Touching Ice Read online

  His amusement vanished. “Could you?”

  Staring into his eyes, she decided tell him the complete truth. “Yes. With enough time I could find flaws in the system. I could get a signal out and fool it into thinking it wasn’t sending one.”

  His hand cupped her face. “I knew that but thank you for being honest.”

  “You’re welcome.” She stepped into him, missing his touch, and wrapped her arms around his waist. He didn’t pull away and she was grateful for that when he hugged her back. “What about you? Are you going to be just as honest with me as I am with you?”

  “What do you want to know?” His body tensed.

  “How is it going with me staying with you? Has this council of yours responded yet in any way to you not following their exact orders?”

  “They are either unaware of what I’ve done or they are contemplating how to handle my defiance. They have not contacted us but I know they are awaiting a report on your death that they have not been sent. I also have no idea if Blackie sent them a report, what he would have stated to them, or if he also has not contacted them.”

  “How bad do you think you’re going to get into trouble?”

  He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I’m not certain. They may order the Bridden to return to dock with us.”

  “What happens if they do?”

  He looked anywhere but at her. “I don’t wish to discuss this any longer.”

  She held her breath and then blew it out. “They’ll come to kill me, won’t they?”

  Ice finally met her gaze. “No. No one is going to harm you, Megan. I won’t allow it.”

  “So that’s the worst they can do?” Fear inched up her spine as terrifying images flashed through her mind of all the horrible ways a person could die. “Be honest.”

  He shook his head. “No. They could send the Star after us.”

  “What’s that?”

  He paused. “A large class-A starship. We have a few of them but the Star is within a few days range. The others are farther away.”

  “And if they send it after us?”

  He swallowed, looking away from her. “It wouldn’t be good. I am friends with the man who usually commands her. He would attempt to stall the council but he has a family to think about. If he were to attempt to refuse orders they could go after his female next. I will not ask him to put his future on the line.”

  A horrible thought struck her and she reached up, cupping his face, forcing him to look down at her. When their gazes locked, she frowned at him. “Is your life in danger because of me?”

  “Not currently.”

  “But it could be?”

  He paused. “It’s a possibility if the council believes I have lost my ability to be reasonable.”

  “If they think you’re nuts, you mean?”

  “Yes.”

  She let her forehead fall to rest against his chest. She released his face and slid her hands down his torso to wrap around his waist. She loved Ice, the emotion so strong it nearly choked her as she tried to form words. He was admitting that he’d face danger just to protect her. Cyborgs weren’t known for being warm and cuddly creatures. Would they kill Ice? The answer that came to her was a big yes. He knew that yet he’d still kept her. He didn’t say it but he risked his life for hers. The love for him swelled inside her painfully. He wouldn’t do that unless she really mattered to him.

  “Promise me that you’ll tell me if that happens.”

  “So you can worry about my fate?”

  “No.” She refused to look at him. “I don’t want to die but I don’t want you to die for me. If they are that set on killing me then hand me over.”

  Ice lifted her off her feet and forced her to look at him when he brought her face level. He stared into her eyes, studying her. “You’d rather I hand you over for death than risk my life for yours?”

  She nodded. “What can I say? It’s been a great nine days we’ve spent together.” She hoped her sad attempt at humor worked but then he spoke.

  “You’re attached,” he gently accused. “Aren’t you?” His beautiful eyes searched hers as they gazed at each other.

  She shrugged. “I could lie but you’d just grab my neck and know it.”

  He gently slid her down his body and released her, stepping away. He walked toward the bed and stopped there, keeping his back to her.

  Megan bit back a curse. She’d gone and upset him but the days and nights spent with him had been great. Ice was an amazing person. He had a quick sense of humor, passion that was fire hot, and she had fallen totally in love with the guy. She didn’t want to lie to him ever again. They’d started out on deception and they were past that now.

  “I know you can’t offer me that back. You were very clear about your aversion to getting attached to me, Ice. I don’t even blame you. There’s no need to get upset with me.”

  He looked over his shoulder at her and then slowly faced her completely. “You tempt me in so many ways, Megan. Would it help at all if I confessed to you that you are the only female I have ever considered being with long term?”

  “I like hearing it.”

  He suddenly grinned. “It is true.”

  “That means a lot to me.” It did. It is the thought that counts, right? She didn’t want to ponder that thought too closely. She wondered how long they could last—how long it would be before their relationship ended. “When is your next planned trip to your world?”

  “We have no plans to return to Garden as of now. We are currently far from the planet in case you were being tracked. We didn’t want to lead them back to our home world to our women and children.”

  “I’m really not a spy or a bounty hunter.”

  He closed the distance between them. “I know that.”

  “Ice?” A male voice suddenly barked from a speaker near the door. “Get to control now. We have a ship approaching and we had a signal sent from our ship to it. Secure that damn female. She is communicating with them.”

  Shock tore through Megan as she stared into Ice’s eyes. “I didn’t.”

  He frowned. “I’m aware.” He moved, nearly knocking Megan over to get to his discarded clothing. He started to dress quickly. “What about the bots?”

  “The bots? You dropped them off on the Hixton.”

  He jerked up his pants. “We did not. We were too worried it was a trap.”

  “Shit!”

  “What?” Ice grabbed her arm.

  “They are the source of your signal. Why didn’t you tell me you kept them? Damn it, Ice. They are machines regardless of how they look and I assumed you dropped them off. You never told me that plan changed.”

  “They can send and receive signals?”

  “If their theft alarms are triggered you bet they can. They will start sending out location signals so that they can be retrieved.”

  “Can you silence them?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I can try.”

  “Get dressed.”

  “Ice,” the male voice on the speaker barked. “Respond, damn it. They are coming at us fast and have locked onto us. I’ve never seen any shuttle move so fast. Stop your human from responding. The signals are bouncing back and forth and we can’t shut it down or block it. We’re trying.”

  Ice moved to the door, not bothering with his shirt, and touched the pad on the wall. “It’s not the human. It’s the bots. Have Onyx meet me in the cargo hold and make sure all of them are there when I arrive in two minutes.” He released the pad and spun.

  Megan had put his shirt on and a pair of his underwear. She didn’t bother to try to find pants, knowing none of his would fit. “Let’s go.”

  Ice gripped her arm and stared down at her, searching her eyes. “Can I trust you, Megan? Are you really going to help us lose that shuttle or are you going to send a signal to them?”

  Pain lanced through her though she knew he probably had to ask. She noticed he’d placed his thumb over her wrist so he could touch her pulse, feeling