Page 33 of Stealing Mercury
His nose wrinkled. “You keep it,” he said.
She chuckled. “That’s the purification tablet. It will keep you from getting sick from the water here.”
“Our physiology is resilient. I will risk drinking from the stream without your smelly chemicals.”
She laughed and took another sip from the pouch. The slight bitterness of the purification tablet coated her tongue, but she’d had worse. “I guess your sense of smell and taste are more developed than mine.” She shrugged and took another swallow. “Are we making camp here, then?”
“No.” Mercury drank cold stream-water from his cupped hands. “I wish to be farther from Drake and Resler before we stop.”
Samantha tried not to be distracted by the ripple and flex of corded muscle as he scooped the water. “You tied them up. Do you think they could be following us already?”
“It’s safer not to underestimate the whip-master.”
She suppressed a shudder at the title. “You’re worried because I’m slowing you down?”
Carn shook his head. “If they come, we can deal with them.”
Mercury stood and held out a hand to help her up.
“So how did you guys get to the escape-pod so fast?”
“We ran,” Lo spoke softly behind her and Samantha flinched but held her ground.
She’d lost track of him at some point. On the ship, he’d been impossible to ignore, but now he seemed to melt away, a silent shadow hidden among the boisterous night creatures awakening around them.
“You must have incredible speed and stamina.” Her voice sounded nervous and jittery to her own ears.
Carn nodded.
A sigh of regret escaped across her lips. They’d be better off without her. “Okay. I guess we better get moving.”
Mercury shook his head. “You’re still tired.”
She couldn’t argue. “And getting chilled. Moving will probably help that part.” She attempted a grin, but knew they’d see through it. “Look, if I stay still too long, my muscles will probably revolt when we start moving again.”
A tug on her braid startled her, and she twisted to see Lo’s fingers slip away. Her eyes widened at the seemingly playful gesture from the always-intense Lo. He stared back through eyes that had gone almost completely black in the low light. There was no growl, no fire, only the tip of his tongue peeking out to spread glistening moisture across his lips.
He reached for the pack she’d been carrying without a smile or any acknowledgement of that tug. “Allow Mercury to carry you and we’ll make it to the cargo-drop much sooner.”
Samantha turned to Mercury for confirmation, and he nodded.
Carn added his own nod of encouragement and took Mercury’s pack, then slung it over his shoulder.
“Are you ready,courra?” Mercury whispered the words as if he wanted to help her disguise her discomfort, though she knew they could all hear him.
She took a deep breath and put a hand on his muscled shoulder. “Okay.”
Mercury turned to give her his back and bent his legs.
Samantha hesitated. “Are you sure about this?”
He growled in that odd way he sometimes did. “Now.”
“Okay, okay.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
As he straightened to lift her onto his back, she pulled her legs up to let him position them where he wanted. Big hands gripped under her thighs, and he seemed to sigh as she leaned into him. A quick nod to the others and they were off again, the heat of his body easing her chill—something she was increasingly grateful for as the temperature dropped.
They followed the path of the stream into the night. They moved more slowly after the sun went down, but they didn’t stop until the moon also slipped out of sight. When Mercury finally set her on the ground, she couldn’t see a foot in front of her. She heard Lo and Carn moving around, then Mercury pulled her down to the ground. Instead of cold earth, her hands brushed against one of the thin thermal blankets from the emergency supplies. Mercury pulled her onto his lap, and she went without hesitation, eager to press herself back into his body heat.
