Page 43 of Stealing Mercury
“Something we could stop,” he said.
“Yes. And if Carn’s this sick after two days...”
A look passed between Mercury and Lo.
Mercury put a finger under her chin, and his eyes locked on to her face. When he looked at her that way, she had no idea what he saw. All she knew was that he wasn’t thinking of her as a hated human and it wasn’t lust, either.
The moment stretched out until she had to fight not to lean into him.
Lo shifted and made a chuffing noise. “When do we leave?”
“Carn needs to sleep,” answered Mercury. “We should hide the supplies. We don’t know how long we’ll be gone or how long the whip-master will decide to wait before he comes looking.”
“You could travel faster without me.” Samantha did want Carn’s pain to stop as soon as possible, but she didn’t really want to stay behind.
“We stay together.” Mercury’s answer came quick as lightning. No hesitation. No indecision. “I have a feeling you’ll prove useful.”
She couldn’t help but grin. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
He looked skeptical. “Because you enjoy long hikes on unfamiliar planets.”
“It might just be some wreckage or space junk, but if it is something left behind by the people who terraformed this place, it’s been here a long time. And the terraforming platform we ran into... it didn’t look like any design I’ve seen before. I’m curious as a sand-cat about who they are and why they’ve left this place to sit so long.”
He tapped her nose. “You realize if we find it, we’ll be destroying it?”
“Yeah. Of course.” She sobered. “I don’t want Carn to suffer any more than you do.”
It hurt that he could doubt that. Setting them free may have earned her some acceptance, but that didn’t make her one of them and she needed to remember that. Right now, they needed her. Maybe Mercury even wanted her. But things could change. She’d learned that the hard way. They were smart and strong, and they had each other. When they adapted to their new-found freedom, got off the planet, they might not need her. When they had a choice, their gratitude wouldn’t bind them to her.
***
Samantha went through the supplies and pulled together what she thought would serve them best. She planned to distribute them between the packs they’d taken from the escape-pod. First, she distributed everything else among the indestructible, meter square cargo cases, making sure each case held a variety of supplies. That way, if some of the cases were discovered and stolen while they were gone, they’d still have the things they might need. Mercury and Lo carried the cases into the woods in different directions while Samantha filled up their packs and turned off the cargo-drop’s beacon. There was no real way to hide the bulky drop, but they worked together to pull limbs over and around it to make it less visible.
Samantha used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe sweat from her face. “At least they won’t be able to spot it through the trees. They’ll have to stumble across it.”
Lo swept a small branch across the ground to scatter leaves and obscure the evidence of their efforts. “Even if they do, it will do them no good.”
Mercury lifted the packs and slung them over his shoulder. “It is better that they have fewer clues for finding our supplies or setting a trap.”
Lo growled softly in the back of his throat. “The whip-master would be a fool to try to take us now.”
“Yes,” agreed Mercury. “But we don’t know how long we’ll be gone from here. By the time we return, others might have joined him and brought weapons. Never underestimate the opponent.”
Lo scowled. His lips pulled back to display his prominent canines. “You use his words?”
“He’s no fool, and what he taught us is no less true now that we’re nearly free of the man. It would be senseless to set aside those teachings now.”
Lo humphed, transforming his face back to the less threatening Lo she’d been learning to appreciate. “True, but I don’t need his words from your mouth just now. Reminds me too much of how badly I want to rip out his throat.”
There was a brief moment of silence that made Samantha feel awkward and in the way. Mercury had to feel the same as Lo. Only he didn’t say it because she was there. There was something wrong in that, but she wasn’t sure exactly what. Did she think he was wrong to hate Drake? No. Drake deserved their hatred. Was it that she thought their easiness with the idea of killing made them evil? No, but she wasn’t exactly comfortable with it, either. She knew she couldn’t expect them to think about things as she did.
Mercury’s breath on the back of her neck pulled her out of her thoughts and focused her attention on the shiver of pleasure that skated down her shoulders.
“You’re thinking too hard. Unless you are thinking of letting me pleasure you before we leave, it might be better to return to camp and help the others break down the shelter.”
She looked around and realized they were alone. She hadn’t noticed when Lo left and she hadn’t noticed Mercury moving to stand behind her, either. Turning to face him, she looked up into those stormy eyes. The skin at the outside corners crinkled with humor. Sweat glistened on his skin. Just looking at him made it harder to breathe. She had to fight instinct to keep her hands at her sides when all she wanted to do was follow the contours of his muscles with her fingertips.
When she spoke, her voice was less steady than she’d have liked. “Camp.”
