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“Watch out, Fi!” Vaughn shouted over the screeching in Fiona’s ears. He pulled the trigger, shooting a varkid cleanly through its skull. The bullet stopped the creature midleap as it was charging at Fiona. Its body fell to the ground with a wet thud.
“Wow. Nice one, Vaughn.” Sasha hooted up at him. He was perched atop a pair of large stacked storage crates, an excellent spot for a height advantage in Fiona’s opinion; especially well-scouted for him since he was the shortest of their party.
Surveying their surroundings, Fiona saw dozens of smelly, oozing varkid corpses littered around them. Fortunately, none were moving anymore.
“Looks clear. Rhys, you can come in now.” She shouted at the doorway to the outside. Rhys’s head popped into view.
“Did you get them all?” he asked. His face turned pale at the scent the freshly dead creatures emitted.
“Yeah. C’mon.” Fiona watched as he carefully treaded through the carnage, trying to avoid marring his boots. She wasn’t quite sure why he bothered. Those shoes were hideous.
Because he had very little combat experience and even less in skill, Fiona had suggested he wait outside while they cleaned out the varkid infestation. He had readily agreed. Now she felt an involuntary pang of sympathy for his obvious discomfort. Of the four of them, he had become the most sheltered, the most civilized since their prior adventures.
Glancing at Vaughn, who had hopped down, she found it almost impossible to see the meek scaredy-cat that she had first met all those years ago. Pandora had certainly changed him; Fiona would have liked to assume for the better.
As he joined the rest of them, Fiona nodded. “You certainly have a hell of an aim.” she acknowledged with a smile. “Thanks for having my back.”
Vaughn grinned. “Hey, no problem.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Fiona saw Rhys frown. Assuming he was just queasy from the stench, she ignored him.
After assessing their ammo reserves, the group set off deeper into the complex. Sasha led, followed by Vaughn. Fiona fell in step with Rhys. They had come to this abandoned Atlas facility after Fiona had stumbled across some intel about its location while working with the Crimson Raiders. Lilith had given her permission to check it out, seeing it as an opportunity for Fiona to prove her worth as a hunter without the benefit of her mentor, Athena, who was on her honeymoon.
‘So far, so good’ Fiona thought. Her eyes scanned their surroundings, wary of any stray varkids, but it appeared that the infestation was in its early stages, having only taken root in the entrance. Relaxing slightly, her attention wandered to Rhys. Before inviting him on this adventure, it had been some time since she had seen him, even longer since they had worked together.
Rhys caught her glance and a strange, floating sensation blossomed in her chest. Embarrassed, she tried to quicken her pace, but he kept in stride with her, his long legs making it easy.
“Hey, Fi. Wait up.” He touched her shoulder to get her attention, halting her.
Looking his way, she was caught by the warmth of his gaze. His mismatched eyes always intrigued her, at first drawing her in with the mystery of how and why one was a brilliant blue while the other was a soft, more natural brown. The effect was still there even with the amber shade of ECHO eye he wore now.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” he said.
“What for?” she asked. His hand was still resting on her shoulder. The weight of it felt reassuring, safe.
“For asking me to come along, even when I’m not very useful in a fight.” He went on to clarify with a hint of smile. “What I mean is, I know it’s my company’s name on the door of this place, but you didn’t have any obligation to invite me. You could have kept what you found here for yourself. I appreciate that you clued me in.”
His gratitude pleased her more than she cared to admit. The intensity of the satisfaction she felt from his approval confused and flustered her. She never quite knew what to make of him. During the time she’d known him, he could occasionally say or do something so unexpected, so sweet, and she was then forced to reevaluate her initial assumptions of him as just another corporate jackass. His interactions with Gortys, Loaderbot, Vaughn, even with Sasha in the past held prime examples.
“Don’t be stupid. You don’t have to thank me,” she dismissed. “Of course, I would have told you about this. You’re in charge of Atlas now, so, technically, everything here belongs to you, and I try not to make a habit of stealing from friends.”
He grinned, and her heart skipped a beat. Fiona looked away, containing her reaction internally. That smile of his – dammit.
“Oh, so we’re friends.” He seemed pleased with this revelation. Self-consciousness washed over her like a bucket of ice water. The words had just slipped out. Outwardly keeping her composure, she shrugged. “Not friends exactly. More like two people who have often found an alliance to be mutually beneficial.”
Bewilderment pulled his brows together.
“We’re partners. Occasionally.” She stated coolly.
“I see,” He replied, his tone mirroring hers, “Well, thank you, nevertheless.” She thought she saw disappointment briefly flash in his expression before he hurried away to walk beside Vaughn. Quickly, the two were deep in conversation, Fiona apparently forgotten.
Feeling guilty, she tried to make sense of what just happened. She hadn’t meant to be standoffish. The real truth of the matter was, she didn’t know how she would define her relationship with Rhys. So much had changed in the time they had known each other. Initially, he was just supposed to be another mark, a footnote in the ledger of her life. But when plans had gone awry and she had been forced to work with him, a trust had formed, one that she had never expected.
But after opening the vault, they had no common ground to meet on anymore, no more shared purpose. He, as a fledgling CEO, was forging his own path through the corporate sector, and she, a newly minted vault hunter, was trying to make a good impression among her new colleagues. The two of them would never have had to see each other again, if they chose.
In fact, prior to her invitation to party up and go treasure hunting again, she had convinced herself she had forgotten about him. But when she’d learned about this abandoned Atlas research center, something had clicked in her, and her first thoughts had been of Rhys; not what artifacts or weapons were hidden inside or how much money she was going to make, but of him. Now, being here, on another adventure with him alongside, she had realized that she’d missed him, or, at least, missed this camaraderie. The feeling rested like a stone in her gut, warm and heavy. Uncertain as to what to do or how to feel about it, she decided the best course of action was to ignore it for now. There would be time for that later.
As they continued into the next large annex of the facility, they discovered the compound branched off into separate areas. Looking around, Fiona could see that steel containment doors had closed over each one, sealing off access. There was no way forward, just the hall they had come from.
“Great. What do we do now?” Sasha grumbled.
Rhys set about examining the face of one of the doors. To Fiona, it appeared impenetrable, solid, and immobile.
“I think I know how to open these.” Rhys said. “I bet after this place was abandoned it went into lockdown. My guess is it was a default protocol and happened with the loss of power. From the looks of things, I’d say the entire complex is running on reserves; power only being used for vital needs.”
“So how do we get the power back up?” Vaughn asked.
“If we can find a security console, I should be able to restart the generators that will power up the whole place.” Rhys shrugged. “Then it would be as simple as pushing a button to unlock all these doors at once.”
“Where would we find that?” Fiona had to admit his idea did sound less laborious than trying to pry each one of the doors apart individually, which had been her first idea.
“There’s a map thingy over here.” Across the room, Sasha was studying a raised plate on the wall just to the left of one of the doors. “It looks like we passed a secondary security office as we were coming in. I guess we must have missed it.”
“That might work.” Rhys said.
“Fine. C’mon, Rhys. Let’s find that console.” Fiona turned on her heel, heading back the way they had come.
“Hey, what about us?” Sasha called out.
Fiona spun around but continued walking backwards. “Stay here. We’ll only be gone a minute. And don’t go poking around without me once the doors are open.” She warned, slitting her gaze at her sister. “Vaughn, keep an eye on her for me.”
Vaughn smirked and fired off a salute as he said, “You got it, Boss.” Sasha turned away, rolling her eyes and muttering.
Fiona glanced at Rhys to make sure he was in tow. He was frowning again; he seemed distracted, his attention elsewhere.
“Hey, hot shot. Let’s go.” She waved an arm, beckoning him to follow her.
Side by side, they traveled back, but now in a strained silence. Uncomfortable, Fiona decided she should say something. Trying to be cordial, she said, “Guess you’re coming in handy after all.” She smiled, wanting him to warm to her again. “You’re going to save us a lot of time and headache.”
“Yeah,” he replied quietly, “It seems our alliance is once again ‘mutually beneficial.’”
Hearing her own words echoed back at her stung. Before she could reply, however, he stopped. “Here it is,” he said.
The door was quite well hidden as Fiona had walked past it twice now without spotting it. It sat flush with the wall and there was no handle. Beside it was a hand scanner, the panel dark and inactive. Rhys pried the front face plate away, exposing a tangled nest of wires inside. Quickly, he identified two different colored wires, stripped away some of the plastic coating, and wrapped them together. Enclosing the bond in his cybernetic hand, a soft spark sounded, and Fiona felt the hairs on her arm stand up with electricity. With a muted thud, the door swung inward.
She had to admit she was impressed. Eyebrows raised, she caught his eye, a question forming on her lips.
“I’ve learned some new tricks,” he said. Clearly, pleased with himself, he stood a little straighter as he headed inside.
They entered a short, narrow corridor, which lead them to their destination. The room was tiny and dim, made more cramped by the expanse of monitors that covered the upper portion of the opposing wall, under which sat a large console outfitted with a keyboard and a slightly smaller screen set into it. Two metal chairs lay broken on the floor, pushed into a corner. A bulletin board was tacked up on the left, assorted announcements, notices, and safety warnings smattered across it. Below that sat a series of file cabinets. ‘A little old school’ Fiona thought. A small table with coffee paraphernalia was on the right. She recognized the machine as a similar model to the one they had found at the Atlas biodome where they had met Cassius. A memory from that time, one of Athena’s surprising desperation for a latte surfaced, making Fiona smile. She would have to remember to check if this one still worked. It would make a great belated wedding gift for her friend.
Rhys went immediately to the large console. Over his shoulder, Fiona could see a short, fat line flashing faintly but steadily at the bottom of the screen. Rhys exhaled a sigh of relief.
“Good news?” she inquired.
“Yeah. It’s getting enough power to initialize start up.”
With a few taps of the keys, a soft gray glow emitted from the wall of screens as they flickered to life. A flood of green numbers started flowing upward on the console monitor.
“Oh crap.” Rhys muttered.
“What?” Fiona stepped closer to his side. “What now?”
“The entire server mainframe is corrupted.” He glanced at her; his ECHO eye glowing brighter.
“Can you fix it?”
“Yeah. It’s just going to take longer than I thought. I’m going to have to reboot the system with my own interface. The connection should be secure, but I might have to ---”
Fiona held up a hand, urging him to stop. “Just get to it.”
With a flick of his wrist, he opened a screen on the palm of his cybernetic hand; his other hand already flying across the keyboard.
“Nerd,” Fiona mumbled. Looking for something to pass the time, her attention fell to the file cabinets. ‘Hmm. Maybe I can find some secrets here,’ she pondered.
They worked quietly, the silence only interrupted by the hum of the computer and an occasional beep as Rhys progressed. Opening drawer after drawer, she searched through each cabinet, pulling every file and rifling through its papers. Most of the contents were about employee complaints or accident reports. In total, there wasn’t much of importance to be found.
Fiona went through the files twice, just to be sure, before giving up. Rising from where she had been hunched over a lower drawer, she stretched; then shuffled over to Rhys, again watching over his shoulder as he worked. Numbers and letters still filled the monitor. If there was a pattern to it, Fiona would never have guessed. It seemed just as unruly as before.
“Making any headway?” she asked. Turning to face him, she leaned back against a portion of the console. Arms crossed, she figured he would be much more interesting to watch while she waited.
“Hmm?” His gaze flicked her way before returning to the screen. “Oh. Yeah. Almost done.”
Trying to be subtle, she tilted her head and observed him through her eyelashes, as she pretended to examine her nail polish. Very little about him had changed, she noticed. He still had quite the questionable fashion sense; there was no denying that; although, he did have a nice haircut. He looked a little older, maybe a little more tired around the eyes but mostly the same as before. Memories sprang forth, bringing an unexpectedly bittersweet nostalgia. The two of them had come a long way together, traveled many miles.
Shaking off the melancholy that teased at the edge of her thoughts, she pulled focus back to her study of him. His eyebrows were lowered in concentration. The stream of code reflected off his eyes, making him look entranced by the information. His mouth was pursed in a cute little pout, one that she had seen many times before.
She found herself hypnotized by his lips, the strangest idea forming in her mind. She wondered what they felt like. They looked soft, tempting. She imagined tracing her finger over the curve of his bottom lip, taking it between her own in a kiss, nibbling at its plumpness. She fancied he would make a sound as she tantalized him, maybe a gentle groan, a gasp, or a whimper.
Startled out of the reverie by an intense throb of arousal, she wrenched her eyes away. A blush settled over her entire body, heating her skin. ‘Where the hell had that come from,’ she thought.
Horrified by the intensity of her reaction, she scoured her brain for an explanation. Sure, she had come to recognize that she enjoyed his company. Additionally, she supposed she could concede that he was physically attractive, even if he was a corporate goon, always had been and forever would be; therefore, making him definitely NOT her type. ‘He has a nice face,’ she admitted. That should have been it. He was a handsome man that she had, kind of, grown, maybe, a little fond of. But that didn’t really explain her yearning to know if he was a good kisser or why she had an almost uncontrollable urge to wrap him in a tight embrace and just breathe in his scent. She had never before entertained the idea of anything beyond a platonic friendship or partnership or whatever it was that they were to each other. Or could it be that she previously hadn’t allowed herself to think about the possibility of more?
Even though she was frightened by this new train of thought, she couldn’t stop from digging through the memories of their shared history in search of the truth. Images of him came flooding in one after another: how dorky he’d looked standing around with only one boot on and his silly printed sock peeking out from under his pants leg; the lingering look he had given her, when he probably thought she wouldn’t notice, after she had changed in preparation for the trip to Helios; how scared he had been to crawl upwards through that deathtrap into Jack’s office; the exasperated expression he pulled when she teased him about his ‘bro’; the pain he’d tried to hide when recounting his experiences after Helios fell, how determined he’d been to beat her in their race to enter the Vault of the Traveler, the plea she read in his eyes when he asked her who should open the box they discovered within.
Each memory pushed her closer and closer to a conclusion. Heart hammering wildly, she realized that, deep down, hidden away even from her, she had developed feelings for this stupid jerk; soft, warm, inviting, horrible, terrifying feelings.
Rattled by this revelation, she jumped when Rhys let out a victorious whoop.
“Got it!” He pumped a fist into the air. “Man, I am a genius.”
Swallowing down the lump that had formed in her throat, she pushed away from the console.
“Great.” She made tracks for the door, desperate to escape. The room suddenly felt a lot smaller and he seemed to be taking up all the air. “Let’s go.”
“Wait, Fiona. I haven’t opened the doors yet. I’ve only gotten the building back online so far.”
Confused and anxious, she turned around. Attempting to cover her emotions, she huffed impatiently.
“C’mon then.” she demanded. “Hurry up. We have to catch up with Sasha and Vaughn.”
She was unable to look him in the eye, afraid that her secrets would be laid bare. She fidgeted, tucking the streak of red in her hair behind her ear, a habit she’d developed as a self-conscious child.
Oddly, he suddenly seemed equally nervous. Color rose in his cheeks.
“Before I do that, there’s-- Uh-- I wanted to talk to you about something.” He ran a hand over the back of his neck, a tell of his she had learned that indicated when he was feeling uncertain. It had been a handy piece of knowledge that had aided her many times in kicking his butt at cards.
“About what?” She was alarmed at the sympathy that welled up inside her, once again, at the sight of his discomfort. Annoyed, she admonished herself for her weakness and tried to ignore the urge to touch him, to put him at ease.
“Actually, it’s more like I wanted to ask you something.” he haltingly corrected.
“Okay. What?” Now she truly was growing impatient, not only with him but with herself. He was too close in this tiny room, clouding her mind with all these feelings. She wanted to put some space between them, to get back to the reason they were here, anything to distract her from the discovery she had made and how it seemed to magnify every little sweet and dorky thing about him.
“Are you--” he halted, swallowed, and tried again. “I think--- Um.”
“Spit it out, Rhys,” she snapped, her nerves frayed. Hands balled into fists, she wanted to hit him right in his stupid, beautiful face for making her feel anything for him.
“Is there something going on between you and Vaughn?” he blurted, the words rushing out in a jumble.
Dumbstruck, Fiona was speechless, her brain abruptly blank. Silence stretched for a moment.
“I mean, are you—or has he—” he started.
“What?” She raised her hand, interrupting him. Her thoughts were desperately racing to catch up.
“I asked if there was something—”
“I heard you, “she clarified. “Why would you ask me that?”
Looking a little insulted, Rhys stood up straighter. “Because Vaughn is my best friend. He’s like family to me. He’s my bro and I’m looking out for him.”
Even through the boundless confusion she was experiencing, a warmth spread throughout Fiona’s chest. His loyalty was touching.
As the ridiculousness of the situation registered, a laugh bubbled up inside her. A chuckle escaped despite her best efforts to stamp it down.
“What’s so funny?” Rhys demanded, hands on his hips.
“Nothing, nothing. I just-- it’s nothing.” She bit her lip, trying to get herself under control. “I’m sorry.”
Somewhat mollified, he relaxed. “So, are you going to answer me? About you and Vaughn?”
Clearing the giggle from her throat, she asked, “What makes you think there’s something going on?”
He looked uncomfortable again, put on the spot. “Well, I mean, you’re nice to him.”
Baffled once more, Fiona couldn’t think of a response. Nice to him? She was nice to everyone. Well, most people. Actually, if she was being honest, it was probably more like a handful of people.
Rhys started to pace, filling in the blanks as he babbled. “You complimented him earlier. You obviously trust him. I mean, you wanted him here to help you. You asked him to watch over Sasha while you were gone.”
Fiona watched him, travelling back and forth. His long legs took him from one side to the next in two strides. She considered his words, the implications he saw in the simple interactions of the past few hours, trying to find a connection.
“And then way back when LB brought us all together, you gave Vaughn a hug when you realized it was him. I mean, just for comparison, you kicked sand in my face, insulted my haircut, punched me in the neck, and spit on me within the first few days of our reunion.”
His explanation continued but Fiona tuned him out; her concentration focusing in on what he just said. A seed of thought took root in her mind. Could he be jealous?
‘He is jealous,’ she thought with a strange combination of trepidation and flattery swirling through her. Rhys was jealous of how she treated Vaughn. That had to be it. Why else would he catalogue her actions with his friend and then compare those to her interactions with him? He had to be jealous, right?
Or was she reading too much into this, searching for the possibility that he might have feelings for her too? Doubt crept in, itching along her skin. Was she that desperate, that she could misconstrue his honest observations? Pulling herself back to reality, she realized, no matter the truth of the other matters, she had to set him straight on one point.
“Rhys.” She spoke his name, stopping him in his tracks. His commentary trailed off as he looked at her, questions in his eyes. “There’s isn’t now, nor has there ever been, something between Vaughn and me. He’s a good guy, a great friend that I’m very lucky to have met. But that’s it. I swear.”
Relief, unmistakable and naked, washed over his face. Just as quickly as it was there, it vanished as he composed himself.
“Oh. I see,” he said. “Okay.” An awkward tension sunk in.
“I suppose that settles that.” With an embarrassed chuckle, he turned back to the console. “Guess I better get those doors open.”
Fiona stood fixed to the spot. Nothing was settled for her, not in the least. She couldn’t shake the idea that Rhys might be hiding a secret. Her mind worried at it like a loose thread on a shirt.
“So all I have to do is slide this, push that. Aaaaand ooopen.” He sang out. “We are all set.” He beamed with pride as he turned around once more. At the sight of her own expression, he sobered immediately.
“Listen, Fiona,” he started, “I realize I probably shouldn’t have said anything. It wasn’t—isn’t my place to ask you such a personal question, even if it involved my bro. I’m sorry.” He put both hands in front of him as if in surrender. “Can we just forget the whole thing?”
Fiona could visualize the choices that were presented before her. On one hand, she could bury her recent revelations deep within, shrug her shoulders, accept his apology with some mild teasing, get back to the objective at hand, and go on with the rest of her life. Alternatively, she could admit her feelings for him, and take a chance. The first option did seem the easiest. It was most definitely the safest, for her and her heart. But, then again, she had never really been one for safety or taking the easy road.
“Rhys, I’m not interested in Vaughn because---”
“I know. I know. It was stupid of me to assume. I really shouldn’t have said any—”
“Will you shut up and let me finish?” She chided him.
He quieted down, closing his mouth.
Taking a deep breath, she started over. “I’m not interested in Vaughn because I’m interested in,” She paused, unsure how to approach what she wanted to say next, “someone else.”
To his credit, he remained silent; his only reaction being a slight raise of his brows.
“It’s --- uh,” Uncharacteristically, she felt a jolt of nerves that halted her from finishing the sentence. One more tiny word but she couldn’t say it. It was stuck to her tongue.
Trying to work around it, she started speaking, hoping the words would make sense. “It’s someone that I’ve known for a while, but I didn’t realize how I felt about them until, well, recently.” A trace of a smile curved her lips.
“Honestly,” she continued, “I never would have thought that I would ever feel this way about anyone, but it’s even more surprising that it’s...him” She finished lamely. Her eyes darted away, ashamed of her cowardice. “Seriously, the last person I would have guessed. I mean, back in the beginning, if you’d told me that I would be here now, feeling this way, I would have laughed and called you crazy. But uh--” Realizing she could be getting a little too carried away with this train of thought, she rushed on. “But in hindsight, I might have been too harsh in my initial judgment. I can see now that the circumstances under which we first met weren’t exactly ideal. I mean, nobody imagines their meet-cute being a con deal gone sour.”
Once again, the words had slipped out without her thinking. She peeked at him out of the side of her eye, wondering if he had caught the clue. Her heartbeat was booming loudly in her ears, while apprehension roiled in her stomach.
“Hmm.” He just stood there, scratching at the back of his head. “So—uh. Who is it? Is it someone I know?” he asked. “I mean, have I met them?”
Flustered, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Yes.”
“Oh.” He was still for a moment, concentrating. Suddenly, his eyes widened. Here it was, the moment of truth. Uncertainty prickled through her as she was afraid of what he would say next.
“Does— does Sasha know?” he asked.
Surprised at the question, she cautiously answered, “I don’t really know. Maybe.” Fiona thought back to when she had told Sasha about inviting Rhys on this expedition and the smirk her sister had flashed. Sasha did like to tease her about him, hinting at something that Fiona, herself, had never given the time of day. That is, until now.
“Well, I think you should tell her, you know, about how you feel.” He suggested. “I mean, in a weird way, she did kind of date him. She might have an opinion.”
Her brows creased in bewilderment. “Wait. What?”
“I don’t think she would be too upset about it because it was so long ago, and I don’t know if there was even anything real between them, but it’s probably best that, when she learns about it, she hears it from you.” he continued, shrugging. “I don’t know. She’s your sister. You would know better than I would.”
Completely perplexed, Fiona had to ask, “Rhys, what are you talking about?”
“What do you mean?” He wore a puzzled expression that mirrored her own. “I thought we were talking about this person you’re interested in.”
“Wait a minute.” She paused, collecting herself. “Who do you think I’m referring to?”
“I thought you were talking about August.”
The idea was so profoundly out of nowhere, Fiona stammered as she asked, “What? Why?”
“I don’t know. I guess, I just assumed.”
She brought a hand to her forehead, struggling to process how he could have come to that conclusion.
“What? I mean, he’s someone you’ve known for a while,” he elaborated, “You met him when you were trying to run that fake vault key con and we both know how that ended.”
“I get it. I get it.” Fiona shook her head. “God, I’m not talking about August. I haven’t even thought about him in – I don’t know how long.”
“Okay. Okay.” He paused, thinking for a moment. “But if it is someone I know or have met and it’s not Vaughn or August, who else is there?” He looked genuinely confused. It was actually kind of adorable.
This conversation was certainly turning into quite the experience. Truthfully, she had to admit she was amused.
“You honestly don’t know?” she asked, laughing. It seemed so obvious to her.
Frustration flashed in his eyes as he frowned. “No.”
She caught his gaze and her laughter melted into a sly smile. It was an undeniable fact that he was cute when he got worked up. An electric tickle ran down her spine. The sensation urged her to be more reckless, to have a little fun. She took a step closer to him, her focus like a laser.
“Are you sure, Rhys?” she teased.
“Positive.”
“Hmm. What if I give you some clues?” she asked, coyly tilting her head to the side.
He shrugged, trying to act indifferent but she could sense his curiosity simmering. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, Fiona.”
Not in the least bit discouraged, she advanced another foot forward as she continued, “This man, the one I’m interested in, he’s smart, although a little oblivious.”
Her body hummed with an interesting tension, one she wanted to explore, to define. “Surprisingly, he’s loyal to the people he cares about.”
Holding his stare, she felt an energy exchange between them; something scary in its intensity, unknown but enticing. She was certain he could feel it too. He had to. Right?
She took another step. “He’s gentle but has an unexpected strength.”
She wanted to touch him, to smooth her hands across his chest, to outline the rise and fall of the tattoo that peeked out from within his shirt.
Another step. “He’s kind.”
Her fingers tingled with the desire. She imagined tracing the line of his jaw, tempting him in for a kiss, sharing a breath.
Closer still. Her words came out on a whisper. “He’s brave.”
Intoxicated by the fantasy she had built, she was near giving in, pulling him to her, sealing her lips over his, showing him exactly who she wanted, when he closed his eyes, turned away, and shut her out.
“Rhys?” Momentarily lost, she hesitated. Blood pulsed in her ears; her heart beating so hard.
Reality came crashing in as he spoke. “Wow, Fiona. You got me. Very funny.” He forced a laugh. “I get it now.” He was clearly upset; his tone colored with hurt and aggravation.
“You get what?” she asked, breathless. Once more, they were not on the same page. She struggled to understand, wanting to know what happened.
“I overstepped my bounds when I questioned you about Vaughn and you’re teasing me about it. Can we just drop it? Please.”
“Rhys, I’m not joking. You know, I’d appreciate it if you would take this seriously,” she snapped when he shook his head as if in disbelief. Her temper flared. He couldn’t honestly be that dense. “Are you telling me that the man I just described doesn’t remind you of anyone?”
He spun back around; irritation apparent in the entirety of his body. Startled, she shifted back a step. “Yeah. It sounds like Vaughn. He’s strong, kind, caring, brave.” He spit the last word out as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. “And since you were pretty convincing earlier on your feelings about him, you must be leading me on, telling me there’s someone else, making me think that it could be m—” He stopped short, a blush flooding his face. Fiona blinked in surprise. He looked away, cleared his throat. “I see now that you’re just, I don’t know, trying to teach me a lesson or something; maybe just having a laugh at my expense, I guess. Either way, I get it, Fiona. Message received. I’ll stay out of your business from now on.”
He tried to head for the door but was halted by the small hand, topped with brightly painted nails, held against his chest. Their eyes met.
“God. You are so clueless.” She muttered, pushing him backwards. His back connected with the wall with a soft thud. Temper pulsed through her. Without a second thought, she gripped handfuls of his collar and yanked him down to her level.
“It’s you,” she hissed. “You’re the one I’m interested in, you dumb ass.” Then she kissed him.
It wasn’t soft or tender or anything at all like how she had imagined. It was firm and unyielding. She was trying to prove her point in a way that even he could understand. Her lips pressed into his stiffly, both their bodies rigid.
Almost immediately, the rush of aggravation that had blinded her subsided, and she came to her senses. ‘Oh my god. What am I doing?’ Her thoughts screamed. Obviously, she’d just made a huge mistake.
She replayed the last few moments. Panic spooled his words out in a mess of sounds. It played over and over in her head, all tangled and tinted with ugly doubt. He wasn’t stupid. He was being sincere. It was she who was reading too much into everything, conjuring up a deeper connection, exactly as she had been afraid of. He couldn’t fathom the idea that she was interested in him because he never thought of her in that manner. With a sick feeling of dread, it all made sense. Of course, he didn’t think of her as anything other than, at best, a friend. She had always been a little mean to him, more because of what he represented than who he was. Later she would have to think more on that.
But not now. Right now, she had to find a way to extricate herself from what was becoming the most embarrassing moment of her life. Maybe if she stepped back, straightened his shirt for him, and apologized, he wouldn’t notice when she melted into a bubbling stew of mortification and shame.
As she was busy trying to think of how she was going to survive the humiliation of this encounter and the rejection that was sure to come, the most unexpected thing happened. He kissed her back.
Fiona was so astonished; her eyes opened. She could see his were closed, the fringe of his eyelashes resting against his cheeks. He had relaxed into her, loosening his muscles. His hands made a trail over her arms, snagging on the folds of her jacket, before curling around the back of her shoulders, gently coaxing her in.
Her heart flipped, her chest seeming to expand with light. Her fingers unclenched as she felt the strain ease away. Her lips softened against his. With a tilt of the head, their kiss shifted into something more intimate. Shutting her eyes again, she basked in the sensations, the meeting, the parting, the tease, the flirtation. The touch of his kiss, the silky rub of his lips against hers was even better than she had imagined.
She felt him cradle her right cheek. The rough pad of his thumb ran gently over the corner of her mouth, urging her to open to him. She did so willingly, anticipation driving out all other thoughts in her mind. With a caress of his tongue across her bottom lip, he was asking permission to come a little closer, to feel a little more. The temptation was too much for her. Pouring everything into it, she kissed him deeply, thoroughly. She held nothing back. Arms around his neck, fingers driving through his hair, she clung to him like a raft on a stormy sea. Misplaced by her movements, his hands fell to her hips before banding around her back, drawing her tighter against him. They kissed, drunk on the exploration of each other.
Slowly, the passion burned down to embers as they had to catch their breath. They became gentler, smoother, less frantic. Rhys pressed kisses along her jaw before nuzzling against her ear, causing her to giggle girlishly. If she had been in her right mind, she knew she would have been disgusted with herself. But she wasn’t. She was lost, hopeless, and happy. Unfortunately, cold reality was quick to rush back in, reminding her that they were here for a reason and they needed to get back on track. With one last tender kiss, she stepped away, putting space between their overheated bodies.
“We really should to head back.” She said reluctantly, running her fingers through her bangs. Her cheeks felt flushed, her lips tender, and her body had a strange sensation of being too heavy to move but so light she felt she could fly away.
With a groan, Rhys agreed. Taking in the sight of him slumped against the wall, Fiona was overcome by satisfaction. He looked so good. His hair was ruffled from her touch, his jacket wrinkled. His eyes were half shut in a blissful expression as he took in a shuttering breath. His tongue darted out to moisten his bottom lip, leaving behind a glistening reflection. It took all her strength not to walk into his embrace and lose herself in him for a second time. Steeling her spine, she turned to the door.
As they began the trek back, they settled into silence, letting the events of the past few moments sink in. Catching each other’s glances out of the corner of their eyes, they exchanged embarrassed smiles. The tips of Fiona’s ears burned thinking of how good it all felt. Desire, the craving to kiss him again, to feel him again, suffused through her. She briefly thought about abandoning this little scavenger hunt they were on. Mentally, she scolded herself. She couldn’t believe she had even thought about giving up a payday. And for Rhys, no less. She was definitely going to need to process this soon, preferably at a time when her little sister wasn’t awaiting her return, impatiently, no doubt. Trying to distract herself, she focused on Sasha now. What was she going to think?
“Fiona?” She felt him catch her arm, pulling her from her thoughts.
“Hmm?” She could see he had something on his mind too, so she paused and gave him her full attention.
“Can I ask you something?”
“I swear, Rhys, if this is about Vaughn, the answer is no.” she joked.
He rolled his eyes, “No. It’s not that.” His expression shifted, showing a vulnerability she had rarely seen before. “Those things you said, you know, the things you said about...” He hesitated, a hand coming to rest at the back of his neck. “I mean, you were talking about me. Right?”
She felt a tug at her heart. A smile came to her lips. “Yes.”
“Um. Did you mean them? Do you actually think I’m—that I’m brave?” He was so earnest. In this moment, Fiona could feel herself falling a little harder for him. ‘This man,’ she thought, ‘what the hell am I going to do?’
“Rhys,” She took his hand into hers. “You are one of the bravest people I know.”
A grin broke over his face, the apples of his cheek brightening to a rosy shade.
“C’mon,” she urged. Without releasing his hand, she began walking again. “Let’s find some treasure, so we can get out of here.”
“I like the sound of that.” His voice was a drawl, so soft she almost didn’t hear it. Looking his way, she saw his eyes were on their paired hands. It was her turn to blush.
Once they reached the intersection where they had left Sasha and Vaughn, Fiona was unsurprised to find that the two had disappeared, now that the doors were all wide open. The spaces within were brightly lit; their secrets laid bare. The temptation to explore would have been too much, even for her.
“Looks like they ditched us.” Rhys observed, gaze traveling around the room.
A scrape of metal against metal sounded in the distance. Following the noise, they came around a corner to discover Sasha and Vaughn sitting side by side at a worktable, heads bent together over some piece of gadgetry. Components of varying size, shape, and color littered the surface of the table. Vaughn held the lump of machinery a little closer, scrutinizing it intently, before pointing something out to Sasha. In turn, Sasha leaned closer, her shoulder brushing against Vaughn’s. Her eyes met his momentarily before scuttling away. A flustered look settled over each of their faces.
Fiona held Rhys’ arm, halting him before the two had noticed them. Confused, he looked back at her. With a smirk, she nodded towards the couple. He paused, watching the scene unfolding before him. At Sasha’s request, Vaughn passed the item to her, their fingers brushing, bringing more color to their cheeks. As Sasha began examining the piece of metal, Vaughn propped an elbow on the table, his body shifting to face her more directly. As he rested his chin in his hand, he made a comment Fiona couldn’t hear that caused Sasha to laugh, the sound of which echoed off the walls; her face opening into a surprised and delighted smile.
Everything about the two, their body language, the tension that floated between them, screamed of a mutual attraction. Fiona was pleased to see her sister enjoying herself. As she had told Rhys earlier, she thought Vaughn was a good man. She could approve of him for her sister, if that was the way things went.
Looking to Rhys now, she whispered, “Looks like you were worried about the wrong sister.”
His gaze came to hers, then went back to the pair, met hers again. With a simple sincerity, he stated, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”