B Cubed #3 Borg by Jenna McCormick Page B

who hurt me. So there’s no point in talking about it.”
                “Yet
he haunts you.” His eyes were like lasers on hers. “I know what it’s like, to
have my every step dogged by a ghost.”
                She
shivered at the expression he wore. Memories fought to escape the vault she’d
stuffed them in, but she was too uncomfortably aware of him to give way to a
panic.
                Abruptly,
he strode to the rock, picked up his clothes and pulled them on. He reached for
her thermals and flipped them over. “These need a few minutes to dry yet.” He
moved toward the mouth of the cave.
                He
was going to leave her, just like that? “Wait!”
                He
paused, glanced at her over his shoulder. “I’m going to get Lily out of the
tunneler, as well as a few supplies. You’ll be safe enough here. Stay by the
fire and keep warm.”
                She
watched him melt into the darkness. Though his orders chafed, every part of her
seemed to ache and it was unbearably cold without her clothes.  Or without
Berrick to keep her warm. She moved to the floor in front of the fire and held
out her hands to the heat. They warmed slowly, then grew hot, even as her back
froze. She rose and turned around, trying to warm the other half of her, even
as her nipples puckered in the cold. The ultimate no-win situation.
    Just like her life.
                The
life Berrick had saved. Twice. And was out braving the cold in what amounted to
rags to retrieve her dog. That wasn’t the kind of thing a manipulative bastard
would do, was it?
                Sage
turned again and stared into the flames as though they held the answers she
sought. She’d been naked and unconscious. Totally at his mercy and yet he’d
just held her, kept her warm and safe. Maybe she really could trust him.
                She
heard a bark and scrambled for her thermals. Even if they were still damp, she
would rather wear them than sit around naked under his heated gaze. She’s just
pulled up the zipper when Lily rushed into the cave, little claws clicking on
the stone floor. Berrick was right behind her, a pack slung over one arm.
                “Hey
baby,” she cooed to her dog. Her eyes filled with tears at the sight of Lily’s
wriggling little form. She scooped her up and buried her face into the wiry
fur, letting it hide her tears. If Berrick really was psychic, he knew she was
crying, but was gentleman enough not to say anything about it.
                He
did scowl at her clothes though. “You’re shivering.”
                “I’ll
be fine,” she pushed the words out through chattering teeth and plucked at the
clammy fabric to keep it from molding to her breasts.
                “Stubborn
woman,” he dropped the pack on the floor and retrieved one of the blankets.
“Put this on if you feel the need to cover yourself. Though you don’t have to
on my account. I’ve seen all of you there is to see.”
                She
blushed, turning away from him with the blanket clutched in one hand. Her body
wasn’t impressive by any standards, other than her height, which was just
freaky. Too tall, too plump and currently battered and bruised from their
ordeal. But Berrick looked at her as though she was a fine treasure worthy of
study. 
                She
studied him, where he crouched by the fire, opening a can of some sort. “I owe
you a thank you.”
                “What
for?” He didn’t look up from his task.
                She’d
lost count of the reasons for her gratitude.  “For everything. You’ve been
decent to me since we first met, even when I’ve been a less than ideal
companion. Most men wouldn’t have bothered to come after me when I took off
like that.”
                He
did look up then. “I’m not most