The Two Towers (16 page)

He watched her quietly for a moment. Her head was slightly lowered and she was intently studying the blanket on the bed. The tough exterior she portrayed to the world had slipped away. She looked so uncharacteristically vulnerable that he wanted to take her in his arms and reassure her everything would be all right.

“That makes sense.”

She looked up at him and then blushed when she realized she'd said too much. Carl smiled at her. The light flush on her cheeks was endearing and so unlike the normal façade she presented to the world.

He took her hand in his again. “Well, since you were forthcoming with me, I think we should see about getting you into the tech room. Are you still interested?”

“Hell yeah!”

“And she’s back,” he said, chuckling at her exuberance. He helped her up and put his arm around her waist to steady her. “Go ahead and lean on me. Take it slow.”

She took a few tentative steps and muttered, “Okay, maybe you were right about keeping me aboveground for a few days. This sucks.”

He chuckled and slid the door open to find Veridian and Jinx waiting outside. Veridian gaped at Kayla. “She shouldn’t be out of bed yet.”

“It’s okay, Veridian. I’m taking her into the tech room for a few minutes and then she promises to go to bed.”

“What? No, I didn’t,” Kayla protested.

“Yes. You did. If you’ve forgotten already, maybe you should lie down now.”

“You’re too damn sneaky.” She sighed in resignation. “I guess I did then.”

“Good girl,” he whispered in her ear, giving her a slight squeeze. She laughed at his teasing. Veridian started to object again and then shrugged. “I guess you know what you’re doing.”

Carl walked her into the tech room, impressed with her determination. Cruncher jumped out of his chair, surprised to see her up and moving around. He gave her a gentle hug, careful to avoid her injuries. The two men helped ease her into a chair in front of the monitors.

“Glad you’re okay, kiddo. You had us worried.”

Kayla offered him a smile and then gestured to the monitors. “I’m just glad to be out of the med room. Bring on the goodies, Cruncher. Let me see what you managed to do while they had me locked up all day.”

“You’re gonna’ love this,” Cruncher predicted, and pulled up the security overlay. Kayla’s eyes immediately fixed on the screen.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Carl promised. “And then you’re going to bed.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” She waved dismissively, not bothering to look away from the screen.

Carl chuckled. “Mind keeping an eye on her, Cruncher?”

“No problem, Boss.” Cruncher sat down next to her and rested his arm on the back of her chair. He leaned over her to point out some areas of the screen.

Pleased she was recovering well, Carl was still smiling when he left the room and headed to his office.

* * * *

Kayla studied the security images Cruncher pulled up on the screen. She was impressed with how far he'd gotten on her designs since this morning. He'd incorporated a few new ideas into them and she wondered how she could apply it to other programs she'd worked on.

“How does it look?”

Kayla turned at the sound of Carl's voice. “Fantastic. I think we’ve got everything locked down tight. I want to make a few more tweaks, but even I would have a hard time getting through this system now.” She beamed with pride. It was some of her best work. “I haven’t looked at the communication system yet though.”

“Soon. But you need to get some rest now.”

She started to object but fell silent at the look on his face. With a sigh, she stood up. He took a step toward her and asked, “Do you need help?”

“No, I can do this.” She shook her head, squaring her shoulders in determination. “I need to do this.”

Carl kept pace with her as she made her way toward the crew’s quarters. Even though he didn't insist on helping her, she enjoyed his reassuring presence. He was quieter than usual though and Kayla wondered about it.

“Is everything okay? You seem distracted.”

“I’m fine.” He darted a quick glance at her. “There is something I need to tell you though. I got a message from OmniLab earlier. They’re going to be sending someone out to talk about the petition against Ramiro. They’ll probably want to speak with you. I’m hoping you’ll be nice.”

Kayla rolled her eyes. Be nice? To a bunch of Omnis? “Are you asking me to be nice or kiss their ass? Because it’ll be a cold day in hell before the latter happens.”

He chuckled in spite of himself. “I suppose I’ll be thankful for nice.”

She winked at him and offered, “In that case, I’ll see what I can do.”

When they arrived at her private area within the crew’s quarters, he followed her inside and activated the privacy settings. She raised her eyebrows and teased, “Don’t tell me you’re going to get frisky with me while I’m recuperating.”

His mouth twisted into a grin. “As tempting as that would be, I’ll try to restrain myself. I wanted to let you know there’s a good chance they’re going to ask you about Pretz. I understand it’s painful for you, but you’ll need to tell them what happened.”

She sat down on the edge of her bed. “Screw that. You want me to tell a couple of pompous Omnis about my personal life? Keep dreaming, pal.”

Carl opened her locker and took out the picture of Pretz. Her heart pounded. Why was he bringing this up again? He tried to hand it to her but she pushed it away.

“Put it back.”

He put the picture on her lap. “Kayla, I want you to look at him. He meant a great deal to you. I’d like you to tell me about him.”

She stiffened. It was bad enough she'd poured her heart out to him before. She didn't need to do it again. “I’m not interested in your games. Take it, Carl. Put it away. Leave the past in the past.”

He shook his head and said stubbornly, “He was important to you. That memory deserves to be honored.”

Kayla looked down at the picture. Pretz's smiling face stared up at her and she studied it for a long time. She traced her fingers over his image. She felt a pang of sadness, remembering his laughter. “Why are you doing this to me, Carl?”

“It’s important for you to talk about it. The more you talk about it, the easier it'll get. You’ve kept this bottled inside for almost a year. Don’t you think it’s time you let some of your pain out?”

He didn't understand. It wasn't just about losing Pretz. She'd lost part of herself when he died. “What do you know about it? You know absolutely nothing about losing someone you care about! He was one of the only people who ever gave me a second thought. Because of me, he’s gone. If I had only…”

Her eyes welled with tears and she looked away.

“Kayla, it’s not your fault. It’s Ramiro’s and Vex’s fault. If it weren’t for them, he'd still be alive. You need to stop blaming yourself.”

Carl's voice was full of compassion and it made the heaviness in her chest even worse. Kayla put the picture aside, not wanting to look at it anymore. “Go away, Carl. I don’t want to talk about this.”

He ignored her request. Instead, he sat down next to her and put his arm around her. She stiffened but didn’t pull away.

“What was he like?” he asked, and put the picture back on her lap again.

He was torturing her. She wanted to lash out and push him away but she doubted it would do any good. That tactic had proven ineffective with him. She hung her head in resignation. “He…he was the only person in Ramiro’s crew with an ounce of talent and charm.”

“You met him when he came to your camp?”

Kayla nodded. She smiled at the memory, brushing tears out of her eyes. “Yeah, he was an impossible flirt. He used to wait for me outside Leo’s camp and follow me to our scavenge sites. He was incredibly annoying and sweet at the same time.”

“Was he the one who taught you how to work locks?”

“Mmhmm,” she murmured, and traced his outline on the photograph. “I was already pretty good at locks, but he was amazing. He knew how competitive I was and turned it into a game. There was this stupid song he used to hum while he was working the locks. It drove me crazy because it was so distracting, but I'd love to hear it one more time.”

“What was it that you liked about him?”

Kayla sighed and leaned into him, letting his warmth surround her. “He loved being in the ruins. Although I think part of him said that because he knew how I felt about them. He used to sneak off from Ramiro’s camp to go scavenging with me. We would end up sitting there and talking for hours. He was such a dreamer.”

“What do you mean?”

“He always had these big plans for the future,” she explained with a laugh. “He wanted to one day run his own camp or make some kind of outrageous discovery and try to buy his way into the towers.”

“What about you? Did you want that too?”

She shook her head. “No. Until Pretz, I'd never thought about the future. If I spent all my time fantasizing about the future, I’d forget to live in the present. But he seemed to enjoy it and I liked listening to him.”

Kayla put the picture down on the small table next to her bed. “I never told him I loved him. I didn’t even realize I did until after he was gone.”

Carl looked at her in surprise. “I’m sure he knew how much you cared for him.”

“Maybe,” she said in a quiet voice. She hoped he did. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that life is far too unpredictable.”

“I agree, but that’s part of what makes it precious.” Carl reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. His hand caressed the side of her face, sending chills through her. “I should probably let you get some rest.”

“Carl, wait.” She put her hand on his arm to stop him. “Don’t go yet.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re still recovering, Kayla. You should try to get as much rest as you can. We can talk more tomorrow. The sooner you heal, the sooner you can go back into the ruins.”

“I know,” she said impatiently, but her thoughts weren't on scavenging. In forcing her to confront her demons, he'd loosened something inside her.

What she felt for Carl wasn't the same as what she'd felt for Pretz. There was no substitution. Her relationship with Pretz had been consummated in innocence. They'd both been blind to the realities of their harsh world. With Carl, there was no future and he'd never make empty promises. In some ways, it made it easier. She could live fully in the moment with him and not worry about tomorrow.

Kayla leaned toward him and pressed her lips against his. When he didn’t immediately push her away, she wrapped her arms around him. There was only a moment of hesitation before he deepened the kiss and pulled her closer to him. She shifted herself so she was straddling his lap and could more easily tease his mouth with her lips.

He broke the kiss. “Kayla, you’re still injured.”

“Shut up, Carl.” She pushed him back on her bed. She didn't want words right now. She needed to just…feel. Kayla kissed his neck and nipped at his earlobe while his hands roamed down her back toward her waist. She sat up and ran her fingers lightly over his chest before reaching down and pulling her shirt over her head. She tossed it across the room and looked down at him intently, waiting to see if he would accept what she offered.

* * * *

Carl took a deep breath as he looked up at her partially nude body. She was breathtakingly beautiful. Her dark hair fell around her face and her green eyes were full of desire. His hands wandered from her slim waist up toward her breasts. Her skin was incredibly soft and the scent of her was intoxicating.

“Kayla,” he murmured, not wanting to break the moment but needing to say the words. “I’m a trader. Are you sure about this?”

“You talk too much, Carl.” She tugged on his shirt. He sat up to help her remove it. She threw it on the floor and turned to him with a look of fierce determination. “I’ll face whatever comes. I don’t want to wait. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or the next day, but right now, this is what I need. I need to feel alive.”

Carl stared at her, powerless to refuse her. She was offering a large part of herself to him and selfishly, he wanted to take it. He couldn’t remember ever wanting someone the way he wanted her.

She ran her fingers across his chest and he pulled her close to him. When his mouth found hers again, he gently flipped her over, pinning her to the bed. She wrapped her legs around him and he was struck by the intense need to be inside her.

This woman drove him to the edge of sanity. Her smell surrounded him, intoxicating him, and driving him to possess her. He forced himself to slow down and bent down to take one of her nipples into his mouth. She gasped as he flicked his tongue against her nipple and suckled gently.

“Carl. I want…I need…”

“Shhh. I know.”

His nimble fingers pulled her shorts off while his mouth teased her navel. When he reached the soft mound of dark curls, he gently spread her open and tasted her sweetness. She gasped and her hands fisted in the blankets.

He found the sensitive nodule above her opening and gently worked it with his tongue. When she cried out, shuddering in release, he moved back up to cover her body with his own. He unhooked his own pants and slipped them off. He positioned himself outside of her hot, moist entrance and paused.

“Kayla, look at me.”

Her eyes fluttered opened, still dazed from her orgasm. He held her gaze as he began to push inside her, not stopping until he was fully seated within her. Kayla gasped, her fingers digging into his shoulders, pulling him toward her.

She was so tight and hot and it took all of his control not to lose himself completely. He forced himself to move slowly inside her, trying to give her time to get used to him.

Carl shifted her slightly and found the sensitive nodule again with his fingers. He rubbed against it while she clung to him and cried out as her excitement grew. His rhythm increased as her body responded to his. Feeling her writhing under him with her soft cries in his ears was a heady combination.

When she wrapped her legs around him and whimpered in his ear, Carl felt as though he was already lost. He plunged into her depths without abandon and he felt her meet him stroke for stroke. When she trembled with her own release a second time, he couldn’t hold back anymore. He pushed into her once more and exploded inside her.