with that soft caress feathering his skin. “I’m sure Marcus can make something to signal the shuttle when it lands near the crash site. That is where she will look. He can probably make a flare or something for when we see the shuttle enter the atmosphere.”
“But our men…. Waiting could put them in more danger.”
“We don’t even know if the IN has them, but if they do, Captain Kindros might be able to get them out without violence. If we go rushing in, the IN could kill your men, but they would think she is one of them and they might release them to her.”
Ciaran looked up at the sky, then bobbed his head once as if coming to a conclusion. He smiled down at Bannon, then said, “Okay. Then we will wait. We will give ye Captain Kindros a chance to come before we raid the base. I dinna deny it will probably be safer fer my men, but if the gates start going up, we will have tae move.”
Surprise and joy filled Bannon. “You mean it?”
“Aye.”
Bannon planted a kiss right on Ciaran’s lips. He intended to pull back after the contact, but Ciaran didn’t let go. Instead he deepened the kiss, making Bannon forget what it was they were talking about. He forgot everything but the comforting caress of Ciaran’s lips, his tongue flirting with the insides of his mouth. He wanted to melt into Ciaran until he couldn’t tell where he stopped and where Ciaran began, but all too soon Ciaran’s lips left his.
“If she doesnae come, then we have tae raid the base. We have tae get word out and get some help. Else ye may never get home.”
With his lips still tingling, Bannon opened his eyes and stared into languid pools of ebony. He let out a soft sigh, considering Ciaran’s words. His heart ached at the thought of never seeing his family and friends.
His face must have shown his pain, because Ciaran caressed his cheek again and asked softly, “Would it be so bad if ye were stuck here? I ken ye would miss ye family, but I promise ye, ye’d have a place here… with me.”
Bannon’s heart melted and beat harder at the same time. The thought was both terrifying and wondrous. Skye was so harsh and rugged, but he could be happy here as long as he was with Ciaran. Galaxy help him, he was falling in love with Ciaran. How could he not? Ciaran was brave, strong, and honorable, but best of all, Ciaran treated him like an equal, not some ninny who had to be coddled. He respected Bannon’s opinions. “I have to get back. I have to warn my family. I have to get help for you and your people. We can’t fight the IN on our own, and Marcus and Patrick have to….” Blast, damn, and meteor dust!
A lump lodged in his throat, and for a moment he forgot how to breathe. He pulled away from Ciaran and paced down the aisle next to the fence. With everything that had happened—Marcus’s confession about the satellite and them learning the IN was definitely behind all this—he’d forgotten about Trouble. He still had to tell Marcus and Patrick.
“What about Marcus and Patrick?”
Bannon turned around and stepped over the basket of vegetable corpses.
Ciaran waited patiently for him to speak.
Apprehension made his stomach feel a bit off, but he took the chance anyway and blurted out, “Marcus and Patrick’s son is alive.”
With no surprise, or any reaction at all, Ciaran stared at him for several seconds, as if he was trying to make sense of Bannon’s words, and then he nodded once. “This is what ye and Louisa were giving each other odd looks over the other day?”
“Yes. I didn’t know how to tell them. I should have told them then, but now….” It felt as though someone punched Bannon in the chest. “I don’t know how to tell them. Trouble, I mean Jeremy, was adopted by an IN admiral.”
Ciaran’s eyes widened, and he pinched his chin between his thumb and forefinger as if he were trying to decide what to say, but Bannon didn’t give him a chance. He knew how Ciaran felt about the IN. Bannon didn’t like them either, but Bannon’s father hadn’t been killed by them.
“Nate is a good man. He’s on our side. He’s my friend Aiden’s consort, and he’s pledged himself to Regelence.”