over her mind.

Jordan made do with swiping her tongue against his lips. Cai opened, allowing her to deepen the kiss. His tongue rubbed against the underside of hers and sucked. She moaned into his mouth, painfully aware she wanted him to touch her in other places where their bodies were notched together. Was it wrong to want to have sex with him under these circumstances? This was about his life, not pleasure, a fact that was hard to focus on when his hands kneaded her flesh.

Cai dropped a hand to her bottom and pulled her closer. The pressure against her core had her gasping. He used the moment to turn the tables, plunging his tongue into her mouth and taking control of not just the kiss, but her body. Though she clung to his shoulders, he moved her hips, grinding them together.