He smiled happily, snuggling against my heat like a sated lover, and I forced the flames down. I was doing a good thing for him, giving my … ward these liberties. Enjoying his warmth along the way was a benefit I was more than entitled to.

  I’d heard the stories of using a mate for warmth, emotion control, and even more far-fetched things like mind-reading, but the sharing body heat was a common practice when the snows came in September. Would Jason be in my life for the season switch this year?

  It was a painful thought and I curled around him, felt his rumble of contentment. Did he have any idea how enticing that was to me? I plugged the hole in my heart as best I could and got us rolling again.

  On the far right, I could feel my sister evaluating the situation. I was closest to my cousin Candice, but I adored my sister, though in the past, Sam’s wild ways had intimidated me. After winning the Bachelor Battles, I didn’t think that was a problem anymore.

  I sensed she had a number of questions waiting, but I didn’t plan to tell her or anyone else the truth until we got there and I set Jason free. If I spoke before then, they would all try to talk me out of it, and I was already was desperately afraid I would listen.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jason

  Snnooorr…

  The noise was an irritation and I fought to ignore it. I was so tired…

  Snort!

  I jerked awake to find myself in a bedroll, with Angelica. I wasn’t sure where we were and I huddled in the darkness while I adjusted. If not for the sounds and smell of her, I might have panicked.

  My hand went to the rope around my waist and slowly followed it to her belt. Satisfied that we were still connected by it, I concentrated on figuring out where we were. I knew she’d planned to drive straight through, so that must mean we’d made it to the Borderlands.

  I didn’t hear anything other than sleeping noises, and there was a rough draft coming along the uncomfortable wall I was pressed against. It was sharp enough to bite and I slowly turned onto my side to be closer to Angelica’s warmth.

  Now that I’d moved, I could see a pinprick of light and it let my sight finish adjusting. It revealed all but two of our escorts curled between us and the small prick of light that was coming through the cracks of the collapsed shelter.

  I couldn’t wait to be outside as the feeling of smothering came, but I also wanted to observe it from there. Except in photos, I hadn’t seen any relics of the old world until leaving with Angelica.

  The wind sharpened, flowing directly down my back this time and inside the wrinkled cloak. I carefully edged closer, pressing my cold hand between us. Changelings ran very hot and it took only a minute for my fingers to warm.

  In sleep, Angelica appeared gentle. I wondered if the rebel males would react to her the way I did. Would they be scared and abused, but still hope for protection? Did they want true freedom? I did, but only to be able to pick my own future, not to take down the Network. Why were those males so different? Why did they care so much when I, who’d been tortured almost nightly by Rankin when she wasn’t on a run, didn’t feel enough hate to rebel against them?

  As I pondered my strange mind, the area slowly lightened into dimness that allowed me to make out more features. I shivered as the wind pushed around us again…

  “Come closer.”

  I jumped.

  “Warm yourself… against me.”

  I did it gratefully, and felt her approval when I slid fully against her hip. She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and tugged me gently into her embrace.

  As the heat swarmed over me, I moaned lowly. “That’s nice!”

  Angelica tensed, sending out an intense wave of need, but her tone was light. “Yes.”

  Her head turned toward mine, searching me silently until I felt naked under her regard. What was she thinking? Did she know how sexy she was to me, or how shocking it was that that I felt these things for her at all?

  Angelica slowly closed her lids, as if she couldn’t stand to keep them open but hated to let me out of her sight. “We won’t leave until almost nightfall.”

  I shifted my arm up next to my head, not sure if I could sleep anymore, but content to watch the day lighten our surroundings and give me more clues to where we had taken shelter.

  It didn’t take long for Angelica’s breathing to even out and tell me she was back asleep. We were basically on the run from two predators and I still felt safe. It was a wonderful feeling.

  With her heat now baking into me, the temperature of my body came up and I tried not to fidget against her and disturb her rest. As I became warmer, I started to drowse.

  When I jerked back awake and felt her breath catch, I finally laid my head down on her shoulder.

  She curled her arm around me, increasing that feeling of safety, and I dozed off in her arms.

  Angelica

  I’d never slept with a male.

  Sharing a bed on the train didn’t count, though the erotic feelings he’d given me from his unknowing sleep-movements were ones I’d never forget. Those few moments of temptation were nothing compared to the feeling of holding him while he was melted against me in contentment. It brought the memory of what I’d seen when we first touched… the sated aftermath of lovers. I blew out a soft sigh.

  “You okay?”

  My sister had been observing, nonstop, since she’d picked us up. I was only surprised she had waited this long to ask.

  I made a gentle motion, using our old childhood hand code to keep from waking him.

  Fine.

  Liar.

  Silence.

  She tried again. Talk outside?

  No.

  Sam shrugged. When you’re ready.

  Yes.

  I stopped my thoughts from following the hundred paths it could have taken. Instead, I forced myself to join Jason in sleep. We only had one day before reaching the place where Baker was hiding, but I suspected it would be a long one.

  Jason

  Until the train with Angelica, I’d never woken in a woman’s arms before, not even Rankin’s. She liked me gone long before the daylight.

  It was a powerful moment, one I didn’t have to rush, like when I’d been dreaming and reached out... Angelica’s chest rumbled under me as she shifted, and I took advantage of it to rise up on my arm. When I chose a mate, this was what it might feel like.

  She was so relaxed, so… attractive to me. She had so many of the qualities I wanted in a match. I even held hopes that she and these big females could handle Rankin. I was on an adventure, and Angelica was my guide through the wilderness… only I wasn’t sure about my plans anymore. What were the chances I would ever find another female like her?

  Slim, I thought, but the fear of her burning up, and the terror of these wild relatives protecting us, couldn’t be ignored.

  “Pruetts are for freedom.”

  Her words in my memory rang clear, and I recognized my own instinctive urge to accept her ways, her teachings. Allowing myself to do as I pleased was tempting. I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d meant it in every way. I wouldn’t settle for less.

  “Who are we?”

  “Pruetts.” I muttered, staring at her beautiful face. In another world, we would have a home with carpeted floors so I’d never have to listen to the boot steps again. There would be a swing in the backyard and another on the porch, and we would sit there and watch our children play. It was so simple… so out of reach.

  My dreams were not reasonable and I knew it, but I couldn’t stop them from forming, growing. When I stole a fast glimpse at that forbidden vision now, I saw black-haired children with fighter’s eyes and it frightened me. Just this short time around Angelica’s stronger personality was already marking me. When she dropped me with the rebels, I wasn’t sure how long I would stay there.

  Before getting out of the complex, I’d only wanted strength and freedom. Now, the urge to find my mate was staggering. I knew as much as anyone about the effects of the war changing our chromosomes, but I still didn’t understand the mating fever that took over. I’d felt it enough with Rankin to fear it, though… and to want more.

  Rankin had never let me finish the act, wanting to own me before she took me. I’d never been bred and I wondered if that might be a part of Angelica’s problem - why she burned so hot. I was also curious as to her reaction to the rebel males. Was there something about me that was special to her or did all men hit her the same way? Would all of the females I got close to attract me?

  That was another worry I had. Angelica aroused me in the ways Rankin never had. I didn’t want to lose that incredible feeling, the magic heat that had sent me out of control. It was addictive and I craved more of it. Just the memory had me flushing in the dimness.

  If I were really free to do what I wanted, I’d kiss those cherry lips right now.

  That thought startled me, but the next one took my breath.

  I could anyway…

  I was fairly sure she wouldn’t be mad enough to hurt me, not after the liberties I’d already taken, and I leaned closer before I could back out of it. Once it was too late to pull back, I asked myself what the hell I was doing encouraging her, causing more pain.

  Then the feel of her lips under mine took over, and I chose to enjoy the moment since I’d already crossed that line.

  Need swirled through the chilly air and I shifted for a better position as her lips parted under mine. My tongue slid along her lip… and I felt her tense against me. She was awake.

  My hand came up to her waist, sliding under the stiff material to find her tattooed skin…

  Angelica arched into my hand as I rubbed it over her breast and I pushed against her hip, no longer cold.

  “Damn, that’s nice,” I whispered, staring at my hand moving under her shirt. I stroked a hard nipple…

  “Mmm...”

  Her sound did something to me. My control weakened and I my leg slid over hers as I moved on top of her. It was heat like we’d shared on the train, only thicker, more consuming.

  I started to slide her shirt up, wanting to see what I was touching… My body throbbed, sending hot, slick fire through the darkness.

  “Jason…”

  Remembering where we were, I drew back to see pink eyes filled with misery. “If you change your mind…”

  I nodded, heart pounding, body tight. “You’ll be the first to know.”

  Angelica gave me a hurting smile. “Once more?”

  I flushed, grinning. “Yes, please.”

  This time, she met my kiss with a sharp motion that slid us onto our sides and allowed her hand to come up and hold me close. Her tongue slipped along my lips and I claimed her mouth roughly, caught up in passion. It was stronger this time, and I wondered how far things might have gone if we’d been alone.

  Angelica remembered it at the same time I did. There was a last second of soft, yielding lips reluctantly leaving mine… and then she was backing away, getting up.

  Left with no explanation for my sudden feeling of desolation, I watched her move for the darkest shadows, and blend in until I couldn’t see her anymore. After a minute, the increased draft told me she’d gone outside, and I grunted gently in unhappiness. I shouldn’t have pushed her like that.

  “Are the others at the complex like you?”

  One of the big females sat up, the one who’d kept me safe in the leper colony. Without the goggles and tightly-drawn hood, the dim light let me pick out that sensual Pruett jaw line and those flat, black orbs. This one was Angelica’s sister.

  “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “Brave… think for yourself… go after what you want.”

  Those examples told me she’d been watching us closely, and I tried to be as honest as I could.

  “There are a few I’d be proud to bunk with if they’d let us pick. They don’t.”

  She let the silence stretch out, testing my nerve, I realized, and I waited for her next question, sure she had more than a few.

  “What deal did you make that keeps her from taking your services?”

  I cringed back from the exposure, and saw her gloating expression.

  “I thought it was something like that, and yet, you kissed her on your own… interesting.”

  I spent a moment trying to get my heart to settle, not sure if I should say anything. These Pruett women sure knew how to ambush.

  Sucking up my courage, I leaned back against the wall and attempted to find out some information of my own. I’d already noted this one seemed to have no reaction to my voice. Even the other women spread out in here were still snoring, some annoyingly loud.

  “Will she stay and help the rebels?”

  My question caught the Runner off guard, and I could see the indecision.

  “I’m not sure.”

  Now I was the one unprepared. “But, you’re her sister.”

  The big female shifted her shoulders. “Before the Games, I would have said no. Now?”

  She shrugged again, sharp gaze going over me like she could tell everything that had passed between me and her sibling.

  “Now, she might stay and fight for what she wants.”

  The big woman also pushed back to lean against the wall, seeming willing to talk if I was.

  “My turn. Why did she insist we keep going? Is it part of the deal?”

  “We’re being followed,” I admitted reluctantly.

  Sam snorted. “We knew she’d have a tail. What else has her so alert? Are you in trouble?”

  I wasn’t sure what to say, but again, the intelligence surprised me. I honestly hadn’t thought any woman could be as smart as Rankin, and here were two of them in the same family.

  “She’s protecting you.”

  “Yes.”

  I didn’t think it was funny at all, but the Runner let out a bray of laughter I winced at.

  “Well, it should be a fun ride, then. Your turn.”

  I tried to recover. “What does she want, from the future?”

  “That is a very good question. You should ask her.”

  “Maybe I will.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Freedom.”

  It came to my lips automatically, and the Runner gave me another of those hard, insightful questions.

  “And after that? Will you stay with the rebels?”

  I slowly shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

  “Then the plan would be…?”

  “It’s my turn,” I stalled, but she shook her head.

  “Answer it.”

  I opened my mouth and told this frightening woman what I hadn’t shared with another living soul, including her sister. “I’d have my happy family returned.”

  Angelica

  “My happy family returned.”

  His words buzzed in my head like angry little bugs that pinched and twisted. He wanted the one thing I would never give him.

  My happy family…

  I spun away from the entrance and waved a Runner inside, taking her place. Of my sister’s big friends, I only knew five, three being distant cousins that I didn’t like very much. After them, Rose was the hard-ass on Sam’s right, a place the loyal miner had held for ten years.

  On Sam’s left, was Wendy, a twitchy, hard-faced gambler with lightning fast hands. Of the two, I trusted Rosa more, but it was Wendy’s bald form I had waved toward the crumbling shelter. She wouldn’t hesitate to kill, and since Jason wasn’t blonde, he was safe with her. Golden-haired boys were all she fancied.

  It hit me again. Jason wanted to have children.

  My heart cried when I refused to let the drops fall. All he wanted was what had been stolen from him by Rankin, and it burned that I couldn’t provide it. Some other woman would hold him close as he filled her with life, feel his children growing. They would share everything, and I would be alone somewhere, missing him.

  My happy family returned…

  The pain was crushing, and I wasn’t surprised to hear my sister come out to relieve Rosa. I only resembled Sam in my thick body and the short, black spikes. From there, her greater height, her loud voice, and her restless urge for adventure, marked us as different, but she still knew I needed her.

  “So, you’re setting him free.”

  I didn’t answer, but she was aware that I was struggling with it. It had been so different for a brief moment, listening to Jason and my sister getting to know each other.

  In another world, I thought, swallowing the bitterness with a harsh shudder I didn’t try to hide.

  “No one would blame you.”

  This was the conversation I didn’t want to have - the one where I let her convince me to keep him against his will.

  I sent her a sharp glare. “That’s not what he wants.”

  “Since when do his wants matter? You won him.”

  “Pruetts do not own males!”

  The shout surprised even me. I snapped my mouth shut.

  Sam grinned. “Yep. Gonna be a fun trip.”

  She turned back to the landscape and I did the same, not letting myself be drawn into one of our sisterly fighting moments. Besides being on duty, I was in too much pain to be distracted so easily. Jason wanted the one thing I would never give him.

  My dream of remission shattered.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jason

  I stepped outside to find that our shelter was a red brick building set into the side of a wide hill covered in sticker bushes. Crumbled into decay, the building was covered by sand and weeds, and I couldn’t tell what it had been. Someone’s home was most likely.

  Angelica handed me a roll from her pack, and the canteen from the bike’s holder. Around us, the Runners were doing the same, only consuming water and the hard rolls.

  Curious, I turned back to see Angelica still watching me.

  “They’re energy balls.”

  I’d heard of those. It was described like the drugs for males, increasing a Changeling’s blood flow for stamina.

  Still charged from our wakeup together, I took a large bite. It was sweeter than I’d expected and I grunted in approval before taking a second mouthful. It was gone a few seconds later.