Shade turned the unique piece over in his hand, wondering how long White had been waiting to get in this particular dig. He’d probably been holding out for an audience, and here Shade was, on what looked like a date.
Too bad it wasn’t one—and that Tess was in an even shittier position than he was.
Shade pivoted and hurled the family heirloom into the ocean, not even looking as it plunged toward the surf.
Tess gasped. “Shade!”
“Fix the lower levels of Cardinal before the whole fucking thing collapses,” he ground out, already walking away and towing Tess.
Tess didn’t once glance back at White, which made him want to kiss her. Hard. On the mouth. He almost did after the lift doors closed and they started zooming downward, but he was afraid it would feel more like punishment for both of them than anything else.
“Are you okay?” Tess asked, freeing her hand from his and lightly touching his arm instead.
“I’m fine!”
She reared back, a yeah-not-so-much look on her face.
“I’m sorry,” he said, forcing a calming breath.
“It’s okay.” She didn’t step closer again. “That was beautiful. Why did you throw it away?”
“I didn’t want it,” he said.
“Maybe someone would have. Someone in your family.”
He didn’t have a family. “Then someone can have it,” he said. “When it washes up.”
Tess nodded, her expression still somber with concern.
They stepped out of the lift when it reached ground level, and he guided her toward the shore, taking a path lined with fancy shrubs, potted trees, and colorful blooms. There was no denying the beauty of the resort, despite the ugliness of its owner, and Tess trailed her fingers over velvety, exotic-looking petals, stopping to smell a few of the prettiest flowers. She didn’t say anything else about the money clip.
There she went again, being all perfect, knowing when to let something go.
They eventually stepped onto sand, and she turned her face into the breeze, sniffing the damp, briny air. She stomped her feet a few times, getting used to the feel of the shifting grains beneath her shoes.
They walked farther along the beach than Shade had intended, but the long stroll gave him a chance to cool off. Tess seemed happy to just soak in the scenery and didn’t say much, besides commenting on the flickering light from the torches again, their subtle scent, and how the paths from the three moons glittered across the now-dark water like rippling starlight. He thought she didn’t want to talk a lot, but rather listen to the surf.
Finally, when the brightly lit casino looked small in the distance, she chose a dune and sat down on the side of it. Sea grass swayed behind them, rustling. The waves rolled in and out with a soothing rhythm. Shade leaned back on his elbows and watched Tess more than the ocean. She was the better sight.
Tess suddenly laughed. “Stop.”
“Stop what?” he asked.
“Stop looking at me.”
Shade smiled. “You’re fun to watch.”
She bit down on her grin, but he still saw it tugging at her lips. “Do all the people on Albion 5 stare? Are you a planet of starers?”
His eyebrows went up. “Starers?”
“Yes, like this.” She leaned closer and locked eyes with him.
Shade chuckled. No way was he looking away first.
“Damn, you’re good at this,” she eventually said.
So was Tess. Shade shot out a hand and tickled her ribs.
“Ah! That’s cheating!” she cried, laughing and curling into a ball.
“I win,” Shade said.
She gave him a sidelong look that promised retribution. “Fine. What’s your prize?”
Prize? The word sank into him and stuck in his gut. “Nope. You win. I cheated. You claim the prize.”
“Okay.”
Her quick agreement made him nervous. Retribution, here we come.
“Put your feet in the water,” she said.
Shade groaned. “That water’s cold, Tess.”
“I’ll do it if you do.” She looked so hopeful that it was immediately clear to him that she wanted to touch the water but was afraid of going anywhere near it by herself.
“We’ll be wet and barefoot for the whole walk back,” he cautioned, half-heartedly starting to slip off his shoes and socks.
She immediately did the same. So much for his attempted warning.
Shade rolled up his pants to keep them dry and then helped Tess wiggle her tight-fitting pants up as far as they would go, adding his strength to the final few tugs to get them past her knees.
When they finally succeeded, Tess puffed out a breath in exaggerated exhaustion. “I should have worn a miniskirt,” she joked.
Heat flooded his abdomen. Shade sat back on his heels, putting some distance between them. Her legs were shapely—and so space-pale they practically glowed in the moonlight. If this had been a date, he might have smoothed his hands down her legs to see if they felt as soft as they looked.
“No backing out,” Tess said, popping up and racing for the surf. She stopped just at the water’s edge and then leaped back, shrieking happily when a wave chased her up the sand.
Shade stood and moved closer. He didn’t join her yet. It was too much fun watching her scoot back and forth, laughing and getting out of the way just before the next wave caught her around the ankles and froze her feet.
Something expanded in his chest, pushing out hard. Tess wasn’t afraid to show enjoyment or enthusiasm. To be herself. He couldn’t imagine her ever approaching life timidly, or just moving quietly from one day to the next.
She finally stood still and let a wave rush over her. Water swirled around her ankles and then sucked and bubbled its way back down the slope, pulling sand out from under her feet. She sank a little into the beach, wiggling her toes. The next wave crashed up her shins, and Tess threw back her head and screamed. It was pure joy—discovery, delight. Probably the cold. Shade loved every second of it.
This wasn’t a woman who kept her head down, playing it safe. Tess lifted her face and yelled to the stars. How many people did that these days?
She turned to him, grinning.
Unable to resist, Shade moved toward her, preparing for the inevitable toe freeze. “What do you think?” he asked.
“I love it!” Her eyes were brilliantly bright, even in the near dark.
“What about the cold?” He suppressed a shiver as the soles of his feet touched wet sand. The foam was even worse. The next wave hit, and Shade sputtered a curse.
“You call this cold?” Smiling, Tess kicked some water at him, splashing his lower legs with tiny beads of ice. “Cold is when you get a tear in your spacewalk suit, and you think, Oh fuck, I’m going to die! This…this is wonderful!” She spun around, raising her arms to the sky.
Shade stared at her. How many times had Tess been on dangerous spacewalks? How many times had she thought, Oh fuck, I’m going to die?
“That happen often?” he asked, frowning.
She shrugged and went a little deeper, bouncing up with every wave in a hopeless attempt to keep her pants dry.
“Don’t go much farther,” he warned. “The drop-off is steep and sudden, and I don’t want to have to dive in after you.”
Tess inched back, turning to him with a crease in her brow. “That seems awfully dangerous for a resort beach.”
“It’s better closer to the hotel and casino. Safer for families. This part of the beach is mostly for walking.”
“Did you learn to swim here?” she asked, jumping another wave.
Shade shook his head. “In a pool. A heated pool,” he added.
“A pool,” she said wistfully.
Shade watched her splash back toward shallower water, where she let the waves roll over her feet again.
Was he wrong about Sector 12? Tess had the accent, but nothing else. No pools, no beaches, no brainwashing into a life of boredom. She showed zest for life. She said what she meant. It was unbelievably refreshing. No one had a fucking opinion these days. Or if they did, they didn’t share it.
He’d been like that, too—until his parents had died and he’d lost everything. Then he’d figured he was free to be himself. Why not? He’d had no one left to impress. The problem was, no one else impressed him, either.