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nothing stopping you now.” 
    That was true. There was no circle trapping them here—wherever here was. “And leave you alone with all this fun?” he cocked a grin and gave her an insulted look. “Not a chance.” 
    He straightened, and his grin dropped. His grip tightened around their clasped hands—something that had happened without thought when they landed. “Why don’t you go?” 
    Her lids dropped slightly, her lips thinned before a slow smiled curved over them. “With your weak fighting skills, you wouldn’t stand a chance without me.” Her hand squeezed his, a silent confirmation, intentional or not. 
    “All right.” He nodded, the simple gesture an inappropriate display for the overwhelming relief that assaulted him. “So what happened back there?”
    “With the Ancient?”
    “Who else?”
    “Beats the shit out of me.” She bit her lip and looked away. “But something strange is definitely going on.”
    “And you’re just figuring that out?”
    She sighed and closed her eyes, her voice losing its fight. “Can you be serious for once?”
    His lips compressed before he inclined his head. “Yes, I can.” Playing the jokester was just so much easier and few people took the time to dig beyond it. “Any ideas on what’s happening?”
    Her leg bounced in nervous agitation as she contemplated her answer. “Something way beyond us. Bigger than us, but we’re definitely involved.” She looked at him. “Did you get that big rush of energy from the Ancient right before we were shipped here?” 
    “Yeah. Just like I get whenever I touch you.” He lifted their clasped hands. “Right?” The energy flowed between them on the connection of their skin. Smooth, open, honest.
    She inhaled before admitting the truth. “Right.” 
    “Has this happened before with you?” He squeezed her hand.
    “No.” She shook her head. “Not even remotely. You?”
    “No. Never.” He let their hands fall, the admissions resting uncomfortably between them. 
    “Now what?”
    He looked around the cave and tried to assess where they were. “We were obviously sent here for a reason. I’m guessing we’re supposed to find out why.”
    After a moment, she nodded sharply, straightened her spine and lifted her chin. “You’re right. We could port away and hide from it, or figure it out and be done with it.”
    Just like that, the little fighter was back. He smiled into the darkness. “Rule of engagement number…what number are we on now?”
    “Five.”
    “Five,” he repeated. “Find the enemy before they find you.”
    “Take the offensive before you’re stuck in the defensive,” she amended. Her gaze held his and she swallowed slowly. “For now, you’re not my enemy.”
    He breathed deeply and exhaled the last of his doubt. About her at least. “For now, I agree.”
    The energy snapped, then flashed up his arm and raked across his chest, icy tipped blades that left deep grooves across his heart. 
    A hot gust of air wafted up from the recesses of the cavern and banked them in a smoldering plume of sulfuric stench. Louk wrinkled his nose and strained to see into the darkness from where it came.
    “So, you really have no idea where we are?” he questioned, the doubt carrying in his voice.
    “Why would I?” She tugged on her hand, apparently annoyed and wanting her freedom. Not a chance. 
    “It was just a question, Airi. No need to get touchy.”
    “I’ll touch you,” she mumbled giving her hand another tug.
    “You tease.” He pulled her against his body, the surprise giving him the advantage. “It’s not nice to tease.” She gasped, and he attacked. His lips took hers in a hard, demanding assault of tongue and heat. She stiffened, resisted, then melted into his body. 
    He groaned at her acquiescence, cupped the back of her head and tilted it slightly to give him better access to her hot depths. Her lips were soft, her actions strong. She didn’t shrink away, but met him stroke for