By the time she went back through the opening on Crath’s side, her swimming had slowed to a crawl, her teeth chattering violently and her mind going fuzzy.
“Come. You can fit,” was all she managed to call out, growing more lethargic by the second. Hypothermia was setting in. She barely remembered to raise her arm out of the water high enough to give him some light to find her in the dark.
He reached her faster than she believed possible. The sight of her blanket wrapped turban style around the top of his head surprised her a little, but it was smart. “Go,” she chattered.
She turned, fighting to remember what to do.
“Through the hole and left. Body heat.”
“Kelsey?”
“Too cold. Got to get out.” She lifted her arm to show him the opening and sank lower in the water, barely keeping her chin above the surface as she went through. She struggled to lift the light once she made it a few feet inside the larger cavern.
Crath followed until he tread water inches from her.
She tried to lift her arm again to bring up the light, to show him the cavern. But her arm felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
Crath snarled, and then she felt his arm slip around her waist, yanking her against his body. He lifted her high enough to bring her upper arm above the surface.
As Kelsey struggled to stay awake, two things registered in her foggy brain—his skin felt so very warm…and he wasn’t wearing his shirt.
Then she registered nothing at all.
Chapter Eight
Crath managed to swim through the water holding a limp Kelsey against him, using his other arm to shove floating vegetation out of the way. He made it to where the pool ended at solid rock, desperate to get his female to safety.
He managed to position Kelsey over his shoulder, careful to keep her face out of the water. He tossed off the bag he’d turned into a backpack, not caring where it landed. He heard it thud against a solid surface, and that was good enough. Then he managed to get them both out of the pool.
Beyond the edge of the rock lay a spongy-looking ground. He had seen something similar on other worlds in underground caverns. Most were forms of edible fungus. Even if it was poisonous, the blanket Kelsey had been wearing would protect them from contact. The emergency blanket didn’t appear to have gotten too wet as he ripped it off his head, using both hands to open it and drop it on the ground, careful not to move too much and let Kelsey roll off his shoulder. He carefully lowered to his knees and very gently placed her on the blanket.
Kelsey remained unconscious, but at least she breathed.
He shook her lightly. “Wake up!” Crath removed his band from her upper arm and secured it to his wrist, running the light all over Kelsey to seek injuries. Her lower legs in the front showed fresh scratches from her leap across the gap in the tunnel.
He carefully rolled her over. The bandaging he’d put on her after he’d gotten her to the shuttle were a soaked mess that he easily removed from her hands and the back of her thigh. Those earlier injures were healed, with only slight bruising remaining in those areas. The ones on her back from the stunner hits would still need the medical android on The Vorge to heal quickly.
“Kelsey, my heart, please wake.” He returned her to her back. The thin gown she wore was soaked and had become transparent. It was colder than her body. He quickly used his nails to rip away the garment.
He studied her face, purposely avoiding staring at her nude form out of respect. She appeared no more paler than normal, but her lips had a blue tint. They hadn’t before she’d gone into the water. He’d learned all he could about humans, so he knew what the color signified. “You’re too cold.”
He twisted around, grabbing the bag and ripping open the top that he’d tied closed. The material tore but he didn’t care. His clothing and boots he’d shoved inside had remained dry. Crath gently crawled on top of Kelsey, tucking his clothing against her sides to cover the skin his body couldn’t, before lowering himself over her.
“This is not how I fantasized us enjoying this position. You should be awake and touching me.” He adjusted, making certain not to crush her smaller body while trying to press as much of his skin against hers as possible. He had plenty of body heat to share. The water had been cold but Tryleskians put off a lot of heat. Enough to keep him from suffering from the short, icy swim. Kelsey hadn’t managed as well. He just hoped his future life-lock would recover quickly.
Kelsey was his now. Nothing was going to take her away from him. Not even death. He wouldn’t allow it. She was more than he’d ever hoped for. Smart, willful, brave, and intelligent.
He’d once felt a small amount of envy toward Cavas for winning Jillian. Now, he felt only gratitude. The only female who could make him happy was Kelsey.
With that thought in his mind, he pinned her tighter under his body.
“I’m here.” He nuzzled her head with his cheek, whispering in her ear. “Feel me. Take my warmth. Wake, my beautiful Kelsey. I need you.”
Hatred for the Cristos raged through him. They’d bought his female with the intent of ultimately killing her, then forced him to crash that stolen shuttle. She’d be safe on The Vorge now if not for those hideous beasts. All the things he could and should have done differently tormented him.
Especially allowing Kelsey to go first through that water. She was more fragile than him. All humans were.
He also desperately wished for help to arrive. The medical android on The Vorge would heal Kelsey of everything that ailed her.
“I’m not losing you,” he rasped in her ear. “You can’t leave me.”
She started to shiver under him a few minutes later. He hoped that was a good sign, since she’d been too still before, only taking shallow breaths.
Her leg twitched, and then one of her hands rose, pressing against his side.
“I’m here, Kelsey. Use my body.”
She took a deeper breath and her body stiffened. She also jerked her head away from his. He lifted his chin to stare down at her, glad to see her eyes open. Kelsey stared back at him. He had never felt so happy to see a female give him a pissed-off glare.
“You’re naked on top of me.”
“You needed my body heat,” he explained, smiling despite her anger. She was awake, and her lips weren’t blue anymore.
She blinked a few times, and her other hand came up, gripping his arm tightly. “Right. Cold water. Body heat. Fuck.”
“We could do that if you believe it will help you warm. I know the human term. I just didn’t think now would be the appropriate time. You frightened me when you passed out in the water.”
Her mouth opened, eyes widening—then she surprised him by laughing. It was a short burst of sound that cut off too fast. She lifted her head a little, nuzzling her face into his neck. “God, you’re so warm. Where’s the blanket and your clothes?”
“The blanket is under us to keep you from being on the bare ground. My clothes are next to you, to try to keep your sides warm. I stripped as soon as you swam away from me, prepared to go after you if necessary.”
The hands on his side and arm slid upward. She ended up wrapping them around his neck. “You’re like a furnace! Don’t move.”
“I will happily stay here for as long as you need me.”