A knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts and caused me to jump. My gaze shot to Ion, and he put a finger to his lips.
I froze as Ion crept silently towards the door, pulling a plasma rifle from a holster strapped to his leg. I knew he was armed. But knowing and seeing it gripped in his hand were two separate things. Fear fizzled along my spine, and I worked to stay quiet, biting down hard on my lip.
The Global Allegiance wouldn’t knock, would they?But if it wasn’t them, then who was at the door?
“Ion, it’s Brone.”
Brone? What was he doing here?
Ion lowered his weapon, tucking it back into the holster. He looked back at me and I nodded, my thoughts racing. I guess I now knew why Brone had been unavailable. The Tank Class had been on his way here. But why?
Ion opened the door, swinging it wide to reveal a frowning Tank Class. Brone’s massive frame blocked out the light streaming in from the outside, his shoulders brushing the edges of the doorframe. His blue eyes scanned the room before landing on me, and immediately, his gaze locked on mine.
The corners of his lips tipped up into a smile. “Move, Military Model.”
Ion held his position, his arms crossing over his chest. “No. Not until you tell me why you are here.”
“Nara, tell him to let me in.”
Rising from the couch, I walked over to stand next to Ion. “Actually, I’m with Ion. Why are you here, Brone?”
Brone sighed. “I would prefer to have this conversation inside. Please, Nara.”
The ‘please’ went straight to my heart. I tugged on Ion’s elbow. “Let him in.”
Ion looked down at me then nodded, moving out of the way. Brone had to twist his frame sideways and duck down to clear the door frame to step inside.
My breath caught as I stared up at him. His much larger frame filled the cabin, making me feel small. I shivered.This is what I missed, my brain whispered.
“Nara.”
The way he said my name sent my heart racing, pounding frantically beneath my chest as I fought the urge to throw myself at him. I wanted to feel his arms around me, to know that I hadn’t ruined whatever had been starting between us.
He had come for me!That meant something, right? “I’m sorry!” I blurted out, unable to stop myself from saying the words I wanted to say since arriving at the cabin. “I know you must think that I don’t want anything to do with you after what happened, but it’s not true, Brone.” My hand shook as I lifted my palm up. Holding my breath, I waited.
Brone didn’t make me wait for long, snatching my hand up and entwining his warm gray fingers with mine.
My body sagged with relief as I clung to him.
He gave my fingers a squeeze. “Well, that makes what I came to tell you a bit easier. Come, let’s sit on the couch.”
Tugging me to the worn brown couch, he sat down, the cushions sagging under his immense weight. He pulled me onto his lap and the couch let out a groan.
“Maybe I should sit over there?” I pointed to a chair directly across from the couch.
Brone captured me inside his massive arms, holding me tight to his frame. “Stay,” he rumbled, the deep timbre of his voice music to my frazzled nerves.
Ion watched the exchange with an unreadable expression as he walked over and sat down on the chair. His eyes roamed over the sight of me in Brone’s lap, and I shrugged. If Brone was happy to hold me, I wasn’t going to argue. The dream, along with how much I had missed him, pushed all thoughts of why I shouldn’t indulge in the comfort of his arms from my mind.
Ion leaned back in the chair. “Talk, Tank Class.”
Brone stiffened behind me, and I froze on his lap. “Just tellme,Brone.”
An exhaled rush of breath tickled the top of my head before he spun me around on his lap so I sat facing him. Hands cupped my cheeks, tilting my up so that I found myself staring at a very worried cyborg. “I swear I didn’t intend to do it, Nara.”
My brow creased. “Do what, Brone?”
“I think I started the bonding process.” He hung his head, refusing to meet my eyes.