Chapter 21Berus

Chapter 21

Berus

Berus buried his face into Cami's hair and inhaled deeply, wishing he could bottle her scent and douse his room aboard the Revenge with it.

They had the seats leaned back all the way, and Cami was lying on top of him, pillowing her head on his pecs. They'd woken up this way two mornings in a row now. Between the porous rocks and the sandy soil, the water had receded quickly, and just as fast as the land had flooded, the lake around them was gone again.

Yesterday, Berus had cleared the area around the transport so that Cami could safely sit outside on the rocks. Sitting in the sun was the only way that they could get dry. They had also tried to air out the transport. There'd been no sign of Rehden or anything else, man or beast, unless you counted the tiny creatures that made incessant clicking sounds from the trees.

But Berus wasn't going to leave anything to chance. He set up a perimeter wall with several traps at the entrances leading to their little hideaway.

Cami knew not to step out of the ring of rocks he'd arranged around the safe zone. Traps couldn't tell friend from foe, though there was a chance Cami was too light to trigger them anyway. It wouldn't do to have it triggered by every small animal or bird in the area.

Since the authorities were still watching the ship and possibly tracing any calls coming from it, Ulrek only contacted them through his personal comm and only when he was away from the port. Technically, they had special technology to prevent people from tracing their communications, but it was strictly for emergencies.

On his chest, Cami did that same electrifying stretch she'd done the last time she'd woken up there. It rubbed him in all the right places and had blood flowing down away from his brain.

"Good morning," she said, stifling a yawn and lifting her head from his chest.

"Good morning," Berus replied, even though he was sure it couldn't be morning anymore. It had been morning the last time they'd woken. That had led to her climbing on top of him and riding him until the transport was filled with her screams. It was the only position they could fuck inside the transport. Then they'd promptly fallen back asleep, satisfied.

Now, both suns were up, and morning was far behind them.

"You can't be comfortable in that position," Berus said, gently encouraging her off him. "It is an unnatural way for you to sleep."

She'd climbed off him yesterday morning, worried about being too heavy, but Berus had only bellowed a laugh.

Her? Too Heavy? Impossible.

But he was worried about her posture.

"Speak for yourself." But Cami did roll off him. "If I could make a replica body pillow of you and bring it to Reka 5, I would."

For a fraction of a second, he thought about offering to stay with her there. But he still had a contract with the New Horizon . Also, Cami would want her own space to explore her newfound freedom.

"I will come visit you every time we dock at the colony," he said instead. "You can lie on me then."

That got Berus the most radiant smile. "Deal!"

His heart warm and full of hope, Berus decided to take the plunge and ask Cami to continue to test for compatibility with him even after they dropped her off at Reka 5. He wasn't ready to part company with her yet, maybe ever. Some couples saw each other exclusively during this phase, while others had a more open relationship.

The thought of Cami finding other males at Reka 5 to spend time with made Berus sick in his heart. It hadn't even happened yet, and he already wanted to beat on all her possible future suitors so hard that they wouldn't even dare think about looking remotely in her direction. But Berus knew better than to say that out loud. Human females in general didn't like such declarations of jealousy and possessiveness. Strange. Tallean females usually thought them sweet and romantic.

Berus was still deciding whether to ask using Tallean or human terms, i.e., testing compatibility versus dating, when the transport suddenly shifted with a groan.

Cami let out a surprised yelp as she scrambled to stop herself from sliding to her side of the transport, which was now lower than the rest. Berus did his best not to slide down toward Cami and squash her. After a chaotic moment, the transport settled, but they were now uncomfortably askew, and her side of the transport was significantly lower than his.

Berus quickly threw on his pants and shoes, opened the door, and got out to assess the situation as Cami started pulling on her clothes as well.

The ground, having absorbed so much water, had shifted. One corner of the transport was now fully mired in the muck. One of the adjacent corners was sinking as well. The land they were on now resembled a bog. They had to get their transport onto more solid ground, and soon.

Cami appeared at the door and struggled to climb out of the transport because of the odd angle. He reached over to give her a hand, lifting her over the mud and onto a flat rock nearby.

"I think it's still sinking," Cami said after taking a good look at their situation.

"It is. I need to move it now."

But no matter how hard he tried, Berus couldn't get the transport out of the quagmire. The wheels just kept spinning in place, digging deeper. He tried to use brute force instead, pushing and shoving the vehicle, but only managed to get his feet stuck. The suction of the mud was too much. He made one last effort and shoved at it with a roar. It moved, but immediately rolled back into place.

"Berus, stop. You're only wasting your strength." Cami approached the transport. "You are very strong, but this is going to take a little bit of finesse. It's a job for two."

He didn't understand how a tiny thing like her could help, but he listened anyway.

"Can you show me how to drive this thing? Just the basics. You know, go, stop, reverse."

Curious as to what she had in mind, he did.

Cami got into the driver's seat, even though it didn't fit her at all. She had to choose between reaching the controls and seeing over the front. Berus had the transport display the external cameras on a screen for her instead.

"Okay, now you get behind there, and when I shout push, you push. When I say stop, let the transport move back. Watch your feet. Don't let them get rolled over."

He got into position behind the transport.

"Okay, push!"

He did, and Cami urged the transport forward. Between the two of them, the transport moved. They'd be able to get it out after all! But just before the transport could get completely out of the mud, Cami yelled, "Now stop."

Berus did, careful not to let the transport roll over his feet. It rolled back into place right back where they started.

"Push again!"

He did, and this time, with the momentum of the transport helping them, they got a little further out of the muck. They repeated this twice more, and on the last try, there was a loud squelching sound as the transport was finally free of the muck. The vehicle shot forward, the tires sending sheets of mud back at him. He dove out of the way.

Cami let out a surprised yelp and slammed on the brakes. She was fast enough to stop the vehicle from crashing into the rock wall with force, but not enough to stop the collision completely.

Berus paled. Cami! She wasn't strapped in, and even if she was, that harness wasn't meant for someone her size. It might not stop her from hitting her head or jerking her neck.

Berus rushed to her. "Are you hurt?"

"No. I'm fine. I saw it coming and braced for the impact. I just hope I didn't do too much damage to the front. I really didn't mean to drive into the wall."

She was worried about the vehicle? Funny: he'd been worried about Ulrek's reaction to the damage before as well, but now, he understood that it didn't matter. They were alive. That was the important thing.

"The vehicle is designed to take such impacts. It's expected wear and tear, especially considering the types of missions we take. Honestly, the river worms' acid probably did more damage."

Berus climbed in, and Cami shuffled over to give him room. He carefully maneuvered the vehicle out from the muddy spot under the wall and onto firmer land.

"How did you know what to do?" he asked. Surely Cami hadn't been in this situation before.

"I had to do it a lot back on Earth."

"You often got stuck in mud?"

"Not mud," she said with a chuckle. "Snow. I lived in a place called Canada, and we had a lot of snow. A hell of a lot of it. The best way to get out when your tires are stuck, unless you have a shovel, is to rock the car back and forth like that. I didn't think the mud was something we could shovel away, though."

"No. It would've just filled up again. That was quick thinking." Berus was in awe of her ability to take something she learned from another situation and apply it here. "I wish I was smart like you. Or the rest of the crew."

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't exactly hired for my brains. The crew asks my opinion all the time, and I appreciate it, but I'm only there to do the heavy lifting. Not the heavy thinking."

Cami gawked at him, then shook her head. "I don't think that's the case at all. If you were all brawn, no brain, I don't think they would have let you do something like this"—she gestured broadly at their setup—"on your own. You have to make decisions on the fly the whole time. It isn't like they gave us an itinerary, and we just followed it to a tee."

Berus didn't know what to think. Her words made sense…maybe…but he wasn't so sure.

Cami must have noticed his hesitation because she asked, "Was it like that in the Dominion? Did they give you a lot of leeway even though you were just a soldier?"

Berus frowned. "Oh no. We had very specific orders and carried them out, as you said, to a tee. " He really didn't understand what the human saying meant, but he could guess.

"See! I don't think the crew thinks of you like that. As less than."

"They do not think of me as less," he agreed. "But that still doesn't mean I'm as smart as they are."

She put a hand on his arm. "I think you don't give yourself enough credit. You didn't think of the solution this time because you've never experienced something like that before. I have, so I used my knowledge. But if I hadn't lived in a snowy climate on Earth, I probably wouldn't have known what to do either. I think you're plenty smart."

Contentment filled Berus's chest. It didn't matter what anyone else said. If Cami thought he was smart, that was enough. And he was going to make sure he proved her right by being the smartest damn male he could be.

"You know, I didn't get a higher education either," Cami said. "Growing up, it was just me and my mom. College wasn't an option. I had to start working right away."

"What did you do on Earth?" Berus realized he didn't know anything about her life before she was abducted.

"During the day, I was a data entry clerk. I typed information into computers. It didn't take a lot of brain power either. And at night…" she trailed off. "Well, you know the kind of places you guys raided when the Dominion first showed up."

Berus furrowed his brow.

"I was a stripper," she huffed. "I took off my clothes for money." She said it with equal parts embarrassment and righteous defensiveness.

Berus guessed from her tone that this was not an approved profession in Earth culture. There were many sex performers in Tallean culture, and it wasn't a bad thing. The only problem was that finding their mate could end their career, unless their mate was an exhibitionist and performed with them.

Berus decided to be extremely honest. "I would pay you to take off your clothes for me every day."

That earned him a chuckle.

"If it was your choice back then, I don't see a problem with it. If it wasn't, then I will find the person who made you and punch them."

That earned him another chuckle.

"Thanks, Berus. And thanks for keeping me alive. I'm sure I would've died here so many times by now if it weren't for you. I wish I was braver, like Roxy or Delaney."

Cami didn't think she was brave? Impossible!

"But you are. Ckzarr said he found you living on your own on that mining planet without even a proper weapon. There were predators all around, yet you went to the river to gather water, and he said there were even signs of you exploring the area."

Cami rolled her eyes. "That wasn't bravery. That was desperation."

Berus didn't see the difference. "What about now? You're out here in the wilderness. That takes bravery."

"Not when you're around. You make things easy. You're big and scary, and—"

Berus puffed up his chest. Not just at the compliment, but also because he now knew how to prove that she was brave. "If I am so big and scary, then it must take a very brave female to approach me in the greenroom."

Cami opened her mouth to protest, then stopped. She narrowed her eyes at him. "See, you are smart."

Berus grinned. "Perhaps we can agree that to you, I am smart, and to me, you are brave."

"Deal."