Free Redeemed In Shadows by Tigris Eden Page B

heat of his breath fanned her cheek, her hands unwillingly locked around his neck in a tight grip as she held on to him and waited to reach the bottom.
    ”I’m sorry Blossom. It didn’t occur to me you couldn’t see. I’m usually the only one down here.”
    “Duh! I’m human aside from my Para-housed. I don’t have any special powers. I can’t see shit!”
    She felt his body shake and knew he was trying to hold in his laughter. He was so warm and hard in all the right places that she had to adjust her own hands, because they were no longer around his neck, but pressed against the wall of his well-muscled chest. He whispered something in a language she didn’t understand, and then there was light.
    Xee’s eyes adjusted to the room. She realized very quickly that although she was holding onto Gabe, there was nothing holding on to him. There was no floor and from what she could tell, no ceiling. She clutched him tighter; this time instead of his neck, she was clawing his shoulders.
    “What the hell Angel Boy?” She practically screamed. He didn’t respond, but pulled her tighter so that her body was flush against his. Blood roared in her ears and fire filled her veins with something she’d never expected. Need. For a man. She was having all kinds of feeling for the opposite sex, and that just never happened. Sure, she was attracted to them, but she never acted on her desires. Women were easier to manage, whereas men wanted to control every aspect of any sort of arrangement they entered into. “Who said we were entering into an arrangement?”
    She ignored Micah.
    “I assumed you could see in the dark,’ he whispered along the shell of her ear. Her eyes closed on their own accord as his arms tightened around her waist. He flew them to the safety of the stairs. The stairs that had a very sharp curve that if one were to walk in the dark, they’d fall right off its ledge. She took in her surroundings; the stairs were embedded into the wall of the mountain that continued its descent disappearing into nothing.
    “Where are we?”
    “Inside the H.I.V.E. It’s a catacomb of interlocking systems that connect to different places. It houses command central, but before that it was mostly used as a travel system energized by part of the Earth’s core. The magnetic field allows for travel.”
    Xee looked around.
    “I don’t see any magma around here and it’s not hot either.” It was moist, maybe a bit humid but for the most part, it wasn’t suffocating. His smile was desire inducing, and to block out the need that was building, she bit her lip hard until she was sure she tasted blood.
    “That’s because what you refer to as magma is part of the core. Like any living organisms there are defenses, some natural other’s not so natural. The Earth’s defense is its magma. There is no threat with us here, therefore no magma. I don’t have time to give you a lesson, but the Earth’s true core is a little more complicated and a lot more dangerous.” He hesitated a heartbeat before he made one last comment. “And stop biting your lip, it distracts me.”
    He should be one to talk.
    They made their way down the stairs and with the light now guiding their way, she marveled at all she saw. Blue florescent light swirled in waves, as they got closer to the bottom. It was like an ocean of blue fire, only it wasn’t hot.
    “Next time when you come down, and you’re alone. Repeat these words. Forae duc tor blare.”
    “Um, you’re gonna need to write that down Angel Boy.”
    He stared at her for a moment, eyeing her again from head to toe before raising his arrogant brow in question and kept moving forward. Much later, they reached the bottom going through another door. The blue light below was abundant with life. She could see that now that she was closer. Things she’d never seen before, some beautiful, other’s downright nightmarish.
    “In here.”
    Gabe pulled open a metal door and lights illuminated a row of