Part 26 (1/2)

To her credit, she didn't scream or faint. A squeaking sort of sound came out, and she looked between the two of them wildly, then turned a rather unbecoming shade of gray before turning away altogether.

”Thanks, mate,” he snarled at Ringer, who merely sat and wagged his tail as if

to say, ”No worries.” Little s.h.i.+t.”Talia-” He reached for her, but she stopped him by stiffening her shoulders. ”It's cold, at least let me cover your shoulders up.”

She said nothing, so he pulled the blanket over her and waited. He was really bad at waiting. ”Say something,” he prodded, at a loss as to how to handle her and hating feeling so helpless.

She turned her head slowly to his, her eyes unfocused, and, he noticed, purposely not looking at Ringer. ”I-” Then she simply shook her head and tucked her chin.

Despite her resistance, he dragged her into his arms and held her against him.

It was like hugging a marble statue, but he didn't care. She was trembling. It was hardly noticeable, but it made his chest hurt. And it was something he could do, hold her, give her his warmth, until she decided what she was ready to know.

”I should have told you,” he said quietly, when, after what seemed like a

lifetime, she still hadn't spoken. ”But I didn't want to scare you off.”

She laughed then, a semihysterical little wheeze. ”Oh, well, thanks. Much appreciated. You come and tell me I'm some sort of royal healer and, by the way, I have to travel a couple hundred years into the future to save a queen

I've never even heard of, but let's not scare Talia with the idea of some sort of... of...” She shuddered, unable to finish.”He won't hurt you.”She looked up at him then. ”I wasn't really in fear of my mortal life, thanks.”Archer grinned. He couldn't help it. She scowled. ”I'm not having it on with you, really, but I can't help the smile. You make me do that a lot, Talia.”

”Well, you're very welcome. Glad I could help.”

Now it was all he could do not to laugh outright. She was scared within an

inch of her life, but rather than cling and squeal, she was being sarcastic and

pouty.

He tucked her rigid frame a bit closer, angling himself so Ringer was somewhat out of her direct line of vision if she were to look up at him. And he found he wanted that badly. He slowly stroked his fingertips up and down her back, then through her hair. Over and over again, until she slowly began to unwind. No, he wasn't a patient man, but somehow killing time this way, for the sake of her comfort, didn't seem to tax him too greatly.

When she finally relaxed, he s.h.i.+fted upward so she could pull herself more tightly into his chest. Perhaps it would go easier if she could listen without her reactions being viewed. ”Want me to tell you about him?”

There was a long silence, then finally a tentative little nod against his chest.

His smile was wide and his heart beat a bit steadier now that she'd given him another piece of trust. A valuable gift, and one he'd guard carefully.

”I was coming back from completing a difficult transaction. I'd been off-Earth for almost a month and all I wanted to do was get home, take a long hot steamer, and eat some food that didn't come from questionable sources.”

Her breath caught and he paused, waiting to see if she had any questions. But he felt her breath skim out across his skin and she relaxed slightly back against him. So he continued.

”I had docked and was signing off on the s.p.a.ce entry/exit forms when I heard a rustling behind the refuse transformers.”

Talia's head came up. ”The what?”

He bit back the smile. ”Refuse transformers?”

”What exactly do you transform your refuse into?”

She didn't ask about off-Earth travel, but she wanted to know about recycling.

He grinned. ”I guess it's best described as a sort of liquid gas.”

”And what do you do with that?”

”Reuse it in other ways.”

”All of it?” She shook her head, then smiled a little. ”I guess it's rea.s.suring to

know you all figured out some way to solve that problem.”

He just stared at her until she looked up at him. ”What?”

He shook his head. ”I can't figure you out.”

Her smile grew. ”Well, some things haven't changed, then. Men have been