Page 110 of Captured Immune

The next time I see Katie, I’ll have to thank her profusely. Not only did she help save Arella’s life, she saved mine too. Without her knowledge, we definitely would have left earlier. Then the Royals would have found us outside and Katie’s premonition would have come true.

To continue waiting out the sunlight, Arella and I head to the love seat to rest. So far, we haven’t heard any stomping, and I hope we never do.

For a while, Arella cuddles with me in silence. She’s sitting between my legs with her back flush against my front and her head resting against my chest. Tenderly, I play with her hands, grateful to be this close to her again.

Things are quiet as I enjoy the feel of her body against mine, especially since my ribs no longer ache. Earlier, when she fell asleep on my shoulder on the bus, it hurt like hell to stay in that position, but I didn’t care. I would have rather ached as her pillow than been more comfortable away from her.

I’ve never been one to enjoy silence. It’s hard for me to be alone with my thoughts. Whenever I am, my mind spirals into reminding me what a worthless human I am, walking around without a reason to live. I felt that way until Arella came into my life. With her, I not only enjoy silence but prefer it. She calms my mind in ways I can’t explain. With her, I have a purpose. She’s my reason to live.

Arella breaks the silence. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Tell you what?”

“That Katie had a premonition about your death. You freaked out when you saw those waving cats, and you said nothing.”

“I didn’t wanna scare you.”

She tilts her head back to look at me. “Trey, how am I supposed to protect you when you keep information like that from me?”

“I’mthe one who’s supposed to protectyou.”

Her mouth draws into a hard frown. “Why can’t we protect each other?”

“I don’t want you to worry about me.”

She turns around to straddle my lap, and I’m not mad about it. I even pull her in closer, keeping my hands around her hips. Gently, she caresses the back of my head with her nails, sending tingles down my spine. “Will you make me a promise?”

My gut instinct is to say yes because I want to give this woman anything she wants, but I can’t lie to her. There are certain things I won’t promise her, and they mostly involve anything that goes against her safety. “Depends what it is.”

“Will you promise me that from now on, we’ll be a team? You protect me, and I’ll protect you.”

Something is tugging at my lips, because I can’t stop them from smiling. “Is it really that important to you to protect me?”

She creases her face together like I’m an idiot. “Victor got me to project my immunity onto you by trying to murder you in front of me. What does that tell you?”

Good point.“I’ll make you that promise on one condition.”

“What?”

“You have to promise me that we’ll be a team—forever. I protect you, and you protect me—forever. Deal?”

She beams and nods. “Deal.”

“Oh, and also, promise me that if someone’s throwing an element ball at me, you won’t jump in front of it.”

“Deal.”

“And promise me that you’ll never try to abandon me at a gas station ever again.”

She nods again. “Deal.”

“Great. Now can I also go back to calling youbabe?”

Her lips curve into a warm smile. “I’d like that.”

I don’t realize my hand is clutching her face, guiding her toward me, until my mouth is already consuming hers. My kisses start off tender—light pressure, short breaths, and gentle touches—until suddenly, I’m not gentle anymore. I pant as I claw at her body to come closer to mine, because even when she’s straddling me, she’s not close enough.

“Trey...” She moans as I lay her over the couch cushions and climb on top of her. I put a leg on either side of her hips, then attack her neck with my lips. Her soft hands reach under my shirt, clawing at my abs.

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