Page 15 of Human Reclaimed
“Enjoying the view, Captain?” he asked, a rare smirk playing on his lips as he stepped out of his tactical pants.
“Just assessing the immediate threat,” I shot back jokingly, treading water.
In just his black boxer briefs, Rune looked like some ancient god stepped out of mythology—powerful, primal, and entirely too attractive for my peace of mind.
He dove in with surprising grace for such a large man, barely creating a splash. When he surfaced next to me, water sluicing down his face and droplets clinging to his long eyelashes, my heart skipped a beat.
“You’re right,” he said softly, so close to my face that I could see the flecks of silver in his blue eyes. “This feels… necessary.”
The sapphire-tinted pool magnified the intensity of his blue eyes, which held mine with an unexpected warmth that made my skin prickle despite the comfortable temperature of the water.
The energy between us shifted—something primal and electric charging the narrow space separating our bodies. We treaded water just inches apart, and I suddenly found it difficult to remember how to breathe. My military training had prepared me for ambushes, interrogations, and battlefield chaos, but nothing had prepared me for the disarming effect of this man’s proximity.
This man. Not this cyborg. Not this kidnapper. Just… Rune.
He was nothing like the vacant-eyed killing machines I’d encountered during the war. Those had been weapons with human faces—emotionless and deadly. But Rune… a depth in his expressions, uncertainty in his gestures, and a distinctly human quality to his rare smiles fascinated me.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, swimming a lazy circle around me.
I turned to track his movement, trying to organize my scrambled thoughts. “How different you are from what I knew.”
His eyebrow quirked up. “Different good or different concerning?”
“Just… different.” I splashed water toward him, needing to break the intensity between us. “The cyborgs I encountered during the war weren’t exactly known for having private swimming holes or sharing them with kidnapped strategists.”
Something flashed across his face—regret, perhaps? “I didn’t want to take you from your life on Earth.”
“Some life,” I said, more bitterly than intended. “Hiding from CyberEvolution’s possible retaliation, babysitting my nightmares, and watching veterans struggle with the same demons that haunt me.”
I floated onto my back, staring up at the alien sky through the break in the jungle canopy. The water cradled me, making me feel weightless for the first time in years. On Earth, I’d carried the heavy weight of Travis and Meredith’s deaths like stones in my pockets, constantly pulling me under.
“What demons haunt you, Talia Reed?” Rune’s question came softly from beside me.
I closed my eyes. “The usual war souvenirs. Survivor’s guilt. Betrayal. The knowledge that I lived while better people died.”
The water rippled as he moved closer. “No one is better or worse at deserving life.”
“You sound like my therapist.”
“Did your therapist do this?”
A splash of water hit my face, startling me upright. Rune’s expression had transformed into something playful and mischievous—so unexpectedly youthful and human that I laughed out loud.
“No, my therapist definitely didn’t do that.” I sent a retaliatory wave in his direction, catching him mid-smile.
His eyes widened in mock offense. “A declaration of war against your host?”
“You started it, Commander.” I dove beneath the surface, using my smaller size to dart around him underwater.
When I surfaced behind him, I leapt onto his broad shoulders, attempting to dunk him under. It was like trying to submerge a boulder. He barely budged but reached back and easily lifted me over his head, holding me suspended above the water.
“Is this what Earth’s celebrated military strategist calls a tactical advantage?” His eyes crinkled with amusement as I squirmed in his powerful grip.
“Put me down!” I demanded, laughing despite myself.
“As you wish.” With astonishing gentleness, he lowered me into the water directly in front of him.
We were chest to chest now, my feet barely touching the stone bottom of the pool. His hands lingered on my waist, steadying me. The playfulness receded, replaced by something deeper and more urgent.
